Yakuza to the Rescue by Jake Adelstein

“The Inagawa-kai as a whole has moved over 100 tons of supplies to the Tohoku region. They have been going into radiated areas without any protection or potassium iodide.

The Yamaguchi-gumi member I spoke with said simply, ‘Please don't say any more than we are doing our best to help. Right now, no one wants to be associated with us and we'd hate to have our donations rejected out of hand.’”

Thanks again for the info, nest0r. That's unfortunate news about those dogs. I hope it gets sorted out, and that the animal rescue continues.

About wildlife, I read about the endangered cranes (will have to check if I remembered that correctly) and other birds at the Midway Island sanctuary that were wiped out save for one which also happened to be the oldest one. And then there's this speculation that the millions of dead anchovies that showed up at the Redondo Beach marina had something to do with the earthquake (precursor). I seem to recall also a report on NHK showing dead fish in the aftermath of the quake/tsunami. Not surprising. Will try to dig up links later.

BTW, NHK has this special programming about the earthquake/tsunami/Fukushima plant accident called "Bearing Up, Holding on". Gives a good picture/summary of what happened. Some videos I haven't seen before.

Looks like TV-Japan has stopped showing the news 24/7. Instead it looks like some awful nature show is on, where small birds are pecking large birds, and drinking their blood. I wish I was making this up.

EDIT: Ah, spoke too soon. Back to the news. I guess it was one of those short programs they run to give the announcers a break.

Seamoby Wrote:And then there's this speculation that the millions of dead anchovies that showed up at the Redondo Beach marina had something to do with the earthquake (precursor).

really?
i know they found some toxin in their system that was supposed to be a link to it, somehow.


i was hoping the incoming tsunami to socal would've helped cleaned the anchovies...

buonaparte Wrote:I noticed a curious effect. Extremely surprising. When I wake up, the first thing I see are the walls of my room: they are still there. When I look through the window: no tsunami.
And ... I am not in Japan!

What is even more annoying: I cannot read or listen to anything in Japanese, because it makes me think about the earthquake. What an unpleasant experience.

i know the feeling... i was in the middle of watching "beach boys" when the tsunami came. Needless to say, i didn't finish...

I note the word speculation. I doubt if there has been much science done on it. It's probably not a popular geology dissertation topic. Googling shows that, apparently, same degree of deadness of fish (also eels, crayfish, who knows what else) also washed up on the shores of Australia around the same time that the Redondo Beach sardines showed up. So it would appear it's not a localized event. The hypothesis I've heard is that earthquakes are preceded by changes in the Earth's magnetic field, to which said creatures of the oceans are sensitive. There are also speculations that the thousands of fish seen in Acapulco after the earthquake had something to do with the tsunami. Again, no science. All these seem to be said in hushed tones, while the mainstream line (also speculation) is that these events are due to an increase in the ocean's temperature. Or maybe it's red tide. Whatever.

Edited: WA was not Washington but Western Australia. Sorry about that, tinfoil hat was out of tune.

Seamoby Wrote:I note the word speculation. I doubt if there has been much science done on it. It's probably not a popular geology dissertation topic. Googling shows that, apparently, same degree of deadness of fish (also eels, crayfish, who knows what else) also washed up on the shores of Australia around the same time that the Redondo Beach sardines showed up. So it would appear it's not a localized event. The hypothesis I've heard is that earthquakes are preceded by changes in the Earth's magnetic field, to which said creatures of the oceans are sensitive. There are also speculations that the thousands of fish seen in Acapulco after the earthquake had something to do with the tsunami. Again, no science. All these seem to be said in hushed tones, while the mainstream line (also speculation) is that these events are due to an increase in the ocean's temperature. Or maybe it's red tide. Whatever.

Edited: WA was not Washington but Western Australia. Sorry about that, tinfoil hat was out of tune.

Actually, there's been a lot of science done on the connection between earthquakes and animal behavior, lunar distance, and tidal changes. As far as I'm aware, no study has conclusively shown a correlation between either of those variables and earthquakes. Just google any of those variables and "earthquake", and you should find the relevant articles.

On a related note, my dad sent me a link to this Fox news clip of this former USGS geologist, Jim Berkland, who was predicting "the big one" by the end of the month on the west coast of the U.S. He pointed to the lunar distance and animal behavior as evidence for his prediction.

