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November 9th, 2006

Good Morning Americans !

This is so dumb…
The majority of USA citizens managed to approve a war that was obviously filled with lies from the start.
Most opposition approved it as well just because they feared that they would sound too clueless if by any chance Bush was right about WMD, and generally wanted to share the merit of a possible splendid outcome.
The people were with their Master in Chief.

Democrats then, slowly started opposing war as things obviously weren’t going as planned and WMD were nowhere to be found.
This wasn’t enough because Americans, once again, managed to vote for Bush !!!

Now Americans don’t like the war in Iraq ! They say they don’t like their mostly brainwashed either gun-loving or “too poor to get an education” youngsters to die …albeit at a much slower rate than Iraqi..
They voted Democrat because they wanted to punish Bush. But who is going to punish their dumbness ? They voted Bush once (give or take some stolen vote) and then once again well into the Iraq mess.

I understand that people are easily manipulated by the media, and various advertisements.. but ignorance generally isn’t a good excuse.

I vote against the clueless voters of the US of A.

Posted by Davide Pasca in Society, USA, Politics

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 9th, 2006 at 9:25 am and is filed under Society, USA, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

28 Responses to “Good Morning Americans !”

  1. Mr. U.S.A. says:

    …leave the Americans alone #@&*!!!
    That’s why you don’t live here!
    Why don’t you write about those weird Japanese?
    Porns, sex, prostitutes and pedohiles.

    Japan is not the best country!!!

    November 9th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
  2. Davide Pasca says:

    Mr. U.S.A. (..or should I say Ms. U.S.A. ?)
    Thank you for proving my point.. but you shouldn’t try so hard 8)

    November 10th, 2006 at 12:31 am
  3. rince says:

    Majority of the voters are clueless everywhere, not just USA. What are you going to do? Blame people for being born stupid? Its not their fault….

    As for the war in Iraq, it went the same way as all the other undertakings of that nature, such as USA in Vietnam or Soviet Union in Afghanistan… In the end the local opposition finds a way to constantly harass the foreign invasion, it becomes a war of attrition and the foreign forces get stuck in a situation where they can not leave because while there is still opposition then officially they have not achieved their objective. But there is no way of beating that opposition short of nuking the whole country.

    November 10th, 2006 at 2:46 am
  4. James says:

    While you have some true points, I take offense to being lumped into the 50% of the country that voted for Mr. Bush both times. I voted for him neither, and I certainly didn’t approve, as you put it, the war….we don’t vote on those things you know!

    I do find it odd that our country tried to impeach a president for activities outside of governing the country (Clinton) but never tried to impeach Mr. Bush (yet) who is clearly the most stupid person on the planet.

    I am woried about how IRAQ is saved right now. Because we can’t keep it like it is or pull out because the country will be worse than it was, but we can’t triple or quadruple the peace keepers there as that would make us look even worse than we do now.

    Hopefully the future is better for everyone.

    Hopefully 5 day old embryo’s will be used to harvest stem cells……since its better to use eggs than throw them away every month…..

    One can always hope.

    November 10th, 2006 at 9:46 am
  5. Ragin' Lion says:

    Majority of the voters are clueless everywhere, not just USA.

    Ah, thanks Rince! I’ve tried to get Kaz to look a bit more deeply into Japanese politics … I think he’d be very surprised at how true your statement is.

    They say they don’t like their mostly brainwashed either gun-loving or “too poor to get an education” youngsters to die …

    Mr. Kaz, I think this is a very stereotypical statement about the folks who serve in the U.S. military. Not everyone who serves in the U.S. armed forces has this mentality or shares it. There have been some individuals who have protested the war in Iraq and have faced serious punishment/consequences as a result.

    As the saying goes, “Hinsight is 20/20″ … If it was a Democrat that was in office and similar mistakes were made, I guess the people would be “dumb” for having voted in that manner. Anyway, just about 1.5 more years and this administration’s term will be over. You’ll have even more opportunities to call Americans dumb when the next administration gets voted in. 8P

    November 10th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
  6. Mr. U.S.A. says:

    Mr. Kaz, didn’t I write that I’m Mr. U.S.A.?
    Then, why you’re calling Ms. U.S.A.? Are you
    insulting me? You’re criticising my country and now you’re insulting me!!! Don’t piss me off 8)

    Why don’t you write about Japanese people for a change?…like Japnese porns and how much they
    love it! It will be a good distraction for a change 8)

    November 10th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
  7. Mr. U.S.A. says:

    ..leave the Americans alone!! Why are so bitter?
    You’re always criticising U.S.A. all the time Not only about Bush, about war in Iraq and etc.
    blah..blah but almost about anything.

    Just don’t forget that U.S.A. gave you the first taste of “good opportunity” before your favorite
    country Japan gave you one. You know that it couldn’t be the other way around 8)

    Maybe, a positive article for a change!!

    November 10th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
  8. Davide Pasca says:

    Rince:
    Majority of the voters are clueless everywhere, not just USA. What are you going to do? Blame people for being born stupid? Its not their fault….

    I’m talking about USA here, I realize that stupid people are everywhere. In many cases people are ignorant generally because they just don’t have the time to follow the politics bullshit (that includes me to some extent).
    The worst people are those that get most influenced by propaganda.
    I must say that USA is definitely “the” country where things move with publicity.

