The Eternal Gaijin

-- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

A nice summary of the information last 30 years. The Beginning: Foreign Policy In Focus | The United States and the Kurds: A Brief History At the 1919 Versailles Conference, in which the victorious allies of World War I were carving up the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, President Woodrow Wilson unsuccessfully pushed for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan. Since that time, however, U.S. policy toward the Kurds has been far less supportive and often cynically opportunistic. For example, in the mid-1970s, in conjunction with the dictatorial Shah of Iran, the United States goaded Iraqi Kurds into launching an armed uprising against the then left-leaning Iraqi government with the promise of continued military support. However, the United States abandoned them precipitously as part of an agreement with the Baghdad regime for a territorial compromise favorable to Iran regarding the Shatt al-Arab waterway. The Middle: Foreign Policy In Focus | The United States and the Kurds: A B...

Jesus, people. You're making all Canadians look bad. Knock this shit off, fucktards! JURIST - Paper Chase: Canada denies new claims that detainees transferred to Afghans were tortured The Canadian government Monday rejected fresh allegations that members of the Taliban captured by Canadian troops in Afghanistan were tortured by Afghan investigators after being transferred from Canadian custody. Powered by ScribeFire .

I mean seriously: A Saudi leader saying anyone else isn't doing enough to combat terrorism? How the fuck does that happen? Saudi King says Britain failing to tackle terrorism | Top News | Reuters.com In an interview with the BBC before a state visit to Britain, King Abdullah accused London of failing to do enough to combat international terrorism. "We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain but unfortunately no action was taken," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "And it may have been able to maybe avert the tragedy." Powered by ScribeFire .

Fresh off a hangover with some people I know who sort still work there, another round up of the end of Nova. Foreign embassies offer help to teachers | The Japan Times Online Nova 'gave' 100 mil. yen to Sahashi group / Money spent on food forums, entertainment : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri) Mainichi Daily News - Nova Over? Nova employees glad to be off hot seat : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri) Ex-NOVA president, family sold off majority of stake in failed school - Mainichi Daily News Shady stock speculator claims link to NOVA's failed rescue plan - Mainichi Daily News Editorial: NOVA teachers, students need government support - Mainichi Daily News the woodshed Powered by ScribeFire .

Links basically without comment. Scandal-ridden English language schools close doors | | Guardian Unlimited Business Nova seeks court protection from creditors | The Japan Times Online Nova was founded in 1981 as Nova Planning Ltd. According to METI, Nova told prospective students they could book language lessons any time they want and at any school nationwide. However, many clients complained that they were not able to reserve lessons during busy periods. Nova students give poor grades to management | The Japan Times Online Nova files for court protection / President fired; firm seeking rehabilitation : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri) Four NOVA executives quit, including founding board member - Mainichi Daily News Nova founder Sahashi took dictatorial approach : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri) Nova students, teachers up in arms : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri) Nova files for court protection / President fired; firm seeki...

We'll be the world's wheat basket, oil tank and water cooler in the next 50 years if global warming and the boys keep up the way they're going. Canada will become one of the most powerful nations: Tony Blair Canada is poised to become an economic and political powerhouse in the world, former British prime minister Tony Blair said Friday. In a speech to an oil and gas industry crowd in Calgary, Blair forecast that Canada's energy reserves and, what he called its "modern spirit," make for a bright future. Umm, Mr Blair, is there any way you could tie this to the GWOT? Canada will become one of the most powerful nations: Tony Blair He told members of the audience, who paid nearly $400 each to attend the event, that being tough-minded with Afghanistan's insurgency will "send a message to [the] terrorist" in the war-torn country. The long-time Labour prime minister also paid tribute to Canadian forces in Afghanistan, saying they are doing a "...

