Flipped-Out CNN Map Puts L.A. in the Bay

CNN proves once again that the only imminent radioactive threat stems from staring at Wolf Blitzer in the Radiation Situation Room all afternoon.

CNN proves once again that the only imminent radioactive threat stems from staring at Wolf Blitzer in the Radiation Situation Room all afternoon.
After spending much of the week threatening the West Coast with radioactive thunderstorms should anyone dare turn the dial, CNN decided to recreate the geography of Caifornia, placing San Francisco a hundred miles or so from the Mexican border and throwing Los Angeles to the sharks, at the tip of a peninsula in Northern California that appears to be all but detached from the rest of the continent.

OK. So it was early in the morning and someone decided it would be fun to flip SF and L.A. on the map. And to misspell San Onofre.

We're convinced this is a direct side effect of redundant fear fomenting under the guise of expert analysis. Turn on any 24-hour news network, or even local AM radio, and you'll hear lots of mumbling broken up by words like "radiation," "nuclear disaster," and "headed to California." These catchphrases subliminally enslave listeners to the nearest breaking news device, be it a transistor radio or the plasma section at Best Buy.

Not one expert or official has mentioned any public threat to the United States as a result of potential increases in radiation levels due to the Fukushima nuclear reactor disasters in Japan. Fact: radiation from the reactors has reached California. Reality: radiation measurements in California remain at normal levels. Likely somewhere up in the jetstream.

So, no, we're likely not prepared should a 7.0-or-greater magnitude earthquake strike near the San Onofre Nuclear plant, 70 miles south of Los Angeles, as I assume the CNN graphic above infers. But that's no reason to paralyze us and speak over expert analysts with no impetus to push the fear factor without reason. U.S. journalists may not be prepared to cover nuclear disaster, writes Tim Goodman at Hollywood Reporter, and as Anderson Cooper continues capturing the most viewers on his nightly broadcasts from Japan, let's hope he listens and learns.

Screenshot via Mediaite.