Black Diamond Helping Japan

I have the headlamps for both my wife and I but looking at the lanterns?

The orbit is a cool little thing if youre looking for a lantern. Its freaking bright.

picking up a couple Orbit's

Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk but I don't think Japan is in financial crisis. They're the 3rd wealthiest country…IN THE WORLD. I realize that the disaster they're going through is HUGE. I realize that. I just don't understand why America is going crazy with their donations. I believe they're actually going to be inundated with donations and they're not going to know where to spend it all. Can I be so petty as to wonder who is donating to Japan during this crisis and didn't donate to the U.S. during the Katrina disaster? I don't remember Sandra Bullock donating 1,000,000 large after Katrina.

I think that's really cool of BD to do that. Just awesome.

As far as "Can I be so petty as to wonder who is donating to Japan during this crisis and didn't donate to the U.S. during the Katrina disaster?"

I understand your point, and I'm not sure I have a real answer. Maybe it has to do with the mentality of "my donation will be worth more because its a far-off foreign location." Maybe its because people in the US assume that we have a wealthy enough government and country that can take care of itself, so no personal donation is necessary. Maybe people feel better helping those in need because "they don't live here so they are probably underprivileged and my charity is more appreciated there."

*My quotes above are to be considered frames of mind and are not actual quotes.*

I just don't know.

That's what they say it will cost so far socYes thanks Black Diamond!

” Can I be so petty as to wonder who is donating to Japan during this crisis and didn’t donate to the U.S. during the Katrina disaster?”

Christopher – Two thoughts to your question:

1. I remember reading in the news back then that more than 100 countries responded with aid to the US in the aftermath of Katrina. Click here for a list of countries and amounts given/pledged. Which brings to my second point below:

2. It’s more a blessing to give than to receive. How true that is!! As a nation, we are truly blessed with unprecedented wealth! The problem with Katrina wasn’t the lack of resources — but the lack of means to get resources to locations fast enough. My understanding is that the US thanked — but did not access — the vast majority of money and materiel pledged.

But still pretty heart warming when the whole world responds with help, no?

I'll buy an Orbit and a spot.

Japan owns A LOT of US treasury bonds (up there with China and Saudi). they sell them, US goes into more debt. Also Japan is one of the most indebted nations in the world because of them if, the sell there bonds it hurts a lot of economies. They'll need a lot of oil and gas to rebuild, driving up the cost of gas for everyone else. and keeping Japan in a state of crisis hurts the whole world with the technological innovations that come out of there.

I don't want to turn this into a Cuben or REI thread.

I understand where your questions come from, I really do, but I absolutely agree with Ben on "It's more a blessing to give than to receive."

My brother is currently serving on the USS Ronald Reagan which is currently sitting off the coast of northeast Japan assisting with search and rescue and transporting supplies. Every day I have seen pictures of this and the smiles on the Japanese faces when they receive something as simple as a box of Kellogg's or a case of water is… well I can't even think a word. It's fulfilling more than anything to know that my brother and my country are doing every thing they can to help someone in need. I think what BD is doing is amazing, no matter how small or large the impact they make is. The point is that they are sacrificing for others.

It's not like they are just handing the money over to Japan. It's going to the Red Cross who has already sheltered about 264,000 people in approximately 1,800 shelters run by the Japanese Red Cross. And I'm sure they have also given enormous amount of supplies and helped with medical aid as well.

I know you meant no harm by your post and weren't saying not to support it but I just wanted to share my thoughts on the situation.

You cannot eat wealth. A good part of wealth is tied up in tangible things like buildings, infrastructure, etc. A lot of Japan's businesses cannot operate to produce what they need right now. One of their largest companies, Toyota, may have to stop building cars in the US and other countries, because Toyota cannot supply some of the components that are made in Japan. They DO have a fiancial crisis, and more importantly, a humanity crisis.

We do not really know the true extent of the disaster yet. The disaster is larger than the ability of the people (government) to handle. It is mind boggling. There are thousands of people without food, safe water, shelter, adequate health care, etc. Japan needs help and many Americans (and other countries too) want to provide help. Also, many Americans (and other countries) work with or for Japanese companies.

During Katrina many Americans donated. Much more than any other natural disaster than I can remember.

I read a story that the donations to Japan were 1/10th of the donations given to Haiti in the first 4 days of the disaster. Japan is a wealthy country but, this is not about money, it is about helping people. The help they need is the basics, clean water and food. Katrina had telethon's and huge donations given and help from other country's so I don't think its fair to compare the two.

cool of them. wonder how much they donated to the katrina disaster or to the recent gulf spill.

sad to see people sending money overseas when there are people here in the US that are homeless and starving to death.

bill gates gave a speech about being successful (and i consider him an expert at that) to a middle school and he said that before you run off and save the rainforest try cleaning your room… i liked hearing that princicple then and like hearing it now.