Of course, Fox News failed to mention that Berkland's position is on the fringes of geology. Even on Berkland's own Wikipedia page, there are links to refutations of his hypotheses. In one of the articles refuting Berkland, the authors, who conducted their research in the same geographical region as Berkland, used similar methods to Berkland's in order to find a correlation between animal behavior and earthquakes. After exhaustive analysis of the data, no correlation was found. The implication is that Berkland cherry-picked his data to arrive at the results he wanted.

I recommend against listening to any of these doomsday geological predictions based on bad science. As far as I know, plate tectonics is the scientific model with the best track record of predicting earthquakes. If a prediction makes reference to anything other than plate tectonics, then be very suspicious.

for continuing government public interviews with full transcription you can turn on or off: http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/prg/prg4560.html

edit: cool, this site is great! it has lots of public information videos as well, all with full transcriptions. i'm now watching something about the expiry dates on electronic products hahah

Journalist Wall of Shame

“This Wall of Shame is being assembled by various people, many of whom are on the ground in Japan as residents, not temporarily assigned journalists, who are sick of the sensationalist, overly speculative, and just plain bad reporting that has gone on since the Tohoku quake in Japan last Friday (March 11). We feel that contacting each and every publication and reporter every time a bad report shows up is not effective, and it is our sincere hope that this will encourage journalists to aspire to a higher (some would say minimal) level of responsibility in their reports. If you would like to add a report of your own, feel free.”

nhk mirror: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-mirror

much lower quality, but decent enough for when the normal channel is on a break.

bodhisamaya Wrote:People, if you love animals, stop eating them, otherwise don't encourage hypocrites.

I'd say veganism and not vegetarianism, the cows and their young are eventually killed because of your milk drinking, and the chickens for your egg consumption. Not to mention the horrible treatment these animals generally receive.

Indeed, vegetarianism has always struck me as hypocritical if it's done for moral reasons, since they are still supporting animal cruelty, suffering, and death through their diets so long as they're giving money to the major animal product industries. It causes less animal deaths and suffering than being a carnivore, sure, but it's still contributing to the problem. If one truly wants to cause no suffering and death to animals then they would be strict vegans rather than simply being vegetarians for convenience sake.

Not that I have much room to talk, being a carnivore, but I fully acknowledge that my dietary choices support a horrendous industry I'm a weak-minded individual enslaved by my upbringing and environment. One of my good friends is vegan, and when I go to his house he forces me to eat vegan food, which I find very delicious, so maybe I'll convert in the years to come if I can defeat aforementioned weakness.

I should note, though, that a vegetarian diet that doesn't contribute to animal suffering is certainly possible, provided that one ensures all their food sources come from animals treated well. That requires getting eggs from either your own chickens, or a personally known source, and making all your baked goods yourself with those eggs. But when it comes to milk and other things, finding your own personal sources may be virtually impossible, especially for anyone living in cities. Not to mention not many people are willing to make all of their food themselves with those ingredients, so the vegetarians that actually do these are very, very few I imagine.

Where it is possible, it certainly is best to buy milk and egg alternative products. Not only for the statement made, but because they are healthier than consuming dairy. Soy milk is easily available; if egg replacements are not, free range eggs are a good choice.

Aijin Wrote:If one truly wants to cause no suffering and death to animals then they would be strict vegans rather than simply being vegetarians for convenience sake.

Then what about the countless animals killed by crop harvesting and pest control?

Edited for anthropomorphic language.

Last time I tried soy milk I couldn't bear to down more than one mouthful. It tastes nothing like real milk!

vileru Wrote:

Aijin Wrote:If one truly wants to cause no suffering and death to animals then they would be strict vegans rather than simply being vegetarians for convenience sake.

Then what about the countless animals killed by crop harvesting and pest control?

Edited for anthropomorphic language.

That was actually kind of amusing. Although I could see this going downhill real fast...

As for chickens, where I live it's not too hard to have your own. My sister and brother-in-law have chickens and I think my mom is gonna get some this year. Not sure though. Also cows aren't too hard to have here either. I even heard of someone breeding a mini milk cow (like miniature ponies), which would be awesome. (Sorry I don't have a source, my bro-in-law read it in a cow magazine.) Then again, I live in the middle of no where. lol I don't really drink milk anyway, cause I'm lactose intolerant. I love soy and rice milk. But I like milk for ice cream and cooking. And my mom reeeeeally wants a milk cow, but we don't have the room for a cow. Though I wouldn't put it past her to get a goat...

