The propaganda coming out of Washington pushing for war on Iran is laughable. Now, MSNBC is claiming that Iran is training women to become ninjas (with the insinuation they are to fight the USA and Israel).
Ninjas!? Heavens! What will we ever do? This nonsense is just too stupid to be believed. But it's true. Here's a screen capture of the Tweet from MSNBC on Twitter:
At the bottom, you can see the name Willie Geist. This clown is the host of this TV program. Once again, I am proven correct: TV is brain damage. Here is the "news" >cough< report.
Should the USA attack Iran before they are fully ninja-ized? You be the judge.
Ahem, I'm sure there was a news report on Iranian TV for a women's club that enjoys "ninja" training, but, like everywhere else, it's like boxing for women or karate... That it makes Iranian news shows its "human interest" factor and how just "unique" this is to even Iranian society.
The guy who owns the training facility is a smart businessman... Probably regular old Karate class enrollment was down.
This from Zerohedge is about how many nations, including staunch ally Japan, are quietly concluding business deals and trade that do not involve the US dollar - the world's supposed reserve currency. This needs no comment from me excepting that I'm wondering when gold and silver are going to go ballistic.
For anyone wondering how the abandonment of the dollar reserve status would look like we have a Hollow Men reference: not with a bang, but a whimper... Or in this case a whole series of bilateral agreements that quietly seeks to remove the US currency as an intermediate. Such as these:
and now this: "Iran, Russia Replace Dollar With Rial, Ruble in Trade, Fars Says." And ironically, the proposal to dump the greenback did not come from Iran.Per Bloomberg: "Iran and Russia replaced the U.S. dollar with their national currencies in bilateral trade, Iran’s state-run Fars news agency reported, citing Seyed Reza Sajjadi, the Iranian ambassador in Moscow. The proposal to switch to the ruble and the rialwas raised by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Astana, Kazakhstan, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the ambassador said." Is Iran gradually becoming the poster child of an energy rich country that just says no to the dollar: "Iran has replaced the dollar in its oil trade with India, China and Japan, Fars reported."...Read more
It won't be too long until Japan, China and Russia will complete bilateral trade agreements with the Eurozone nations in exchange for purchasing European Bonds or European Financial Stability Facilities (FSF). Oh, but don't worry, Only China, Japan, Russia, India, Brazil and the EU will make these transactions in other currencies besides dollars... Everyone else will still use good old US made paper! Who will that be, you ask? Well, there's the USA, and er... Ummmm...
I remember seeing this cartoon when I was a kid. They tried to warn us.
It's too late? Probably is, but an understanding of this and what this kid's cartoon says, is an education in politics that 92% of all people fail to understand to this day... (my statistics).
I'm relieved that the OWS people are on the streets in the USA now, but can they continue growing? I fear that the powers that be will not relinquish control of the Status Quo so easily.
But first, watch this video of a sinking ship and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about here:
You back? OK. Well, the video is relative because, first; the passengers are oblivious to dangers coming (the passengers represent us "the people"). Second; when the ship started sinking, the captain and crew were splitting. The captain & the crew represent our politicians and bankers.
Not a pretty picture. People going along, as usual, in their ignorant bliss. The "leaders" knowing full well what's going on but trying to get out with what they can, while they can! The only difference between the sinking ship and the economy is there won't be any rescue coming for us.
While the entire world watches Greece and Italy, it seems, from looking at this chart, the real action is the UK, Japan, Spain and France.
Business, government and household debt in Japan show a 492% of GDP problem for Japan. The tax and spend days are coming to an end soon in Europe, the USA and, of course, in Japan.
This entire house of cards is going to collapse around our heads. When the collapse does come, it will come suddenly. Hope you have cash readily available and at least a few weeks of food and water ready. Because when the crash does come, stores will be empty in a matter if a few hours - if it takes that long.