I give a homeless man money and then watch him walk into a liquor store or gas station to buy booze or cigarettes. I don't think the Red Cross is taking the Japanese to the bar with the money we give them. Also, many times people find themselves homeless because of their own faults. While yes sometimes people are unlucky, I don't think the Japanese did anything to deserve an 8.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami. I think you're misunderstanding Gates on his principle.

"Can I be so petty as to wonder who is donating to Japan during this crisis and didn't donate to the U.S. during the Katrina disaster? I don't remember Sandra Bullock donating 1,000,000 large after Katrina."

Fwiw, like many who donated to Katrina and are now donating towards relief efforts in Japan, the money was not given to the government, but a relief organization. In Bullock's case, it was Doctors without Borders.

You don't need to remember what Bullock did during Katrina, you're on the net, do a search. She spent time distributing food and clothing at the Austin Convention Center and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a local high school. She also donated $1 million to the American Red Cross following after Katrina, matching the $1 million she'd donated to them following 9/11 and the $1 million she donated to them following the Indonisian Tsunami.

Just sayin'

"I don't want to turn this into a Cuben or REI thread."

+1. But some people just can't help it.

n/m

"Sad to see people sending money overseas when there are people here in the US that are homeless and starving to death."

Must it be "ether / or"? Can those who have a surplus not lend a helping hand to fellow human beings on both sides of our national border?

"Sad to see people sending money overseas when there are people here in the US that are homeless and starving to death."

It makes me sad to read something like that.

Recently Tenkara USA auctioned a one of a kind tenkara fishing net on ebay with the proceeds going to the Japan relief fund.

I contacted Daniel regarding a 2nd auction and he and I are working to have this in place in the coming days. We will be auctioning a tenkara fishing gear package including an Ebira rod quiver, a Iwana Series II rod, tenkara line, line holder, tippet, flies and other misc items. I will post the link to the auction when active and will hope for some BPL interest and support.

If a BPL member has a worthy USA specific cause I would be more then happy to work to provide a like effort to help shed light on the issue.

Thom
TrailLite Designs

Giving is giving. You don't do it because someone else gave to you or meets some other criteria: you do it because it is the right thing for you to do. On a pragmatic basis, we do have our cart hitched to their horse and I believe this is going to have all kinds of implications for our economic recovery. We're all in deep doo-doo together.

But, the Japanese did step up and help us during Katrina. This is just the first news report I Googled, which seemed to address the issue well enough:

"15 September 2005

Japan Proves Truly “A Friend Indeed” After Hurricane Katrina
Japanese government, companies, individuals send assistance to victims

By Jane Morse
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington — If the saying “a friend in need is a friend indeed” is true, Japan is one of the best friends the United States ever could have to provide support while so many Americans are suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Japanese private citizens and the government alike have sent a virtual tsunami of assistance to the victims of Katrina, which devastated 90,000 square miles along the U.S. Gulf Coast in August. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and hundreds lost their lives.

Japan has pledged more than $1.5 million in private donations. The government of Japan has donated $200,000 in cash to the American Red Cross and some $800,000 in relief supplies — from blankets to generators — already are arriving to aid the most needy. Japanese firms with operations in the United States have donated some $12 million in total, including Honda Motor Corporation ($5 million), Hitachi ($1 million) and Nissan (more than $750,000).

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo was overwhelmed by the generosity of one Japanese individual — Takashi Endo — who donated $1 million from his personal funds to Katrina relief efforts. Endo said he was moved when, during a business trip to London, he saw a televised report about a mother separated from her children in the chaos of the flooding in New Orleans. The story so disturbed him he could not sleep that night; the next morning he resolved to do something to help.

Yuji Takahashi, president and chief executive officer of the Japan Petroleum Exploration Company Ltd., which has operations off the coast of Louisiana, donated $100,000 to U.S. federal government hurricane relief efforts. Takahashi said that when he learned of the destruction caused by the hurricane, he felt as if his own family had been affected.

In a note accompanying the donation, Takahashi said: “I have no doubt that your people will stand in the face of difficulties and rebuild their lives in the near future.”

Private citizens have sent the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo more than $2,000, and the embassy’s Web site and telephone operators have directed hundreds of inquirers to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund Web site as well as the American Red Cross, the Japanese Red Cross Society and Peace Winds donation sites.

