Posts Tagged ‘Japan’
FIFA World Cup soccer creates a lot of drama, passion and excitement. This year’s recently concluded women’s tournament was no exception.
The world #1 U.S. team earned a spot in the finals against upstart Japan who has never beat the Americans in over 20 matches. Meanwhile the Yanks hope to revive their famous 1999 title.
The game was neck and neck with final outcome favoring Japan. Tie at the end of 120 minutes of play, the game decided by penalty kicks, for a few reasons.
Had the U.S. won, they would have been the first team in the world to win the cup three times.
But in the words of Piers Morgan via Twitter, this is a great win for a country that has survived tremendous disasters in the last year.
To boot, for all you fútbol fans, this final game out-tweeted the Super Bowl and number of tweets per second records.
Check out highlights and memorable photos from the final game here.
Thanks to the Christian Science Monitor!
If it walks like a government and talks like a government…US recognizes Libyan opposition.
Sarah Palin throws her hat into the ring…of the debt ceiling debate.
And speaking of debt, what about using the piles of dollar coins in stashed away in government vaults?
Faceoff! U.S. and Japan compete in the Women’s World Cup.
And while you’re inside avoiding Carmegeddon, check out the 4 worst traffic jams ever.
- Thanks to the New York Times!
Most of us are no strangers to the devastation that has occurred in Japan in the last few months.
Many young children there were adversely affected, young baseball players included.
Many players have lost family members, friends, and homes in addition to their baseball fields and local teams.
While nothing can erase the gravity of the situation, three Japanese high schools have made an effort to join together to put the teams on the field for their regional and national tournaments.
The Fukushima High School Baseball Association must check the radiation levels each day to make sure that the fields close to the reactors will not expose the players to dangerous situations, but the boys play on.
The article in the New York Times explains that baseball has provided the students with an “equilibrium” after multiple tragedies. Noriyuki Sampei, a coach from Soma Nogyo, agrees:
The players don’t feel sorry for themselves. They just acknowledge the reality of what they can do right now, which is to try to do as thorough a job as possible.”
Thanks to the Washington Post
On this side of the Pacific another feel good story hit the baseball diamond.
At the recent Major League All Star game, Home Run Derby winner Robinson Cano had his father, former pitcher Jose Cano, help him get the winning shots. According to an article on MLB.com, Cano has embraced his father’s role in his record-breaking victory.
I don’t want to say that I won the trophy. I want to say that my dad has won the trophy.”
Cano and all the other Major leaguers get back to work this week after the All Star break. Cato will pit his home run hitting prowess against Toronto pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes tonight, who currently has the lowest ERA in his career.
If you’re looking for a great summer read, pick up Outcasts United by Warren St. James. The book tells the story refugees in Clarkston, Georgia who band together on a soccer team called the Fugees and transition together to American life.
DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT! Seriously?
Japan, already reeling from a devastating earthquake is hit with a giant aftershock
Polar bears beware: More bad news about the melting Arctic ice
Bluetooth for your head: try operating your computer by Brain Waves
In times of crisis, people try to help in any way they can. As Japan deals with the aftermath of a horrific earthquake and tsunami, many artists have stepped up to contribute their talent to try and raise money.
Cranes are often associated with Japan so many people, including kids, are making a thousand paper cranes to help raise money for the relief effort in Japan.
Tons of posters are for sale, with all proceeds going to help various organizations working in Japan.
There are also a bunch of other items for sale- from quilts, to jewelry, and shirts. Have fun shopping and helping the relief effort in Japan!
Long live Liz! Acting legend Elizabeth Taylor is dead at 79.
IBM vs. IN: IBM declares (legal) war on the state of Indiana.
Prime Minister of Portugal steps down following a rejected budget proposal.
And, a potty trained robot?
Thanks to Wikicommons
Japan is still recovering from the worst natural disaster in its history. While still digging through the rubble of demolished coastal towns the nation has also had to face a nuclear catastrophe. As the bad news continues to roll in it seems that their is no hope for Japan’s future.
Of course that isn’t true. In fact it is because of the bad news that, as Binyamin Appelbaum notes, that
People often overestimate the impact of a disaster because of our tendency to generalize from devastating images and anecdotes. In fact, most disasters are extremely local events that leave the bulk of a nation’s economy untouched.
This isn’t to say that Japan as a nation is not facing a terrible strategy. Rather, despite of the terrible events human ingenuity will overcome, at least economically.
In fact, as James Surowiecki for the New Yorker describes, some economists have found that tragic events can have benefits as
disaster-stricken economies don’t simply replace broken windows, as it were; they upgrade infrastructure and technology, and shift investment away from older, less productive industries.
…homeowners rebuilding after a disaster take the opportunity to upgrade, a phenomenon known as “the Jacuzzi effect.” In ordinary times, inertia keeps old technologies in place; it may be easier to make dramatic changes when you have to start from scratch.
With a hat tip to Democracy in America, the author of one of the papers, Ilan Noy, has added the following comment about his research that
We still do not know what will be the impact of the enfolding crisis in the various nuclear reactors that have been affected. The analysis above ignored this danger, though the still present devastation in Chernobyl attests to its potentially destructive powers.
