The Disappearing Prime Minister and other magic tricks of censorship

This article on the sad state-of-affairs in education and thought in the mainstream American culture reminded me that I really need to write about Japan's (in)famous Disappearing Prime Minister, as America is on the fast-track to this same type of information censorship.

I had often made the joke that Japan has been going through a Prime Minister a year for the past 8 years. Although the truth of it is some don't even last one full year in office. (Not unlike the coming and going to the tides.)
Recently, however, I discovered that not only do they change, sometimes they completely DISAPPEAR !

Japan has a long history of censorship and denial. (Ask any Korean and Chinese national about the 50+ year-old Textbook Wars.)
Now, just recently, I found myself having to explain the difference in corruption between Japanese and American governments.  In America, the culture is one of avoidance of responsibility. In Japan, the culture is of acceptance of responsibility. Why, that makes the Japanese government sound downright chivalrous by comparison!

But there can be no sun without shade.

America is denydenydeny and never, EVER accept responsibility because you will be crucified - often way out of proportion and inappropriately - if you even give an inch.
Japan is suppress and censor, going even so far as to mob-bully into general agreement because someone WILL have to accept responsibility if the truth gets out. (There is a very thin line between group mentality and gang mentality as evidenced from my experience with animal rescue after 3/11. *LINK TO FUTURE ARTICLE*)

So we have established that both governments stink from their own particular stench.This, interestingly this also relates directly to the Disappearing Prime Minister Incident.

As was my want, when not living in Japan, I used to follow the current events every day very closely. In particular, TBS had a nice one-click online news service.

Original date of July 19, 2011 TBS carried a clip showing the then current Prime Minister making a statement about how they should have enough energy to get through the summer and the winter if they keep with their current energy saving methods.
And the winter.
The first time I ever heard anyone mention any possibility about winter energy "issues".

I knew there would be energy shortages back in April.
The Japanese government finally addressed the issue of "summer energy shortages" in June.
Now in July, there is , for all intents and purposes, a first mention of winter energy shortages??

Admittedly I had evac'd out of Japan already when I saw this, but there was only a 20 day interval of me having on-the-ground-access to information and being limited to online-only-access to information. Given the history of slow reaction and release of information by the Japanese government with this recent disaster, I wouldn't consider 20 days a major interval for sudden discovery of new information.

As it would turn out I fortunately posted a link to this video. I truly regret not downloading it because when I went to watch it again on the 20th, a mere day later... Not only was the video REMOVED, it was REPLACED by a whole OTHER clip!
Considerably shorter and completely lacking any video or statement by the Prime Minister.

Now, that is some well thought out censorship.
If you merely remove the "offending" material, that might cause interest or unwelcome questions.
If you REPLACE the video with an edited version.... Well, then you must have imagined seeing and hearing the PM because here is the video and there's nothing like that there.

(Incidentally, no other videos from that day had been removed. Only the one with the PM making a statement about summer and winter energy issues. I actually had to do a site-wide search to find the "replacement" video of the original offending video clip.)

Although, the TBS Disappearing PM Incident was certainly unexpected and quite a shock for me, this wasn't to be my only experience with the quick-hand of Japanese censorship.

Yomiuri Shinbun - previously my favorite online newspaper out of Japan - decided to remove an article from July 5th about a rather large southern earthquake.

The forthcoming Nankai M8+ quake is briefly discussed here. In even shorter terms, southern Japan is predicted to experience another quake like 3/11 in less than 30 years.

After the TBS Disappearing PM Incident, I went back and started looking through other articles I had shared. The Yomiuri article above?
GONE.
Not even in a site-wide search did something similar come up. However, one benefit of the current vanillazation of the news media is that your chances of finding a similar article elsewhere is pretty good.

And this time chance was on my side.
MSN carried an article about the exact same earthquake in southern Japan and how it was NOT related to the upcoming Nankai M8+ quake.

(click pic to enlarge)

You would think they would want people to know this, that it was NOT related.
However, any talk of the upcoming Nankai megaquake has gone by the wayside now as the Japanese government wants, needs the whole world believing that "Japan is safe and open for business." (PATA)

It goes without saying I don't bother to pay much attention to what goes on over there anymore. At least not through official media sources. As I mentioned to another friend recently on the topic of censorship in history - People live the history, media makes money off of it. You want to know what is really going on, listen to what the people are saying.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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The Fallacy of Fairness

Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY.
Brilliant, rather unsettling piece of work.  If you don't know it, go out and find it at your local library.
If you don't feel like dealing with the traffic (or the people), you can download it for free.

I used to joke that the Japanese make all their final breakthrough decisions with rock-paper-scissors.  If sumo is the national sport, rock-paper-scissors is the national decision maker/tie-breaker.  The children start learning it from preschool.  You'll see them playing it after school on the playground, while waiting in line at the grocery store, and as they get older, in student council meetings.  WE, as adults, have used in in the workplace.

At first glance, I always felt it was pretty reasonable to use it to make a choice when no one could decide or no one would step forward.  (And this is Japan so that happens A LOT.  Group harmony and everything.)
It's random, unbiased for the most part.

But "randomness"  does not equate to "fairness" as was painfully brought to light after 3/11.

Before the internal censorship on the news got out of hand in Japan, you could actually hear about the difficulties faced by the people who had lost their homes, their lives, their entire TOWNS, how they really felt and how it affected them.  Then about a month later, it was nothing but talk of "rebuilding" and other hopeful fluff stories.

But in that small interval, you could get some real news.  I recall one piece I saw about the building of the temporary housing.  If you didn't have family in another prefecture to go to, you were stuck in an evac shelter day and night because the world around you had, for all intents and purposes, collapsed and there was simply no place else to go.  And even if there was someplace to go to, no way to get there as most people had their cars washed away or so severely damaged as to be undrivable.  Then again there also was the condition of the roads.  Maps were reduced to meaningless lines on paper in just trying to navigate through the debris.  The whole landscape had been rewritten.

It goes without saying that it takes time to build a house, even a smallish temporary style housing.  And when you have to build houses for 10's of thousands of people....

Enter The Lottery.

Your number came up - you get a house!
Your number didn't - better luck next time.  Sorry, but back to the evac shelter.

Sure it's unbiased, but in making it unbiased have they not just once again reduced people to numbers with no consideration for individual needs.or circumstances?

I am sure the "fairness because it's random" of the lottery was lost on the 80-year old man whose number didn't come up.  As he faced the camera and hopelessly explained, his wife was bedridden before 3/11.  Her health had deteriorated considerably since she had spent all that time at the evac shelter.  He was in no physical condition himself to help her.  What were they supposed to do until the next drawing?

The young family behind him got their number called.


For years now, the overall makeup of the Japanese population has been becoming considerably greyer, becoming a "senior citizen society".  Not only is it an aging population, but that area in particular that was most affected by 3/11, the Tohoku region, has quite a larger than average concentration of retirees as the young usually leave for better chances elsewhere.  I do wonder how many other older citizens faced the same dilemma as that one man did.  .

Yes, the Lottery might be random, might be unbiased, but it would be a mistake to equate that with fairness.


Cheers.

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End of an Era...of Information

So sad to see the extreme and increasing level of censorship transpiring in Japan since 3/11.

Although the censorship is not as bad as the Chinese government that goes so far as to eradicate the sharing of "subversive" information or calls to gather by private individuals, the quick action to censor on the part of the media we saw in the Disappearing Prime Minister Incident was truly a portent of things to come.

As we slip into August, Japan is faced with another SOUTHERN earthquake, an M6.1

What is interesting to note (and a sign of things to come) is that unlike other previous articles on the recent southern earthquakes, the media is no longer even addressing whether these southern minor quakes (M6+) are RELATED or NOT to the upcoming M8+ predicted for that exact region.


So just in case, there's another Disappearing Prime Minister , I cut and pasted the original article here.  Of course, if you don't say anything in the first place, then you don't have anything to hide.  Or in the case of the Japanese media, erase and replace.

