Rikuzen Takata update #2

At this point we have an abundance of pictures from the city, showing what it looks like now. Before we go there, a fellow blogger posted pictures of her time there in the spring of 2006. You can see them at http://fightswithivy.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/memories-of-miyagi/. Another person commented on my last update and gives a link to more devastation, including a look at a still standing school they used to teach at. Other pictures can be seen at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-03/15/c_13779776.htm. Here are another couple I found.


The wide-angle view.

The scale of the disaster.


Yasunobu Sasaki is the school principal who is now basically in charge of the school-turned-shelter. He says, "The people are exhausted both physically and mentally." He says they can do nothing but shivver under blankets due to the hypothermia and low temperatures, and he cannot find enough food to give them the 3 meals a day they need to recover. Reporter Mark Mackinnon of Canada's Globe and Mail tweeted that he was told that 40% of the pre-quake population of the town is likely dead. That would be 9,200 to 9,800 in just this town.

I don't mean to make it appear that this is the only place people are suffering. The town of Minamsanriku has 1,000 confirmed dead and 8,000 still unaccounted for. In Otsuchi, 12,000 out of a population of 15,000 are missing. And it goes on.

To Paul Joyce of Harlan- Really?

I saw a letter to Sunday's Urinal Gazette from union man Paul Joyce. He claims that republicans need to "earn" union votes, and thus union contributions. Here is that letter:



GOP needs to earn union contributions
I just finished the letter “Unions need to donate more to Republicans” (March 3) and was initially angered. Why would someone suggest that an organization that fights for working-class Americans, union and non-union alike, contribute to a party that fights for corporate interests, foreign and domestic, at the expense of the working class? Thousands of workers have shown up on their state capital doorsteps, not only to protest the assault on labor, but the assault on our children’s education as well. We need to applaud these workers and the politicians who that have their interests in mind for continuing to fight for what is just. What is going on today is nothing short of class warfare, the haves versus the have nots.
I challenge all of you, Democrats, Republicans, and independents: If you believe that your politicians should favor your interests over corporate interests and you believe that it is wrong to close public schools in favor of under-performing charter schools, go to the Statehouse and let your voices be heard.
As for contributing to Republicans, I am all for it. We shouldn’t waste time writing it into a bill, sending it through committees, and then sending it on to the governor’s desk, that takes too much time away from more important legislation. Here is my proposal for Republicans to get their contributions: Govern with working-class Americans in mind!
PAUL JOYCE USW 715L member Harlan

Really, Paul?I won't waste time telling you that I don't feel that the democrats are so pristine as you seem to think in "fighting for the working class". I won't expound on The fact that you, as a union member, seem to either think that a) you represent me, who am working class but non-union, and b)being a union member, you should expect that the sacrifices that REAL working class Americans have to make shouldn't apply to you. Look at my paycheck once and see who's a have or a have-not. Yes, there is a class war going on- you just don't see that as long as you're not in high management or politics, you are on the poor side and all of them are on the other- including your precious union management and their geisha-masters, the Democrat elite. What I will point out to you is this little article:

“State Rep. Nick Milroy is the Democratic state representative from Wisconsin’s 73rd assembly district.” He was on the radio. One of the hosts “pointed out that union membership was split by their votes in 2010, 49% for Democrats and 47% for Republicans, nearly an even split.” But, despite the fact that union members vote almost 50-50 Republican-Democrat, “unions donated 93% of their total contributions to Democrats.” Only 7% to Republicans, yet half of the union members vote Republican. So there’s quite a disparity. Union members vote 50-50, essentially, but 93% of their dues goes to Democrats. “The question was asked if the assemblyman could understand why Republicans were not in favor of having tax payer funded dues go to fund Democrat campaigns? The assemblyman contended that public employees can opt out of the unions. But when pressed about how even those that opt out must pay union dues, the assemblyman suggested that those people that didn’t want to be part of a union could find other work.

