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| sibarraz
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|  "Re(3):Holy Cripses Earthquake" , posted Tue 15 Mar 07:46  
quote:
Earlier today, I head over BaiDu sites and I can see alot of young punks in china posted message like "I'm happy to see Japan in this situation", "it should be bigger earthquake", "I hope all japanese died".
I'm certain they are in the minority. There were also tons of Americans on Facebook and Twitter posting about how the Earthquake serves them right cos of Pearl Harbor. There are cynical hateful racists everywhere. But I think they're outnumbered by people who want to do good. I know plenty of American and Chinese nationals who are sympathetic towards the Japanese and have donated money to relief efforts. I think Japan holds a special place in alot of peoples hearts the world over, especially if you're a fan of creative mediums like video games and comics.
Stupdiness is around the worls, when the earthquake hitted here on chile, there was a famous case of 2 argentinians being glad that this happened to us, to the point where almost all the country bullied them on facebook, but overall, they are in the minority, you will always see scumbags there
anyway, glad that everyone here is all right, this earthquake created some panic here on chile, almost all the cities from the coast were evacuated, oddly enough, one of the most destroyed villages last year was once again destroyed
BTW, how has handled the government the situation?, it seems that in japan they are way more prepared than here, and it seems like there was at least an alert
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| Maou 2167th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
   
| "Re(4):Holy Cripses Earthquake" , posted Tue 15 Mar 10:27:
quote:
BTW, how has handled the government the situation?, it seems that in japan they are way more prepared than here, and it seems like there was at least an alert
It's already better than during the Hanshin (Kobe) quake in 1995, when there were serious delays and bureaucratic idiocy that kept the Self-Defence Force and international help from being dispatched in a timely manner. If you meant, how prepared was the government for the earthquake: there's only so much you can do in reaction to the actual occurance, since you have about 30 minutes tops to escape once the tsunami starts after the earthquake, I think. But in terms of training people what to do, with earthquake drills and cleary marked evacuation routes and strict building codes, I'd say things were about as prepared as they could be.
But as for preparedness and response to the rapidly deteriorating nuclear situation, relying on Tokyo Electric Power's feeble explanations has made the government look increasingly like they're playing catch-up and like there is no plan for nuclear disasters. It also doesn't play well when said power company tells the Self Defence Force it's safe to come help, and then to have another explosion. SDF are likely furious.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Tue 15 Mar 15:05] |
| Professor 2983th Post
MMCafe Owner
     
| "Re(8):Holy Cripses Fallout" , posted Fri 18 Mar 13:12:
Living but frightened is the right way of putting things.
I was outside for the full hour when the readings in Tokyo jolted on the morning of the 15th. A lot of people were, it was 10-11 am.
Reactors 3 and 4 have a Plutonium mix called MOX. Reactor 3 burst on the 14th, and reactor 4 flamed up in the early morning of the 15th around 6am. I may have inhaled some, though I hope not. Inhaling is worse than ingesting.
If it was Plutonium by itself and not MOX, it's super cancerous, but I wouldn't be as worried since it's heavy and can't travel too far, 50 miles max. Not sure about travel distance of MOX, I hear it's half the weight.
The worst thing, the city isn't scanning Plutonium readings, only gamma radiation. So noone knows if they're safe. I love Tokyo and would rather avoid from evacuating. But the way things are going..
I am thinking of possibly making a temporary evacuation to the west. But it would also mean dropping everything here including my job. Financially, I have been living on even ends no thanks to the economic shock.
[this message was edited by Professor on Fri 18 Mar 22:18] |
| Professor 2984th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(3):Re(10):Holy Cripses Fallout" , posted Sat 19 Mar 16:54:
Whoas, I'm amazed Chazu actually got a few of them almostly right on a total hitn'miss, lol.
I think the biggest concern right now is that Tokyo's water is supplied from Tonegawa river, located 100km from Fukushima.
If for any chance Plutonium flys into the atmosphere, I've been told it can travel 80km max at the strongest winds so it might come close (thus the reason for the 50mi=80km evacuation order for US citizens). Fortunately, ingested Plutonium has little effect to the human body. It's deadly when inhaled. If it enters the ecocycle, someone is going to take a leak and it's eventually going to end up getting breathed.
Now MOX feul, I have no idea how far they fly. They're like a mixture of Plutonium and Uranium.
Iodine-131 and Cecisum-137 is super light that it can travel across to California, but by that time, the volums is soo small it's really nothing to worry about-- a cigarette butt probabably gives you more cancer rate than that. I've probably inhaled like 1000-2000 Bqs already, it's nothing.
[Edit:] I forgot to make this clear. "Radiation", as in external exposure, really isn't the problem at the current situation. It's the particles that can be ingested or inhaled and cause internal exposure that's the worries.
[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 19 Mar 17:02] |
| Baines 279th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(5):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Sun 20 Mar 05:20
quote:
Ingestion is scary...otherwise, I think BBC noted that people probably receive more radiation externally from CT scans medically than they will from this disaster, and think nothing of it. All the same, be careful, everybody!
To be fair, while people in general panic at the thought of radiation, they also underestimate the risks of radiation from medical procedures. After all, those are procedures order by trained doctors in order to make people healthier...
Mind, people can't even agree on how much of a cancer risk CT scans provide. Every study seems to have different numbers. I've read one claim of as much as 1-in-40 cases of cancer, while another might say 1-600 for scans of high risk areas. (Scans of different body parts carry different degrees of risk, just as the people/machine running the scan can greatly vary the amount of radiation.)
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| Professor 2987th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(9):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Fri 25 Mar 01:46:
Thanks everyone. Things here feel "weird". Enviornmental radiation is 3-4 times that of usual, higher than the norm but nothing dangerous as long as it doesn't last. People have gotten off the idea of an apocalypse and everyone's hitting the offices as usual, but something obviously feels real off.
There was radioactive rain during the past days measuring strongly over 30,000Bq/liter and the city's water is now slightly contaminated. People are scrambling through stores to find bottled water when they're all sold out to begin with. Packaged food and frozen goods continues to be scarce and there continues to be scheduled blackouts in the residential zones. Fresh produce isn't selling well--don't people realize that packaged goods can be more dangerous? EddyT was kind enough to send a box of water, which is a real lifesaver considering future possibilities.
BTW, the NPR article might be a bit misleading. Think of it this way: If the spinach contained 54,000Bqs per 2.2pounds/1kg, Eating just 3.5 ounces (100grams) will give you radiation equal to a chest x-ray. The amount in milk is a bit more forgiving because you'll need to drink 3 liters to accumulate the same amount of internal radiation. But remember, you give milk to babies and kids.
Japan obviously wasn't prepared for something like this, and there's not enough institutions to measure radioactivity in the enviornment as well as food supply.
[this message was edited by Professor on Fri 25 Mar 04:10] |
| Professor 2997th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(3):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Fri 8 Apr 18:31
It's odd. It breaks up into regions.
1. Those in the west, like Osaka, don't really care much and take it almost like a news that's happening overseas. "Oh, those poor people. Well, back to work!"
2. Those in the northeast are devastated and wondering what will become of their lives. Particularly because their means of getting info is limited right now, and the government isn't giving them any straight answers. "How long will it take before we can go back and start farming again?"
3. Those in Tokyo are back to business as usual, but you can kind of smell the fear in the air with suffering sales of fresh produce and constant shortage of bottled water. Personally, I'm a bit afraid that I might've inhaled plutonium if it fell during the short nuclear fallout that happened on the 15th. The city has not done any soil tests, possibly in order not to cause any chaos.