１日午後１１時５８分頃、駿河湾を震源とする地震があり、静岡県静岡市、焼津市、東伊豆町で震度５弱を観測した。

気象庁によると、震源の深さは約２０キロ、マグニチュードは６・１と推定される。　この地震により、若干の海面変動があるかもしれないが、被害の心配はないという。震度４は同県浜松市、富士宮市、横浜市、甲府市、長野県松本市、東京都新島村など。

（2011年8月2日00時02分  読売新聞）

Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Post WW-2-Nuclear Japan

In sharing some of my recent experiences of the 3/11 events and in particular the ongoing aftermath, I heard an excellent summary, a prediction of sorts from my audience.

They are heading into post-WW2 conditions...especially when winter comes around... They had nothing... (paraphrased)

This sounds extreme to someone on the outside of the events, particularly given the highly censored news coming out of Japan.  News that has given birth to dangerously misleading statements such as those sold to the English-speaking world from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) - "Japan is Safe and Open for Business". But given the record of earthquakes over a of Magnitude 5 just in July alone, not to mention the current and worsening energy crisis... "Safe and Open for Business" is not a statement I would put my money on..

No they aren't bombed out of house and home, their fields ravaged to the point that even the topsoil is burned away, yet at the same time, the current situation is vaguely reminiscent. Houses, entire cities, are wiped out, having been swallowed up and carried off in the tsunami. A nuclear reactor has gone beyond critical and officially into a state of meltdown. The resultant contamination of that meltdown alone is far reaching and incalculable.

The location of the Fukushima reactor is in Northern (East) Japan were there is a bulk of the farming and fishing.

However, not only were the areas within the evac zone affected, but I saw how the contamination from the radiation had gotten and still is getting into the water supply through rain and irrigation and is still contaminating both farm animals and the fields far outside the 30 kilometer contaminated evac zone.

A contaminated food supply, coupled with ongoing (and future) earthquakes would be bad enough but the final straw for me, the last thing that finally pushed me out of Japan was the looming energy crisis.  Of course, it was only looming back in April.  I saw it coming and searched for help to counteract the effects of what a lack of energy would bring about.  All to no avail as no one either officially or unofficially seemed to be acknowledging the likelihood of an energy shortage except... me?

Come end of June, however, and then the media and assorted officials finally start talking about it - 6.9% shortage anticipated during the summer. 

Some things you hate to be right about, but there it was.
Fortunately for me and Maru, we already had our respective tickets and belongings packed.  We gave our sad and final (and possibly permanent) farewells to Japan at the end of June.

And this actually brings us back to the beginning of our story, about the correlation between post-WW2 Japan and post-3/11 Japan.  Back stateside, my information was now limited to carefully contrived online news reports.  Of course, with further searching, even now I can find real unaltered information (much like I was able to during the China-Japan Border Battle of 2010).   So it was hardly a surprise then when in the Disappearing Prime Minister Incident, the prime minister himself mentioned winter energy shortages.  Naturally it was in a roundabout way.
Not that there were going to be shortages, but that "if we continue with our energy saving now, we will be able to get through the summer and the winter."

Admittedly,  there was a dead zone between the time when I had access to on-the-ground information before we escaped Japan and the time I heard this statement, but that interval of 17 days aside, this was the first time I had ever heard mention of winter in any context.

Energy shortages in the summer.  Energy shortages in the winter.  At this point in time, both are estimated to be at 6.9%.   (Although that number is brought to us through the strictly censored official media.)

All this brought to mind several stories by my all time favorite author, Dazai Osamu.  Although most of his writing takes place previous to WW2, he lived through WW2 and continued on writing for a few years afterward in post-WW2 Japan.  The images from "Osan" of broken families moving from one relative's or friend's house to another looking for shelter in post-WW2 Japan as their own houses were destroyed and rendered uninhabitable are not unlike the current scenes of the displaced Japanese captured on national TV.   People lost without proper clothing or food, much less homes or jobs going from one evac shelter to another to another and then finally maybe to private but temporary prefab house-like shelters.  Or "Tazunebito", the story of a moving letter written by one of the many homeless beggars of postwar Japan to a kindly young woman he met traveling on a train who gave him some food.  The subtle difficulties of charity, the complexity of something that superficially seems so simple as the giving and accepting of food for these displaced people.

