Far East Cynic

Could be-for Expat at Large.

He knows better than to have one in Singapore-call the President there a socialist and you get to have a room without a view at Changi Prison.

Besides, its all the damn Prime Minister’s fault:

E@L’s days as a beer-slurping, overly-lush-golf-course playing, high-cash-flow, tax-dodging, Philippino-village-supporting, neo-colonial sex-tourist days might be drawing to a dramatic and abrupt close…

Hasty and superficial reading of some missives from a bunch of genuine hard-line, right-winger, tax-dodging, wine-swilling good buddies of his are a bit scary.

Those bastard, commie, lefto, pinko, moralistic, anti-fair-go-ripping-off-the-3rd-world socialists in the Australian Socialissimo (Che/Mao) Rudd Government are allegedly ramping things up to make us Expats (sending shitloads of cash home, supporting the economy) pay our Australian tax equivalence for monies earned overseas, even though we live our life entirely overseas…

Just like those poor Yankee bastards have to do, even to the point of their school fee reimbursements and their meager housing allowances for those villas on Napier Rd.

Like there is something wrong with being a neo colonial sex tourist.  Heck, I dream of that just about every night as I cry myself to sleep here in Shopping Mall.

Behind the humor there is a serious issue. Even before Obama became President, his predecessor allowed into law a change to the tax code which caused American expats to have to consider their housing and other allowances as income. Had I taken a job in Korea as I was close to doing ( and may still yet do), it would have jacked my taxes.

Since I get a retirement pay from the government they would be sure to catch me if I tried to skip.

Did you know the IRS has an office in Tokyo?

This weekend is a stay at home weekend. Work has been busy and the S.O. and I are looking forward to going someplace over Memorial Day. In the interim, I’m taking the opportunity to remember how good last weekend was.

Now lest you ask me the question, ” So how was the camping?”, it is important to remember that the S.O. and tent camping are like matter and anti-matter-two items that when brought together bring about destructive results. Accordingly, we stayed in the lodge at the park-which is really nice and has the added attraction of most rooms having a view like this:

We spent some time just watching the sun set. The lake also looked pretty good in the morning too:

On Saturday morning we got up with the full intention of trying to get golf in before the rain was going to start in the afternoon. Problem was that the State Park course was closed for renovation. Damn.

Undeterred, I decided this was my opportunity to go check out this place. Its about 10 miles north of Guntersville-but its a really nice golf course. I’ve been really wanting to play it-but the S.O. was not keen on its hills or abundant water hazards. But we wanted to get some golf in-and I sweetened the deal by offering to take her to an antique store on the way back.

On arrival we learned that they had a tournament scheduled at one-but we could play nine if we were willing to go off at 9:30. Driving range balls are included in the greens fee ( which I still considered pricey)-so we said, ” Sure we’ll try it. Rain is supposed to come this afternoon anyway”.

” Yea we know-we are hoping it will pass quickly though”.

Soon we were off on the course. Considering I had not played too much this spring, and the course is challenging, I was happy to get the score I did. They had paired us up with a retired guy who explained why the State Park course was closed.

” Seems the old greens keeper new a lot about growing grass, but he knew nothing about golf. He rounded all the greens into hills so they had good drainage. People were sick of the fact that it was hard to putt on. So the new manager convinced them to spend the money to fix it up right. Brought in a pro too.”

Well, that gives us an excuse to come back.

After golf was over we decided to drive to Bucks Pocket-which is actually home to another state park. Which appeared to be a mecca for rock climbers and bow hunters.

They also had an overlook-but you really could not see much from it except a wooded valley and more rocks.

The overlook though, came with helpful suggestions-spray painted on by some wag:

So we had that going for us.

So we left and drove back to the park. That’s how we discovered the Bass Fishing tournament had arrived:

They did have lots of exhibits set up:

We did not stick around to watch the boats come back. I was more interested in watching this:

It’s a good park.

Till some state trooper decides to track down his cheating ex-wife:

Wisconsin police can attach GPS to cars to secretly track anybody’s movements without obtaining search warrants, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

However, the District 4 Court of Appeals said it was “more than a little troubled” by that conclusion and asked Wisconsin lawmakers to regulate GPS use to protect against abuse by police and private individuals.

As the law currently stands, the court said police can mount GPS on cars to track people without violating their constitutional rights—even if the drivers aren’t suspects.

Officers do not need to get warrants beforehand because GPS tracking does not involve a search or a seizure, Judge Paul Lundsten wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel based in Madison.

