postcard from the edge

My wife has a Japanese friend whose family live in Fukushima. Shortly after the quake my wife contacted her to find out if her family were OK, and a couple days later responded in an email of great power and humility. She describes how the ordinary people are managing in the aftermath of the great quake. I paraphrase:

"...As you can imagine, there are tensions as to the extent of radioactive leakage from the plants...they are really reliant though, and keeping calm. Rescue centre, local shops and even the traffic is working smoothly (none of the traffic lights are working) ...Store are selling goods without exchanging money because the whole banking system is down...Instead they they are giving out receipts so that people can pay them back in a few days...I'm certain everybody will pay the money back which is amazing...people learn in a great crisis that supporting the community is more important than money..."

I hope they're still OK. As far as we can tell from here, those nuclear reactors are fucked, and it could get a lot worse very quickly...

Back on "Europe's southern border" as David Cameron kept referring to it yesterday in his remarkable speech to the Scottish Tories. It was a powerful iece of rhetoric that at one level rather impressed me. Another part of me was afraid.

I have to say I was astonished they got the No Fly thing through the UN so quickly. I suppose in the event it was the fact that the Arab League was firmly behind the idea that it coasted through.. At least I hope that's the reason. Because if by any chance DC was not being totally honest with us yesterday, and that are dark plans afoot for an occupation of another sovereign nation that just happens to be floating on a lake of oil the size of the Black Sea, it could light the fuse for an Arab vs the West World War III.

I offer a little prayer to the Great Spirit:

Great Spirit, come close to the Earth and listen to what we have to say. Let the Japanese use their infinite cleverness to fix the problems in those stricken reactors.

And guide the aim of the pilots of the warplanes above Libya. Let them find their strictly military targets, may they never harm an innocent civilian.

And stem the greed of the foreigners; give them wisdom and compassion in their dealings with the infidel.

This we ask of you, great Spirit

Amen

Put another way, you know the expression, "In a World of shit"? Because right now, I think we can safely say the whole world IS in a World of shit...