It's a comedy of errors! It never fails to amaze me just how incompetent the government is. What government? Oh, any government. Take your pick. Let's pick Japan's today.
As effective as today's defense system is against North Korean missiles
Seriously, this comedian could probably run any department or agency in the government much better than any politician Japan has today... At least he'd be good for laughs...
Hilarious! I burst out laughing on this news.... Maybe they forgot to install the four AA batteries (not included) in the system?
The alert system Japan promised would warn citizens of North Korea’s rocket launch had to rely on media reports because the defense ministry did not pass on the intelligence it had, an official said Friday.
(You mean this high-tech warning system needs a low-tech telephone call to work? How about two cans and a string?)
In what appeared to be a humiliating blow for the government after days of hype about the effectiveness of its warning system, security officials at the centre handling the alert were not told of the launch until 44 minutes after Tokyo had first learned of it.
Let's vote. Which government is more humiliated and seems more incompetent by yesterday's failed launch? Is it (pick one): A) North Korea B) Japan
In the meantime, the center issued a vague warning, based on international media reports of the launch, some 23 minutes after blast off and when those watching still believed the rocket was headed over Japanese territory.
(No. I believe they read my blog. I scooped the world!)
“We didn’t have the information at that time we issued the message,” a security centre official told reporters on condition of customary anonymity.
How do you say, "Doh!" in Japanese?
I don't know why the Japanese government needs to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these systems that don't work for monitoring missile launchings that don't work either.... They could just read this blog as I reported an hour ahead of time that the missile launch was a failure...
In fact, both North Korea and Japan could nod and wink and just say they've built the systems and pocket the money. No one would know the difference! Genius!
Japan's missile defense that doesn't work is extremely effective against missiles
that don't work either... At least on paper!
You know, the Japanese government also claimed that they were prepared for the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, yet they blew it. Now, this. I have a new motto for the Japanese government. Tell me what you think:
Japanese government motto for 2012 and beyond:
Preparedness in the face of disaster yet dropping the ball just in time.
It's nearly one year since the terrible earthquake and tsunami disaster of March 11, 2011. There are probably many memorial services going on that day. I will go to Ishinomaki that morning.
Nearly one year after he was rescued floating on the roof of his destroyed home 10 miles out to sea, Hiromitsu Shinkawa says all that he wants now is a peaceful life. Shinkawa, 61, moved to an apartment in the city of Kawasaki in August of last year to be closer to his daughter and 2-year-old grandson, but will be returning to the town of Minami Soma for the anniversary of the event that made his miraculous escape front-page news around the world.
When he was rescued by a passing warship on March 13 - 43 hours after he was swept out to sea by the retreating tsunami - Hiromitsu gulped down an energy drink and immediately burst into tears. "I thought today was the last day of my life," he told his rescuers.
Shinkawa and his wife, Yuuko, had returned to their home after Japan's magnitude-9 earthquake on March 11 to try to save some of their possessions, but were caught by the tsunami. Shinkawa was on the second floor of the house when the wave crashed through the windows. (Read more here.)
What's also incredible is that, don't forget, it was winter and snowing when this disaster hit so it was freezing cold. It's a miracle that this guy didn't die from exposure.
By the way, my friends Michio Hashimoto and Ken Nishikawa who went with me to Ishinomaki right after the disaster last year (and Ken and I made the documentary) will be going up again on March 11 this year. We are going to go look for the Japanese couple who were in our documentary (below) and take them gifts and see how they are doing. We also plan to shoot another documentary about "one year after."
The original documentary, "Ishinomaki - The Black Water" is here:
After the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, I was inundated with all sorts of ridiculous mails claiming that I was working for the nuclear industry or an "nuclear apologist." The more absurd ones were from people who claimed that the March 11 disaster was caused by HAARP or, as Benjamin Fulford claimed, "The USA detonating a nuclear bomb undersea off the coast of Japan."
