Post-Fukushima: Seven Billion Deaths Predicted

[MineralMan]

http://www.newsyoushouldnotbelieve.com

Seven Billion to Die In Time Period Following Fukushima Disaster
by Blumen Idjit

Paris, TX, Oct. 29, 2014 - After days of Internet research, science hobbyist Fraid E. Katz released a paper today that comes to shocking conclusions. Apparently, based on lengthy calculations, over 7 billion humans will perish in the century following the Fukushima, Japan nuclear reactor disaster linked to a huge earthquake and tsunami. According to Katz, "Every living human on the planet will perish!"

When asked if measures underway to control the Fukushima meltdown and subsequent release of radioactive particles could forestall this outcome, Katz said, simply, "No. Nothing can be done to change the death toll. It is inevitable."

more at link...

[unblock]

1. ha! i made a similar comment recently about the hyped dangers of halley's comet in 1910.

ultimately, pretty much everyone from back then is now dead, so maybe there was something to those hyped dangers, after all, right?

[MineralMan]

4. We're All Doomed! It's Clear.

Science doesn't lie.

[LawDeeDah]

58. I don't understand why it's become a joke to worry about that nuclear disaster.

Bizarre.

[MineralMan]

66. That's not what this post is about. There's nothing humorous

about the Fukushima disaster. For those living in the vicinity, it is an incredibly bad thing. For everyone else on the planet, though, Fukushima is not the thing to worry about. Global climate change is a far more serious issue for the planet.

What's also not funny is people who use incorrect information to create unnecessary fear, as is done by several websites that are attempting to make Fukushima a worse thing than it is. That is what this satirical post is aimed at. You may have misread it. It's also illustrative of the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" logical error.

The post is satirical. It's not laughing at anything but those who spread false fears and use information to deceive. Look at it again. I signaled its satirical nature very clearly.

[freshwest]

78. Massaging the mind with FUD makes people more suggestible to giving up. n/t

[RobertEarl]

80. Just your opinion

MM boldy claims: "For everyone else on the planet, though, Fukushima is not the thing to worry about.""

The Sec. of the DoE, Moniz, stood in Japan and called Fukushima a Global Event.

Several west Coast Senators are alarmed at the impacts heading their way.

The science says that radioactive material from Fukushima has been found all over the N. Hemisphere.

The leading Oceanographer group in the US, Woods Hole, thinks they will find radioactive material from Fukushima on the west coast, factually labeling the event "unprecedented and ongoing" in the Pacific ocean.

So, MM, your opinion carries no weight whatsoever.
You don't even back it up with a single link, or any science.

In fact, you are not interested in an open and honest debate, but merely taunting, just like climate deniers do.

Thanks for thinking of me. Good to know I am having an impact.

To be clear.. I wished Fukushima had never blown sky high. But it did. As an environmentalist it is my duty to try and understand the impact this unprecedented and ongoing event may have on the planet.

[FBaggins]

87. Let's compare the facts you claim and see who is really living off of "opinion"... shall we?

The Sec. of the DoE, Moniz, stood in Japan and called Fukushima a Global Event.

And it is a global event. That's entirely different from agreeing that it's a health risk to billions of people around the globe.

The science says that radioactive material from Fukushima has been found all over the N. Hemisphere.

That's true... but also irrelevant unless you buy into the entirely anti-scientific claim that "man-made radiation" is somehow dangerous in amounts thousands of times lower than so-called "natural radiation". But no actual scientists believe such nonsense. In fact, it isn't physically possible.

The leading Oceanographer group in the US, Woods Hole, thinks they will find radioactive material from Fukushima on the west coast, factually labeling the event "unprecedented and ongoing" in the Pacific ocean.

It is unprecedented and we will find radioactive material from Fukushima along the West Coast. None of that is debatable.

But you leave out that the group you here call the "leading Oceanographer group in the US"... are the same people that you ignore over and over and over again when they tell you the same things that I've been telling you. That Fukushima is no threat to sea life off the coast... no threat to humans in the US... and that natural background radiation (and even decades-old fallout) dwarfs the doses from Fukushima.

Oh... and on edit... Woods Hole provides an answer to one of your prior questions:

In terms of total release of radioactive materials — as opposed to local concentrations — how do the Fukushima leaks compare to those from previous radioactive releases, such as from weapons testing in the 1960s?