Good news. Maher Arar got an apology from the US. Actually, 2 apologies. From Congressmen. Not the country. Okay, so he got 2 apologies from members of the House of Congress; apologies that were barely better than they would be had they come from private citizens. JURIST - Paper Chase: US lawmakers apologize to rendition victim Arar US lawmakers apologized Thursday to Maher Arar [advocacy website; CBC timeline], a Canadian engineer who was detained in the US in 2002 after flying to New York from Tunisia on his way home to Ottawa after a holiday and later deported to Syria, where he was tortured. Appearing by video before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, Arar accepted apologies from Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass) [press release; opening statement, recorded video] and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif) [official website], and reiterated his hope that he would one day receive an official apology from the US government. So what's Condi Rice got to say?...

Terrorist watchlists are such a good fracking idea. If it's stuck at smaller than a hockey team, then I'm okay with it. And not one person more. US terrorist watchlist "galloping toward the million mark" - Boing Boing Powered by ScribeFire .

If I remember correctly, (trans: I can't be arsed looking up) the first post I put up here was about the Creationism/Evolution debate. At the time, it was largely the province of whack-a-doodle yanks with their Bibles over their eyes blocking out nasty images. I didn't use the word fuck as I thought it would lower the tone of the discourse. Thankfully I got over that. Not long after there was the problem and mild controversy surrounding Brian Alters, who was denied a social sciences grant because his application was based on an unproven premise, evolution. Evidently creationism was gaining a little traction. Then there was the John Tory incident in Ontario. And by incident I mean 'clusterfuck.' John Tory? What, did he come out of central casting or something? So when I saw this editorial in the Calgary Herald I was very surprised: Schools should put faith in science In recent years, creationists have become more aggressive in their attempts to undermine science educat...

When World Net Daily reports it you know it must teh troof. WorldNetDaily: Everything that is was created 6,010 years ago TODAY! Via Fark Powered by ScribeFire .

I have loved Stephen Pinker's books since an acquaintance/co-worker turned me on to The Language Instinct many years ago. His latest appearances on the web seem to centre around one of my favourite topics, swearing. Oh, and I'm back from Singapore. That should be a separate post however. TNR Online | What the F***? (1 of 3) (print) The FCC's decision raises another mystery about swearing: the bizarre number of different ways in which we swear. There is cathartic swearing, as when we slice our thumb along with the bagel. There are imprecations, as when we offer advice to someone who has cut us off in traffic. There are vulgar terms for everyday things and activities, as when Bess Truman was asked to get the president to say fertilizer instead of manure and she replied, "You have no idea how long it took me to get him to say manure." There are figures of speech that put obscene words to other uses, such as the barnyard epithet for insincerity, the army acronym sn...

It does take a while for certain organizations to get around to certain things. I mean, take a look at the Japanese and how long it takes to get around to apologizing for comfort women or for Nanking. And Galileo -- that took more than 6-8 weeks for delivery. Not to mention blood libel. (Yeah, Jews needing Christian blood for their passover meals? Heh, didn't really mean that. Sorry. My bad.) And now, waiting since 1314 for their forgiveness and exoneration, I give you - the Knights Templar . (From another perspective, when George W. Bush says that history will judge him correct, he's really leaving the field open, isn't he?) Vatican paper set to clear Knights Templar - Telegraph So, what's up with this then? Well, turns out the Vatican is ready to say the Knights Templar weren't heretics. Lost the paperwork as it were. A new book, Processus contra Templarios, will be published by the Vatican's Secret Archive on Oct 25, and promises to restore the reputation of ...

Any article that starts off with this headline: BBC NEWS | Americas | US claims success in war on drugs US claims success in war on drugs John Walters - 1/3/2005 Mr Walters credits Mexican efforts for part of the success The top US drugs official has said anti-drug efforts are having the best results of the past 20 years. John Walters, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said cocaine shortages had led to a jump in prices in 37 American cities. is just going to get better and better. Keep in mind that if there are price jumps in 37 cities, that means they only looked at 37, or the price stayed the same or dropped in every other city they looked at. The drugs tsar credited Mexican President Felipe Calderon for some of the success. He said US investigators had been working closely with Mexican authorities in their fight against the drug cartels. Everyone's been saying: man, Mexico is free from drug violence these days. Since Mr Calderon took office in December he has...