All in all, the government has done a great job of keeping the general public in the dark, telling them that things are ok. The only ones who have an idea are people who get their news from CNN or the Internet.
They don't even need to stop the Japanese mass media from releasing info to the public because they've been bought out by Tepco with advertisement money.
Most of the vital info that's been leaked out, like how Plutonium was found in the soil, was info thanks to freelance reporters.
quote:
And wham, another quake. hope the tsunami doesn't bring worse news to the reactors.
[edit] fukushima's ok, the other reactor up north (Onagawa) lost two of its three external powers but they supposedly weren't in use to begin with
I can only imagine what you and the rest of the country are going through. How are you hanging in there?
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| Professor 2999th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(5):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Sat 9 Apr 07:30:
Hopefully this is just a reading error
Exodus: Exactly. What's worse, the government isn't even surpressing the general press because there's no need to; the press is withholding information and not asking any questions, all on their own will.
Karasu: The problem is, investigative journalism is pretty dead here. Journalists in Japan are basically salary workers that get their news spoon-fed. They don't really care about asking questions or seeking the truth, they just care about copyn'pasting press releases and wiring them to editorial.
Nobinobita: It's well-known amongst anyone that's smart enough, which probably accounts for about a third or a quarter of the population. Similarly to how FOX is republican, there's tendencies in Japanese media too. It's not too apparent on network TV, moreso in the papers.
I'm just hoping I didn't inhale plutonium together with a small chunk of the Tokyo population that was outside during the short nuclear fallout, but the way things are going we'll probably never know. In a way, this whole experience has gotten me to think about things, about life. Maybe I'll actually get around to making an indies game, which I've always wanted to.
On a different note, damn I want to eat some tacos. These Hormel turkey chili w/beans just don't cut it!
[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 9 Apr 08:02] |
| Professor 2999th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(7):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Sat 9 Apr 19:10
The fish, they've found some with radiation along the eastern coast line. Experts expected that the contamination would dissapate eastwards very quicky and marine life won't be suffering, but it turns out that the water moves southwards along the coast before moving east.
So far, only the unpopular fishes have tested positive. Another fortunate thing is that tuna, one of Japan's popular fishes, gets imported from Australia for the general part.
West Japan is pretty much safe for now, but who knows about the future. If a reactor blows, like how it's rumored with the possibility of reactor #1 which's been acting really strangly since the second quake two nights ago (check the link in my previous post), the whole country can get contaminated. If that happens, they're going to have to make a new scale measurement to top off Chernobyl.
Life in the city today was the same as usual. The mass media hasn't even reported on the odd movement of reactor 1. With the radiation level in the city slowly falling, everyone is thinking that things are fine. So there's absolutely no mass panic, just people who don't want to drink tap water because it was on the news a few weeks back. And that's about it.
The tap water's contamination level at the current time isn't high at all-- you'd probably get more exposure from eating a bannana. My personal concern however is that they're only reporting on iodine131 and cesium137, so you don't know what else is in the water. Of course, those two substances are the biggest concern since they're water-soluable.
But the reactors still continue to leak radiation. Today it rained in Tokyo. I wonder how much contamanation it contained-- the readings don't become public until the next day.
BTW, I've watched that short documentary about people living around Chernobyl and eating their garden food and livestock. Crazy.
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| Professor 3035th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(3):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Thu 12 May 13:07:
quote:
I'm back in Osaka but really, Japanese media doesn't talk about it so much anymore... do you still feel like the vibe is tense in Tokyo?
And when you say contaminated food, I mean... sure there might be some with slightly higher levels of radiation than normal. But is it unsafe? Do you feel like jumping ship?
Ahoy KT! When did you get back to Osaka? I'm guessing things there are totally as usual?
This is going to be a long read.
About the vibe in Tokyo, everyone is back to life as it used to be. Things are completely normal and I think that's a good thing. Bottled water is no longer in shortage, everyone is eating out and you see people buying fish. Golden Week was as usual, and it was awesome.
But that's not to say that the reactor incident is actually over; everyone just doesn't realize because TV programs have returned to schedule and there's not much reporting on the nuclear incident. In fact, most people I've talked to aren't even aware that there's about 150 terabqs/day still being released into air from the reactors, the enviornmental radiation is still double that of what it used to be, or that the city had the aformentioned radioactive fallout in March. They also don't know that the country's limit for radiation in food has been really eased since the incident and now even allows for Uranium and Plutonium.
It's all in the official public releases by the government, but as you may know about the Kisha Club, the Japanese press is very controlled and they aren't reporting on any information concerning radiation aside from some incidents where they excessively appear in products (like tea from Kanagawa yesterday), or bad news about things that can they think can be locally contained (like the reactor 1 actually having had no water all this time and potentially aready in complete meltdown, reported today. Are they serious?).
The things that especially don't get reported are problems that can't be contained, issues that effects a large region, or sounds bad as a nuclear incident. For example, some regions of Fukushima, Iitate for instance, are way more contaminated than even areas from Chernobyl. NHK was the only media to have realized that from documents co-released by Japan and the DOE, and pursued about it during press conference, but it still wasn't broadcasted in their news.
The problem with food is that effects of internal exposure to radioactive materials is magnitutes higher than what you'd get if say, it falls on your skin. With the government keeping a level of monitoring, it should in no way be a problem if you eat contaminated food every once in a while-- we all get radiation from about 4000-5000 Bqs of potassium in our body to begin with. However, The problem is that the current restriction is very loose at around 2000bq/kg of i131 and 500bq/kg of cs137 for food, and 300bq/kg of i131 and 200bq/kg of cs137 for liquids. It starts to become an issue if you keep eating and keep accumulating, which I think will be what we'll be facing on the long run (the amount of radiation per bq is different between the two isotopes and potassium). And there's no way for you to find out how radioactive your food is within the limits.
The other issue is, distributors aren't being honest. You may have already heard about Chiba prefecture shipping Spinach that was beyond the allowance because there's no penalty. There's also been a case where a distributor sold Chinese cabbage marked as Hyogo prefecture (far away from the zones), and it would've worked had he not realized it was being shipped overseas. With watchful eyes over Japanese produces, when inspectors in Singapore checked it on arrival, it was found to be contaminated.
What's concerning is, the contamination was 118 Bq/kg(i131), so it would've still been allowed for consumption within Japan. And if it's that easy to be shipped overseas, it's easier to reach the far ends of Japan.
Aside from veggies, meat may also become a concern in the future for multiple reasons. For one, livestock from contaminated areas have already been moved to other locations in Japan. So for instance, beef being sold as a local product may actually be from Fukushima. Fortunately for expensive beef, there's ways around for individuals to check their origins, thanks to the ID system implemented back in the mad cows period. Chicken(910,000 flocks) and pork (10,000) have also been moved but most of them are probably not going to hit stores as fresh meat since they're being raised by industries for use in food products.
Food product makers, particularly those with factories only in the Northeastern areas, are another issue. Their products reach households all over the nation. For example, a little bit of Bulldog cutlet sauce shouldn't hurt, but it still makes you wonder if you should use it sparingly.
I think it's very hard to be cautious about radiation, much less warn people about it. It can't be seen, it's odorless, and it's something that won't show up until years down the line.
The real problem is, there really hasn't been that many case studies concerning long-term cumulative health effects on internal exposure, so Japan is going to be the first example of a wide-scale incident by the millions. Chernobyl had problems with i131 but it's been two months in Japan already and considering its half-life, I don't think it'll be a problem. The bigger issue is cs-137, which remains in the body for about a year after inhaled or ingested and has an enviornmental half life of 30 years. From the few examples in the past, researchers know that it can be a cause of cancer, but its worse effects are more about chromosomal alterations and DNA damage, meaning it may cause other serious lethal issues aside of cancer. Strontium or Plutonium probably won't be much of an issue unless it's actually widespread than currently thought.
