Japan earthquake and tsunami

Man, have you guys seen any of the videos of the devastation in Japan? I saw one taken inside a building when the earthquake hit and I could not belive how violently things were shaking, I'm talking about these huge filling cabinets and desk being tossed around like dice. Also the tsunami videos are just insane. Heard that the wave went up to six miles inland.

We should all respect the power of Mother Nature.

Here are some vids. On the Yahoo link make sure you watch the one titled "A boat fights waves off the coast"

[url]http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/japan.quake/index.html[/url]

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/20110311/ts_yblog_theenvoy/watch-raw-footage-of-the-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami[/url]

This would be a good time for Goodwill charities to step up to the plate.

In every disaster you see Red Cross, Salvation Army helping out with water, clothes and other needs. But absent is Goodwill Industries.

Time for them to empty one half of their stores of clothes, shoes, blankets, towels and other household goods instead of selling them to the needy and selling the rest as pulp for paper. Send half to Japan and the other half to Haiti.

I have been around for awile and I have met a lot of people. Never met a person that received job trainning from Goodwill.

Horrible natural disaster over there, no doubt. Amazing pictures and devastation...feel horrible for the Japanese people. Not to sound cold-hearted, because I'm not a cold-hearted person at all...but...Isn't Japan a quite wealthy country?

I believe they are 3rd on the list of the World's most wealthy countries. They have the 3rd largest economy in the world looking at Gross Domestic Product, being edged only by China, then the USA. They are 2nd in the World when you look at the number of millionaires in their population.

We happen to be "mortgaged to the hilt" here in the USA. I'm all for helping out somebody as far as sending over rescue/construction teams or equipment that we have that can be used to help find/recover people or rebuild infrastructure. As for the food and clothing and temporary shelter, I think American money should be used to provide that to our own citizens here that are in need. If Japan needs food and clothing for their people after this disaster, they should get their checkbook out and source some...they have a few Yen after all...and I'm sure there are more than one Mason jars full of Yen buried under bamboo trees in the backyards of CEOs of companies that made their fortunes selling products in...you guessed it...the good ole USA.

The Haiti thing was bad and a lot of American's donated cash towards that cause....the difference with them is that they didn't have a pot to piss in to start with. Us throwing cash at Japan would be like taking up a collection for Bill Gates to rebuild his house after it burned down.

I'm all for our people/equipment/resources helping the people of Japan in their time of need....I feel bad for them and it looks like they are hurting....I just don't think we should have to bankroll it.

Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth's axis.

"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).


[url]
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html?hpt=T1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicex+%28Catholic+Exchange%29[/url]

I'm with Splitshot on this. We have to beg borrow or steal to stay afloat in this country so why send money or resources we don't have?

I know it's also a political issue so common sense is gone which means money and resources being sent.

I do have family there and we still can't get in touch with them. I would say alot of the communication lines are gone or just clogged with use.

[QUOTE=DJD;445261]I do have family there and we still can't get in touch with them. I would say alot of the communication lines are gone or just clogged with use.[/QUOTE]

Sorry to hear that, Don...I hope that they're okay and you are able to get in touch with them soon...

Right now 4% of their country is without power. MILLIONS of people are homeless. Nobody's saying we should write a check to cover their expenses, but what we're doing, like a lot of other countries, is offering some humanitarian aid, since a lot of their infrastructure that would otherwise provide it is gone. Yes, they're a rich country, but right now, they've pretty devastated by the most powerful earthquake in their history (and THAT's saying something!), and they could use some logistical help feeding a few million people. And a lot of that help that comes from the US will come from our charitable organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. But is that such a crime? It's not like we're going to support these people for life! Speaking only for myself, I support our local food banks right here in Louisville, but I also don't have a problem with a few bucks that I may have previously given to some other agency going to help feed somebody in Japan whose whole city just got washed out to sea.

If a rich man falls down on the sidewalk in front of you, are you going to ask him to write you a check before you offer to help him up?

DJ, I hope you're able to contact your family soon.

RoadToad,

I get what you're saying...

I'm certainly not advocating that we do nothing to help them...I guess I'm saying that we should expect them to be able to do a little more to help themselves than a country like Haiti that had nothing to start with.

As if the earthquake and tsunami weren't enough, now they've got a nuclear disaster brewing. They've got a reactor that they've been having a lot of trouble cooling. Well, I just happened to click on the live feed from Japanese news a few minutes ago, and their breaking news was that there has been an explosion at that reactor (No. 2), and they've evacuated the operators. This is the one that they'd been pumping seawater into to try and cool it. Sounds like things are going to hell in a handbasket over there.

I can't find a link to the article right now, but I read last night that their government had "injected" a bunch of money into the economy to stabilize it, and ease investors' worries. I will say this, I don't foresee them asking for some kind of "bailout" or anything once this is over, as some other countries might. We will see...

I was watching the NBC evening news tonight...and quite honestly, it's the first real TV coverage I've had much time to watch since it happened...

My God. I sat there with my jaw dropped at some of those pictures. As if a 9.0 earthquake isn't enough, those shots of a 4-story tall wall of water coming in and completely bulldozing entire towns...unreal...I could not imagine being in those folks shoes right now...and then the nuclear problem on top of it.

A guy at work, who used to spend a lot of time in Japan when he was working for Bridgestone a few years back, has a cousin who lives over there. He finally made contact with him. He said that the day it happened, there were about 80K people that had to walk home from work in whatever town he was in because trains weren't running...said he walked about 20 kilometers to get home that night. He said there are two entire trains still missing that were washed away by the tsunami.

I've gained a lot of respect for the discipline in those people and their culture.

No looting going on. No mods in the streets. Compare that to what we all watched in shock with Katrina.

I think we ought offer the Japanese as much support.....as we got from them in Katrina. You know, return the favor. Realizing the shocking videos and terrible disaster, does anybody know on a square mile basis, total people impacted basis, total economic loss, and total infrastructure damage basis if this as big a hit as we took from Katrina, Dennis, Rita, and Wilma combined in 2005?

If I see a rich guy fall in front of me, I'll lend a hand. Especially if I recognize him as someone who has helped me when I needed it. But no, he'll still be laying there if I went to him for help before, and was turned away. Above and beyond all things, I believe America has earned the right to look out for itself first.

Don't extend major support to foreign countries when our budget says we have to cut critical services at home for our citizens. Charity needs be balanced against stupidity. Besides, if we bleed ourselves to death, we have no more to donate to those who have helped us before, and deserve a return in kind.

My eldest nephew was at ground zero in Sendai (sp?) when that thing hit...finally heard from him yesterday. From what he told us, it sounds unbelievably devistating! Now, nuclear fall out to worry about...man, the Japanese are having a real go at it right now.

-Rich