Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster!!!

[Coligny]

There was a bit about this on the late news last night. Seems it has something to do with the temperatures it's either produced at or stored at, all relating to the cultures needed to make yogurt yogurt.

No reliable energy means no safe yogurt.

(Apologies if I'm misquoting the news here, but that's what I got from it.)

Not so sure here... Me b... Julie make her own yogurt... and here 100% success rate combined with her total lack of dedication to the process make me highky doubt of any need for precise control temperature.

If it's cold, yogurt bacteria will sleep. If it's warm-ish they will grow a bit, just pour more milk and you got more yogurt... If it's warm it will grow a plenty, put a plenty milk and ready them buckits...

It's a living thing, and if you boil properly all the containers before using them, it's an extremly well behaved living thing...

[Iraira]

Friend of mine was telling me yesterday morning (the coffee hadn't kicked in yet, and I was looking at her boobs, so I may be a little off), that she read in one of the keizai shinbun that yogurt and milk were going to be very scarce from April 1st due to contamination fears and snags in production of cartons, etc., at various factories.

[Doctor Stop]

-Where did all the yogurt go?

Whoever's been been buying and eating all that yogurt needs a shitload of toilet paper. That explains the shortage of both items.

[CrankyBastard]

After 17 days, radiation readings in Yokohama are still twice what they were before this fuckup, and I'm being told that it will do me no harm.

If it does me any good, I'll surely be willing to pay them for their trouble.

[Sarutaro]

No, you're not alone. My wife was telling me about all those illegal Chinese trying to leave and the excusesn they are coming up with to get a free pass back to china. In some cases the ladies were leaving their husbands and children behind to save themselves from an imaginary catastrophe. I guess the Japanese will now know who their real friends are.

This will give more excuses for Japanese not to hire foreigners next time around.

You are making a mistake if you think only foreigners have left Tokyo. In my kid's kindergarten in Minato-ku half of all the Japanese kids are missing - parents have taken them to their relatives in inaka.

[Caustic Saint]

Friend of mine was telling me yesterday morning (the coffee hadn't kicked in yet, and I was looking at her boobs, so I may be a little off), that she read in one of the keizai shinbun that yogurt and milk were going to be very scarce from April 1st due to contamination fears and snags in production of cartons, etc., at various factories.

Apparently there are 6 factories in Japan that make milk cartons. 3 of them were in areas affected by the tsunami or the nuke plant or both.

[FG Lurker]

Apparently there are 6 factories in Japan that make milk cartons. 3 of them were in areas affected by the tsunami or the nuke plant or both.

Maybe Japan will start putting milk in bags... Way better than cartons anyway.

[Doctor Stop]

Maybe Japan will start putting milk in bags...

Yeah, and then maybe in a few years later Japan will start producing good hockey players, eh?

[Samurai_Jerk]

You are making a mistake if you think only foreigners have left Tokyo. In my kid's kindergarten in Minato-ku half of all the Japanese kids are missing - parents have taken them to their relatives in inaka.

Yeah, no shit. The Japanese president and owner of the company I work for skipped town and then emailed us all late at night from his jikka saying, "You don't have have to come to the office the rest of the week and we'll give you some money if you want to leave town." And people wonder why I took off to Seoul for a few days of &

[FG Lurker]

Yeah, and then maybe in a few years later Japan will start producing good hockey players, eh?

Hmm, that could lead to NHL games on JTV. Maybe there's a silver lining in this somewhere after all!

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]Radioactive substance exceeding limit found in beef in Fukushima Pref.
Kyodo News | 2011/04/01
...Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, said 510 becquerels of radioactive cesium was detected in beef from Fukushima, above the 500-becquerel legal limit...more...

[Typhoon]

Yeah, and then maybe in a few years later Japan will start producing good hockey players, eh?

And poutine with curd rice and mayonnaise.

[Bucky]

Calling in the Marines!

Some 155 Marines of the US Chemical Biological Incident Response Force were due to arrive Friday, although there were no plans for them to take part in the emergency work to stabilise Fukushima, US defence officials told AFP.
They will not penetrate a 50-mile (80-kilometer) radius around the stricken plant, a zone which the US has advised its citizens to avoid, officials said.

Well what's the point then? A vacation in Yokosuka or Misawa to get a nuclear tan?

Mission: When directed, forward-deploy and/or respond to a credible threat of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or High Yield explosive (CBRNE) incident in order to assist local, state, or federal agencies and Unified Combat Commanders in the conduct of consequence management operations. CBIRF accomplishes this mission by providing capabilities for agent detection and identification; casualty search, rescue, and personnel decontamination; and emergency medical care and stabilization of contaminated personnel.

From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Fukushima.

[Crystal Skull]

Seems Interac has a few vacancies. Don't remember them advertising this late for April starts before.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Now they're comparing it to the fallout from nuclear testing in the 50's and 60's.

I'm not really clever enough to follow all this shite, but if what you're saying is true, is it time now to hide in the fridge?

[cstaylor]

I'm not really clever enough to follow all this shite, but if what you're saying is true, is it time now to hide in the fridge?

No, you'll be fine. I was referring to the amount of plutonium discovered near the Daiichi NPS.

The main problem for us is radioactive contamination of the food and water supply in Fukushima ken and surrounding areas.

[IkemenTommy]

I don't understand the sudden surge in milk and dairy product (yogurt being the latest hot item..) consumption when most are lactose intolerant to begin with and gives them the nasty diarrhea.

I guess it's classic the "follow the Joneses" rhetoric (in Japan's case: Follow the Watanabes..)

[Taro Toporific]

[cstaylor]

I don't understand the sudden surge in milk and dairy product (yogurt being the latest hot item..) consumption when most are lactose intolerant to begin with and gives them the nasty diarrhea.

I guess it's classic the "follow the Joneses" rhetoric (in Japan's case: Follow the Watanabes..)

Other members were posting that 3 of the 6 factories responsible for the packaging used by the yogurt companies were in the quake/radiation zone.

[Coligny]

I don't understand the sudden surge in milk and dairy product (yogurt being the latest hot item..) consumption when most are lactose intolerant to begin with and gives them the nasty diarrhea.

I guess it's classic the "follow the Joneses" rhetoric (in Japan's case: Follow the Watanabes..)

Sorry to interrupt with poop rethoric. But personnally eating yogurt is one of the only -stabilizing- antidote for those case were I forgot to stay away from tap water...

(lopemid don't count, dat' sh1t iz h4rdc0r3)

[rooboy]

Before the disaster happened TEPCO would have had a hard time convincing users to accept even a 25% rate hike to cover the costs of protecting against a once in a 1000 year event. A 100% increase?

Of course now that the disaster has happened and is fresh in people's minds many will claim that they would gladly pay that extra 25%, and more than a few will say that even a 100% increase would be acceptable.

This is the same as seen in Kansai before and after the Kobe quake. Before the Kobe quake most people gave little thought to how quake resistant their "mansion" buildings or houses were. After the quake though many people refuse to rent or buy anything built before 1995 as the quake resistance standards were all improved after the destruction in Kobe.
It's classic human nature: Closing the barn door after the horse has departed.
It would be much better to have a strong and independent regulator for nuclear power in Japan. The situation with amakudari makes it questionable as to if this will ever really happen though.
I don't think TEPCO is perfect. I won't be surprised if some of their past decisions went against what GE recommended in the way of plant upgrades, for example. I also won't be surprised to see that many decisions that seemed reasonable when they were made get called into question now that the once in a millennium event has happened.

Great post as usual. Fucking puts things in perspective for me. Sorry for everybody whos getting affected by all kindsa shit now, high radiation levels etc. From what I'm reading Yokohama is affected by jumps in radiation levels? Hope you can just up and leave if it comes down to that.

McTojo's blog had a princessy declaration that he aint running for the hills but will go down with the Titanic that is Japan because of the Hinomaru fluttering in the breeze etc. He's in Yokohama, maybe some of ya there can go and check on him...

[rooboy]

Seems Interac has a few vacancies. Don't remember them advertising this late for April starts before.

Yeah, shitty employers are advertising and there's gonna be gaijin desperate enough to work for em even if the pay goes down to 170,000 or whatever.

[Ketou]

Japan's Nuclear Rescuers: 'Inevitable Some of Them May Die Within Weeks'

[Catoneinutica]

I don't understand the sudden surge in milk and dairy product (yogurt being the latest hot item..) consumption when most are lactose intolerant to begin with and gives them the nasty diarrhea.

I guess it's classic the "follow the Joneses" rhetoric (in Japan's case: Follow the Watanabes..)

No Jonesing here. Nomu yogurt from whichever combini you happened to be strolling past was one of the few compensations of living here.

[Yokohammer]

Japan's Nuclear Rescuers: 'Inevitable Some of Them May Die Within Weeks'

Sheesh ... Fox news.
Someone's freaked out mum provides scientific commentary.

[matsuki]

Here's one book (Japanese) which you might find interesting. It deals with exactly that question.

The short answer is that relief can take the form of lower interest rates and a deferred repayment schedule but the loan amount stands. Moral hazard comes into the equation because some will have protected themselves against this risk through earthquake insurance which would be pointless if everyone got relief anyway.

Mortgage holders can take out another loan to rebuild but, in the aftermath of Kobe, that wasn't an option for everyone. Bankruptcy is one route but you would usually lose your current savings and any insurance payments in the deal.

The boss here is saying that Earthquake insurance here is really shitty and will only cover you if your house is totally destroyed. He said most spend the money on making the buildings as earthquake proof as possible rather than paying for insurance. Anyone care to shed any light on how that works?

[canman]

I saw one report that interviewed a family in Kesenuma who were moving into their newly built house on the day of the earthquake. The wife said they never got to sleep one night in their new house, and now they have to repay the loan, since tsunami damage wasn't covered in their insurance. Talk about bad luck and timing.

[Yokohammer]

I saw one report that interviewed a family in Kesenuma who were moving into their newly built house on the day of the earthquake. The wife said they never got to sleep one night in their new house, and now they have to repay the loan, since tsunami damage wasn't covered in their insurance. Talk about bad luck and timing.

Ouch!
I know there are hundreds of thousands of tales of loss and hardship, but this one is pretty potent.
At least they're alive (I assume).

[Coligny]

Great post as usual. Fucking puts things in perspective for me. Sorry for everybody whos getting affected by all kindsa shit now, high radiation levels etc. From what I'm reading Yokohama is affected by jumps in radiation levels? Hope you can just up and leave if it comes down to that.

McTojo's blog had a princessy declaration that he aint running for the hills but will go down with the Titanic that is Japan because of the Hinomaru fluttering in the breeze etc. He's in Yokohama, maybe some of ya there can go and check on him...

except that the first 2 paragraph of fgl argumentation are a bit of a strawman... associating thing like putting diesel generators in a less stupid position or having deployable mobile back ups to a 25 to 100 hike in monthly rate is a -goatsex level- stretch...

[FG Lurker]

except that the first 2 paragraph of fgl argumentation are a bit of a strawman... associating thing like putting diesel generators in a less stupid position or having deployable mobile back ups to a 25 to 100 hike in monthly rate is a -goatsex level- stretch...

If you go back and look I was responding to someone else's post about the 25% or 100% increase vs potentially increased safety.