    James:
    While you have some true points, I take offense to being lumped into the 50% of the country that voted for Mr. Bush both times. I voted for him neither, and I certainly didn’t approve, as you put it, the war….we don’t vote on those things you know!

    I realize that it’s not fair to judge a whole country like that. Especially when people are so evenly split.
    Speaking of which, it’s funny that in Iraq 99% of the people would vote for Saddam Hussein (clearly out of fear), while in the most democratic countries voters are usually so evenly split.
    It shows how it’s all a power struggle. Candidates don’t present honest points, but rather play games with stats. It’s all finely tuned to the points of percentage.
    As I see it, 49% and 51% are the same thing.
    What’s rotten with the USA (but not necessarily just with the USA) is how it’s all down just to image. How Gore had to give up because he was being depicted as a sore loser.
    In that case there was really no sense of justice, it was really all down to image. Winning was all that mattered, whatever it took.. including stopping a recount which to me sounds incredibly surreal. What’s the point of not being zealous with counting votes ?
    There are much worst democracies out there, but they don’t go around policing the world. USA should set a good example, but instead plays internal power struggle games using hordes of lawyers, instead of common good sense.

    Ragin:
    Ah, thanks Rince! I’ve tried to get Kaz to look a bit more deeply into Japanese politics … I think he’d be very surprised at how true your statement is.

    What’s the point of insisting with this Japanese politics thing ?
    I’m not comparing countries here. I’m Italian and I think Italy’s politics is the worst.. are you happy now ? 8)

    Mr. U.S.A.
    It just came that the politics of USA was in the news and I commented on that… I think it’s only normal to criticize an hot topic.
    This goes with for Mr.Ragin as well that keep insisting with this boring Japanese politics…
    I’m not concerned with Japanese politics cause it’s really not affecting me. Japan isn’t currently waging any wars.

    November 10th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
  9. rince says:

    Kaz,
    “I must say that USA is definitely “the” country where things move with publicity.”

    How about South Africa then? Most of the voters have no idea who they are even voting for, or how the election process works at all. They are picked up from their villages in the buses provided by the political party and given instructions where to put their X. A lot of them can’t even read or write. Ragin can correct me on this, but I think this is the case in most african countries.

    At least in the USA people have some idea of the consequences of what they are doing.

    November 11th, 2006 at 1:38 am
  10. Davide Pasca says:

    Rince:
    How about South Africa then? Most of the voters have no idea who they are even voting for, or how the election process works at all.

    That’s indoctrination, manipulation, exploitation, etc etc.. which is worse, but it’s not the same thing.
    Poverty unfortunately is source many illnesses, but int the USA.. there everything seems to be run by the TV !
    One feels like living in Disney World ran by immature and repressed people. Politicians are made of rubber. It’s all about their fame, how well they behave, they are required to kick ass left and right, either in the movies as actors, or approving death penalty and wars.. but they are pulverized by a blow job !

    Sometimes totally weird things come up, like the playing cards with the most wanted people in Iraq.. how tasteless is that ? To mix War with play ?
    But then again, most soldiers are kids that want to play. Who in the right of his or her mind, would like to even remotely go risk dying ?
    There are soldiers out there that sit idle and can’t wait to get a piece of action. They are in the middle of a foreign country, stressed and angry because the piece of action went well over they hopes, and have to decide daily who to kill and who not to kill.

    In short, USA produces a lot of great things and minds, but also a lot of idiotic things.. some of which happen to cause deaths of tens, hundreds of thousands of people.. ..oops !

    And the thing about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.. it was a complete joke. It smelled like bullshit right from the start, and yet both Republican and Democrats felt compelled to go to war… all united against ONU and Europe… good job !!

    November 11th, 2006 at 3:42 am
  11. Mr. U.S.A. says:

    I suggest you just keep your U.S.A. opinion/criticism to yourself! You openly talking about negative things(in general)about U.S.A. I wouldn’t be surprise if their start tracking your website 8)
    I don’t know why you keep thinking like that.
    In general, U.S.A. is definitely a much better
    country. Stop being bitter!!!

    If you think you U.S.A. is not a good country,
    don’t ever step your foot here again then.

    Go ahead and praise Japan and keep kissing the Japanese asses too!!! We’ll see how far they’ll
    recognize your skills.

    For distraction,check this out
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming

    ..how an American made a significant contribution
    to Japan for producing high quality products.

    November 12th, 2006 at 6:46 am
  12. Davide Pasca says:

    Mr. U.S.A.:
    I suggest you just keep your U.S.A. opinion/criticism to yourself!

    I suggest that you either shut up or put up !
    This is my site, and write what I want.

    As for comparing Japan to USA. I don’t see the point.. this has nothing to do with Japan !

    Read the post again. Try go get a grip on reality.

    November 12th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
  13. Ragin' Lion says:

    Rince, it’s basically like that in many African countries … in some cases if you don’t vote the way you’re expected to … it could have consequences … but that depends on the country. As you know of course in many African countries the vote isn’t really honored. All you need is enough power and money, and a strong enough “liberation force” and you get “take power” … at least until the next stronger person comes along and kicks you out of power … A political “King of the Hill” game! 8P

    Sometimes totally weird things come up, like the playing cards with the most wanted people in Iraq.. how tasteless is that ? To mix War with play ?
    But then again, most soldiers are kids that want to play. Who in the right of his or her mind, would like to even remotely go risk dying ?
    There are soldiers out there that sit idle and can’t wait to get a piece of action. They are in the middle of a foreign country, stressed and angry because the piece of action went well over they hopes, and have to decide daily who to kill and who not to kill.

    Kaz, this thing is generally true for soldiers of any nation … after all, the people who go around fighting wars are human and being on the battle field can bring out the best or ugly side of a person. I highly doubt there has been any “innocent” army in the history of war …

    November 12th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
  14. Davide Pasca says:

    Ragin:
    Kaz, this thing is generally true for soldiers of any nation … after all, the people who go around fighting wars are human and being on the battle field can bring out the best or ugly side of a person. I highly doubt there has been any “innocent” army in the history of war …

    All soldiers are trained to actually accept the idea of killing. Without that training, many would end up hesitating too much.
    It’s sad to think that there is specific training to remove the inhibition to kill, but the obvious drawback is that if you don’t kill you get killed… supposedly.. because I doubt you can remove that inhibition only for specific cases where there is imminent danger. There is really a fine line between becoming a killing machine and a n accurate killing machine.

    As for comparing American soldiers to those of other nations. I can tell you that if you compare the average Italian to the average American from the US, you get a very different basic personality.
    Americans (from the US) tend to be very playful with things, also tend to mature differently because they are detached form their own families pretty early in life.
    The whole idea of going to a college, having to become mature on your own, drinking heavily, the concept of cowboy, the heavy presence of guns everywhere ..including in schools… that’s a reality that to an average Italian seems like an Hollywood movie.
    You get bad things and bad individuals in Italy, and you hear of someone possessing a gun.. but in USA it’s such a common thing. Way too many US residents flirt with gun, struggle with individuality, struggle to walk up the social and economic ladder, and the heavy repression coming from the Christian religion. It all adds up and eventually creates enough hungry MFs that can’t wait to splat some bad guy’s brain on some wall.

    On average there is plenty of scary people that can’t wait to get a piece of action.. and you can be sure that the Army isn’t going to think twice before hiring them.

    There are some great Americans, but generally, to the eyes of the average Italian and possibly of the average European, there is also this tendency of thinking of US Americans as immature and violent.

    November 12th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
  15. Ragin' Lion says:

    Maybe this is one of the reasons why we should live in the same city; it’s easy to discuss things without the “wait for the other guy’s reply” … ha ha ha … 8P

    How long did you live in the States? I’m just curious because some of the things you wrote are basically stereotypical of Americans. I’ve lived in the country most of my life and have had friends from the “red-neck” end of things to the “upright citizen” range. While there are a lot of young folks in the States who are into heavy drinking and guns and what not, that’s not the real story/image. I suppose those kinds of people get more “airtime” because they’re the ones doing the stupid stuff you hear in the news/media.

    All soldiers are trained to actually accept the idea of killing.
    Well, no one said war was a pleasant thing! The real question that we should be asking is what makes us go to war? I mean war is basically part of human history from as far back as it has been recorded. Sometimes war is “good”: you have to fight back against the aggressor … i.e. types like Hitler one want to “take it all” (for whatever reasons). Sometimes war is “bad”: you have people (not only governments!) with ulterior motives and they want to take away resources from some weaker people or nation. While it’s not quite related, I’d say the colonization of Africa is partially responsible for a lot of the problems there. One could say that that was a “quiet war” in which we’re still seeing casualties …

    Way too many US residents flirt with gun, struggle with individuality, struggle to walk up the social and economic ladder
    And this is different elsewhere on the planet? 8P Granted that many countries don’t have guns everywhere like the States, people everywhere are struggling with individuality and the struggle to walk up the social and economic ladder. The issue of guns in the States is a serious one … unfortunately guns are too deeply tied in with the American psyche at this point I think. America (unlike most other countries on the planet) is “unique” in how it started. Unfortunately, back during those “early days”, if you needed protection, you had to have a gun … especially since there was no law enforcement around (I’m talking about during the Westward Expansion). Even though America got past those “Wild West” cowboy days, the issue about disarming the population didn’t seem to come up. I have friends in the States who own guns and I can tell you that they’re very responsible individuals. Personally, I would never own one of those things … not worth the “price” of some loved one shooting themselves by mistake or something like that … I think the media in the States is partially to blame in terms of the gun problem. I mean, most of the time when you see some “great” action movie, it’s all about guns and blowing things up (hmm … sounds like video games too!) The media presents to people the idea/thought that guns are a way to “equalize” a situation and to potentially solve a difficult problem … or that if you own a gun, you’re buying yourself some serious power and the right to be in control of your life.

    I’m not really sure what to say about the issue of guns in the States, but if the government does decide to “disarm” the populace that’s when there’s going to be a lot of problems … and I’d dare say that the day the government does that, America would no longer be the “free country” that it is. By this I mean that the policies of the government have fundamentally shifted and the U.S. Constitution is a fundamentally different …

    …and the heavy repression coming from the Christian religion.
    Well, I’m a Christian, and I won’t disagree with you in that there have been folks who’ve used Christianity to try to control people … but I disagree with this “repression” thing that I keep hearing from you and others. While religion can be a factor, it’s not the sole thing. In Japan there’s a lot of repression here … I’d even say more than in the States. In a sense, Japan is a “religion-free” country in that it’s generally a taboo to talk about your beliefs … that’s if you have any at all. While I don’t need to get into all the gnarly details, there people here in Japan who get themselves involved in some very odd things … and even at times the nature of the crimes here leave one scratching their head. As you know, there are cultural protocols that a native must follow here and as the saying goes, “The nail that sticks out, gets hammered back in.” Hence you have people you want to be free to be themselves, but they can’t because the culture dictates otherwise. I have Japanese friends who have a hard time re-adjusting to life back here in Japan because of freedom they experienced in the States.

    My biggest concern is what will happen in Japan in the next 10-30 years as many of the young people are adopting a Western point of view without really having been brought up in a way where they are allowed the freedom to express how they feel rather than going along with the group.

    I think folks should stop blaming religion (particularly) Christianity as the source of repression amongst people. I think it’s more of a cultural issue than anything as there are countries in Africa (Nigeria for example) where Christianity exists, but people aren’t running around doing the same (or similar) things as in the States.

    November 12th, 2006 at 11:03 pm
  16. Davide Pasca says:

    Ragin:

    Maybe this is one of the reasons why we should live in the same city; it’s easy to discuss things without the “wait for the other guy’s reply” … ha ha ha … 8P

    We wouldn’t be able to share our opinions then 8)

    How long did you live in the States? I’m just curious because some of the things you wrote are basically stereotypical of Americans.

    About 6 years. I didn’t live an American life, I didn’t go to college, but I definitely got enough exposure to what it’s all about.

    While there are a lot of young folks in the States who are into heavy drinking and guns and what not, that’s not the real story/image. I suppose those kinds of people get more “airtime” because they’re the ones doing the stupid stuff you hear in the news/media.

    I don’t expect you to hang out with drunken hotheads.. but that’s you. Bad things are rare, but are more rare in other places.
    For example, school shootings for example are very rare in USA, but just never happen in Italy !
    An actual school shooting is only the last stage of an ugly environment. The actual occurrence is the result of a “fortuitous” chain of events. When one happens it means that there are a lot of problem.

    Well, no one said war was a pleasant thing! The real question that we should be asking is what makes us go to war? I mean war is basically part of human history from as far back as it has been recorded. Sometimes war is “good”: you have to fight back against the aggressor … i.e. types like Hitler one want to “take it all” (for whatever reasons). Sometimes war is “bad”:

    And was the war in Iraq good ?

    And this is different elsewhere on the planet? 8P Granted that many countries don’t have guns everywhere like the States, people everywhere are struggling with individuality and the struggle to walk up the social and economic ladder.

    It’s the same everywhere but to different degrees. In Italy there is not so much pressure. In Japan there is pressure to do good in school up to university and then to just settle. In USA there is a very strong will to become rich quick.
    I’m a fan of infomercials and I remember clearly that most of them in USA where about becoming rich (Don Lapre from his tiny one bedroom apartment !). Similar infomercials are very rare in Italy or Japan…

    The media presents to people the idea/thought that guns are a way to “equalize” a situation and to potentially solve a difficult problem … or that if you own a gun, you’re buying yourself some serious power and the right to be in control of your life.

    Bowling for Columbine gives a good idea of the situation I think.. but ultimately doesn’t really give a clear answer.

    In a sense, Japan is a “religion-free” country in that it’s generally a taboo to talk about your beliefs … that’s if you have any at all. While I don’t need to get into all the gnarly details, there people here in Japan who get themselves involved in some very odd things … and even at times the nature of the crimes here leave one scratching their head.

    I dare you to compare the crime rate between Japan and the USA !

    I have Japanese friends who have a hard time re-adjusting to life back here in Japan because of freedom they experienced in the States.

    Japan is less free than the USA ? How is that ? I think the biggest difference is on the workplace. Here the average citizen is expected to work harder… but the situation with work in the USA is not necessarily always better.

    My biggest concern is what will happen in Japan in the next 10-30 years as many of the young people are adopting a Western point of view without really having been brought up in a way where they are allowed the freedom to express how they feel rather than going along with the group.

    It’s good to express personal opinions, but it’s not necessarily bad to keep the head down from time to time.

    I think folks should stop blaming religion (particularly) Christianity as the source of repression amongst people. I think it’s more of a cultural issue than anything as there are countries in Africa (Nigeria for example) where Christianity exists, but people aren’t running around doing the same (or similar) things as in the States.

    What’s the source of all wars ? Money and religion ! Money is what moves the “smart” people, and religion is what groups the fighting peeons.
    As for Christianity in USA.. that special flavor of Christianity is rather bigot. It’s very strong, very vivid and very encumbering. It forces people to worry too damn much about what they are supposed to do, until some of them can’t take it anymore and start doing the opposite.
    Sex for example, the stronger the repression, the uglier it turns. Catholic priests can’t have sex and some of them end up molesting children . Most of them don’t, but pressure is bound to crack someone somewhere.

    November 13th, 2006 at 1:33 am
  17. rince says:

    Kaz:

    Europe was in Iraq too. I think every European country sent a military force there. So USA wasnt opposing Europe in that decision.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_force_in_Iraq#List_of_nations_in_the_Coalition

    November 13th, 2006 at 6:03 am
  18. Davide Pasca says:

    Mr.Rince:
    Here is a zoomed map.
    Without France, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Belarus, Greece.. it’s hardly every European country.
    Most of this “Coalition of the Willing” did not participate to the actual invasion. Here is the list of those 5 that somehow participated.