So, Paul, tell me again that if the GOP bent over to your demands that the contribution picture would change. Union management does not even listen to the votes of THEIR OWN PEOPLE!!
And if you disagree, you should either grin and bear it, or come join me in non-union labor. Or perhaps run off to Illinois with the traitors like Moses and GiaQuinta.

I don't disagree with your premise of the GOP being elitist. That is the one thing more than any other that will cost us 4 more years with Obama. But if you don't think that the Democrat powers-that-be are just the same, or that your beloved union's leadership isn't just as bad, you are deluding yourself.

My dad was union. In the heart of the worst slowdown in the economy (until now) since the depression, they went on a months long strike and cost Fort Wayne its biggest supplier of jobs. He told me when I first registration to vote that "we always vote democrat". I registered independent and said, "I'll make up my own mind, thank you." Paul, you should try that sometime. Spouting the union line when the leadership is living better than you'll ever see just ain't all that bright.

Mitchell Page

In 1977 I learned about the wide world of baseball on AM radio. That summer my whole life was built around the 1 o'clock game, the 3:00 game, the 7 o'clock game, and the 9:30 game. Along with the concurrent heavy consumption of Pepsi, ho-hos, and chips, and pouring over of the week's Sporting News. Fortunately I enjoyed a plethora of teams, and could listen (depending on time of day) to games on WABC New York, WBZ Boston, WSB Atlanta, KMOX St. Louis, WGN and WMAQ in Chicago, WJR Detroit, WLW Cincinnati, WBAP Dallas, WTMJ Milwaukee, and the very rare glimpse of WBAL Baltimore. Fortunately, I say, because my beloved Oakland A's went that year from a hard charging team that finished just 2 1/2 games back to a team that fell one rain out behind the expansion Seattle Mariners for last place.

But it was the first time I got to really follow the team, and I loved every minute and exhorted them to fight for every run. The names that emblazoned themselves across my mind that year were hardly household names (excepting Vida Blue), and basically forgotten by even today's A's fans. Rob Picciolo. Jeff Newman. Wayne Gross. Rick Langford. Jim Tyrone.

The unquestioned star of that team, though was rookie outfielder Mitchell Page. He hit .307, easily the best on the team, and no mean feat in the Coliseum. He had 21 HRs (second on the team to the much lighter-hitting Gross) and 75 RBIs, to go with 42 stolen bases. When you needed the big hit, your choices were Page first, and then Gross. He came in second to Eddie Murray in the rookie of the year voting, a vote that I will forever claim was due to east-coast bias. (Don't bother showing me the stats or the subsequent career, I won't listen.)

It broke my heart that he never reached such heights again, with nagging injuries taking their toll, as well as substance abuse problems that were revealed when he was released as Cardinals hitting coach after the 2004 season. Perhaps if he'd been introduced to steroids he could have bounced back like Mark McGwire did, but I'm glad he didn't if that's the price.

He coached in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Washington, from whom he was on leave of absence and doing some roving scouting.

Today, as I watch my first A's spring game on MLB, the crawler announced that Page had died. Age 59, cause of death not determined.

"I saw him during the winter, at the fall league," said Cardinals first-base coach Dave McKay. "He was doing really well. He was feeling great, bought a home, went from the ballpark to working on his home. He was going to church, spending a lot of time at church and doing all the right things. I was really happy for him. He was feeling good. I thought it was great. I saw him probably about four or five times.
"He was a pretty sharp guy. Really good head. I played with him. He was into video, watching what guys were doing. It's just really sad. His life was straightened out, he was heading in the right direction, it seemed like. I was really glad that he was going to church and becoming a Christian".

Cards Manager Tony LaRussa added, "He didn't have an easy life. He was a good man, a knowledgeable man, a real good teammate. It's a shame."

It really is. I've never stopped missing those days. 98 losses never dimmed the fact that that was MY team. And now our leader, our fallen leader, is fallen for good. God bless you Mitchell. I hope yours is the last eulogy I'll type for a few months- I'm getting all too sick of death.