If anything, symptoms will probably start to show up on children and teens first. The younger, the more rapid cell production they have = more susceptibility to radiation. That's not a good thing.
I don't really have the option to jump ship right now, although it's something to consider. The question then becomes "where?" Then again, I already know I've inhaled quite a bit since I was outside during peak times, so I'm also thinking that enjoying life in Tokyo could be fine. And damn I love Tokyo.
What's your take on this whole incident?
[this message was edited by Professor on Thu 12 May 18:17] |
| Moo
24th Post
New Customer
| "Re(4):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Thu 12 May 18:42
Thanks for the detailed post, Prof. I hope you don't mind me posting in this thread. You seem very well-informed and what you've described in your post matches what I've read elsewhere, although you've gone into more detail. It's hard to get accurate, detailed information regarding the nuclear disaster. That's why I came here to see what people here are saying. I've browsed over Japanese/news-related sites that I know of, and seen many completely opposite opinions. On one hand, some people are quick to point out deceptive news, and expect the worst. On the other hand, some people think everything's been blown out of proportion and that there isn't much danger.
My personal opinion is that the Japanese government, Tepco and the other affected businesses have no idea how to solve the problem, but they don't want to sink into a deeper financial/political hole so they are trying to minimize all negative news. The general population prioritises being happy and just want to get on with their lives, so it's expected that they'd go along with blocking anything negative out. I wish they'd focus on what really matters. To me, political/financial fallout is nothing compared to permanent irreversible damage to everything. I understand, though, that even if we know what's happening, we can't do anything... but I feel a responsibility to at least be aware of what's really happening. I've seen pictures of the ghost towns around Chernobyl, and it's really sad to see the same thing happening to Japan.
I agree 100% that it's very difficult for people to accept the dangers of radiation because it's not immediately visible to them. I've already seen many people argue that there's nothing wrong with radiation. There are many other examples of people affected by radiation (nuclear weapons testing, depleted uranium), but I think those were different types of radiation. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather not be irradiated at all. Radioactive material is just something people should avoid using. The problem is that everyone's priority seems to be personal profit. They never realise or care if there's a problem until it's too late. Right after the disaster, we're bombarded with revelations that the reactors weren't built properly, were supposed to be replaced, didn't have proper checks, and so forth... it shouldn't even come to this, but it always seems to. Those people shouldn't be given the responsibility when they don't understand the full scope of what they're doing. I think a lot of people come to think of what they're doing as nothing but a daily job, so they don't expect anything out of the ordinary to happen.
I hope this doesn't come across as being insensitive, but I feel that this whole incident is a powerful example of what happens when people use technology that they don't have full control of. As humans, we need to accept that it's very difficult for us to foresee every possibility and take every factor into account. Prevention is better than cure, but people don't even seem to learn from past mistakes. Incidents like Chernobyl should never happen more than once, if at all. There are so many things people are experimenting with right now that could go horribly wrong at any moment. If it was up to me, I wouldn't touch things like nuclear power unless I knew there was a surefire way to counter any possible accidents.
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| Professor 3036th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(5):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Thu 12 May 19:53:
Moo: I've talked to many people as well, and they all have different opinions. Medical personel tend to be the most relaxed about the issue because they're used to calculating radiation, but I think it can be a dangerous thing. On the other hand, those that strongly warn against the harms from this incident are anti-nuclear experts, and while they offer very good points, they don't offer anything practical to say. Both sides seem to agree that dairy products and vegetables should be avoided.
I completely agree with you about the Japanese government and T co. They're completely incompetent. It's difficult enough that this is an incident never seen before in history, but their actions have been making things much worse than they could be. There's still no Strontium or Plutonium samplings done outside of the reactor zones, and my own personal feeling is that they're avoiding the task in case it might bring bad news.
I don't think there will be ghost towns in Japan leave aside the 20km radius that's closed. The government is half-forcing people to live their daily lives in contaminated areas. If you've been following, you probably already know about how children in highly radioactive areas are being sent normally to school now that spring break is over. The government wants to make everything look normal like the incident was a small deal, but it isn't.
On the different subject about nuclear testings and depleted uranium, those seem to be more acute symptoms. I'm not sure if they were due to the isotope's radiation or simply their chemical/metalic toxicity. It's probably both, and it effects their chromosome/genetics. This incident in Japan is probably going to create a similar effect, except much, much slower. I'm not exactly sure what I've inhaled during the odd hours of the 15th in particular, together with the many others that were outside. We'll probably find out in a decade or so. I'm still getting the small spasms- it's really nothing, but they haven't gone away and it can be annoying.
[this message was edited by Professor on Thu 12 May 20:31] |
| Moo
25th Post
Rare Customer
| "Re(6):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Thu 12 May 21:13
This is the video I saw that showed some "ghost town" scenes. I've seen some pictures too, but I don't know where they were taken or whether people have gone back to those homes. I think I did hear that the children have been sent back to school. I remember reading that they raised the acceptable radiation limit for children as well. I don't know how anyone can sit with the sudden limit adjustments, as if they've been tested or anything. Medical personnel are probably relaxed because they're desensitised or overconfident. I never take full confidence in what I'm taught, I feel that nothing's ever that simple and there's always another angle that we're missing. Then there's the noise, like politics.
I don't think the people who get into government or those kinds of businesses do it for true morals or justice. Probably for money. That's the core problem. If they don't have the proper mindset, they shouldn't be in power. They always seem to be focusing on issues that don't really matter, while ignoring the ones that do. Whatever strikes an emotional chord in people when it's time for re-election.
I keep hearing that the radiation clouds are affecting Europe and North America, but the Western media seem to be downplaying it a lot as well. Supposedly some media were even insisting that radiation is good for us. I try to see the big picture of things, and I think that genetic damage is really bad in the long run. Most people don't seem to care at all though, saying things like "have fun while you're alive" and "it will happen after your time". Mortality and selfishness - loss of memories/past/history and inability to feel/understand others - will probably lead to our eventual destruction as a species.
Anyway, thanks for clearing up whether Fukushima is really a small deal or not. Your posts seem well-balanced and informed. I hope that your spasms stop and that you'll be fine.
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| Iggy 9253th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Fri 13 May 05:29
quote:
children in highly radioactive areas are being sent normally to school now that spring break is over. The government wants to make everything look normal like the incident was a small deal, but it isn't.
Now that's the Japan I know!
Jesus.
A friend of mine just came back from Tokyo, and told me that the propaganda was becoming ridiculous. Apparently, everything about the plant was minimized, while the earthquakes and tsunami disasters were the main focus of everything. Campaigns to give money to the victims are everywhere, Nihon ganbaru signs as well, and Tohoku-pride seems nauseating, talents from that region (or even born elsewhere but who went to university in Tohoku) are broadcast and playing the "I'm from a martyr country" hymn, ads telling people to buy stuff to help the country rebuild itself are everywhere, and actually being from Tohoku became a plus, be it goods or food (some restaurants even have Tohoku-menus, with recipes and vegetables from that region, to show your determination)... Radiations? What radiations?
It's like the worst part of American nationalism had a baby with Japan's traditional "let's look away and avoid addressing the problem until it's too late and we're forced to bow our head" philosophy.
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| Professor 3038th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(7):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Fri 13 May 14:03:
Yes. While I sympathize with the victims of the Tohoku area, the way Japan is following the nuclear crisis is awful. Food from the regions are obviously tainted, yet people are pressing each other to eat them. Schools are using them for lunch to support the Tohoku, and likewise the same for company cafeterias. Fast food chains are also using them to show support, saying that the ingredients are carefully monitored for radiation safety. Again, the safety limits of set by the government is high, so it's not comforting.
Let me be frank. I'm one of the very few exceptions that's still concerned about radiation and people are starting to think of me as paranoid. Most people in the city don't care any more. I think it has to do with being able to read English news, because others around me who work in muti-lingual jobs also tend to be as cautious compared to the average Joe in Japan who only gets newsfed from the local TV and papers. In a way, I envy the others considering the stress it brings.
The distance from the city to the reactors isn't that far. IMO, the government should at least stricten the limit on food. The Tonegawa river, which is even closer, is the city's water supply and it's also used by many companies for their food and beverage products. Keep in mind that those factories are in radiation contaminated areas like Ibaragi to begin with. The Tohoku has been a very convenient area for companies since it's close to Tokyo and land is cheap, so there's a lot of factories there. With the distribution network in Japan being extremely advanced, produces make their way around the country very quickly. For example, all Nabisco and Frito Ray products are being made there and shipped all over the place. Now, I'm not saying their products are necessarily tainted, it's not like Oreos or Doritos are growing on wild grass outside. I'm just saying they're being produced at a region that's known to be radioactively contaminated. Kids love cookies and snacks, and they're more susceptible to radioactivity.
The public water in Tokyo was tainted with radiation until just a week ago, low enough to meet WHO standards but above American safety limits. Right now the amounts are undetectable, but the problem is they only check for i131, cs134, and cs137. They don't check for other substances including Strontium, which is also water soluable. Its ratio from this incident is supposedly lower than cs137 so it theoretically shouldn't be an issue if cs137 isn't being detected, but it's still mindboggling that no checks are being done, even if they're difficult isotopes that takes time to analyze.
IMO, Japan won't be feeling the true beatdown until a while later. The health impact will be one thing, but the economical impact will probably be even worse. For a country that relies on exports, a nuclear disaster is a nightmare-- the proud label of "made in Japan" is going to carry a different meaning from what it has since the 80's.
[this message was edited by Professor on Fri 13 May 17:47] |
| Iggy 9254th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Fri 13 May 19:40
quote:
Let me be frank. I'm one of the very few exceptions that's still concerned about radiation and people are starting to think of me as paranoid. Most people in the city don't care any more. I think it has to do with being able to read English news, because others around me who work in muti-lingual jobs also tend to be as cautious compared to the average Joe in Japan who only gets newsfed from the local TV and papers.
A friend of mine told me recently that she was sick of all this nightmare, so she consciously decided to shut down her brain and only switches on the TV for humour shows that don't talk about anything disaster-related. I suppose that's the only way to cope with the situation and resume a normal life for a lot of people... After all, the only alternative to escape all this would to emigrate. By the way, Professor, have you ever thought about coming to the UK?
But there are journalists writing in Japanese about what's happening and that are not part of the kisha clubs. They are probably considered as brainwashed leftwingers, or borderline terrorists, I suppose...
I gathered quite a lot of links when I was writing a little research a few months ago, for an article about the disaster and Ishihara's re-election:
http://fpaj.jp/
http://www.j-cast.com/
http://www2.jfn.co.jp/owj/
http://iwakamiyasumi.com/
http://www.videonews.com/
http://diamond.jp/category/s-uesugi
But it really makes me wonder who actually read these sites, besides gaijins like me who want to know what some Japanese people think.
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| Professor 3038th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(9):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Fri 13 May 20:57
Chaz: Lol, sorry for bumping. But yes, with the condition as it is now, the best that Te o could say was "it's not a problem, it's not China syndrome". They have no idea what to do now, do they!
Iggy: The UK has has in fact crossed my mind a few times, yes. That's a peculiar question though, any reason?
I can definitely understand your friend, although at least in the city, it's pretty easy to forget all of this except when reading or watching the news. Everything feels so normal.
I'm amazed you follow all those sources! Indeed, the free press has very much been the lifeline of information. Things are now changing, as the general press are starting to ask more questions as well. I have a feeling that Teo no longer has the money to fund advertisements and keep the media quiet.
I think that most people don't know enough details to comprehend the issues that are happening with the reactors. Very little people seem to even know why the regions in Tohoku and Kanto are contaminated. The reason is, there was rainfall in late March and it was radioactive. Two days of rain, and the country changed.
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| karasu99 614th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Sat 14 May 05:23
quote:
I've read English speakers posting on forums insisting that the Western media is blowing everything out of proportion to scare people. I bet that when people start feeling the effects of the radiation the government will get away with blaming it on something else.
I think that people are used to Western media blowing things out of proportion though-- just yesterday I heard a case made for increased terrorism on American flights because a drunk passenger tried to open an emergency exit...
Not that I'm equating the situation in Japan with that kind of crap. I just think a lot of people in the West are jaded by being constantly fed non-news and stupidly written stories regarding serious events.
Regarding the situation in Japan though-- Professor, again I'll say I'm glad you're okay, but I think it is really awful that you have had to go through all of this. As far as the treatment of the situation, it's all unfortunately about the bottom line I suspect. Why bother doing more than you have to if people will only begin dying in big numbers as a result of situation decades from now? It's a cynical outlook maybe, but it was the US government's way of dealing with long term results weapons testing in the southwest for decades. And when that time does come around, none of the current government or business leaders will likely be in place, so it will become someone else's problem. Also, I think some degree of indecision/inaction has caused the whole thing to spiral out of control.
Also, a last gripe before I stop: it sucks that serious, grave, important news stories have a 'shelf life' and can be pushed off peoples' radar by stupid crap like the UK royal wedding a few weeks back. A similar effect may be seen around elections time in the US as well (edging a little too close to conspiracy theory, I know).
Can everyone tell I am in a bad mood and stressed out? 
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| Oh my
10th Post
New Customer
| "Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Chaz" , posted Sat 14 May 06:13
I feel sorry for japan the island of my dream.
Does anyone saw the discovery channel report about this incident? It really makes me angry, form me it was cynical. That special program really shows the company cares more for themself than the people or the environment.
The personal in the company is supposed to be highly trained and educated about dealing with this type of plant and its hazard. They stated that the plant was constructed to stand earthquake and tsunami but the level of the tsunami was higher than the structure could stand. Even with that the company still insisted to fix everything.
Already knowing the Chernobyl incident they got some structure still going in that heating reaction without energy power, increasing the temperature and pressure in a critical way. If they were well oriented those 2 factors should be lowered at the same time but they still got hope that just by opening windows they should lower the pressure, but what happen to the temperature the main reason the pressure was increasing.
They mentioned other alternatives the company should use to prevent that, like insert ocean water in those structures. Funny thing was the reaction of that man face (don’t remember if he was the CEO). He open his eyes big and fast reply that "the highly cost structure would be permanently damage and it will be a loss for the company".
I don’t know but as shown in the program, it was noticeable, by those factors, those plant where not going to make it. But company preferred to take the chance that lead to an explosion and an environmental chaos than the one that it will only affect the company. If they where going to lose it anyway, why they waited to that chaos, because they don’t care about japan and the population they care for the money.
Oh my and what I consider stupider was the dramatical moment when the reporter asked to that man if he consider the workers heroes. Hello they are, there is no doubt they are. I felt so bad when I saw those workers inside and maybe how hard those workers studied to handle that nuclear tech crap to be trained to sacrifice themselves for a greedy company.