All nonsense. I am no expert on HAARP but I like to think I know a tad bit about Japan. Japan has a hell of a lot of earthquakes. We had two yesterday that I felt. We have them almost everyday... Hell, we have hundreds of them everyday. Don't believe me?
Well, then watch this. Here is an animated map of earthquake activity in Japan in 2011. See if you can find where the nuclear attacks were:
"Dear winner! Congratulations! You've won $10,000!" At first you are surprised. Your heart skips a beat, then you read the fine print. It says,
"This could be you if you purchase over $250 of "Sports, Bikinis, Barbecue and Hiking Boots" magazine subscriptions over the next 6 months. As one lucky winner will...." Blah, blah, blah....
How many times has this happened to you?
Your dreams dashed. Of course, it was too good to be true.
You know, in Japan, there is an old saying, "There's nothing scarier than something for free!"
Well you might remember a few months back the campaign announced in the Japanese media and all over the world about 10,000 people winning free airfare to Japan in a Japanese Government Tourism Bureau effort to support flagging numbers of tourists to Japan after the March Fukushima nuclear accident? Well the Japanese government was just kidding about the free vacation... (I reckon that you can deduce that I not the most dependable travel agent in the world either... Chuckle!)
Well, thank god I didn't write about that campaign when it was going on. Why? At the time, I thought something was fishy. Just like you thought something was fishy when you clicked to read this blogpost. Let me pat myself on the back and say that, in October of last year, at the time they announced this foolishness, my first thoughts were that the idea was waste of money; shouldn't we be spending that money on helping the people of Tohoku? What about the Fukushima disaster? And, with our finances in such disorder, where are we going to get this money from in the first place? I also thought, "Who's stupid idea was this?"
Of course it is/was a stupid idea. A very stupid idea (too good to be true for anyone who "won" - and it was)... (No problem for the government idiots who thought of this... They aren't spending their own money. Why not?)
But besides the practical concerns, think about the ineptitude: Talk about a BS contest! Imagine winning only to be told, "Oh yes, Mr. Something-or-other, congratulations but we were only kidding about the million dollars!"
Back in October, Japan's national tourism agency floated a plan that seemed an ideal remedy to boost flagging visitor numbers in the wake of the March 11 disasters.
What!? "..a plan that seemed an ideal remedy?!" What are the these people at Wall Street Journal smoking? Oh, yeah, I forgot. The Wall Street Journal are a bunch of big government wankers too.
Free flights to Japan in 2012. A full 10,000 of them.
Over flowing with cynicism: Cheap skates! I knew it! "Why stop at 10,000?" I said at the meeting, "Let's make it 100,000! No! A million, ten million! Free babies, bento and Banzai too!"
Now, as the country crunches through the detail of tight budget numbers for next year, the hope many had for visiting Japan in 2012 has evaporated into a pipe dream: There won't be any free flights next year, period.
Well, duh. There ain't no Sanity Claus either.
The budget for them has not been approved. Whatever tourism authorities thought a good idea, Japan simply can't afford it, the government's budget planners have concluded.
Evidence that more government planing will make our lives better!
The Tokyo-based Japan Tourism Agency didn't sugar-coat the decision in a statement on its website late Dec. 26: "The project titled 'Fly to Japan!' (to offer flight tickets to 10,000 foreigners with high potential to communicate Japan's attractions), which had been covered in a number of media in autumn this year, was not approved as a governmental draft budget of FY 2012."
How about not sugar-coating a message to the Einsteins in the Japan Tourism Agency on their website by writing something like, "You're fired!"
Regular readers of this blog will know that I am extremely skeptical of any pronouncements by the Japanese government (or any government for that matter) and, at the time of this campaign's announcement, I remember thinking, "These clowns have a debt that is over 225% of GDP and now the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster to contend with. Where in the hell are they going to get the money to pay for this?"
Funny that.
