Far East Cynic

By Berkley Breathed.

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On my back across the pond to the correct side of the International Date Line. United has surpassed my already low expectations by dropping me into SFO 2 hours late. Fortunately I planned for this, having done more than a coupld OJ esque runs to the gate before. So I am in the lounge catching up.

Yesterday, during our meeting, I was very unpleasantly suprised when one of the principals opened the meeting my holding up a copy of Mark Steyn’s America Alone, The end of the world as we know it.. He pronounced that reading this book was critical to understanding the US war effort. He really meant it. In what had to be my daily faux paux-I sat there slowly shaking my head.

First-I don’t agree with Steyn on so many things and I am not a big fan of his Eurabia hypothesis. Its not so much the theory-its Steyn’s explanation of the causes of it. He trots out the familar canards.

More importantly though-it highlights the problem with so called “sanctioned” reading lists. They don’t really provide diverse points of view. They simply reflect the agenda of the person who puts them together. Look at the US Navy’s “Official” reading list for example. There are some good books on it. However it is what it is-a list made from a certain opinion.

My reading list for Naval Officers would be much different. For starters, all of the so called “business books” would be gone in order to make room for more of the classics, and more history reading. A book by Rudy Giuliani would not make the cut-as it hardly qualifies as a classic. I’m a big believer that the Navy does a fine job of educating its officer technically and a lousy job in educating its officers in terms of history, philosophy and critical thinking and argument. My point is proven whenever I pick up the Naval Institute proceedings and see an author quoting Max Boot as a “strategic thinker”. -GAG, SNIFF, SNORT.

However in the end it would be just my opinion. Just like the guy who recommends Mark Steyn. The problem is that he is doing it from a position of authority so it sounds more important than it really is.

Its just an opinion. And those are like……?

UPDATE! Expat at Large has a better explanation over at his place.

I wonder how many of the Navy’s books are on this list:

Probably not too many…………..

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Finished with the meetings today and getting everything arranged for the exercise in pain next month in Korea.

Talked to the S.O. today. I have never, ever , heard her talk so much about politics so much before. She even e-mailed me to tell me about LDP getting their ass handed to them in the House of Councillors election. Amazing. She was positively giddy about Abe-san being in really big trouble politically.

Read for yourself.

Simply amazing. I’ve know the woman for over five years,and I have never seen her this interested in politics. Every time I think I have her figured out-she goes and surprises me.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition was thoroughly trounced in Sunday’s election, losing its majority in the House of Councilors, nearly complete returns showed.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces reporters Sunday night at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo after confirmation of the LDP defeat in the Upper House poll.

The Democratic Party of Japan meanwhile took over as the leading force in the Upper House.

Despite the huge setback for his Liberal Democratic Party, Abe said he plans to stay in power.

“As prime minister, I have promised to carry out reforms . . . and it is my duty (as prime minister) to fulfill that promise,” he said in a televised interview at LDP headquarters.

As of 12:30 a.m. Monday, the DPJ had captured 59 seats, far better than the 35 gained by the LDP, with results for seven of the 121 seats up for grabs still undecided, according to Kyodo News.

New Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition ally, secured seven seats, while the Japanese Communist Party won three and the Social Democratic Party captured one.

The combined seats won by the LDP and New Komeito fell far short of the 64 they needed to keep control of the Upper House.

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In Japan. Today was voting for the upper house of the Diet. Just got off the phone with the S.O. I asked her who she voted for and she told me MINSHUTO. (Democratic Party of Japan). She said she wanted to do anything that would be opposed to the Abe party. (JIMINTO-Liberal Democratic Party-the leading partyh in Japan).

So we both don’t like the leaders of our respective countries. Maybe there is hope for us after all.

How many months till November 2008?

Time for bed. Tonight was the ritual “eat a big ass steak in Texas dinner-hear your arteries harden as you do” dinner. I’m stuffed. Shiner Bock was good though.

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Today was a good work day. S.O. is pissed off at me, because when she called my cell phone, I answered with the back ground noise of one of my favorite bars in the background. ………..How many times have I told you not call?

So I had finished the conversation and had another beer. Seemed like the only thing to do.

ANYWAY.

Today was a choice: work over, play twilight at Hawks Creek Golf course ….or blog. What would you do?