Mayors from cities all over Japan have donated tens of thousands of dollars. Governor Hirohiko Izumida of Niigata Prefecture, for example, provided a donation of roughly $9,000 while stressing the ties of mutual friendship and gratitude that link the people of Niigata and the United States. Niigata suffered a devastating earthquake in December 2004 and received substantial U.S. aid, including logistical and material assistance from the American military.

The Korean Residents’ Union in Japan, known as Mindan, donated more than $50,000. Mindan’s president, Jae Sook Kim, said upon presenting the check to Ambassador Thomas Schieffer that Koreans felt a deep sense of appreciation to the United States, which “has fought by Korea’s side for 60 years of freedom and democracy.”

Kim noted that the United States has accepted millions of Korean immigrants. When America hurts, Kim said, “Koreans feel the same pain.”

The Youth for Understanding Japan Foundation has pledged $45,000, and the Chiba Lotte Marines professional baseball team has started what will be an ongoing campaign to raise funds from fans to help victims of Katrina as well as the recent Typhoon No. 14 in Japan.

NHK-TV, Japan’s leading national broadcaster, has partnered with the Japanese Red Cross for a nationwide fundraising drive. NHK is running regular public service announcements instructing viewers how to donate via bank transfer or in person at any NHK or Red Cross office throughout the country. The campaign will run for one month, from September 6 to October 6. Fuji TV network is running a similar campaign.

A number of Japanese jazz greats and other leaders of the music and entertainment industries have banded together for a major “Hurricane Aid Japan” campaign running through December. Donations will be solicited at numerous concerts nationwide. Record companies and others will put banners on their Web sites and individual artists will collect donations. There is already a Japanese-language Web site up and running, with an English version to follow soon.

One of Japan’s leading nationwide retailers, the AEON group, has started to collect donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina at some 700 stores throughout Japan. The campaign will run September 3-20. During this same period, the chain also will donate 1 percent of all sales proceeds for customers using the popular members’ discount cards.

The Japanese Red Cross Society, in addition to acting as a major conduit for individual and corporate donations to Katrina relief, announced it would donate $200,000 of its own funds to support hurricane relief activities of its sister organization, the American Red Cross.

All three Japanese international air carriers (ANA, JAL, NCA) have offered free use of empty cargo capacity to transport relief supplies to the United States.

J. Thomas Schieffer, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, has been kept very busy acknowledging all of Japan’s generous donors; many have and will receive his personal thanks.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed her “heartfelt thanks” September 2 for the “warm and passionate response” from the international community."

had kept their money during Katrina they would be able to spend it now on their own disaster and then *we* wouldn't have to donate to them…

cause, that's how it works right?

anyway, my two Orbit's shipped the day after I ordered, and should be here next Thursday, can't wait, I'm going to sit in bed and read by their light just for fun =P

Steven:

I am confused what you were trying to say — esp. when your post followed Dale's — which stated that the Japanese DID lend us a helping hand in the aftermath of Katrina. Perhaps you were merely being sarcastic?

Whether or not anyone has donated in the past, when they become victims of a natural disaster, and suddenly become homeless, they need help.

All people everywhere have the same basic needs: food, water, shelter and clothing. For me, that’s what the BPL forums are all about–preparing to leave a traditional dwelling, and taking a very simple home (and my other basic needs) with me when I journey to places of my chosing. But those of us who particpate on these forums leave our comfortable homes by choice, so we have a chance to prepare. When a distaster strikes, many people are unpreparded for the sudden loss of these things.

Miguel’s thread on Japan relief provides a link to Disaster Japan. I had already donated to helping Japan when he posted. But after reading about the Second Harvest Japan organization, I donated there, too. I like the fact that they already had logistics in place for helping people when the disaster struck.

There are all kinds of people in the world who need help everyday. Most of us would help the people who live next door to us if their house burned to the ground because we could see the impact such a disaster had on their lives.

The people in Japan are my neighbors. I’ve never met them, but they need my help. For me it’s a simple as that.

I re-read Josh's post, where he stated:

"Bill gates gave a speech about being successful (and i consider him an expert at that) to a middle school and he said that before you run off and save the rainforest try cleaning your room… i liked hearing that princicple then and like hearing it now."

Josh — I completely agree with what Bill said in that context. But have you given thought to the fact that all of us are now adults — so we should have already mastered cleaning up our own bedroom — and it's high time we expand our horizon and involvement to "saving the rain forest"? A bedroom never stays clean. Cleaning is a constant repeat. But if we grew up at all, then we should be able to manage that as a given — and do a lot more besides, correct?

And if we make our donations to Japan an extra effort on our part… then we take nothing away from any American in need. It's not a zero sum game.