Wednesday February 15, 2012

mushroomcloud's past comments

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    mushroomcloud

    Terrible. Like watching the movie 2012 in real life.

    Article Unavailable

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    mushroomcloud

    Costco rules.

    Best place to buy electronics, especially with their 2 year warranty and 90 day return policy.

    USDA prime steaks from Costco are awesome.

    Posted in: Costco reshapes wholesale industry

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    mushroomcloud

    No discontent, just anxiety, in Japan:

    Recently, I had a most bizarre experience. I was walking down a street when a total stranger approached me and asked, "What will become of Japan?" And this happened not once but three times. Under a normal circumstance, those three people would have simply passed by wondering in which newspaper or TV show they had seen my face. But obviously they felt it impossible to repress the anxiety that they felt.

    Interestingly, all three encounters happened last spring, well before blatant security threats cropped up in the fall when a Chinese trawler rammed two Japan Coast Guard cutters near the Senkaku Islands, and North Korea shelled a South Korean island.

    Still, even last spring people had good reason for concern. At that time, Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio was straying in his handling of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa Island. Immediately after he told U.S. President Barack Obama "Trust me," Hatoyama made remarks that betrayed Obama's trust. He later tried to explain the intentions behind his remarks, but Obama refused to meet him. When Hatoyama told the press that he had at last been able to communicate his message to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had sat next to him during a meal, Clinton took the trouble of inviting the Japanese ambassador to the State Department to tell him that she had not acknowledged Hatoyama's comments.

    People grow uneasy when they perceive that their government is not functioning well. But whatever complaints the Japanese may express about their government every once in a while, no other people trust their governments as much as the Japanese do.

    South Korean philosopher-statesman You Jin Oh once told me, "The Japanese people looked down on the Koreans for their lack of patriotism during Japan's colonial rule. The Koreans are actually patriotic people, but they have few memories in history of having receive benefits from their often tyrannical government. The Japanese, in contrast, show patriotism by uniting with the government in times of emergency. In short, the expression of patriotism is different between the Koreans and the Japanese. To be different has nothing to do with the concept of good or bad."

    In Europe, China or Korea, families own precious metals and jewels that they can use for funds in times of emergency. In contrast, in Japan practically nobody hoards gold or jewels for that purpose. The Japanese trust the state and society so completely that they are content to keep their savings deposited in a bank or post office.

    While the Japanese people are always freely bashing away at bureaucrats, they — occasional political turmoil notwithstanding — have never doubted that the government — in particular the bureaucracy — would always protect their interests. But witnessing the Democratic Party of Japan show so little respect for the bureaucracy, the people have lost confidence in the reliability of administrative institutions.

    Also, while people have indulged in criticism of the government for being too subservient to the U.S., most Japanese did not doubt that the U.S. would protect Japan in a crisis. This trust and conviction, however, collapsed during the Hatoyama administration.

    While I was telling others about my encounters with the three strangers, I recalled that this was not the first time the Japanese people had become wary of their government's handling of state affairs.

    One year that has long remained in my memory is 1945. The Japanese people had been excited by the country's military victories in the early battles of the Pacific War and the conquest of Southeast Asia. But after the U.S. began carrying out air raids on Japan's mainland, city streets became filled with victims and food grew increasingly scarce. And every one in those days was saying, "What will become of Japan?"

    Although the government tried to conceal the true conditions of the war, the gap between the official announcements and the reality became increasingly obvious. Ultimately, the Japanese people lost confidence in their government.

    Going back further in history, there was the Feb. 26 Incident of 1936, a military coup d'etat that ultimately failed. I was only 6, but clearly remember the incident — in particular the deep concern that grownups felt over the uncertain future.

    Around the time Japan was commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, the press interviewed older people to describe the most shocking events of their lifetimes. Even though they had experienced such major incidents as the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression of 1929 and Japan's defeat in World War II, many chose the Feb. 26 Incident. Throughout the war until its miserable end, no matter how painful the experience was to them, the people were united with the government. But the people interviewed said the Feb. 26 Incident, which was the only coup d'etat in Japan's modern history, made them feel that they no longer had a government they could rely on.