Also, how the heck did this get so off topic??? lol

Animals are indeed killed during crop harvesting, but while there isn't extensive enough research on the topic it's pretty fair to say that it's no where near the numbers cranked out by slaughterhouses, and isn't a long, dragged out, cruel procedure as is the case in the meat industries. The U.S. alone can boast of nearly 10 billion slaughtered animals per year, and even if it were the case that that many animals were dying from crop harvesting, there's a huge difference between the types of animals being killed. Highly intelligent mammals with extrensively developed central nervous systems are not being killed by crop harvesting, as is the case with the meat industry. A field mouse dying versus a pig dying is quite the difference.

It's unfortunate that deaths are caused by the crop industries as well, but that could mostly be prevented through elaborate precautions and measures. It's all a matter of whether the population is willing to support and finance such things. Granted there's not much one can do about insects and such, and the Buddha's point about the only true way to cause no death or suffering through one's actions would be to starve oneself, rings true.

I hate soy milk too, but I adore rice milk When I came to CA I found that drinking the milk here was causing me skin problems, so I switched to rice milk. Now milk in cereal and such simply tastes disgusting to me, though I still consume milk through all the other stuff I eat.

As for how this got so off topic...no idea, but it's a nice break from all the reactor hysteria

dizmox Wrote:Last time I tried soy milk I couldn't bear to down more than one mouthful. It tastes nothing like real milk!

Try vanilla-flavored. If you have an Asian supermarket nearby, then try Kikkoman (which has plenty of flavors) or Vietnamese soy milk (pictured here). Vietnamese soy milk is loaded with sugar, and is therefore good for beginners.

Anyway, NHK World is showing clips of building interiors during the earthquake. I heard that earthquake alarm sound at one point. I must agree with comments in a previous link, I think I'm going to have nightmares about that sound. It sounds a lot like the ringtone from One Missed Call, also, which doesn't help.

My mother broke her ankle during the earthquake (she doesn't even know how it broke) so she's using the opportunity to make the rest of the family her slaves. Nothing fuels guilt like injuries.

Almond milk is good as well, and maybe the healthiest among the grain based milks. Silk brand seems to taste the closest to cow's milk. They have some good ice cream products as well.

Aijin Wrote:My mother broke her ankle during the earthquake (she doesn't even know how it broke) so she's using the opportunity to make the rest of the family her slaves. Nothing fuels guilt like injuries.

I somewhat presumptuously thought you might have been avoiding this thread when I noted your comments elsewhere, so I didn't inquire, but I'm glad it seems to have been a relatively minor injury that served to accentuate the endearing and frustrating aspects of having a mother, and hope your family and friends are otherwise okay.

bodhisamaya Wrote:Almond milk is good as well, and maybe the healthiest among the grain based milks. Silk brand seems to taste the closest to cow's milk. They have some good ice cream products as well.

Almond milk? I'll have to give that a try. I've tried coconut milk icecream, but that's about it. I suppose if I want to give veganism/vegetarianism a shot I'm in the perfect place since the Bay Area is practically a vegan haven.

nest0r Wrote:I somewhat presumptuously thought you might have been avoiding this thread when I noted your comments elsewhere, so I didn't inquire, but I'm glad it seems to have been a relatively minor injury that served to accentuate the endearing and frustrating aspects of having a mother, and hope your family and friends are otherwise okay.

All my family and friends other than my mother are uninjured fortunately I suppose I've been avoiding the whole thing as much as possible since it just gets to be a little overwhelming after a while. In all honesty I've been more concerned with events in the Middle East lately so am mostly following that. It's sure been an active year.

@Aijin

The narrative of Libya and Western heat-seeking missiles is winning out over nuclear hysteria for the moment, I think, so it's your lucky day. ^_^

nest0r Wrote:Anyway, NHK World is showing clips of building interiors during the earthquake. I heard that earthquake alarm sound at one point. I must agree with comments in a previous link, I think I'm going to have nightmares about that sound. It sounds a lot like the ringtone from One Missed Call, also, which doesn't help.

have to agree with that one