Klein2's past comments

  • 2

    Klein2

    shirokuma. Nice post.

    People should have a look at some pictures on the DAILY MAIL in the UK. As I have been saying the last few days, Tohoku is largely moving beyond waiting for Nagata cho and all the doom and gloom.

    The temporary housing and the shelters will be with us for a while, but they are becoming less and less important to the mainstream. It is not an exaggeration to say that ACTUAL houses are probably being built faster than the temporary ones here and there.

    While everyone has been watching Fukushima, the rest of Tohoku has been picking up the mess. And three months makes a lot of difference.

    In other news, businesses and especially fisheries along the coast are not waiting for help anymore, they are starting up and moving on. They are gathering up the wrecked boats, refurbishing them, and putting out to sea to serve their new co-ops.

    Nagata-cho had better run to keep up!

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  • 0

    Klein2

    No really. I have a GOP friend who told me in all honesty a couple of years ago that Newt is a GREAT MAN. A visionary. Basically, a prophet (he did not actually say prophet, but...). I laughed out loud.

    It does not matter how far you go back, you find philandering, hypocrisy, deceit, etc. with this guy. Despite that, he has spouted off like Pat Buchanan whenever he got a chance.

    It would have been a fun campaign with lots of fireworks. Too bad.

    Posted in: Gingrich's campaign in tatters as top aides resign

  • 0

    Klein2

    My early take on this was that Newt told them he wanted to take it easy and have fun, and everyone bolted. It kind of fits with his little Tiffany deal.

    Is that how it played out? Anyone know?

    Oh well. Newt was the brains of the GOP (LOL!), so now it's just a beauty contest or something. I predicted GOP implosion because of the tea party dagger to their heart. They kept moving right and Obama took the center. I think everyone realizes that now. Even the GOP can't get serious. The tea party never was serious.

    Bonus News: Trump has apparently stated for the record that "Republicans are stupid." Not just because they don't like him, but because he just thinks they are generally dumb. So...

    Is it Bachman and Palin and Perry? The GOP is going to have to dig deep to find somebody who can just state the party platform correctly.

    Posted in: Gingrich's campaign in tatters as top aides resign

  • 0

    Klein2

    Oh. Somebody called me pro-nuke. Uh. no. Call me anti-anti-nuke instead please.

    This is an important and well developed technology. Trashing it in some kind of luddite bonfire would be barbarism. If we can rationally decide that Japan is better off with no nuclear power at all, then ok. I don't think we are "there" yet. Meanwhile, people will be whining soon for their inalienable right to air conditioning, so... realistically... who is going to pay for my energy for me?

    Have a look at how people in Fukushima used to die in the coal mines before they were shut down. 134 in one accident in Iwaki. Oh but it was so much better than Kyushu, which had 10 or more accidents killing hundreds of miners each time... almost 700 in a single case. In fact, almost 50 years to the day before 3.11, a cave in at a coal mine in Kyushu killed almost a hundred miners. Yubari had its share of grim-reaper tabehoudais too.

    Ah the good old days. See how much better off we were without nuclear power? Let's just turn the clock back and everything will be all better.

    I wonder what the Japanese government had to "admit" to the Japanese people after each mine disaster, as the bodies came out one by one for days.

    They were counting bodies. We can count our blessings.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    Yeah. I don't get it. It is like the birthers. Almost to a one, the posters above are willing to hold close to rumors and conspiracy theories and allegations of corruption.

    At the same time, they will ignore the obvious LACK of dead bodies. The official data of radioactivity levels have been been verified and corroborated by hundreds of researchers throughout Japan. Maps have been produced, put on websites, and have been roundly ignored by foreigners. I wonder what it would take to convince people that things are not and never were as bad as some make them out to be. The worst news is far behind us. Things are getting better every day. The best people are doing their best to clean this up, etc.

    Probably it would be like telling a NASCAR fan that Obama is not a muslim. Or telling a New Yorker on 9.11 that Iraq was not to blame for the terrorist attacks. People who are TOTALLY CONVINCED of something can't be swayed by evidence, especially if the red herring perfectly fits their world view.

    Radiation is the least of my worries. That is certainly also true for all of the posters above. And I mean that however you might want to take it.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    "Those that post here praising TEPCO and its response are obviously not young with young families."

    Bzzt. Wrong. Once again, we see that the word OBVIOUSLY is only used when people have no clue what they are talking about. And YongYang has said repeatedly that he left the country. When did YongYang re-enter Japan and why? Given the "terrible horrors" that we all face, it seems odd that one would want to subject oneself to the "carcinogenic horror and mutagenic nightmare" threatening us all. YongYang is apparently in some other country raining panic-mongering posts on people who are skipping the entertainment and vacations and who instead are working for a living.

    I happened along a Fox item today saying that there is a lefty movement afoot, full of "lies and propaganda" against nuclear power. Could this be it? Most interesting thing I have seen from Fox in about three years. I am coming to think, based on the headlines and empty attempts at "stories" about Fukushima, that someone is trying to steer policy and opinion even without the existence of a real crisis there.

    From the very beginning, I have believed that this whole Daiichi thing is not life threatening except to a very few people in a very small area. The evidence supports that now, and it did then. The death toll (NOT) supports it now and then. I would live in Fukushima, but not if I had to eat EU bean sprouts and cucumbers.

    But more than that, I have bet my life and the lives of my family on the overwhelming evidence and on the careful and prudent work of TEPCO and, I grudgingly admit, the national government. Do not claim differently! You are not an authority, either professionally or morally! Here I am, closer to these reactors than most posting here, and CERTAINLY closer to the hot spots showing up on official maps, and I am telling people to calm down and fade the rumors. How can that be?

    My neighbors are real people and real families who are risking a lot more than you, and they are trying to ignore silly hysteria based on conjecture. There are people who have rationally assessed the information and have come to a radically different conclusion from that of YongYang and others:

    This is a situation that has been and will be handled in a practical and expedient way with the highest regard for human life. I have seen nothing to conflict with that assessment over the last 11 weeks. Nothing. If I had, I would not be here.

    Of course Japan was unprepared. Apparently TEPCO was unprepared. People who were well prepared have been helping and supporting others. People are doing their best to do their jobs and carry on. Let's man up and let them do that.

    PatrickSmash: This "admits" stuff has you fooled too. Let me refresh your memory. On about 3.16, half the world and YongYang was screaming at Japan: "Bury it. You have a meltdown. The rods are exposed. etc." TEPCO's response was excellent: "We are not sure about that. We will continue to gather information and deal with that later." That was typical of their attitude then and now. They were not only prove right, but they are paying attention to what matters and not spending time on useless conjecture about what might have happened. You are being played by the press, but they aren't. And thank (deity) for that. All of this "admit" stuff in the headlines is for no other purpose than to make TEPCO and the government look bad. TEPCO and the gov are "reporting", not "admitting". They have better information than we do and they are acting on it. They tell us things when they know it, not when they guess it. That is extremely responsible of them.

    In all seriousness, WHO could have managed this situation better than TEPCO after 3.11? They had the best information and pursued a strategy that has resulted in NO DEATHS and very reasonably controlled emissions. I would call that excellent for "being unprepared". If they "admit" being unprepared, well, I will take that. The body count is 0, not 15,872 and counting. Clearly, they were better prepared than many many residents and businesses on 3.11.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    GW, kudos. I agree wholly that it is far more depressing watching the sloth and greed of human beings (in high places) than facing down the devastation of 3.11 with my neighbors.

    I hope people do not take this the wrong way, but if the national government would just write a check now for HALF of what they planned to give Tohoku (and Fukushima, particularly) and just left it up to us to handle the mess, it would be enough. We have effective decision makers here and we can deal with our own people and problems.

    But no. What is likely to happen is that things will get bogged down. Opportunities will be lost. Fukushima will wind up on the government teat forever, and fingerpointing will ensue. International committees. Environmentalists. Carpet baggers. Processes will stop. Costs will triple. Displaced people will be left in limbo.

    When that happens, don't everybody go blaming Tohoku. People here are champing at the bit to get this all over with now. We really need to move on and we are ready.

    Posted in: What do you think of the idea of a grand coalition between the ruling DPJ and opposition parties?

  • 0

    Klein2

    "It's a stupid, bungling, let-me-at-those-construction-contracts idea."