No, it's not so bad over there and probably won't get as bad as post-WW2, but it is eerily similar.



 Thanks again for stopping into my little corner of the 'net, and Happy Browsing.  (^^)

All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Know Before U Go: the earthquakes are FAR from over

Before the M9 in Northern Japan on 3/11 the research institutes in Japan were already predicting within the next 30 years, there will be an M9 in SOUTHERN Japan.

That has not happened YET.

And while I was still trapped in Japan, I was living in Southern Japan.  Living in Southern Japan afforded me the privilege of not only seeing first hand how poor the Japanese government responded to a disaster of that magnitude, but also gave me access to information only accessible to the Japanese citizens.

Information such as the fact that during one of the episodes of "Eye on Kansai"series about the tsunami and earthquakes (an evening TV show about Southern Japan  、かんさい熱視線 ) they discussed how UNPREPARED that region still is for the upcoming mega-quake.  In that series they also mentioned how the research institutes were revising their estimates for that upcoming M8/9 earthquake.  Revising them to estimate an earlier date of occurrence.

In other words, Southern Japan is looking at its own M8/9 not within the next 30 years, but sooner.

This main site through Yahoo Japan will not only give you constantly updated information on tremors and major quakes, but information on past quakes.

The following are only the most recent earthquakes OVER level 5 under BOTH measuring systems after I left Japan on June 27th.
However, do not be fooled into thinking these are irregular occurrences.  Japan has been getting M5 and M6 on an almost regular basis between 3/11 and the end of June.  (You can check the history of the quakes through that Yahoo site)
You don't want to be visiting Japan now or anytime soon.
You want to be LEAVING.

7/31 M6.4

7/23, M6.5:

7/15, M5.5:

7/05, M5.4:

But if you still feel like playing Russian Roulette, we happened upon a nice collection of images and videos of the 3/11 M9 Earthquake-Tsunami disaster.  (And these are not even touching upon the nuclear reactor meltdown and fallout.) 
You don't need to understand the words, just look at the pictures.  :9




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All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Radioactive Reporting..... of a different sort

Well, I can post all about the news censorship and information suppression in Japan. Boy, could I post about the things I know and saw.

And STILL see and know even know that me and my fuzz are safely out of Japan. One just has to know where to look because you won't hear any of it on the official TV stations. The one time I did find something, not only did that video disappear when I went searching for it several days later, but they replaced it with a completely DIFFERENT video. But that's a complete other story. Although, for those of us familiar with Japanese "history" and the modern Textbook Wars, it's the ages old business-as-usual in Asia.

Anyhow, just as I predicted way back in April (according to my Twitter account, April 5th, but earlier in actuality), things have been thrown into high gear and started to get really stressed once the calendar flipped over to July.

Like a gear shift.
Or a bathroom light.

Or the ticking of a clock...

Something for consideration for those still hesitating on leaving Japan. Of course, it might be too late already for those trying to travel with their pets.  (add IPATA info links)

High levels of radiation detected in Northwest (USA )rainwater

"... radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
'The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard,' said Gerry Pollet....'...the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards,'..."

And those levels are NOW, xx months LATER, an OCEAN APART from the failed reactor.


Safe travels, and hope to see you again.



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All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

false(?) rumors flying

I encourage all to send a request to this Minister to ask if he is seriously saying "It is the fault of the private (animal welfare) groups that pets can not be brought out of the no-go zone."
Because that is the rumor being spread far and wide by this local vet.

Is this true? Can someone in the government really be trying to place the blame on Humane welfare groups?

Maybe and Maybe not.
After all, it was posted by the vet, not directly by the member of the Diet.
Not directly or officially by the speaker.
It could be yet another case of this is what the poster (vet) wants to hear.
OR it could be he really did hear those words.

But it is all the same in the end.

If this is true, it is reprehensible.
Do NOT let the Japanese government get away with "starving the animals out" as a solution. Let them know that the world is still watching.

