Why no LOOTING in Japan?

[Captain Oates 911]

She's too skinny.

Not by non-American standards

I don't hold with ridng the ripple

[Captain Oates 911]

The rape of Nanking

The Germans and the Japanese are very similar on one level and the natural allies which they were

They are clean and organized and educated and act within rules

In Germany, they won't walk across the road if the pedestrian signal is red - even if there is NOTHING coming in any direction. In England, nobody takes the slightest notice. In Germany, people walk on the right side of the sidewalk. In England its total confusion with no rules.

The downside is that people who are not like them are seen as lesser. My German friend says they call Brits 'The island monkeys' Die inseln affen.

We therefore have the contrast of an organized, educated, clean, and rule respecting society which is quite capable of gassing children and bayoneting babies.

If civilization is the opposite of barbarity, both the Japanese and the Germans are not civilized

This is why I dislike Nationalism so much - it sets one country up as 'exceptional' or 'better' than the others and of course that means the others are lesser - and then bad things flow from that - naturally

If anyone can sort out this nuclear accident, I would trust the Japanese to do it - not the Brits. If my doctor was considering ending my life, I would prefer that doctor to be neither Japanese nor German

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110318/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake_devastation

With aid slow to come Japanese fend for themselves

KARAKUWA, Japan – There may be no water, no power and no cell phone reception in this tsunami-struck town, but in the school that serves as a shelter, there are sizzling pans of fat, pink shrimp.

Relief supplies have only trickled into the long strip of northeast Japan demolished by a powerful earthquake and the wave it unleashed a week ago, leaving affected communities to fend for themselves.

Many have risen to the occasion.

No water for the toilets? No problem. Students in Karakuwa bring buckets of water from the school swimming pool to give survivors the dignity of a proper flush. In the kitchen, a giant rice cooker given to the school by a resident sits on a table, steam rising from the heaping mounds of rice inside.

"For a long time, in the countryside, even if you didn't have enough for yourself, you shared with others," said Noriko Sasaki, 63, as she sat on the ground outside another relief center in the town. "That is our culture. Even if they're not relatives, we feel as if they're sisters or brothers."

There are hardships — a junior high hardly offers the comforts of home — and while the sense of community runs all along the coast, not all survivors are as well off.

[Related: Carriers offering free calls to Japan]

Blustery snow, fuel shortages and widespread damage to airports, roads and rails have hampered delivery of badly needed assistance to more than 450,000 homeless trying to stay fed and warm, often without electricity and running water in shelters cobbled together in schools and other public buildings.

More than 6,900 people are confirmed dead so far and another 10,700 are missing. The disaster also damaged a seaside nuclear power plant, which remains in crisis as workers struggle under dangerous conditions to prevent a meltdown and major radiation leaks.

In the flattened hamlet of Shizugawa, Koji Sato, a carpenter who usually builds homes, is making coffins.

He said he hasn't had time to really think about the hardship he's faced. "All I have been doing is making coffins."

In Hirota, helicopters have delivered some food, but not much. So far, the survivors have instant noodles, fruit and bread.

Water comes from wells and mountain rivers. Companies and residents unaffected by the disaster have donated bedding and blankets.

Kouetsu Sasaki, a 60-year-old city hall worker, said they still need gas, vegetables, socks, underwear, wet wipes and anti-bacterial lotion. There is some medicine, but not enough.

"People here aren't angry or frustrated yet. ... But it's a big question mark whether we can keep living like this for weeks or months," said Sasaki, who is not related to Noriko. "I try to concentrate on what I need to do this morning, this day, and not think about how long it might last."

With roads and airport runways being cleared of debris, aid workers hope to ramp up relief soon.

Helicopters operating from two U.S. aircraft carriers off the coast of Japan are already ferrying in supplies.

Two American helicopters touched down on a hilltop above Shizugawa on Friday with boxes of canned beans and powdered milk for a community center that has become a shelter for those who lost their homes.

But snow has limited helicopter flights, and American aircraft are also under orders to skirt the area around the nuclear plant to reduce the risk of radiation exposure.

