the headline media is focused on Libya (what a waste of good press), ignoring the reality of Japan. the nuc crisis has been moved to 6 on a scale of 1-7 (5 being 3-mile island, 7 being Chernobyl).  reactor #3, (the one with plutonium) most probably has a cracked core, which is why radiation is leaking out.  where it is leaking is going to get more attention this weekend as it moves out to sea and up and down the coast of japan, let alone by air to 50 miles out from the center of the nuc plant.  a small story I noted out of china reads that 2 Japanese tourists arrived on the mainland and were immediately hospitalized for radiation exposure, but they claim they didn't come within 150 km of the nuc plant.  how is that? I see headlines of Japanese dairy farmers dumping milk in drains on/near their property because of radiation contamination (aren't they just spreading it around?). The US and Euro land are still downplaying the exposure (for now), but what happens as more travelers to/from Japan arrive here and Euro land and set off radiation detectors? are they suicide bombers or innocent carriers?  what about the sushi nori wrappers we all use for our sushi? don't they come from the coast waters/ocean off Japan? (will they glow in the dark?) What about all the raw materials Japan imports, what happens to those needs if Japan is 'quarantined' and can't ship finished goods?  Asia philosophy believes strongly in the number 3, we call it the 'perfect storm'. My count 1) 9.0 earthquake  2) tsunami  3) radiation crisis . Next week should be rather exciting for the markets (let alone the world) .  And while next week is quarter end, that has not stopped the seasonality to be historically poor for the markets (I read that somewhere).  the aforementioned sure makes a good excuse for the Bears to take over for a few days....  all the above IMHO of course, have a great weekend all.