KobeKid comments

Jbeezy got a little job for you. Google "Ichiro's all start speech"

Good post LRFAgain. You reminded of an article that appeared in Nature magazine last April about the aftermath of Chernobyl,

As early as 1991, an IAEA study found psychological effects to be "wholly disproportionate to the biological significance of the radiation". This study placed a high priority on providing accurate information about radiation health risks to affected populations. But 15 years later, the UN Chernobyl Forum Report still concluded that Chernobyl's impact on mental health is "the largest public-health problem caused by the accident to date". Misperceptions, and inefficient compensation, have led to widespread fatalism and feelings of victimization among locals. Resulting rises in alcohol consumption and smoking may well have done more damage than radiation exposure (see Nature 471, 562–565; 2011). The failure to solve social and psychological problems relates not only to a lack of effort (at Chernobyl, vastly more has been spent on physical remediation than on public engagement), but also to the intractability of the problem.

excellent post PM a few thoughts...

Hate to break it to you, but any administration is going to make errors. This is not Watergate. Or Irangate.

hmmm how about a few facts...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sq3GGwgV7R0

Where does this hatred of Obama come from?

he's not one of us. He's an outsider, a usurper. He's an affirmative action graduate that's why he needs a teleprompter. A Kenyan anti-colonialist, Marxian, Aliskyite, Soshulist, Islamo-facist bent on destroying our country.

To be fair I don't think Sailwind believes all this, but the few remaining sane Republicans need to call out their less than sane brethren when they spout this stuff. Give Gingrich credit, he knows all the dog whistles for whipping up angst among southern white males. Problem is this demographic is not nearly enough to carry a national election.

Where does this hatred of Obama come from? This question has been asked before...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BewOcp1JtDU&list=FL0n1KtT5tGCBH9tbc7Dbv9A&index=27&feature=plpp_video

I'm surprised that the ex-wife's allegations have failed to dent his so-called surge.

Got a great quote from Dan Savage on that....

"The lesson in Gingrich’s angry denial and the applause that greeted it: An honest open relationship is more scandalous, and more politically damaging, than a dishonest adulterous relationship. An honest, mutually consensual nonmonogamous marriage — which is not what Newt was proposing (you can’t negotiate an honest open marriage with your spouse six years into an affair) — is newer and somehow more threatening than the "traditional" cheating Gingrich engaged in,"

Newt Gingrich, leader of the party of family values!

and another great tweet!

RT@LOLGOP:OVERHEARD AT THE NEWT VICTORY PARTY: What's with the bowl full of keys?

if you don't get it check the urban dictionary....

Tweet of the night

Republican voters seem to have asked Mitt Romney for an open relationship tonight... have some fun before they marry him... you know?

https://twitter.com/#!/marcambinder/status/160898541663944704

Gomi was not immediately available for comment on the book.

He was on the radio this morning, saying basically what this article says. One weird thing was how he says he met Jong Nam. He said he saw him in the Beijing airport went up to him and asked if he was Kim Jong-Nam. When Jong-Nam replied in the affirmative he got his e mail address...

Gomi says he speaks Korean.

Gurukun "...and, how do they define "serious"?"

20,000 yen or more....

What happened to this guy under the UCMJ?

they suspended his driving privileges for five years. Main point here is that these people are not being tried by the US, so Japan wants the opportunity to do so. To answer your other question this only applies to those cases resulting in death of serious injury that the US does not take to court.

Great post Hikozaemon. As for the Japanese gov't growing a pair and exercising a little muscle on this issue one can only hope.

Many people may use Japan as a way to migrate.

yeah some to escape crushing poverty, so what's your point?

It's seems okay to mock Mitt Romney for being a mormon, but not to suspect Obama for his muslum roots. Maybe because Romney is an "evil" white guy, and we're all suppose to boost up the black Obama. White guilt at it's best. Whites are their own worst enemies. Build up an empire, then become liberals and give it away.

Wow Eric Cartman posts on JT!

Oh, and am I the only one who thinks it's ironic that tobacco plants have 'high level' of cancer forming substances...

No.

Peoples perception of risk is totally out of whack.

excellent article! Well done Mr. Talmadge. This story reminded of an article written by Jim Smith on the aftermath of Chernobyl.

A turning point in my understanding of Chernobyl's impacts came while studying lakes in Belarus during the mid-1990s. In an evacuated area, lake fish contained tens of thousands of becquerels per kilogram. A couple in their early seventies lived near the lake, eating the fish and growing vegetables. They were living off contaminated land, but leading the life they had chosen to lead. This wouldn't by any means be the right choice for everybody, but I am convinced they had made the right decision for them: they were Chernobyl survivors, not victims.

know some of these guys personally, very professional and very sincere. like namabiru wish I could join the ride, but at least I can give in support.

interesting fact about the school lunch situation is that the Mayor and Fisherman's union in Taiji tried to get dolphin meat onto the menu in Taiji elementary schools but two Taiji councilmen checked the mercury levels for themselves and squelched that plan.

