http://www.jpost.com/International/Huge-earthquake-hits-Iran-hundreds-feared-dead-309947
I guess no one cares because it’s not in the US?
The watercooler has got really depressing lately. We need some uplifting posts,
People care about things in relation to where they are and how much it affects them. I’m sure if your pinky was cut off you would miss it more than 100 people in Iran that you have never met. Similarly, if there is a bombing in the US then it affects US citizens more, mostly because it is in the US news cycle because they will get ratings because people care about things that affect them or people they may know.
hopefully the earthquake destroyed their underground nuclear reactor
^ maybe their underground nuclear reactor exploded and the earthquake is just a cover story.
^ ooo… good call.
although I have this vague recollection there’s some way for the instruments to figure out of it was a nuclear detonation or a natural occurence.
Anyone know?
I would think that there would be a lot of leftover radiation if it was a nuclear explosion. Also, have to figure that the Pakistanis would be freaked out by Iran storing live nukes at their border.
No, reactors can be protected from earthquakes, and as Iran is very earthquake prone, they will have made provisions against it.
Even Darius’s tomb from 2000 years ago was designed to be earthquake resistant. (I just dropped a bchad here)
I think it was Artaxerxes I who actually had it made earthquake resistant though.
dropping a bchad would be writing a mini-novel in your reply that people cringe at the sight of, and few actually fully read.
A real working underground nuclear reactor would be easy to find. It would produce a shitload of steam from water which is used as a coolant. So, you would just have to scan Google Maps for places that have an unexplainable amount of steam.
“Dropping a bchad”, by the way, sounds like something else entirely. It could be applicable to when your roommate emerges from the bathroom after half an hour and announces “victory”.
Artaxerxes I, who signed the Peace of Callias recognizing the political independence of several Greek states? Interesting.
^ That’s him.
Nice paraphrasing of Adam Smith’s “Theory of Moral Sentiments,” right down to the earthquake context and little finger reference…
…the only part missing is the point that just because you worry about what happens to you more does not necessarily mean you think that things far away matter less… They just impact you less than the smaller stuff directly affecting you.
Thanks bchad, nice that you picked up on that. All those philosophy classes in college weren’t for nothing. In the words of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones “No ideas original, there’s nothing new under that sun. It’s never what you do but how it’s done.”
It’s not that no one cares, they do. My heart goes out to those effected.
Let me fill you in on US Media. The news stations are CORPORATE OWNED and have a fiduciary responsibility to their SHAREHOLDERS. Therefore they are not in the business of telling the news, they are in the business of maximizing profits (ie sell advertising services). They do this by flaunting stories about the guy in Florida who ate the face off another man, the guy who was born without a p3nis, a white swan with a broken wing due to pollution, stories close to home, loom, doom, sin, sex, and sensation.
My man Denzel said it best in Training Day when he said, “This is a newspaper, right? It’s 90% bullsht, but it’s entertaining. That’s why I read it, because it entertains me.” People like Denzel read stories that are entertaining, see the coupon for $2.00 off Fried Chicken, clip the coupon, and enjoy a meal after they are tired of reading the bullsht.
The news stations are only beholden to the shareholders, thus show segments that grab viewers, so advertisers will retain commercial space, and perpetuate the bottom line.
Yes, but the reason why domestic stories get more views is that readers care about that news in the first place…
All media is guilty of home bias but the US media has perfected the art of navel gazing
The US media is not alone in this regard. Here are the current main stories on some of Yahoo’s international pages:
New Zealand - Gay Marriage Legalize in NZ; Miranda Kerr hits back at VS
Australia - Boston, Thatcher’s funeral, and some kid driving 100kph without using his hands
UK - Thatcher’s funeral and soccer
Germany - Something about a train and Mike Tyson
Hong Kong - I have no idea but all the pictures are of Asian people
Brazil - Some dude being choked with chain and some dude’s butt in boxer briefs