Am I the only person who worries about stuff like this? I mean, maybe I could see it if the trace was not admissable as evidence in court and it was used only to build a case-but even then the potential for abuse is very high.

Lawsuits and a Supreme Court case await.

All things considered-the weekend was pretty good. One thing that eluded me though was why every place was kinda crowded. Then we went down to the boat ramp at the park we were staying in…………I found out why. This weekend was the Pro Bass fishing tournament.

Lest anyone get on a high horse and accuse me of elitism- I have no issue with bass fishing, I just cannot afford a boat is all. And it did not look to me like the folks fishing from the shore were catching much. But- I’ll tell you what- they sure had a lot of advertisers out for the tournament. I never even heard of these guys:

But we did have a good dinner Friday night. At a “locals” place in Guntersville called Crawmama’s. Everyone at work had told me to go-and they were right. Let’s go inside and look around.

Continue Reading »

I went to see the Star Trek movie tonight. Would have seen it this weekend-but we went to the lake instead.

Now that I have seen the movie-I think the lake was the better deal.

WARNING! PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!

Here is the bottom line up front: if you did not know much about the Star Trek series-the movie is good entertainment, and the acting was not as campy as the original series. ( But there was a lot of attempts to make sure all the buzz words from the original series were present).

However if you are like me, who watched the original series, all the movies, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine ( Which I liked), Voyager ( Which I did not like) and Enterprise ( Which I kind of liked and kind of disliked). Read a lot of Star Trek novels in my youth-and are more than a little familar with the timeline of the Star Trek universe-its more than just a little disappointing what they did with the Star Trek Canon.

They did not just change a few details, they shredded a lot of key items with a buzz saw. While that may make for high box office gross for this movie-it may not leave you a lot of good options for the sequels. ( You’ll have to see the movie to understand that some of the races they jettisoned were kind of important down the line-unless you really want to give the Alpha Quadrant over to the Dominon. (Inside Joke)).

Plus I’m not a big fan of plots where there are time travel implications-gets back to that whole, “Can you kill your own father before you were born” thing.

Plus, I am always amazed at the other convenient plot gimmick-the rest of Star Fleet is just “out” , there are no Vulcan ships any where, and so it just happens that the Enterprise has to save the day.

Again.

How many times have we heard this one?

Add to that I’ve never quite understood the whole vision of the Star Trek “Navy” , so to speak, where its perfectly alright to f**k fraternize [with] your hot looking female fellow crew members and it does not ever seem to get in the way of saving the day. As a result of that nonsense-the “real Navy” tried it.

And how well did that whole thing turn out?

All that said, I still think its worth $7 bucks to go see on the wide screen. Especially while munching through a large bag of popcorn as my dinner.

And as I said in the beginning, if you are not a geek big fan, most of my complaints will pass unnoticed.

Enjoy the show.

Made early on:

This is why I love Dilbert- I wish I could think up stuff like this!

And…..were back.

For what its worth-despite all the drawbacks that come with living in Shopping Mall USA, the state of Alabama has some pretty good state parks-and a good system to run them.

However-under the heading of important safety tip-don’t try going to a certain state park when they are holding a “Bass Elite” fishing tournament. ( Explanation to follow in subsequent post).

Pix to follow also.

The S.O. and I are heading to the lake for a couple of nights.

No computer or crackberry Blackberry will accompany me. Cell phone will be in the car and will only get turned on once a day.

I need a break from it all.

Because some things need context and explanation and its better to do it over here-than to try to explain it over there.

To some degree all the upset over having a photo exercise with Air Force One over the New York City is manufactured outrage-on both sides of the political fence. It was really not that big a deal.  I’m not saying it could not have been handled better-but some of the rhetoric since then is just a little over wrought.

Sometimes a duck is just a duck.

Clearly, in hindsight, there were some things as far as public notification and /or “conditioning” the public of New York, that could have been done better. If you Google the news reports you become quickly aware that there was a breakdown in communication between the FAA and the City of New York-although I agree with one of Lex’s commenters that someone in the city knew about the fly by-but did not pass it on high enough or early enough.

However,  the over reaction in response to the photo ex probably ensures that no other military aircraft will get to make a flyby picture over America’s largest city. Which in turn will deprive us of the opportunity to see cool pictures like this:

And not allowing Air Force One to participate in flyovers will deprive them the opportunity to have cool pictures to put up in various air terminals like this:

Everybody needs to calm down a bit.

First of all-a unit like the 89th Airlift Wing does not just put an event like the New York flyover on its flight schedule. They plan it, they vette it up the chain of command-in this event to the White House Military Office. They coordinate with the FAA for airspace.

