Category Archives: Japan

Idiot’s Delight In Japanese Government





To Nuke Or Not To Nuke?

To develop nuclear energy plants or not to build nuclear energy plants is now the question of the hour. The disaster in Japan provides evidence constructing nuclear plants in area which are subject to earthquakes may not be the most responsible manner of dealing with nuclear energy At least two Japanese nuclear plants are sending out radiation into the atmosphere and it is still uncertain whether or not one of these plants will explode. Those involved in development of nuclear energy are now rethinking the entire process and wondering if it is possible to secure from governments and local populations support for these edifices. Frankly, we do not know how to deal with this issue, but we do know it must be confronted and those within the physical environs of such plants should be provided the economic means to leave if they fear for their safety.

It is a tough call, but if an individual is living in the area they should have the right to leave–and be paid for their homes. On the other hand, perhaps we could use a nice controlled atomic disaster. It at least would create jobs.


I was raised in an east European Jewish Socialist working class neighborhood in the Bronx, New York City. I guess today, they would term us, “disadvantaged,” but we call ourselves, “poor” and that did not mean we felt any disadvantage. I learned Street Corner Wisdom. Some, I retain, other aspects of this “wisdom” have been discarded.


When playing stickball, hit the ball where they ain’t.

Always trust an Irish politician, he keeps his word.

When walking in a strange neighborhood, walk on heels, not toes. Toe walking is too aggressive.

Never rat on anyone.

Jewish girls don’t do IT. Irish girls DO.

Never sign a paper. Your handshake is your word.

Teachers never go to the toilet. Where they go is the mystery of life.

Never vote for a Republican. They are for the rich.

If you see a police car coming, just run.

Never step on a blade of grass growing out of the pavement.


I noticed there is an online discussion about Where is God in Japan? I assume the inference is since thousands of innocent humans died due to an earthquake and subsequent tusunami it means God has abandoned humanity. For some strange reason, if there is a calamity God is blamed for the calamity. If someone wins a lottery, the individual cites luck or their innate intelligence. I do not attend any church, mosque or synagogue since my interactions with the entity humans describe as “God” are strictly personal. The question certainly was posed during the Holocaust by millions. The assumption behind the question is that God’s duty is to prevent evil, and if brutality emerges anywhere in the world, it is His fault. In all honesty, I have thought about God when things go bad in my life, but, in the end, it is clear to me that my decisions are in one way or another the reason for my lack of money or lack of girl friends or lack of job or my inability to pay the mortgage. God has nothing to do with my calamity.

We humans kill one another by the millions, we allow a few wealthy people hoard our money and then most feel sorry if the poor, poor wealthy person is asked to share some of his money with fellow man. I would be more interested in the question of God’s relationship to the selfish, vicious group known as “the wealthy” who hoard money, who use their money to pay off legislatures and governments. Sorry, God is not the culprit for the Japanese calamity. Blame it on the people of Japan for mistakes.

God has enough problem wandering billions of planets to worry about an earthquake on one tiny little speck of dust in the universe.

Germany Says No To Nuclear Power

Chancellor Angela Merkel was for extending the life of her nation’s 17 nculear reactors before she read opinion polls that revealed most Germans opposed further nuclear development. She switched nuclear power in midstream which did not impress German voters. In the state of Baden-Wurttenberg which her party had controlled for over half a century, voters gave power to a Green -Social Democratic alliance. It is interesting that Merkel played the anti-Turkish card, but that did not appear to impress voters. People are primarily concerned about jobs, about the health and safety of their lives and hate just does no make the top ten list of what they want in their lives.

French elections showed the same trend as right wing political parties were voted down while Social Democrats rose in popularity. We suspect, England is next on the list.

