Unlevered Prophecy

Misguided search for Hokkaido boy testament to unpredictability of children, rescuers say

5 JUNE 2016       JAPAN TIMES

SAPPORO, JAPAN (Kyodo) -- Yamato Tanooka, the 7-year-old boy found Friday in a hut at a Self-Defense Forces training facility in southwest Hokkaido six days after he went missing, has said that he lost his sense of direction because he cried so much after his father ordered him to get out of the car.  He apparently headed in the opposite direction of the car, sources familiar with the case said Sunday.

Because he was scared of the mountains, he continued to walk along the road until he reached the SDF training facility where he was later found.  The door was unlocked so he went inside to sleep and avoid the cold outside he was quoted as telling his father and others. 

Tanooka told his father he did not see anyone during the six days he was missing.  According to other sources the boy said he stayed at the shelter because he thought someone would eventually find him. 

After six days of drinking only water and eating no food, his lost 2 kg, Before his ordeal, he weighed 22 kg, sources said. 

... "We searched for places where children would likely go," said a senior police officer at Central Hakodate Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the town of Nanae where Yamato Tanooka went missing on May 28. 

... "Considering the strength and mind of a child, we thought that he would not head to the mountain tops of off the road," said a firefighter who was part of the rescue team.  The road heading to the SDF facility is bounded by forest and goes uphill. 

The distance Tanooka is assumed to have walked is about 10 km. 

SDF officers sometimes feel they need to be equipped with survival gear when they travel on that road. 

... "It's not totally wrong to assume that there are limited places for a child to travel compared to adults with knowledge and physical strength," said Yuji Ishikawa, who heads a group of mountain guides in Hokkaido, "but we also need to keep in mind that children might go to places out of the norm." Read More

The forest road in the town of Nanae, Hokkaido, where 7-year-old Yamato Tanooka was left behind by his parents exactly a week ago is shown on Saturday.  Kyodo

Ready to rumble? Massive rehersal planned for U.S. Northwest mega-quake, tsunami

6 JUNE 2016       JAPAN TIMES

PORTLAND, OREGON (Associated Press) -- Imagine a devastating earthquake and tsunami have cut off Pacific Northwest coastal communities.  Phone and internet service have collapsed.  Ham radio operators living on the stricken coast fire up their radios, contact emergency managers and report on the magnitude of the disaster so that no time is wasted in saving lives.

This is the kind of scenario that will be rehearsed this week in a massive earthquake and tsunami readiness drill that has been developed by the U.S. government, the military, and state and local emergency managers over the past few years to test their readiness for what -- when it strikes -- will likely be the nation's worst natural calamity. 

The June 7-10 exercise is called Cascadia Rising.  It is named after the Cascadia Subduction Zone -- 600-mile-long (1080-kilometer-long) fault just off the coast that runs from Northern California to British Columbia. 

"This is the largest exercise ever for a Cascadia break," said Lt. Col. Clayton Braun of the Washington State National Guard.  Braun has been a key planner of the doomsday drill, which is being overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Federal officials say about 20,000 people will be involved in the disaster drill, representing various federal agencies, the U.S. military, state and local emergency response managers across the Pacific Northwest, Native American tribes and emergency management officials in British Columbia. 

... Awareness of the seismic threat looming just off the Pacific Northwest dates back to the 1980s, when researchers concluded that coastal lands long ago had been inundated by a tsunami.  Research also indicated that a tsunami that was documented in Japan in January 1700 originated from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, also known as the CSZ. 

... Cascadia Rising is an important part of the planning that has picked up pace over the past few years. 

... In Oregon, about 580 National Guard soldiers are among some 1,400 Cascadia Rising participants from across the state.  Specialty teams will practice their roles for the disaster that will come.  This includes pulling people out of a pile of rubble that simulates a collapsed building and triaging them for medical for medical care. 

Much of Cascadia Rising will entail civilian agencies and the military coordinating in what will be extremely difficult conditions.  Participants in the exercise will contact emergency management offices with reports of specific needs during the simulated disaster.  It will be up to agencies to work together to come up with solutions. 

Amateur radio operators are also participating in Cascadia Rising.  If internet and phone service are severed, ham operators have the ability to act as the eyes, ears and messengers for emergency officials scrambling to figure out what they need to do to save lives and prevent more damage. 

The region's ham radio operators are even able to establish email service for emergency management officials, using amateur radio frequencies to bridge the gaps. Read More

Couples get separation anxiety over financial planners

31 MAY 2016       REUTERS       CHRIS TAYLOR

NEW YORK, U.S.A. (Reuters) -- When Rick Parks and his wife Cindy got married a couple of years ago, the Knoxville couple shared a lot of things together: A home, family trips and holiday gatherings.

One thing they did not share: a financial planner. 

They each had their own careers, retirement savings and financial planners - his with Charles Schwab, hers with Primerica, and they were happy with them. 

"We have different investing styles - I'm more aggressive, Cindy is more conservative," says Rick Parks 53, owner of two automotive repair businesses.  "We  were both in good financial positions, and just felt comfortable with our own planners." 

The parks are not alone in starting out their relationship with different financial planners.  In fact, 13 percent of couples keep their own respective financial advisers, according to the 2015 Couples Retirement Study by Boston-based money managers Fidelity Investments. 

... The trend seems to be generational.  The age group most likely to keep finances separate: Gen Xers, with almost a third of couples keeping their money mostly or completely apart.  In comparison, only 23 percent of baby boomer couples keep their money in different pots. 

Part of the reason is that Americans are getting married later than ever, often after careers (and financial plans) have already been established.  The average woman gets married at 27, and average man at 29 - both historic highs, according to the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. 

While keeping separate planners might feel more comfortable at first, it also raises a number of potential problems down the line, like conflicting strategies, overlapping holdings and duplication of fees. 

To manage the process successfully, a few tips... Read More