Archive for March, 2011

Stand With Japan

A short video of a “Stand with Japan” event held at Washington DC’s Cherry Blossom Festival:

More than 1,000 residents of and visitors to the Washington metropolitan area gathered among the city’s cherry trees March 24, 2011 to show support for the people of Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. The event, called “Stand With Japan,” included a moment of silence. At the event, people were encouraged to gather to reflect and participate in the walk around the Tidal Basin, where the cherry blossom trees, gifted to Washington, DC from Tokyo in 1912, have stood the test of time for 99 years.

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Marijuana Dispensary Sells “Joints for Japan”

A medical marijuana dealer in Colorado is helping raise money for relief efforts in Japan:

Compassionate Pain Management’s owner Shaun Gindi says he saw the devastation in Japan on the news, and floated the idea of donating some of his profits to help on Facebook.

After he got tons of positive feedback, he started brainstorming ideas for the campaign. After rejecting names like “Bake for the Quake” and “Joint Relief,” he settled for what he thought was a more appropriate name of “Joints for Japan.”

At Compassionate Pain Management’s two locations in Lakewood and Louisville, joints sell for $5 a piece for those with a medical marijuana card and prescription. Gindi has promised 100 percent of the profits from those sales for at least the next two to three weeks to go to the Red Cross for recovery efforts in Japan.

Because marijuana remains illegal in the eyes of the federal government, charitable giving is not recognized as a write-off. Gindi says his donations are completely from the heart.

“It feels great to be able to do this. It feels great to give back,” Gindi said.

Information about the store and how Colorado residents can qualify to purchase medical marijuana can be found on CPM’s Homepage.

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Video: Tsunami Destroys City

The most-viewed video clip on YouTube Japan today is a clip that shows how the March 11th tsunami engulfed and destroyed the city of Kesennuma in a few short minutes:

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Rude Soccer Fans Ruin Moment of Silence for Japan

A failed moment of silence for Japan at the beginning of the March 26th US-Argentina soccer match at New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey:

At one point, you can hear a fan shouting, “KONNICHIWA BITCHES!” ಠ_ಠ

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Europeans Censor The Simpsons: Nuke Jokes Removed

Apparently the ongoing nuclear accident in Japan has caused some damage in Europe. TV networks in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are censoring episodes of “The Simpsons” to remove any jokes about nuclear meltdowns or radiation:

Reacting to the real-life nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan, Pro7, the channel that airs The Simpsons in Germany, will be screening current and future episodes of the show and remove or replace any that feature a disaster at Mr. Burns’ nuclear power plant. Berlin’s Tagesspiegel newspaper reports that networks in Austria and Switzerland have followed suit.

Austria’s ORF has already pulled two episodes set to broadcast: Episode 66, Marge Gets a Job, which features scientists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie dying of radiation poisoning; and Episode 346, On a Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister, in which characters joke about a nuclear meltdown. Tagesspeigel says ORF has held back eight Simpsons episodes until the end of April, when it will review its Springfield disaster policy.

So far, neither Pro7 nor Swiss network SF have pulled any Simpsons episodes but both channels say they are screening shows for “unsuitable” references to nuclear disaster.

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Illegal Immigrant Turns Himself In: Seeking Deportation to Escape Radiation

Lin Jian Ming is suspected of remaining in Japan beyond the allowed period of 90 days after arriving on June 8, 2000, the officials said.

The man came to the Nagasaki prefectural police headquarters on Saturday afternoon, telling them that he lived in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, but had fled to Nagasaki to escape the nuclear power plant crisis and wanted to return to China, the officials said.

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