Far East Cynic

Some of the things that are going on in my home country of the USA, make me wonder if the inmates have taken over the asylum. As I have said before, the idea of returning to a “suburban” existence in the USA, makes my skin crawl. I suspect I might be forced into it, if for some reason my job here were to go away (always a risk these days in the DOD…..), but I won’t go quietly.

So in the interim here are two more reasons why I’m glad I’m here and they are there:

Cindy Sheehan. This media circus makes absolutely no sense to me. The woman met with the President already. He’s not going to change his mind and neither is she. Her husband is divorcing her. Her family thinks she has gone nuts. Right wing wackos like Bill O’Reilly think she is an agent of the devil himself. How crazy is all of this?

Actually, Lex posted the most common sense argument that I have seen: just ignore her and leave her alone. If this brings closure to her and makes her feel useful, then go ahead and let her knock herself out. So long as no laws are violated, which I guarantee you the Secret Service and the Crawford authorities are going to make sure of, let her rant in the wind. Hell, here in Japan we get right wing speaker trucks out on the street at least once a week. Nobody thinks anything of it except them:

The loud-speaker-mounted trucks of the uyoku , or ultra-nationalists, are an inescapable and noisy feature on the streets of every Japanese city. These mobile ghetto blasters, decorated with Rising Sun flags and screaming slogans, blare out distasteful right-wing messages or stop outside large companies and banks, broadcasting embarrassing statements about them. There are estimated to
be around a thousand such ultra-nationalist groups in Japan, and to a startling extent, the police turn a blind eye (and deaf ear) to their activities. Politicians and the media who openly criticize the ideals and institutions they hold dear, such as the imperial household, set themselves up for some kind of nasty retribution.

Another thing I am thankful for:

Michelle Macaglang does not live here. ( you know her, she’s the C**T). Although of Asian descent she would never , ever, admit it. During my research about Cindy Sheehan, I remain just mystified at the strength of the vitriol she spews forth every day. The Duck has a nice post pointing out the nice looking lady’s sins and misdemeanors as well as some good links to sites that do nothing but monitor and fact check her every word. Actually The Duck has a pretty good analysis of her very warped thought processes:

“It’s sweet to see Ms. Maglalang getting her comeuppance for her Macbeth-like plotting, conniving and prevaricating. All over the blogosphere, you’ll see references to her outrageous efforts to demolish the character” of anyone who has opinions contrary to hers. .

What of course is really interesting is her bio and some history of how she got to be the “uberblogger” that she is, and more importantly makes a handsome living doing it too.

“There’s the question of how mediagenic an author is. That’s looks, partly, and Malkin is making the most out of that. It’s also a question of how quote-friendly or talk-show articulate an author is, and here Malkin has comes off fairly poorly, but certainly better than most academics might. On television, Malkin simply appears to be not terribly bright. Most academics have a different problem in the media, and that’s an inability to compress what they know into digestible, amusing bits and to know when and how to take a joke and roll with the punches. “

From the History News Network…….

Its frustrating. I can write just as badly as she can, and my readership is in the 1000 range, hers is in the hundreds of thousands. Its just not fair! Especially since her only main talent seems to be stirring the pot:

Now, both O’Reilly and Malkin claim, erroneously, to be journalists, but neither seemed inclined to dig a bit deeper into claims made by a notorious almost hit and entirely miss outfit like
Drudge before they slime the mother of one of the troops they constantly claim to support. Nope, they just ran with it, for gosh sakes. Let’s not call them journalists, but admit that they play them on TV.

From my view in the cheap seats, Malkin is not a critical writer at all. As I said before, she uses no critical thought , she just prints it out with strength. On average, she puts out 6-7 posts a day. Not bad for a supposed homemaker. There are those who say she has a ghost writer, although she denies it vehemently.

Of course, if Michelle ever decides to remember her roots, there is a place where she can work. After all, she’s already established what she is, this is just a matter of haggling over the price!

