ALERT: re: Japan's earthquake, tsunami information, news, and assistance

UPDATED:  March 12, 2011 (Many new links below)

PLEASE share this information on your FB and Twitter pages in the hopes it will help at least one person get information, or help them to safety. 
     
Official news outlets
       CNN.com
       CNN Impact Your World  (Facebook here)  Article here
       The Japan Times newspaper
        NHK World (English Streaming news)
        Kyodo News (English)
       Al-Jazeera (English)
        Reuters World News
        MSNBC World News


People Finders
       Google Crisis information:  Crisis contact information *Recommended!*
       Google People Finder:  In English
       Google People Finder: In Japanese
       US Citizens in Japan email US State Dept: JapanEmergencyUSC@state.gov

 
Disaster Message Boards (from Google Crisis page)
      •NTT Docomo disaster message board
     •KDDI/au disaster message board
     •SoftBank disaster message board
     •EMOBILE disaster message board
     •WILLCOM disaster message board


For US Citizens living or traveling in Japan
US State Department
       (US State Dept) Emergencies and Crises page
US Embassy in Tokyo
       (Embassy) Disaster Preparedness Checklist and information
       (Embassy) Consular Posts in Japan List of locations with map
Red Cross
       (Red Cross) Japanese Red Cross Society In English
       (Red Cross) Japanese Red Cross Society In Japanese


Official information re: Earthquakes, Tsunamis and, Blackouts and Nuclear Power
Japan Meteorological Agency Tsunami page
US Geological Survey (USGS) main site
NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center main site
FEMA Blog Home (Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Update #1)
Tokyo Power Electric Company (TEPCO) (Japanese)
Tohoku Power Electric (Japanese)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
GOOGLE Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Crisis Response


Charities via CNN's Impact Your World
AmeriCares
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Save The Children
Doctors Without Borders
Convoy of Hope
ShelterBox


Charities via MSNBC's How to Help page
American Red Cross Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 OR website
International Medical Corps  Text MED to 80888 to donate $10 to their efforts
Save The Children Text JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222 to donate $10 OR website
Global Giving Text JAPAN to 50555 to donate $10
World Vision (focuses on children)
Microsoft


Charities via Microsoft's webpage:
NetHope (32 leading international humanitarian organizations)
Mercy Corps (partnered with Chairty Peace Winds Japan)


Most of us have woke to the devistating news out of Japan. Our first concerns are of the people in Japan and areas affected by the earthquake. As a result of the earthquake, a tsunami has also hit Japan and there are 20 countries under tsunami warning.

I have sent messages to the MJ Fans I have email addresses for, hoping they will have access to email to check in. I will let everyone know when I hear from them. Please check in with me as soon as you can if you are in Japan or in a country under Tsunami warnings. (I am like a worried parent right now until I know you all are okay). Second, many of us have friends or family in Japan, as well as coastal areas who are under the tsunami warnings. I will try to put emergency contact information here in case you are seeking information on your friends or family. If you have any official sites not posted here, that you can share, please either leave them in the comments or email me at cali_mj_fan@yahoo.com and I will post ASAP.

Update 1  (3/12/11)
I have heard from Cozy in Japan. (YAY!)  She was safe (thank goodness).    There are still 2 more people I am waiting to hear from in Japan.  Please keep them, and all the people in Japan, in your thoughts.  I will update the moment I hear anything from either of them.  I heard from my cousin in Hawaii (whew).  They were evacuated and all are safe.  Many on my FB page heard yesterday of the 6 animal activists who were last known to be in the Iwate prefecture area, and had not been heard from since the quake and tsunami.  They have contacted their families.  All are safe.

Please take a moment for the people who lost theirs lives, have not yet been discovered, those families who are likely beside themselves in worry, and for the entire nation of Japan.  Their world has turned upside down in a second.  After seeing first views yesterday of a town completely wiped out down to the foundations, one can only imagine the devistation that is yet to be uncovered.

Please reach your hand to help while they are shaken.  Remember, we are a planet of humans first and foremost.

Stay tuned for additional updates!

Much L.O.V.E, white light and positive energy to Japan.  You are in my thoughts.
Cali

WATW- In the spirit of charity

Going through some of the comments that I have missed, I found one that had a link to a charity.  The person wrote they sent a letter to Kraken Opus requesting that their $20 donation to charity be sent here, Chernobyl Children International.  That got me to thinking, everyone has a favorite cause(s).

What are yours? 

If you will put a link below to either ones that touch your heart, or would like to highlight, I will put a list together and also link them to the right here for all to see.  Feel free to add as many as you want.  At any time. 

It is a new year.  A new year of hope.  A new year of change.  A new year of inspiration. 

.............. and a new year of L.O.V.E.

