Kamala Brown-Sparks comments

My kids have a choice, but they have only a few options and all of them are approved by a nutritionist ahead of time. Yes,they are allowed to select fruit & veggies, but again they have selections for that day which have already been approved by a nutritionist. My kids are in middle & high school, but the school corporation where we live plans meal options a month in advance. Guess what, they aren't always burgers & fries???? I know you have probably passed out now. I live in a diverse community and our food selection is also diverse, including celebrating international holidays. This doesn't represent every school corporation in the US, but the schools that were serving food that had been exposed to run off water & radiation from Fukushima don't represent all of the schools in Japan.

The legend involves Kashima & the Namazu. Kashima is the God responsible for controlling the Namazu ( Catfish), which are thought to cause Eartquakes. This is the information that I've found in mythology so far :-).@

My stepfather committed suicide. It still makes me sad & I feel sad for his family and friends because I know the pain they will be experiencing.

She should've sought mental help...ROTFLMFBAO, wow! You've found a spot in Japan that has easily accessible, QUALITY mental health resources...do tell, where is it at? I NEVER claimed that TEPCO was the sole factor that contributed to her death, but I think her family would know what she was thinking far more than you or I. When I said she didn't use anything from TEPCO I was being facetious, sorry it went over your head. Her family isn't suing over anything that was used to kill herself, at least it's not stated in this piece. I do indeed understand the process, perhaps you didn't read my post as closely as you think you did.....you'll notice that I didn't say that I thought the husband would win his suit. Tmarie--she could've indeed have a history of mental illness, but as far as we know there is nothing stating she was suicidal before this incident...so could this incident not have been the exacerbating incident? Therefore, TEPCO should still be responsible for some percentage of her death, even if she did have some sort of previous mental illness.

Tmarie **** you are talking about two completely different things, as we the States...you can't compare apples & oranges. If someone choose to use a train as their method for committing suicide, then why would their family sue JR? But, you must be living in your own little EUTOPIA, if you think that TEPCO's irresponsible and negligent handling of Fukushima was not the factor that directly contributed to her death. She didn't use anything from TEPCO, although the radiation probably wasn't something that would contribute to her longevity.

Kwatt...I've never been shot at in my 37 years on the planet

Faderkinta, I know what you mean. Right after I turned 18, I broke up a fight. A friend of mine was standing across the parking lot and she wanted to know what happened. Looking back at it we may not have made the "best" decision, but we started using ASL; apparently, the cop that was next to me must have thought I was throwing a gang sign. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground and everyone is yelling at the cops that I'd just had surgery. I had a plastic bag full of medication for my MS, and I'm totally freaking out; when we got to the police department and the person doing fingerprints heard my name, he didn't finish taking my prints. He starts telling me about how our dads had been on the police force together (my dad had a reserve deputy badge even though he'd already retired); suddenly, the cops all start being nice to me and they actually got my bag of meds and brought me a drink to take a pain med. I also know what it's like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that's what happens when you date a guy whose brother's in the Klan. Looking back at it, I totally understand why my parents told my sister and I never to go to the town he lived in, but I was young, dumb and...you know the rest of it, lol,. On 9/11, I lived across the street from a mosque; that Friday, I came home to 4 cop cars in front of my house, bomb threat. My husband and I had been busy trying to make sure all of our Muslim friends had the basic goods to survive, they couldn't go to the stores to get anything. Talking to the police made me realize that my girls looked just like all of their friends. I don't know how things will get better, people think that just because Obama is president all of the racism has been magically erased. If anything I think that it's gotten worse, now the racist feel justified in their racism because they don't want a black person telling them what to do. The most annoying part of it is that they've created all of these non-justified reasons for their racism, like Obama wasn't born in the US. I'd much rather someone be honest and say they don't want a bi-racial president.

@Yabits---Yes, we have talkings about other subjects...I test out a lot of my lesson plan ideas on them, the most recent involved the graphic novels Maus 1 &2, Barefoot Gen, Palestine, and the Contract w/God Trilogy.

