Help Japan

Chiune Sugihara

There's a sculpture in Little Tokyo that's easy to miss or pass over without reading up. It's the likeness of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania during World War II. He's known for saving the lives of thousands of Jewish Lithuanians and Polish refugees by issuing exit visas to get them away from the Nazis.

I overheard some misinformed folks suggesting that the American government helps out countries in times of need more so than any other people. "And who's going to help us when we need help?"

Yes, we give billions of dollars in foreign aid, but when you look at that amount in terms of a percentage of gross national income in comparison with other countries, we rank around number 18. Number one giver...Sweden!

Well, who's to say our assistance helps anyway? We do a lot, we do what we can, and if the topic of giving has to do with Japan, I can't help but think of Mr. Sugihara and his defiance of his Japanese superiors to keep good people safe.

Stormtripper

I know it's been up for "a while," but last night I finally got a photo of Mr. Brainwash's painted red sidewalk take on the red carpet...

Japan warning

Civil defense siren at King and Western...

We're relieved to hear that our friends in Japan are safe.

But now with the red-alert nuclear reactor meltdown threats over there, the news that Southern California's San Onofre nuclear plant can only withstand up to a 7.0 earthquake is kinda disconcerting. I'm not an alarmist, but this little factoid is giving me pause...

One night Clifton's Cafeteria lights the outline of their metal screen reveal, and tonight they're illuminating the edge of the roof...exciting stuff, folks...stay tuned for more electrical updates...

More Clifton's grill

And here's a daytime view of Clifton's exterior peekaboo...

Clifton's unscreened

Lookit...the new owner of Clifton's Cafeteria...Andrew Meieran...has peeled back a section of the metal screens that've obscured the building frontage for a few generations...