Now, what do we who live in Japan and pay taxes for have to show for this idiocy? Well, I haven't any figures, but I know we spent lots of money on promotional items like posters, TV ads, and advertising in publications all over the world (besides the silly posters advertising this campaign that were hung in my local bar in Tokyo - go figure!) so we dumped at least a few hundred thousand dollars on that. Small change, right? No problem. Then, on top of that, we got this bad promotion (or good depending on how you look at it).
These types of dumb government planned promotions are always a boondoggle. Let me recall a few for you that I remember:
In 1979, at the height of the trade wars with the USA, the Japanese government made stickers and posters and placed them all over Japan's train stations and in taxis. The stickers and posters said, "Import Now!" (as if the average Japanese housewife reads English and/or has any say as to whether or not pots and pans and textiles and steel are imported into Japan from the United States or not.
Which is much like this campaign that I've seen at my local pub recently. The posters say, "Visit Japan!" I think, "Wow! What a brilliant idea! Promote visiting Japan to people who are already here! Saves them the airfare! Brilliant!"
This poster hangs in my favorite restaurant ... in Tokyo!
The next campaign that I remember Japan spending an exorbitant amount of money on was the Yokoso Japan campaign. Japan must have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this campaign making videos that were shown (and viewed) a few hundred times on the Internet and seen on American and European TV at times like 5:00 am on a Sunday morning. In fact, I hosted the one about Hiroshima (even though I don't live there!). Uh, don't expect me to show you that one, it was embarrassing (many of the English subtitles were spelled incorrectly and lots of other problems):
Oh well, I suppose we can console ourselves by saying, "At least they tried..." I wish they'd try with their money and not mine next time. People might think I am complaining about the incompetent government, and I am. But, at least in canceling this dumb campaign, they made the right decision. Why in the hell should I have to pay for Joe Six-pack to visit Japan? Does he pay for me to go on vacation to his country?
*That's tue: This contest is a farce and not real... Just like the vacation to Japan contest was also. Sorry.
I have a report that Lady Gaga has ripped off her fans who bought a "Lady Gaga wristband". The proceeds from those wristbands were to be donated to the poor folks who suffered in Japan from the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Seems like, as of this date, no proceeds have been forthcoming.
That event brought out tons of charlatans who used other people's misery for financial gain. You'd think that someone who were as rich as Lady Gaga would make sure that the money (I'm sure it's not a lot) would get into the hands of those who really need it instead of going towards her next wardrobe prupose.
As I have written before, people like Hayden Panettiere don't really give a rat's ass about any dolphins or anything like that, they only care about fame. Just like jerks like U2's Bono who prop up charities and claim to care about poverty (yet give only 1%) or Sting with his BS about rain forests or the next Hollywood clown who makes noise about endangered monkeys, it's all just blah, blah, blah... Yadda, yadda, yadda. These people don't really give a sh*t about these things. Their "charities" and work are all promotions capitalizing on other people's misery and they constitute tax breaks.
In Hayden's case, if she really did care about the Dolphins, she'd still be talking about it... But, she doesn't. She doesn't because, you see, the advertising budget for that film is over with and, well, she does have a movie star career to attend to.
Far, far too often, these charities are just scams to evade taxes or just promotional gimmicks to make themselves look good.... But don't let my scorn for these fakes fool you. I also am a fair minded person, the Japanese Red Cross deserves heaps of criticism too.
Homeless and orphaned children in Japan after tsunami? Use their plight to rip off the public? Great idea! Cashing in on other people's misery! What an excellent marketing plan!
Well, now, we have Lady Gaga being accussed and sued in court for ripping off her fans for a charity to help the survivors of the March 11 disaster in Japan.
"Lady Gaga has been a champion for relief efforts in recovering Japan, but now the singer is facing allegations she pocketed donations that should have gone to the ravaged country.
The federal class action lawsuit alleges Gaga (real name Stefani Germonatta) jacked up the shipping costs on the "We Pray for Japan" wristbands she designed and sold on her website after the March earthquake and tsunami, keeping a portion of the money from each sale despite her promise that all proceeds would go to directly to relief efforts."
