Wednesday February 15, 2012

tkoind2's past comments

  • 1

    tkoind2

    One more thought. If the people of N.Korea reach out and ask for help to overthrow their oppressors, then I would be in favor of supporting them.

    If China is smart, they will too. Otherwise it reveals far to much about China's negative intentions in the region.

    Posted in: Should allies like Japan, South Korea and the U.S. send condolences to North Korea over the death of Kim Jong-Il whose funeral will be held Wednesday?

  • 1

    tkoind2

    some14some. Why hasn't China? Or some other country for that matter?

    The truth is North Korea is a horrific little side act as far as the world is concerned. It is a humanitarian disaster that we all wish could be resolved. But we are not willing to sacrifice South Korea to improve the state of North Koreans.

    Why?

    Because it would take far too little effort and time for N. Korea to destroy much of the south before they could be neutralized. And that would be an even greater tragedy. So instead we hope for change. Change from the oppressed people themselves. Sadly that has not come to pass.

    FYI, I was not for US action in Iraq. I did and still do think it was wrong. Libya, well... that one is harder. But at least we were invited to join that fight and not imposed upon the locals.

    Posted in: Should allies like Japan, South Korea and the U.S. send condolences to North Korea over the death of Kim Jong-Il whose funeral will be held Wednesday?

  • 1

    tkoind2

    some14some. I thought you were the defender of all things China. So we can expand that coverage to North Korea now? A state that starves its own population. A state that allows nearly no human rights. And a nation that suffers under selfimposed medieval conditions because it is run like a twisted doomsday cult.

    So just exactly what do you want? The continued suffering of an entire nation of people for the benefit of propaganda and China's buffer state between their semi-repressive state and a free South Korea?

    Kim Jung Il is dead. Good riddance. Sadly it does not fortell the end of the regime, but more likely the continuation of the cult state.

    So again, just what positives do you see here? Do defend your obviously untennable position.

    Posted in: Should allies like Japan, South Korea and the U.S. send condolences to North Korea over the death of Kim Jong-Il whose funeral will be held Wednesday?

  • 0

    tkoind2

    I am sorry but let's be honest. I doubt anyone, his son included, are sorry to see the old monster gone. So why fake it? N. Korea cannot be idiotic enough to believe that the world mourns Kim. Let's give even their leaders that much credit.

    Posted in: Should allies like Japan, South Korea and the U.S. send condolences to North Korea over the death of Kim Jong-Il whose funeral will be held Wednesday?

  • 0

    tkoind2

    The revolving door is starting to spin once again. I give him til mid year.

    Posted in: Noda's public support plunges

  • 1

    tkoind2

    She's far to skinny and looks pissed off. Why would that be inviting? I could think of a thousand other images that would be far more inviting.

    Posted in: Sales pitch

  • -1

    tkoind2

    JapanGal, I am sure to something out there you are too. Does that make it ok for that thing to hunt you?

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 1

    tkoind2

    OssanAmerican. No friend it bothers me that Japan re-routes donated money for Tohoku to fund a sham of "scientific whaling" which is clearly commercial.

    Don't you see how that hurts innocent people in Japan? People who actually do need our help. I have spent the most of this year raising money for Tohoku and have been up to volunteer. There are still people in shelters and in very poor temporary housing. Those people I care about. And it is for those people that we have raised thousands of dollars to support this year.

    When we found out the government was routing some of that money to whaling, we instantly lost supporters from in Japan and from abroad because they want to support and help people, not Japan's idiotic whaling activities.

    This harms real living people who need help. And is yet another example of the boneheaded approach that Japan consistently takes in dealing with key international issues. Often to its own greatest harm.

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • -1

    tkoind2

    "Sea Shepherd is a terrorist organization. They are trying to cut off a nation's food supply."

    Funny! And I guess you believe Obama is an Illuminati and Big Foot is waiting to step into the next election as an LDP candidate.

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 3

    tkoind2

    Kentaro, your own Japanese history should teach you a lesson about having that kind of attitude towards world opinion. You cannot just do what you want and claim Japanese culture as an excuse. Nor can you just claim cultural imperialism every time Japan doesn't agree with something.

    See you cannot have it both ways. You want to be a leading global player, then there are global standards you need to swallow. Like it or not. Otherwise you can go back to the isolationism that left Japan in a Medieval state when much of the world was already industrialized.

    Change is inevitable. Other cultures also had whaling as a key to their traditions. They have evolved and now celebrate that culture in non-destructive ways. As you will eventually need to do.

    So you can go on claiming "Japanese way, culture" as long as you like, but the economic reality, political damage and image cost of your continue to rack up will only hurt Japan. And in the end, it is the welfare of your people and economy that should trump any nonsense about whaling.

    Until then, best wishes to the activists who are making it increasingly costly for Japan to continue this nonsense.

    One other note. If Japan gives Tohoku donations to whaling, then don't be surprised if donations are harder to get next time. It is criminal that money given to help relieve Tohoku has gone to whaling, and that will not be forgotten by future donors. This hurts innocent Japanese. Something you also need to think about.

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 2

    tkoind2

    theResident. Nice try, but I am not English. Japan is my long term permanent home. And since I pay taxes here like you do, I will critique what I think needs to be addressed.

    In my home country there are no national TV channels. Commecial TV does just fine pressing propaganda all paid for by advertising. No one comes to your home to harrass you for money. And likewise, we don't need to care about how the staff of those stations waste that money.

    I join and support many Japanese in their boycott of NHK funding, more power to people who think for and act for themselves in Japan and not just follow the "rules" right or wrong. Japan needs people willing to challenge more of the corruption here.

    I care that Gaga is shallow and silly. She degrades culture along with many other pointless artists out there. Popularity is not a test of quality. On the contrary, it is often only a test of trendy hysteria or passing fad. Both of which Gaga is likely to define.

    Posted in: Lady Gaga to appear on 'Kohaku Uta Gassen'

  • 3

    tkoind2

    Kentaro, "terrorist organization?" Come on really?

    Orwell warned that the meaning of words would be subverted for propaganda purposes. Bush led this conversion of the word "terrorist" to subvert the word so that it could be applied to anything. Thus undermining the real meaning and relevance of the word, while enabling us to lable anything we don't like as "terrorist" and therefore something that could be easily repressed.

    As for "your culture" I am with Spudemanreincarnated, stop spreading your "culture" around the world and we will leave you alone. Whale all you want within Japanese waters and you can make that statement. Come out into international waters and bet your @ss we are going to have an opinion.

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 0

    tkoind2

    theResident. Gaga aside, the corruption of NHK makes a lot of us think that we should not be spending our money on the state propaganda channel. Especially if that money is being stolen for parties and such.

    It isn't only foreign people who feel this way, many, MANY Japanese I know do not pay and refuse to pay NHK for the same reason.

    Now their hiring some flash shallow artist from abroad for their show is just one more reason to feel they are wasting the hard earned yen of working people in Japan. If you want to be pissed off mate, try being pissed off for all the working people who see their money wasted by a corrupt NHK.

    Posted in: Lady Gaga to appear on 'Kohaku Uta Gassen'

  • 1

    tkoind2

    Greapper1, why would you wish such a thing? Horrible to hope that people are put in danger of dying so you can have a laugh. Shame on you! No one rational is wishing for anyone on either side of this argument to be killed or seriously harmed.

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 2

    tkoind2

    Some thoughts.

    • " junk email will be eliminated by smarter filtering" If the tech age has taught us any lasting lesson it is this, hackers and spammers have and will continue to keep pace with efforts to prevent their intrusions. Anyone thinking this will suddenly go away is as optimistic as a child awaiting Santa's arrival.

    • "Biological makeup will become the key to personal identity." At what price? If this comes to pass, you can forget privacy. And just imagine the capabilities this technology will endow marketers with. You think spam and advertising is bad now, imagine when they are able to scan your movements and follow every thing you look at while shopping.

    And then there are the Orwellian aspects of this technology and what the state may do with it.

    Bottom line here, technology is wonderful as long as it serves a free society. But once it is driven by profit motive and a desire for security, it can easily become a monster than oppresses us. We need to push back on further invasion of our lives by potentially dangerous technology. Privacy and freedom must be prioritized over convenience.

    Posted in: Mind reading machines on their way: IBM

  • 2

    tkoind2

    Farmboy "criminals" is a term I think applies more to a nation who tries to mask commerical whaling as "science".

    In any case this annual idiocy reflects far more poorly upon Japan than upon anyone else. So do keep up the good work of making Japan see backwards and silly. You do yourselves more harm than good with this. Especially now that the word is out that the government is spending Tohoku money on this. It is shameful beyond words.

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 4

    tkoind2

    Give em hell. I think it is unforgivable that Japan spent money intended for aid in Tohoku to help fund their annual travesty of whaling. So more than ever, I hope the activists make life a living hell for the whaling fleet.

    Gambatte!!! Given em HELL!

    Posted in: Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

  • 3

    tkoind2

    Wonderful, now the circle is complete. Terrible commercialized J-pop meets the copy cat queen of shallow culture to dumb down the annual sing in.

    It makes me very sad when I think about the past generations of artists. Artists who took pride in their originality, in the lasting artistic quality of their music and in their devotion to art regardless of profit. Look at the music that lasts with time defining music like the advent of rock in the 50's, the Beattles, the iconic artists of the 80's and even the rough edged but sincere bands like Nirvana in the 90's.

    To be honest I can barely remember a single profoud or definitive song since early 2000. But I can remember lots of fluffy commercial trash with vocal effects and the same or recycled copies of artists who came before.

    Gaga is a cheap Madonna rip off. Sure she writes her own music but that makes it even worst. She cannot blame her copycat style on some producer, it is entirely her own theft. She garrish, unoriginal and trivial and when the shock value dies, she will join all the other shallow pop on the mountain of forgotten music.

    Posted in: Lady Gaga to appear on 'Kohaku Uta Gassen'

  • 8

    tkoind2

    One key difference between these two spiritual reminders. The Monk is silent, only ringing his bell. He waits for you to come to him freely. The people with the yellow signs are threatening eternal damnation if you follow "hen na kami" as their recording states.

    I have never had a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, Atheist, Agnostic, Zoroastrian, Wiccan, Pagan or any of many other religious adherents threaten me with damnation or arbitrarily decide that my different belief system is "hen" or likely to land me in eternal fire. This is the domain of the evangelical Christian.

    I am seriously tired of these yellow sign people and their admonitions against all other faiths but theirs. The Jesus I read about in the Bible was not about fear and threats. That is again the domain of organized Christianity which lives and breathes fear, guilt all while breeding its better than thou capacity to dismiss all other faiths as evil or wrong.

    I wish these yellow sign people would just shut up and peddle their mystic nonsense somewhere other than in our public streets.

    Posted in: Spiritual reminders

  • 5

    tkoind2

    "Is there really any need to insult this cool woman?"

    It is really an insult to point out a fact?

    Posted in: Going Gaga

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