Much L.O.V.E.,
Cali

Happy New Year!

 2010 is gone. 

Depending on where you live, you could say it was the worst year for natural disasters. 

Think of  Haiti, Chile, China for massive earthquakes, Pakistan and California, where it never rains, or Russia for devistating fires.  If you live near the Gulf of Mexico, you could say it was the worst year for man-made carelessness and greed, courtesy of BP Oil. 

Mortified.................

"When the slaughter was finished they drove the rest of the pod out, but the two babies did not want to go, they were looking all over for mom. So the evil men slaughtered them too."

Read the entire update HERE

.... For those of you who just read this and did nothing... imagine this.

Cali's back... and Opus issues are top priority

I know everyone has been frustrated with the issues that have yet to be resolved with Kraken Opus re: MJ's Opus.  The most frustrated people are the ones who have yet to even receive what they paid for... and I don't mean not getting the 2nd glove, or the OR card and technology.  I mean the people out there who paid over a YEAR ago who have yet to get their MJ OPUS.

Taiji Japan October 16, 2010: Third Dolphin Slaughter of 2010 season

Please text DOLPHIN to 44144

Cali's notes:
This is all about money.  The Japanese government, through its Los Angeles consulate's official, is on record as of Thursday October 14th, saying:

In Japan, dolphins “are regarded as naturally reproduced marine resources.” As such, “the Japanese government will continue to authorize the use of dolphins at a sustainable level.”

'And false labeling of food would be investigated “when provided with evidence.” Source: LA Times

Councilman to gay teenagers: "It gets better"

Source: FTWCC Joel Burns YouTube

I just got a tweet from Alyssa Milano which gave the link to the above video.  Not only should every adult watch this, but they should show it to their children too, ESPECIALLY teenagers.

For more information:
The Trever Project
Ellen DeGeneres's selections of Orgs to donate re: Bullying

BREAKING: 14 in Dolphin pod have been SLAUGHTERED

The dolphins in the 2 videos just below this post have been killed:  EXCEPT *edit* two who have already been transported out of town, likely to be sold to a dolphin park or swim program.

Here is one early report:

Monday, October 11, 2010

The Cove Runs Red with Blood for the Second Time this Season

Taiji fishermen slaughtered the entire Pod of an estimated twenty Rissos dolphins sparing the life of one to be sold to the Aquarium industry.

Yesterday Sea Shepherd offered to buy the lives of the captive dolphins. The fishermen refused saying that they would not sell us the dolphins to be released. They sneered at the offer saying it was nonsense to buy dolphins to release them hinting it was like welfare and they would not take hand-outs.

Instead they speared and stabbed the dolphins in the cove until the water ran scarlet with blood.

The Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians are on site filming the slaughter, restricted by numerous Japanese Coast Guard and police

Source  Courtesy: Sea Shepherd

There will be more infomation on a Save Japan Dolphins WORLDWIDE Protest this Thursday.  I'll get this up by tomorrow!

UPDATE 1: This from @blumarbl on Twitter. 

the "spared" babies now have no place to go, no protection and no future. #JapansShame

the dolphin babies are traumatized from seeing the pod massacred around them and forced to swim in their mother’s blood #JapansShame

fishermen in #thecove are at this moment driving the babies out but they won't leave, they are looking for their mothers

6 baby dolphins were "spared" in Taiji, although there mothers were killed, meaning the babies will starve #JapansShame 

UPDATE 2:
Monday, October 11, 2010
Taiji Fishermen May Spare Mothers and Babies

We have confirmed that 14 dolphins were killed today at Taiji. Two were taken into the harbour hoisted onto a flatbed truck and driven out of town. About 6 dolphins, mothers with calves are still swimming in the bloody waters of the Cove. The fishermen have indicated they may release them to appease the Cove Guardians. We cant confirm this until they do but it remains a possibility.

There were Japanese news crews in Taiji covering the kill today. That is unusual.

Source: Courtesy: Sea Shepherd

Dolphins tailslapping the water

UPDATE:  October 11, 2010 (US Time) THESE DOLPHINS WERE SLAUGHTERED in Taiji, Japan  Read more here  The 2 videos below were within approx 24 hours of their being killed.

Here is video of the dolphins being driven into The Cove in Taiji, Japan on October 11, 2010 by Elora

Source

Distressed Risso Dolphins after they were driven into the Cove on October 11, 2020 in Taiji, Japan as they await their deaths tomorrow morning (Japan time). By John and Jackie.

Source

The "fisherman" were offered the same money they would get if they killed these dolphins and here's an account of what their reply was.  View here

Visit these blogs to read the latest reports from Taiji.  Very interesting.