    Slow clapping.

    More slow clapping.

    Almost THREE MONTHS after the big quake, we are now looking at a DPJ trick to PASS THE BUCK even longer. You know, the biggest contribution the national political leaders have made to Tohoku has been an admission of what we already knew: Fukushima Daiichi had some problems. It was worse than good, but better than it might have been. Well... Yeah! Let the bureaucracy take it from there.

    In Tohoku's local paper this morning was a photo of dump trucks in Kessenuma: stretching to the horizon. Starting a new day. Waiting to be filled with debris.

    I shook my head when I saw it. Pretty soon now, we in Tohoku are going to have all of this mess picked up. We are doing it by ourselves. If history is in the making, could it be showing that Tohoku does not need the rest of Japan after all? What do we get but nuclear waste anyway?

    Where is this superfluous Nagata cho I read about? Where is a GRAND party of anything? Dithering. Blithering. Withering. Tokyo builds its skyscrapers (3000 yen!), and ivory towers, apparently, while cowering in panic from imaginary clouds of radiation. Meetings. Proclamations. Promises. Empty store shelves. Meanwhile, people from Ibaragi to Aomori put on their hard hats and get to work.

    Master plans from almost all affected areas will be drafted by mid September. Sure hope Nagata cho can get its act together by then. How would the nation react knowing that the devastated and overwhelmed governments of these areas are more effective than the status quo in Nagata cho?

    Posted in: What do you think of the idea of a grand coalition between the ruling DPJ and opposition parties?

  • 0

    Klein2

    If everyone were prepared for everything, there would be no news, would there?

    Ask yourself, what are you unprepared for? If you can climb the wall of ignorance, you still have to scale the mountain of denial.

    Anyone who says they predicted or were ready for a 9.0 quake and a huge tsunami is a liar. Go back and look at your emails of about noon on 3.11, you will see what I mean. Where were all the anti-nuke protestors then? They were flipping light switches in Tokyo and not giving a thought to where the electricity was coming from. And everyone in Fukushima thought that Fukushima Daiichi was a marshmallow factory, apparently.

    My prediction is that something is going to get you and me, and we probably have no idea what it is. Have a nice day.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    Bye bye 3D. Good riddance.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    "Fact is that Japanese robots are mostly designed to mimic human behaviour, interaction and movement."

    Uh. no. Only the creepiest of J robots do this. But your comment is still basically right.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    The article misses the mark.

    The "safety myth" if you really dig through the article, is the old insistence that a reactor failure "can't happen", and if it does, "we won't need robots."

    Well, it did, and they did. End of story.

    Why does that mean Japan is stupid? Japanese researchers spent their time developing robots for other uses. Surprise surprise. Robots to build cars. Robots to help old people. The US spent time on robots to kill people in Afghanistan. Is that a surprise? It turns out that the fringe developers in many nations were the ones that were most sought after when TEPCO needed some good tools.

    Most companies want to develop tools that will get used by someone. Some people will develop great tools to help with nuclear reactor emergencies. They will have great prototypes in a couple of months.

    And then they will sit on a shelf for 30 years until Iran's reactor disintegrates. Will Japan be smart then? Or will people criticize them because they should have been working on robots to work in volcanoes instead?

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  • 0

    Klein2

    yay!

    Cannot think of a better thing for NEETs than this.

    It would mean a lot less people to worry about, and a lot more people who care. (TM "Up with People", 1973)

    Posted in: Young people sign up as SDF's image soars in disaster aftermath

  • 0

    Klein2

    Gee. I hope this is not off topic ("Tokyo bar" and "hiring earthquake victims" ok?), but I was thinking that hiring HOSTESSES from affected areas would be a great idea. They have some compelling stories to tell, and salarymen would tip really big to hear them.

    I won't say a word about prostitution, but as far as bar entertainment goes, and we know how it goes, the "I'm a poor victim" is a strong emotional hook and an ace-in-the-hole. So to speak. Here is another one: "I am working temporarily as a hostess so my husband does not have to work an extra shift at Fukushima Daiichi."

    Who needs to resort to prostitution when you can use stories like that to sell a bottle of Jack Daniels for 1000 dollars?

