Don'T Like Cnn As The Only Information Source On Japan

[THAIPHUKET]

I basically mistrust CNN, though over-coverage on the Japanese disaster is hardly possible.

Where to get hands- on English info on Japan?? A Japanese Al jazeera?

[stander]

NHK is probably the best station

[DisparateDan]

I am reminded of the looting in Baghdad, They kept showing, over and over the same guy fleeing with a large vase.

Donald Rumsfield said in exasperation "How many vases do they have?"

[mario299]

NHK is probably the best station

Or the World News forum of ThaiVisa, these guys are excellent at up to the minute news! Thanks all of you, I'm glued to it and your information is great!

mario299

[Max2010]

It is not just CNN. I live in Japan and my relatives around the world think I am fried from the radiation leakage. The sensationalization of the news and language issues makes it difficult to get right news about the Tsunami and the earthquake in Japan. The local news as of today says that at least 10000 are missing and presumed dead in Fukushima, Iwate and Sendai prefectures (states), the most effected parts of Japan. 2700 confirmed death as of 1900 hrs local time today and rapidly rising. Fukushima is where the exploded nuclear reactors are located. There is a radiation leakage but not as bad as it is reported and the engineers from all over the world are helping to contain it. We expect more radiation release in ther air this evening. The government took the precaution of advising citizens to leave if they are within 30 KM radius.

Most other parts of Japan are functioning. People are going to work, trains are slow but working. TheKids are going to school. internet was never effected. Phones are working as normal 24 hours after we got hit by a 9M earthquake. We have electricity and gasoline rationing as of Monday (3 hours a day). So far, there is no food and water panic. No break-ins. Most cities have storage facilities for emergency needs and haven't tapped it yet . We can buy most of the food we want but it is slowly being rationed. I can only buy two bottles of 1.5 Litres of water per day. I bought 2 weeks worth of food and water on Sunday so I am OK for now. Some food cannot be restocked as fast but i saw workers restocking water when i bought my ration today. I managed to get more water from the thousands of vending machines around the country. The water is still clean and drinkable, but we are told it might turn brown and we should not drink it when there is power rationing since it wont be clean. The nuclear meltdown is the scarriest part but I believe we will survive it just like the people and neighbourhoods of Chernobyl and Three Islands did. It was built by GE in the 70's. 30% of our electricity supply is via nuclear energy. We are stil experiencing earthquakes every hour or so and the aftershocks. I had a 3M one as I type this message. I trust in the ability of my 10 years old condo to withstand the beating. My 60 years old office building withstood the 9 Magnitude though i felt that I was definately gonna be burried in it. The Japanese government is very efficient and I trust that they will take good care of us.

Max2010

[Tywais]

NHK is probably the best station

Yep, NHK has very good updated coverage on it. If you can't get it on your TV then you can stream it from here > nhk-world-tv

//edit - Thaivisa have very current information in two topics in World News. One on the earthquake/tsunami and one on the nuclear situation.

Meltdown likely - Thaivisa world news

Tsunami - Thaivisa world news

[astral]

The desperate plight of the Japanese has certainly made the BBC push Libya into the background.......

[bonobo]

It is not just CNN. I live in Japan and my relatives around the world think I am fried from the radiation leakage. The sensationalization of the news and language issues makes it difficult to get right news about the Tsunami and the earthquake in Japan. The local news as of today says that at least 10000 are missing and presumed dead in Fukushima, Iwate and Sendai prefectures (states), the most effected parts of Japan. 2700 confirmed death as of 1900 hrs local time today and rapidly rising. Fukushima is where the exploded nuclear reactors are located. There is a radiation leakage but not as bad as it is reported and the engineers from all over the world are helping to contain it. We expect more radiation release in ther air this evening. The government took the precaution of advising citizens to leave if they are within 30 KM radius.

Most other parts of Japan are functioning. People are going to work, trains are slow but working. TheKids are going to school. internet was never effected. Phones are working as normal 24 hours after we got hit by a 9M earthquake. We have electricity and gasoline rationing as of Monday (3 hours a day). So far, there is no food and water panic. No break-ins. Most cities have storage facilities for emergency needs and haven't tapped it yet . We can buy most of the food we want but it is slowly being rationed. I can only buy two bottles of 1.5 Litres of water per day. I bought 2 weeks worth of food and water on Sunday so I am OK for now. Some food cannot be restocked as fast but i saw workers restocking water when i bought my ration today. I managed to get more water from the thousands of vending machines around the country. The water is still clean and drinkable, but we are told it might turn brown and we should not drink it when there is power rationing since it wont be clean. The nuclear meltdown is the scarriest part but I believe we will survive it just like the people and neighbourhoods of Chernobyl and Three Islands did. It was built by GE in the 70's. 30% of our electricity supply is via nuclear energy. We are stil experiencing earthquakes every hour or so and the aftershocks. I had a 3M one as I type this message. I trust in the ability of my 10 years old condo to withstand the beating. My 60 years old office building withstood the 9 Magnitude though i felt that I was definately gonna be burried in it. The Japanese government is very efficient and I trust that they will take good care of us.