I know what I did. FORE!

Thank God for Daylight Savings Time…….

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Of Texas.

Greetings from the land of fat women.

Flight over was OK. I used my cunning and wit to outwit the travel office and get the flights book on the airline I wanted. ( The Australia trip put a big hole in my plans to get top tier status with Star Alliance…..)..

I did not sleep very well on the first leg to SFO. So when it came time to get to DFW, I was out as soon as I could recline the seat.

Arrive DFW. At the rental car counter, I followed my old adage: Pick the cute lady clerk, smile, and be polite. A larger car was mine for no extra money! ( Of course it took a while, her name was Maria and you know what that means. She was the duty Habla person……).

To the car! Bags in, door closed, set the seat. Turn on the radio-its 5pm by now. Great! I can listen to All Things Considered.

“Today the market took its second biggest drop of the year losing 311 points in today’s trading.”

Well isn’t that special? More good news for me.

Out the exit, turn down the road for the exit to 360. 5 minutes later-parking lot city. 25 minutes later I finally get to I-30. I’m ready to put my fist through the radio……….

Another 30 minutes later I make it to the hotel. Wasn’t that fun? One more thing to admire about Texas………….

Get checked in=email checked, nap ensues. Now I am awake and its 11pm. DOH! This is going to be fun!

Can’t sleep, so maybe I should go out and find some late night fun. Like my hero:

Ja ne! More news when I get in the right time zone.

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To explain Iraq. Japan Probe shows off a new Japanese manga (comic) book explaining the recent Japanese Defense White paper. (Boei hakusho?????)?Quoting from the Mainichi Shinbum:

In the “Manga de Yomu Boeisho Hakusho (Defense Ministry White Papers in Manga)” series printed in 2005, a little girl wearing “Lolita” fashions and an apron is involved in exchanges — sometimes violently — with a hawkish stuffed teddy bear as they rumble over the way Japan should defend itself.News of the story spread through Japan’s Internet and by word of mouth and turned the manga into a hit, with second and third editions hitting the bookstores rapidly. It seemed a given that the publisher, Japan Defense Foundation for Mutual Aid, would be given the contract to print last year’s manga version of the ministry’s white papers, but things didn’t quite turn out that way.

“Publishing rights are decided in public bidding and another company undercut us,” a spokesman from the Japan Defense Foundation for Mutual Aid tells Cyzo. “But it
was such a popular book that we didn’t want its success to end after only a
single year. We asked the same author of the 2005 edition to draw up another
manga using the same characters in a way that would help readers to understand
what’s going on with the defense of Japan.”

I would not exactly call her a “Lolita”, but judge for yourself. The front of the booklet says in Japanese: Heisei 17 (2005 in the Hesei era)-”Comics to read!” ” The Defense of Japan”. Outside the comic is saying, “Comics to read” “The Defense White Paper”.

Just my idea of a childrens bed time story…………

Once inside there are more comics to see.

In a nutshell her and the bear are arguing over whether there is a threat to Japan as the bear is saying Japan is a peace loving country. She yells at him saying there is a threat of war to Japan and needs to be talked about.

And so they do here. Unfortunately it’s in Japanese. Suffice it to say the bear continues saying Japan is a peaceful country and therfore American bases like Okinawa are bad. Which just makes the girl mad. So her and the computer explain why they are necessary. The war on terror, disaster relief, its all there……

Heavy reading.

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For a trip to Hong Kong. Spike reminds me why.

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On Gen Petraeus and the upcoming report. Read his article on David Petraeus and the “New Jesus” problem.

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I’m a baby boomer. And proud of it.

I’ve had it with people who should know better attacking my generation as a bunch of dope smoking, sex fiends, who shirked their responsibilities to serve and protect their country. That the folks born of the period were ” the most narcissistic, damaging and damaged, selfish generations we have ever produced.” People who should know better-like Dean Barnett and others who seem to think that all people born between 1947 and 1964 are somehow defective human beings. Folks with this view that feels as if every thing from the 60′s is painted black:

TO THOSE who were young then, the late 1960s were the best thing since 1789. All that followed paled by comparison. This was the time of the Paris riots, with students hurling cobbles and the flics hurling tear-gas back; the first convulsions over the war in Vietnam; the Prague spring, quickly crushed by Soviet tanks; and everywhere the sense that the young, by sheer numbers, could overthrow the established order and make the world again.If they failed to remake it, this was largely because they were out of it on one illegal substance or another.

That’s crap and so too is this hypothesis by the good Mr Barnett:

In the 1960s, history called the Baby Boomers. They didn’t answer the phone.
Confronted with a generation-defining conflict, the cold war, the Boomers–those, at any rate, who came to be emblematic of their generation–took the opposite path from their parents during World War II. Sadly, the excesses of Woodstock became the face of the Boomers’ response to their moment of challenge.War protests where agitated youths derided American soldiers as baby-killers added no luster to their image. Few of the leading lights of that generation joined the military. Most calculated how they could avoid military service, and their attitude rippled through the rest of the century. In the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, military service didn’t occur to most young people as an option, let alone a duty.But now, once again, history is calling. Fortunately, the present generation appears more reminiscent of their grandparents than their parents.

Besides the point that it is a gross mis-characterization of an entire group of people and an era-that actually has a lot of good things to remember (how many Gen X’ers walked on the moon?)-it is factually incorrect.

As they would say on NPR, lets go do the numbers.

In 1960, the population of the United States was 178,554,916 people. The size of the active duty military in 1960 was 2,475,400 men. (Women were less than 3% of end strength-ah for the good old days!). At the height of the Vietnam War the active duty force was 3,546,100. Expressed as a percentage that means 2% of the total population was serving in the military. In the 1960′s the military was deployed world wide not only trying to win in Vietnam but keeping the Soviet hordes at bay in Europe.

In 1970 the size of the armed forces was 3,064,800. The total American population was just over 203,976,452. Percentage wise about 1.5%

Now fast forward to 2000. US population is now 281,421,906. Total size of the active duty military 1,384,300. 0.4% of the US population was serving in the military. In 2005-5 years into the War on Terror and two years into the Iraq War-the number of people serving was about the same. (Much to the eternal shame of Donald Rumsfeld I might add-a boomer himself).

But wait, you say. The Cold War was on then, there was a draft, people had to serve. To which I reply-so what? The key fact is that they went. Much of the “Greatest generation” was drafted too-does that somehow dimish their service? Are the names on the long black wall in Washington DC somehow less worthy of honor and reverence than these names?

I would take issue with Mr Barnett’s lack of military service-except it would not be fair-he suffers from cystic fibrosis. However the guy he subs for is one of “the leading lights of that generation [who never] joined the military.”. Not our boy Hugh. While I was out boring holes in the Indian Ocean and almost getting shot into it, he was out getting his law degree. Like the fictional fellow barrister Barney Greenwald ( who at least had the decency to serve):

Meantime me, I was advancing little free non-Prussian life for dough. Of course, we figured in those days, only fools go into armed service. Bad pay, no millionaire future, and You can’t call your mind or body your own. Not for sensitive intellectuals. So when all hell broke loose and the Germans started running out of soap and figured, well it’s time to come over and melt down old Mrs. Greenwald–who’s gonna stop them? Not her boy Barney.

Or Hugh Hewitt.

What Barnett, and his mentor really want to do, is to undercut anyone who might happen to have the temerity to think that the talents Mr Barnett is extoling might be being squandered in a conflict that can have no good resolution for the United States. Just like many people had similar thoughts about during the 60′s and 70′s. Most them were not on the streets then. They were paying taxes, voting and doing the working and dying in the US then. Dean Barnett, and his American Spectator editors however, wish to advance the shibboleth that they are intellectually superior to those who hold opposition views to the war in Iraq.

Mr Barnett-before you go throwing rocks at the Boomers about serving-maybe you should look who served and who didn’t. Because of lot of your so-called friends never bothered.

Then, you can just go

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For some reason, physical exams take longer than they used to:

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To Lex and Bullnav. That when a candidate really needs a good photo op-they don’t go to Maryland or Virgina. Republicans or Democrats, when they need to channel the nation………

They go here.

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The Democrats go and show you again that they are their own worst enemy.