Well Lieberman, I am an American and I don't think that Zimmerman is guilty because he's a different race than his victim, anymore than I think my husband hates all black and African Americans because he's white. I do however think that Zimmerman is guilty, wait for it......because he shot a boy who was "packin'" A BAG OF SKITTLES AND AN ICED TEA....oh yeah, and because the POLICE TOLD HIM NOT TO CHASE TRAYVON. Apparently, you are the one who is in need of a dictionary. If someone is afraid that they are going to be killed, they don't chase after the person that they're "afraid of"....they do what Trayvon did, they try and run away and then when they person has hunted them done, as is the case with Zimmerman......they ask the person why they're following them, you guessed it.....like you can hear Trayvon doing on the 911 tape. I'm obviously not a member of the NBPP, pretty sure marrying my husband would ban me from being a member. Do I think they should have a bounty out for Zimmerman, no I don't. Is there a part of me that feels like he shouldn't be staying in a safe house, hell yeah there is. The part of me that always has to be observant of where I'm at, the part of me that's had "the talk" (as it's been called this week) with my daughter's. In case you didn't know the talk goes something like this: I know that we've taught you to never be mean to someone because of their race, religion, sexual and/or gender preferences, religion, ethnicity or physical ability.....my girls': duh mom, why would we do that....me: well, I want you to know that there are some people who will only see the "black" part of you when they look at you....there are people who won't like you just because of that, and you need to always keep that in the back of your head....you see, because they weren't raised that way they sometimes forget that there are people in the world who believe those things. But they have a grandma who sat at the back of the bus and was forced to drink warm water out of the water fountains, and they had a grandfather who was the first African American police officer in the town where we live. So they know that when my father first joined the force, the white officers didn't come back him up when he first started. They also know, that they are related to John Wilkes Booth (yep, the guy who killed the president who "freed" the slaves). They also know that what happened to Trayvon is wrong, not because my husband and I have said that to them, but because they know that a kid shouldn't get shot because he's walking home after buying a bag of Skittles and an iced tea. It's really sad that my 13 and 11 year olds are able to come to the conclusion that this situation should never have happenend, but some of the "adults" on here aren't able to come to that same conclusion. "An injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere"--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

I love the comments that state Americans are all stupid; funny, I was always taught to paint a whole group of people in a negative manner because of the actions of a few was ignorant. I will stipulate that there are a number of ignorant people here, for example, directly above my post....why would the President call any of the teabaggers (their name, until the meaning was pointed out to them)? Many of the people who are in the Tea Party, don't even want to acknowledge that he's an American citizen...Personally, I don't think any of the women should called these names, regardless of their party affiliation.

Sorry, but I am so glad that they aren't serving them here......I did try many things while I was in Japan, and while I could tolerate tuna before I went, I haven't been able to eat it after partaking of it so many times :-P

I'll admit it, there was a big sarcastic WTF....when I read how Japan had avoided a disaster as bad as Chernobyl.....Did I fall into a coma, enter a time warp and during that time none of the fuel rods at Fukushima melted? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Wow...and how is this cement going to be made so that it's earthquake and tsunami proof??? What I don't understand, is how all of the other countries in the world are also able to act like this leaking radiation is no big deal....smh

Samantha, none of my daughters were placed in the nursery at the hospital (I've got Multiple Sclerosis, so I had to have hospital deliveries). All of them slept in our room and were breastfed. When my youngest was born my hormones did get out of whack, not in a way that caused me to want to hurt her. I did however develop terrible anxiety that she would need me and I would be asleep, literally going for several days without any sleep. Luckily for me, I'm married to a therapist and he realized that my hormones were out of whack and got me into the doctor.

****>CrazyJoeFEB. 14, 2012 - 03:15AM JST Infanticide (killing of a baby less than 1 year old) in Japan is extremely rare in Japan now considering the population. 27 babies were killed in 2005.

When I mentioned the high rate of depression, I wasn't intending to say that women were killing their babies. I meant to say that there are a lot of people who are depressed. When I was there mental health issues were generally ignored.

KobeGal---I completely agree with you. I'm not saying that it's right for her to have killed her child, but it sounds very much like postpartum depression to me. I hate to state the obvious, but Japan has a high suicide rate. And Maria, before you ask where I got this idea from let me first say, simply search this site for the key term 33,000 suicide's a year in Japan, the rekishi (death by train suicides that frequently occur here). There isn't really a very good mental healthcare system in Japan, this statement is based on the attempts at recruiting my husband who's a therapist, and one of his co-workers who actually took a position in Japan. Again, I am NOT excusing her behavior....

Serrano, thank you (-8

I have Multiple Sclerosis, and all I can say is that the muscle spasms are HORRIBLE! Plus, there are times when my body burns from it and the meds that are available now barely help. It's like a cycle sometimes, you can be exhausted and try to sleep but then the muscles spasms start and you wake up all over again. It's hard to remember what life was like before all of the pain (I got MS at 17), but I'd be willing to do almost anything to a few pain free hours.

Opps, Kirsten...spellcheck

Don't get me wrong, I totally get that the US has a way of overstaying their welcome...but, it's not like main land Japanese are all that nice to the people of Okinawa, either. And, I do seem to recall humanitarian effort being made by the US after 3/11. Kristen, I totally agree that a Coral Reef should NOT be filled in. However, the lovely gifts from Fukushima really aren't helping the cause...just saying.

My heat aches, just reading about these Coast Guard members.....how horrible to be in a situation where a "good" day, is finding the body of a missing person.....

I don't think teachers being allowed to beat there students is going to change these kids (and others like them). The problem is that they don't think and/or don't have a family that cares about them. Gangs become a substitution for family.

JeanVal---How do you know that there isn't anything contaminated on the inside of these buildings? I don't know how many little kids you've been around, but they lick everything. I find it ridiculous that the gravel companies are supposed to report any material, they've done such a bang up job in the past.

This sounds like an accident, as the driver did indeed have te briefcase fastened. It sees idiotic to me that the police dont charge people who ACTUALLY throw items, but charge someone who tried to fasten the item.....smdh

And it's easy to see how rape continues....SMDH! First of all, as her coach he is in a position of authority. As such, he shouldn't have been tossing back drinks w/her in the first place, and if you are with your COACH you should be able to think this person has your best interest at heart. My daughter Amanè あまね just made the basketball team, and I'm telling you now, if one of her coaches was with her and watched her consume alcohol (albeit she's in middle school) but did nothing to stop her, I would be PISSED! If said coach then had sex with her, he better hope that I don't find him. In general, people who are raped deal with that trauma for years and that's without having to deal with people like some of the posters, who believe that it's okay because she should've been more responsible. I mean, who in their right mind would expect their coach not to have sex with them when they are drunk? I think it's interesting that several of the posters are quick to point out that the coach is innocent unitl proven guilty. However, these same posters have condemned the girl to be someone who just wants money.

What I find ridiculous, is the fact that there are a large number of people who are still homeless and/or jobless, and money that could be used to help them or people who fish more locally is being spent on whale hunting.

You'd think they would have so much protective gear, that the chance of getting the flu would be lower.....oh wait, it's TEPCO....like they have quality protective gear... @Pamelot, rotflmao....you speak the truth ;-)

I think the crimes that were committed were horrendous and the women deserve to be compensated, as it was them who had their bodies defiled. That being said, NOTHING is going to be done by the Japanese to make a heartfelt apology, compensate the women or even admit their responsibility. If the Japanese government won't even compensate & move all of its citizens who live in areas contaminated by the nuclear meltdown, provide accurate testing and documentation of the children living in the effective areas or even quit trying to peddle contaminated food to its citizens, then there's fat chance they're going to do the proper thing for the victims of these SEX CRIMES.

Neo--I think the Japanese know that better than anyone, don't you?

My husband is a therapist and works w/inmates....It's Me & others talking about the child needing to learn about the REAL WORLD: In the REAL WORLD, the child molesters said that when they were looking for a kid to abscond, they always looked to see which child/ren never had a parent around or come out frequently to check on them....so in my REAL WORLD, I follow the advise of my husband who's had to work with all kind of nut jobs!

****Japan_Cynic...no thanks, we don't need any help getting tainted food in the US....there seems to always be some kind of recall here, BUT at least they recall it here