Rikuzen Takata update

I've been combing the reports for info on the Town I decided to feature in the Japan tragedy, Rikuzen-Takata. One report said that only 5,900 of a population of over 23,000 had managed to find shelter before the tsunami hit. Police said Saturday morning that they had dug up 300-400 bodies already from the debris. Rikuzen-Takata, described by the Daily Yomiyuri online as one of six nearby communities whose "administrative functions are paralyzed" (no surprise since the wave reached to the third floor of the city hall), was flown over Saturday morning by Yomiyuri reporter Koji Yasuda, who gave this report:

" The next town south was Rikuzen-Takata, but almost no buildings were to be seen where the town should have been located. It seemed as if the port town had suddenly vanished. What I could see there were only medium-rise buildings believed to be made of reinforced concrete, such as a hospital."

Reading about it only gives a vague idea. Here's video from the town.




In the meantime I found this report, orignally in German, on the fate of the Asia League and the Anyang Halla team.

Asia earthquake prevented League final
Saturday 12 March 2011, 18:32
- Martin Merk
The severe earthquake in Japan left over 1000 dead and hockey not spared. The final series of the Asian league, which would have to start yesterday, was canceled until further notice. The two teams had this blessing in disguise, because they were both on the hard-hit east coast in Fukushima Prefecture. The home team, the Tohoku Free Blades trained in its ice rink in Koriyama, Japan when the earthquake struck. The players immediately rushed from the ice to shake as the earth and pieces of concrete started falling off. The crew spent the night in an office building because their hotel was damaged.
Even the visiting team, the defending champion Anyang Halla in South Korea, had a blessing in disguise. It was only just landed in Sendai and on the way to Koriyama, when the earthquake began. The team is now in Fukushima, and only a short time before there was an explosion at a nuclear power plant took place, took off and returned to South Korea. When the playoffs will continue is as yet unclear and especially for the Japanese probably currently not in the foreground.

Sounds like the Korean team dodged several bullets. I'll keep checking the updates on this, but let me go around to the league's Japanese cities and see how they fared.
Nikko (home of the Ice Bucks)- found nothing. No news is good news, eh?
Kushiro (home of the Nippon Paper Cranes)- in the north of Hokkaido, away from the damage.
Tomokomai(home of the Oji Eagles)- on the south shore of Hokkaido, some minimal damage to docks.
Hachinhoe (one of two home bases for the Tohoku Free Blades)- whole areas flooded, lots of ships washed ashore, including a fishing boat thought lost in the wave, from which 81 survivors were choppered out.
Koriyama (their other home)- plenty of damage, but standing enough that the FoxNews stringers moved there when the radiation evacs began.

That's the news for now. I'll keep following news from Rikuzen-Takata for a while.

Japan update

The Indiana attorney-general asks you to check out charities to give donations for Japan through www.CharityNavigator.org . This site gives ratings and charity by charity info. We chose AmeriCares, which was higher rated and gives more right to the project than Red Cross. Only drawback id the donation is collected through NetworkForGood, which charges a fee that can come off the top of your donation of get added on.

And don't forget, God doesn't charge a fee for prayer.

Eurohockey update

Lots is happening in our look at the international hockey competitions, including one new travelogue city and an update from the quake-shattered Asia League.



The Asia League website has the 3 games of the finals scheduled for yesterday through Thursday marked as Cancelled. The finals were to feature Anyang Halla, who upset regular season champion Oji 5-4 in OT to win the series 4 to 1, and the Tohoku Free Blades, who won consecutive 4-1 games to defeat the Cranes. However, Tohoku plays some of their home games in Koriyama (which is 60 miles south of Sendai) and some at Hachinohe (166 miles north of Sendai). The games were to be played in Koriyama; but a report from Canadian Tohoku player Brad Farynuk said that the Arena was ruined, with concrete falling and other damage. He said that he thought the games would be moved to Korea, but he thought that the Anyang team was stuck on a bullet train somewhere between Tokyo and Koriyama. In the meantime, his wife is stuck at their home in Hachinohe; she says they have no power or water, and that she can see boats that have been washed ashore.



