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Some people's miraculous return to life from the brink of death in the March 11 earthquake-tsunami disaster was a result of their desperate desire to emerge alive, combined with layers of lucky coincidence. One person survived by holding onto wooden pillars as if surfing on the surging tide, while another managed to breathe in the narrow space between a building ceiling and rising floodwaters. All their narratives attest to the tsunami's real horror.

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi -- A doctor, whose clinics were wrecked and home flooded by the March 11 tsunami, is busy treating evacuees at a shelter here. Jun Sato, 60, remembered his late father's words, "Doctors must not refuse to treat patients if they ask for it," when he saw evacuees at a shelter shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Sato himself leads a difficult life as an evacuee, but he continues to treat patients because he does not want to defy his father's words.

Physician Toshio Naito received a phone call March 17 asking if he could take a 7 p.m. flight to Yamagata from Tokyo's Haneda Airport. His final destination was quake-stricken Iwate Prefecture. It was already 4 p.m. Naito, 41, had offered, through the Japan Primary Care Association, to go and help people affected by the mega-earthquake and tsunami of March 11, but he did not expect the request to come at such short notice. [ ... ]

SENDAI — Faced with organizing 1,400 people from across the nation who had come to do their part to help the victims of the March 11 disaster, the Sendai government decided to open a volunteer center in the city's Miyagino Ward. [ ... ]

With volunteer activities gaining momentum in areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, volunteer centers have gone into operation to match people who want to give their time to disaster victims in need. [ ... ]

TOKYO -- The Coca-Cola Company announced today that it is establishing the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund and raised its pledge to a total of 2.5 billion Yen (US$31 million) donations towards relief and rebuilding efforts for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami over the next three years. This includes the 600 million Yen (US$7.3 million) in cash and product announced previously. The commitment was made following a two-day visit to Tokyo by Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Kent was accompanied on the trip by Company Directors Herbert A. Allen, a member of the...

As a deadly tsunami raced toward the Iwate Prefecture town of Otsuchi on March 11, members of the local fire brigade's No. 2 branch stood their ground, desperately warning residents of the looming disaster as they raced to secure the coastal town's tide barrier. [ ... ]

President Barack Obama arrives in Jakarta on Tuesday for a whirlwind visit, assuming that the skies in Jakarta are clear of volcanic ash from Mount Merapi. This is a visit that is long overdue. Indonesia is the country where Obama spent four years of his childhood and where his late mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, dedicated most of her professional life to helping the poor. For those very personal reasons, Indonesia must have a special place in the heart of the American president. The feeling was mutual, at least until recently. Indonesians cheered with Americans when they voted the first African-American...

JACKSON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release June 29, 2010 DISTRICT ATTORNEY GERALD FOX’S STATEMENT ON THE U. S. SUPREME COURT’S DECISION IN MCDONALD v. CITY OF CHICAGO Yesterday, in a resounding victory for all freedom-loving Americans, the United States Supreme Court confirmed that the Second Amendment’s protection of our right to keep and bear arms applies everywhere in America, and serves as a rampart against state infringement of this fundamental individual liberty. In its ruling, the Court declared that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right, and that self-defense is at the...

CAIRO — It is unlikely anyone has ever come to this city and commented on how clean the streets are. But this litter-strewn metropolis is now wrestling with a garbage problem so severe it has managed to incite its weary residents and command the attention of the president. “The problem is clear in the streets,” said Haitham Kamal, a spokesman for the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs. “There is a strict and intensive effort now from the state to address this issue.” But the crisis should not have come as a surprise. When the government killed all the...

The standard of care in some hospital wards and nursing homes “would shame a third world country”, nurses have warned Their comments follow a damning report which estimated that one million patients had suffered appalling care, including neglect and cruelty, at the hands of NHS staff, many of them nurses. Hundreds more people have come forward with their tales of appalling treatment since the report, by the Patients Association, was published on Thursday. Nursing leaders have defended the profession, insisting that while poor care can never be excused only a small minority of staff were involved and that part of...

Sunday, August 16, 2009 The Government of the United Kingdom has assumed direct rule over the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, after an enquiry discovered what it alleges to be corruption and "serious dishonesty" at the highest levels. The islands' administration and Premier have been suspended for up to two years and their powers transferred to the UK-appointed Governor. The British Government has taken the unusual step because it alleges that former Premier Michael Misick and members of his cabinet have enriched themselves through the selling of crown land and other corrupt practices, and that the limits to...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 In what police believe is the second-largest heist in Britain, armed robbers stole almost £40 million from a London jewellery shop on August 6. Two men armed with handguns held up employees of the Graff jewellers shop on New Bond Street, taking 43 items, among them expensive watches, bracelets, and rings. The duo escaped in a blue BMW, which they soon abandoned for a Mercedes. After driving to Farm Street, it is believed they may have got away in a third vehicle. "This was a well planned robbery with a number of vehicles used to help...

Announces goal of creating community gardens at each USDA facility worldwide WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2009 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today "broke pavement" on the inaugural USDA The People's Garden during a ceremony on the grounds of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commemorating the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The Secretary declared the stretch of pavement permanently closed and returned back to green, and encouraged other Administration officials and the general public to join in to protect the Chesapeake watershed. "It is essential for the federal government to lead the way in enhancing and conserving our land and water...

The NRA is still offering free membership for one year; the offer can be found at http://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/

General Motors Corp. is coming under pressure from the U.S. government to consider shedding its GMC brand as the company races to transform itself by June 1, people familiar with the discussions said. GMC's future is being discussed this week amid meetings of GM and task force officials. Above, Susan Docherty, North America vice president of Buick-Pontiac GMC, stands next to the 2010 GMC Terrrain at the New York International Auto Show earlier this month. GMC, comprised mostly of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, was slated to remain part of GM even after the company shrunk. But the Obama administration's...

The NRA has offered free membership for one year; the offer can be found at http://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/

The NRA has offered free membership for one year; the offer can be found at http://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/

The NRA has offered free membership for one year; the offer can be found at http://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/

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