A class action lawsuit filed in the US claims that Lady Gaga failed to donate proceeds of her “relief wristband” to victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The suit also alleges that the singer “charged buyers an excessive $3.99 for shipping within the United States, against the actual cost of only $.50 cents.”
Lady Gaga is being sued in a $5 million class action suit for allegedly scamming a Japan relief charity.
The singer said on her website that all proceeds from the sale of the “We Pray For Japan” wristbands were going to the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
But a Michigan law firm says that’s not true.
According to the lawsuit filed by 1-800-Law-Firm, Gaga sold the bracelets for $5, plus $3.99 for shipping and handling, and 60 cents for taxes, but jacked up the price of the shipping costs in an effort to pocket the extra money.
The federal suit also claims Gaga never disclosed how much of the $5 bracelets was actually going to Japan relief, even though she included the money she allegedly pocketed as part of her claimed donation.
The lawsuit says Lady Gaga violated a number of federal racketeering laws as well as consumer protection laws from the alleged scam.
Welcome to 2012... The scams and criminal activity of Wall Street and their like continue to trickle down to the average person.
I think 2012 is going to be one wild ride. Oh, and make sure to buy Lady Gaga's records. You might as well get in on the fun of being screwed over by corporate greed.
The March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima had a profound effect on, not just Japan, but also the world.
Locally, it caused the government and people of Japan to reassess Japan's dependence upon nuclear power.
After the nuclear disaster forced the reassessment and closure of 1/2 of Japan nuclear power plants, the entire nation has spent the rest of 2011 in what has been called, 節電 (setsuden) or "power saving." No matter where you go in Tokyo, you will see signs that say, "Setsuden chu" (currently saving power).
After this "Setsuden chu" campaign started up, all over Tokyo, you could see signs of companies and stores saving power. At some of the subways stations, 1/2 of the escalators were shut off; at department stores, many of the brightly colored and lit displays were turned off... The worst part of it all, and what everyone feared the most, was the hot and humid Japanese summer. Luckily for us, this year's summer was quite unseasonably cool (Man Made Global Warming, don't you know?) and even thought the air-conditioning was off or very low at most places, it was bearable.
I stumbled upon this very cool and interesting video of time lapse photography showing places around Tokyo before and after Setsuden. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!
The title of this post should be "Idiot Pot Users in Japan." Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against marijuana or any other drug use for that matter. I think all drugs should be decriminalized... But what I think doesn't matter. If you are in Japan, you'd have to be stupid to do or smoke (possess) marijuana. Because if you're caught, they will throw you in prison.
Mailing marijuana cookies to Japan. Doh! Did anyone ever stop to think, "I guess they might have candies and cookies in Japan! I wonder if sending cookies will look suspicious?" Perhaps this could be proof that marijuana cause brain damage
Sure, some people will say that marijuana is not bad for you at all and, even though some will disagree, I might agree with them totally that marijuana isn't all that bad for your health. It might even be good for you. I don't know.
But good or bad, marijuana certainly was lots of fun when I was a university student in the USA. But that was in the USA back in the days when small amounts of marijuana wouldn't land you in jail.
Is marijuana really all that bad for you? I don't know. But I can guarantee you that, without a shadow of a doubt, getting your ass thrown in jail in Japan for a decade because a little marijuana will certainly be bad for your health.
The point is that this is not a question of whether or not marijuana is bad for you or not. It is not a question of whether or not marijuana should be illegal or not. The question here is this: Is possession of marijuana in Japan a serious offense in the year 2011? The answer is "Yes. It is! It is a serious crime that holds prison as a penalty."
Interestingly, it is not against the law to smoke marijuana in Japan. The law states that possession of marijuana is a crime. Possession always pre-dates usage. So it is against the law to have any amount of marijuana.