I can’t imagine now the big issue between the government and the company, very sad.
quote:
Let me be frank. I'm one of the very few exceptions that's still concerned about radiation and people are starting to think of me as paranoid.
Ha, is true radiation is dangerous. Sadly in this world everything is uncertain, and we are just guinea pigs in this world ruled by money. As I know about those hazards things, everything is relative.There can be people who can get affected and others who don’t.
You have all your rights to take all the cautious method to minimize the exposure. But this things are like the asbestos, my grandpa worked in a company who where expose to that substance and he still alive without any respiratory problem, as I know. Meanwhile others are not so lucky enough.
Normally rad affect the DNA and it will depend what part of the DNA who get affected and bla, bla, bla. It doesn’t worth to think about it. Anyway this isn’t the first time japan get rad problem right?
what?
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| Moo
27th Post
Rare Customer
| "Re(2):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Sat 14 May 07:21
quote:
Not that I'm equating the situation in Japan with that kind of crap. I just think a lot of people in the West are jaded by being constantly fed non-news and stupidly written stories regarding serious events.
You're right. I personally kinda felt that the terrorist news and radiation news had slightly different effects on the population, but maybe it's just me. I've also wondered that perhaps the government doesn't care what happens to us because most of them seem to be so old that they won't be around to feel the effects of the radiation. They're probably too busy worrying about their present profits than the future of their descendants.
It's funny you mentioned the royal wedding. I was telling my mother that they could have spent the money saving the world from nuclear meltdown, and she argued that the wedding of the KING is a once in a lifetime event that is more important. People are strange!! I don't think it's "conspiracy theory" to imply that the media attempts to distract us by hurling out "sensationalist" news. We live in times where people have had plenty of opportunity to experiment and hone their methods, it's to be expected that they'd know how to manipulate the population. There's actually a really interesting series that covers the history of some of this, it's called "Century of Self". You can watch it on YouTube.
quote:
That special program really shows the company cares more for themself than the people or the environment.
I'd be surprised to find a company that cares more for anything other than themselves. It feels as though every company (or person) that cares for others over themselves ends up going belly up. It's always about money, and I hate that. I can't even dispute it with anyone, they always immediately argue that money is everything, a world without money couldn't exist, money is needed to survive. I always see money causing more problems than anything else. I've even thought that we can't move forward as a species until we get past the hold money has over everything. I wish there was a viable alternative, but even if there was, people are so used to things as they are that they wouldn't give it up unless there was a major incident. One with immediately obvious results.
Anyway, umm... really tired at the moment so excuse me if I ranted too much or said anything excessive.
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| Professor 3040th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(2):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Sat 14 May 12:31:
Wow that's a lot of long replies. I'm going to make this short for the time moment because I feel out of energy for some reason despite just getting out of bed.
Moo: Yes it was radioactive. I'm not whether the yellow dust that was reported was pollen or some isotope. I haven't seen it myself anywhere, so it's at least rare if it came falling. I did see some brownish-orange dust on top of my air conditioner's external unit, I'm not sure if it was radioactive. It's under a roof, so wind must've blown it there. I wish I could get a dosimeter but they're all out of stock and their prices have jolted to the thousands on auction sites. And those things, you don't want to buy second-hand.
If you can see it, this is the readings of the fallouts. If you check between 3/20-3/24, you'll see what I'm talking about. And this is the enviornmental radiation readings. You'll notice how the level got higher since the same days. Also, note 3/15. It's awfully high. The radiation took a massive spike that makes the radioactive rain look almost cute There were definitely people that inhaled them. I was outside as well during its peek period hours in the morning, very unlucky. No use crying over spilled milk, but it does get me concerned about 5-10 years down the line.
Karasu: I strongly agree that the treatment and situation is at the bottom line. They're now reporting that all three reactors have probably gone in full meltdown. And that's a pretty chilling thought!
Actually, did you say you were a programmer? If it's ok, I might like to ask for advice or assistance somewhere in the future. As long as things are into this mess, I'm thinking of starting up on a project that's been on hiatus for a long while.
[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 14 May 13:12] |
| karasu99 616th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(3):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Sat 14 May 12:52:
quote:
Karasu: I strongly agree that the treatment and situation is at the bottom line. They're now reporting that all three reactors have probably gone in full meltdown. And that's a pretty chilling thought!
Yes, I saw this too-- It is amazing that this has received little or no publicity, at least not that I've seen. We've gone from 'no possible way it could ever reach the point that Chernobyl did' to worse than Chernobyl, and then it just gets deep bows, apologies, and frequent trips to the hospital for nerves by Tepco execs.
quote:
Actually, did you say you were a programmer? If it's ok, I might like to ask for advice or assistance somewhere in the future. As long as things are into this mess, I'm thinking of starting up on a project that's been on hiatus for a long while.
I am, and I'm happy to help in any way I can-- just ask! Feel free to email me at chris dot harback at gmail dot com if you need anything at all.
[this message was edited by karasu99 on Sat 14 May 13:15] |
| KTallguy 1308th Post
PSN: Hunter-KT
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(5):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Sun 15 May 19:56
Wow, I barely found your post in the mountain of replies! Glad to see that everyone is still on top of it, more so than myself. I've been crunching on a project for the last few weeks and barely have time to sleep :p
Yes in Osaka it is truly business as usual. Things are completely normal. That being said, the main thing that prompted my month long exodus from Japan was the lack of information... but nothing seems to have changed. I don't understand why people are staying in the area around the plant, much less children going to school. But I imagine evacuating is nearly impossible. I really dislike the sense of apathy and "nothing we can do" statements, or how when one of the plant workers demanded extra compensation from TEPCO his co-workers tried to shush him... people in power knowingly use these traits to manipulate people, and people just throw up their hands. It's depressing.
But here in Kansai it's very much business as usual... living in Osaka gives me some solace, as I feel very detached from everything in Tohoku.
As for my personal plans, at my current studio there are very few future prospects, so I am getting out of here as soon as this game ships. Of course, I have to find something suitable first.
I'm aiming to join another games studio, maybe in Asia or back in San Francisco. I could really go ANYWHERE, because I don't have any dependents. I could even go to the EU. But I only speak English and Japanese, so I would have to go to an English speaking studio to survive. I am just looking for the right fit, and it'll be a bit of a trial, but again once this project wraps up I will take a serious look around.
Also, I am learning a bit of Actionscript myself, but I am incredibly nooby at programming (I'm a designer). So I am looking forward to devoting more time and energy to learning that, so that I can at least start prototyping things.
To sum it up, Osaka is completely normal, 頑張れニッポン signs not withstanding. Personally I don't think that Japan is in good shape economically, so I am worried about betting my future on this country. I don't know how entrenched you are, Professor... and Tokyo is truly an awesome place to live. But yea, I really wonder if it's worth it to stay here.
If anything brings you to Kansai, let me know: ktallguy AT gmail DOT com. :)
Play to win... or to have fun too! :)
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| karasu99 616th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(5):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Sun 15 May 21:43
quote:
Karasu: The word "meltdown" was so taboo that no Japanese media would use it. Until now, that is. It took them two months to start reporting what the free press was saying back in March. Of course the free press were saying things under assumptions since no figures were being released, but they definitely had the right forsight.
Thanks about the project! It's still way way far from going into shape so it'll be a while before I have to ask for any kind of help. It'll be about pathfinding, probably using A-star algorithm or the good old box matrix. The goal is an adventure game in Flash AS2.