Global guerrillas Global Guerrillas: JOURNAL: Is Blackwater Evil? Here's another example of dysfunction in our societal discussion about the future of security: rather than an informed/constructive debate on the future of private military contractors in warfare (a big topic that WILL NOT go away), we end up demonizing Blackwater with hyper-ventilation from Scahill, Singer (Salon) and the New York Times. ... Were we expecting something different? No, the real issues lie much deeper than this. It has to do with the underlying shift from "defense" to "security." There's always good analysis at Global Guerillas. Do check out the site from time to time. Blackwater head defends firm before Congress Blackwater a scapegoat for bigger problems: Prince On Tuesday, Prince vigorously defended his employees, describing his guards as courageous individuals who face the same threats and high-stress environment as U.S. military personnel. He noted that 30 of his employe...

The Beeb has announced that the fantastically charming and funny duo Wallace and Gromit will be returning to TV. If you haven't seen Curse of the Were-rabbit you missed the best lit and funniest movie of the year. Their 3 previous shorts were fantastic, absolutely fantastic. This, this has made my day. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Wallace and Gromit return to TV Wallace and Gromit are to return in a half-hour television adventure - the first since 1995's A Close Shave. Powered by ScribeFire .

You know, after the lite-brite thing, I figured what my father always called 'good old yankee overkill' would more or less stay local and Fark would need a Boston tag. But after the years of bomb threats and other Xian terrorism that London had to put up with would make them more or less immune to these sorts of over-reactions. Or, at a minimum, the number of people who go to Indian restaurants, of which there is more than one, would know what chilli peppers smell like. Thai food sparks terror alert in London - Boing Boing Somewhere some right-wingnut is going to come along and say something of such blithering stupidity that I will find myself pulling out a thesaurus to find a new word for it, such as: "Why didn't those people come forward and tell people where the smell was coming from? Were they hiding something after all?" Scenario time: You're at home and cooking a dish you've been around your whole life, let's say Irish stew. Suddenly the police...

JURIST - Paper Chase: Blackwater Iraq killings highlight lack of legal recourse against US contractors: NYT Dispatches from the Culture Wars: The Blackwater Scandal Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Think This Conversation Ever Took Place? Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Blackwater Hearings Today Blackwater founder defends role in Iraq - Los Angeles Times Think Progress » FBI sending investigators to Iraq to probe Blackwater. JURIST - Paper Chase: Blackwater CEO insists employees never intentionally killed Iraqi civilians And for an interesting opinion on an unspoken reality surrounding the company: Global Guerrillas: JOURNAL: An Inconvenient Truth about Private Military Companies An inconvenient truth missing in the debate over Blackwater (which is currently in trouble with the Iraqi government over a shooting incident), is that the US military is completely dependent on private military companies (PMCs). This dependency can't be wished away or reversed. If anything, given the...

Gedanken. Hell, it brought us the Theory of Relativity. As a little gedanken though experimenty thingie, I'd like you to compare two sites. The first is an introduction to the 70th Skeptic's Circle. When you read this page understand that it's tongue in cheek, but read it as if it were serious. This will be important. Conspiracy Factory: 70th Skeptics' Circle Imagine, if you will, a large boardroom. It is dimly lit. There is a large table in the middle of the room, and high-backed wooden chairs placed at several positions around the table. A small glass of unfluoridated water is ready at each chair around the table. Now, please read the following post at this site : The Brave New World Order: King Solomon's Freemasonic Temple Of Doom? Can you tell the difference? Try reading the Freemasonic one in a sarcastic voice. How about now? Really, there ought to be a law . Powered by ScribeFire .

Go. Read it. Stop talking about economics or the wisdom of crowds until you do. Period. Reason Magazine - The 4 Boneheaded Biases of Stupid Voters Almost all the “respectable” economic theories of politics begin by assuming that the typical citizen understands economics and votes accordingly—at least on average. By a “miracle of aggregation,” random errors are supposed to balance themselves out. But this works only if voters’ errors are random, not systematic. The article is loosely taken from the book The Myth of the Rational Voter . Powered by ScribeFire .