Since it is against the law, if you do possess marijuana in Japan, you take the risk of getting arrested and you face the possibility of a long prison sentence. Once you are caught and arrested, making idiotic claims that, "Marijuana isn't that bad for you!" or "It was only a little bit!" or "I didn't know my friends were going to send it to me in the mail!" Just isn't going to fly. They've heard them all before.
Everyone who gets caught says this kind of stupid thing. The result is always the same: The law will be upheld.
I remember several years ago when an American friend of mine came to Japan to visit her son. She didn't know her way around and the son he was too much of a selfish brat to pick up his mom at the airport so, since she was an old friend, I picked her up.
On the way back in the car, she started asking questions about Japan and telling me all sorts of nonsense that went on between her "Parent of the Year" parenting skills and her dysfunctional kid. She also told me that she sometimes sent her son marijuana in the mail. She said she hid the marijuana, in small amounts, in packages from the USA. I almost hit the roof. I told her to cease that immediately.
In a typical stupid, ethno-centric, typically American reply, she said to me,
"Oh. It's OK. I don't use my real address! It's not that much marijuana. Just a little bit. They won't put him into prison for a few grams."
"No!" I said, "No one here cares about your address. Trust me. It doesn't matter if it's even one little speck. If they catch him with that marijuana, they will put him in prison. No ifs ands or buts."
She wouldn't believe me.
I had to repeat myself, "No. If they find that marijuana on him or in his home, they will put him in prison!"
She then took the stupidity up a few levels higher by telling me how she so cleverly hid the drugs;
"Oh, they won't find it anyhow. I hide it in ball point pens and cassette tapes."
Jeez! What a fricking stupid woman! Had she never heard of X-ray machines? Didn't she know that they already have ball point pens in Japan? And, incredibly, and as hard as it is going to be to believe, cassette tapes were also plentiful in Japan. In fact Japan manufactured those things!!! I know the genius and technological prowess of the Japanese and, trust me, Japan has had ball pens and cassette tapes for a long time (Pssst! They sell them here at places called, interestingly, "Convenience Stores.") I told her again to stop that practice and also pointed out the obvious that cassette tapes and ball point pens, being mailed from the USA to Japan might look a tiny bit suspicious, no?
I have no doubt that that stupid woman is continuing this foolishness today.
Well, maybe it's OK, it seems her son is so useless that he can't keep a decent job to feed himself or pay his own rent so maybe it's better for him in prison. What the hell? Free rent and food!
Now, in Japan, today we have another story of another moron coming to Japan from the USA and now facing jail time for marijuana. Now, once again, I am not saying that I agree with Japan's drug laws. I don't. But, the law is the law, and when you go to a foreign country (or even in your own) and you take risks with those laws, you also accept the risk of penalties.
I hope this idiot kid doesn't go to jail, but if he does, I will say, "Just another in a long line of stupid foreigners." Here is the story in yellow with my comments included.
ARVADA - A Colorado School of Mines chemical engineering student remains in a Japanese jail after a friend of his says he mailed the student three cookies and four pieces of candy infused with marijuana.
With friends like this guy, who needs enemies?
Japanese prosecutors appear to be using the country's very strict anti-drug laws to go after 25-year-old Tim Wilson.
That's their job.
Wilson was attending Tohuku (sic) University in Sendai, Japan, as an exchange student when he was arrested back in August.
He's remained in custody ever since.
"They keep pushing the trial back," his father Jeff Wilson said on Wednesday. "Originally, they told us it would be no later than Oct. 24. Then they told us December, and then two weeks ago we found out it would be in January."
Japanese law says that a person can be arrested and detained for 22 days before charges are brought against them. If the prosecutors go to the judge at the end of the 22 days and ask for an extension, the judge will usually allow it. These extensions cane be repeated twice for a total of 66 days. If Tim never accepted these cookies into his possession, they will probably release him at the end of the 66 days and he will be put on the first plane back to the USA under a deportation ruling. He will never be allowed back into Japan again. If the police and prosecutors find marijuana at Tim's apartment or they find his friends in Japan have some and they got it from Tim then I hope Tim has fun with his new friends in prison.