If this is false, it is just as dangerous.
Citizens that were actively working to save the animals from starving to death will now take a step back and cease their efforts falsely believing that they have done something wrong.

email addy: info@takamura-five.com

subject header: 本当ですか？獣医師の語る議員の本当のお言葉？？

copy and paste message:
～～～～～start～～～～～～

これが議員の本当のお言葉でしょうか？

"一時帰宅の際のペットの連れ出しは、ないですが、これは時間の関係もあります。
。。。
民間団体が入れないのは、残念ながら一部の団体が現地に強硬に入る様子などがネットで流されたことが原因でもあります。。。警戒区域を突破したのも確認されたのかな？そんな噂も関係して念には念をの感じです。

善意の団体でも一部の暴走があったことが行政の目にうつり、残念な結果です。。。"

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/shinjo_ah/62765441.html#62765441

～～～～～end～～～～～～

Even though the quote above is taken directly from the original blog, by now, the original blog may have been removed.

And if you don't trust the translations of a professional, please feel free to plug the above quote into google translate.
Although it does make one wonder why professional translation companies would choose to pay for my translations rather than use a free service like google if machine translation is so much more reliable.

(Yes, I am being facetious. It's a long standing issue that we as professionals are tired of dealing with. I can't tell you how many times I have had to rewrite from scratch a more "accurate" machine translation or a translation by a non-native speaker for that matter.)

All we are doing is asking for an answer to a question - Did you really say this?
What real harm is there in that?

Beyond letting them know that WE KNOW.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Barks, Hisses, and Tweets

Finally got to the point where there is some real collective action being taken as there is now more information being collected and dessimated from stable sources.

Where are they? Online, naturally.
And just as naturally, in Japanese.
To that end we dookfully request that if you want to help and have a twitter account to please please please retweet this information.
Often.
As often as you can.

Please tweet/post these no matter where you live. The hashtags (words preceded by the #) make the post/tweet searchable by ANY search engine. The Japanese language of the tweet just makes the info more readable by the native Japanese speakers who are the ones that need this information. Even if you can't read it, someone reading your tweets may be able to read it and pass the info to someone who needs it.

The most important thing is to keep tweeting the info ESPECIALLY in Japanese. The more you tweet it, the more the info stays in circulation and the more chances there are that it reaches the people/animals in need.

The two separate tweets are as follows:

【拡散希望】 行方不明のペットを探しですか。ＵＲＬで登録下さい。http://bit.ly/dEiFnJ http://bit.ly/goePGN http://tiny.cc/f0saz http://bit.ly/fR1cJF #311pet #jishin

【拡散希望】 迷子を見かけた知っている人ですか。ＵＲＬで登録ください。http://bit.ly/dEiFnJ http://bit.ly/goePGN http://tiny.cc/f0saz http://bit.ly/fR1cJF #311pet #jishin


Many wet-nosed Thank You's!! (^_-)-♪


Cheers! (^_-)-☆
Thanks again for stopping into my little corner of the 'net, and Happy Browsing!!

All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Sometimes Big Brother IS on our side?

Thank you CNN.

As much as I have little regard for the current degenerated state of American journalism, that is not to deny that they still have their moments.

In a sea of frivolous to downright useless information out there, my posts and similar posts by other organizations are surely being ignored, but the good news is the media isn't ignoring us. Or at least CNN isn't.

What have we been engaged in since the 3/11 triple-header?
Things like this...



Dazed Animals Still Found In Empty Japanese Cities

Japan's 4-legged Survivors, by CNN.


I've said it before, and I will happily say it again:

Only way to get ACTion is to let them know the world is WATCHing.

Please consider helping by donating through one of the sites listed here or directly through the group I do volunteer translation for, Kinship Circle. (KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. All contributions are tax-deductible.)


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

Thanks again for stopping into my little corner of the 'net, and Happy Browsing!!

All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Donations for Japan's Voiceless

Got a very nice list of donation sites worked up so reposting!
(You repost and pass the word too. ;) )


THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE has direct and credible online donation abilities.

The Humane Society International (HSI) is now prepared to accept donations for the welfare of animals affected by the recent disaster in Japan. Secure donations can be placed to their International Disaster Fund. (Paypal, in addition to credit cards, are accepted.)