A reader sends in this video. Kyle Bass on the BBC saying that Japan is "next":
Minister Louis Farrakhan is one of the few people in the USA left telling the truth... Sometimes, even Islam has the "word"... Something to think about.
With unemployment numbers rising all over the world and talk of the Greatest Depression, many in the Banker and Wealthy class and even in the mass media say that the unemployed are lazy. I think the notion that the unemployed are lazy might be a lie. From what I've seen, in my own experience, it's the employed salary workers who are lazy.
I don't know about the unemployed. I do know that, in my experience, there are far too many employed people who are lazy and are skating by on doing the absolute minimum. I know several of them.
A few of them are about to be out of jobs.
Intelligent people know what is going on with the economy and how things are going to get really rough very soon. There are many people who are oblivious to what's going on and think they can keep doing things the way they've been doing them all their lives.
Perhaps they can. Perhaps sitting at an office and doing the minimum required can save their job. I don't think it can.
There are plenty of people who are willing, nay desperate, to do far and above the call of duty, to do more than is required to get quickly disappearing jobs...
This goes for good jobs with good pay and also the so called "slave wages" jobs like flipping hamburgers at Macs. Even at Macs, working the 40 hour shift, who do you think will keep their job? The worker who does the minimum required or the worker who, when business is slow, will mop the floors and clean the windows without first being told to do it?
In the eighties vacations and benefits were perks of jobs. In the year 2012 and beyond, merely having a job will be a perk. I think many people today, who have a poor understanding of the economy, think that the conditions and events of the last twenty years (especially the last 3 years) are normal. What they don't understand is that we have been living on borrowed time created by a government policy of artificially low interest rates and massive money printing.
These government policies have created an artificial economy but these quick fix solutions to our problems can't work forever and they are unraveling quickly in front of our eyes - regardless if people recognize it for what it is or not. Japan will not escape the problems - and, in fact, is a huge part of the problem. And the piper must be paid someday and that day is soon coming upon us.
A few days ago I met a woman whose father was 56 years old and she told me that he hadn't a job for over two years! At 56, it should be his highest earning potential in his entire life, but here he is, out of work.
People under 30 ~ 35 years old today are fooling themselves if they think that they will be able to get along over the next 10 ~ 20 years doing the minimum amount of effort for the minimum amount of working hours a week: 40.
Like I said, there are many people who will gladly take those forty hour a week jobs and invest 72+ hours a week of their time and sweat to make sure they get and keep those jobs. It's not a question of desire or want, it is a question of survival.
Survival of the fittest.
For a short view of just how bad things have gotten in the USA over these last 3 years watch this video. (And don't think I am blaming it all on Obama, the Republicans haven't done any better).
And if you think that the coming collapse of the US economy isn't going to affect you in Japan, or anywhere else in the world, you are out of your mind...
I meet young people today who tell me that they want to work "only" a full 40 hour week - no more than that. I think they are living in a fantasy world. I even had a guy (who works part time) tell me the other day that he "even worked until 1 am the other night."
I am not impressed in the least.
When I was the GM of a broadcasting station in Tokyo, I worked from 5 am until 9:30 pm every night at least 6 days a week.. Often 7. So I am not impressed a bit by someone working until late.
Big surprise for many: People do that all the time. It used to be considered a strong work ethic. It used to be considered normal if someone wanted to "get ahead".
I am not rich but I have always been a person who was hired and then soon became a management staff. Even when I got my first job in 1975. I was only 17 but soon was given the right to clear personal checks and credit transactions. A right many employees did not have and those employees were often in their thirties.
When I graduated from college, my former boss called me out of the blue and tried to hire me back. He said, "We will hire you part-time but pay you more than full time wages." Sounds pretty good, eh?
I refused and said, "No!"
I told him that I didn't go to college to graduate and earn full-time wages. I told him, "I want to work twice full-time and earn five to ten times full-time pay - at least!"
