Mika Hashikai, 37, mourns for her mother and father, victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Sunday, March 11, 2012.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Photo: Music for Relief | Click to Enlarge
SHIKA, Japan — Near a nuclear power plant facing the Sea of Japan, a series of exhibitions in a large public relations building here extols the virtues of the energy source with some help from “Alice in Wonderland.”
“It’s terrible, just terrible,” the White Rabbit says in the first exhibit. “We’re running out of energy, Alice.”
A Dodo robot figure, swiveling to address Alice and the visitors to the building, declares that there is an “ace” form of energy called nuclear power. It is clean, safe and renewable if you reprocess uranium and plutonium, the Dodo says.
“Wow, you can even do that!” Alice says of nuclear power. “You could say that it’s optimal for resource-poor Japan!”
Over several decades, Japan’s nuclear establishment has devoted vast resources to persuade the Japanese public of the safety and necessity of nuclear power. Plant operators built lavish, fantasy-filled public relations buildings that became tourist attractions. Bureaucrats spun elaborate advertising campaigns through a multitude of organizations established solely to advertise the safety of nuclear plants. Politicians pushed through the adoption of government-mandated school textbooks with friendly views of nuclear power.
The result was the widespread adoption of the belief — called the “safety myth” — that Japan’s nuclear power plants were absolutely safe. Japan single-mindedly pursued nuclear power even as Western nations distanced themselves from it....
Take home this pair of MS/DC sneakers, doodled on by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park. The sneakers were also on display in the Los Angeles DC store!
The proceeds for this item benefit Music for Relief for Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Relief
Ishinomaki Coast Road
Today is the one-month anniversary of the Tohoku quake and tsunami disaster, but my flat is still rattling from aftershocks (I counted three today, but I’m sure there were more). Last weekend was actually the first I’ve spent at home in Tokyo since March 11, when the big one hit. Much of the last month I’ve been up north, looking for my in-laws, ferrying supplies to relief organizations, and being a guide for foreign television crews looking to get close to ground zero in the first days after the disaster....
Sacred Gallery NYC
424 Broadway 2nd Floor New York, NY 10013
05.05.11 | 8:00 pm
http://www.sacredgallerynyc.com
Group benefit show to lend a helping hand In Japan.
Artists and Photographers from all over the globe come together to help all those affected by the earthquake, tsunami and now radiation damage in Japan. When we first listed this event, we wanted to keep this as a print based show. After receiving so many emails from people wanting to donate original drawings, we've now decided to allow original works on paper.
All artwork will be priced at $200 or less!
This is a rare opportunity where artists lower their standard pricing in order to help those in need.
100% of the sales made from this one-night-only exhibition will be donated to the Red Cross.
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WASHINGTON — In an effort to encourage nuclear power, Congress voted in 2005 to authorize $17.5 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors. Now, six years later, with the industry stalled by poor market conditions and the Fukushima disaster, nearly half of the fund remains unclaimed. And yet Congress, at the request of the Obama administration, is preparing to add $36 billion in nuclear loan guarantees to next year’s budget.
Even supporters of the technology doubt that new projects will surface any time soon to replace those that have been all but abandoned.
“My gut feeling is that there is going to be a delay,” said Neil Wilmshurst, a vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit utility consortium based in Palo Alto, Calif. News on Thursday that Exelon Corporation, the nation’s largest reactor operator, planned to buy a rival, the Constellation Energy Group, only reinforces the trend; until late last year, Constellation wanted to build, while Exelon was firmly against it.
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Nearly 40 A-list artists have contributed tracks to a new compilation meant to benefit victims of Japan's tsunami. Available now for $9.99 via iTunes, Songs for Japan features top hits from artists like U2, Eminem, Lady Gaga, John Lennon, and literally dozens more. Check out the full tracklisting below.
All artists, music publishers, and labels involved have waived any royalties for these songs, and iTunes will donate its proceeds from all album sales worldwide -- all funds go towards the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Songs for Japan is available now.
Songs for Japan tracklisting...