The total global fallout number for caesium from the 1960s tests was around 950 petabecquerels (a unit of quantity, rather than concentration). Chernobyl was around 100. Fukushima? We’re still debating that number. Fifteen to 30 is a rough estimate.

[RobertEarl]

90. Ongoing

Ongoing

Ongoing

And Unprecedented

There has never been a more massive release of radioactive material than from Fukushima. And it is Ongoing.

Your conflations and ill-guided attempts to make light of the situation which is Ongoing and under researched (note WHOI is begging for funds to run tests) and is Unprecedented, is, were it funny, laughable. You have come to conclusions like some crazy drunk gambler might when betting on the horses.

You deny the science and offer no support for your ramblings.

Your belief in the nuke industry is clouded by what, I know not, and don't care. But recognized as the same type of response the climate deniers offer, whose stance has been shown to be idiotic and based on kissing the ass of big oil.

[FBaggins]

91. Poor vocabulary.

"Ongoing and unprecedented" simply doesn't mean "There has never been a more massive release of radioactive material than from Fukushima"

He even cited more massive releases for you (the same ones I did)... and highlighted that even that "unprecedented" release was far FAR smaller than the natural sources of radiation.

[FBaggins]

88. Let's have a little more from the source you just claimed was authoritative...

... but which you will now ignore entirely.

How concerned should people in the US be about this radioactive contamination reaching their seas?

There will be — by every prediction — Fukushima caesium isotopes off the US coast. The models tell us that some time this winter we’ll be seeing them arrive on the coast.

I was caught by surprise, in a way, when there was concern about the arrival of the radioactive plume as it moves across the Pacific. Largely, that is related to public misunderstanding of what levels are considered a concern, and what levels shouldn’t be. I certainly don’t believe the levels we’re going to see on the west coast of North America should be of health concern. The human-exposure issues are more for the workers and people moving back into their homes on land.

What were the results of the tests that have been done on fish, some of which wandered from one side of the ocean to the other?

The bluefin tuna off San Diego, California, carried Fukushima caesium. The estimate was that someone who eats five times the amount of fish that an average American does, and eat only contaminated tuna for a year, would end up with a dose that would cause an extra two cancers in ten million people. The risk was not zero, but it was very small. It was hundreds of times less than the risk from polonium-210, the natural isotope that’s in seafood — and that we don’t think about1.

And, of course, we can't forget about the poor starfish.

A lot of articles online have linked the Fukushima spills to events such as starfish die-offs near California. What is your response to them?

There’s been a lot of undue alarm. In some terms it’s like shouting fire in a crowded theatre. It should be stopped. It’s not accurate. Radioactivity can cause harm and genetic damage, but not at the levels we’re expecting. A lot of those reports of effects on the US west coast were even before this radioactivity showed up. How does that work? It hasn’t even shown up on our coast.

http://www.nature.com/news/cash-wanted-to-help-monitor-fukushima-ocean-radioactivity-1.14552


That explains the need for this thread better than anything. A leading expert on the subject says

[p style="font-size: 200%;"]"It should be stopped. It’s not accurate"

[RobertEarl]

92. They are wrong

But they did find, and published finding cesium-134 off the coast shortly after the 3/11 event. So we can give them limited kudos.

Look at it this way folks, if WHOI told us what they feared the worst from this Ongoing and Unprecedented event, they would lose their government contracts and any big business funding would dry up overnight, and they'd all be back to pulling nets for a living.

It has been 4 years since the Deepwater Horizon event and just now is the data trickling out claiming massive destruction of life in the Gulf of Mexico. And there we see the culprit, BP, fighting tooth and nail to delay and obfuscate the damage done. You can just imagine the lengths nuke power would go to to hide their damage.

In the BP case the oil can be seen. Radiation can not be seen. The basis for the estimates from WHOI, are based on the releases from the days shortly after 3/11. But the pollution is Ongoing, indeed, it may even be worse every day. The limited testing done by the Japanese indeed show that radiation levels are rising.

One has to look at the big picture. This is an Ongoing event of a magnitude that is Unprecedented and can't be stopped 3 and 1/2 years later, they can't even get to the cores. Robots stop working when they get close it is such a highly radiated area.