Skippy-san

P.S. While doing the spell check for this post, every time the word Malkin came up, the alternative Blogger gave me was “malign”. Who said computers can’t think?

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I was in my office about an hour ago when the chair started shaking. No I was not falling asleep, pleasuring myself, or any other such thing. The floor was just moving, gently but it was moving. The walls of the building were shaking and there was a low groan as the building was moving in response to the ground moving beneath it. The hanging lights were swaying, the coffee in the cups shaking.

Jishin! (???earthquake).

Turns out there was a large earthquake up in Sendai. 7.0 on the scale. Read all about it here.
Usually I don’t feel an earthquake until the building comes crashing down around me. To feel this level of tremor from over 200 miles away……..oh boy!

Better yet watch the video!!!

So I guess this means we can’t leave early?

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Japanese citizens listen to the Emperor broadcast the news that Japan had accepted the Potsdam declaration

In Japan, August 15 is known as Shusen kinenbi ??????(literally, end of the war memorial day.) This year is the 60th anniversary of the end of taiheiyou dai sensou.????????The Pacific War). At noon, August 15 1945 Showa (Emperor Hirohito) made the following broadcast:

To our good and loyal subjects: After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in our empire today, we have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered our Government to communicate to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that our empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration.

To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well-being of our subjects is the solemn obligation which has been handed down by our imperial ancestors and which we lay close to the heart. Indeed, we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to insure Japan’s self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement.

But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone–the gallant fighting of our military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of out servants of the State and the devoted service of our 100,000,000 people–the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest. Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.

Such being the case, how are we to save the millions of our subjects, nor to atone ourselves before the hallowed spirits of our imperial ancestors? This is the reason why we have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the joint declaration of the powers. We cannot but express the deepest sense of regret to our allied nations of East Asia, who have consistently cooperated with the Empire toward the emancipation of East Asia.

The thought of those officers and men as well as others who have fallen in the fields of battle, those who died at their posts of duty, or those who met death [otherwise] and all their bereaved families, pains our heart night and day. The welfare of the wounded and the war sufferers and of those who lost their homes and livelihood is the object of our profound solicitude.

The hardships and sufferings to which our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the [unavoidable] and suffering what is unsufferable.

Having been able to save and maintain the structure of the Imperial State, we are always with you, our good and loyal subjects, relying upon your sincerity and integrity. Beware most strictly of any outbursts of emotion that may engender needless complications, of any fraternal contention and strife that may create confusion, lead you astray and cause you to lose the confidence of the world.

Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith of the imperishableness of its divine land, and mindful of its heavy burden of responsibilities, and the long road before it. Unite your total strength to be devoted to the construction for the future. Cultivate the ways of rectitude, nobility of spirit, and work with resolution so that you may enhance the innate glory of the Imperial State and keep pace with the progress of the world.

There is an interesting account of Japan’s longest day here. I find it interesting that Japan had actually been in surrender negotiations for some time prior to the Hiroshima bombing. However, sadly for Japan, they labored under an illusion that the Soviet Union might bring them some salvation:

Japan was waiting for Russia to respond to their request for negotiations before making any moves. They hoped for a reply around August 6 or 7. Instead, on August 6th an atomic bomb was dropped on the population of Hiroshima. And on the night of August 8th, Russia declared war on Japan (IMTFE, pg. 31,172).

During this time (Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) Kido continued to discuss the need for peace with the emperor and members of the government. On August 12th he steered Prime Minister Suzuki back to favoring surrender when Suzuki wavered (IMTFE, pg. 31,184 – 31,186).

Kido’s final effort for peace was probably also his most harrowing. On the morning of August 14th he received word that U.S. planes were dropping leaflets on Japan containing the U.S. and Japanese peace proposals. Fearing a backlash by the Japanese military, Kido rushed to advise the emperor, in Kido’s words, “to command the government without further loss of time to go through the formalities for terminating the war”. The emperor agreed and sent Kido to make arrangements with Suzuki for the government to meet. The government surrendered that day at the emperor’s request (IMTFE, pg. 31,189 – 31,190; Statements, Kido, no. 61541; see also Butow, pg. 205-209, Sigal, pg. 267-271).

Click here to see some fascinating correspondence between Japan and the United States regarding the surrender.

Still, when the news was announced the reaction of the Japanese people was shock:

It was August 15, 1945, shortly before noon. What followed would never be forgotten.

Aihara Yu was twenty-eight years old then, a farmer’s wife in rural Shizuoka prefecture. Through the decades to come, the day would replay itself in her memory like an old
filmstrip, a staccato newsreel in black and white.

She was working outdoors when a messenger arrived breathless from the village. It had been announced that the emperor would be making a personal broadcast at noon, he exclaimed before rushing off. Everyone was to come and listen.

The news that America, the land of the enemy, had disappeared into the sea would hardly have been more startling. The emperor was to speak! In the two decades since he had ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, Emperor Hirohito had never once spoken directly to all his subjects. Until now the sovereign’s words had been handed down in the form
of imperial rescripts all as printed texts, pronouncements humbly read by others. Half a century later, Aihara could still recall every detail. She rushed to the village, repeating over and over to herself a line from the Imperial Rescript on Education, which everyone knew by heart from daily recitation during their school years. “Should any emergency arise,” it went, “offer yourselves courageously to the State.” She knew the country’s situation was desperate and could only imagine that the emperor was going to exhort every Japanese to make even greater efforts to support the war. A? to be prepared, indeed, to fight to the bitter end.

The villagers had gathered around the single local radio over which the single state-run station was received. Reception was poor. Static crackled around the emperor’s words, and the words themselves were difficult to grasp. The emperor’s voice was high pitched and his enunciation stilted. He did not speak in colloquial Japanese, but in a highly formal language studded with ornamental classical phrases. Aihara was just exchanging puzzled glances with others in the crowd when a man who had recently arrived from bombed-out Tokyo spoke up almost, she recalled, as if to himself. “This means,” he whispered,
“that Japan has lost.”

Or as Douglas MacArthur said 3 weeks later:

Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won….

As I look back upon the long, tortuous trail from those grim days of Bataan and Corregidor, when an entire world lived in fear, when democracy was on the defensive everywhere, when modern civilization trembled in the balance, I thank a merciful God that he has given us the faith, the courage and the power from which to mold victory. We have known the bitterness of defeat and the exultation of triumph, and from both we have learned there can be no turning back. We must go forward to preserve in peace what we won in war.

A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concepts of war.

Men since the beginning of time have sought peace…. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural development of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.

Skippy-san

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Tonight is the Tokyo Bay fireworks. The S.O. and I were supposed to be on a train there by now, but thanks to the arrival of her “monthly friend” she has been laid low and begged off. At first I was miffed and a tad bit skeptical, then by accident, I stumbled on a detailed play by play of the experience on Helen’s blog. Since her complaints echoed many of the S.O.’s, I took pity on her, put her up on the couch with a blanket and a glass of wine and proceeded to make dinner. Besides, she wants to conserve her strength to go play golf tomorrow, so how can any one argue with that? I would be curious to see if you ladies out there agree with Helen’s description.

So we stayed in and had dinner. Since she is not feeling well, not much else to do except blog:

So with time on my hands and beer on my desk, might as well do a round up of events on the proper side of the international date line (e.g. west of it!)

