Havent you heard? I'm the king of NY! (news thread)

[kyle]

I was freaking out about this as well as I could around 4AM last night. Fell asleep before posting something over here.

I've been pretty glued to the news for the past twelve hours.

[FreddyKnuckles]

Here's to hoping there isn't a nuclear disaster to boot

[clare]

yeah, I read on the abc (Australia) website that technicians had release "small amounts" of radioactive steam from two reactors whose cooling systems had been damaged...

[clare]

And furthermore...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc15fa98-4c60-11e0-8da3-00144feab49a.html#axzz1GNeaWNr9

This is the footage that the TV news has been showing. Scary arse shock wave.
http://www.youtube.com/user/groktheha#p/a/u/0/W7Hy8sndXm4
:-/

[Nick Ink]

BBC reporting a tour bus crash in New York, 13 people dead.

[milesofsparks]

it sounds like it was a Chinatown bus.  jeepers.

[Greg Nog]

I don't think it was a Chinatown bus; it looks like it was World Wide Tours, which, from their website, appears to be a midtown-based charter bus service.

Edit: wait, no; Gowanus-based, but going from Mohegan Sun to a dropoff point in Chinatown.

[mixed cats]

I saw a picture. It is fucked. The bus overturned and hit a highway sign pole structure, which went through the windshield and sheared off most of the roof. Fucked.

My one friend in Japan is down in the south part of the country, and has checked in to say she's fine. One of my other friends, a veteran of JET, hasn't heard from one of her friends who is in Sendai. The ruins are just, I don't know, watching houses wash away is also totally fucked. BRB sending money to Doctors Without Borders.

[Antero]

I saw a picture. It is fucked. The bus overturned and hit a highway sign pole structure, which went through the windshield and sheared off most of the roof. Fucked.

Holy fuck, just saw that.  Jeepers.

[edit]: "Jeepers," Antero?  Really?

[mixed cats]

They've even set up counseling services for the first responders because of how horrible it was
dsgjndfj

[auto-da-fey]

reading this earlier this morning, I didn't really want to see this.

I just did. jesus. fucked, yes indeed. my god.

[RavingLunatic]

yeah, I read on the abc (Australia) website that technicians had release "small amounts" of radioactive steam from two reactors whose cooling systems had been damaged...

I'm a little surprised that a country like Japan even has nuclear reactors that could possibly melt down (or whatever it is they're at risk of doing) when a major earthquake hits. I mean, when they put those in, they had to know that sooner or later a major quake would strike, right? Then again, the same could be said about the levies in New Orleans.

I didn't realize until today how historic the quake was. Fifth-largest since 1900, and the third-largest to take place in any place with any real human habitation.

[G.C.R]

And now they've exploded. What freaks me out about that is they've only evacuated people in the surrounding 20km, which really doesn't seem that far to me. What the fuck is with the world at the moment? There's floods and tsunamis and earthquakes all over the show.

[milly balgeary]

I don't think it's any diff, Grace, other than maybe our generations have all lived through a tranquil period in the world, and/or we now have facebook and twitter -- and drudge, and huffpo, and lil b. all this horror is, like, intimate. we have to see the face of horror 24-7, the face of dread, hell, blood, and satire.

the huge numbers of pedophiles out & about in everyone's neighborhood, - that stuff always was in existence, the crazies were always out there -- but now we go to bed, knowing about it.

shit is gonna keep hitting the fan until they pull the plug on the information, and then we'll all think it's great, and we'll live in a post-apocalyptic city, built on the labor of semi-morlocks, steam engines, bafflement.

[G.C.R]

I would like to live in a city with bafflements

[Trousers and Pat]

Oh those innocent times before lil b...

There was a screening of this movie, the submersion of japan scheduled at the japanese cultural center over here yesterday.  I couldn't make it, I actually kind of wonder if they ended up showing it at all, it seems like it would be in kind of bad taste?

[Nick Ink]

My kids are 'playing earthquakes' 

[FreddyKnuckles]

That's the way kids deal with shit

[Nick Ink]

Yeah, I know. I'm just feeling quite low about the whole thing. The scale of it all is what I can't get my head round.

[milly balgeary]

At least they aren't playing meltdown.

Too soon!

[FreddyKnuckles]

I think Milly meant "Too soon?"

Nah, probably not.

[Dick]

The BBC was interviewing a Libyan man whose son probably died in the fighting, and the interviewer asked if his son's death was worth it.  The man said something like, "Have you ever heard of an American named Patrick Henry?  Patrick Henry said give me death or give me liberty."  The guy talked for a bit more, and then he said, "Could I have even said any of this four or five months ago?  No.  Now, I don't give a monkey, as they say."

[FreddyKnuckles]

Osama got got...

[milly balgeary]

I'm less interested in Osama Bin Laden being killed, and more innerested in Lou Diamond Phillips in "Carny". Is that bad?

[FreddyKnuckles]

It's crazy, we were supposed to take some friends to the west wing this afternoon and got an email from the SoA saying that all appointments were cancelled. Were pretty bummed and then found out why...