Ohoho, A*, adventure game, and Flash! Sounds exactly like my kind of thing! As a matter of fact, I'm working on something with A* right this very moment! Well, let me know when you're ready-- like I said, I am happy to help.
Looking around in western media, they are just now starting to use the term meltdown. Some of the stories are just ridiculous-- worker dies in a failing nuclear plant where a meltdown is ongoing, but no sign that it was radiation caused his death! My suspicion is that the reason why there was no sign is that no one checked.
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| KTallguy 1310th Post
PSN: Hunter-KT
XBL: n/a
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(7):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Mon 16 May 15:19
quote:
@KTallguy, as a designer, what made you decide to learn AS? Not trying to pry, I'm really just curious (again). By the way, I am the Clueless Guy and I've got no idea about Western + Osaka  Oh well.
No problem :) Um... if you just look up "western game studios in Japan" you could probably find it, but yea I'm a bit coy about it online. :)
I want to learn AS so I can prototype things, really, but I'd also like to work on some side projects eventually. I would like to be one of those guys who can design and program a game from scratch. Realistically, I don't know if it's possible, and I won't be able to dive in deep until my project is done, and I have no background in programming. Still I think I can do it if I put my mind to it.
I know that prototyping is better done in stuff like "Construct" and "Game Maker" but I just want to have a little affair with Actionscript and see where it goes. I am using Flixel because apparently it's really easy to get things moving on screen that way, although I'm not necessarily a die hard retro aesthetic fan. I would personally love to learn something like Unity too, because I enjoy working in both 2D and 3D.
Anyway I want to learn how to prototype and test concepts as a designer. Then I can show a concept to a programmer and be like "can you make something like this"? And then I can test out things myself without wasting programmers' time, you know. It's empowering to be like "ok I wanna do a little of this" and see how it works. Without having to go to someone every time.
Play to win... or to have fun too! :)
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| Professor 3042th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(6):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Mon 16 May 20:48:
Iggy- That's true, English speaking countries are definitely candidates for emigration! I suppose it more or less also depends on the ease of finding a job...humm, what to do.
KT- Perhaps take Iggy's advice on the side and jet to the UK! I wouldn't bet on this country either. The odd thing is, I always had a feeling that Japan would more or less end with my generation, and I imagined that I'll just end up sinking with the boat. But I thought of that in a economic way and never imagined things to go like this! Not with Pluto-kun becoming the country's mascot character. Now that's really chilling. If I ever hit Kansai, I'll give you a ping beforehand. BTW, if it's ok to ask, are you an art designer, or game designer?
Karasu- Wow really? What a coincidence. I was working on this a few years back but trying to implement A* was giving me such a headache that I stopped and decided to work on the art side of things first (at the speed of molasses). Looking back, the code is pretty ugly and I'm redoing from scratch. Again, needless to say I am not experienced at all at coding, so help/advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Yes, the reason why I'm set on AS2 is simply because of the version I have access to. I understand that AS3 is a lot better overall, especially in speed performance.
[this message was edited by Professor on Mon 16 May 23:40] |
| karasu99 618th Post
PSN: robotchris
XBL: robotchris
Wii: n/a
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(7):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Tue 17 May 04:08
quote:
I know that prototyping is better done in stuff like "Construct" and "Game Maker" but I just want to have a little affair with Actionscript and see where it goes. I am using Flixel because apparently it's really easy to get things moving on screen that way, although I'm not necessarily a die hard retro aesthetic fan. I would personally love to learn something like Unity too, because I enjoy working in both 2D and 3D.
Flixel is an excellent choice! I play around every now and then with it and it's rock solid, even for non-retro looking stuff. Also, you may find that Unity is pretty easy-- I worked with it about a year ago and found that it was pretty sweet for easy 3D development, even though it has problems with polish. I would hesitate to ever use Unity as a platform though since it does not seem to play consistently with browser updates.
If you have access to it, Flash is a great platform for prototyping because so much of the asset handling is done for you as long as you're not trying to optimize performance.
quote:
Karasu- Wow really? What a coincidence. I was working on this a few years back but trying to implement A* was giving me such a headache that I stopped and decided to work on the art side of things first (at the speed of molasses). Looking back, the code is pretty ugly and I'm redoing from scratch. Again, needless to say I am not experienced at all at coding, so help/advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Yes, the reason why I'm set on AS2 is simply because of the version I have access to. I understand that AS3 is a lot better overall, especially in speed performance.
Yah, AS3 is more reliable and more rational (and I know it better), but I can understand your reasoning for sure, since Flash is stupidly expensive.
Sounds like my kind of game! Let me know what kinds of issues you run into and I can help out. I can share some code snippets (adapted to AS2), and if you don't mind my stupefying schedule I can probably even help out with actual coding if you want.
Eh, maybe I will start up a new thread for all of this programming dork-talk to keep it from mixing too much with Japan news and talk.
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| Moo
28th Post
Rare Customer
| "Re(8):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Tue 17 May 08:06
quote:
Flixel is an excellent choice! I play around every now and then with it and it's rock solid, even for non-retro looking stuff. Also, you may find that Unity is pretty easy-- I worked with it about a year ago and found that it was pretty sweet for easy 3D development, even though it has problems with polish. I would hesitate to ever use Unity as a platform though since it does not seem to play consistently with browser updates.
Yeah, I've been having trouble getting Unity Web Player to install on my desktop PC for a long time now, but it works on my laptop. Started working with Unity recently, seems nice. I've done some stuff in UDK and Source Engine, they seem nice too. That's mainly just the artist's side of things, though.
Back on topic, it seems like the general media is very slow to acknowledge that all three reactors have/probably have melted down... I've barely seen it reported anywhere. I've also heard that three workers have died so far.
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| Professor 3044th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(8):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's Fault" , posted Wed 18 May 00:04:
Today was really, really tiring, although mostly in a mental way. Things here are not looking good. The meltdown is one thing. Three reactors down, and the radiation is slowly spreading.
I may also have another personal issue with the nuclear disaster. To put it short, this is not a good time to have road construction done right in front of your place. Concrete and asphalt material is made of sewer concentration, and they've been highly radioactive since the incident because they're made in the contaminated prefectures. While shipments stopped earlier this month, the government hasn't put any restrictions to those that've already shipped. I need a dosimeter/geiger counter. But again, they're out of supply and they're unreliable second-hand.
KTallguy:
There's a few questions that I'd like to ask.. however, I've lost your address. Can you mail me?
Karasu:
Thank you! Indeed, AS3 looks more organized and its commands/syntax is a lot more.. well, universal? It seems less proprietary for sure. I'll continue on this topic in the other thread you've created.
[this message was edited by Professor on Wed 18 May 00:16] |
| Oh my
13th Post
New Customer
| "Re(6):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's F" , posted Fri 20 May 05:01
quote:
I always see money causing more problems than anything else. I've even thought that we can't move forward as a species until we get past the hold money has over everything. I wish there was a viable alternative, but even if there was, people are so used to things as they are that they wouldn't give it up unless there was a major incident. One with immediately obvious results.
No, no, no, not blame the money, money hasn’t done anything is just a piece of paper is like blame the alcohol for causing social problems, being just a product of a beautiful metabolic process of microbes. Sadly, MONEY is the blood that runs tru the veins of our society. The greed is to blame. Picture this awful situation like this:
the nuclear tech is something horribly beautiful and expensive. We are an electric generation, what we are now is thanks to the electric power. Sadly the main source of efficient energy power is running out and as I know US have the most of them. What the other countries have to keep on moving?
