Potassium Iodide KI pills are available; Electronic scams grow after Earthquake disaster

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Bob’s Network	MARCH 25 2010

Dear “Bob’s Network”:

The “Meals on Wheels” continues; everyday I say today is the last day; and the next day, there is a request of someone in need. Please do let “Bob’s Network” know if you are in need of food, dry goods, information, and or medical assistance.

News Items

Potassium Iodide KI pills are available for American citizens

New Sanno Hotel, Hiroo, Meji Dori, Minato-ku, just show proof that you are an American citizen i.e. passport, please go to the front gate, between the hours of 1000 to 1800, tele: 03-3440-7871, to pick up your pills. The New Sanno Hotel is a US Forces, Japan facility, for R&R towards US Government employees and GOV to GOV level meeting location.

source: Aron Kremer

Update on water contamination from the American Embassy

The latest message from USA Amb. Roos. Link: http://japan.usembassy.gov/

source: Scott McCaskie

Radiation, food and water contamination risks update

Eurotechnology.com newsletter online: Click here to read a web version online!

source: Gerard Fasol

Helping the earthquake victims

“…This Sunday, come visit us for BRUNCH and participate in a small action to help The Folks in the North. We are coordinating basic hygiene kits that are going north from here via assistance from the LDS Humanitarian Services. You can come eat and relax a bit OR just drop off materials…” Location and map at www.kimonowinebar.com

Need donated materials to make kits, one kit:

Two face towels, 35x63cm
Four toothbrushes
One tube toothpaste, 6-8 oz
Two bars of soap
Two combs

source: Lauren Shannon

Electronic Scams grow with the Earthquake disaster

Since March 11, 2011, scores of domain names have been registered — names containing terms such as Japan help, tsunami, or nuclear disaster, according to a Forbes report;
A TrendMicro blog shows a search return list that reportedly includes fake sites.;
Search-engine companies watch for these sites and eliminate the dangerous ones as quickly as possible. But so many have appeared in the aftermath of Japan’s disaster that even Google is having difficulty keeping up with them, reports Bojan Zdrnja at Internet Storm Center;
As Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, wrote on the Sophos blog;
Meanwhile, old-fashioned donation fraud, featuring spoofed charity sites and phishing e-mails, has not gone away. ScamWarners has reported detecting a fake Salvation Army site. FBI spokeswoman Jenny Shearer told MarketWatch.com that a fraudulent e-mail, purportedly from the British Red Cross, is soliciting wired donations;
If you believe you have been a victim of a charity-related scam, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud by e-mail at disaster@leo.gov.1.

source: Marc Simmons

Tokyo English Life Line…

Tokyo English Life Line is there to help you and your loved ones cope following the earthquake and tsunami

The Life Line continues to operate throughout these events, taking many calls from people scared about what has happened or affected by the tragedy in some way.
TELL Counseling Center is providing professional support to workplaces, organizations, and embassies both in our offices and on-site. We have employed all the resources TELL has to provide support and information to help those affected.
Our website in particular is updated regularly to provide information in multiple languages to help people cope emotionally. Workshops are being planned for early April, including After the Earthquake: Helping Children Cope with Trauma through the Exceptional Parenting Program on April 15th.

source: TELL Newsletter

How to keep yourself safe in disastrous times

“…How can you avoid clickjacking scams and drive-by websites? It’s simple, but in the heat of a disaster, it can be harder than it sounds. Sophos’s Cluley wrote, “Remember to always get your news from legitimate news websites, and if you’re hunting for a video, make sure that you go to the real YouTube website rather than a replica set up by scammers…”

Here are tips to help you protect yourself from donation fraud:

Make informed choices about where to donate. Before turning over the personal information needed to process your donation, visit an online watchdog site such as charitywatch.org to evaluate the receiving organization’s legitimacy.
Don’t click links in online forums, e-mails, or IMs that say they are from charity organizations — even well-known ones such as the Red Cross or Red Crescent, Mercy Corps, World Vision, or others. These e-mails could easily be spoofs that will direct you to a website that looks like the real thing but steals your data.
Do not respond to unsolicited requests for donations, particularly from people who claim to be victims. “Symantec has observed a classic 419 message targeting the Japanese disaster,” said researcher Samir Patil in a post to the company’s security blog. “The message is a bogus ‘next of kin’ story that purports to settle millions of dollars owing to an earthquake and tsunami victim.”
To get to the website of a charitable organization you want to support, type its web address into your browser’s address bar yourself — don’t rely on links, however professionally designed they may look, to take you there.
When you are on a charitable site, take a moment to check the spelling of the organization’s website in the address bar. Scammers often use common typos or misspellings to create URLs that fool an unwary eye.
Make sure the page where you enter your credit card or other personal information is encrypted. The beginning of the address should read https:// instead of http://.
Make sure any site that you donate through has a written privacy policy.
Get your news about events in Japan from reputable news sites.

source: Marc Simmons

Going from physical danger to mental stress

Eat well;
Sleep well;
Get out and exercise;
Communicate with family and friends back home;
Take a break from the real time headline disaster news;
Maintain that sense of humor, the zest for life;
Alcohol tends to a depressant, self control works best;
Get your news about events in Japan from reputable news sites.

source: US Forces, Japan

About Bob’s Network

Bob’s Network was launched as an email newsletter several years ago to share information of importance and culture of living in Japan with family, colleagues and acquaintances. Since that time, it has virally grown to a regular wealth of information and knowledge. Bob’s Network will be updated about twice a month with hot topics and information and issues I feel companies, people and other interested parties should be aware of.

I am always pleased to hear your views and comments on the postings and to take questions about on just about anything.

Be well, be safe, keep your family in harmony,

BBB