You probably don’t know this, but when George Bush says his prayers at night, he probably thanks God for the fact that, if the Democrats have to control Congress, God has given them incompetent leadership. GWB gives thanks for it and prays for the continued health and well being of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

Because if they had leadership that actually understood what was going on, the math in both houses, the resolve of “true believers” like William “the bloody” Kristol, and the relatively weak cards that they have to play-they might actually be able to do something to slow down the Babylon express.

It would actually be funny if the outcome were not so damn important. Because it is so important, its just a tragedy the Democrats are being so poorly led.

One of the interesting things on Mondays is that I get to watch the news shows in the morning as I am getting ready for work and again at lunch. So I got to watch Meet the Press and Face the Nation today. Watching Russ Feingold had me shaking my head again and again. Witness this particular exchange:

MR. RUSSERT: President Bush is determined to continue the war in Iraq, he’s made that very, very clear. Is there anything that Democrats can do to get him to pay attention or to hold him accountable, in their minds?SEN. FEINGOLD: Well, I’m shocked by the administration, in particular the president’s response to the November election. Usually, when presidents are repudiated in elections, they say, “Well, maybe I ought to reassess.” Instead, he did just the opposite. He did this surge, which went contrary to the will of the American people. I think we need to do something serious in terms of accountability. And that’s why I will be shortly introducing a censure resolution of the president and the administration. One, on their getting us into the war of Iraq—in Iraq and their failure to adequately prepare our military and the misleading statements that have continued throughout the war in Iraq. And the second, on this administration’s outrageous attack on the rule of law, all the way from the illegal terrorist surveillance program to their attitude about torture, which we heard a little bit about today on this show. This administration has assaulted the Constitution. We need to have on the historical record some kind of indication that what has happened here is, in the words of Director McConnell, as you just quoted him, disastrous. Somehow we have to address that. And I think it’s a good time to begin that process.

MR. RUSSERT: A censure resolution against the president?

SEN. FEINGOLD: Correct.

Haven’t we been down this road already? And did it not fail miserably? Why does the good Mr Feingold-a Rhodes Scholar, for whatever that proves-seem to think it will work now?

Actually the later analysts on the program summed it up well when they projected that this will blow in his (and Harry Reid’s) face:

MR. RUSSERT: And now a Democratic senator’s going to introduce a resolution to censure him for his conduct in the war.MR. BROOKS: Yeah.

MR. RUSSERT: I think a big tactical mistake from a Democratic perspective. There are 30 Republican senators who are desperate to get away from President Bush. They’ve been pushed back toward President Bush by, one, Harry Reid making this more partisan, and a censure resolution would make it hyper- partisan. So I think it would be huge for the whole political landscape if those Republicans drifted away from Bush. But it’s not going to happen if there’s censure resolutions, if it’s a partisan debate.

I’m 7000+ miles from Washington, vehemently opposed to this war, and frustrated as hell with “the decider”. However I can see that as plain as day. Harry Reid though seems to have trouble using his glasses it seems. Witness his buffoonery on Face the Nation:

HARRY REID: Now, there–I have to say this, Bob. There were a number of valiant Republicans. Olympia Snowe is going to be on your show later. I admire and respect her so much because she broke from the pack and voted with us, as did a number of senators. We need more Olympia Snowes, people who are willing to do the right thing.SCHIEFFER: Well, but that still goes to the point, senator. I mean, it is the impression of many people that you do not want to vote now on any Republican proposals because you don’t feel they go far enough. And we know the get-out-now crowd doesn’t want votes on those–on those issues. The stay-the-course crowd doesn’t want it either. Why do you not want to let people vote on that?

Then later:

REID: One simple amendment–let me just give you one example. Jim Webb from Virginia, he has all the requirements of somebody that has the ability to offer an amendment about how our troops are doing. And he’s said–and by the way, some of your viewers don’t know who he is, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, decorated for courage, his valor–he said these troops are spending too much time over there and not enough time at home. Fifteen months in-country, fifteen months out of country, simple amendment like that. They blocked it, wouldn’t let us vote on it.SCHIEFFER: So in–and we’re going to leave this because I have to ask you about other questions–your position is it’s the Republicans who are still blocking the
vote. They’re going to come on and say, `It’s your fault.’

Sen. REID: Bob…

SCHIEFFER: So the divide is still there. But…

Sen.REID: Bob, but the facts are what they are.

SCHIEFFER: OK. And that’s your version of the facts.