On Use Of Nuclear Sources

Each day brings more bad news concerning the nuclear plants in Japan. Explosions at the plants raise fears of a devastating outcome that might impact, not merely the people of Japan, but other areas of Asia. What happens if a plant explodes and sends radiation into the atmosphere? We know from the Russian nuclear explosion in the 1980s that radiation could drift hundreds of miles and lead to many deaths as people become ill. At a time when oil prices are rising due to events in Libya and other areas of the Middle East, the attraction of nuclear power grows more enticing. As in any situation dealing with power or energy, the cost benefits must be examined. Is the risk worth the cost is a bottom line? Should we pursue nuclear energy in order to avoid being trapped in the oil vise of Middle Eastern nations?

Perhaps, events in Japan and the Middle East really make clear the importance of moving away from these sources of energy and investing huge amounts of money into wind or hydrogen or sun sources of energy that are renewable and not dependent upon human errors. Barack Obama has urged building trains. Why not end cars in major cities and require people to use trains? Why not make trains from suburban areas run like subways and then declare cars are off limits during week days?

Japan Confronts Aftermath Of Disaster

There is little one can add to the story of what has happened to the people of Japan. The media depicts the horror of a tsunami and its effects in dramatic visual images while reporters tell tales of fear, disaster and a world suddenly gone mad as people scramble to survive. Each day, figures rise as to the number of dead from the initial one thousand estimate to figures reaching over ten thousand or even twenty thousand. Meanwhile, two nuclear plants are leaking radiation and fears grow of an atomic explosion. It would be ironic if an atomic blast rocked Japan, the only nation in the world to have the experience of a nuclear devastation –aside from one incident in Russia twenty years ago. Meanwhile life goes on and stories emerge of those hoarding supplies of food and water and other necessities. It has been too long since the people of Japan, as a society, confronted disaster and now emotions of life in a capitalist society emerge. Fear, greed, me, are emotions now all too common.

Eventually, the people of Japan will have worked their way through these troubled times. Eventually, they will decide whether or not to continue an atomic energy power policy. In the meantime, bodies emerge from the wreckage. In the meantime, each person must confront his or her obligation to society.

Tsunami Reflections

A horrible event taking place thousands of miles away from the shores of the United States leads many who ordinarily lack concern for those in pain, to suddenly become voices of assistance to the afflicted of the world. It appears that thousands are dead in Japan and the damage is probably beyond our understanding at this point in the tragedy. Even as this event unfolded there were Republican members of Congress insistent on the need to cut expenditures for the homeless, the sick, early childhood programs and for those disabled and unable to even purchase food. I am certain those same men and women will utter concern for the people of Japan, and even vote funds to aid those who are caught in the disaster, but those in the disaster here in America are not on their radar of relief. We humans have the capacity to reach out thousands of miles while those in our backyard never enter into our thoughts. How does a Republican Congressman who voted to gut funds to provide assistance to a human who lacks the physical means to secure food turn around and agree to aid victims of disaster in Japan?

We humans are strange creatures. We, all too often, lack care and concern for those in our midst while we utter pieties of concern for those so far, far away.

Is There A Flying Car In Your Future?

Trapped in a massive traffic jam and muttering curses under your breath as you read this story? Sick and tired of driving ten miles per hour while inhaling gas fumes? Ready to take a flying leap into the future? Indian car manufacturer. A.K. Vishwanath, has taken the Japanese Maruti 800 car which was the first small car to impact the people of India back in the 19080s and applied some tricky changes which will allow a driver to shift gears and fly upward rather than continue going ahead into the traffic jam. He placed rotating blades on the four corners of the roof, and a vacuum section around the tires which will allow drivers to go upward into the air. “I built the technique which will give my car vertical lift capabilities.” Of course, as of this date, the theory has not been put into practice and we do not have any pictures of a flying car, but, what the heck, it is an interesting concept.

Those who are old enough fondly remember the “Flying Jetsons” who flew around the sky. My question is whether once cars fly will there be “flying cops” and will they hand out tickets? On the other hand, I wonder why we Americans once again are not the innovators when it comes to cars.

Michele Bachman, Historian Of Falsehood!