The region can expect some relief in about 24 hours in the way of warmer weather replacing bitter cold and snow, said Herbert Puempel of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization in Geneva. He said temperatures should climb enough to "take a little pressure off the people who are not housed."

"It's frustrating," said U.S. Navy rescue swimmer Jeff Pearson, 25, of Amarillo, Texas. "But we're doing all we can do. I think we are going to be able to get much more involved very soon."

His helicopter crew, based on the southern island of Okinawa, was heading farther north from Japan's Jinmachi Air Base in Yamagata city.

A 24-vehicle U.S. Marines convoy reached the base Friday, where the Marines will run a refueling hub, move supplies by road and provide communications support.

Also Friday, the airport in Sendai, the city closest to the epicenter, was declared ready to receive aid deliveries on jumbo C-130 and C-17 military transport planes. The tsunami had flooded the tarmac, piling up small planes and cars and leaving behind a layer of muck and debris.

At the school in Karakuwa, 43-year-old Emi Yoshida reads a book, still wearing the same clothes she had on the day the tsunami roared into town. She has not showered in a week and longs for a bed. Still, she is grateful for the comfort the community has provided her and her two sons.

Nearby, 62-year-old Yoko Komatsu and her 88-year-old father-in-law Tetsuo Komatsu sit in a patch of sunlight streaming in through the giant classroom windows, warming themselves next to an oil-powered heater.

Yoko feels trapped by the one thing the volunteers cannot give her: a way to communicate with the outside world. She has no idea if her relatives, who live in other hard-hit coastal towns, are alive.

"I want to go there to check on them," she said. "Even if I go, I can't come back, so I can't move. What I want most is gas."

In the kitchen, teachers, mothers of students and the newly homeless whip up three meals and two snacks a day.

The women mix together squid, shrimp and stir-fried vegetables in large pots, turning it into a nourishing stew that they ladle onto bowls of rice. They're delivered with slices of apples throughout the building.

In the middle of one classroom, a group of boys plunk themselves in seats around a table, the bowls of stew sending plumes of steam into the air. In unison, they bow their heads.

"Thank you," they say. "For everything."

Then, their chilled hands armed with chopsticks, they gobble their dinner down.

___

Edited March 19, 2011 by Why_Me

[Danno 1,228]

The Germans and the Japanese are very similar on one level and the natural allies which they were

They are clean and organized and educated and act within rules

In Germany, they won't walk across the road if the pedestrian signal is red - even if there is NOTHING coming in any direction. In England, nobody takes the slightest notice. In Germany, people walk on the right side of the sidewalk. In England its total confusion with no rules.

The downside is that people who are not like them are seen as lesser. My German friend says they call Brits 'The island monkeys' Die inseln affen.

We therefore have the contrast of an organized, educated, clean, and rule respecting society which is quite capable of gassing children and bayoneting babies.

If civilization is the opposite of barbarity, both the Japanese and the Germans are not civilized

This is why I dislike Nationalism so much - it sets one country up as 'exceptional' or 'better' than the others and of course that means the others are lesser - and then bad things flow from that - naturally

If anyone can sort out this nuclear accident, I would trust the Japanese to do it - not the Brits. If my doctor was considering ending my life, I would prefer that doctor to be neither Japanese nor German

SO you believe all countries are equal... or are you simply saying we have to deny that there are -Good countries, better countries and worse, countries... for fear, admitting this truth might lead to a regrettable Result?

[Zero Sum 305]

I don't think that's what he's implying. You see, "nationalisms" sometimes get the better of us, making us delude ourselves into superiority complexes that are far from the truth many times.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I don't think that's what he's implying. You see, "nationalisms" sometimes get the better of us, making us delude ourselves into superiority complexes that are far from the truth many times.

I think Alan the Red hit upon it pretty good in that post. I remember going to Germany with the family to visit relatives when I was 15, and the first thing that came to mind was how they were like an ant colony/beehive. Clean, orderly, etc... But those are the ones that follow orders to the extreme. That and there is a "superiority thing" that the Germans have. They are like the ####### of the block over in Europe and they know it.

