Sony, Honda, Nissan, Toyota shut down plants

Good! The prices of my used Japanese cars will go up!

(In all fairness, NOT good. Those people are REALLY suffering. God Bless them.)

Yesterday, I heard on CNN tv news, there is no rioting and looting in Japan, because of the Earthquake, and aftershocks.

I have been to Japan twice, eight hours layover in Tokyo on my way to Vietnam, and U.S.Air Force Base/Yokota.I spent the night there (Yokota) on my way home from Vietnam.The seats in that U.S.Air Force Base Troop transport Airplane faced backwards.I reckon that was because they didn't want up to get our necks broken in case the Airplane crashed. cuhulin

I'm not surprised. The Japanese society is very different than ours, and there doesn't seem to be any kind of anti-intellectual or slacker culture there like there is here. (I'm sure there are exceptions to that statement, but I haven't seen them.) The Japanese people in general seem to completely non-ironically take pride in being polite and doing whatever job they have to do to the best of their abilities.

I was in Fukushima Prefecture last year, although I didn't even know that there was a reactor there. I'm really saddened by the news because other than rural Pennsylvania I can't really think of any more fundamentally beautiful place on the face of the earth that I've had the pleasure of visiting.

nate

No minorities, no other languages.

All of the Japanese name brand vehicles (cars/trucks/vans/motorcycles) produced in American factories, isn't it required they must have a certain percentage of parts made in Japan? cuhulin

Here is a remarkably good explanation of the reactor failure, by the way:

It's also not entirely clear what we (US civilians) can do to help at the moment. With disasters in third world countries it's obvious that we can donate to WFP and similar, but with a disaster in a highly developed country like Japan it's not so clear what is needed.

I just got an E-Mail from my BIL in Chiba. He is now asking for us to send him and his wife a couple of GOOD flashlights for Christmas. I have a ton of them around and they would both always ask why I carried at least one light all the time. My answer has always been that I carry a flashlight for the same reason I carry a pistol. You NEVER know when you will need it and if you don't have it with you when you need it what good is having it. They always laughed about it. UNTIL this past week when he had to walk 4 miles in the dark with nothing but a cell phone lighting the way and his wife had a 3 mile hike just to get close to a place where she could get a ride. Her walk was with a candle because her phone battery went dead...

So for Christmas (probably will get sent MUCH earlier) they will be getting a couple Mag Solitaires, a Mag XL50 and maybe even a couple of the cheap HF lights that they can just toss in the car for use as needed. Also will probably send a brick of batteries just to be sure they have them.

USPS Priority envelope to Japan (9x12, up to 4 pounds) is $14, 4 to 8 days. We use a lot of these, cheap and reliable.

You carry a pistol at all times? Let me guess, you're a "Chicken Hawk", right?

Yeah we are very used to shipping to Japan. He has been over there now for almost 13 years. Every Christmas, Birthdays and other events and he gets packages from us. Got the Customs forms down pat

I was trying to get the local PO to let me use the flat rate boxes but they just won't give an inch....

What gets me is...

No looting...

No rioting...

Nobody stuck in a football stadium...

Wish I could go there, earthquakes and all...

The difference is the mature culture with a sense of personal responsibility.

That is a rather severe insult where I come from.

Can't see why they wouldn't take that; we ship those in some volume too. The 11x13 flat rate Priority box FRB2 is $46-ish. Send two air letters if the stuff you need fits that way!

Unless you're Ted Harbit.

Is there a Maglight relief fund to donate to that will ship a few containers of US made flashlights to Japan? Don't they produce their own high grade flashlights there?

I suspect a lot of them originate in China... e.g. the 3W Task Force flashlight. But that one isn't waterproof where a Mag or Fenix is. Not sure where Fenix lights are made.

nate

Fenix doesn't actually say on their web page: