Salt

Forgive the silence - after last week's intensive crash course in disaster journalism, (Twitter, I hate you), it was back to the more mundane realities of life in university and preparing for the new academic year. Though again, I should perhaps be more appreciative of such mundanes all things considered. More than 120 students in our university hail from the Tohoku region and according to an announcement at a recent faculty meeting, a number of them are still unaccounted for.
Nor should we be complacent about the continuing dangers down at the nuclear plant in Fukushima. According to an article in yesterday's New York Times (which you can read here), scientists fear that the residual salt left in the reactors from trying to cool them with pumped in sea water may add to the problems down there. And, as you are no doubt aware, there are escalating problems with radiation contamination in not just in the immediate area, but in Tokyo too. The Economist has an insightful article on the various difficulties, both short and long term facing Japan (and, yes, you can read that here too).
Almost makes me wish I was back in Ireland. Almost - until I watch the latest Primetime report on how Ireland is pretty much going to have to hock itself to the EU equivalent of a pawn shop to try and stave off a sovereign default, and even that might not work.
So, here I am, caught between a crock and a bankrupt place.