Despite possible benefits of disasters we should not forget that, as Democracy in America’s W.W. notes,
the return to trend economic growth does not compensate for the direct human and economic loss created by the disaster. In the case of Japan, the final toll will be immense.
Above is an interesting way of explaining the nuclear reactor situation in Japan.
Sad news for fans of Knut the polar bear.
A warning to all polygamists on Facebook.
Ahh… Finally. Time for some relaxing on spring break.
If you’re not heading to the beautiful sandy beaches of Kentucky like this blogger, you’re probably trying to figure out your ideal spring break destination.
Miami? Cancun? San Francisco? Well, in case you hadn’t heard… Chernobyl is now open to tourists!
No kidding.
Yesterday on “Today,” NBC reporter Michelle Kosinski filed an interesting report from the Ukraine wherein she visited the site of the world’s worst nuclear power plant disaster, Chernobyl. It’s been nearly 25 years since the meltdown, and now it’ll cost you just $150 to tour the eerie site. Check out the report below:
After hundreds of thousands of people in the Ukraine and Belarus were displaced because of the explosion, and countless others across Europe were affected, the once buzzing and promising community around the nuclear plant became a ghost town.
Last December, though, the plant revealed that it would open for tourism in 2011. The Guardian got it right with this intro:
Already been to North Korea? Hiking in Afghanistan a little bit too last year? Fear not. Tourism has a new frontier: the site of the world’s biggest civilian nuclear disaster.
As you saw in the NBC report, it might not be the most upbeat of vacations, but it sure is a place on a lot of people’s minds these days.
But if you’re on Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) side, it’s “incorrect” and “premature” to draw comparisons between the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan and the explosion at Chernobyl. This comes in response to assertions that the U.S. should back off of its nuclear power developments. (Also, you can keep up with developments at this live blog on what is going on to mitigate the dangers at Fukushima.)
If you’re not headed to Chernobyl this spring break, is it a destination you’d consider if you could make it to the Ukraine?
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY from USDemocrazy!
Now a word from your emperor….Japan’s Emperor Akihito makes a rare television appearance.
Fears of radiation continue to stem from nuclear plant involved in Japan’s earthquake.
Can I eat this? Pepsi plans switch to bottle made from 100% plant!
The party of profit: Republicans are hoping to sell debates to get out of debt.
And, Five Guys take over the world?
Thanks to Wikicommons.
As Japanese workers heroically battle a potential nuclear disaster, related questions are being raised in America.
What is the future of nuclear power plants in America?
After the Three Mile Accident in 1979 almost all nuclear projects in the US ended. Should the same thing happen now?
With the price of oil moving progressively higher, America had been looking more favorably at the merits of nuclear power. The recent events on the other side of the Pacific Ocean have thrown a wrench into this.
Whether this is a temporary or permanent roadblock to American nuclear power is yet to be sure. For Slate magazine, William Slatetan defends continued nuclear power plants hoping that people
cool this panic before it becomes a political meltdown.
Agreeing, W.W. over at Democracy in America thinks that the disasters in Japan
shouldn’t change our calculations about nuclear energy all that much. While we are likely to gain valuable insights for improving the safety of nuclear energy from Japan’s experience, the main lesson seems to be that we should avoid building nuclear power plants in areas with considerable seismic activity.
Not everyone is so confident that the lessons we learn will help. Rory Kennedy, in a piece for the Daily Beast, worries that
no amount of planning and preparation can fully anticipate the sudden brutality and random course of a natural disaster. Any claims otherwise speak not to deeper understanding but to baser motives. In truth, the lone “clean energy” solution is eliminating nuclear plants altogether.
The political fallout of this will have to be seen.
While we worry about the effects on the US, let’s not forget about the people in Japan. For further info on the issue check out MIT’s Nuclear Science and Engineering Info Hub (especially Dr. Joseph Oehmen’s thoughts on the issue).
Sendai, Japan after the earthquake. Image by US Navy Imagery
As you’ve probably already heard, Japan suffered a massive earthquake and tsunami on Friday. The death toll is in the hundreds, thousands are displaced and several nuclear reactors might have a meltdown. And as if that weren’t enough, a volcano in Southern Japan started erupting yesterday.
On top of all that, some people on Twitter and Facebook have been posting that the tsunami was payback for Pearl Harbor. Thankfully, the statements were quickly denounced by others, who pointed out that the U.S. wasn’t exactly innocent, seeing as how the country dropped two nukes on Japan in the 1940s.
That’s a lot of bad news, but please don’t feel discouraged because there are things that you can do. If you’re interested in helping out any way you can, here is a list of ways you can do exactly that.
Seven dead in Libya. Tin soldiers and Kadhafi coming.
A whale of a tale. Citing harassment by activists, Japanese call off whaling season early.
Where we’re going we don’t need internet? Rural America is only 60% connected to high speed internet.
Human error? Watson stumbles on final jeopardy.
Come to papa: President Obama calls for an “Adult Conversation” on U.S. budget.
Government cracks down as protests pick up in Iran.
There is a new number two in the economic world.
And, your grocery bags might be able to get you to the grocery store.
Asia
Scandal in the world of sumo wrestling! The sport’s ties to organized crime has hurt its reputation greatly.
Europe
France is facing a lot of criticism over its decision to deport the Roma.
North America
President Obama ends the war in Iraq, seven years after it began.