People, become aware and plan for dealing with increased radiation.

[FBaggins]

93. Just as predicted.

Suddenly the actual scientists are liars.

What a shock

Indeed they found cesium-134 off the coast shortly after the 3/11 event.

Yep... and very quickly it was too small to identify again (some measurements from the time). Ooh! I know! Perhaps... just like homeopathic theory... it's the "memory" of that radiation that's harming the starfish, eh?

The basis for the estimates from WHOI, are based on the releases from the days shortly after 3/11. But the pollution is Ongoing indeed, it may even be worse every day

All evidence to the contrary.

As before... "ongoing" simply doesn't mean what you claim it means. The releases are ongoing... but at several orders of magnitude below the initial release.

Hint... if things were getting worse every day... the readings all around would be getting higher instead of fading away. The fish caught off Fukushima (and the waters tested off Fukushima every day) would be getting higher... instead of orders of magnitude lower. More areas around the plant would become off limits instead of entire sections being reopened as dose rates decline.

The limited testing done by the Japanese indeed show that radiation levels are rising.

You're not entitled to your own facts. That's simply wrong. The testing widespread and ongoing... and the levels continue to fall in the vast majority of cases. You're falling for the old cherrypicking fallacy that the ENENews nuts pump so often. When 99 readings stay low or fall, but one well hits a new high (because contamination from elsewhere in the plant is washed there by heavy rainfall... or just because underground contamination had just reached that point)... they pump a dishonest title like "Radiation levels have surged at Fukushima plant — 100,000% of previous record high" and the low-information crowd reads that (as they were intended to) as "Fukushima is putting out more radiation than ever!"

Robots stop working when they get close it is such a highly radiated area.



I just love how you keep coming back to that gem. It doesn't matter how many hours of video footage you're provided of robots going all around the reactors... you still continue to claim that they can't get close.

[Electric Monk]

2. That's about as helpful as a "news report" saying there is absolutely nothing wrong at all. nt

[MineralMan]

5. Thanks. I appreciate your reply.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. I'm guessing roughly 7 billion died in the century before Fukushima too.

But maybe someday humanity will actually 'conquer death'.

[MineralMan]

6. I'm pretty sure fewer died in that previous time period.

There are more people now. More people; more deaths.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

9. That's why I said 'roughly'. nt

[unblock]

7. actually the death toll keeps rising and rising.

for the century leading up to fukushima, i'd guess the number to be in the 3-4 billion range.

[MineralMan]

11. See. Modern technology is the cause of all those

additional deaths. Clearly, we should go back to the Bronze Age, when fewer than a billion died. Technology will be the death of us all.

[unblock]

17. actually, it's sex that kills. the puritans were right.

[MineralMan]

18. The Puritans were actually a randy bunch.

They multiplied greatly over time and rejoiced in it, no doubt.

It was the Shakers who banned sex. They're all dead now, too.

[unblock]

21. yes, like much preaching, the puritans' sex-hatred was firmly rooted in hypocrisy.

[MineralMan]

23. Like today's fundies, the Puritans only hated sex when other people

were doing it. Not an unusual thing, it seems.

[littlemissmartypants]

19. But what a way to go.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. "Getting life insurance is like betting on a sure thing..and hoping you lose." Dick Gregory

[MineralMan]

20. Life insurance is a Ponzi Scheme.

In fact, it may have been the original one. They take your money and then rely on getting money from others to pay what they owe when you die. It's unsustainable over time.

[calimary]

43. Yeah, no kidding. And YOU will never be the beneficiary of it, either, if it's your policy.

[MineralMan]

47. I know. And, even so, I have such a policy.

They got me, too.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

10. Taunting post aimed directly at RobertEarl. Nice. nt

[MineralMan]

12. Satire aimed at alarmists and advocacy websites, rather.

DU does satire from time to time. Besides, the scientific facts in my post are completely accurate.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

13. Whatever...

[MineralMan]

14. Indeed.

[LawDeeDah]

63. The Japan nuclear disaster IS alarming.

wtf is it with these mocking posts? For anyone making a joke of this or ridiculing people that DO have worries about this, why don't you take a trip to Japan in the hotzone, and take your kids and pets. You willing to do that with that smirk? No, of course not.

