Japan Quake

[Josh]

To hell with you.

[Fe 26]

japan is our spock. If spock was a weirdo

[Compass]

There are few things gayer than Star Wars. Star Trek makes that short list.

[Fe 26]

Anyone that obsesses over anything is pretty annoying. A person could have a job fucking titties and be just as annoying as a star trek geek if all he did was talk about it.

Star trek and star wars isn't that bad if the person knows when to not talk about it.

[Diff-chan]

I want that job.

[Drewbacca]

So there are a lot of relief funds asking for money to help Japan now. But diffusionx makes a good point - aren't these companies just being predatory by making money off of the Japanese catastrophe right now? Japan is a rich nation with enough capital and means to repair the damage, overall. They have the same power to print money that the United States does. As it stands right now the Japanese government is actually telling people "no thanks" when it comes to aid (according to a Japanese Canadian who just flew in to Canada and was on the radio) because they have to organize, structurally, before they can move forward.

[Diff-chan]

They don't have QUITE the same power the US does (the Yen is not a reserve currency), but Japan is still an extravagantly wealthy and successful nation with the means to handle their shit. We're not talking about Sri Lanka where people live in straw huts near the ocean spearing fish, or Pakistan where people live in filth and poop in the river. They also have a government which is fairly competent and well-versed in disaster recovery. Were all this shit to happen to a nation, Japan is one of the better ones since they can handle it.

I sent money to relief agencies for the Pakistan floods but overall few people gave a shit because, hey, it's Pakistan. I understand that f-chans the world over want to unite to help their favoritest nation on earth but the money really probably would be better served elsewhere. I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to help Japan, in the form of investment in the economy, when things get stabilized. Just be resourceful.

[Drewbacca]

I was amazed to hear the Japanese woman (thick accent) in Canada basically telling her it took her 8 - 9 hours to get the airport. The, what she called, "man-made dirt" (to which the interviewer eventually figured out she meant asphalt) is apparently so saturated with salt water it's gooey and cars are getting stuck / sinking in to it. The government is doing its best to resolve the situation but it's hard. They're also employing rolling blackouts to help relieve the stress on the electrical grid (we did the same here during the blackout a few years back). Basically money wasn't even a factor - it was all just logistics at this point. I feel like a hrd ngr for saying this shit, but I was one of the Canadians who gave money to Haiti (Canada was one, if not THE, highest per capita donators in the world) and found out it basically was just used in a holding account as reserve funds.

So they didn't need the money. But the agency obviously loves to have it. They use these catastrophes as a means to rake in the cash and you never know if it actually goes to help. Most of the cost is administration.

[Thief Silver]

I'm a little confused, Japan has the most debt out of any industrialized nation.

[Drewbacca]

Weeaboo confirmed