I can guarantee you that the plan was thought out pretty thoroughly and I can bet just as assuredly the idea that the people of New York would panic was probably not one of the top ten concerns in putting the mission together. It may have been discussed,  but I can think of a couple of things that had a higher priority on the risk management front.  And should have had higher priority. Things like:

1) Avoiding a mid-air between the two aircraft.
2) Route of flight and how to get in and out of the airspace
3)Making sure all the required clearances were on file and that there was a paper trail showing it was on the up and up.
4) Maintaining separation and how to split up if the fighter lost sight of the bigger aircraft.
5) What happens if any of the aircraft go down. ( Air Force One going down during a photo op is pretty big PR nightmare in and of itself).

If my suspicions are correct-it was assumed that the FAA would take care of the necessary city notifications. After all, its the FAA-not the city-that owns the airspace above New York.

An Obama administration official said the mission was “classified” by the military and that the FAA, which controls much of the airspace over Manhattan, did what the military asked. “The mission was to send [the aircraft] up to get a picture of it flying around the Statue of Liberty,” this person said. “They said they needed to update their photo files.” President Obama wasn’t aboard.

The New York photo shoot wasn’t the only one planned. The White House had scheduled a follow-up session on May 5 or May 6 in Washington, D.C., according to two government officials. The D.C. flyover has now been canceled, a government official said.

Louis Caldera, a former Secretary of the Army who runs the White House Military Office, took the blame. “While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption,” he said. “I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused.”

I’ll go out on a limb here and say-the White House military office ought to be able to approve a mission like this with out having to say “mother may I” to the President. In normal world this would be how things are done with the decision delegated to the appropriate level.

These are not normal times however.

However on the surface, it would seem all the right things were done:

On Thursday night, city officials say, a junior mayoral aide had been alerted to the flyover by the Federal Aviation Administration, which requested that it be kept secret. Someone in City Hall alerted the New York Police Department, but no public announcement was made.

Marc Mugnos was reprimanded for not apprising the mayor, and a disciplinary letter was placed in his file, a spokesman said. Mr. Mugnos couldn’t be reached for comment.
video

A low-flying airplane escorted by military jets sent worried workers fleeing offices in the New York City area. The FAA said it was a “photo op” conducted by a unit of the Air Force.

The email sent to City Hall describes a “flying photo op” — government-speak for a publicity photo — to include two or possibly three passes over the area. The email, sent by an FAA official and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, lists flight patterns and specifies a photo-op altitude of 1,000 to 1,500 feet.

The email specifies that the information “only be shared with persons with a need to know” and “shall not be released to the public.” It also says that, “Due to the possibility of public concern regarding [Department of Defense] aircraft flying at low levels, coordination with Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies…has been accomplished.”

1500 feet is not that low-really. It is a good altitude to get some pictures with definition of the buildings in the background though. And the desire to limit distribution of the news is probably a habit formed by the fact that the aircraft in question was Air Force One.

The outrage about all the money it cost? Well I hate to rain on anyone’s parade-but those dead dinosaurs were going out the exhaust pipe one way or another. If not on a photo op-they would have been burned elsewhere. That money was already spent when the wing or the squadrons in question got their fuel budget for the quarter.

So you can put away the tea bags on that one.

I, for one, wish that there had been a calm explanation of the facts here and some acknowledgment that the people in the military who put this mission together were professionals who know what they are doing. It would also probably be useful to point out that aircraft flyover the Hudson all the time-there is a designated air corridor to do so. I’ve done it in my trusty War Hummer, so have plenty of other military aviators.

Maybe the whole lot of them-the people of New York and inside the White House could actually learn a thing or two from another city that had a plane fly close its buildings. I was actually there when this happened-and no one panicked :

By the way-that would have been a good way to get the word out, tell every one you are filming a movie. That was what Hong Kong did.

I’m not so sure celebrating a Mexican victory-when swine flu comes from there-is such a great thing to do.

Nonetheless-those tequila shooters schnitzengrubers will wipe you out!

Is the word for Ping Pong in Japanese.

The S.O. and I have been talking about getting a Ping Pong table ever since we went to Tapoco Lodge last summer. We had looked through catalogs and at the local sports stores and also at Sears. For the kind of table we wanted- I was balking at the price which, for a brand new table, was under 300 dollars. The S.O. was convinced that in her thrift shop expeditions and garage sale trips she could find one cheaper.

We both wanted one-and we’ve taken to going to the recreation center on the post to play from time to time. The place is always full of young, single Soldiers-so the first time I went in there, I was more than a little self conscious about it. I had even asked the guy behind the desk if retirees were really welcome here.

