The Fukushima 50

Risking all for their country.

Bum Rush

Taunting the Japanese? No class, Limbaugh.

Pray, Help, And Pray

Photo from "HuffPo." The work in Japan of Episcopal Relief and Development is described here.

All-Of-The-Above Minus One?

It seems ironic in the wake of the crisis in Japan that nuclear power is part of the Obama administration's strategy for greener energy:

Mr. Obama has been as supportive of nuclear power as any recent president as he has tried to devise a political and technical strategy for ensuring energy supplies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power, along with expanded offshore oil drilling, “clean coal” development and extensive support for renewable energy, are part of his “all-of-the-above energy strategy,” an approach and terminology borrowed from Republicans. But his support for coal and oil as part of a grand compromise on energy were set back by last year’s mining and drilling disasters, and today’s problems with nuclear in Japan cannot help.

Concerns about earthquakes and nuclear power have been around for a long time; new questions might also be raised now about tsunamis and coastal reactors.

Nukes Melting Down But Not Out

Matthew Yglesias doesn't use the Japan emergencies to pile on nuclear power:

[W]hile nuclear looks bad on safety grounds versus clean energy or efficiency, I don’t see any particular reason to see these safety concerns as more pressing than concerns around the fossil fuels that provide the majority of our energy.

Where Is God?

Hat tip to "The Daily Dish" for this astonishing graphic as well a reflection on theodicy in the wake of the disaster in Japan

We Can Equivocate About Libya Later

Help Japan now. Photos here.

$840 Billion Didn't Rescue Japan

Veronique de Rugy:

Obama is right to cite the example of Japan. That nation's collapsed housing and stock markets in the 1990s are very relevant to today's recession. Between 1992 and 1999, Japan passed eight stimulus packages, totaling roughly $840 billion in today's dollars. During that time, the debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio skyrocketed, the country was rocked by massive corruption scandals, and the economy never recovered. All Japan had to show for it was a mountain of debt and some public works projects that look suspiciously like bridges to nowhere.