Of course there are environmental friendly alternatives but they aren’t powerful enough to sustain a city and the economy. I remember many years ago i watched a report about japan biggest project of building a huge city outside the island that could stand earthquakes and tsunamis. Even they where making a research using the photosynthetic energy in algae as power source, what happened to that? It looks like it wasn’t too successful or still on working.
Nuclear energy, with that bad fame, I think it could be the last resource a government could have as a power energy source. In the incident of japan if the company and the government thought about the MONEY in the RIGHT WAY that problem could be prevented, by messing up the highly cost reactors but imagine being in that energy plant which many parts of japan depend on. Even if the workers where trained is not the same call the devil than watch him comes. Well this situation work as an example for the other countries that use this type of plant to have water tank in case of this type of emergencies.
Before the nuclear disaster in Jap I saw a special program called “nuclear revolution”. Have you seen France? That country is a nuclear menace. Sadly they stated that unlike US they don’t have the enough "money" to rely in other energy source.
We like computers, we like video games, we like technology, this is what we got. We can live happily in a farm without water system using candles, but do we want that?
There are companies investing money looking for a enviromental safe way to make energy but they need brilliant minds and the energy crisis is tense. Imagine if one of those companies creates a easiest safe way to generate energy, it will be the most powerful company in the world and there won’t be any crisis if the source is renovable. That’s why Bulma is looking for the dragon ballz hehehehe.
what?
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| Professor 3054th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(6):Re(10):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Chaz's F" , posted Mon 23 May 16:03:
Ktallguy:
Well, here's two similar-but-opposite examples of things that happened last week.
One, I was having a conversation with a friend who lives in Tokyo but also has a place in Osaka. He understands the current situation with the reactors; it's a full meltdown, Tokyo is considered safe but noone knows the long-term effects of living with constant low-level radiation in air and food. His conclusion was that he worked too long to abandon his current workplace and career, so rather than evacuating to his Osaka place, he'd rather live the good life and die hard in Tokyo. Which is totally understandable and fine, his life is his decision to make. He was considering moving if he had children in the future, because it's no longer just a life of his own in that case.
Then, there was another conversation I took on. This was with a head of a grade school.
Grade schools have playgrounds and soil/sand, which tends to soak in radiation quite well. Even in Tokyo where the current air measurements are in acceptable limits, radiation on non-asphalt grounds tends to be high. Basically, the school head was telling me that they have absolutely no plans to do any sort of measuring on their own no matter what the situation, unless the government orders them to do so. They don't want to take action beyond what they're told, because it's possible that taking actions might frighten their students and parents. (read: the school doesn't want trouble and responsibilities)
This, I found troublesome. I can understand the government trying to ignore the danger because this incident is just too much to handle nationwide, but I would've thought that local institutes, particularly with children, would be more cautious. This was apparently not the case. It was very disheartening that a head of a school is reacting almost identically as the government.
Coincedently, this conversation took place around the same time when Shizuoka prefecture was refusing to do testings on their dried tea leaves "because they're fine".
Spoon: There really isn't one. They have evacuation plans for major earthquakes but none for a nuclear disaster or war. The biggest safeguard against a nuclear disaster for Tokyo has been distance: they haven't made plants in a direct-hit radius.
[this message was edited by Professor on Mon 23 May 17:43] |
| chazumaru 794th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member+
| "Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Mon 23 May 19:42:
Sony on Monday changed its earnings estimate for the year to March 2011 to a net loss of 260 billion yen ($3.2 billion) from a profit of 70 billion, in the company's first indication of the financial impact of the devastating March earthquake and tsunami.
I am surprised by the huge impact on their previous fiscal year. It's not like their biggest sales month is in March. Maybe Sony had factories there? I would have rather expected the tsunami to impact this fiscal year bedause of delayed projects/deliveries, shortages of parts and less enthusiastic consumers. This is for Sony as whole, by the way, not only SCE.
[edit] Apparently this sudden loss is related to a strategic pre-payment of anticipated taxes, in order to ease up the next few years, so it is not such a big problem and not directly related to the tsunami, unlike what online reports speculated. That makes more sense.
[edit2] Reuters has the exact explanation. Not so good news.
quote:
Sony said it now expected to post a net loss of 260 billion yen ($3.2 billion), due to a non-cash charge of around 360 billion yen related to Japanese tax credits.
Companies are allowed to carry forward tax losses for up to seven years if they can show future taxable profits are likely. But three consecutive years of net losses is considered evidence under U.S. accounting rules, the global standard, that those credits may not be available to it.
So, Sony was trying to carry forward losses from previous years but they performed and are still expecting to perform badly enough that they could not go further and had to revise their results based on this unexpected accounting issue.
無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は
[this message was edited by chazumaru on Mon 23 May 22:15] |
| oh my
19th Post
New Customer
| "Re(4):Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Thu 26 May 04:22
Well that’s good at least they are doing something about it
About the winds stuff, i am not an expert, but if in the company stills the emanation of those gases there are problems specially the back area. Think it like this: during the wind changes, in PR, meteorologist said there is a Sahara sands thing coming form Africa, Its takes all over the island, making the days hotter, suspiciously cloudy and completely destroy the view.
Some other said is some kind of contamination from US. If japan is going to be contaminated the other countries should be worried too. I think is worst for the others countries because as far the contamination moves from its current point, depending on lots of physical factors… bah is all a mess.
Japan is big there are places that cannot be so affected unlike here that is small, and looks like US where using us for unsuccessful nuclear energy experiments. There are so many nuclear contamination rumors here sometimes people said that US is using us as a nuclear wasteland.
But I don’t know why, if there are nukes here, the only thing affecting is the reproductive rate because womans here don’t stop giving birth.(according to some studies and as i see) (Ah maybe el chupacabra is a product of those nuke things affecting the lizard population)anyway i love my island.
Let’s call “captain planet “to clean up all this environmental mess... Aw, it doesn’t work
what?
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| Oh my
22th Post
New Customer
| "Re(5):Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Wed 1 Jun 03:39
quote:
Some of it is odd, like it regulates porn for some reason, without making any specific defenition to what constitutes porn. It's also extremely vague that even programming bugs or unupdated applications could be interpreted as a virus and its author be fined or imprisoned.
No way, that’s cool, how can they do that. Is the government that big?
Hey Professor, try to get juicy information getting inside of a university or find a contact that can get some information about what the scholars thinks of the situation in japan. Those institutions are known because they have those freedom speech rights (if the government doesn’t have the control over it). Better if you get to know someone who knows about nuclear technology. Be careful dont get too crazy about it like Dr Layton hehehe.
The bad thing is, some scholars are crazy and can terrorize minds with their weird theories and questions. Then if everything is tense they can put you in a list of terrorist suspects.
Anyway that entire control thing, i think is because of their pride and principles. I don’t know about the dark side of Japan but as i know that country have gone too far because of their unity belief, like live in a house with very strict parents.
I don’t want to sound like a Japanese sympathizer or something but they can’t just make their kids go crazy with rumors. Like those religious terrorist who don’t accept homosexuality and see it as a terrible sin. Then you see kids killing themselves.
But in other hand when you try to cover something is because there is something fishy.OMG, what a terrible situation. Dystopian nation? Thats controvertial hehehe
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| Professor 3071th Post
MMCafe Owner
| "Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Thu 2 Jun 19:16:
quote:
Moo: It's not floating around the English side of the Internet as far as I know.
Not that I doubted you or anything, I just thought it was strange how the English sites that focus on Japanese news haven't noticed at all. Usually they'd be up in arms and raging over it by now.