“Sure you are-this is an MWR facility and you are just as welcome here as anyone else.”

“Ok, in that case we would like to check out paddles and a ball”.

The Soldiers, it would seem, were more interested in pool, video games, or watching TV. There has never been a wait to get a ping pong table. It’s also some interesting people watching: the reactions to the older man and the Japanese woman.  It’s interesting to watch all the flirting going on between 19-20 year old men and women.

Alas, those stories should wait for another day.

However, it would seem that to the general public,  Ping Pong is not as popular as it once was-to date we had not come across a used table that fit the bill. For that matter we had not come across that many for sale either.

Hope springs eternal though, and for the third week in a row-the S.O. got me up at 6 AM on a Saturday for something that did not involve golf or sex-which are the only two reasons I get up early on a weekend. She wanted to go over to one of the more wealthy neighborhoods in Shopping Mall to look for deals at their annual neighborhood yard sale. She wanted to get there early, as she was working under the theory that-in a neighborhood where the median house price is $575,000-there would be a lot of really good stuff for sale. She figured the people would be out in great numbers too.

“Take a look outside, you do realize it is going to pour down rain today, don’t you?”

” Yes-but we’ll take an umbrella. Maybe the garages will be open”.

Into the car and off we went. Upon arrival, my weather forecast had come true-it was raining cats and dogs. So as we went from house to house, I stayed in the car and she took the umbrella.

She was right though, lots of folks were out on the theory that rich people must have a better quality of  junk.

After two hours and the rain decreasing slowly, but surely,  we found it: a ping pong table that was the sturdy kind we wanted, and still in good shape. Price $10. The S.O. hesitated-but I made a command decision.

“Give the lady $10.”

“Are you sure?”

“You bet I am”.

“How do we get it home?”

” Leave that to me.”

Two plus hours later-I was returning in a borrowed truck. The table did not have a net, so we stopped and got one. Even including a full tank of gas for the truck I borrowed and some beer as a thank you note- I still figured I saved 200 bucks on a workable table. After we got it home and I cleaned up the top surface, I knew I had made the right decision. The table folds up so, when not in use- I can keep the cars in the garage.

The S.O. still kicked my ass in the first three games though. Damn back spin!

Because its the only glimpse of Singapore I’m going to get any time soon. Its the same reason I watch CNBC when it covers Asian Markets.

It’s also a chance to see this fine little slice of tuna:

You never know how good you have something till its gone.

I’ve posted before about the Sunday night TV show in Japan called Uru run. Which is a show where someone who is generally a young actor goes to a homestay abroad and learns all kind of things. The name of the show-means eyes wet with tears cried and is often what happens at the end when the person has to leave.

Anyway, here is clip from the opening of the show-which if you spent any amount of time in Japan will take you down memory lane:

About what a huge mistake it was to invade Iraq.

Because this is the future-and its not worth the price we paid, and are continuing to pay:

I don’t think Americans yet recognize that we’re not going to like the long-term result in Iraq. The best-case scenario is probably the emergence of another strong man, like Saddam, but younger, tougher, smarter.

The future government of Iraq is probably not going to be a democracy, is not going to be stable, is going to have violence, and is almost certainly going to be a closer ally of Iran than it is to Washington. The Americans haven’t taken that on board yet.

Especially all those guys who think its time to use the “V” word.

There is an interesting photo essay at Foreign Policy about life inside Kita Chosen
( North Korea). It is worth going to see. 

Renowned documentary photographer Tomas van Houtryve entered North Korea by posing as a businessman looking to open a chocolate factory. Despite 24-hour surveillance by North Korean minders, he took arresting photographs of Pyongyang and its people—images rarely captured and even more rarely distributed in the West. They show stark glimmers of everyday life in the world’s last gulag.

And, since it is Friday and it is May Day-what could be more appropriate than to celebrate with some Nork Pron?

According to the article I read, Women have to meet certain physical standards in order to become traffic wardens in North Korea. “According to unconfirmed but knowledgeable sources, in addition to being in good health and at least 164cm tall (not consider tall by Western female standards), they must also be no older than 26, unmarried“, and apparently, easy on the eyes.

More here! (Link is SFW-but the site it is at is most definitely NSFW!)

They even have their own web site!

Whenever North Korea finally does fall-something tells me that whoever can get there early is going to have an interesting couple of years. After that, it will be all down hill-assuming we all survive the chaos that will inevitably ensue when North Korea implodes……………