Tim Wilson's friend agreed to speak with 9NEWS on Wednesday if we agreed not to use his name. He said in May he mailed three peanut butter cookies and four "Cheeba Chews" to Tim Wilson inside a package containing other items such as books and CD's.
Duh! Moron! He doesn't want them to use his name? Why not? he doesn't want the whole world to know how much of an ass he is? Amazingly, but true, Japan is one of the riches countries in the world and we have lots of cookies and candies and cakes... Hasn't it struck "friend" for even a second that mailing $1.00 candies and cookies to Japan is a red flag and might look real suspicious?
That package never made it to Wilson.
If this is true, and it never made it to Wilson, and Wilson has no marijuana at his residence, he will probably be deported at the end of 66 days.
In June, Japanese customs officials flagged the package and then started an investigation which eventually led to Wilson's arrest on Aug. 3.
Jeff Wilson has been told his son faces up to 10 years in prison.
"We really believed this would be cleared up in the first 10 to 20 days. We thought he'd be released," Jeff Wilson said.
Well, you believed wrong.
Tim Wilson was registered as a medical marijuana patient with the State of Colorado when the marijuana edibles were sent, although federal and state laws prohibit the mailing of such items. He was given a medical marijuana card for pain in his back.
Medical Marijuana patient, eh? That's supposed to means he needs it to survive or live a life without pain. Well, his coming to Japan is a good argument for the people who don't want to allow medical marijuana. If this guy can go to Japan and do without it, it must not be that much of a medical priority. PS: Card or no card, marijuana is illegal in Japan.
Jeff Wilson insists his son never requested the edibles and that the friend took it upon himself to send the package to Japan. The friend told 9NEWS the same thing.
Sure, you can go to any prison in America and every person instituted there will tell you the same thing, "I didn't do anything wrong! They go the wrong guy!"
Some of the confusion may be due to an email exchange between Tim Wilson and his friend in which Wilson wrote, "That would be a good idea," when asked about sending marijuana edibles to Japan.
Jeff Wilson believes his son was simply being sarcastic when he wrote that and that language issues between the two countries was at play at the time.
Oh yeah. Dumb friend goes out and spend his money on marijuana; then spends his time making cookies; then spends his own money again on sending marijuana to Japan and it's all a misunderstanding between friends? Well, that's completely believable, right? Wrong. Bullshit! I believe Tim Wilson's father believes wrong and I don't think for a second he actually believes that cock and bull story.
Tim Wilson was also volunteering with the country's ongoing earthquake relief efforts.
Aha! Playing the sympathy card? Isn't that nice? By the way, volunteering is something that Tim (and every other person) in this country has done. No big deal. Sentimentality, or the lack of it, should not guide decisions concerning whether or not the law has been broken and if actions should be taken.
Tom McNamara is a Denver attorney with Davis, Graham and Stubbs and specializes in international law. He calls Japan's anti-drug laws "some of the most severe in the world."
"The amount [of marijuana] matters not," he said on Wednesday. "We could be talking about one gram or five kilos."
He says Japanese authorities have recently started to concentrate on cases involving drugs mailed into the country.
Finally, someone who says something that makes sense.
Jeff Wilson is now actively trying to bring more attention to his son's case.
"They've got the wrong guy," he insisted.
Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! "I'm innocent! Innocent, I tell ya!"
They arrested Paul McCartney for marijuana in Japan. They will most certainly throw your ass in jail for the same. Here, too, McCartney says he "didn't know"!
Tim Wilson has a 3.98 grade point average at Mines and his father showed 9NEWS a letter where faculty members were recommending he consider trying to become a Rhodes Scholar.
Well, with a 3.98 grade point average, Tim sure doesn't seem to be all that bright.
NOTE: The purpose of this post is not to kick this dimwit kid and his naive father. It's, hopefully, to make sure that someone will read this and make damn sure that they aren't the next Tim Wilson.
