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Earthquake and Tsunami in Eastern Japan - Largest since 1900

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Post by earthfriendly » Sat, 19 Mar 2011 8:20 am

Dean Yamasaki (GAMAN) wrote:

I am an American.

I am the son of a woman who's Japanese-American family was placed in internment camps after the start of WWII. I am also the son of a man who served in the Japanese Imperial Navy during the same period.

I am quite aware of what the Japanese military did to the people of China in the past and also quite ashamed of it. And that's why I am warmed by and grateful for what the Chinese are doing to help Japan during her hour of need.

I also understand the resentment many Chinese feel towards Japan. The wounds run deep and history cannot be undone.

It's encouraging that many Chinese are able to appreciate the virtues the Japanese people are displaying during this tragedy.

And despite the delight some Chinese are feeling about Japan's devastation, I'd like to remind them that many of these virtues on display come from Confucius. Chinese virtues.


China and Japan, despite all their historical differences and current territory dispute, the bond runs deep. Hu Jintao made a personal visit to Japanese embassy in Beijing to deliver his personal condolences. China was quick to point out that Japan was one of the first country to send aid during Szechuan earthquake. On my first Japanese class meeting, in explaining Japanese culture, my instructor said the Japanese society is structured based on Confucianism.

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Post by ev-disinfection » Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:24 am

ksl wrote:Though this link was passed on too me, I believe the fall out will be too weak and scattered by the time it hits UK in 2 weeks. USA are seeing weak radiation in california.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... posed.html

Taiwan I'm afraid is only 1500 miles from the disaster area, so I have told my in laws to be prepared and purchase the necessary masks and tablets if possible, until the winds clear the area. I'm pretty sure there is no need for panic as it has not been blown up into the atmosphere, but preparedness and children should wear masks while outside, has the accumulation in the lungs over several hours maybe not a good idea.

One can see by the fall out of Chernobyl in 1986 that England, Scotland and wales was effected to a degree 1500 miles away from the blast and that a very high incident of illnesses are blamed on the Nuclear facilities in Heysham and Sellafield up where I come from when they discharge waste into the sea.

It's kind of sick joke that people have to live with, it provides jobs and heated swimming, dead fish and deformed fish too the last 2 years I have lost 15 school mates and friends all under 60, to cancers and illness in Lancaster though there is still no connection to Nuclear power stations according to government investigations.

People are expendable in a world of defence and power, the damage ratio and risk factors are guaranteed before building these dangerous units, though i doubt they will ever be made public. This stuff hangs around for generations.
My Scottish friend, told me something similar, about radiation killings the cows or making the milk taste funny in Scotland, he said and believe that it was from Chernobyl. After that they all migrated to Australia.

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Post by QRM » Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:33 am

ev-disinfection wrote:
My Scottish friend, told me something similar, about radiation killings the cows or making the milk taste funny in Scotland, he said and believe that it was from Chernobyl. After that they all migrated to Australia.
I was there in London, we were just told to stay indoor for a few days and not drink local milk for a few months as the cows etc where eating the grass that had a scattering of rad fallout, which would end up in the milk.

Funny story I just heard a large multi national has asked a number of expat senior managers to return back to Tokyo. It did not look good that they legged it overseas the moment there was a wobble in the buildings, leaving all the local staff to fend for themselves.
Last edited by QRM on Sat, 19 Mar 2011 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by ksl » Sat, 19 Mar 2011 3:44 pm

QRM wrote:
ev-disinfection wrote:
My Scottish friend, told me something similar, about radiation killings the cows or making the milk taste funny in Scotland, he said and believe that it was from Chernobyl. After that they all migrated to Australia.
I was there in London, the cows we were just told to stay indoor for a few days and not drink local milk for a few months as the cows etc where eating the grass that had a scattering of rad fallout, which would end up in the milk.