The big news here in Japan is Prime Minister Koizumi’s decision to tell the opposition to “bring it on!” by dissolving parliament and calling for new elections. This is a very risky move on his part, because the issue in question, postal service privatization is not necessarily a sure win for him. Now for the folks on the wrong side of the dateline……perhaps you are wondering what the big deal is over something like postal reform. Here in Japan, the postal system is also a huge bank. The better way to think of this situation: Its as if the US Senate would kill the President of the United States’ plan to overhaul Social Security: So GW dissolves congress and stakes his reputation over this:

Manages 25% of Japan’s personal assets
25,000 offices and 260,000 employees
330 trillion yen (nearly $3 trillion) in savings and deposits
85% of population has postal savings

Add to that, much of the population is not wild about the government tinkering with their retirement savings…..( Remember too, retirement age here is much lower than in the states…) and you can see the problem

Furthermore, those assets are a huge slush fund that the government takes advantage of to pay bills, build roads, even build buildings on American bases. No self respecting Japanese politician wants to much with that pork barrel gravy train. So the fight will be a tough one:

But the plans had been opposed by many, who feared they would lead to a poorer postal services.

Opponents also said the reforms would lead to many job losses in rural communities.

Japan Post is a huge organization, which has about 25,000 post offices nationwide, which all sell the system’s savings and insurance products, as well as regular postal services.

In contrast, the seven main national banks have only 2,600 branches between them.

Japan Post is also the biggest buyer of Japanese government bonds, helping Tokyo maintain unusually high levels of public debt.

In rural areas it has been traditionally used by politicians as an unofficial vote-gathering machine – and has often been used to support politically popular public works.

Local post masters have a certain status in small communities, and the job is often handed down over generations.

The package of six bills proposed that Japan Post became privatized by 2017, and divided into private companies handling mail delivery, banking and insurance.

There are huge ramifications for the US if Koizumi loses, particularly as the negotiations for basing a nuclear carrier are coming to their end game. Many had expected an annoucement this fall, that the Japanese government would allow a nuclear powered carrier to be homported in Yokosuka. Koizumi loses….who knows?

The election is less than a month away, should be interesting to watch.

Stay tuned to these pages, in an upcoming post I will talk about those US bases and their future……..

Skippy-san

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Just got back from going to the dentist for a cleaning. Necessary though it is, it just goes to reaffirm why I could never have been a doctor or a dentist. Hats off to those who do. Especially good looking Dental Assistants!

(Images courtesy of www.drfreyman.com)

Why is it having your teeth cleaned and getting fluoride makes you feel like you have had 6 of these?

Ouch!

Skippy-san

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Woke up early this morning. MSNBC is on, talking about cheating. They have the usual cast of criminals on, a pontificating bitch arguing that marriage is holy and sacred, a bimbo who says every one is doing it, Ron Reagan….(not sure where he comes down on this….) and a psychologist.

Now I’m not going to get into a rant on the pro’s and cons of marriage and fidelity. I think you guys know I’m skeptical about marriage in general so I’m not exactly an unbiased observer on the subject.

What I want to talk about however is one of the examples they cited, the Army’s dismissal of a 4 star general: Kevin P. Byrnes, was relieved Monday by the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, just a few months before General Byrnes was scheduled to retire as head of the Army Training and Doctrine Command.

The reason: “An adult relationship with a woman who is not in the military, nor is a civilian employee of the military or the federal government.”

Now before everyone goes high and right on me about the UCMJ and adultery, its important to remember this other little tidbit:

General Byrnes has told associates that the relationship began after his separation from his wife, Carol Byrnes, in May 2004. General Byrnes, 55, filed for divorce in March, according to documents filed with the Texas district court in Henderson County.

The divorce became final this week, according to the statement issued by his lawyer.

So let me get this straight. There is no fraternization or crossing military boundaries, he is already separated, and as any one who has been through the hell that is contested divorce in America knows, getting a final divorce decree does not happen overnight. So the guy is just supposed to remain celibate for a year and half? Give me a break.

It should also be noted that “an investigation found no evidence that he had used his position as head of the training command in connection with the case, an Army official said.”

Something does not compute here……..