Jackie and John (from the UK)
Elora Malama (16 year old from the US)
Scott West (from the US)
Leilani Munter (female Nascar driver)
     be sure to watch her video at the top about her vision of change.
Steven Thompson (co founder) of Taiji Dolphin Action Group

PS.  Steven Thompson, after his swim in the Cove today, asked the Taiji "fisherman" and media to let the pregnant females and the baby dolphins go so they are not slaughtered.  Yes, the drives in Taiji kill every single dolphin that enters The Cove when there is a slaughter- babies and pregnant females too!

If you wish to contact the Japan Embassy in your country (or state), here is the list, courtesy of  Stop Killing Whales and Dolphins on FB, see below.

Our World: Your voice is needed to help others

Source

The official start of the hunting of dolphins started September 1st, despite the worldwide outcry to end this brutal practice. The annual slaughter, which runs through March, traditionally slaughters 20,000+ dolphins brutally in the waters of Japan. Right now, there are activists in Taiji, Japan (the city made famous by the Oscar Award winning documentary "The Cove") who are documenting to the world what is happening. While there have been no known killings so far, 9 dolphins have lost their freedom this week, as they were captured to be sold to dolphinariums somewhere in the world.

While no nation has the right to tell others how to eat, the truly critical aspect of this story is that the dolphin and whale meat, contains dangerously high levels of mercury, which is poisoning those who eat it.  And many in Japan do not even know this is happening.  There is an exhibit at a Tokyo university, with histories on people who had mercury-poisoning in the 1950s in Minamata, Japan.  It runs through September 19th.

If you have friends in Japan, PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THEM!

Also, PLEASE-- Please take 5 minutes of your day to:
1. Sign this petition  (on Facebook, here) to help stop dophin slaughter. 

2. Share this on your social networking (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) and ask each of your followers to join you in signing the petition  
(Copy/paste)
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/blog.html
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/252

3.  Please add any of these tags to your tweets on Twitter to help this topic trend globally:  #taiji #dolphins #thecove #savejapandolphins

4.  Read updates on SaveJapanDolphins.org or Google Dolphins in Japan, Mercury poisoning, etc for more information. 

Stay informed.  Use your voice. 
Thank you!
Cali

EDIT:  PS:  I read this from another MJ fan's blog, It's all for LOVE.  They have an excerpt from MJ's Dancing the Dream about what MJ thought of Dolphins, "they're killing a dance."  It's definitely worth a read! 
japan mercury poison dolphins dolphin killing slaughter in taiji japan thecove ops ric o'barry lincoln o'barry the cove whaling whales japan savejapandolphins.org blooddolphins blood dolphins

WATW-R ALERT: 1,870 Russian families homeless: 40 dead

Please read the latest update on the fires in Russia here and video here.  According to the article, there are 1,870 families who have lost their homes.  40 people have lost their lives.

Here is a crowdsourced piece translated by Global Voices (thru RuNet Echo) from Russia discussing how citizens are trying to organize the online community to help.

MJ fans, what will we do to help?  Please pass this around and share your ideas below. 

We will never change the world just talking about it.

Much L.O.V.E.
Cali

WATW-R ACTION: New Orleans in honor of MiMi

We have talked about it on this blog.  We've chatted about it in email.  I've had it on my to do list for months.  Six months to be exact, ever since Haiti's devestating earthquake.  They just passed the 6 month anniversary this week.  WATW-R (We are the World-Report) was thought of and named after the group of us, MJ fans from around the world, starting talking about joining together to report on things in our own countries, so that when help was needed, we could all rise to help. 

The first time I realized the new friends in my life was when our first thoughts after hearing of the earthquake in Chile, were of the safety of Byfepo and Paly. The time has come for us to take our first step.  Baby step, fine.  We must take the step.

The Opus issues were time consuming, but they should not have been our primary focus.  That is my fault.  Time was of the essence to get the MJ Opus into the hands of the customers who paid money for them, but helping our fellow brothers and sisters should ALWAYS be our NUMBER ONE priority.

So, today we start a new day.  A new leaf.  Here's our first official action!  Our IACOP member living in this region is MiMi.  Many of you don't know who the team was who helped me so much with the legal issues regarding Opus.  It was MiMi.   In her honor and as a heartfelt thank you, we are starting with NOLA. (NOLA = New Orleans Louisiana)

Reflections

Almost a year without Michael.  How is it possible?   Think back over the past almost 365 days and try to reflect the world around you.  What things have you become more aware of outside your day to day life?  What new experiences have you been exposed to since Michael's death last June 25th?  What have you contributed to our world to make change, the change Michael so desperately wanted to make this world a better place to live?  What can you do today, tomorrow and the weeks/months to come to help others? 

After the whole Opus Experience, the world has become a smaller place for me personally.  When I watch the news and hear of a disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami, or fire, and even good things such