Funny story I just heard a large multi national has asked a number of expat senior managers to return back to Tokyo. It did not look good that they legged it overseas the moment there was a wobble in the buildings, leaving all the local staff to fend for themselves.
Oh dear, sad and understandable it's either one way or the other, either run or stay.

A close friend of mine in combat came under fire and froze on the spot standing up, all his hair fell out, within minutes of it happening and never really grew back, just in patches of white clumps, fear is a natural occurrence in life and death situations, though being rational and calculated through preparedness and risk evaluation can calm the nerves adrenalin pumps like hell and feelings of paranoia heighten the senses, you are now in survival mode and your awareness of your surroundings is crystal clear, it is a high, that some people loose bodily control, kids are pretty fearless as they have difficulty in accessing danger and the older you get the more you consider the danger.

I always have a plan when on the 5th floor, in my mother in laws place in Taipei, and have briefed all of them. I dread the day a big one hit's as i can tell you the structure of the older buildings are lethal, back in those days when they built the older buildings, the sand for the cement mix, came from the sea...So you can imagine that the salt water in the sand has already corroded the steal mesh frames in the concrete used for these building, which actually sell for millions :???: I have already told the in-laws to get rid of the place, as it's a death trap in the event of a big quake. Though new apartment blocks are like 25-30 million TWD

We have had a 6.5 there and I can tell you the walls are just sand with little cement due to age, I scraped through to a rusty old frame that crumbled when poked. I'm really surprised that more attention isn't given to old architecture, a sale to developers would be the way to go.

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Post by Plavt » Sat, 19 Mar 2011 4:43 pm

QRM wrote:
I was there in London, we were just told to stay indoor for a few days and not drink local milk for a few months as the cows etc where eating the grass that had a scattering of rad fallout, which would end up in the milk.
:???: :???: :???:

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Post by ev-disinfection » Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:50 pm

ksl wrote:
QRM wrote:
ev-disinfection wrote:
My Scottish friend, told me something similar, about radiation killings the cows or making the milk taste funny in Scotland, he said and believe that it was from Chernobyl. After that they all migrated to Australia.
I was there in London, the cows we were just told to stay indoor for a few days and not drink local milk for a few months as the cows etc where eating the grass that had a scattering of rad fallout, which would end up in the milk.

Funny story I just heard a large multi national has asked a number of expat senior managers to return back to Tokyo. It did not look good that they legged it overseas the moment there was a wobble in the buildings, leaving all the local staff to fend for themselves.
Oh dear, sad and understandable it's either one way or the other, either run or stay.

A close friend of mine in combat came under fire and froze on the spot standing up, all his hair fell out, within minutes of it happening and never really grew back, just in patches of white clumps, fear is a natural occurrence in life and death situations, though being rational and calculated through preparedness and risk evaluation can calm the nerves adrenalin pumps like hell and feelings of paranoia heighten the senses, you are now in survival mode and your awareness of your surroundings is crystal clear, it is a high, that some people loose bodily control, kids are pretty fearless as they have difficulty in accessing danger and the older you get the more you consider the danger.

I always have a plan when on the 5th floor, in my mother in laws place in Taipei, and have briefed all of them. I dread the day a big one hit's as i can tell you the structure of the older buildings are lethal, back in those days when they built the older buildings, the sand for the cement mix, came from the sea...So you can imagine that the salt water in the sand has already corroded the steal mesh frames in the concrete used for these building, which actually sell for millions :???: I have already told the in-laws to get rid of the place, as it's a death trap in the event of a big quake. Though new apartment blocks are like 25-30 million TWD

We have had a 6.5 there and I can tell you the walls are just sand with little cement due to age, I scraped through to a rusty old frame that crumbled when poked. I'm really surprised that more attention isn't given to old architecture, a sale to developers would be the way to go.
My Scottish friend is bald too, and speaking of the devil, he called me today after 6 months since we last met, to ask me to help source for some stuff his company needs in Australia.

Anyways, what do you guys think of the "Super Moon" theory, seems that the NZ quake, Japan big quake and some other big events all fall on when the moon is closest to the Earth - Super Moon. .. ... .... .....

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Post by nakatago » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 1:09 am

ev-disinfection wrote:Anyways, what do you guys think of the "Super Moon" theory, seems that the NZ quake, Japan big quake and some other big events all fall on when the moon is closest to the Earth - Super Moon. .. ... .... .....
That is bull...just think about the scale here. The "super moon" (which by the way is March 19, 2011) will be 356,577 km from the earth--the closest in 18 years. A normal lunar perigee, or the point at which the moon's orbit is closest to the earth is 364,397 km. That's a difference of 7,820 km or 2.1%. Note also that a lunar perigee happens every month as the moon orbits the earth. The only effect on the earth are the tides. A change of 2.1% in the perigee will not cause much and the only effect would be a higher/lower tide than usual.

Moreover, the tides are also affected by the position of the moon relative to the earth AND sun. Numerous people have already tabulated these and research will show that there's not even correlation between disasters and these positions, aside from the fact that there's no evidence to suggest the moon can affect plate tectonics which cause earthquakes in the Pacific ring of fire.

Also, the Sendai earthquake happened a week before the supermoon (March 11 vs March 19). If it were due to the supermoon, the earthquake would've happened this week, not the week before. These disasters happen not because of the supermoon; they happened and it's just a coincidence that the supermoon will happen. And don't forget, the lunar perigee happends EVERY month.
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Post by earthfriendly » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 1:26 am


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Post by nakatago » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 1:34 am

It's like a project manager suddenly asking for hourly status reports so that the situation will improve.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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Post by earthfriendly » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 1:56 am

http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/ar ... id=4718234

This link was posted by my Singaporean girlfriend in Tokyo, whose friends and family are very worried for her. She is staying put there with her 1 yo daughter as they are waiting for their new house and she won't leave her Japanese hubby (has to continue working) there by himself.

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Post by ksl » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 4:26 am

earthfriendly wrote:http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/ar ... id=4718234

This link was posted by my Singaporean girlfriend in Tokyo, whose friends and family are very worried for her. She is staying put there with her 1 yo daughter as they are waiting for their new house and she won't leave her Japanese hubby (has to continue working) there by himself.
I read the link, I agree it is safe at present, though the woman is living in cuckoo land, if she thinks she is safe if it melts down. They say it's not likely to explode into the atmosphere, though who is to say were the weakest link will show itself, the winds will spread it quicker than she will know about it. So she needs the protective equipment and tablets to be safe.

I just read an article that British citizens are receiving Iodine tablets, to be taken when the Japanese authorities say so, though radioactive particles will enter the body through skin tissue, so if staying it would be wise to protect oneself, rather than believe the media is hype.

That article appears to suggest a silly naive woman that doesn't take any precautions under the circumstance, when people are already breathing in certain amounts, some clusters, will be more potent than others, as the wind spreads it.

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Post by earthfriendly » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 5:30 am

ksl wrote:
That article appears to suggest a silly naive woman that doesn't take any precautions under the circumstance, when people are already breathing in certain amounts, some clusters, will be more potent than others, as the wind spreads it.
Yeap, blind faith=blindly following=not taking charge of your own life=not being responsible for oneself!

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 10:09 am

earthfriendly wrote:
ksl wrote:
That article appears to suggest a silly naive woman that doesn't take any precautions under the circumstance, when people are already breathing in certain amounts, some clusters, will be more potent than others, as the wind spreads it.
Yeap, blind faith=blindly following=not taking charge of your own life=not being responsible for oneself!
You can tell they were brought up under a Nanny State where everything is micromanaged. And the population blindly goes where daddy tells them to without question. Oh! She's from Singapore, ah? :lol:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by nakatago » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 11:28 am

Just so people can put things in perspective, here's a handy radiation dosage chart from xkcd: http://xkcd.com/radiation/
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Post by earthfriendly » Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:25 pm


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