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) finally has a fund specifically dedicated to fund rescue efforts in Japan. Accepting secure online donations through credit cards only.

CARE2.com has a a collection of links for donating offsite.

PETA is also finally on the ground in Japan and offering help. Onsite donation abilities.

A group of 3 local JAPAN animal welfare societies have created this site for donations. Credibility not assured.

FBCusa, the largest importer of American home products, food stuffs and various necessities for the foreigner in Japan has also opened up donations for pets. FBC is offering a way for you to purchase items that will go directly to shelters and those they identify with needs.

Global Animal Foundation functions like a Red Cross for animals, distributing donations to established and vetted animal rescue organizations worldwide. Donations received during the ongoing crisis in Japan will be donated to Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support (JEARS), a coalition of three animal rescue groups that are on the ground providing rescue and supplies to animal victims of the earthquake and tsunami. (Paypal, in addition to credit cards, are accepted.)

Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (JEARS) is a collaboration of three established and registered no kill animal rescue NPOs in Japan. The intention behind the creation of JEARS is to coordinate rescue and support efforts for animals in crisis due to the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Japan.

MANY ways to donate including tax deductible donations for US citizens.


Finally, there is WorldVets.org (the non-human version of Doctors without Borders). They don't specifically have a donations for the Japan Earthquake fund, but they are on the ground working in affected areas.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

radioactive Reporting (2)

Just so no one feels bad, here's a curious(?) followup to this previous article.

This article about the evac zoning was published in the Japanese equivalent to the Wall Street Journal. I posted it back on March 30 on my other major site, (Don't worry no one reads that either.) but as it has been brought up again, I will repost it here.

I know most can't read this, but it said at the time that the British are recommending an EVAC zone around the reactors of 50 K and the Americans up to 80 K. The Japanese government were still holding to their measly 30 K radius.

Interestingly enough there is actually an English "version" of the article; however, only paying members can read the likely propag#==% can read IT.

I would like to have read the English version for comparison particularly now that the evac zone has come back under discussion in the news. Last night's news was broken into with a live announcement from the Japanese government officials we've all grown to love and anticipate. The "emergency" in this case was that IAEA had sent their own people in to test for radiation levels around the site and found the Japanese evac recommendations WAY below what they should be. (NHK TV news. Reuters Online News. Also reference 03/20 article above.)

Naturally, the Japanese officials have since been repeating constantly that the IAEA measurements are done differently from the way the Japanese do their measurements for radiation levels. As a result, the recommended evac zones were different. And, as an additional result of their differences in measurement, the Japanese way of doing it is a more accurate to measure of the effects of radiation.
It naturally came with pretty graphics and charts and a pointy stick.

I can more or less go along with that. Think of it like measuring in meters compared to measuring in feet. Neither is necessarily more right than the other, just one is much more wide spread and far easier to manipulate.

What I would really like to know is what kind of proof the Japanese can stand on allowing them to say their way of measurement is a far more accurate measure of the effect of radiation on the human body leading to their recommended evac zones being perfectly within the safety zone. (NHK TV news. Also, Yomiuri Shimbun. )

If someone has a link to an actual scientific paper or non-government agency research, please do share it.

It's not impossible that this could be true. But given that it is government officials trying to sell another of their ideas ....

Like we've never seen that before.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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radioactive Reporting

I am rather tired of hearing about the latest American sensationalist news.

Radiation over 100,000 times the normal limit?!?!

When did minuscule become synomynous with 100,000?
Or NINE even?

Being very very distant from the site, I find the rampant fear-mongering and exaggeration to be far more frightening than the actual radiation itself. Did CNN or FOX bother to mention how much radiation you get just passing through La Guardia security these days? Or how much you are exposed to every time you get a CAT scan?

Incidentally, compliments of Reuters, FACTBOX: Japan's nuclear crisis and radioactive half-lives.

That aside, there are other things to consider.