    Keep also in mind that Italian and Spanish governments for example went in against strong popoular opposition.. and they eventually paid in the following elections… unlike the majority of US voters, which greeted Bush with a nice re-election.

    See Fahrenheit 911 for a funny take on the coalition of the willing 8) ..and also to see how and where the military recruitment works in the USA.

    November 13th, 2006 at 9:25 am
  19. Ragin' Lion says:

    I don’t expect you to hang out with drunken hotheads.. but that’s you. Bad things are rare, but are more rare in other places.
    For example, school shootings for example are very rare in USA, but just never happen in Italy !
    An actual school shooting is only the last stage of an ugly environment. The actual occurrence is the result of a “fortuitous” chain of events. When one happens it means that there are a lot of problem.

    I think violence in schools is relative to the culture and the “tools” they have available for violence. If you have guns and teens crazy enough, they’ll use guns. If you have knives and teens crazy enough, they’ll use knives. Let’s take a look at Japan (’cause we’re living in the country). There are a lot of student stabbing incidents here … partially because of the bullying problem (that generally isn’t addressed), but also for various other reasons.

    Here’s the first one (kind of “recent”)
    Japan in shock at school murder. If I recall properly, this girl stabbed (and killed) her friend because she was saying bad things about her on some chat site on the net …

    Here’s another one:
    Japan stunned by school massacre

    Weapon of choice … a knife … thank goodness that there aren’t any guns freely floating about the place.

    And was the war in Iraq good ?

    I never said it was good. My overall point is that war has never been a good thing, but (at times) it can’t be avoided. The war in Iraq is so convoluted at this point. Many are solely blaming the U.S., but I think there are other nations just as responsible for the mess.

    It’s the same everywhere but to different degrees. In Italy there is not so much pressure. In Japan there is pressure to do good in school up to university and then to just settle. In USA there is a very strong will to become rich quick.
    I’m a fan of infomercials and I remember clearly that most of them in USA where about becoming rich (Don Lapre from his tiny one bedroom apartment !). Similar infomercials are very rare in Italy or Japan…

    Yeah, those infomercials are trying to sell people the “American Dream” thing … I think they’re a direct result of people losing perspective on what’s important in life. It’s highly likely that you won’t see those kind of informercials here in Japan since there doesn’t seem to be the same economic infrastructure for normal, everyday people to build wealth (as there is in the States). I was talking with a person the other day about why Japan (despite having a lot of technical knowledge and ability) doesn’t produce things Google and YouTube. The answer I received as that there’s no venture captial type system here … at least similar to the way it’s in the States. All the money’s tied up with the large companies and the big wig executives and basically everything’s done by protocol. Livedoor is probably the closest thing to this, but since (it seemed) Mr. Horie didn’t play by the rules (he was the nail that stuck out), he was removed from the playing field.

    As you know, Japan has a very high suicide rate among it’s younger people. These pressures to do well in school, etc does take a toll on a lot of people. A lot of Japanese women these days don’t want to settle (so they can chase their dreams), I’ve met a person who actually wanted to be a NEET, and there are other “reactions” to the social pressure here. I think it’s as a result of the pressures that Japan’s currently experiencing it’s population drop.

    I dare you to compare the crime rate between Japan and the USA !

    Well, obviously that’s not possible. So many factors that contribute to crime. Population, culture, social needs. Crime in the States is obviously going to be worse than in Japan since the U.S. is a multi-cultural country and has far larger population than Japan. 8P

    Japan is less free than the USA ? How is that ? I think the biggest difference is on the workplace. Here the average citizen is expected to work harder… but the situation with work in the USA is not necessarily always better.

    This is where you’ll have to talk to people who are Japanese but have lived outside of the country long enough. In the States, there are less social consequences for being an individual than in Japan. People tend to avoid wanting to rock the boat because pressures can come from various places. I’m not Japanese, so I really can’t explain it well … Generally as a foreigner you’ll always get treated differently as opposed to an actual Japanese person. More than likely, we won’t experience the same pressures that a Japanese person does. In that context, people are less “free” than in the States.

    It’s good to express personal opinions, but it’s not necessarily bad to keep the head down from time to time.

    Yeah, that’s true. But (at least from my observation) keeping one’s head down is the norm here … at least in a public setting.

    What’s the source of all wars ? Money and religion ! Money is what moves the “smart” people, and religion is what groups the fighting peeons.

    I’ll go further and qualify it as not so much as money but the greed and bigotry in people’s hearts. Money in itself is a neutral thing; it doesn’t posses any good or bad qualities. I just read this article today:
    Identity Thief Is Often Found in Family Photo
    In that article, it seems money has become more important than the children.

    As for Christianity in USA.. that special flavor of Christianity is rather bigot. It’s very strong, very vivid and very encumbering. It forces people to worry too damn much about what they are supposed to do, until some of them can’t take it anymore and start doing the opposite.

    In the case of religion, a lot of bad has been done in the name of religion, but I conjecture that even if religion was erased from humanity the same “religious” style problems would exist. The Rwanda Genocide had nothing to do with religious issues, but more different cultures (same “race” of people!). One could propose that racial differences are a source of war, and thus racial differences should be eliminated … but homogenizing the human race (biologically a really bad idea) is impossible I think. Even if the world was “one race” and everyone looked the same, etc, people would still find some reason to dislike people that are “different” from themselves. Religion is just amongst one of the many excuses people have used to justify war.