It's very understandable and I wouldn't blame you even if you questioned it. I'm assuming the news isn't in English sites because of a number of points. One, it's a very locally contained problem that in no way effects other countries the way that a nuclear incident would. And two, it's not something you can be horrified on TV, like the way you see incidents like a Tsunami.
The bill was surrounded by contraversy since two months ago, so it's been around. The general media never covered it so most people wouldn't know about it except for some Internet users that check the free press for their news. here's a link to an English explanation. It doesn't cover all the points, but it should give you a rough idea.
There was a parliament voting today to take the prime minister out of his position. But right before the voting, he makes a speech that he'll resign from his position after the current situation has settled a bit. That killed the voting results and he was able to stay. But right afterwards, he started saying that he has no plans to step down. IMO this is the worst prime minister that Japan has ever had.
The problem with Japan is, citizens have very little control over their government and don't even have the power to vote for their prime minister. They can only vote for a party, and the party fights within itself and selects a prime minister. The worse problem is, all the parties are pretty much the same. It's like trying to select which Mcdonalds you want to go to. Most Japanese usually just select the biggest and oldest one. They tried out something for a change and went for a smaller one, then the incident just happened to occur.
Given this kind of situation, I don't think it's too hard to understand how citizens have pretty much given up on their country's politics and government. They don't have the power to change anything.
[this message was edited by Professor on Fri 3 Jun 02:32] |
| Moo
43th Post
Rare Customer
| "Re(2):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Sat 4 Jun 02:30:
Thanks again, Prof. Regarding people and their government, isn't that the same everywhere else? Down here it's always Liberal or Labour, and in America it's always the Democrats or the Republicans. We only see the results of the winner, and we all know that politicians can't be trusted to keep to their word, so we might have seen the same general results either way, right? That and, since it's always only really a choice between two parties, they could easily be in agreement or something along those lines. I've personally always thought that it wasn't much of a "choice" to choose between the same two parties all the time, and I don't think things should be simplified and generalised into parties either. When faced with only the same two bad choices, everyone just goes with the lesser evil or whoever's most popular.
I believe that politics is just a show put on to create the illusion of freedom and choice. Despite what some people believe, I think politics does affect us significantly, but we don't really have any control over it. The people who get into politics are usually the ones that can't be trusted with power, and their reasons for becoming a politician are for the huge potential of personal profit and not to benefit the people. That's where the real problem is. It's disturbing to know that these people are the ones with their fingers on the trigger button.
[this message was edited by Moo on Sat 4 Jun 03:05] |
| Oh my
31th Post
Rare Customer
| "Re(5):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Thu 9 Jun 06:11
quote:
Ah, yeah... changing promises immediately after is unusual. That's pretty disgusting.
WOW, politics, the never ending story.
Is interesting in most countries the politics are divided in 2 parties, like good vs. evil. In my country there are 3 parties, THe independent party (minority), the Associated Free State of Puerto Rico and those who want to be a state. Which is not considerate real politics is just a way to create an ideology and parties to suck the second class money.
I remember, years ago, there were no taxes in my country and the government didn’t suck up too much money from the people. Then they start with those stupid things like if we become a state of USA we were going to pay taxes like there. Then in 2000 the banks went on crisis, the energy went on crisis, the 911 incident and BOOM we pay taxes like in US, some says is worse.
The latest thing to suck money, the lottery taxes, obligating the people to pay for play something we don’t want. In a $100 bill you pay $20 in taxes here.
quote:
Given this kind of situation, I don't think it's too hard to understand how citizens have pretty much given up on their country's politics and government. They don't have the power to change anything.
The government doesn’t have any power. They are just a bunch of monkeys pretending they are working and making stupid’s laws. The world is already one and the main language is MONEY and the RULER is the BANKS. That’s why US doesn’t complain a lot about accepting outside religion and believes because, anyway, as long as you bring the money and do your work, everything is fine.
Life is like a game and the governments are the ones who gave the instructions of how to play. You move to the ones that suit you better.
Have anyone see Haiti? After the earthquake they are like in anarchy because all the politicians escaped. The Red Cross and other agencies helped and some artist took advantage of the situation.
Then one artist complains telling that “it doesn’t matter HOW many people come to help them, if the government doesn’t do something, all the help would be in vain”, too bad.
This might sound weird but WE are the one who have the POWER. But is too risky to make revolutionary movements because you don’t know with who you are dealing with, like in Cuba. The only thing we have is to keep the faith, have hope and move on.
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| Moo
51th Post
Occasional Customer
| "Re(6):Re(10):Holy Cripses Not Kaz's Fault" , posted Fri 10 Jun 11:47:
The government and the banks buddy up. It's the same with any job (or anything else), everyone gets in by connections and they always back up their friends. They have power because they make the laws and enforce them on us (while breaking them behind the scenes). It takes a lot of people to fight back, but most people just want to live in peace or believe that everything's okay, and that's totally understandable. I just wish everything wasn't so screwed up.
Anyway, back on topic. Hope I'm not upsetting anyone by posting radiation-related stuff. I also have no idea how reliable or accurate these articles are:
"Radiation check in Japan June7/11"
"Cesium detected in Shizuoka tea"
"Shizuoka tells tea retailer to conceal radiation info"
"Bando City in Ibaraki Prefecture Made 3rd-Graders Pick Tea Leaves in the Rain, Have Them Eat Tempura Made from Raw Tea Leaves"
"Radioactive tea from Japan detained in France"
"Hot Particles From Japan to Seattle Virtually Undetectable when Inhaled or Swallowed", with an explanation for metallic taste in mouth.
"Radiation in Japan: Nosebleed, Diarrhea, Lack of Energy in Children in Koriyama City, Fukushima"
"Children sickness linked to Fukushima radiation"
"Japan bans medical checkups and scientific research on radiation affected citizens without first getting government approval."
"Radioactive water cleanup system (epic) fail"
Fukushima residents' urine now radioactive
Japan's "throwaway" nuclear workers
Tokyo Electric, also included a quiet effort to skirt Japan's safety rules: foreign workers were brought in for the most dangerous jobs, a manager of the project said.
The workaround was to bring in foreign workers who would absorb a full-year's allowable dose of radiation of between 20 millisieverts and 25 millisieverts in just a few days.
Tokyo Electric would admit five years later it had hid evidence of the extent of the defect in the shroud from regulators.
Children as subjects of radiation research
Some schools and kindergartens are having the parents sign a consent form to let their children play on the schoolyards, and use the consent as some sort of endorsement for "safety" when someone questions the wisdom.
Some junior high schools say they will give students who skip the outdoor PE class the lowest grade, even if that significantly lower the grade point average for the seniors trying to get into good high schools.
Lady Gaga says Japan safe for tourists
...because Lady Gaga is such a reliable authority on radiation and nuclear meltdown.
Free one-week stay for Tohoku JET alums interested in helping out former communities
Come to Japan then go home and tell everyone how safe the radiation looks!
Michio Kaku on CNN: Fukushima - "They Lied to Us"
Depleted Uranium Storage Facility Next to Cosmo Oil Refinary In Chiba Burned after Earthquake Hit on March 11
Radioactive Suit disposal fail
Extreme Ultimate Epic Fail
Anyway, if anyone reads this, hopefully those URLs will help people get started on where to find information and revelations regarding the disaster.
[this message was edited by Moo on Thu 14 Jul 18:05] |
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"Re(3):No need to panic, Toxic is here (?)" , posted Fri 11 Mar 22:45:
"Re(3):Holy Cripses Earthquake" , posted Sun 13 Mar 13:08
Best site EVER:
