Far East Cynic

It is 6:30am on a Saturday and I am awake. WTF? Time for a “stream of consciousness” post.

I woke up this morning thinking that I needed to find my passport. The business trip was over and I was heading back to Japan. Then I opened my eyes and looked around, and I realized-just like the horse’s head in the Godfather-that Shopping Mall was still here.

And it was not going away anytime soon. I will be getting on a plane tomorrow, it is just that I will not be checking my bags to NRT. There will be no side trips to Hong Kong along the way either. Sigh

It is not that Shopping Mall is that bad, it is just that there are 100 cities in America just like it. It is not unique. Substitute the word Spartanburg or Asheville, Omaha, or Wheeling for Huntsville and its all pretty much the same. East- West interstate, North= South four lane highway, strip mall after strip mall after strip mall along the way. Thanks to America’s Grumpy Old Mothers and no decent public transportation, one cannot even seek out a decent bar to drown your sorrows in.

However it is not all bad. The S.O., deprived of boring NHK TV , has actually taken to going to work out with me. ( Our apartment complex has a pretty nice fitness center). We have worked out every day this week together. Watching her stretch out her back over one of those big exercise balls, in her gym shorts and T-shirt, is a pretty wonderful thing. ;D

We’ve gone exploring together-since we cannot play golf till our clubs get here. ( Yes I know they have rentals-ask her why not!). Unfortunately that most often leads to an excursion into Kohls or TJ Maxx or some other such place and my debit card is slightly poorer than when it walked in.

Which leads to that whole, find a good bar thing, again.  There is a Hooters here-but that was a suggestion that was  not well received by the other side. ( It is a family restaurant you know!).

I took the S.O. to take her drivers test yesterday. We asked if she could take the test in Japanese and they said yes she could.  Who would have thought you could do that in Alabama? She thought she had failed it, but she only missed two questions. We waited around for another 3 hours for the road test only be told that we would have to come back later. Which is a problem because I will be in Washington DC for a week.

I hate the DMV too!

But we have established a routine of sorts. I have been able to cook for her and in the process make some things I had not had in quite a while. For example, the COSTCO here has some pretty good Italian sausage. I bought some really good Italian bread rolls and made sausage and peppers and onions. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. It better be, we have three more packages in the freezer to eat. (We did buy the sausage at Costco after all).

And of course there is this:

It is a fun car to drive! Except when you buy gas.

We are on the quest for a smaller-”get to work car”. You know the cheap, not so good looking, “runs well” car. The S.O said she wants a BMW. My response? “Fine, if you buy it, with your money.” Not happening with my cash flow-that’s for sure. If this were Japan we could do with just one car-but not here.

Because there are none of these:

I wish there was!

Who knows? She might just do it……..but I doubt it.

So what is the verdict after two weeks? Ok, but nothing like living in Tokyo. We are adapting and in some ways its good to have the S.O. out of the country of her birth. She will make friends and resume ignoring me, but for the short term at least, she is actually interested my handsome, boyish features. Which is a good thing- for both me and for my libido.

There are good days and bad. On the good days I feel pretty good-other days, its kind of like what Henry says:

Henry Hill: [narrating] And that’s the hardest part. Today everything is different; there’s no action… have to wait around like everyone else. Can’t even get decent food – right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I’m an average nobody… get to live the rest of my life like a schnook

We are committed to being here for a while though and we will make it a good thing. We have to. For one thing we have to see through the building of palatial Skippy estates:

Not bad actually, in just over 6 weeks they have gone from a vacant lot to a framed building. Yea, you can shake your head in disgust- I know I do every time I go by the place. What the hell have I done?

The S.O. and I looked at 30 houses and she decided she wanted this design. If we had done what I wanted,  we would be in a house now instead of a small apartment.  I thought I had her over a barrel when I politely informed her that to get a new construction place she would have to make part of the down payment ( also known as the “nuclear option”). She must have wanted it badly because she agreed to do it.  Game, set, and match-I really could not say no, because of all of my money arguments evaporated at the point. And, truth be told-I like the design too. Especially the garage, which will allow me to be reunited with my tools (I used to have a decent wood shop back in the day-we will see how they survived 9 years in storage).

A house? What the hell are you thinking?

Basically it came down to taking a look at my taxes and without some sort of real estate ownership I am going to get killed. In Nihon I could shield a good deal of my income from Uncle Sam-not so here in the land of the free, home of the IRS. Besides, every one tells me with the BRAC happening here in the next three years, it is a good investment. I sure hope so.

The cement around my feet is really starting to firm up now.

Time for Bruno and Luigi to show up and toss me from the bridge, probably. Into the river, a deep, dark, cold river……………

I’d trade it all for an afternoon here:

Can you name this place?

There, there, none of that now. You made your bed, now get used to lying in it.

Very correct. It is just the bed has a few lumps in it.

Karen: Do you really have to go?
Gil: My whole life is “have to.”

 
And speaking of “have to”, the S.O. is making noise in the other room. That’s never a good sign and means the end of peace and quiet for this day!

Ja ne,

Skippy-san 

The whole Obama needs to go to Iraq thing.

Pete Hegseth who runs the pro-war PAC, Vets for Freedom, has put up a series of internet ads picking up on John McCain’s challenge to Obama to go over to Iraq and meet with Saint Gen. Petraeus. So he can see for himself “how the surge is working” and how much better it is in Iraq these days.

Obama, is hopefully smart enough to recognize this as the truly dangerous challenge that it is. It sounds great on paper-is the kind of simplistic nonsense that appeals to red meat conservatives who love worthless Arabs more than they love Americans, and in the end has no really good upside for Obama.

Which is why he should have taken measure to innoculate himself from this sort of attack by going to Iraq sometime last year.

They posted an ad with a cute looking gash in it, challenging Obama to go to Iraq. It highligts that the “surge worked”.

Let the Swiftboating begin!

Like I said it sounds good and using a woman is real nice touch. The far right blogosphere and boneheads like this guy have already jumped all over it. Senior officials from the McCain campaign are smartly cutting their ties with the PAC however because they know this has the potential to blow up in their face.

Sounds great-except it ignores as few facts that no on has to go to Iraq to dig out:

1) Petreaus has already briefed Obama. It was the General’s place to come brief the Senate-not the other way around. And if you recall he simply said the same old line: ” We are making progress, the surge is working, but the Iraqis are still not ready to do it themselves and I cannot tell you when they will be ready. AQI is almost defeated, but for some strang reason the numbers of US Soldiers killed in Iraq hovers around 30 per month ( 52 KIA last month). It is almost always at least that number.” And that number does not include non-Soldiers who have also been killed in Iraq. Yep, really making progress on that score.

2) Iraqi government is still all screwed up. They went hat in hand and got turned down by everyone for credit, EXCEPT by the Iranians. Who have provided millions in low interest loans to the Iraqi government. Oh and those provinical elections they were supposed to have? Still on hold.

3) Just because one goes to Iraq does not mean one gets the right info. Look at McCain- he’s been plenty and still does not get it. However he has latched on to something-by framing Obama as a surrender monkey, even though leaving Iraq would be nothing more than forcing the Iraqis to actually take responsibility for themselves, he has hit on something that Joe 6 pack can understand. It does not matter that the term victory has no real meaning in an Iraqi context, people don’t want to lose. Even though no one can explain what winning or losing is. A peaceful Iraq? One where the Arabs are not screwed up? What? It is certainly not currently a functioning democracy.

My definition of victory in Iraq by the way? Either make the place a US colony or leave.

Nonetheless, this is dangerous for Obama, because he should have seen it coming. Now if he goes and still opposes the war, he will be decried. If he does not go, he will get run through the mud too. If he changes his mind on the war-he will lose a lot of people like me for whom ending US participation in Iraq is a huge issue and the only thing keeping me from voting for McCain.

I fear that Obama may have focused so much on winning the nomination, that he may have lost sight of the ground he has to make up with many Americans. White Americans who don’t understand him-or the “black” position.

Don’t go to Iraq with McCain though. Go with Hillary and get the Dems to show a united front for once.

Or why Regina Ip needs a job in the Bush adminstration.

Who is Regina Ip you ask? She is the resident defender of the status quo in Hong Kong and probable love child of Tung “Tofu for brains” Chee Wa, former Chief executive of the SAR of Hong Kong.

Spike points us to a recent article taking us arrogant westerners to task for daring to criticize the Chinese government for being the worthless commie bastards that they are. The worst part is that she makes these statements with a straight face:

The SCMP published another essay by Regina Ip today. Some excerpts:

Why does the west find it so hard to stomach China’s Olympian ambition? A major source of the conflict must be China’s radically different government system.

Why “must” it be? If you’re waiting for her to offer proof or examples, don’t bother. Instead the rest of this is a defense for the continuation of government by tyranny.

Western liberal democracy, to use Yale political scientist Robert Dahl’s polyarchy concept, is marked by political participation, opposition and contestation, and buttressed by such political rights as universal suffrage and access to sources of information free of official bias. Against this benchmark, a communist oligarchy lacks legitimacy. By western standards, such a system is bound to be detested by its people. Yet, by historical Chinese standards, and viewed in the context of China’s traditional values, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the way its government is organised today.

But wait, there is more:

In Ms. Ip’s view, things like “universal sufferage” (which she deems a political right and not a human one) or “access to sources of information free of official bias” are Western concepts and not Chinese and so there is nothing wrong with dictatorship, censorship and all that go with them.

… from early days, the Chinese people had always accepted the emperor, “the son of heaven”, as the natural ruler. The business of government was left to the ruling elite of scholar-officials.

(Presumably Ms. Ip sees herself as one of the “ruling elite.”)

Embedded in the Taoist ideal is the notion of life free from meddling by, and knowledge of, government. Until the west started gatecrashing China in the 19th century, the masses had preferred “to live and let live” in blissful ignorance of state affairs, except when life became intolerable. The low rate of Chinese political participation in the west is an indication of this mentality.

Oh really? Commie bitch. Here is a handkerchief, there still some white liquid dripping from your chin. That kind of logic may make sense in the twisted world of Donald Tsang, or Hu Jin Tao , or even Lee Kwan Yeu; but it does not fly among those of us who actually had a liberal arts education.

The cliff notes version of this text is: “Just because China was fucked up in the past, means they have the right to be fucked up now”.

She offers proof of her thesis:

Another important distinction is the fact that western liberal democracy revolves around the rights of the individual, while China’s political system has, from early times, been built on the family as the basic unit. That is why modern political scientists never tire of talking about freedom as the first criterion of democratic quality, followed by others such as human rights, pluralism and transparency. In the case of China, Confucianism, with its heavy emphasis on family values, unity and social harmony, has been adopted as the state ideology since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (157-87BC). The Chinese have always accepted government by “guardians”, not dissimilar to Plato in ancient Athens, who are supposedly endowed with a superior art of government. Such a system might seem nightmarish to the west, but can you blame an apple for not being an orange?

This is the same kind of logic that gave us the Middle Ages. Besides the obvious historical errors, she misses the point that this particular kind of stereotyping has been disavowed by every major democracy in the world-not just within the United States. Furhtermore the track record of Mr Hu and his “guardians” is not exactly stellar-especially since the recent Tibet fracas and the Sichuan earthquake.

Idiot. It is ideas like that, which are why the Chinese deserve to get their asses kicked at the Olympics. Spike sums up the Chinese government attitude in a subsequent post pointing out that people are frustrated with the government. Which may be the only silver lining of the whole disaster-in that it will show how useless Mr Hu and his government is. Their attitude and the attitude of many Chinese businessmen? ” fuck everyone else as long as I get rich” – is clearly a by-product of an appointed government that doesn’t have to worry about keeping their jobs by standing for re-election.”

But hey we trade with them right? How bad can they be? Arabs we invade. Chinese we trade.

Go figure.

I spent a goodly portion of the weekend sitting in the passenger seat of our new car, pressing the sole of my shoe through a non-existent brake pedal. I’ve been getting the S.O. used to all the routes that she  would have to drive to get to the store, the doctor, the cleaners etc. Normal people just use maps to figure these things out, but the S.O. has a horrible sense of direction and seems incapable of visualizing the spatial relationships of streets in her head.

Like most men, I hate not being in the drivers seat, particularly with a woman driving. Yes, it is a control issue and when I am at the wheel, I know I am in control of the vehicle and can keep my head on the swivel. Sitting on the right side of the car, I have to keep my head on a swivel still, but I cannot will that into the brain of the driver.

It has been about 12 years since I taught my son to drive, and over the objections of my ex I taught him on a stick shift-the same as my father taught me. I still think it is the best way to train to drive, in that it teaches you to be aware of what the car is doing, and to grasp the concept of doing more than one thing at a time.

Here of course that is just a non-existent hope. I took her on the Arsenal where the roads are long and straight and people at least obey the traffic rules. There is still a raw spot on the mat where my sole is pushing extra hard.

It is not that the S.O. is a bad driver-she is actually pretty careful and conscientious. It is just that she has not done a lot of it. Hell, she did not get a drivers licence at all till she was in her 30′s and decided to buy a car. And like most Japanese, she did not learn from a relative, but paid good money for a driving school. She was horrified when I pointed out that most Americans learn from their parents.

And in normal two lane operations she is fine. Problem is merging lanes, eludes her-yes they do it Japan, but the roads herd you better than they do here. And you don’t go as fast. Suffice it to say it has been something of a challenge.

Fortunately, Shopping Mall is not that clogged with traffic and I have been able to watch her get to and from the store that Sam Walton built and the bank-so we have that going for us. However unless she wants to be cooped up in the apartment watching Soap Operas she does not understand-there will have to be more effort on her part. It has been interesting because I have had to tell her where to go in Japanese, after telling her in English, before I was sure that she had comprehended what I said. And her English is pretty good. I suspect it is because she is nervous to be sure-but I’ve got to make her independent. They start work early and I will be gone most of the day every day.

Besides, I would really not like for this to happen:

“MG, I’ll wash you and wax you! If some Chevy smacks you-I’ll die, MG!” (sung to the tune of Born Free). 

Warning notice-rambling post follows:

A recent post over at Lex’s place kind of set me off. I’m not sure if it had to something to do with being accused of Bush derangement syndrome for the 100th time, or whether it was just the fact that I cannot accept the premise that Admiral Mullen was choosing to dredge up an issue that had died a long time ago.

The post was one praising this line out of the speech Mullen gave at the Naval Academy to graduating midshipmen:

“We give our best advice beforehand,” he said. “If it’s followed, great. If it’s not, we only have two choices — obey the orders we have been given, carrying them out with the professionalism and loyalty they deserve, or vote with our feet.

“That’s it. We don’t get to debate those orders after the fact. We don’t get to say, ‘Well, it’s not how I would have done it,’ or, ‘If they had only listened to me,”‘ he said in Annapolis, Maryland. “Too late at that point and too cowardly.”

All the usual audience is applauding loudly and praising Mullen to the rooftops. In the process they take yet another opportunity to lambast those general officers who have had a change of heart about the whole wretched business of the Iraq war or the overall defense policies of the Bush administration in general.

Nice words admiral-but I did not exactly see you turning in your resignation when Vern Clark was driving the US Navy over a cliff in terms of its procurement policy, the Navy was bending over backwards to support an utterly ludicrous policy about “diversity”-promoting women soley on the basis of the fact that they are female- and oh yes, allowing the service to betray its personnel repeatedly by sending them to do jobs that another service was supposed to be doing. Or while you were NAVEUR, you allowed Admiral Ulrich to hack and slash the organizations in the Sixth Fleet beyond the bone-you allowed him to create one of the most kluged up organizations ever seen.

Do I think Mullen should have resigned over any of the above? Not really. ( I do think he should have fired Ulrich though). Because I would submit that in every one of those cases, it was never one clear black and white, right versus wrong moment, where it was time to lay the shoulder boards on the table. Life does not work like that. Especially when you have worked a long time to achieve success in a difficult career, that required many times subordinating your opinion of what was right. You only get to resign in protest once-the issue better be a good one. Besides, that idea has been gone from the military for some time now. Otherwise a whole host of flag officers would have resigned when the Combat Exclusion law was repealed-if ever there was a reason to be angry at a betrayal of the military, that was the issue. No one resigned in protest and the present “diversified” era gloomily dawned.

I’d like to turn the question around the other way: “What is it that you, and all the others are afraid of, when these retired flag officers exercise their right to voice an opinion?” An opinion by the way, that 70% of the country agrees with, and is in many cases supported by documented factual evidence that the civilian masters of the Pentagon willfully disregarded the advice and the plans put up to execute a defined political objective. Point is, that if, the objectives are so correct and if the plans are so good-they can stand the scrutiny of retired professionals both pro and con.

Furthermore there are plenty of flags speaking up publicly in support of the administration. No one calls them unpatriotic or cowardly.

Guess it all depends whose side you choose and when you choose it.

There has been little heard from any of the dissenting generals for many , many, months-save for some passionate support of the new GI bill, which-to its credit-the Senate passed this past week over the objections of Dr Chu and other Bush administration hacks. ( Like John McCain who sounds like he got his talking points straight from the office of Dr Chu). So why does the Chairman make these remarks in front of midshipmen, when they are clearly directed at a different audience?

It is interesting too that Mullen’s remarks come at the same time as an article is scheduled to be published in Joint Forces Quarterly magazine where the CJCS exhorts the serving members of the military to remain “apolitical”:

The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times and in all ways,” wrote the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, the nation’s highest-ranking officer. “It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway.”

“As the nation prepares to elect a new president,” Admiral Mullen wrote, “we would all do well to remember the promises we made: to obey civilian authority, to support and defend the Constitution and to do our duty at all times.”

“Keeping our politics private is a good first step,” he added. “The only things we should be wearing on our sleeves are our military insignia.”

Admiral Mullen said he was inspired to write the essay after receiving a constant stream of legitimate, if troubling, questions while visiting military personnel around the world. He said their questions included, “What if a Democrat wins?” and, “What will that do to the mission in Iraq?” and, “Do you think it’s better for one party or another to have the White House?”

“I am not suggesting that military professionals abandon all personal opinions about modern social or political issues,” Admiral Mullen wrote. “What I am suggesting — indeed, what the nation expects — is that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no place in cockpit or camp or conference room.”

He noted that “part of the deal we made when we joined up was to willingly subordinate our individual interests to the greater good of protecting vital national interests.”

Such warnings are not new, however it is unusual to see it put into print. Normally it is put out back channel and given verbally from higher leadership-because no sitting Chairman wants to be seen having to state that which should be self evident to members of the military. It should make you wonder why, the senior military leadership has so little faith in the ability of the members to seperate professional duty from private opinion.

I think it is just wrong and does a huge disservice to those serving in uniform. This is not the 30′s any more. The cross section of the military represents the type of educated voter that should exist in the rest of society. Also these folks have a direct stake in the outcome of the election this year. An election that has real importance, not just because it involves electing a president in a time of war without end-but one where control of Congress is a toss up. They get a say in something that affects their lives. They will obey-even if they don’t like it. The military actually did so during previous unpopular administrations. Or has everyone forgotten that?

And what about those folks who spoke out during the Clinton administration? many of them were hailed as truth tellers then. What has changed?

Nothing. Except it is 10 years later and the armed forces are now engaged in a war that no matter who wins the election will have gone on longer than any other conflict. There is also the interesting paradox of the fact that the current administration, for all its good sounds to the contrary, is actually on record as repeatedly opposing earned increases in veterans benefits. As is shown by the Presidents threat to veto the new GI Bill. Who supports the troops? Not the current occupant of 1600 PA avenue. He just wants more blood from the turnip.

So ask yourself this important question. Why, when the military is at the best quality in its history, does its senior leadership have so little faith in allowing active and retired folks the rights under the Constitution they swore to serve? Misplaced fear if you ask me.

Today is Memorial Day and here in Shopping Mall USA the weather is gorgeous. A good day to remember the sacrifices made by generations of American Servicemen.

However, it seems to me, that for all the talk of supporting our troops and all the yellow ribbon bumper stickers-the majority of the populace here is blissfully unaware of the level of effort that is being undertaken by the members of the armed forces today. Sure, the Legion and the VFW and others are holding ceremonies to mark the occasion-but you want to know what the lead headline was here in Shopping Mall? The death of an assistant to Werner Von Braun. A notable event to be sure-but given the day, not exactly a page 1 item.

Having been in and around the profession of arms, it bothers me immensely to see the fact that the nations populace has very little idea of the current level of operational tempo that the armed forces are sustaining. Or the fact that over 5000 Americans (when contractor numbers are factored in) have been killed in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Over 35000 have been injured. On any given day fully 45% of the total armed forces is deployed in support of those efforts.

And no matter who wins in November-these wars will go on and on and on.

Now, one can argue that these sacrifices are in the national interest. It will be argued that way throughout the coming months. That discussion needs to be had. In fact it is about 4 years overdue. It is no secret to any steady reader of this blog where my opinion falls on the Iraq piece of this sacrifice. I bridle inside each time I see a picture of a fallen Soldier-killed for Arabs, a denomination of people who seem peculiarly unable to help themselves. And I have a very strong skepticism that they will be able to transform themselves into some beacon of freedom in the Arab world. The odds are strong that even if they put their petty differences aside and work on their economy-it will be like that of their neighbors, built on foreign labor traded like just another commodity. That is hardly an advancement for liberty, and democratic ideals.

But I digress, because today is not the day to pick up that argument. We can go back to that on June 1′st. Today is about remembering people who did just one thing: they suited up and they showed up. Politics aside, that is what the average member of the military is doing each and every day. Regardless of their personal feelings one way or the other-they are going where they are ordered and working hard and wanting to get the job done.

Twas always thus. I don’t accept the premise that somehow the generation of the GWOT is somehow different or better than those of us Baby Boomers who fought the Cold War and the hot wars in the middle. They are not-they are the same as we were. They have and had hopes and dreams and they wanted their military service to be the enabler of those dreams. They wanted to get out of their hometowns and see the world. They wanted to feel like they were doing something useful. And they wanted to have some fun.

Sadly, some did not return. As the President pointed out today, the numbers of white crosses in our national cemeteries grows with each year. ( I’ll skip the irony that he is the author of the policies that propelled a lot of that increase….). And it will continue apace for at least 3-5 years to come. Even if Obama wins. I don’t think he ( or we) really realize that yet.

And it will fall to a very small percentage of Americans to serve. They deserve every bit of honor the nation can give them. They deserve the GI Bill that the vaunted “supporters of the troops” so stalwartly oppose.  ( That is you Dr Chu!). They deserve to have the rest of the non-serving population share in the sacrifices they are making.

They deserve to be remembered.

Take time out today and give thanks, to God for giving the country folks willing to serve-and to those who did serve and gave their lives doing so. They deserve that…….and a lot more.

In Hong Kong there was free and easy access to my two favorite things in the world. Now back in the land of the free, home of the brave and world of repressed sexuality-not so available. I realized today walking through one of the malls and also the store that Sam Walton built, avoiding women who were almost as wide as the aisle, that perhaps the great drought had only just begun. Oh joy, another reason to be depressed!

So, I do know there are plenty of these here:

And while I know they are here-otherwise they would not be breeding as prodigiously as it appears- I’m not going to see any of the tan ass anytime soon:

It’s been a while since I posted beer and babes!

Well maybe……….

The last few days have been amazing to say the least. It is amazing to me how quickly one can get sucked backed into all the stuff that you thought you had left behind. It seems that every time I turn around I am spending money!

Utilities need deposits-”Do you have a letter from your past utility?” ,”No”, ” 300 dollar deposit please”.

Need a new drivers license? Here ya go-30 dollars please. ( Don’t even ask what it is taking to get the S.O. an Alabama drivers license. Japanese Drivers License? Sorry, here is a book-you can take the written and drivers test next week).

Which is just as well because the S.O. and I have to have a long heart to heart about the way she drives. The concept of “scan” and “drive defensively” is apparently lost on her. ” I do one thing at a time”. ” Not on an interstate going 55 mph you don’t!”

What is that you say?  Your final pay from Japan is all screwed up? And you find out about on a Friday night before a 3 day weekend because you had to wait all day for the cable guy to hook up your internet? So sorry call back Tuesday………….

And the pieste de la resistance? I now have a new car-with an associated car payment. I am an idiot.

Deep inside the little voice that screams at you, ” You are making a big mistake!” is working overtime.

However for the weeks investment we are in our place. We have temporary furniture until the shipment arrives. We have wheels. I have been in touch with my new employer and that all seems on track to start and hopefully begin offsetting this non stop financial hemorrhaging. Tuesday though is going to find me using new levels of profanity with one of Cleveland’s cadre of civil servants.

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“This is a dangerous country. Everything is so big here”"The S.O.

Well yes darling that is true. And it applies to more than serving portions at dinner.

Suffice it to say, her introduction to the world of Bubba and Larry has been something of a shock to her nervous system. Never one to suffer well the serving class, it has begun to bother her immensely that folks do not simply jump to because she says “Sumimasen”. In particular her disgust with the staff of the DMV made itself readily apparent. As well as the idea of tipping in a restaurant still drives her up the wall. It has not helped that I need to attend to my personal issues and do not have a lot of time to devote to her whining. She is getting over it slowly, but her down mood is not doing a lot for my morale ( or libido……….which it would be nice if she would console me a bit).

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She was out of her mind the first night because we thought we had lost the cat. We came home and he was no where to be found. The cat was way up on top of the cabinets in our apartment. No fool he-enjoying watching us run around in fear- he did not utter so much as a whimper. We finally found him quite by accident when I saw out of the corner of my eye a swish of his tail. That would have been all I needed was for the cat to get lost. Thank goodness it’s a first story apartment. She could not have thrown herself out of the window…….

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My new place of employ invited us out the the baseball game-even though I do not start till later this week. Shopping Mall USA has a AA team here, and I had not been to a minor league game in years. The S.O. is not much of a baseball fan, even though here brother played in high school. She enjoyed it though-although she was more than a little surprised at the amount of beer the folks in the stands consumed around us. The Stars lost a close one-by not converting with the bases loaded in the 8th.

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So the adventure continues. I need to get a desk and I can improve my blogging frequency. I am sitting on the floor typing this on my laptop. My knees hurt so I need to stop for now. When the shipment gets here-things should get better. More to follow-please stay tuned.

Unplugged again-moving into our new digs and getting internet reconnected. Interesting stories of culture clash to follow…………..

S.O. , cat, and I arrived in one piece. We transited Dulles enroute to Shopping Mall USA. That sucked with a capital S. Immigration, getting the cat cleared, and making our connecting flight was all a challenge. Nothing makes you appreciate Japan like the dealing with surly TSA people and American baggage handlers.

I was able to get both the S.O. and myself upgraded which meant the cat had to go in a hard carry box. That as it turned out was a good thing. The cat had more room to move and S.O. could sleep well. Which means that she is less than normally cranky.

I’m dog tired. And now that we are here-the whole time in Japan seems like it was just a dream. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Give me a few days to get adjusted and I will come back to that. It is so weird though, knowing that I do not have a return ticket taking back across the dateline in a week or so. That is just a different feeling.  Weather here is great though.

Tomorrow is a big day with lots to do-and my body clock is way out of sync. More tomorrow.

For one thing we have to figure out how to navigate around this:

The center of Shopping Mall USA!

That’s our navigational beacon for at least a while. I reference where I am by which direction the Saturn 5 is. The rest of the town? Nothing but shopping malls.

Spike’s in Shanghai and I’m here. There is no justice in the world.

O yasumi!

Without using the “S” word Miyuki Nakajima conveys my feelings this evening.

The song is called “Headlight / Taillight” and for years it was the haunting closing song for the NHK TV show , ” Project X”. Sums the day up pretty well:

Tabi wa mada owaranai…………….The journey is still not finished.
 

If it is, I am going to be pissed.

Japanese is a very precise language. It has several different ways to get across the same concept. For the concept of good-bye there are a whole bunch of ways to say it. Each is applicable in a specific context and situation.

For example if you are leaving work, your co-workers would say to you “Otsukari-sama deshita”  or “go kura sama deshita”. ( Literally thank you for your hard work that made you tired).

If you are with friends, and you are off on an errand or perhaps going back to the office from the coffee shop,  a simple , “Ja ne” short for “Ja matta ne”.  (to wait..)”.

Evening time and friends are leaving your house after a dinner together? “O yasumi nasai”.

The “S” word though-conveys a tone of finality. Not total finality-although it is used in those types of situations, but a sense of a protracted period of time before seeing one another again.

So as we are moving to the USA, perhaps its appropriate. But I don’t think so-or want to think of it in those terms. We begin the journey as I write this post. For me though, no matter where my path takes me, my heart will remain here. In Asia.

These last 8 and a half years have been among the best in my life. When I was told I was coming here, I was at one of the lowest points of my life. It was a gift from God-to escape from a bad situation and from those useless people who thought they had a carte blanche to interfere with what was privately my own business. Who could not, or would not, see the distinction between what was work and what was home-and that the only thing they need bother themselves with was work. ( My ex had the same misguided notion only in reverse-fortunately by then she had ceased to be part of the picture-even thought there was a few more months of the legal clean up effort). Arriving in Japan, freshly free, single, and my own boss finally; I had arrived in heaven. The next 2 years that I lived in a tiny apartment were simply heaven.

And for that matter,  the remaining 6 were really great for the most part too.  I’ve learned a new language, have actually been able to converse, read, and live in it. I never thought I would be able to do that. I’ve seen the sights of the greatest cities on earth. I’ve lived and experienced things that are and were: beautiful, sensual, and just plain fun. I wish I could be starting it all over again. Oh the fun I could have with what I know now!

However life moves on and so for a while at least, God willing, I will be back in the land of my birth. However I suspect sooner, rather than later, the urge to return will overpower me. Till I do, I am going to study, go to school, work hard and improve myself professionally. The better of course to secure a place back on the right side of the dateline.

So I will not say the “S” word to my beloved Japan. I’ll simply ask it to keep a seat open for me at the izakaya, on the train, in the onsen, or standing in front of Hachiko. Soro soro Nihon ni kaeritai desu! Ja mata ne! 

Ganbaremashou!

I watch with interest the brouhaa over the remarks of George W. Bush in the Knesset a couple of days ago. ( A legislative body he loves more than his own Congress, I might add). Basically, you can either think he is giving great oration or attacking the other side when he stated:

Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly. Israel’s population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you.

The media have fixated on the first paragraph-they need to look harder at the second. And people need to read Bush’s whole speech-because when you do you will find that he was speaking, as he often does, in code words for a designated audience both in Israel and the US. Go back and look how he started it:

What followed was more than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David — a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael.

People don’t use those words, Eretz Yisrael, by accident. They do it deliberately and it is designed to warm the hearts of the John Hagee’s and Rev. Dobson’s of the world and also infuriate any Arab within listening distance. He should know better-assuming he wants to be even handed and promote dialogue between Israel and the Arabs.

Except of course, that’s not what Bush really wants. He wants the Temple rebuilt. The Arabs know that by the way.

It is also seems ironic to me-that Bush talks about not negotiating with terrorist groups when the nation he is standing and speaking in was the direct result of a terrorist insurgency.

Whoa! Hold the phone! Israel was formed as a result of the Holocaust.

Ummm…..No.

Israel was born despite the Holocaust. Every visiting foreign dignitary is taken to Yad Vashem, the official Holocaust memorial. The route proceeds from exhibits on the horrors of the death camps to the establishment of the Jewish state. The stress on the Holocaust reflects the emotional trauma that the horror still inflicts on Jews. It also underpins the political message that Jews can only be safe in their own state. But an additional message is that Israel was created as a response to the genocide perpetrated against Jews in Europe. That’s a historical mistake, and promoting it is politically costly for Israel. As an organized political movement, Zionism began in 1897, decades before the Nazis took power in Germany. Modern Jewish migration to Palestine began even earlier, not just from Europe but also from Yemen, Central Asia, and other parts of the Muslim world. Early Zionists did see anti-Semitism as proof that in an age of nation-states, Jews needed one of their own. But they built their plans on Europe’s Jews moving to Palestine. Those numbers would ensure that Jews would grow from a small minority to an overwhelming majority in the country.

In 1939, there were 8.3 million Jews in the territory that would come under Axis rule. Six million were murdered. The Holocaust orphaned the Jewish independence movement, whose largest source of support and immigrants was wiped out. The state that was established was much weaker than it would have been.

When Israel bases its public relations on the Holocaust, it unintentionally lends support to the Arab argument that Palestinians are paying for Europe’s sins, a talking point intended to undercut Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish home and shift Western support to the Palestinians.

Bush also made it clear that Israel is threatened by Iran and he will not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. The unspoken implication is that Israel will be destroyed if they get one.

Sounds good but it ignores why Iran wants a bomb-they have nothing in alternative. And it gives them a card they can play, with both Israel and the United States. Bush ignores the real reason that we need to be talking to Iran:

Although all nuclear proliferation is dangerous, the rhetoric ignores the regional power balance. Israel does not normally say it has nuclear arms. But Olmert slipped in 2006, classifying Israel as a nuclear power. Foreign reports sometimes refer to Israel’s presumed second-strike capability, the ability to destroy an enemy even if the enemy were to strike first. Such deterrence kept the Soviet Union and the United States from using nuclear weapons during the Cold War.

A common argument is that deterrence won’t work as it did with the Soviets. Iran’s fundamentalist leaders would supposedly be willing to commit national suicide to fulfill their irrational ideology. Experience shows, however, that Iranian leaders share the Soviets’ caution. Iran agreed to a cease-fire in the war with Iraq once Iraqi missiles began falling on Tehran. The ayatollahs were willing to sacrifice soldiers—but not to pay a higher price. The threat of mushroom clouds will concentrate their thinking about Israel wonderfully.