[MineralMan]

65. Of course it is. That's especially true for those living in

the vicinity of those nuclear facilities. For people living in North America, not so much. It was not a global disaster. Global climate change, on the other hand, may well be a global disaster.

Fukushima is not a joke. Alarmist websites promoting fear are not a joke, either. They're incorrect in their assertions, but nobody's laughing at Fukushima. Truly.

[Rex]

76. Make no mistake, this is a call out to just one person.

All the backtracking in the world won't change that now. MM knows it, hence the cutie replies.

[Logical]

15. Alert it or quit whining! nt

[ChisolmTrailDem]

16. Looks like it is you who is whining. I simply pointed out the obvious. nt

[RobertEarl]

22. A new level for DU

Back to high school taunts.

Shameful exposition, imo. MM just loves to taunt, too bad he's not in a class by himself, eh?

Thanks for being a grown up, Chisolm, it is good to see.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

24. You're welcome, RobertEarl. Looks like an elementary school playground

around here sometimes.

"Alllleeeerrt iiiit or quiiiitttt whiiiiiiniiiiiing, waaaaahhhhhhh!"

[MineralMan]

25. Just posting scientific facts.

They are undeniable.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

30. Yea, yea, yea...

If you say so.

[MineralMan]

32. I do say so. Thanks.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

33. Sure you do. nt

[Rex]

70. Yep this is all aimed at you, any regular poster here knows that.

MM's can lie until the cows come home, I guess you should be flattered that you get under the skin of MM so much - or be insulted. Take your pick.

[FBaggins]

72. If only that were true

But we have more than one member (some probably with mutiple pizzas) that try to spread the FUD that this thread lampoons.

[Rex]

73. Nope. Nice try to defend a friend, but this is all about one poster.

I guess it is only fair, since MM got treated like this when META was around. What goes around, comes around.

[FBaggins]

74. A couple posters' persecution complexes are not really my problem.

Their recent behavior is demonstrably worse than anything MM has done... but this thread is miles away from the "callouts" that were once unacceptable at DU (and should remain so

Even were there not a single poster committing such offenses... it would still be worth satirizing the sites that try to push this nonsense.

[Rex]

75. If you say so, it just shows real character imo.

This is a call out thread and it is funny watching some that would be outraged if it was them getting called out - desperately make excuses for the OP. Oh well, can't expect consistency from everyone.

The OP made this thread to call out one person, all the CYA you want to play won't change that one ounce. And if you are happy about it, then that is on you.

[FBaggins]

89. Please see #88

The summary says it all re: why the thread is needed.

Yes... the poster you're admirably standing up for is one of a handful of people here committing the offense that should be stopped. But it's much larger than that.

I'm a fan of free speech... but you're defending the free speech rights of the guy shouting "fire" in the crowded theater when it's just someone smoking an e-cigarette in the back row.

[MerryBlooms]

81. It's the same sort of bullying and pile-on, that nadine was subjected to and left because of.

Don't let it get to you.

[RobertEarl]

85. Thanks, MerryBlooms

As a long time environmentalist, I have come to expect it. Bad news is never taken well. It nearly always causes knee-jerk reactions. My skin is quite tough, so most times it just slides off. I get mad at myself when I let it get to me.

Thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated.

[NCTraveler]

26. Post is clearly directed at another duer.

Pretty low class. While I don't appreciate some of the information the other poster brings in as "news", what you have done here is match them in wits.

[MineralMan]

27. Actually, it's not. If it's directed at anything, it's

alarmist websites that publish slanted information in an attempt to frighten and confuse people, while pretending to present news and scientific information.

The actual facts presented in my satirical post are absolutely accurate, BTW.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

29. Your motive is showing...

[NCTraveler]

36. Actually, it is. And it is extremely obvious.

The rubes at FR would probably fall for it. Clearly from the replies no one here is falling for it. Even those who think it is cute understand your reasoning for posting it.

[rug]

54. Disingenuity mixed with passive-aggression is an ugly concoction.

[MineralMan]

56. I agree. I prefer gin mixed with tonic.

Especially on warm Summer days.

[rug]

57. Especially when it's laced with denial.

[MineralMan]

59. I use a twist of lime in mine, but to each his or her own.

[rug]

62. The twist is obvious.

[LawDeeDah]

67. I don't believe you. I think this post was made to mock DUers that don't agree with you

[Rex]

69. It's to make fun of one particular DUer.

MM jumped on the bandwagon.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

28. ...