The English EIHL and the German DEL are still playing, with the EIHL going till the 25th and the DEL finishing tomorrow. Sheffield's Steelers (a popular hockey name in Europe) still leads a three team group within 2 points of each other at the top; the DEL is led by Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg by 3 points. Their playoffs, which start with the 7-10 seeds playing a best of three to see who got the final 2 quarterfinal slots, start Wednesday.



In France, Amiens has a 2 to 1 lead on Briancon after winning the last 2; Gap also leads their series with Strasbourg 2 to 1, despite a 9-2 Strasbourg win in game three. Last season's finalists ripped through the round to advance to the semis; Rouen rolled to 6-2, 4-1, and 6-1 wins over Morzine-Avoriaz; Angers was even more dominant in 8-0, 10-1, and 7-5 wins over Villard de Lans. They will await the winners of the other two series.



In Switzerland, EV Zug finally finished off Geneve Servette in a 5-4 win that took over 110 minutes of OT to take that series 4 to 2. Zug will play season champ Davos while SC Bern meets Kloten in the semis which start Wednesday.



In Italy, Val Pusteria put up back to back OT wins to take a 3 to 0 lead on Valpellice in the semis, while Bolzano dominated in 4-2 and 5-2 wins to take the same lead over defending playoff champ Asiago.



In Austria, KAC finished off KHL Zagreb with a 6-5 OT win in game 5; they will play my VSV team, who finished off last year's playoff runner-up Black Wings Linz with a 5-2 win in game 5, in the semis. Also in the semis are defending champ Red Bull Salzburg who eliminated Olympja Ljubljana in 5 games with another OT win (three of 4 quarterfinal series were decided with an OT final); they'll play the Vienna Capitals, who downed the Graz 99ers in a 4 game sweep.



In the Czech Extraliga, Slavia Praha took 5-2 and 4-3 wins over White Tigers Liberec to take a 3-1 lead over the league's#2 team. Vitkovice Steel took a 3-2 shootout win in game five with Mountfield and a 3-2 lead in their series Friday. Litvinov Brezina recovered from 2 opening losses to season champ Ocelari Trinec with 5-3 and 4-2 wins to surprisingly tie the series at 2 games apiece. And Pardubice is at home waiting on the others after mowing down PSG Zlin in four straight.



In Slovakia, Kosice had already won into the second round, as had Poprad. Kosice will play Dukla Trencin, who upset Slovan Bratislava, with 6-3 and 5-2 wins completing a comeback from down 3 games to 0 to win 4 to 3. Poprad will face Banska Bystrika, who won 2 tight games at the end to avoid an upset by HK Zvolen 4 to 3.



In Norway, Sparta Sarpsborg rolled to 6-0 and 4-0 wins over Rosenborg to sweep their first round series. They will face Lillehammer, who downed Storhammer in 5 games. Second place Stavenger routed Frisk Asker 6-1, 8-4, and 5-2 to take their series 4 games to 1 and they will now face Lorenskog, who won three straight to upset defending champ Valerenga 4 to 1.



In Sweden, season champ HV71 is well on the way to an inglorious exit ; AIK has won all three games, including 4-2 and 3-1 wins in Jonkoping, and can sweep them with a home win Tuesday in Stockholm. Farjestad has won the first 2 against Brynas; Skelleftea and Linkoping are at 1 game apiece; and Lulea has notched consecutive 2-1 wins over Djurgardens.



In Denmark, SonderjsykE won their last three to advance out of the round robin. Blue Fox Herning smashed Fredrikshaven 9-4 in the RR finale, so it became SonderjyskE vs Fredrikshaven and Herning vs Rodovre in the semis. SonderjyskE took their opener 2-1 on Mike Grey's power play goal 1:51 into OT; BFH gave up the puck at center ice to Rodovre's Morten Andreassen 2 1/2 minutes into OT and he tallied his 2nd goal of the game to give the Mighty Bulls a 1 game lead in their series, 4-3.



