Der Standard, a normally quite serious Austrian newspaper (with the best online-presence by far) even gobbled excitedly about a 'Super-GAU' - GAU is a german acronym for grösster anzunehmender Unfall, or worst-case scenario.
And on Wednesday this:
20minutes is a Swiss free-of-cost newspaper, so no aspirations of quality here, but still: The headline screams 'Le nuage radioactif passe sur la suisse', or 'Radioaktive cloud passing above Switzerland'. True, they do say (on page 2) that the radioactivity poses no danger to anybody in Switzerland, but still. Can you imagine a more lurid and sensational headline? Is a bit of journalistic integrity too much to ask for?
What YOU said! I can't read the news over here. They won't spare two lines to talk about the devastation and heartbreak of the people putting their lives back together - it's all about the impending nuclear disaster that is so atrocious, mendacious and inflammatory, I start screaming.
ReplyDeleteWhen our nuclear "scientists" start speculating wildly based on little or no data on what's going on counter to the details provided by Japan, I want to tear my hair out. Or the references like all radiation is interchangeable. Of course, we US folks are so freakin' ignorant about science, most people here have no bloody idea what any of that means anyway.
As if Japan didn't have enough to deal with - this castigation by other governments who can't clean up their own messes (New Orleans is STILL in ruins from Katrina five freakin' years ago) makes me sick.
Not that I'm opinionated or anything.
To me, it sounds like despite all of the fail-safes falling through, they took care of the problem with minimal impact. How about some kudos?
ReplyDeleteAll right, must calm down. Sorry, didn't mean to impose on your rant.
Rant on, rant on... the more, the merrier ;)
ReplyDelete