As much as people urge me to leave, in the first place, we are NO where near the site. In the second place, it's "radioactive material".
"radioactive iodine has been detected in a milk sample from the U.S. state of Washington"(Reuters)
"extremely small amount of radioactive iodine was found in the air samples taken from 12 regions across the nation, including Seoul and Daegu."(KBS, Korean Broadcasting)

There is no escaping radiation.

And what is this about Japanese news isn't reporting the truth?
Remember those Cold War safety films compliments of the U.S. Government?
It's radiation.
DUCK and COVER was never going to help anyone and they sure as hell knew that much about nuclear reactions, but that didn't stop the U.S. Government from selling that lie to the masses.

Or if you would prefer something more recent...
Remember the intense reporting of fearful massive stockpiles of WMD in Iraq??

Maybe too political for some.
How about non-political and even MORE recent?

Remember the whole TOYOTA cars are dangerous and wildly accelerate out of control insanity? I believe there were two weeks when it was almost nothing but that news.
And yet, how much coverage was given on the final testing results conducted in joint by NASA and NHTSA confirming there was NO electronic errors or malfunctions?

Having lived - not merely visited - but LIVED in three different countries in three differing cultures, there is one thing I can say with absolute certainty:

There is no chosen people.
There is no chosen religion.
There is no chosen country.

Humans are the same everywhere.

For every non-truth in the Japanese news or propagated by the Japanese government itself, I can find you just as many perpetrated from the American side.

Be selective. Be doubtful. And most importantly, please be educated in your choices.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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Social Surivial

Tonight's CLOSE UP JAPAN was about the use and effect of twitter (and facebook) after the earthquake-tsunami disaster.

reporting back later....

Cheers! (^_-)-☆


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Information Gap

I was called in for a little chat with the VP this morning AGAIN. (That woman seriously scares me.) Fortunately, it was a harmless session, but after reading this below, I have a feeling it was more for her to check on my emotional stability with the ongoing news of earthquakes, reactor failings, tsunamis, REACTOR FAILINGS.

The U.S. embassy in Tokyo has urged citizens living within 80 km (50 miles) of the Daiichi plant to evacuate or remain indoors "as a precaution," while Britain's foreign office urged citizens "to consider leaving the area." Other nations have urged nationals in Japan to leave the country or head south.

Towards the end of the meeting she mentioned that the French government was officially telling its citizens throughout ALL of Japan to flee the country because it was going to sink or some such nonsense. (I thought California was supposed to be the one sinking into the Pacific?)

Anyway, a well written article, not the enflammed sensationalist crap that is usually present by today's so-called reporters. Breaks rhythm by inexplicably jumping into finance towards the end, but then refinds its original path and sails on to a smooth finish. Worth the read.

Again.
It's Friday.
It's a day for drinking, not sinking.


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DONATIONS for Japan ANIMALS

Finally some donation sites poping up.

THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE has direct and credible online donation abilities.

The Humane Society International (HSI) is now prepared to accept donations for the welfare of animals affected by the recent disaster in Japan. Secure donations can be placed to their International Disaster Fund. (Paypal, in addition to credit cards, are accepted.)

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) finally has a fund specifically dedicated to fund rescue efforts in Japan. Accepting secure online donations through credit cards only.

CARE2.com has a a collection of links for donating offsite.

PETA is also finally on the ground in Japan and offering help. Onsite donation abilities.

A group of 3 local JAPAN animal welfare societies have created this site for donations. Credibility not assured.

FBCusa, the largest importer of American home products, food stuffs and various necessities for the foreigner in Japan has also opened up donations for pets. FBC is offering a way for you to purchase items that will go directly to shelters and those they identify with needs.

Global Animal Foundation functions like a Red Cross for animals, distributing donations to established and vetted animal rescue organizations worldwide. Donations received during the ongoing crisis in Japan will be donated to Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support (JEARS), a coalition of three animal rescue groups that are on the ground providing rescue and supplies to animal victims of the earthquake and tsunami. (Paypal, in addition to credit cards, are accepted.)

Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (JEARS) is a collaboration of three established and registered no kill animal rescue NPOs in Japan. The intention behind the creation of JEARS is to coordinate rescue and support efforts for animals in crisis due to the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Japan.

