by Tom Acre » Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:54 pm
Irresponsible blather seems to be the coin of the realm in media these days, media that theoretically has the completely opposite responsibility of filtering such nonsense and providing valuable information. Many times their spouting defies the most rudimentary common sense that one might expect from anyone with a grain of sanity. The story about authorities using sarin gas while simultaneously deploying troops to restore order is so ridiculously contradictory its amazing that anyone could ever entertain it for more that a millisecond.
Other times the media blather is much more insidious, as it preys upon a shellshocked audience and deals with subjects that are much more difficult to understand. The nuclear accident on the heels of massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan is just such a case. The danger for the foreseeable future from that crisis is localized to a roughly 50 mile radius. The sure and certain danger is for those at the plant itself, you wouldn't want to be within the evacuation zone (12miles, I think) for long, and would certainly feel unsure between a radius of 12 and 40 miles. But the reports that are that spread panic outside of that zone (like the ones that have people fleeing Tokyo) are completely needless, irresponsible and very harmful. If I were someone visiting Tokyo who could not reasonable help the survivors, I would calmly leave when it became easily possible and put no strain on the transportation and logistics of the area. But only because my mere presence added to the weight on the infrastructure needed much more by victims of the earthquake and residents of the area, not b/c of any rationally conceivable nuclear danger. Fools blathering on to sell copy to the detriment of shellshocked victims really angers me.
Irresponsible blather seems to be the coin of the realm in media these days, media that theoretically has the completely opposite responsibility of filtering such nonsense and providing valuable information. Many times their spouting defies the most rudimentary common sense that one might expect from anyone with a grain of sanity. The story about authorities using sarin gas while simultaneously deploying troops to restore order is so ridiculously contradictory its amazing that anyone could ever entertain it for more that a millisecond.
Other times the media blather is much more insidious, as it preys upon a shellshocked audience and deals with subjects that are much more difficult to understand. The nuclear accident on the heels of massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan is just such a case. The danger for the foreseeable future from that crisis is localized to a roughly 50 mile radius. The sure and certain danger is for those at the plant itself, you wouldn't want to be within the evacuation zone (12miles, I think) for long, and would certainly feel unsure between a radius of 12 and 40 miles. But the reports that are that spread panic outside of that zone (like the ones that have people fleeing Tokyo) are completely needless, irresponsible and very harmful. If I were someone visiting Tokyo who could not reasonable help the survivors, I would calmly leave when it became easily possible and put no strain on the transportation and logistics of the area. But only because my mere presence added to the weight on the infrastructure needed much more by victims of the earthquake and residents of the area, not b/c of any rationally conceivable nuclear danger. Fools blathering on to sell copy to the detriment of shellshocked victims really angers me.