Max2010

Thanks for the first-hand report. I rather expected what you wrote to be the ground truth, despite the news reports.

[tim armstrong]

Recently i have discovered Russia Today on our satellite network,in English While there is a bias towards things Russian, the news coverage is very good and not sensationalised.

[THAIPHUKET]

Max, I know from own experience the media is too focused, to put it mildly. I was in Phuket when the Tsunami hit . In proportion Phuket /Thailand was totally overblown in relation to countries like Indonesia. As a result Thailand got a big bite of international aid which was used to pay ,e.g. bus stops bearing large letters on the roof----sponsored by Salem School, Germany.

[bonobo]

Max, I know from own experience the media is too focused, to put it mildly. I was in Phuket when the Tsunami hit . In proportion Phuket /Thailand was totally overblown in relation to countries like Indonesia. As a result Thailand got a big bite of international aid which was used to pay ,e.g. bus stops bearing large letters on the roof----sponsored by Salem School, Germany.

Phuket had a lot of foreign vacationers, and vacationers carry camcorders. Bandah Aceh had far fewer foreigners, and far fewer camcorders. Thailand got the attention because of those videos, in my opinion. If it is on CNN/BBC/Fox/CNBC/NHK/Whatever, then that is where the attention goes.

[remiss]

@ Max2010 Thanks for some helpful info, reading the newspapers has been giving me a headache trying to figure out how things actually are.. According to them Japan has almost been destroyed by nuclear radiation since saturday

[craigt3365]

I think CNN is doing a great job. Showing new videos on a regular basis. Having experts come in and explain what is going on. As for trust, why would they lie? I just don't see the reason for that. Same with BBC.

Over coverage? For sure. But this is a big deal and for sure stuff get's repeated, but that's true on any given day. News gets repeated, which is good! If you didn't catch the headlines at 3PM, you get them again an hour or so later.

I just read this:

The Japan Times reports that radiation reached around 20 times normal levels in the capital Tuesday morning, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said, while offering the assurance this reading posed no immediate risk to human health and that the public should remain calm.

"I received a report this morning that there was an important change of data," Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said at a news conference. "I heard that it will not immediately cause health problems."

[richard10365]

Watch NHK World here live, in English, and in HD.

[zzaa09]

I think CNN is doing a great job. Showing new videos on a regular basis. Having experts come in and explain what is going on. As for trust, why would they lie? I just don't see the reason for that. Same with BBC.

It's not so much what they report, it's what they don't. I trusting that most don't fall into this lovely hypnosis manner in regards to corporate commercial establishment. They do not exist for the reasons that you might consider. And would be akin to the same inquiry about government - they wouldn't lie or make crap up, would they? It's quite naive to consider the likes of CNN, BBC, et al as your extended family.

[PattayaParent]

The desperate plight of the Japanese has certainly made the BBC push Libya into the background.......

Just like the OJ Simpson trial made America (well CNN) forget about Bosnia!!!

[Max2010]

I think CNN is doing a great job. Showing new videos on a regular basis. Having experts come in and explain what is going on. As for trust, why would they lie? I just don't see the reason for that. Same with BBC.

Over coverage? For sure. But this is a big deal and for sure stuff get's repeated, but that's true on any given day. News gets repeated, which is good! If you didn't catch the headlines at 3PM, you get them again an hour or so later.

I just read this:

The Japan Times reports that radiation reached around 20 times normal levels in the capital Tuesday morning, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said, while offering the assurance this reading posed no immediate risk to human health and that the public should remain calm.

"I received a report this morning that there was an important change of data," Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said at a news conference. "I heard that it will not immediately cause health problems."

I understand what you are saying about Japan Times. Today's Headline read " Meltdown looks more imminent". You can imagine how I felt when I read that while drinking my coffee. Yet, Tokyo is still functioning regardless of what the Governor. The 20 times or so of the radiation level, is not enough to kill a huge number of people according to the Professor of Nuclear Energy who also caustioned people not to panic. Most Embassy workers are still here minus the French and maybe the German staff in Tokyo. As of this morning, we are still breathing. We have enough water, food and most conveniences. There is gasoline ration in many towns but it is hardly important for most people who use trains as their main means of transportation. We will have electricity rations. The most effected people are in Fukushima and Sendai but otherwise, life is slowly returning to normal for most of us.

Max2010