Now, I meet young people who tell me that they want to work "only 40 hours a week" if that much? Dreamers. Good luck with that.
How in the world will you get any jobs when there's a flood of out of work professionals with tons of experience who will work well over and above the call of duty for their wages?
The days of doing the minimum at work are over...
For most people the days of doing the minimum ended when they go out of high school... For too many, they still think that they can continue to do the same.
Well, I've got news for you folks... Life is full of rude awakenings. You can get with the program now, and get off your asses or you can wait until you are forced off your ass.
Like Keith Richards said, "I'm going to walk before they make me run."
Too many people are sitting there waiting... They won't have to wait long.
One might think that the title of this post to be the script for some outrageous movie plot ala Rocky Horror Picture Show or even some modern day Japanese Horror Splatter film. But it is not. This is a story about a very sick ethnocentric and very narcissist society.
Oh, how things have changed in the USA, and most assuredly not for the better. (Be prepared, for this is, once again, a strong critique of my native country. If you don't want to read more of my reasoning why the USA has gone stark raving mad, then stop reading right now.)
I went to Jr. high school and high school in a town on the west coast. I suppose we were the typical schools with typical school problems. As a junior high school student, I spent most of my time trying to avoid getting beat up by the jock meathead white kids and the Mexican kids.
The white kids generally left me alone because they thought I was white. The Hispanics usually left me alone because they thought I was half-Mexican. I allowed them all to think whatever they wanted as long as it allowed me not to have a bloody nose, bashed up head or ripped shirt.
I can say that my strategy worked, for the most part, pretty well, throughout my school years. I don't recall ever having my a*s used as a soccer ball.
The first day, while sitting in front of the TV and watching the local news with my dad, I struggled to keep my eyes open (it wasn't just jet-lag either)... Suddenly, the news caster came on and scowled. He proclaimed, "The trial of the murder of a transsexual Jr. high school student in Oxnard that has captured the attention of the entire world... Up next!"
On to a commercial about some processed foods that make American kids fat and unhealthy.
I sat up. Did I just hear what I thought I heard? I asked my dad. He concurred. "Transvestite jr. high school student? Murder? Captured the world? What!?"
I complained. I said to my dad, "This country has gone nuts. Besides that, people in this country are so ethno-centric that they think the entire world revolves around what is going on in West Los Angeles. Well, I work in the news in Japan and I have never heard of this story before. So trust that no one else has either. And I certainly doubt that most people around the world have (as if, for example, brown-skinned men, women and children in the middle east who have the USA and her NATO allies bombing their houses and killing their brothers and sisters 24/7 don't already have enough to worry about and would actually care (or even comprehend) a story about some kid shooting another kid who dresses like a woman in a city called Oxnard of all places! Absurd!)
CHATSWORTH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell has declared a mistrial in the Brandon McInerney murder case.
The jury was unable to reach consensus despite Campbell ordering the panel to reconvene.
McInerney was being tried for murder with a hate-crime enhancement in the shooting death of classmate Lawrence King in 2008.
McInerney, then 14, shot King twice in the back of the head in a classroom at E.O. Green Junior High School.
The prosecution alleged McInerney had planned to shoot King over unwanted sexual advances, and said that McInerney had white-supremacist leanings.
The defense contended McInerney had a violent upbringing in a rough household and that he snapped when King, who was gay, made repeated comments to McInerney.
McInerney, now 17, was tried as an adult.
The nine-woman, three-man jury panel said the last vote resulted in seven in favor of voluntary manslaughter and five for first- or second-degree murder.
The trial was moved to Los Angeles County due to media coverage.
At 15, Lawrence King was small—5 feet 1 inch—but very hard to miss. In January, he started to show up for class at Oxnard, Calif.'s E. O. Green Junior High School decked out in women's accessories. On some days, he would slick up his curly hair in a Prince-like bouffant. Sometimes he'd paint his fingernails hot pink and dab glitter or white foundation on his cheeks. "He wore makeup better than I did," says Marissa Moreno, 13, one of his classmates. He bought a pair of stilettos at Target, and he couldn't have been prouder if he had on a varsity football jersey. He thought nothing of chasing the boys around the school in them, teetering as he ran.
Intelligent commentators about this story should have a problem knowing where to even begin; Hate crime? White-supremacist leanings? 15-year-old showing up for school in women's accessories? 15-year-old gay? Murder? Junior High School!?
Read that last one again: Junior High School!?
SEX PISTOLS - NO FEELINGS
I seen you in the mirror when the story began and I fell in love with you, I love yer mortal sin Your brains are locked away, but I love your company I only ever leave you when you got no money I got no emotions for anybody else, you better understand I'm in love with myself, myself my beautiful self I've got no feelings, no feelings, I've got no feelings for anybody else except for myself
The day after seeing this story for the first time, some of the kind nurses came over to attend to my father. Once again, the TV was on. Once again, this news story aired.
My father said something stupid like, "They ought to let that kid go! He was teased by the transvestite."
The lady he lives with made some sort of remark about how he is a murderer and must pay.
I tried to hide my face as I rolled my eyes. It reminded me of the great writer Thomas Pynchon's quote from Gravity's Rainbow: "Get people asking the wrong questions and you don't have to worry about the answers."
The chief nurse, who is married to a Japanese American looked at me and asked me what I thought of all this.
I hesitated to answer. It's been my experience that, nowadays, it is very difficult to deal with most Americans and it is often best to keep one's opinions to one's self. Not all, but many of today's Americans are quite the opinionated group, especially on subjects they know little about.
Confucius say: "Never argue with a fool, he may be doing the same thing." And, "The only person to argue with a fool is a bigger fool." I try to, as much as I can, keep my mouth shut. It usually makes me the most intelligent person in the room. Please refer to the Value of Silence at Meetings.
But, once again, I digress.
The nurse asked me again. I did something stupid. I opened my mouth. I said my opinion. Here's what it was concerning this mess:
1) Whether or not this boy should be guilty or innocent is, I think, looking at the symptoms of the problem and not the cause of the problem itself. I cannot comment on this one particular case. I do believe that this is a microcosm of a bigger problem. And that problem is that the USA today has become a sick society full of sick people because of big government policies that have eroded societies' morals and the family structure. It's amazing how bad things have gotten in the 27 years I've been gone.
Years of government programs that put people on the dole have created an entitlement society whereby people all think they deserve something for nothing. Nobody deserves anything and life owes no one anything. Yet, these social welfare plans have destroyed the family system. We have little crime in Japan for many reasons, but one big one is that, in many houses, the grandparents still live with their children and those children's children. How many households in the USA still have three generations living together in them and learning about responsibility and caring for each other?
2) This has lead to a situation in the USA where people are not wont to examine their own shortcomings and failures and are always interested in other people's problems and worries. Anyone can watch TV here for one minute and see that. People in the USA should take a cue from Japan and mind their own business.
3) On that note, what difference does it make to you or me whether or not Johnny and Ronnie want to get married? Who cares? It's not your business or mine if two men or women want to marry. It most certainly is not the business of the government to make laws concerning such either. Are people happy paying such high taxes so that these clowns in government can spend their time legislating what kind of behavior goes on in someones house?
And that goes for many other things too. Take abortion, for example; if some woman wants to get an abortion (I like to think no one wants to get an abortion, but some feel a need too) then what business is that of yours and mine? It's none of our business and none of he business of the central government either. An abortion is the business of that woman and her god and, hopefully, her husband or boyfriend.
Items 1, 2 and 3, above (among other things) have all contributed to make this country a politically correct nightmare that has no common sense and no basis in reality. That brings me to number...
My local friends in the area tell me that there are dress codes, but when it comes to sexuality or morality, school officials are afraid to enforce. Never mind the problems when kids insult the our political leader. In that case, school officials know they won't get sued as America in 2011 is a fascist dream come true.
But a guy dressing like that character named Klinger (the transvestite played by Jamie Farr) in the TV show MASH? No way. He is untouchable. We wouldn't want to hurt any one's sensibilities, you know.
I could go on and on about what I see are the problems. But I won't. I won't because it doesn't matter. For America in 2011, the debate is not heard, nor is it even desired.
The people are running around confused and wondering, "What's happened to our beautiful country?" The power's that be are satisfied with the situation as it is. When the people spend their time debating the wrong issues and asking the wrong questions, then, you can be sure, that the people will always be getting the wrong answers. And that's, in a nutshell, what's wrong with America today.
Finally allow me to show off my skills as a poet with this rendition of an old English favorite about the Duke of Buckingham, George Villiers, who is rumored to have highly suspect morals. I have updated it for today's modern American society. Enjoy!:
George Porgie USA (Version 2011)
George Porgie pudding and pie,
Kissed the boys and made them cry,
When the boy came back next day,
George Porgie had two bullet holes in the back of his head
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UPDATE: Like I said, this entire episode reminds me of some insane horror movie. I have told several Japanese people about this incident and they were all incredulous. I mean, really, in any sane society, people wouldn't believe it. Some of my Japanese friends didn't want to believe it, but they know I wouldn't lie to them.
The problem is that it is real and people in the USA are living it.
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NOTES: In Japan, a story like this, might only be a movie like this one. This is a gory splatter film entitled Vampire Girl versus Frankenstein Girl. Heck, it's a Saturday morning and don't really want to leave you all feeling like a bummer so here's something that might digust you or make you chuckle. Anyway, I think it will make an impression.
At first, it might be disgusting and disturbing to watch but if you can stand it, watch for a moment and you'll realize how ridiculous this is (kind of like Monty Python). The first time, this made me feel ill. Now, when I watch this, I laugh:
This film is definitely worth a few laughs and the main actress, Yukie Kawamura is a goddess. Here's a cheesecake photo for you guys!
Wow! Yukie Kawamura! I'm in love (for the first time this week!)
Here's another trailer. Pretty funny stuff (cool music too!):
I received several mails from irate Americans who just can't handle the truth about how much of a hellhole that country has become. One guy even wrote::
I find it amusing that this blogger constantly ballyhoos the importance of facts and then writes an editorial with the provocative headline above without any exercise of facts save you can smoke in restaurants and drink at the beach-- if that's your definition of freedom, then I feel sorry for you. This is black-and-white writing, emotional, if not hysterical. If you're going to be provocative at least put a little effort into it. This just feels like lazy writing. And your characterization of Japan is maudlin.
Look who is talking about being maudlin! Check the rear view mirror for knee-jerk emotional reactions, my friend. Why do I need to re-state old facts that everyone - who has been paying attention - already knows? Take off the rose-colored glasses and read on....
#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.
#2 According to NationMaster.com, the United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.
#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.
#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.
#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.
#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.
#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.
#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.
#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.
#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.
#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.
#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.
#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.
#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.
#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.
#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.
I'm being maudlin when I rail on what the USA has become? Ha! I'm maudlin!? These facts I have linked to above are old news. It is astounding, though, that many Americans seem blissfully unaware of them. If anyone should know these facts, the Americans should.
About that USA #1 article you published. Curiously the author didn't mention the USA as:#1 in nuke and other WMD stockpiles. #1 in WMD sales to other countries #1 in lawsuits and lawyers per capita and, of course, #1 in invading other countries!
Smoking & drinking are small things? Yes. That's why Japan blows away the USA for freedom. In the USA you can't even do these small, trivial things. Is that my definition of freedom? Yes. What's yours? (Feel free to choose from the multiple choice list above).