It’s true that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s extreme anti-Israel rhetoric and Holocaust denials are perfectly pitched to frighten Jews. But when Mohammad Khatami was president of Iran, we were told that his moderation made little difference because real power lay with the ayatollahs. For the same reason, one should avoid overestimating Ahmadinejad’s clout.

Iran’s underlying reason for wanting nukes is nationalist and fairly pragmatic: It seeks to assert its role as a regional power and to deter other nuclear powers. The real risk is that it will set off a regional race for the bomb. The more fingers there are on more buttons, the greater the chance of a mistake. Complacency would be a mistake—but so is panic.”

The partisan political rhetoric also ignores a fundamental fact that has occurred in the last few months. The very government that Bush was resolutly vowing to remain steadfast in front of, has been urging him almost weekly to begin those very negotiations that he eschews.

Like the president who leads it, the Bush administration has been known for holding fast to its views and seeing the world through an ideological lens. That world view explains in part why the administration often has refused to negotiate or even talk with what it considers to be some of the world’s most odious regimes. But, in its twilight, the Bush administration has shown hints of stepping back from its blanket refusal to engage some adversarial regimes and militant groups. The tactical shift, however sporadic, is no doubt a byproduct of the fact that there is now little time left for an administration hungry for foreign-policy victories.

But other factors may have influenced the administration as well. Among them, the advice from some veteran former Israeli security and diplomatic officials who have been making a steady pilgrimage to Washington in recent months to urge officials to reconsider the administration’s ideological position of not engaging with hostile regimes and terrorist groups.

The whole thing about not talking to the US enemies ignores a few other things as well.

1) Sovereign nations talk to each other all the time. The US talks to Saudi Arabia and its government is hardly one that “promotes freedom and democracy”. And I don’t see our embassy in the biggest dictatorship of all, China, closing anytime soon. The US actually maintained an embassy in Nazi Germany until 7 Decemeber 1941. There is a big difference between talk between nations and talk with terrorist groups. Obama has actually been very clear on that point.

2) The US will have to talk with Iran at some point. The only real question is how and to whom. McCain, if he becomes President will probably have some sort of NK like discussions with Iran. Not with the Ackmewhathisname, but with intermediaries just like Bush himself does with the NORKS. It is also important to remember that diplomacy does not happen in a vacuum. It happens in concert with other things-like two CVBG’s steaming through the straits of Hormuz. The important distinction is that you are not getting a lot of Americans killed while pressuring Iran. And it reminds Iran the roof will cave in if they do anything stupid.

While all the while allowing dialogue to move forward. We should also think back to the good old days when we overthrew Iranian governments we did not like-remember Mossagedeh? Akmawhathis name is not as secure politically as he lets on. And he will be standing for some sort of re-election ( a loose term I know). Back in the good old days we made bad guy nations collapse from within.

Like the Russians.

Finally, ask yourself this question. Is the United States-or Israel for that matter-any safer vis a vis Iran than it was in 2000? The answer to that question is no. In fact, it can be argued that if anything , US policy in Iraq created a vacuum that Iran jumped into. Nations act in self interest. Unless the United States really wants to invade all comers-in which case it needs a bigger Armed Forces-the US sometimes has to talk with people we don’t always agree with.

After all, it was not appeasement because Chamberlain talked with Hitler. It was appeasement because he gave him the Sudetenland. No one is talking about doing anything like that here.

So this is good. Perhaps Obama can rally the Dems from their solace and actually debate the Republicans point for point about GWB’s misguided approach on foreign policy. There is more than one way to fuel Europe…………………………………………………. 

Last week seems like a dream (Which could also be a nightmare!).

Anyway here are some more pix of Hong Kong. All  moved out, things are in crates, and the S.O. and I are in a hotel. She is off trying to still figure out how to transfer her money to the US.  Some of it anyway-she’s gonna need it! Unlike here-where they have decent public transportation and a lot of my expenses have been covered by Uncle Sugar-they have expenses over there.
Damn things like rent, a car payment ( something I have not had in 14 years), gasoline, every time you turn around you will get nickle and dimed again and again. How the hell I am supposed to save up money for fun trips like this?

Ground Zero and my base of operations in Hong Kong-Nathan road.

Herding cats in Kowlwoon Park

More of Kowloon Park

Hong Kong Park

Goodbye to an old friend.
View from the peak!

In eight years I always wondered who lived here…..(Notice the Lamborghini under wraps at right).

Another pretty girl pic-Angels in Causeway Bay

Chasing the other one:

And finally:

Sleeping on the Tram! (Click on the pic to see it better)

Gotta run! Got to go pay final phone and other bills.

My Internet service gets disconnected tomorrow morning-so for about 4-5 days I will be in a non blogging mode unless the place we are staying has internet. I’ll be back blogging from the world of Shopping Mall USA next week.

With packers coming and other things going on-no time to blog anyway.