"one body"

This morning again there were lots of news about the earthquake.
Somewhere (I think it was CNN) it said, "the Japanese call their mutual cooperation in efforts to overcome the disaster 「一体」 which was translated as "one body".

That sounds very strange to me.

How about "unity" .....

lack of tact!

* Somebody said, I should not bash Proz. since this was probably an automated message.
Well, I did have direct communication with the lady in question several times. So, when I received the below cited message, "signed" by that lady, I DID assume, that this messages DID come from that lady and not some computer ... Or am I again too stupid to look out of the window?
******

The other day I issued a Proz "support ticket", because I got one of their promotion messages.
Probably I am crazy, uneducated and do not see, what is really important. but that message really did upset me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
astonishing lack of tact!
Today, again, I get a "reminder" of special deals for a membership fee. The person sending me this KNOWS that I live in Japan. I find this an act of unbelievable lack of tact!
How about GIVING some money for the people in need, instead of ASKING people living next door to a TRIPPLE disaster area for money!!!!!!
Henry DID live in Japan before. I would like to know what he thinks of this kind of "promotion".
******************************************************************************
original message (partial)
Dear Thomas Blasejewicz,
This is a courtesy reminder to let you know that the special membership offer sent to you on 10 March will expire today, Wednesday, March 16th.
1. A full year of membership at ProZ.com, the world's largest community of language professionals and the number one source of new clients for translators and interpreters, at a specially discounted price. ........
Happy translating,
Florencia Vita

My response:
Good evening from Japan
I assume you do not watch the news.
Living "next door" to the place(s) you see on the news, this is NOT the time and place to think about some fancy membership.
I find your mail insulting, to put it midly.

Instead of asking for money - how Proz donates some to the thousands of people who spend the night today too on the floor of
very "make shift" shelters in a region where it currently snows, if lucky with one blanket, no fuel for stoves, no electricy, no water,
very little if any food, no medication ...

Or is this all of no concern to you as long as Proz can harvest its slave market?

Thomas Blasejewicz

***************************************************************************
The response from Proz.

Mar 17 00:37 (3 hours, 8 mins since ticket submitted)
A membership is a working tool
Dear Mr. Blasejewicz,
A membership is a working tool, and the terrible tragedy affecting Japan would not be a valid reason for keeping working tools and opportunities away from local translators.

Regards,
Alejandro Cavalitto
ProZ.com Staff

***************************************************************************

I guess that means: I am complaining to much.
Thank you Proz.

(a previous investment in this "working tool" brought exactly 0% return profit)

Proz slave market activities

Today I got a "job offer" through Proz.com  --  a site which I cannot help but consider to be a sort of slave market, where people offer jobs at unbelievably low rates - and some people actually respond to those job offers working for those rates:

"This job is from engineering/industrial domain.
Job Title: Surface Drilling Equipments
Number of Files to translate: 1 (Bilingual table, in .doc format)
Word Count: Total - 37741;
Translatable -29231 (rest is numerical values)
Estimated Deadline: 10 days from the day of handover.
Job cost: 600$US
Translators/Agencies may quote for translation/DTP separately or jointly."

That means 0.02 USD per word.


If I were to work for that company, the work itself would contribute to me and my family starving to death (in Japan!).


But I suppose there ARE people, who can work for that ...