Recently, I went back to the USA. I briefly mentioned it in passing on this blog as I went there to help a dear old friend take care of business because his wife passed away. Bless her soul. I wasn't there for vacation.
I didn't write about "that place" (USA) because, after living in a peaceful and civilized country (Japan) for so many years, and watching the USA turn from the world's worst aggressor nation into the world's worst aggressor nation and fascist police state, I've come to despise everything about the USA. And make no mistake about it, America has become what it has and that is the fault of average Joe-blow Mr. & Mrs. America.
As Ted Rall writes: "For all the admirable qualities of the American people - love of rock 'n' roll, deep-fried food, and hugely impractical cars, and ridiculous movies featuring numerous explosions - Americans are not the smartest. They are an easily confused lot."
They've also let their country go to hell while still believing that everything is OK.
My friend asked me why I didn't write about my visit in detail this time and I thought to myself, "what can I say that I haven't already said?" In 2005, I wrote an article entitled "America is Bankrupt" which Lew Rockwell told me was the #2 most read article on his web site for that year... When I wrote that article, I got blasted by many Americans saying that I was wrong. If you read that article now, it sounds like "same old same old" nothing special or nothing new. I told him that I have nothing good to say about America so it's just best for me to ignore the dead.
Japan blows the USA away for a great place to live. There's a million and one things about Japan that is better than the USA and much more free than the USA. The USA is a busybody nanny state.
I won't go into specifics. Why bother? I've done that a hundred times.
Here's a short vignette by my friend who is from San Francisco and living in northern Japan. Read this and think deeply about what is being said. It is about freedom and the fabric of society. If you understand this, then you can see why Japan is a much better place to live than the USA.
Here is his letter:
Dear Mike,
Went to the beach with my 9 year old and 2 of her friends this Sunday afternoon. It was a warm day and the beach wasn't crowded. No cops anywhere in sight; the lifeguard was there, but hidden from view and totally unobtrusive.
I drank a can of ice cold beer that I bought at the corner liquor store a block from the beach. Just one can. No one said a word about it.
The children went in the ocean and I kept an eye on them. Everyone was well behaved on the entire beach. No loud radios, drunks, bums, or slobs. No trash. No one allowing their dog to run around unleashed and harass people.
An 8-ish year old girl shows up with a 2-ish year old looking child, probably siblings. The 8-year-old wraps the child up in towels just like a Japanese mother would do, to keep the sun off the child's skin. I looked closely to see, yet no parents are in sight. The older child places the younger child in an inner tube and they spend several hours floating around and enjoying themselves. Another Dad and I take turns keeping an eye on the nearby children, but they never need to be admonished, playing respectfully together and laughing. When I go in the water I leave my valuables in a waist pouch on the beach, with no fear at all that anyone would steal anything.
We all wash off at the public beach shower and walk home. Stopping for ice cream along the way. At 5PM, a friend of my 9-year-old rides her bike home, about a 15 minute ride to the other side of town.
Admittedly, it's not exciting like Tokyo and I hope you are still awake. If you read between the lines, you may understand how this vignette represents a very particular way of life in many respects. It would be easy to contrast this to my experiences in America, many of which were good as I lived in San Francisco, a most beautiful part of the world.
There's more to this letter, but in each paragraph, there's a list of mundane everyday things that are done in civilized, sane countries yet they cannot be done in the USA anymore.
The USA the freest nation on earth? How wonderful it is to be overweight, drugged out, addicted to TV and seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.
Here is a man that I really admire. He tells the truth. This has nothing really to do with Japan directly, but in a way, it does. Because it has to do with you, dear reader. Here's a man who is telling the truth about the west and the mass media.
Minister Farrakhan exposed the U.S. and NATO's criminal War Libya and Africa during a June 15, 2011 Press Conference at the UN Plaza Hotel. Also presenting were former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Human Rights Activist Viola Plummer and International Actitivst Cynthia McKinney.
