A powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake shook Japan today. Of greatest concern is that the first news items report thousands dead or missing, figures truly extraordinary in a developed country where everything is built to withstand earthquakes. There were even reports of a nuclear reactor out of control. Hours later, it was reported that the four nuclear power plants closest to the affected area were controlled. Also reported was a tsunami 10 meters high, which prompted tidal wave warnings throughout the Pacific.
The quake occurred at a depth of 24.4 kilometers, 100 kilometers from the coast. If it had originated at less depth and distance, the consequences would have been more serious.
The axis of the earth was displaced. It was the third phenomenon of such intensity to occur in less than two years: Haiti, Chile and Japan. Human beings cannot be blamed for such tragedies. Every country will surely do what is within its power to help this hard-working people, the first to suffer an unnecessary and inhumane nuclear attack.
According to the Spanish Official College of Geologists, the energy released by the earthquake was equivalent to 200 million tons of dynamite.
A breaking news item, disseminated by AFP, reported that the Japanese Tokyo Electric Power electric company had stated, "In accordance with government instructions, we have released a portion of the steam contaminated with radioactive substances…
"We are following the situation. As of this time, there is no problem…
"Malfunctions related to cooling in three reactors within a second nearby plant, Fukushima 2, were also reported.
"The government ordered the evacuation of neighboring areas within a radius of 10 kilometers of the first plant and within three kilometers of the second."
Another earthquake of a political nature, potentially more serious, is the one occurring in Libya and which is affecting, in one way or another, all countries.
The drama this country is experiencing is coming to a head and the outcome is still unclear.
A big to-do cropped up yesterday in the United States Senate when James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, stated to the Armed Services Committee: "I don’t think Gaddafi has any intention… of leaving.
From all evidence that we have… he appears to be hunkering down for the duration."
He added that Gaddafi has two brigades which "are very, very loyal" and that the army’s air attacks have mainly damaged buildings and infrastructure, as opposed to causing civilian casualties.
During the same Senate hearing, Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said, "Gaddafi seems to have staying power, unless some other dynamic changes at this time."
The momentum that the rebels appeared to have at the beginning of the uprising "has started to shift", he said.
I do not harbor any doubt that Gaddafi and the Libyan leadership erred in trusting Bush and NATO, as can be deduced from what I wrote in my Reflection on the 9th.
Nor do I doubt the intention of the United States and NATO to militarily intervene in Libya and abort the revolutionary wave sweeping the Arab world.
The peoples who oppose the NATO intervention and defend the idea of a political solution without foreign intervention, are convinced that Libyan patriots will defend their homeland to their last breath.