MANY ways to donate including tax deductible donations for US citizens.


Finally, there is WorldVets.org (the non-human version of Doctors without Borders). They don't specifically have a donations for the Japan Earthquake fund, but they are on the ground working in affected areas.


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P.R.E.C.I.S.E.L.Y.

People always wonder why I would rather more or less take my chances over here than in the USA. The comments you see below, it's what I keep telling people about Japan. Yeah, they definitely have their issues, but this, too, is all soooo true.

The comments are updated regularly as new people post, but here is a sample of some of the most recent comments:

I find it amazing how orderly the Japanese people are in facing this catastrophe. They aren't finger pointing, yelling for others to take care of them, looting, or waiting for handouts. They are tending to the business at hand and taking care of EACH OTHER. I am so more likely to contribute to them than to those sitting on their rumps, stealing and screaming for OTHERS to do something.

Imagine for a second if this happened in New York .....the chaos looting murder and craziness would be totally out of control. The Japanese have an amazing CULTURE we should all be watching and learning as they deal with this tragedy!!!!!

You cant compare New Orleans to Japan. The Japanese people are raised to have the most respect for their fellow man. They are taught that saving face is very important. You wont catch then stealing and looting because they know that whatever you do there is a price to pay and they wouldnt think of stealing from their fellow man. They are very bright people. God bless them and sorry for all those that lost their lives.

Of course there was no looting in Japan. You will also find the survivors actually cleaning up after this big mess. Unlike New Orleans where you still find trash in front of many yards of homes that haven't been touched. They're still waiting for me to come by and pick it up for them.



Original Article from Yahoo News


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ame nochi HARE!

After the rain, come sunny skies.

This is Taka-chan.
S/he hangs out on the roof of the building next to me.
S/he doesn't live there (It's an elementary school.) but at 5-6 floors high it's the tallest building around making it very nice for survelance. I can usually spot her every morning and evening.

Maybe it is just coincidence, but I distinctly recall thinking Friday morning, "No, Taka-chan? Where's Taka-chan?"
The major earthquake followed by days of continuous after-shocks and tsunamis occurred around Friday, 3:15PM.



Now, Sunday morning, for the first time since Friday morning....




Screw TV.
Taka-chan has officially (and more reliably) declared an ALL CLEAR for the Wakayama coast.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆

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EVACing pets in JAPAN

Much to my disappointment, less than 20 hours after the first earthquake and tsunami waves, a reporter in the air reported spotting dogs left wandering around in the wreckage.

Japan is by far the far-most advanced? modernized? Asian country in terms of its attitude to non-human family members, but much like with Hurricane Katarina, animal companions are being abandoned at home to fend for themselves while their families flee to higher ground.

I will translate later today or this weekend, but this was posted for EVCing pets if u live in Japan:
http://pet-clinic.info/toppage/saigaijunbi.htm
#tsunami #pet #earthquake #emergency #evac

There is also a general disaster preparedness kit for FERRETS (list) compiled by the experienced members of F.E.R.R.E.T.

The American Humane Society offers a general list for disaster preparedness for general pets and livestock.

The ASPCA offers a general list for disaster preparedness for general pets.

The United Animal Nations also offers a general list for disaster preparedness for general pets. They also offer a wonderful list of sites to search for pet-friendly hotels covering the USA, Canada, and International hotels.

Pet Hotels / Boarding in Japan.

If you have lost your pet OR you have found a lost pet, here is a place where you can post the information sponsored by the Veterinarians Information Network.
It's all in Japanese so if you want to post, either send me a comment here (It won't post automatically. Confidentiality is respected.) or you can try google's web auto-translate.

FERRETS WORLD HELP on Facebook is a place to post and share SOS for ferrets (urgences, lost/found, etc... ) everywhere in all the languages.


May or may not have anything (so far nothing), but these are the two major Ferret Societies in Japan:
JFA (AFA counterpart in Japan)
IFS (International Ferret Society)


Please, PLEASE share any other information, suggestions, or notifications of dead links.
As any expat overseas knows, the only one helping us is US.


Cheers! (^_-)-☆
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