    Obviously, there must be something about people that would cause them to make these bad decisions time after time after time … even if it means other people may get harmed or will suffer.

    Sex for example, the stronger the repression, the uglier it turns. Catholic priests can’t have sex and some of them end up molesting children . Most of them don’t, but pressure is bound to crack someone somewhere.

    What kind of sexual repression are we talking about? The case of the Roman Catholic priests is a classical example of where the Bible says one thing, and human beings take things out of context. There’s nowhere in the Bible that forbids marriage to those who want to be priests or serve full-time in the church. In fact people are told to get married for the very reason that not everyone can control themselves!

    To play devil’s advocate using the country we live in … There was a period of time where middle-aged/older men were buying schoolgirls’ underwear. The Christian population in Japan is less than 1% and I would say has very little influence on the populace’s thinking. These men seemed to have been sexually repressed… but (as far as I can tell) there’s nothing here (religiously) that’s actively telling people “you mustn’t do these tings”.

    Again this particular problem has existed in all societies and depending on the period was either embraced or discouraged. Having said that I’m glad that the problem with the Roman Catholic priests got exposed … it was especially shocking to see the amount of cover-up that went on for so long.

    November 13th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
  20. Ragin' Lion says:

    aaaahh! there’s a broken blockquote tag at the end of the first paragraph … can u fix me please? 8P

    November 13th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
  21. Davide Pasca says:

    Ragin:
    I think violence in schools is relative to the culture and the “tools” they have available for violence. If you have guns and teens crazy enough, they’ll use guns. If you have knives and teens crazy enough, they’ll use knives. Let’s take a look at Japan (’cause we’re living in the country). There are a lot of student stabbing incidents here … partially because of the bullying problem (that generally isn’t addressed), but also for various other reasons.

    There is a lot of them ? How do you know that ? Aren’t you probably easily impressed ? Most people make a big deal out of one or two events and call it the norm.
    More than one school in USA has metal detectors ! I went to school in Italy and I can assure there is no need for metal detectors there.

    Here’s the first one (kind of “recent”)
    Japan in shock at school murder. If I recall properly, this girl stabbed (and killed) her friend because she was saying bad things about her on some chat site on the net …

    I guess then that schools in Japan are just as violent as those in the USA.. but I really don’t think so. Japan is one of the safest countries. Shit happens here too, but I know for a fact taht you can walk around Tokyo at night without having to worry about anything worse than stepping over some puke dumped by a drunken salaryman.
    You try do that in any of the major cities in the USA and come back to tell me.. try downtown LA, Chicago, or Naples in Italy ;)

    Weapon of choice … a knife … thank goodness that there aren’t any guns freely floating about the place.

    I see, it’s not the US residents that are crazy, it’s the guns that make them shoot around. However I’ve heard that Canada also has a lot of guns floating around and there is hardly the same level of shootings (although 1-2 years ago something bad happened).

    The war in Iraq is so convoluted at this point. Many are solely blaming the U.S., but I think there are other nations just as responsible for the mess.

    Responsible for not having had the balls to oppose. Many nations are too dependent on the USA and can’t just say no.. although I think that that’s lame.

    Yeah, those infomercials are trying to sell people the “American Dream” thing … I think they’re a direct result of people losing perspective on what’s important in life. It’s highly likely that you won’t see those kind of informercials here in Japan since there doesn’t seem to be the same economic infrastructure for normal, everyday people to build wealth (as there is in the States). I was talking with a person the other day about why Japan (despite having a lot of technical knowledge and ability) doesn’t produce things Google and YouTube. The answer I received as that there’s no venture captial type system here

    I saw one of those infomercials in Japan recently ! People in Japan are definitely less daring when it comes to business. There is a culture to sticking with a company.. but on the other hand, it’s hard to get fired.

    As you know, Japan has a very high suicide rate among it’s younger people. These pressures to do well in school, etc does take a toll on a lot of people. A lot of Japanese women these days don’t want to settle (so they can chase their dreams), I’ve met a person who actually wanted to be a NEET, and there are other “reactions” to the social pressure here. I think it’s as a result of the pressures that Japan’s currently experiencing it’s population drop.

    Pressure for japanese people too.. luckly they prefer sucide to omicide !

    Well, obviously that’s not possible. So many factors that contribute to crime. Population, culture, social needs. Crime in the States is obviously going to be worse than in Japan since the U.S. is a multi-cultural country and has far larger population than Japan. 8P

    Oh c’mon ! Japan is just safer. There is no doubt about it. You can make percentage stats, you can say whatever, that it’s the evil guns that shoot by themselves, that there is racial attrition.. but in the end Japan is just safer.

    This is where you’ll have to talk to people who are Japanese but have lived outside of the country long enough.

    You mean to those Japanese that like the USA more than Japan ? Let me guess, they will say they like USA more than Japan 8)

    Generally as a foreigner you’ll always get treated differently as opposed to an actual Japanese person. More than likely, we won’t experience the same pressures that a Japanese person does. In that context, people are less “free” than in the States.

