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The Nation, check out our latest issue. Subscribe to Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? It was predictable that most of the early online harassment would target the one Japanese member of our group. As we prepared what would become an open letter demanding retraction of Harvard Law School professor J. Mark Ramseyer’s article claiming that Korean “comfort women” were contractually bound prostitutes, we had braced ourselves for abuse. Ramseyer’s piece bolstered the ultranationalist Japanese worldview that rehabilitates Japan’s history of militarism and colonialism and denies the coercive and brutal nature of much of that era’s violence. Although it appeared in an obscure law and economics journal, the far right in Japan embraced it as “cutting edge” research. The Japanese far-right newspaper
now, outside the reactor and steam released, there is radioactive materials, but less harmful. the government has stressed, though, the radiation levels have been steadily coming down in recent days. but when you have ongoing crisis like this, when you have more steam being released into the atmosphere, then those radiation levels will have to be tested again and possibly we could see a spike in them. >> stan grant, thank you so much. american troops off of japan's shore have been exposed to radiation, at least 17 u.s. navy helicopter crew members had to be treated for it. now part of the american fleet has moved farther out to sea. i was talking to stan about that a moment ago. they reportedly, the uss ronald reagan reportedly headed through a radioactive cloud. chris lawrence joining us live now. do you have any word from the pentagon about exactly what happened? >> yeah, we do, carol. basically they were in this aircraft, and the aircraft flew
fears of a nuclear meltdown are growing. a third cooling system has failed at a damaged nuclear plant. officials think it was caused by an explosion, the second in three days. there is no significant leak of radiation. japan's government confirms more than 1800 people have died but the death toll is certain to climb. 2,000 bodies were found in a coastal community. japan's prime minister says 15,000 people have been rescued. a man is found clinging to the wreckage of his house several miles off the coast of japan. that is his roof. he spent two days adrift amid a field of debris washed out to sea. as the troubling alerts about japan's nuclear sites flash across the screen many people can't help but wonder could it happen in the united states.
will be rebuilt? >> the japanese are a power house. they will probably get behind it i'm sure. >> they have a lot of help from many different places. hollywood is stepping up to help in the aid effort for japan. how you can get involved. and he's... not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. [sighs] amazing. it's like an extra bonus savings. [ cackling ] he's my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today.
>> we apologize for the lack of translation on that one. but that man is still searching for friends who are still missing. cnn correspondents and their teams are gathering the latest information on this rapidly-developing story. you'll be hearing from them throughout the day. a new explosion at an already damaged nuclear plant has japan and the world on edge this morning. it's the second blast at the fukushima plant in days. part of the cooling system is crippled. we now understand the fuel rods were exposed at reactor number two, and that's dangerous because as you might expect, it could mean big problems down the road as far as a possible meltdown or partial meltdown. stan grant live in tokyo about 200 miles from sendai. so, stan, what happened when these fuel rods were exposed? >> reporter: yeah, this is really critical, carol. because what happens here is the water level drops, the fuel rod is exposed, and it overheats.
that often. so there's so much we don't know about what we're able to accomplish and not able to accomplish with those agents. >> the other interesting thing is the way they're protecting themselves. and i'm talking about the uss ronald reagan, all the sailors onboard and the navy helicopter pilots. they're moving farther out away from the wind. so that doesn't seem to be the greatest of protections. you just have to like listen to which way the wind is blowing? >> that's actually -- definitely the smart thing to do. this is all about dose. so the further away you go, the better, the stronger the wind that's taking it away from you, the better. this is all about, you know, sort of real estate location, location, location. it's all about location, it's all about dose. try to get as far away as you can. >> hopefully the wind won't switch direction. >> let's hope. >> many thanks. an all-star group of celebrities jumped into action after the haiti earthquake last year. now that japan is dealing with
morning because the tsunami warning was downgraded to advisory, we went from the hills from the residents to the central part of the town. this was a place where houses lined up before the tsunami. there is nothing here. it's all reduced to ruins. >> the prime minister said people have to draw together and looks like there they are. parts of japan look very different than a few days ago when the country was plunged into chaos. devastation that began with the 8.9 earthquake. much of the damage has resulted from the tsumani that followed. now we have satellite images of japan before and after. we have them. show us >> not quite as frightening as
but there are people who do beat the odds. after the haiti quake in january of last year, search and rescue teams were still finding survivors more than a week after it hit. right now u.s. search and rescue teams are on their way to some of japan's most devastated regions. and brian todd is in ofunato, japan. brian, have they been able to go out and start search and rescue operations? >> reporter: carol, they have not yet been able to go out in ofunato. it's been a point of frustration, but they realized this operation has moved as fast as it could. still not fast enough for these teams. they're very good at trying to extract people from the rubble. and they have a good track record in haiti, turkey, and other places, but so far have not been able to get into the city yet because of the massive logistical operation this involves. you see these crates right behind me, they've had to pull more than 60 tons of gear, 150
congressman markey sent a letter to president obama calling for a moratorium on new nuclear plans. he says there is no clear plan in place for a nuclear accident and it is not clear what federal agency would be in charge. how could that be? >> there is the the nuclear regulatory commission. we are designed to withstand the most severe seismic events or earthquakes as well as tsunamis where applicable. and flooding. we have rules to deal with station blackout which is what they are experiencing in japan. i noted in your earlier discussion, what complicated the recovery of those units in japan is the one-two punch, the tsunami that came after the earthquake. those plants responded quite well to a massive earthquake. >> you well know you can't control mother nature.
than the central and eastern united states. it is based on a historical look of what has happened in those areas, what soil or rock they sit in. they are very robust. i think as we have seen in japan, despite the magnitude of that earthquake, they hold up quite well. >> thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. the utter devastation in japan provide a challenge for rescue crews. where do you start looking? some survivors struggling to get access to the basics, but one community makes a chain to move water where it is needed, up with bucket at a time.