[bowens43]

31. nonsense

[MineralMan]

34. What's nonsense?

The facts in that story are absolutely correct.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

37. Yea, good for you. Here you go...

[MineralMan]

41. That looks yummy. I had a cookie just like that

with coffee this morning. Costco sells them. They're excellent, but I ate the last one today.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

45. My fiance's daughter's cookies look like that, which is why I chose the image. I'm waiting on a

new batch any time now. They are so soft, they melt in your mouth! Delicious!

[MineralMan]

48. Any kind of chocolate chunk cookie will soon be gone in my house.

Those and any cookie with macadamia nuts in it. I try not to eat too many, though. I can't afford larger pants right now.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

50. I had to buy larger pants the other day. So, I'm good to go =) Nom, nom, nom! nt

[MineralMan]

52. There you go, then. Enjoy!

[WinkyDink]

35. Within 150 years, everyone now alive will have died.

[MineralMan]

38. Yes. Exactly. In fact, it will be in less time than that.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

40. Unless they tame that aging gene...then who knows, it may be 250 years. nt

[MineralMan]

49. I have my doubts about that breakthrough.

You can't fool those telomeres, I think.

[rhett o rick]

39. Are you using misinformation to ridicule misinformation? nm

[ChisolmTrailDem]

42. No, all the facts in the OP are facts, I tells ya! nt

[MineralMan]

44. What misinformation?

I'm using truth to ridicule certain websites that use partial truths to create alarm and confusion. The facts in this satirical post are correct.

[rhett o rick]

61. How very clever. You aren't claiming that billions will die is a fact only

that its a fact that someone said billions will die. Again, how very clever. The other side uses that tactic all the time. "It's a fact that its been said that Obama was born in Kenya." Yep, it's a fact.

[MineralMan]

64. Actually, that's the only fact in the post.

Within a century of the Fukushima disaster, over 7 billion humans will die. So few people live longer than 100 years that the statement is true without a doubt.

The facts in the post are absolutely accurate. Think about it for a moment.

[Rex]

77. LOL! Bingo!

I do find it interesting that someone gets under the skin of MM so much that he would make a call out thread.

[hunter]

46. It's killed me already and I'm posting from an alternate universe.

I hate it when that happens.

Straightening out twisted time lines in a single universe is plenty difficult enough.

[MineralMan]

53. Uh-oh. Now you have me concerned.

If you don't mind, please don't untwist any lines I'm on, thanks.

[zappaman]

51. You better believe it! n/t

[Tikki]

55. Pancreatic, Thyroid and Prostate cancer are a bitch...so maybe not 7 bil...but if the one someone you love

dies from one of these cancers it breaks your heart 7 billion times a day, especially if they are a young mother or
a newly retired grandfather and the DOE continues to lie to you about the dangers of radiation leaks.


Tikki

[LawDeeDah]

68. That is the ugly truth, mocking and laughing about it is despicable

no matter what lame excuses are given.

Really ugly and underhanded stuff done with a cheshire cat smile yet.

:barf:

[FBaggins]

71. Actually... what is "despicable" is lying to people to scare them.

Particularly when we've seen that such fears have resulted in more deaths than the radiation from Fukushima itself.

We have people all across Japan that suddenly fear that their (entirely normal) nosebleeds are actually caused by radiation poisoning. All sorts of maladies (many of which have never been associated with radiation exposure... let alone exposure at such low levels) have been blamed on the meltdowns.

Some (like Chris Busby) attempt to profit from the lies personally. Like any other snake-oil salesman, he was pushing fake radiation protection pills across Japan while lying that the Government was purposefully carting nuclear material around the country so that everyone would be exposed (the better to cover up increased cancer rates in Fukushima of course).

Here's the thing. Opposing nuclear power can be a perfectly reasonable position to hold. Same thing for believing that Fukushima was a colossal accident with significant impacts...

... but that isn't what it being parodied here. The nonsensical "Fukushima heating up the Pacific!"... "Fukushima killing off the starfish!"... "Fukushima killing off all lifeforms in entire portions of the sea!" pitches are beneath Democratic Underground and have no place here (outside of Creative Speculation of course).