    Fortunately, the atmosphere in Japan today has greatly changed since the days of the Hatoyama administration and popular confidence in the government is again growing. This is partly due to recent provocations by China and North Korea. The Kan government has openly emphasized that the alliance with the U.S. is the axis of Japan's foreign policy, and the U.S. has responded positively to this new stance. Today no objection is heard when the Ministry of Defense proposes improving the defense of the southwest islands of Japan or when Self-Defense Forces units are dispatched as observers of the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. In addition, there is little bureaucracy bashing.

    I believe this change is a manifestation of the wisdom of the Japanese people, to which the Kan government has responded. Prime Minister Naoto Kan acted boldly and dauntlessly when he appointed former Liberal Democratic Party economic planner Yosano Kaoru as minister of state for economic and fiscal policy. I hope that the prime minister will depart from all past complications and announce that Japan will exercise of the right to collective self-defense as well as revise the three-point principles to ban arms exports in the forthcoming meeting with Obama. Such actions would solidify the alliance between Japan and the U.S. and further alleviate the Japanese people's deep sense of insecurity.

    While the inadequacy of Japan's defense budget will continue to pose an obstacle to the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance, the above two measures would, without any financial outlay, fundamentally solidify the alliance with the U.S. and alleviate the Japanese people's deep worries.

    Hisahiko Okazaki is a former Japanese Ambassador to Thailand.

    Posted in: Discontent, but no revolt in China - yet

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    mushroomcloud

    "An F-15 fighter jet made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. lost tail parts yesterday during flight training near Hyakuri Air Base in eastern Japan, the Air Self- Defense Force said.

    "Aluminum parts measuring 2 meters (6.6 feet) by 40 centimeters dropped from the plane, which took off from the air base at 11:50 a.m. yesterday, Hiroaki Akeguchi, an Air Force spokesman, said today by telephone. No injuries and damages were reported, he said.

    The Air Force noticed the parts were missing after the plane landed an hour after take-off, Akeguchi said."

    Bloomberg January 8, 2008

    Posted in: Japan scrambles F-15 as China jets near airspace

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    mushroomcloud

    USNinJapan2,

    Here's a quote about the USAF and JASDF:

    "The US Air Force has grounded all its F-15 fighter planes after an accident in Missouri triggered concerns about the ageing fleet, officials said Tuesday.

    The decision comes after Japan on Sunday grounded its F-15 fleet after it was informed by US forces that an Air National Guard F-15 fighter jet had crashed.

    In Japan, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters that Tokyo has also suspended flights of F-2 fighter jets after one crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at an airport in central Japan last week.

    "We will deal with the task of preventing airspace incursions with our F-4 fighter jets," the oldest model among Japan's fighter jets, Ishiba said."

    AFP November 6, 2007

    Posted in: Japan scrambles F-15 as China jets near airspace

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    mushroomcloud

    They said they were jets, though. Y-8s are prop driven.

    Perhaps they were recon versions of the J-8, or the JH-7. Or the twin seat version of the J-10, or naval J-11 (SU-27 clone).

    Posted in: Japan scrambles F-15 as China jets near airspace

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    mushroomcloud

    USNinJapan2 and techall,

    Make no mistake in this regard, I very much respect your comments, especially knowing that both of you served and have more knowledge about the F-15 up close than me.

    My only point was that the F-15J needs to be replaced due to age, as does the F-4J Phantom, with more advanced U.S. fighters such as the F-35.

    Posted in: Japan scrambles F-15 as China jets near airspace

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    mushroomcloud

    USNinJapan2,

    I'm referring to the F-15Js built in the 1980's. While JASDF's maintenance program is probably top notch, there have been reported cases of the entire fleet of F-15's grounded in Japan and the U.S. due to heavy flight fatigue on the airframe.

    "The Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of F-15s, the service's premier fighter aircraft, after one of the planes disintegrated over eastern Missouri during a training mission, raising the possibility of a fatal flaw in the aging fighters' fuselage that could keep it out of the skies for months.

    Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, ordered the grounding Saturday after initial reports indicated that the Missouri Air National Guard fighter plane had broken apart Friday in midair during a simulated dogfight. The pilot ejected and survived."

    The L.A. Times, November 6, 2007

    Posted in: Japan scrambles F-15 as China jets near airspace

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    mushroomcloud

    It's a good thing that the Japanese F-15 did not fall apart in the air because their airframes are so old and fatigued.

    Anyways, Japan better purchase the F-35, because...

    Planners in Tokyo have been alarmed by the rapidly advancing capabilities of neighboring China, which recently rolled out its next-generation stealth fighter, the much-touted Chengdu J-20. Though that fighter may be years away from actual operations, it is seen as a rival to the F-22 and far superior to what Japan now has.

    Even without the J-20 shock, Japan was under increasing pressure to replace its aging F-4EJ and F-15 fighters. It had initially planned to make a decision in 2007, but has repeatedly pushed back its deadline amid budget and bureaucratic battles.

    Associated Press Feb 22, 2011

    Posted in: Japan scrambles F-15 as China jets near airspace

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    mushroomcloud

    He could have been in Venezuela or Cuba by now, smoking Montecristos.

    Now, after firing upon his own people with fighter-jets, this guy is going to be roasted on a shawarma spit.

    Posted in: Gadhafi's vows to fight to 'last drop of blood'

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    mushroomcloud

    Wie and Creamer look great.

    I kind of feel bad for Ai. This picture makes her look so unflattering compared to her neighbors.

    Posted in: Watch the birdies

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    mushroomcloud

    Told you so.

    Posted in: Moody's downgrades Japan outlook on national debt

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    mushroomcloud

    It appears the massacre that is happening in Libya puts a major dent in Hikozaemon's assertion that these sort of things no longer occur in the Middle East, and only in China.

    Fighter-bombers attacking unarmed civilians. Brutal.

    Posted in: Gadhafi appears on TV to dispel rumors he has fled

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    mushroomcloud

    Japan is trying to come clean after 60+ years?

    Wonderful.

    Posted in: Japan excavating site linked to WWII human experiments by Unit 731

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    mushroomcloud

    'The leaders of the military know that if the CCP is brought down, they will have just as many crimes to answer for as the leaders of the party, so everyone is locked into protecting the regime.'

    And the people also know that if the CCP is brought down, anarchy will reign, which means that China will descend into utter chaos. So yes, everyone is locked into protecting the regime, the growth rates, the military's expansion, etc, and this includes most of the people.

    China is the 2nd largest economy in the world. Common folk in China see more opportunities in this reality than trying to hold the CCP for crimes, though many, that have occurred many decades ago.

    Posted in: What do you think about the wave of anti-government protests in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Iran? Should countries like China and North Korea feel uneasy about it?

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    mushroomcloud

    Horrible. The gulf states are next.

    Posted in: Libyan doctor says 200 dead in Benghazi

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    mushroomcloud

    oberst:

    I read the article that you mention. Seems though many here have no idea how hooked we are on cheap Chinese products, and Chinese credit.

    Posted in: Japan welcomes China becoming world's No. 2 economy

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    mushroomcloud

    Horrific. Just when certain posters thought that this kind of behavior would never occur in the middle east anymore.

    Posted in: Bahrain security forces fire on protesters

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    mushroomcloud

    Sounds like this bird was influenced by the Pershing II.

    The only way the DF-21D could penetrate is if it's fired in multiple salvos.

    And according to online articles, as part of the DF-21D's IOC, there are now 3 recently launched Chinese SAR satellites that are assigned specifically for naval target acquisition. In the event of a conflict, the U.S. can take this trio out rather easily.

    Posted in: U.S. admiral: China's carrier killer won't stop U.S. Navy

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    mushroomcloud

    "China didn't single handely save the world from financial collapse as you seem to think, they are in a growth period because they had holes in the ground for toilets just 10 years ago"

    Sorry Ossan,

    Yes they did. Guess who loaned money (China) to the country that caused the financial collapse (U.S)?

    Unfortunately for you, Ossan, you underestimate how close we came to entering into a depression. And when I say we, I mean it, as I live in the same country as you and saw the devastation with my very own eyes from the epicenter of where it happened. And yes, it was indeed China that saved the world from economic collapse by putting into overdrive a stimulus package that kept demand for every conceivable commodity. The United States did put a stimulus package together as well, but guess who loaned us the money to do so? This was all done at the time when the U.S. and Western Europe were begging the Chinese to buy their sovereign debt to keep their countries afloat. Yes, this happened. Perhaps you are blind, deaf, but certainly not mute to what has happened over the past 3 years? Or maybe you do not live in the United States?

    And as for toilets, China still has holes in the ground, as does Japan. Trust me, I know. Seen them in both countries.

    Posted in: Japan welcomes China becoming world's No. 2 economy

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