Tim is lucky, actually, that this happened in Japan. In some other Asian countries the penalty for what he is involved with is death.
NOTE TWO: I can bet you a donut that the friend that baked these marijuana cookies and sent them to Tim in Japan was high when he did so. Just goes to show that great ideas when you are high are usually not such great ideas later on when you are sober
I just bought a book by one of my favorite political columnists, Ted Rall. In the foreword, he talks about compassion and empathy.
He wrote about a time he saw a homeless man and thought, "Thank god, if it weren't for a few lucky breaks, that could have been me." I've thought the same thing before many times too.
How about you?
I agree with what Ted writes in the book and will have a review of "The Year of Loving Dangerously" soon... But, until then, this...
I wonder about people today and think there are far too many people who feint compassion and concern, but it's all an act. Take, for example, the disaster of the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 in Japan. So many people I know were actually sincere and got off their asses and did something...
But I also thought there were way too many people who only helped and contributed because it made them look good doing so. There's nothing so wrong with that, I suppose, as long as people are honest with themselves and open about intentions.
There's a word for this and it's Crocodile Tears.
I also think that there is far too little compassion and empathy amongst people today as a general rule.
Take, for example, the poor people who have suffered in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. Terrible situation indeed... But the mass media seem to have gone on and people are losing interest.
Is it human nature to do so? Or are we all just robots with heart strings being pulled by the mass media?
I wonder why people will get together to make (at least the appearance of) an effort to help people who are on TV and suffering far away, yet, in their own neighborhoods, they scorn and look down upon the unfortunate in their own neighborhoods?
For those ends and my own research, I've made a survey at the right of this blog. It is asking the question:
"When you see a homeless person, what do you think?"
I hope you will help me by taking 5 seconds to answer the question (as many answers as you wish)... I will post the results on 10/31/11.
Note: I changed the name of this post from "When you see a homeless person, what do you think?" to "How Do You Feel When You See a Child Suffering?" Because I know that if I write "Homeless" that is a distasteful subject and many will not bother to read the post.
Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan who was prime minister for just over one short year is resigning. The race for a new clusterf*ck prime minister of Japan is on.
If you were to judge by the media, you'd think that the Japanese, as well as people all over the world, are gripping their arses in anticipation of who the next prime minister of the world's #3 (and dropping quickly) economy is going to be.
Will it be dumbf*ck number one or dillweed #2? The entire nation anxiously awaits the results of an election that they have absolutely no say in whatsoever.....So, I am....ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz.....
ZZZsnork! Where was I? Oh, yeah....
Kan, as you remember, was Japan's prime minister for just about 15 months. In that time, his infamy is often compared with that of many tyrants of the past. The destruction and devastation that occurred under Kan's rule will always be on the level of a Adolf Hitler, Chairman Mao, Attila the Hun, Caligula, Joseph Stalin and that Khan dude on Star Trek.
The world will never forget the destruction they caused:
Top (L to R): Hitler, Stalin, Mao
Bottom (L to R): Kan, Khan and Fine
See? Told you he's right up there with old usual suspects.
Our own Naoto Kan, who, you'll remember singlehandedly was responsible for causing the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster will also always be remembered for his positive achievements such as... his, er.... ummmm... And then there's... the... uh...
See?
Things will be OK if you just remember to keep repeating the mantra: "March 11, disaster, earthquake, tsunami, Fukushima Dai ichi and Naoto Kan."
Kan! Kan! Khan! Damn you, Khan! We'll get you for this!
TOKYO (AFP) Japan's ruling party is to kick off a two-day campaign Saturday to choose a new leader for the disaster-hit nation, with trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda emerging as a strong contender.
Who the hell is Banri Kaieda?
Five candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) have so far run for the party's leadership election on Monday to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the nation's sixth premier in five years.
The party has set a deadline of Saturday morning for candidates to come forward for what is expected to be a close race.
Hoo hum....What? I missed the dealine for filing again?