    It’s a cultural thing. Freedom isn’t equal everywhere. This is the same reasoning that makes USA go bomb the middle east, claming it’s installing democracy etc etc.
    Forget your idea of things, forget your culture. Try to accept the fact that people can be happy with a different view of things.
    I realize that more individuaslity can bring good things, but I also realize that some people are born and raised in a certain environment and ultimately don’t necessarily want to change. Do you really believe that Japanese people dream to live in USA ? Maybe Italian people too ?
    Why then can’t I stand living in the USA ? Am I weird ? Any why aren’t you living in America ? 8P

    In the case of religion, a lot of bad has been done in the name of religion, but I conjecture that even if religion was erased from humanity the same “religious” style problems would exist.

    You go conjecture that.. but the facts are that religion is an incredible tool to send people to die.. to this day.

    What kind of sexual repression are we talking about? The case of the Roman Catholic priests is a classical example of where the Bible says one thing

    Still, they become crazy in the name of some religion.

    To play devil’s advocate using the country we live in … There was a period of time where middle-aged/older men were buying schoolgirls’ underwear. The Christian population in Japan is less than 1% and I would say has very little influence on the populace’s thinking. These men seemed to have been sexually repressed… but (as far as I can tell) there’s nothing here (religiously) that’s actively telling people “you mustn’t do these tings”.

    That’s the whole point.. here you can buy panties, in USA you can’t do anything and end up doing too much..

    aaaahh! there’s a broken blockquote tag at the end of the first paragraph … can u fix me please? 8P

    Stupid WordPress.. why can’t they add a simple Preview ?!

    November 14th, 2006 at 1:53 am
  22. rince says:

    Kaz:

    Not every European country but most of them. Also I see South Korea, Japan, Australia, some South American countries and even Tonga!!!

    Anyway its all very easy and logical to say: ‘Let each country take care of its own internal affairs’. But then you get some psychopath like Hitler rising to power and world wars happen.

    So I think the fact that Saddam Hussein was removed from power was definitely a good thing for the world in general and Iraq specifically.

    November 14th, 2006 at 2:16 am
  23. Mr. U.S.A. says:

    Yeah sure, you’re not comparing U.S.A. to Japan!
    Nothing to do with Japan!!

    You’re just so anti U.S.A.! You’re so bias!!
    Keep praising Japan. I hope some American
    kick your ass 8)

    This website is boring!!!

    Go back to coding, dude!!

    November 14th, 2006 at 2:30 am
  24. Mr. U.S.A. says:

    Kaz, just go back to coding!
    ….before some Americans kick your ass 8)

    November 14th, 2006 at 2:39 am
  25. Davide Pasca says:

    Rince:
    Not every European country but most of them. Also I see South Korea, Japan, Australia, some South American countries and even Tonga!!!

    Yeah and also Morocco offering to send a thousand monkeys to disarm mine fields…
    It was really only just USA and UK. Countries like Japan and Italy went after for “humanitarian” tasks.
    Basically the leaders of Japan and Italy were in business with Bush and went against the will of their people at the time… while you can bet that most Americans from the US wanted to go to Iraq.. how would I like to actually send those people there ..I wonder if they are so willing themselves ;)

    So I think the fact that Saddam Hussein was removed from power was definitely a good thing for the world in general and Iraq specifically.

    How was he affecting the world ? And what has the world learned form all this ? That you can go bomb a country and create a mess ? Civilians in Iraq die in big quantities every day.
    ..and it’s not like nobody ever warned of the potential problems with religious factions..
    Also the UN inspectors clearly stated that there were no WMD in sight, but Bush had to go anyway because he’s a man of action.. nice action there !

    I realize that you hate Saddam Hussein for your personal reasons, but I doubt that Iraqi are currently too happy.
    Who has gained anything from all this ?

    November 14th, 2006 at 2:42 am
  26. rince says:

    How Saddam was affecting the world?

    Here is one example:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/dates/stories/january/18/newsid_4588000/4588486.stm

    My grandfather lived near Haifa in 1991.

    Saddam was hoping for an Israeli retalliation that whould in turn force all the other arab countries to get involved, which would’ve pretty much become a world war.

    November 14th, 2006 at 3:16 am
  27. Ragin' Lion says:

    There is a lot of them ? How do you know that ? Aren’t you probably easily impressed ? Most people make a big deal out of one or two events and call it the norm.

    Dude … just read the news! 8P

    More than one school in USA has metal detectors ! I went to school in Italy and I can assure there is no need for metal detectors there.

    It’s only natural after incidents of shootings …

    I guess then that schools in Japan are just as violent as those in the USA.. but I really don’t think so. Japan is one of the safest countries.

    I’m not contesting the how “safe” Japan is compared to the States; I think it has a lot to do with the cultural differences than anything. The point I was trying to express was that there’s no perfect place on the planet.

    I see, it’s not the US residents that are crazy, it’s the guns that make them shoot around. However I’ve heard that Canada also has a lot of guns floating around and there is hardly the same level of shootings (although 1-2 years ago something bad happened).

    ha ha ha … that’s not what I’m saying. The fewer “options” people have to harm others, the less deadly the results. Having said that, I don’t think the gun ownership laws in Canada are the same as in the States.

    Oh c’mon ! Japan is just safer. There is no doubt about it. You can make percentage stats, you can say whatever, that it’s the evil guns that shoot by themselves, that there is racial attrition.. but in the end Japan is just safer.

    Yes, Japan is a safer place; I don’t disagree with that. Unlike the States, I think it’s a lot harder to get a work visa, immigration is a stricter, and (at least for the non-asian looking foreigners) it’s very easy to spot a non-Japanese person. I think a lot of the safety here has to do with cultural reasons and the society here still being very homogeneous. I really think the culture here is the main difference … I’m sure Japan’s safer than Italy! 8P To pull in Africa … I think that the U.S. is definitely safer than many countries in Africa … 8P

    You mean to those Japanese that like the USA more than Japan ? Let me guess, they will say they like USA more than Japan 8)

    I think that depends on the person. The people who told me these things live in Japan and have only been out of the country on short trips, but they notice the differences between how people in other countries act and how people act here.

    Do you really believe that Japanese people dream to live in USA ? Maybe Italian people too ?

    I don’t think I ever alluded to this at all. My argument is that no country is perfect and every place has it’s good and bad points. At this point in history America (and other countries) dropped the ball … but that doesn’t automatically mean that all Americans are mindless peons nor that all the soldiers are anxious to go to war and kill folks. During WWII, Japan wasn’t looked upon too favorably by it’s neighbors … and friction still exists between Japan and it’s neighbors because of Japan’s actions.

    Why then can’t I stand living in the USA ? Am I weird ? Any why aren’t you living in America ? 8P

    he he he … I never really did ask why you left the States … I assumed it was because you wanted to work here. At least that’s my reasons for not living in the States at the moment. I think you might remember (can’t remember his name now) criticizing me years ago for wanting to move to Japan to work here because “I could” and “it would be a nice experience”.

    If anything, living here has made me appreciate those things I took for granted in the States … and has made me realize how many Americans are simply lazy and don’t realize how good they have it over there.

    But I’m glad I made the decision to come live and work here because (while it can drive one crazy at times) the culture and history here is very rich (and very non-Western). My only current regret is that I still haven’t mastered the language to the extent that I’d like to where I can read some of the older literature.

    . but the facts are that religion is an incredible tool to send people to die.. to this day.

    One could say the same for technology. Many died when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. As far as I could tell, that wasn’t a religious decision. Until Japan attacked the U.S at Perl Harbor, there was no war between the two countries. By the way I’m using Japan a lot simply because we live here … I’d use Italy too if I knew anything about Italian history! 8P

    I say rather than people just focusing solely on religion, we should put everything on the table … still like xenophobia, racism, greed, slavery, etc …

    That’s the whole point.. here you can buy panties, in USA you can’t do anything and end up doing too much..

    Is that to say that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable if you found out that some man was buying your daughter’s panties? 8P I definitely don’t agree with the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on celibacy for priests and nuns, but in any (normal) society if the govt. passes laws that restrict people’s sexual expression (or any kind of behavior that society at large deems inappropriate), there will be “repression” in some form or another … What deters many people from expressing whatever repressions they have (sexual or whatever) is the potential consequences of breaking those laws.

    But my reasoning is that if you have priests abusing young boys and men buying teenage girls’ panties … there’s probably more going on inside of them than mere repression of sexual desires wanting to be fulfilled.

    November 15th, 2006 at 12:32 am
  28. brian says:

    http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4984

    “PlayStation 3 Launches With Shootings, Robberies, Riots and Other Crime”

    * Man in CT gets shot waiting for PS3
    * PlayStation 3 hopefuls overwhelm mall in Boston
    o Mayor blames Sony
    * Police shut down Palmdale Super Wal-Mart
    * Man with PS3 gets jumped and beaten by group of teens
    * Gunmen heist 4 PlayStation 3 consoles in California
    * PlayStation 3 thief strikes in NJ
    * Gunman stalks teen from Wal-Mart to home in Yakima
    * Armed robbers steal five PS3s from EB Games in Ohio
    * Police used pepper balls to contain a crowd waiting at Circuit City in VA
    * Riot breaks out in North Fresno
    * Wal-Mart manager creates chaos, man runs into pole

    On Thursday morning approximately 50 customers were lined up outside the Wal-Mart in West Bend. The customers were waiting to purchase Sony Playstation 3 game consoles.

    At 7 a.m. an assistant manager of Wal-Mart announced to the waiting customers that the store anticipated getting only 10 of the game consoles. The game consoles are first available for sale at 12:01 a.m. this Friday.

    The assistant manager explained he was going to put 10 chairs out, and the first 10 customers to get to the chairs would be eligible to purchase the game consoles when they go on sale.

    The assistant manager then lined up the 10 chairs outside the store and directed the waiting customers to another area outside.
    He then gave a signal for the customers to run to the chairs.

    (ROFL)

    ================================================

    That’s how USA PS3 launch was. I was in Tokyo by the launch in Japan. There were many people outside the biggest (I think) store in tokyo for electronics and videogames, the night before, and 1500 were given a ticket and offeered to wait underground in the mall park, warmer than outside. At morning they were all queued in a protected line, while each one went ahead in their turn to get the PS3, and everyone was nicely thanked. I doubt anyone was assaulted on the way home.

    Oh yah, I’m comparing japan and usa here, in a small basis. I haven’t been for long in the US or here, but for what I’ve seen so far Japan is by faaaaaar a lot better, nicer, cleaner, more (at least technologically) advanced, people are far more polite and respectful, and shrug, it’s safe.

    Oh yeah, the chicks are by far prettier too.

    December 1st, 2006 at 12:49 am

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