It's entirely appropriate to lampoon such ridiculous attempts at fear-mongering to draw attention to how ridiculous they are.

[RobertEarl]

82. Where have I heard such dribble before?

Oh yeah, 20 years ago when I first started telling people about global warming, I heard the same dribble. As an environmentalist, it is just par for the course when speaking with deniers.

Thank you for letting me know I am making a huge impact on educating deniers. It's tough, but someone has to do it.

[LawDeeDah]

83. That may be misinformation but not necessarily lying.

Why do you think You own the truth about the hazards of Fukushima on the environment? Why are all those examples you gave so unbelievable? How did you react to Chernobyl? Did you think people were lying to you when the horror stories were told?

[FBaggins]

86. That seems to me to be a distinction without much difference.

The sources of these falsehoods (not the DU posters repeating them) are intentionally pumping that misinformation. I just don't see how that's different from lying.

As for the DU posters pushing the same content? Those of us on DU who watched this occur (including pro-nuclear regulars... but predominantly anti-nuclear) couldn't tell whether it was someone gone too far 'round the bend... or a troll... or someone mired in irredeemable ignorance... or actually a pro-nuclear sock puppet just trying to make genuinely anti-nuclear regulars look bad. We long ago decided that it didn't much matter whether they were buying or selling... or just victims of the sellers. It made DU (particularly our anti-nuclear posters) look nutty any way we sliced it.

Why do you think You own the truth about the hazards of Fukushima on the environment?

In general... I don't. As I said earlier, this is entirely different form the normal pro-vs-anti-nuclear arguments. In those, I do feel that my positions are correct and that I can back them up, but I respect that other DUers genuinely disagree and that many of them have well-considered opinions. It makes for a great debate (though occasionally testy).

This is different. Your next question leads to why

Why are all those examples you gave so unbelievable?

For the same reason that we don't need to be climatologists to recognize that the worst climate "skeptics" have no rhetorical leg to stand on... and the same reason that we don't need to give equal weight to arguments about homeopathy or chemtrails. People are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. The three examples given are 100% physically impossible. It simply isn't open to debate - and not a single real scientist in the field would disagree.

How did you react to Chernobyl?

There remains disagreement to this day re: how bad Chernobyl was... but there's no doubt that it was much MUCH worse than the current scenario. Containment wasn't just breached by primarily volatile isotopes... it was nonexistent. Plus the core didn't power down as at Fukushima's three units... it powered up and exploded. Then there was a fire in the core that lifted much larger amounts of long-lived elements like plutonium out of containment. Contamination levels were much higher over a much larger area and evacuation plans were dramatically inferior. We still haven't seen a death due to Fukushima's radiation, but Chernobyl killed dozens by acute radiation poisoning within days (and at least a few thousand after that). There have reportedly been a bit over 400 Fukushima workers who have exceeded the current 50 mSV dose limit (a handful by quite a bit)... but there were hundreds of thousands of "liquidators" that (at least by some estimates) had well beyond that level... plus tens of thousands of civilians above that level (to none for Fukushima)

[SidDithers]

60. DU rec...nt

Nicely done.



Sid

[True Blue Door]

79. The mortality rate for all injuries, diseases, accidents, and crimes is 100%.

[freshwest]

84. Well, I just stumbled upon an Apocalyptic website to see all their predictions.

It had lots of links including a slick movie that's making the rounds of megachurches this past month, with lots of posters and stuff in the mail about prophecy.

It hasn't been updated but said we'd all die in 2012.

We may be Left Behind©.

Or we're all dead now, just disemodied spirits firing our last sparks in cyber space.

Happy Halloween.



Look on the bright side. All that real estate cleared.

But we won't get to enjoy it. Nothing new about that, sad to say.

[Bonobo]

94. I live in Japan and one sensitive and caring poster here assured me "half a million will die"

"Just a fact", she said. She liked to make banana jokes a lot.

Meanwhile, scant mourning for the 25,000 dead from the tsunami was on display.

Shrug. Self-interest. Masturbatory doom fantasies. It takes all kinds to make up this world.

[FBaggins]

95. Some claimed a million or more

After all... they claimed that Chernobyl killed a million and they had already predicted that Fukushima would be "Chernobyl on steroids"

So it was "the end of Japan" (and similar nonsense).