Kan announced his resignation on Friday after nearly 15 turbulent months in power, during which his response to the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and resulting nuclear plant accident drew fierce criticism.
Remember to keep repeating: Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Genghis Khan, Attila and Kan (sounds like some 70's Hippie Prog Rock group doesn't it?)
Through debates and speeches this weekend, the candidates will seek support of 398 DPJ lawmakers who can vote for a new party president to replace Kan. Parliament will then vote the leader in as PM on Tuesday.
Debates and speeches this weekend? Oh goody. That sounds like how I want to spend my weekends with the family! Listening to old political pharts droning on and on about this or that....
Former foreign minister Seiji Maehara, who has topped the list of hopeful successors to Kan in opinion polls, and Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda were largely seen as pre-election favourites.
Is it just me or does the name Seiji Maehara sound like a horse racing jockey?
But Kaieda, who has led efforts to contain the nuclear crisis, leapt into the front row alongside them late on Friday after party kingmaker Ichiro Ozawa, who controls the DPJ's biggest faction, voiced support for him.
And he lifted a pinky finger is his direction. Don't forget the power of the Ozawa pinky in your direction!
Ozawa, a divisive figure who faces a criminal trial over a donations scandal, leads up to 130 lawmakers, although he has lost his party membership following his indictment over the scandal.
This is great: divisive figure, criminal trial, donations scandal, leads 130 lawmakers... think that pretty much sums up the political situation here in a nutshell.
"We need support of Ozawa at a time of crisis," Kaieda told reporters late Friday.
Ha! Ha! Ha! "We need support of Ozawa at a time of crisis"!? Tell me, Einstein, when is Japan not in a crisis?
Kaieda, 62, a well-known economist before he turned to politics, also won support of former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, a close ally with Ozawa.
Hatoyama? Oh, yeah. I seem to remember that name. He was the guy who promised to kick out the US military if elected and that he would..... ZZZZZZzzzzzzz.......
Kaieda came to be at odds with Kan, who made a policy shift away from nuclear power generation while Kaieda was trying to convince local governments to restart reactors that went offline after the disaster.
Maehara, 49, who stepped down as foreign minister in March over a donations row, could become the nation's youngest post-war prime minister. He is against raising taxes to ease Japan's fiscal woes.
Get it? Kaieda who has the support of a divisive figure who is involved with a criminal trail over a donations scandal and is supported by another loser who couldn't keep his election promises is up against another guy who has his own doantions scandal.... Ever see that British TV show, "Yes, Minister"?
(and now for a short comedy interlude about government)
Back to the article:
Noda, 54, who recently courted controversy with statements supporting war criminals, has softened his earlier stance on hiking taxes.
Doh! How many times have I told these idiots that you don't talk about raising taxes before an election? See? This Noda guy is not completely and totally stupid. He's toned it down. Now, if he becomes PM that will only prove the rest of the nation is completely and totally stupid.
The winner faces the unenviable task of overseeing Japan's biggest post-war reconstruction, resolving the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago, and shielding the economy from a soaring yen.
...And the task of trying to stay in office for more than two weeks... With the even more daunting task of trying not to say something stupid once a day.
The new premier must also unite a divided parliament, decide on a new post-Fukushima energy policy and win market confidence that Japan can overcome a legislative quagmire to address the world's biggest debt mountain.
Read that last sentence again: "The new premier must also unite a divided parliament, decide on a new post-Fukushima energy policy and win market confidence that Japan can overcome a legislative quagmire to address the world's biggest debt mountain."
Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Just remember, no matter who becomes the next Japanese prime minister, he will look good is you just always repeat the mantra: March 11, disaster, earthquake, tsunami, Fukushima Dai ichi and Naoto Kan.
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NOTE: The international and local media are really turning up the gears on this new Japanese prime minister nonsense. Like I said, "who cares?" Nothing is going to change.
My good friend George Williams turned me on to this great British TV show, that I highly recommend that you watch. It is a wonderful documentary about how TV makes people stupid:
