Tsunami - Tragedy and Hope
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As for cherry blossoms, every year they come out with a sense of newness, symbolizing hope and fulfillment. And that is what is most needed right now.    The giant wave, in the wake of the 8.8 earthquake, blew past Japan's shoreline defenses of harbor breakwaters and gigantic four-legged blocks called tetrapods, lifting ships to ram through seawalls and crash onto downtown parking lots. Seaside areas were soon emptied of cars and houses dragged up and back out to sea. Wave heights of up to10 meters, or 33 feet, have been captured on cell phones and other devices. They seemed unimaginable. But then, it was worse before. In 1896, a tsunami towering almost 50 feet slammed the coast of Japan and killed 27,000 people. Giant Wave by Hokusai Whirlpool by Awa    In comparison to the tsunami that hit Thailand and the coast of India in 2004, this assault was small in comparison – if anything that has killed more than 10,000 and accounted for thousands of missing can be called small. The tsunami that reared in the Indian Ocean a little more than six years ago took some 230,000 lives. In Japan today, thousands remain homeless while long lines stretch endlessly in search of water and food. There have even been reports of people foraging through garbage for sustenance.    On e core meltdown is underway the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant and, at this point, appears to be unstoppable. A mid-afternoon blast last weekend  demolished the structure housing an overheated and leaking reactor, raising the probability of a full-scale nuclear disaster, which could release radiation across the U.S. and even parts of Europe. In fact, some radioactivity has already reached areas surrounding the plant and people are advised to remain indoors.    Japan’s Industrial Nuclear Safety Agency reported that the radioactive isotopes cesium and iodine had been detected by a monitoring station near the Fukushima plant. The facility has six reactors, three of them operating at the time of the earthquake. Two of these are overheating and Reactor 1 is leaking radioactive particles into the atmosphere.   Peaceful Image of Japan's coastline    The presence of these isotopes in air samples is a sure indicator of an uncontrolled chain reaction. Japanese nuclear engineers are explaining that overheated uranium rods seared through their metal casings, triggering the start of nuclear fission. The regulatory agency's statement contradicts the earlier claim of the plant’s operator, TEPCO, that all uranium rods were intact.    The explosion, which injured four workers, is hampering efforts by emergency workers to pump cold water into the reactor and release steam through safety valves. The internal steam pressure inside the reactor vessel is more than twice the approved level of the original design. On top of all of this, the Nikkei stock average was down 10.6 percent on Tuesday, signaling tough financial times ahead.  Meanwhile, in the U.S., the stock market dropped at the start of trading on news that dangerous levels of radiation were leaking from a crippled nuclear plant. Japan, the world's third-largest economy, accounts for 10 percent of U.S. exports, so the developments do not bode well    The official word from the Japanese government is that all five nuclear power plants in the northeast are locked down, safe and not leaking. The cloaked reality is that at least one of those—Tepco's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant—is under an emergency alert at a level indicative of a quake-caused internal rupture. The Fukushima powerhouse is one of the world's largest nuclear plants, with six boiling-water reactors.     Northeast Japan, where the earthquake and tsunami struck, is better prepared than other localities because, in the wake of the Kobe quake, the regional Keidanren, or federation of industrial organizations, sponsored a thorough risk-management and crisis-response study.  Japan has vast untapped reserves of offshore wind energy, the only practical alternative to nuclear power and fossil fuel. Yet, according to many observers of the Japanese economy,  the nuclear lobby, coal companies and oil majors have strong-armed the government and industry to stubbornly refuse to invest in advanced and efficient turbine engineering, including magnetic-levitation rotors that eliminate the need for energy-sapping bearings.    Meanwhile, several countries, including the United States and China, have joined relief efforts, and many organizations in the U.S. are contributing people, supplies and equipment while at the same time raising necessary funds to help alleviate the situation. CNN has reported that thus far $23 million has gone to relief efforts – most of that coming from the U.S.    The U.S. Navy is playing a major part in all of this, with the USS Ronald Reagan and two other Navy vessels out of San Diego, the destroyer Preble and cruiser Chancellorsville, on the scene since Monday.  The Reagan, an aircraft carrier that accommodates more than 5,000 sailors, is about 100 miles offshore and is being used as a refueling station, a supply warehouse and a launchpad for helicopters engaged in deliveries and search-and-rescue missions, Ackerman and Norris said.    Hundreds of bodies have begun washing ashore, and millions of people in the northeast of Japan have gone several days without water, food or heating as temperatures hover near freezing, according to The Associated Press.  The Navy said earlier this week that the Reagan’s  17 military personnel flying helicopter runs in the area came into contact with low levels of radiation from one of the damaged nuclear power plants in Japan, but pilots have been quoted by The Associated Press as saying that the potential for nuclear radiation is not a concern for them. They said their  biggest risks involve accounting for winds coming out of the nearby mountains, avoiding downed power lines and trees, and finding stable ground to land their helicopters.    The Reagan is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with sensors that detected the radiation levels on the ship and some of the personnel landing on it. An entry on the carrier's Facebook page explains the ship moved north, away from the danger.    Throughout California, and particularly in San Diego and Los Angeles, with sizeable Japanese populations,  assistance has taken many forms. The cherry blossom is an omen of good fortune and is also an emblem of love, affection and represents spring and eternal change.    TV JAPAN being offering free service temporarily through all three San Diego County cable TV carriers: Cox: Channel 400, Time Warner: Channel 680, AT&T U-verse: Channel 3680, for those subscribers interested in the latest developments. At the same time, San Diego’s famous Japanese Friendship Garden announced it would dedicate this Saturday’s Cherry Blossom Festival to victims in Japan. The festival is free with admission to the Garden. The Garden will also participate in Balboa Park Family Day and offer children 17 & under free entry with a paid adult admission. Tickets for food and games will be sold separately. In a show of support, the following efforts will take place during the festival. A moment of silence will be observed during the opening of the festival’s program. A tree dedicated to the earthquake victims is planned to be established in the Garden’s expansion site. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to write notes of encouragement and support which will be submitted in a booklet and sent to the Sendai region. Japanese Consul General, Junichi Ihara, will make an appearance and share remarks about the situation in Japan. A booth will also be available to make direct donations to the American Red Cross to aid relief in Japan. Many organizations from San Diego’s Japanese-American community are participating in the festival. The following organizations are a small sample of local relief efforts and may be contacted by anyone willing to support those efforts in any way:     ·         Adventist Development and Relief Agency International's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 800-424-ADRA (2372) Donation Address:  ADRA International  12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD, 20904 Website: http://www.adra.org ·         All Hands Volunteers's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 919-830-3573 Donation Address:  PO Box 546 Carlisle, MA, 01741 Website: http://www.hands.org/donate/japan-tsunami ·         American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's Response to Japan Tsunami  Donation Phone #: 212-687-6200 Donation Address:  American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee  132 East 43rd St P.O. Box 530 New York, NY, 10017 Website: http://jdc.org ·         American Red Cross International Services's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1-800-RED-CROSS Donation Address:  American Red Cross  PO Box 4002018 Des Moines, IA, 50340-2018 Website: http://www.redcross.org ·         AmeriCares's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 203-658-9500 Donation Address:  AmeriCares  88 Hamilton Avenue Stamford, CT, 06902 Website: http://americares.org ·         Baptist World Alliance / Baptist World Aid's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 703-790-8980 Donation Address:  Baptist World Alliance / Baptist World Aid  405 N. Washington Street Falls Church, VA, 22046 Website: http://www.bwanet.org ·         Brother's Brother Foundation's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 412-321-3160 Donation Address:  1200 Galveston Avenue Pittsburgh, PA, 15233 Website: http://brothersbrother.org ·         Catholic Relief Services's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1-877-HELP-CRS Donation Address:  P.O. Box 17090 Baltimore, MD, 21203-7090 Website: http://crs.org ·         Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1-888-989-8244 Website: http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/other/donateCharity ·         Direct Relief International's Response to Japan Tsunami  Donation Phone #: 805-964-4767 Donation Address:  Direct Relief International  27 S. La Patera Lane Santa Barbara, CA, 93117 Website: http://www.DirectRelief.org ·         Episcopal Relief & Development's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1.800.334.7626 ext. 5129 Donation Address:  815 Second Avenue New York, NY, 10017 ·         Habitat for Humanity International's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1-800-Habitat Donation Address:  Habitat for Humanity, Int.  270 Peachtree Street NW, Suite 1300 Atlanta, GA, 30303-1263 Website: http://habitat.org ·         International Medical Corps's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 800.481.4462 Donation Address:  1919 Santa Monica Blvd Suite 400 Santa Monica, CA, 90404 Website: http://internationalmedicalcorps.org ·         International Rescue Committee's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1-877-REFUGEE (733-8433) Donation Address:  International Rescue Committee  122 E. 42nd St. New York, NY, 10168 Website: http://www.rescue.org ·         Relief International's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 310.478.1200 Donation Address:  5455 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1280 Los Angeles, CA, 90036 Website: http://www.ri.org ·         Salvation Army World Service Office's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 800-SAL-ARMY Donation Address:  The Salvation Army World Service Office  International Relief Fund P.O. Box 630728 Baltimore, MD, 21263-072800 Website: https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org ·         US Fund for UNICEF's Response to Japan Tsunami Donation Phone #: 1-800-367-5437 Donation Address:  US Fund for UNICEF  125 Maiden Lane 10th Floor New York, NY, 10038 Website: http://www.unicefusa.org For more information about volunteering after a disaster, visit the Center for International Disaster Information. http://www.cidi.org/individuals/6-volunteering-after-a-disaster Nominations are now open for the Eighth Annual Asian Heritage Awards. Click to launch the full edition in a new window Self Publishing with YUDU More to Read from Our Library: Short history of Indonesia Muay Thai: Art of Fighting Thailand: A Global study Desserts Around the World Encyclopedia of Food and Culture Cooking Thai way      Asia Media Inc.  announces the launch of a digital library containing books  and documents of Asian interest such as travel, food, music, language, and more.        These materials from different countries are to be used as a resource for anyone interested in Asia or Asian topics. This will eventually be the largest collection of such works in the world.    All publications have been purchased or obtained legally under the “fair use” doctrine, which dictates that they may be accessed for research only. They cannot be downloaded,distributed or circulated for the purpose of sales or to gain financially. Possessing a document does not constitute sale; making copies for distribution and sale is a violation of copyright law and is prohibited.	SAVE THE DATE 8TH ANNUAL ASIAN HERITAGE AWARDS AUGUST 20,2011 PARADISE POINT RESORT Nomination accepted NOW We are proud to name C.C. Yin, known as the “Asian Mr. McDonald’s” as this year’s Asian Heritage Award Special Recognition recipient. Mr. Yin’s story is an immigrant story, but it is also a story of community and its importance.  With wife Regina, C.C. Yin established the largest and most successful string of franchises in McDonald’s history. And he did it by melding into each community he served. The same philosophy of giving to community launched his beloved APAPA (Asian Pacific American Political Affairs Association ten years ago, which enabled California’s body of elected officials to grow from ground zero to 128. That’s the number of Asian elected officials in the state today, compared to 1991. C.C. Yin API Golden Arch Kiran Ahuja- Whitehouse   Martin Yan-100 best Restaurant Awards   ** This is a library and for viewing only. To purchase any of these books, please contact the publishers.