Sharp as a bowling ball-that’s our boy Harry. I guess in Nevada they don’t learn basic arithmetic-like adding and how to do fractions. Otherwise he would come to an inescapable conclusion.

HE DOES NOT HAVE THE VOTES!

Now for the record, I supported Webb’s idea-I still do. He is absolutely right that our forces are getting worn down by not enough turnaround time at home. The fact that some pro-war supporter is not proposing this shows you how much they “really support the troops”-especially since most of them let Rummy beat the Army down to begin with; instead of banging on desks demanding a bigger Army. Guys like Duncan Hunter, Dr Chu, and Mitch McConnell have been just as much a threat to our Soldiers as any insurgent in Iraq has been. That is a story for another day though.

Point is-that if you are going to ask Republicans to risk the wrath of Rove, you have to show them something for the effort. And Harry has done nothing to show any movement to the center. Instead they actually give voice to all of the impeachment nonsense and all the other fal de rol just to appease their so called-pole smoking, tree hugging, feminist loving- “base”, losers each and every one.

So when September rolls around and Gen Petraeus reads the “All is well” script that is currently being written for him in Washington-what will Harry do then?

Not very much, I think.

And so, when Bush gives thanks to God in heaven-he thanks Him heartily for making his opposition stupid.

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Happy Sunday! Its time for this week’s Japanese lesson.

The word for today is genpatsu. ????. Which is the newspapers way of abbreviating genshiryokuhatsudensho (???????-Atomic power plant. There is another word you should probably know too, shinsai (???-disaster. Bousai-????disaster prevention was the headline on the Asahi Shinbum today.

Genpatsu shinsai has been a daily fixture in the newspapers since the Niigata earthquake. Here is why:

KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Pref. — The Niigata Prefectural Government inspected theKashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant Saturday to check for radioactive water leaks and other problems caused by last week’s powerful earthquake.

Volunteer workers from across the nation gather Saturday in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, to help people hit by last week’s earthquake.

The plant — the world’s largest in terms of capacity — announced a barrage of leaks and malfunctions in the wake of last Monday’s magnitude-6.8 temblor, which killed 10 people and injured more than 1,000.

The inspection was based on a safety agreement signed by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., with Niigata Prefecture, the city of Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariwa.

“Concerns over nuclear power plants have been spreading. It is important for Tepco to ensure transparency and promptly disclose information,” Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said after a meeting on the disaster.

The prefectural team spent more than four hours inspecting radiation measurement data provided by Tepco and leak sites after arriving at the nuclear power plant at around 11 a.m.

Fucked Gaijin has a pretty good chart showing why the plant is in a bad location. And what could happen if a 1964 style earthquake showed up in Japan. Great! Something to make me sleep well tonight.

However the TV has had Army deserter and former North Korean movie star Charles Jenkins on reassuring every one its a great time to visit Sado Island:

Sado Island is off the coast of Japan near Niigata. Jenkins and his Japanese abductee wife live there. He works in a tourist shop there selling souvenirs.

So we got that going for us………………

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Certainly not Harry the Horse.

Rather its time to talk about Mr Wizard-Harry Potter!

Now I’ve never been deep into the whole Harry Potter series-although I really do admire J.K. Rowling for being able to take an idea and turn it into a multi-million dollar franchise. I have read not one Harry Potter book. I bough the first one for the S.O.-in English. She plodded through about half of it and gave up as the effort to get through each chapter was time consuming for her ( just like when I try to read Japanese books-especially if they go from top bottom and right to left!)

(Somebody already created the idea for the Wanchai Chronicles-so its back to square one for me to do that…………..).

I have seen 3 of the 5 movies. The third one was a little too dark for my tastes and to tell the truth-I did not see how it was a kids movie at all-parts of it are pretty scary if you ask me.

Nonetheless the speculation has been running rampant this week about how the series will end. Who morts? Who survives? Its a pretty safe bet that Voldemort is going to get what’s coming to him, I think. The question is-does Harry survive the attempt?

The books were on sale in the book store next to Daei today-I was very surprised to see that they were in English and there were none already translated into Japanese! Who came up with that marketing plan?

Suffice it to say I don’t think its going to end like this:

Come on Harry! Show me some magic!

Which might be just what Harry needs………..

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