Tomato Capsule

A graduation ceremony is a very important event that any dedicated student looks forward to. It is the culmination of the minimum twelve years spent in studying and training to prepare oneself for the challenges of the world beyond the walls of an educational institution. It is one of the rites of passage that students are eager to cross, officially leaving their status as minors and setting out into the real world as adults. The traditional graduation attire is composed of a toga or gown, a hood and a cap. The diploma, which best completes and makes official the graduate status of a student, is awarded to each graduate later in the ceremony. Each of these articles symbolizes an important meaning surrounding the educational success of a graduate. The Toga Each educational institution usually has its own design and variation of the graduation toga, although all of them are basically similar. High school and college togas are long and reach just below the knee; high school togas are oft...

FUKUSHIMA — A fresh explosion rocked a stricken Japanese nuclear power plant early Tuesday and some workers were ordered to leave the site, a sign that the situation may be getting more serious at the complex that was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi complex said radiation levels around the site immediately after the blast, the third there, were rising fast but still far from levels that local authorities say would cause large-scale radiation sickness. Authorities are trying to prevent meltdowns in all three of the plant's nuclear reactors by flooding the chambers with sea water to cool them down. Japan has asked the United States for more equipment to help cool the reactors, after a dangerous drop in cooling water levels that exposed fuel rods in the No. 2 reactor, where Tuesday's blast took place. "It was a hydrogen explosion. We are still assessing the cause and unsure whether the explosion was caused by damage t...

TOKYO — Japan warned of a possible radiation leak on Saturday as authorities battled to contain rising pressure at two nuclear plants damaged by a massive earthquake, but said thousands of residents in the area had already been moved out of harm's way. Pressure was building in reactors of two plants at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima facility, located some 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. At one of them, the Daiichi plant, pressure was set to released soon, which could result in a radiation leak, officials said. "It's possible that radioactive material in the reactor vessel could leak outside but the amount is expected to be small, and the wind blowing towards the sea will be considered," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference. "Residents are safe after those within a 3 km radius were evacuated and those within a 10 km radius are staying indoors, so we want people to be calm," he added. A trade ministry official said th...

     

TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - Following are main developments in the earthquake measuring 8.9 that struck northeast Japan on Friday. * At least five people reported dead in Fukushima province, and many feared buried in rubble after a hotel collapses in northern city Sendai. - Quake triggers tsunami up to 10 metres (30 feet), waves sweep across farmland, sweeping away homes, crops, vehicles, triggering fires. Tsunami of 7 metres later hits northern Japan. - Strong aftershocks hit northern Japan. * Tsunami warnings issued for countries including Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. - Power cut to four million homes in and around Tokyo. Fourteen fires blaze in Tokyo. - Many sections of Tohoku expressway serving northern Japan damaged. Major fire at Chiba refinery near Tokyo. - Bullet trains to the north of the country stopp...

Out of the night that covers me,   Black as the Pit from pole to pole,   I thank whatever gods may be   For my unconquerable soul.   In the fell clutch of circumstance   I have not winced nor cried aloud.   Under the bludgeonings of chance   My head is bloody, but unbowed.   Beyond this place of wrath and tears   Looms but the Horror of the shade,   And yet the menace of the years   Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.   It matters not how strait the gate,   How charged with punishments the scroll.   I am the master of my fate:   I am the captain of my soul.