Its always bothered me that an organization that is devoted to a collective immorality, namely the mass murder of one’s fellow human beings, tries to get up on a moral high horse when it comes to sex and relationships. That’s not to say we do not need standards or discipline in the military, but trying to hold everyone to a Judeo- Christian morality is a little steep. The only real question that should be asked is this:

DOES THE RELATIONSHIP GET IN THE WAY OF DOING BUSINESS?

That is what makes fraternization bad, and why Sailors dating Sailors, even if they are the same rank is a bad thing. Its why, as I witnessed once, boinking one of your JO’s wives is not a good thing. ( True story and the CO in question got fired………). Its what got an Army one star fired in Turkey back in 1999. All of those actions were right and justified.

However, that is not the case here. And if you are going to apply the “celibacy standard” to everyone going through a divorce, you are going to have to put away a lot of military people. Most guys I know, myself included, as soon as they got separated; were nailing the first girl who said “yes”. If for no other reason than to re-affirm their manhood after having it emasculated by some usless excuse for a woman. Good grief!

So again I will ask the question, what else is going on here? I’ll bet some anonomyous toad made a hotline call and then they were off to races. Based on the disclosed evidence though, I have a hard time seeing what the General did wrong.

Plus, his ex will probably get a tidy sum out of the deal. Sure seems fair to me…..NOT!

Enquiring minds want to know……….

Skippy-san

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Its amazing what 12 hours of sleep will do for a person. While I was in Guam I got about that amount over 3 days. Last night I was in bed by 7:30……..Now if I can just remember to eat 3 squares per day and remember that beer is not a food group.

It always amazes me when I go to Guam. The island has such potential, but because of corruption and downright nepotism it will never realize it. I had a bunch of other questions too, since being US territory and all, what’s with all the massage parlors, karoke bars and strip clubs? Like Chris Rock said in his comedy routine, “Ain’t no sex happening in the Champagne room….” Since that’s the case, (and a little voice in me doubts it….) how do these places stay around?

Can’t be that many tourists with sore feet or lower backs at 2 in the morning……..

The newspapers in Guam had some interesting news. Seems the main hospital there is going broke despite repeated cash infusions from the government to the tune of 6, 000,000 dollars. Of course it could be they have 15 people on a housekeeping staff of one activity, when the industry standard says 7 will do……but hey what do I know? I also saw more junked cars in the villages then I think I’ve seen anywhere except Puerto Rico. Come to think of it, Guam reminds me of Puerto Rico.

Also saw in the paper that a Congressional delegation was stopping through on their way to China……..but of course. Never let the nations business get in the way of a weekend of windsurfing and golf……..

If Guam belonged to the Philippines I could believe it, but this is American territory. They can and should do better. And don’t even get me started on how screwed up the United States Air Force is up at Andersen Air Force base…….

Hey, its a great way of life.

Skippy-san

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Came home from Guam today. I am tired. I’m going to have to figure out something different, I just don’t have the stamina to burn the candle at all ends like I did this trip. Guess that’s a sign of getting older.

Lots of work to catch up on first, then some serious blogging……..

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There is a reason they tell you that staying up til 3 am drinking and then trying to make an 8:06 tee time is not a good idea……….

However I made it and played some soggy golf up at Alte today. The rain here never seems to stop. Now that said it held off long enought to get in 18……….., as for my score, well, the less said the better. Fairways were wet and I checked out as many bunkers and water hazards as I could.

Stuck here in Dial-up hell…….thus no posts of any significance for a few days. To my small readership, please be patient. I’ll have a full play be play of my sojurn here in a few days.

However I tell you this, Thailand this ain’t………

Got to go. 7:02 tomorrow………

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I don’t make this stuff up………

That being said there sure is a lot of buffoonry going around these days. Consider a few juicy tidbits:

From a few years back under the category of going the extra mile…….

I can’t believe this. But it was in the Japanese paper, they never lie..(wink , wink). This is kind of like the movies:

EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE – NIGHT

Forrest sits on a swing outside the house. Loud organic male grunts are heard coming from inside the house. Forrest sits on the swing as the grunts continue. The principal steps out of the Gump House and wipes the sweat from his face. Forrest is sitting on the porch.

PRINCIPAL: “Well, your momma sure does care about your schooling, son. Mm-mm-mm.”

The principal wipes the sweat from his neck, then looks back at Forrest.

Read the rest for yourself . Its like the chicken and the pig: the dad has a passing interest in school, that kid’s mom is totally committed!

Speaking of education, how about those teachers who believe in tutoring their students in more than just the 3 “r’s”? :

“Until her mid-June firing, Geisel taught English at CBA, an all-boys high school near Albany. In interviews with the Colonie Police Department, the teenager gave cops a graphic account of his encounters with Geisel (whom he called a “good teacher”) at her home and in the press box at the school’s football field.”

As the Canadian Skippy says, “C’mon, you retards think you had a dedicated teacher? This one gave two of her students handjobs in the back of the school bus! I think we can all give a hearty “f**k you” to that To Sir, With Love nonsense, don’t you? We have a new world champion!”

Of course, he is not blind to the pyschological damage this can cause:

The simple mathematical probability is this: they got the best poontang they’ll ever get and they got it before they knew how to properly f**k it.These kids are doomed and I couldn’t be happier.

Amazing!

Also Lost Nomad has a movie recommendation:

Its called “She’s on duty” and he thinks its great!

Meanwhile over in China, Spike picked the perfect weekend to go to Shanghai!

I’m traveling myself tomorrow…off to Guam for a few days of golf and whatever other ideas I can arrange.

Suspect I’ll drink a few of these:

And hope to play some golf (or some other game) with a few of these:

More info to follow………

Skippy-san

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To continue with my personal crusade againstUSFSPA injustice….; discussed here, here, and here.

Yesterday, I came across this little tidbit from Tom Philpott in his Military Update column at Military.com. A true example of DOD lawyer double talk if you ever heard it:

To correct a point in your Military Update, the Defense Department has stated its position and advised Congress on this issue of amending the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act numerous times.
The Department supports the concept that the portion of a member’s retired pay that may be treated as property should be based on the
retiree’s length of service and pay grade at the time of divorce.
The Department does not believe that the USFSPA authorizes state courts to issue orders that would financially compel the member to retire to make retired pay available to a former spouse. Since the member is not entitled to receive retired pay prior to retirement, courts should not be permitted to require the member to make current payments to the former spouse based on the treatment of the member’s future retired pay as property.
Without this prohibition, military members may be economically compelled to retire to satisfy a court order requiring current payments to the former spouse.

ELLEN G.KRENKE

Lieutenant Colonel,

USAF Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Public AffairsThe Pentagon

Thanks Ellen. Thanks for nothing. Thanks for proving my theory that the only people I hold in lower esteem than lawyers are public affairs officers…….good job spouting a flawed party line. The DOD lawyers did a fine job ignoring the real issues at play here. No wonder Vigilis hates them……..

If the point is wrong, then stating it over and over again simply continues the same injustice.

Lets go over it again:

1) Military retirement is different from a civilian pension.
2) Its wrong to give it away.
3) It is DOD’s job to stick up for service members; not the scum sucking leeches/worthless whore contingent of ex-wives who did nothing to earn this welfare check from the US government.
4) You know in your heart I’m right.

Questions?

One P.O.ed Skippy-san

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As long as I have been around the US government in a working capacity, I have been astounded at how often the General Accounting Office (an office of Congress) f**ks things up. Today, reading Stars and Stripes I was given yet another reminder of their inability to portray an accurate picture. In an article by Tom Philpott, about a recent study by this inept organization that says the problem in the military is not that troops need to be better compensated and taken care of, no, they need to be brainwashed into believing what they have is good enough, so Dr Chu can save more money for his boss. This appeared in today’s Stars and Stripes. Way to go, boys and girls, you screwed up again……..

There is only one correct response here, straight out of the movie Goodfellas:
” F**K you, pay me!.” That’s right, my dear fellows at the GAO, stop whining about how much earned benefits cost, instead just SHUT UP AND PAY THE BILL!

According to the article, “despite the recent competiveness of military compensation, GAO confirmed through focus groups with active duty service members what DOD survey’s also show- that many are dissatisfied and misinformed (my emphasis added) about their compensation”

Translation: Because civilian employers have increasingly been allowed to screw their employees, DOD should be allowed to do so too. And if soldiers want the benefits their country owes them, then somehow it is all their fault.

I submit to you, it is GAO, not the Armed Services, “that has failed to educate[the public] about their compensation.” Trust me, Soldiers and Sailors know all about what is fair, and GAO and their logic to deny benefits that are rightfully earned, is totally unfair.

Listen to me GAO, if you want to educate someone about compensation that is not earned……tell DOD to talk to my ex-wife!

As you can probably tell, stupid business reports such as this one get my blood boiling. Makes me want to fly to Washington DC, go straight to the GAO office, and GO POSTAL!!!!!. Since I cannot, I will tell you the only words that are appropriate: “You’re flat wrong”. It is particularly disgusting because Dr. David Chu will use a report like this to further oppose doing the right thing in terms of veterans benefits. It is what he does best.

Since the GAO only deals in numbers, let me give you a few numbers (you ignorant twits):

1821, 13819, 214. Those are the numbers that matter and should remind you that this is a butcher’s bill our Soldiers, Sailors Airman and Marines have paid. 1821 dead in Iraq, 13, 819 wounded, and 214 dead in Afghanistan and other regions. Those are the only numbers that matter to me.

Corporations do not have the right to ask employees to die for the corporation. The Armed Services have that as an unwritten part of the contract. In exchange for taking care of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines, they in turn, agree to be available for their nation and to fight and possibly die in executing the orders of the President and the officers appointed over them. That means that there is no amount of compensation of benefits that is somehow too much. There cannot be too much effort expended taking care of the members of the Armed Forces.

Today’s 19, 20, and 21 year old is actually a lot smarter about money than I was at that age. And they are happy with their salaries , however they know that if they move on to veteranhood, there is no guarantee that Congress or guys like David Chu won’t try to screw them out of what they were promised.

Accordingly the only proper reaction to this report is outrage.

Just shut up and pay them!

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Its August and so in Japan that means two things: 1) lots of headlines about Hiroshima and Nagasaki and as the days countdown to August 15, TV shows about the War on Japanese TV. Last year they ran a drama about a family in Okinawa during World War II. This year it is about an elementary school on one of the outlying Islands during the war. It’s actually pretty good programming, and it shows life “on the other side”. This years program is called nijyuyon no hitome (??????24 sets of eyes……) . The S.O. had to explain a lot to me, but it was still very interesting. It was not on NHK , but on another channel.

Meanwhile on NHK they have:

Documentaries that underline the value of peaceThis year, we will mark the 60th summer since the end of Second World War. Those with personal experience of
war are now advanced in age. NHK will present intensive peace-related programming on an unprecedented scale during the coming summer.
On General TV, NHK Special observes the anniversary with an intensive series starting on Saturday, August 6. NHK Hiroshima prepares a documentary titled A-Bomb Survivors’ Record of Life for airing on August 6, meanwhile Zone: Nuclear
Weapons and Mankind on August 7 will delve into the meaning of nuclear weapons.
NHK Nagasaki produces Burned Backs: A Couple who Still Bear Marks of the A-bomb, which will be aired on August 9. A documentary feature on August 8, Inquiry:
Nuclear Weapon on the Black Market (tentative title), will investigate the smuggling of nuclear weapon. This is How Japan Was Reduced to Ashes on August 13 examines indiscriminate bombing from a global point of view. Neighbors at War: Truths Revealed Six Years After, on August 14, focuses on the current conditions
in Kosovo Province of the former Yugoslavia.

Its important to remember that August 15 is known as “shusen kinenbi”, the anniversary of the end of the war. It is a solemn and somber occasion when many Japanese question whether there was any positive meaning to their loved ones’ deaths and the nation’s suffering. Many express contrition about the millions of lives squandered among Japanese, among the conquered nations of Asia, and their Western adversaries, and vow never again to embark on aggressive war. In Japan’s collective discourse on the war, there is no equivalent to the victorious Allied nations’ heroic narrative of perseverance and self-sacrifice producing a positive outcome. In the new millennium, however, such views clash with those of Japanese neonationalists who proclaim the “positive” aspect of Japan’s war and press for a more aggressive Japanese foreign policy as seen, for example, in the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq in 2004.

Try telling that to the commies over in China………

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Turned on the news to find out that King Fahd of Saudi Arabia is dead. He may as well as have been dead for the last 10 years since everyone knows it was Crown Prince Abdullah who has been exercising the power during that time. Guess the Saudi’s don’t have a procedure for abdication.

Right wing bloggers are hailing this as a victory for democratization in the middle east. Trust me, its not, rather since Abdullah holds the power it means now he is free to do what he wants. Furthermore, the US does not need a democratic Saudi Arabia, it needs a stable monarchy there. Democracy in Saudi Arabia, means a Sunni version of Iran.

Also since Abdullah is 81, he is now in a caretaker status with the jockeying to begin on his succession. Lets look at the front running candidates:

A second factor governing the influence of Saudi princes is maternal lineage–Abdul Aziz had several wives. Sons of Abdul Aziz who are full brothers have tended to form cohesive political alliances against other sibling factions. The most influential and faction is the so-called “Sudairi Seven,” sons of Abdul Aziz’s wife Hussa al-Sudairi, and is headed by King Fahd. Fahd’s six full brothers include Sultan, the Saudi Defense Minister; Nayef, the Interior Minister; and Salman, the governor of Riyadh. The Sudairi Seven are also the most pro-Western faction, strongly supporting Saudi Arabia’s alliance with the United States.
Abdullah, however, is not a member of the Sudairi seven. Prior to the 1990-91 Gulf Crisis, Abdullah is said to have criticized the kingdom’s dependence on American military protection. Believing that Saudi Arabia’s long-term security is best served through warm relations with the larger community of Arab and Islamic states, Abdullah has taken the lead in bolstering Saudi relations with Iran and Syria.
Discernible shifts in foreign policy have already begun to evolve over the last three years as Abdullah has assumed more and more de facto ruling power amid Fahd’s physical and political eclipse–Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Iran is the most notable example of this.
The most important question is not whether Abdullah will succeed Fahd–this is widely expected by most experts–but who will succeed Abdullah. Under the terms of a 1994 law, Abdullah can designate his successor irrespective of seniority. It is possible, therefore, that he will attempt to bypass Sultan, the next-eldest son of Abdul Aziz and a member of the Sudairi seven, in favor of one of his younger full brothers. An attempt to remove Sultan, who is now the Saudi defense minister, from the line of succession could generate a fierce power struggle in the kingdom. Although Abdullah commands the 57,000 members of the National Guard, the leadership of the 105,000-strong Armed Forces is clearly aligned with Sultan.

(source: http://www.meib.org/articles/9910_me2.htm).

Of note, Abdullah named Sultan to be the crown Prince not long after being designated King. No fool he, he knows this little bit of skullduggery will take time.

As I pointed out a while back, there is a difference in what is good for the Arabian states and what is good for the United States. The question is, does the President understand this, and will he deviate from his “democracy for all” theme in order to look out, selfishly, for US interests? I doubt it.

Time will tell…….

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