Of around 4000 thyroid cases in children after Chernobyl, 98.8 percent were successfully treated. The cancers are common knowledge, the treatment success is a fact on the brink of extinction.

http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/04/05/measuring-our-monsters/

Taj said,

I wouldn't necessarily expect that would hold true across disaster relief, however.

clearing debris with other volunteers yes perhaps, working full time in a school gymnasium with refugees... completely different situation and I stand by my original post.

It is hard to imagine a more stressful ordeal, short of all-out war perhaps, than what survivors of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami are going through, many of them homeless, jobless, future-less, hopeless, and bereft of loved ones.

Hats off to you for going up and lending a hand to those in need. And your point is well made that maybe this article is a little sensational and over protective, but this is a "kuchikomi" an article written by Japanese for Japanese. You speak Japanese well enough and have lived here long enough to know that most members of this society lead very sheltered lives. "kahogo" from the cradle to the grave. Most people's circle of concern extends only to family and maybe work colleagues. Suddenly going out to such heavily devastated areas and encountering total strangers who are struggling for survival is more than many can handle.

You also pointed out something that the article failed to mention and that is the "heady" factor. Yes there is stress, but there is also the satisfaction of helping others in dire need. I was here in Kobe during the earthquake in '95 and volunteered at a junior high school in Nagata-ku. The number of people from outside of Kobe who came to help was so encouraging to both the homeless and volunteers. But this disaster is a completely different can of worms and much more stressful.

thanks for your comments Taj. My comments are based on volunteering in a hospice and working with folks facing the end. I've seen many willing, strong people come to the hospice to help and many leave because of the stress. Those who last the longest are those who have a belief system (Buddhist, Christian, whatever) and it's been my experience that those are also the ones providing the most comfort. The situation in Tohoku is similar, with thousands who have lost everything and can see no future. What do you say to these folks? Probably best just to listen and give very little advice. Sitting back and praying? Your words not mine, but I would say unless you have a strong enough constitution for it, better to stay home and pray than to get yourself into something you are not prepared for. That also seems to be the message of this article.

Experience Taj, if you want to call it personal bias that's your choice.

Ask yourself whether you are tough enough, mentally and physically, for the demands of the job.

I would add spiritually to that list. Those who have a belief system no matter the religion, are much more prepared to help others who are suffering.

So, let us suppose the whole of Japan was covered in caesium-137 to give everybody a dose similar to the helicopter crews flying over the Chernobyl reactor core. Let us further suppose that there was subsequently a tripling of leukemia rates throughout the whole of Japan. What are we up to? I have postulated a ridiculous worst case scenario over a ridiculously large area causing a rate of leukemia way above anything actually measured. The result would be that leukemia would rise to about 13 cases per 100,000 people per year. This is about half the rate of bowel cancer increase that has afflicted the country as a result of shifting from their traditional diet to one with more red and processed meat. It is about a third of the male rate of bowel cancer.

from "Would sir like a Caesium salad with his steak?" by Geoff Russell

once you let the crazy out of the box it's hard to get it back in... ride that tiger Repubs!

@Nigelboy

let's see, shoot the messenger and the MOF's word is the bible... riiiiight.

"If you're able to catch a 1,000 (name your dolphin/whale here) every year at a same designated period and location without too much variation, in all likelihood, the estimates are indeed correct and the limit is "sustainable"."

Dall's porpoise catches have gone from 15,000 to 7,000 in the past several years so according to your last comment this would make them unsustainable.

@Nigelboy

For safe management of small cetaceans exploited by Japan, studies are urgent on the population structure, abundance and validity of catch statistics. The results should be open to scientific communities.

Dr. Toshio Kasuya

This has yet to happen.

these anti-whaling/anti-dolphin-killing people don't understand scientific data and don't even bother to listen to facts.

• The IWC Scientific Committee has expressed its concern over the unsustainability of Japan’s Dall’s porpoise hunt 12 times in the past 16 years.

It would seem there is a shortage of scientific data supporting the dolphin/porpoise hunts, unless you have some to share Mr. Dog.

Japan has come under repeated pressure from the IWC to reduce or stop the small cetacean hunts. In 2001, the IWC urged Japan to halt the directed takes of Dall's porpoises until a full assessment by the Scientific Committee has been carried out. The advice and recommendations of the IWC Scientific Committee and Commission have been largely ignored, although in recent years the catch quotas have been slightly reduced.

From EIA web site,

"The Government of Japan currently permits the killing of more than 22,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales off its coast each year, with the products sold in commercial markets across Japan. Numerous EIA investigations have confirmed that the hunting, landing, transportation and distribution of small cetaceans and small cetacean products are almost completely unsupervised. With over 400 boats authorised to hunt small cetaceans, the system of self-regulation is wide open to abuse."

"It was not until 1993 that national catch limits were set for all exploited species. However the basis for the quotas is uncertain, since there is no real knowledge of stock structure, abundance or status of the exploited populations. A review of the available scientific data makes a mockery of the Japanese Government's claim to support a policy of sustainable utilisation of marine resources. With respect to the striped dolphin, scientists have concluded that some of the coastal population units involved in the Japanese coastal fisheries may have been hunted to extremely low levels or even local extinction - and yet a quota of 700 dolphins is still assigned to fishermen in Wakayama, Shizuoka and Chiba. In addition, the quotas are not legal controls and have no punitive provisions, so fishermen may violate them without breaking any laws and without fear of punishment."

some good discussion going on here. I'd like to add one more voice, one with a little more experience and authority on the subject of the degree of humaneness of the Taiji drive hunts...

"What horrified me in Taiji was that the dolphins were not harpooned, and thus secured to be quickly dispatched. Instead, the hunters were simply throwing spears into a melee of the animals swimming in a small inlet they had sealed off from the sea, hitting them here and there. Then they'd retrieve the spear by hauling in a rope tied to it and hurl it again or use it close up to stab with. This was a far cry from the efficiency — and respect for life, and death — of an Inuit hunter or a whaler at sea.

That first time I witnessed the Taiji killings, I saw a dolphin take 25 minutes to die, while on another hunt I saw one that thrashed and bled for a horrible 45 minutes before it succumbed to its wounds. Killing, if justified and necessary, should surely be merciful and quick — yet I even saw an old grandmother laughing at a dolphin's death throes and pointing out the animal to the small child with her as if it was some kind of joke. That really hurt and shook my belief in people.

In addition to this catalog of horrors, though, as a former marine mammal research technician in Canada, it shocked me that all those dolphins were being captured and killed with no government inspector or fisheries biologist on hand to take data and monitor the kill. I protested about what was going on to the fishermen, and to Town Hall officials in Taiji. I even went to Tokyo and protested to a senior official in the Fisheries Agency, but he just sneered and said, "What does it matter, they die anyway."

CW Nicol

actually Mr. Dog this comment is not from Mr. O'Barry but a trained scientist who is presently visiting Taiji. And of course plankton would be included in this assessment.

@ crazyjohn

from the Ric O'Barry's blog...

"I've also already been asked by one of the town's residents: "What is so special about whales and dolphins and not cows and chickens?" I doubt that I know enough Japanese, or he knew enough English for us to have an intelligent conversation. But, I'll be happy to answer the question here as I see it.

There is a difference pertaining to the ecosystem and either farmed animals or wild animals. When a cow or chicken is removed from a farm, nothing is removed from the ecosystem. When a wild animal is removed from its natural habitat, not only is that animals life taken, but it's also depriving possibly millions of others of animals who depend on what has been removed both while it's alive and after it dies in it's natural environment. This is especially a problem when whole populations of dolphins are removed and permanently depressed in numbers in the ecosystem."

@scotch 17

"AFTER demonizing the entire country"

can't let this one by without a challenge, please post a comment by O'Barry that "demonizes" the whole country. Mr. O'Barry has been very clear that this campaign is not against the Japanese people as a whole, but the 26 fisherman engaged in the drive hunts.

"One of the things I have emphasized in our campaign to Save Japan Dolphins is that the killing of dolphins is done by a small minority of the Japanese people – certainly fewer than a thousand fishermen and others throughout Japan are engaged in some way in killing, butchering and selling dolphins and whales.

I think it is wrong, as some organizations have done, to call for a boycott of Japan because of the kills. The Japanese people are not at fault."

from O'Barry's blog

also from the Save Japan Dolphins blog

"I really love the country of Japan and the Japanese people. My horror and staunch opposition to hunting dolphins has nothing to do with the vast majority of the Japanese people, most of who still do not know that dolphins are killed in the most savage manner possible. They are told lies by their government, and do not have the resources we do in the US to counter those lies.

Our approach, fierce advocates of the dolphins and friends of the Japanese people, is gaining momentum and much attention, especially in Japanese business and government circles where it really counts. The Japan Fisheries Agency, which generates propaganda demonizing opponents, can’t find a way to demonize me and our Save Japan Dolphins Campaign."

If you are American and old enough to recall the far far more violent 60s all you can do is laugh at some of the attempts at analyzing the current US political scene.

Ever heard of Timothy McVeigh?