OT: merged japan quake thread

[GilmourD]

 

I gotta admit that I didn't realise how {censored}ed up CNN was until last year when I was in the Balearics and watched the CNN coverage of the Philipine hostage situation. man they are a {censored}ed up team

 

People accuse me of being a CNN watcher all the time because of how I vote. Sadly, CNN is the very last place that I would get news from. Half the {censored} on there is made up or misinformed. The things I've seen reported on CNN that weren't even anywhere close to reality... Oh, my.

 

Fox News may have an insane capital C Conservative bias, but even they're more truthful. But then again, Shepard Smith does 90% of the actual non-opinion news and he is just a good journalist, even if everybody else on that channel is an uneducated {censored}wit.

 

I get the majority of my news from various sources around the Internet, and I'll usually compare stories to see where the truth actually sits.

[Doctor49]

Al Jazeera is getting a good rep as an accurate reporter

Pimm Fox at Bloomberg has just done a piece on green energy and introduced it by referring to the nuclear problems currently happening in CHINA.........Freudian slip since China is the go to country for all of USA's problems but really....Professional?

[Doctor49]

In similar vein, the CNN and BBC teams are now searching out non-Japanese to interview and agree with their premise that NKH and the Japanese Govt is covering up. One American teacher actually explained quite accurately the way that Japanese culture and language are indirect and differ from western ways....then said he would not watch Japanese TV preferring the "direct" approach of BBC and CNN.

On the plus side, some interviewed have said the media needs to concentrate on the facts of the human tragedy and not the nuclear or Stock market issues. Didn't make much difference though.

Acc to the Japanese PM just now, there has been a radiation count jump since the explosion this morning and an expansion of the evacuation zones, but there is no confirmation from inside Japan about any reactor breaches. Plenty of confirmation from people in France and Ohio though...................as if they know.

as well as Japanese I feel sorry for the people in Haiti now, who still struggle with little outside assistance and broken pledges after a year, but will get no media attention now.

[Tezmond]

Apparently storms and freezing weather coming in as well now, with all those people homeless. The search and rescue people have to walk the last five mile to get to the site, as the roads are gone. how are all those people going to survive?
While, I have never had a lot of time for Japan as a nation, for reasons that seem so terribly trivial now, My heart bleeds for what they must be going through, and what is still to come.
And yet News agencies still find a need to to sensationalise and breed fear for no other reason than ratings....its a sad world today.

[Doctor49]

is Anderson Pooper here yet?

 

 

I afraid he is now...............a 2 hour 360...(is that a 720???)

He is still wearing the Katrina anorak.

 

At least there is no sign of the appalling Christiane Amanpour in her new role.

 

Incidentally I had a sms from a good friend....someone is hoaxing the spread of radiation through Asia.

 

I checked it. Its a fake.

 

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/articles/blogs-shanghai/cw-radar/hoax-radiation-warning-sms-triggers-panic-in-asia/

 

The web says: If you have received the following message from an unknown phone number, don't forward it again to anyone. It's believed to be a hoax.

 

BBC FLASHNEWS: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asia countries should take necessary precautions. If rain comes, remain indoors first 24hrs. Close doors & windows. Swab neclskin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions. Radiation may hit Phil at starting 4pm today. Pls send to your loved ones.

 

This message is now circulating in several Asia countries via SMS, Twitter and Facebook.

 

People suck don't they?

[zenbu]

I saw that American teacher and I feel he was being polite. I later saw someone interviewed about the nuclear program here...I was at my father in law`s and the 3 girls were there and very active, quite noisy...but I believe he said something to the effect that the Japanese have not told the truth before when it came to their reactors and problems they had with them...he mentioned the quake of `07 when there was a fire...thats the one I mentioned at other sites where the emergency response teams fled the fire...evidently the experts here had said only 1 gallon of radio active water was spilled when in fact it was later discovered that it was hundreds...so I stick to the opinion I have come to hold after several years in the country, that basically the Japanese are no different from anybody else...some good folks some ... I`ll take a page from the American teacher I saw interviewed today...and say, some less than good.

My brother in law turned up today with several boxes of fruit and vegetables he bought...later we saw an official from a central distribution center interviewed on local TV and he was saying they have a LOT of goods but no gas for the trucks to deliver nor drivers to drive them...and I heard that was the place my brother in law got the boxes he brought today. He also spoke of a big department store...just like the Canadian and American types...like an Eatons for Canadians they`ll know what I mean...anyways he said the place has been emptied by looters, totally stripped bare...evidently when the staff fled the quake on Friday, nobody locked the doors and so people took everything out on Sunday and Monday...I`m sure everyone has seen the news reports on the disciplined lines where people are very orderly...and I have seen them with my own eyes too...but this is where the part I spoke of before comes in...of the Japanese being no different from anybody else...there are some who will take advantage of a situation if provided with one...but I hasten to add...people are desperate, they are not all getting help from officials so they saw an opportunity and took it, however they did take everything including items they could not eat or wear or use in this emergency.

Would I prefer to be in a natural disaster in Japan or in a place like the one I saw after Katrina...I`ll choose the former...but I would bet money we are not being told the entire truth about the reactors 60 kms. south of here however, I do not fear people walking the streets with guns taking pot shots at me during the night...so it`s a bit of a mixed bag. So far we are safe here, we have food, water for several days and have shelter so it could be worse. But there are many many people here who really need help of every kind.

[zenbu]

hang in there up north...we hope things do not take a turn for the worse and Hokkaido stays beautiful and undamaged.

[Doctor49]

I saw that American teacher and I feel he was being polite. .

 

 

good to hear you are relatively ok.

I agree - he was very polite...so polite that I think the only reason to run the bite was because he said he preferred CNN.

but of course you are right - there are good and bad everywhere.

As for cover-ups there are many cultural pressures there (and here and most places) that mean it is hard and in some cases inadvisable to be open.

For me, chasing cover-ups would be secondary to shining the media light on the homeless, bereaved and injured, and the task they face. Still at least after so many complaints, now when they start the nuclear conspiracy stuff, they do mention the overall tragedy but only as a byline.

[aclarke]

Been checking on the radiation story today. Iwaki got a blast that peaked around 27 microSV. It was down below zero by the time it got to Tokyo. To put that in perspective, you get about 400 microSv on the plane every time you head home.

 

I don't have a lot of trust with tepco in normal situations, but with this one I don't think there's anywhere for them to hide information if they wanted to. This is far too big.

 

In any case, reactors 1 and 3 are in cold shutdown. 2 is cooling normally now, and is on track for cold shutdown after some problems today. The spent fuel issue is barely notable by comparison. Barring a meteor strike, this part of the crisis is effectively over.

 

Managed to pick up a paper tonight and finally got some news on the rest of the area. A lot worse than I had thought. Hamanaka (about 60km up the road) had their tsunami wall topped - water was over 5m. Down the coast the other way was the same. Everything from Erimo to east of Toyokoro had between 5 and 6m. It looks like I'll be heading down that way on the weekend, so more news as I find out what's what.

 

Don't know when you guys are likely to have the ability to receive shipments, but when that day does come, keep me in mind if there's anything you need. Be more than happy to kuroneko a box or two of anything you're short on down to you.

[zenbu]

thanks will do...so far so good. My wife is in line as I type to get a loaf of bread...limited to one per person...I`ll go tomorrow and get another so we can freeze some...we do have some English muffins in there already so not a pressing issue plus I can make some, did it before from a recipe I got on line for bread that doesn`t need yeast, I made it in a frying pan and we have flour and butter so we will be OK. Got some rice a couple of days ago too.

so ac we hope you will get through this, certainly something we can have a beer and talk about together when we`re old men, you know , swap lies `n stuff. Really hard to say when roads and trains will be back.

Yesterday we went over to my father in law`s to meet everybody and the girls wanted to take a bath so he had the tub hot when we arrived so I asked if I could take a shower...I used one of the small tubs they have here, scooped up some water and poured it over my head...lathered and shampooed up, rinsed, repeated...almost as good as sex...and I`m good for another 4 days.

 

bulletin...wife just got back with our "loaf" of bread...it`s 3 slices...she waited in line for 90 minutes for it...but, she picked up some other stuff too...

[cbh5150]

A quick bump to see how you guys are doing...

[Sale83]

50 Japanese workers agreed to stay behind in Fukushima.50 Heroes of Japan!
That's a true honor and self-sacrifice!GOD BLESS THEM!

[aclarke]

zenbu - I don't know if you're on skype or not, but they just sent out a 5500 yen credit to everyone with an account in Japan - so you can use it to call land lines or cellphones. you're welcome to mine if you want it.

 

no new news here. cleanup continues. waiting for the other shoe to fall.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

zenbu - I don't know if you're on skype or not, but they just sent out a 5500 yen credit to everyone with an account in Japan - so you can use it to call land lines or cellphones. you're welcome to mine if you want it. no new news here. cleanup continues. waiting for the other shoe to fall.

 

 

Is there any small stuff that we could send out there aclarke and zenbu.....any tiny little thing at all?

 

Please let us know if we can get you anything, no matter how seemingly insignificant

[mistersully]

 

Is there any small stuff that we could send out there aclarke and zenbu.....any tiny little thing at all? Please let us know if we can get you anything, no matter how seemingly insignificant

 

 

yep... ditto

[aclarke]

we don't have any serious shortages up here. there is rationing of fuel, and there are shortages of certain non essentials, but nothing I'm concerned about.

 

zenbu's area has been hardest hit, but unfortunately at the moment there is no way of getting shipments in. that is changing. might be around the end of next week that it's possible to get a shipment in. I talked to one company on friday about getting boxes in to a few areas - they're hopeful for next week on Sendai at least.

 

up here - I could use a few thousand gallons of marine grade resin, and maybe a kilometre or so of fiberglass mat. I don't need it, but I know a few people who could put it to use.

[zenbu]

so far we are not missing anything...we can get food, I would kill for a hot shower though...we don`t have gas to cook with or heat bath water but we are using a small cooker and have the microwave...my wife told me yesterday some stores are opening, I saw a bread company truck on the road yesterday. Shiogama port is partially open, the airport is open to cargo, busses are running to other parts south, and I think there are some trains running...slowly coming back.

Don`t use Skype but thanks for the offer. We use mostly rechargeable batteries so thats not a problem, I`m on line a lot trying to gather info on whats going on as well as English NHK TV. Not sure if my Red Cross class will go on this week, we`ll see.

I read yesterday the bassist for the Black Crows is in Japan, evidently he spent time here as a youth and is here now trying to help out, maybe guys who want to do something overseas for the folks in dire need here can go to his web site or blog or something and get in touch with him...as a fellow musician he would appreciate it I`m sure because there are many far worse off then we are. The constant after shocks are taking their toll on me, as is the reactor story but really, I can`t complain, those seem trivial compared to what so many are facing.