[Zero Sum 305]

I think Alan the Red hit upon it pretty good in that post. I remember going to Germany with the family to visit relatives when I was 15, and the first thing that came to mind was how they were like an ant colony/beehive. Clean, orderly, etc... But those are the ones that follow orders to the extreme. That and there is a "superiority thing" that the Germans have. They are like the ####### of the block over in Europe and they know it.

Yes I've seen those kinds of Germans too.

I have also known quite a lot of Germans that aren't like that at all. I've seen both ends from all continents- some modest and willing to actually want to learn from other cultures and some that no matter how messed up they are, seem to think they are God's gift to the family of nations.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Yes I've seen those kinds of Germans too.

I have also known quite a lot of Germans that aren't like that at all. I've seen both ends from all continents- some modest and willing to actually want to learn from other cultures and some that no matter how messed up they are, seem to think they are God's gift to the family of nations.

If you think about it, Germany and Japan got back on it's feet in no time flat after the war. That was largely due to "culture" in my belief. What got me when I was there the first time is how you could drive in Germany and everything was spotless, and in a day's time drive to Italy and it was the complete opposite. They are amazing people the Germans.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

If you think about it, Germany and Japan got back on it's feet in no time flat after the war. That was largely due to "culture" in my belief. What got me when I was there the first time is how you could drive in Germany and everything was spotless, and in a day's time drive to Italy and it was the complete opposite. They are amazing people the Germans.

I think you have to give a little credit to the "Marshall Plan"

[Danno 1,228]

I don't think that's what he's implying. You see, "nationalisms" sometimes get the better of us, making us delude ourselves into superiority complexes that are far from the truth many times.

So, in your opinion, are some countries better than other due to the people and if they are, should we pretend it's not so?

Edited March 19, 2011 by Danno

[Captain Oates 911]

I think you have to give a little credit to the "Marshall Plan"

The Germans recovered from the great depression and the 1st war without a Marshall Plan.

I drove from Leeds to Yugoslavia and I crossed into Italy from Switzerland. One minute it was beautiful clean houses and manicured lawns and then I crossed the line into Italy and it was filth and dead dogs and burned out cars and hand pumped water and tumble down shacks and dirty shirts and chain smoking.

That stuck in my mind as the contrast in 'cultures'

One mile to go from one world into the other

Weird thing National cultures

When my wife is shouting and noisy I tell her to turn it down., She says she is an American and they are like that and I am a snotty mumbling Brit. Bloody noisy culture I say

Edited March 19, 2011 by Alan the Red

[Ban Hammer 13,489]

If you think about it, Germany and Japan got back on it's feet in no time flat after the war. That was largely due to "culture" in my belief. What got me when I was there the first time is how you could drive in Germany and everything was spotless, and in a day's time drive to Italy and it was the complete opposite. They are amazing people the Germans.

it's not that way anymore. graffiti is everywhere. same for trash. it almost looks like america.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

it's not that way anymore. graffiti is everywhere. same for trash. it almost looks like america.

I take it American culture has finally caught up to them. Yay for American movies, music and mass media.

[Captain Oates 911]

it's not that way anymore. graffiti is everywhere. same for trash. it almost looks like america.

In Munich I walked through the underpass walking from a train station

It was 3am

There were jewelers shops down there with no grills on the windows !

In the tunnels...

I was gobsmacked

The US has losts of public facilities like pumps and meters etc that would be stolen or vandalised within 4 hours in the UK but they remain unmolested for the most part

The US is more like Germany in that regard and the UK is more like dirty old Italy

I would rather live in Rumania than Saudi though... or even the Ukraine. I went there 20 years ago and I can still smell the pigeon poop when I think about Odessa

[Zero Sum 305]

SO you believe all countries are equal... or are you simply saying we have to deny that there are -Good countries, better countries and worse, countries... for fear, admitting this truth might lead to a regrettable Result?

I am not talking about transnational equality. And neither am I claiming that we have to deny things for the circumstances that make them so.

So, in your opinion, are some countries better than other due to the people and if they are, should we pretend it's not so?

See previous reply. If you want a 'best of list,' make one on your own.