In the KHL, Avangard clocked Neftekhimk 7-3 last Sunday to become the last team into the second round. And here again they are struggling, having lost 4-2 and 4-3 OT matches to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. In the other Eastern series, Salavat Yulaev has took both of the first two games- a 3-2 OT opener, and 3-1 in a match where Ak Bars missed, not one, but 2 empty net chances. In the West, SKA has a 2 to 1 lead over Atlant after a 3-0 win this morning. Lokomotiv blasted Dinamo Riga 8-4 this morning behind three goals by Daniel Tjarnquist to retake a 2-1 lead.



Finally, JYP Jyvaskyla (39-13-8) finished off the S-M Liiga regular season as champs this week. The playoffs start today with a best of 3 round between the 7-10 teams for the last two quarterfinal spots. HPK faces the Ilves of Tampere, while Karpat faces the Blues of Espoo.

JYP was founded in 1977, and play in the 4,628-seat Synergie Areena. They have a championship in 2009 to their credit, and are in a trading partnership with the NHL's Boston Bruins.



Jyvaskyla is located dead center of the big southern "bulb" of Finland. Built between Lakes Paijame and Jyvasjari, it contains 37 lakes in the old town alone. Built by Russian Czar Nicholas I in 1837, it grew dramatically after the end of
the "Continuation War"- the battle fought between Finland and Nazi Germany against Soviet Russia from 1941-44- because of refugees from Karelia who fled the Soviet return. Finland's education center, it is often called "the Athens of Finland". It is the fastest growing city in the nation, with a population aproaching 131,000.



That's it for this round. Be back next week when we take a look at (presumably) the German city of Wolfsburg and (maybe) more info on the situation in Japan.

Rikuzen Takata

Rikuzen Takata was sleepy little port city of 23,000 people. It nestled in the area of the south end of the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park, where the soaring 200-meter precipices of the coastline began to soften into sandy dunes. Upstream of the waterways of the park, in the nineteen-nineties they invited in a new type of purification plant to end the problem of their waste degrading the natural beauty of the park.





An area surrounded by quiet rice patties, one of its few tourist attractions was the Museum of Sea and Shell, dedicated to mollusks and their evolution from Cambrian times to now. Not exactly Disney World, but not everything has to be.





According to the April 1976 issue of the Rotarian magazine, there is a high hill overlooking the town upon which a now-vanished castle was built 800 years ago. The plateau at the top was known as Hommaru (the inner citadel); and in the early 1900's the citizenry took it upon themselves to plant a park of cherry trees. It was the most popular place in the town, until the neccessities of WWII forced them to cut down the trees and turn it into desperately needed farmland.






In 1972, the Rotary celebrated their tenth year there by re-creating a park. Naming it Midori-no-Oka (Green Hill), they raised half a million Yen and every member spent 2 hours a day clearing, bulldozing, landscaping, and planting. Their example drew the rest of the town to the project, and in the end over 3,000 townspeople worked to make Green Hill once again the favorite recreational spot in the city.

I write this so that when you say your prayers or send your money to help Japan and towns like Rikuzen Takata, you'll remember that it was a living, breathing town of people who worked, lived, and loved together...

Before it became this...

It is being described as "totally obliterated" by the Japanese media. Rikuzen Takada has come off the mat before, and restored beauty to ruin. The question is, are there Takadans left to rebuild. As I write this, the official death toll is in the six hundreds, with many more missing. And if a city of 23,000 can just vanish, you know this is a lowball estimate.

I hope, somehow, there were 23,000 people watching this from Midori-no-Oka. What I know is, I thank God he has preserved me thus far. Preserved my family. Put me in Indiana, where I avoid earthquakes, Tsunamis, hurricanes, and alligators and sharks. Left me only to dodge the occasional lazy-ass armed robbed and the odd tornado. And where I can pray.