    Posted in: Tokyo bar busted for hiring earthquake victims as prostitutes

  • 0

    Klein2

    "And, given TEPCO's and the government's track record to-date, it is foolish to assume anything will go as well as hoped."

    Funny you should bring that up. Saw a great blog recently on the levels of anxious messages used on Japanese Twitter. There were huge spikes showing fear and worry near each event following 3.11, and most were related to radiation. MOST.

    That surprises the heck out of me because not a single person has died from radiation there. Nobody will either, I believe. So it could be said that most of the fear and worry following 3.11 has been entirely pointless. Groundless. Baseless. Foolish. Of zero merit or consequence.

    If someone had told me on 3.16 that things in Fukushima were going to work out ok, I would have believed them. I did. Others, in fact ALL the foreigners I knew, fled in panic based on blind fear. A sobering display of mass foolishness.

    Almost all have come back. You are saying they are making the foolish decision NOW by coming back. Is that right? Or did they make the foolish decision then? They have made their own choices, showing that your statement is foolish.

    Posted in: Fukushima's No. 1 reactor building radiation level rises

  • 0

    Klein2

    I hope someone is working on changing the control areas. The evacuees should be getting back to their homes, and many of the evacuated and controlled areas are safe.

    I am much much more concerned about the government than TEPCO at this stage. TEPCO has shown an excellent track record at working this problem. The gov is dropping the ball by not revising its policy of "get everybody out" to something more like "give people their lives back along with reasonable levels of risk". Cordon off the really hot areas and let everyone else get back to work.

    If I had been evacuated, I would be champing at the bit to get back to my home, and if it were in an area with anything up to 30 mSv per year or so, I would probably just go back and tell the government to go fly. My view is that the gov did the right thing by evacuating people. Now they are just being lazy and passing the buck. They should be working actively to get these people home and get these communities working again.

    I have not heard ZIP about an "exit strategy". Kan is just dragging this out even though MEXT data show it is not as bad as most people think. If he "trusts MEXT" and demands Hamaoka's shut down, the should "trust MEXT" and get these people back to their homes.

    Posted in: Fukushima's No. 1 reactor building radiation level rises

  • 0

    Klein2

    So we are down to weekly updates of horror and gloom... on weekends, just like all the rest of Japan's "important" news.

    Look. The radiation INSIDE of the reactor buildings will go up, or the radiation OUTSIDE the reactor buildings will go up. Guess which one is good news.

    The article really does its best to surprise me, but it fails. There is more radioactive water, but they are going to use it for cooling, or they can process it to take out radionuclides. Rains are coming? Well, that means more water might be released, but it is also more diluted.

    I don't know. This is all going to take awhile. I am pretty sure that all of this could be resolved faster, but why? The longer they wait, the better it gets. They won't bring in heavy equipment to move rods and fuel and all the rest until it has all cooled down. They won't want to expose workers any more than they have to.

    Somewhere along the line, most of the doomsayers here are going to decide that their greatest health risk is from cell phones or acetominophen or mercury in their fish. Or 0157 E. coli. Just make sure that you tell the press which way the winds are blowing so they can keep up.

    Posted in: Fukushima's No. 1 reactor building radiation level rises

  • 2

    Klein2

    Advice:

    If you are working for a company with stupid rules like this, quit immediately. There is work to be done in this world, and situations like this where people are staring at their navels are strictly welfare positions. Get a real job and don't look back.

    The boss is the problem? Then it will NEVER get better. Co-workers are the problem? Why work with losers?

    20 times sadder than the dumb rules is that people apparently shrug and go along with them.

    Posted in: Employees reveal absurd company regulations

  • 0

    Klein2

    Third paragraph from the bottom. My sentiments exactly. Take the strongest party in Japan, and split it in half. Do that during crisis. Recipe for disaster.

    Kan spent all of his time with a contrived crisis and forgot the real one. All of Japan did.

    So much for all the AC commercial slogans. Tohoku is on its own.

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  • 0

    Klein2

    "Sendai... This should probably be counted as one more death resulting from the earthquake/tsunami disaster. One more family destroyed by the stress."

    Although, one wonders, what is Fukuoka's excuse?

    Posted in: 68-year-old Sendai woman stabbed to death; son missing

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