This seems a worthy cause. Crooks and Liars » What Every Good Democrat Should Have On Their Christmas List Help build the impeachment momentum by wearing and encouraging others to wear this symbol of commitment to restoring our Constitution. Good quality silicone, comfortable and eye-catching. As low as 75¢ each. Fund-raise by selling for $1. or $2. each. They sell like hotcakes. In a test sale at a recent rally a team of two sold 600 in just three hours. Available here: Buy an Impeach Bush and Cheney Bracelet | AfterDowningStreet.org Powered by ScribeFire .

What's new in religion? Any wacky aeronautical goat sacrifices out there? No? How 'bout this article from the Beeb? The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court earlier this week which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram. Oh, Christ. No, wait, let me rephrase that. Oh...Haruman? The report was presented to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with a case against a proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka. Hindu hardliners say the project will destroy what they say is a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys. Scientists and archaeologists say the Ram Setu (Lord Ram's bridge) - or Adam's Bridge as it is sometimes called - is a natural formation of sand and stones. That's right, gentle reader, In their report submitted to the court, the government and the Archaeological Survey of India questioned the belief, saying it was solely based on the Hindu mythological epic Ramayana. The...

Back in the day, the US gubmint funded a defence program called Stargate. Not to disappoint Richard Dean Anderson fans, but it's not that Stargate. It's psychic warfare type stuff . The Stargate program focussed on remote viewing and a few other bits and bobs all united by the common theme that it doesn't fucking work. Relevance? Why thanks for asking, ma'am. Guess which many headed hydra of bullshit refused to die? DHS pondering Russian "mind control" "science" to fight terrorism - Boing Boing The Department of Homeland Security is considering granting a terrorism detection contract to a crackpot Russian "mind control" outfit called the Psychotechnology Research Institute. PRI's technology shows "subliminal" pictures of terrorist attacks to travelers and "detect" terrorists based on how they respond. Wired has a great long feature about these kooks and the feds who love them. Full Wired Article here . These people...

Have you been in Japan too long? Do you do these things? You've Been In Japan Too Long When... You've Been In Japan Too Long When... ...you notice you've forgotten how to tie shoelaces. ...you rush onto an escalator, and just stand there. ...you find yourself bowing while you talk on the phone. ...you think US$17 isn't such a bad price for a new paperback. ...you don't hesitate to put a $10 note into a vending machine. Call 1-800-HELP-GAIJIN for your free pamphlet and a list of programs in your area? Desho? Hat tip to Mari Powered by ScribeFire .

Rush Limbaugh has been saying...well let's just call it shit...for years and the only person who ever called him on it was Al Franken. Does Limbaugh's fact checker even have a To Do list? So when he says summit (yeah, British English. Next life announcement later when I admit it to myself.) dumb, the Democrats actually took him to task. Wow. Crooks and Liars » If a blowhard smears the troops in a forest… Democrats and their allies acted with unusual efficiency yesterday to condemn Rush Limbaugh, who smeared U.S. troops who support a withdrawal policy in Iraq, calling them “phony soldiers.” The next question is seeing which traditional media outlets picked up on the story. Crooks and Liars » Limbaugh Outrage Amplified! Limbaugh’s response is to name Jack Murtha! Crooks and Liars » Mark Udall to introduce resolution to condemn Rush with UPDATES Crooks and Liars » New Vote Vets Ad: The Real Phony Is Rush Limbaugh What we need now it the right to say something...[chirp, chirp, ch...

Sam Harris definitely took this one; Rick Warren is no David Warren, but he's a close second. God Debate: Sam Harris vs. Rick Warren - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com If you don't have any patience, there's video . Powered by ScribeFire .

1) It's a great movie, one of the best ever made. 2) Ridley Scott is from my wife's home town and the industrial landscapes at the beginning of the movie are based on the skyline there. Q&A: Ridley Scott Has Finally Created the Blade Runner He Always Imagined Q&A: Ridley Scott Has Finally Created the Blade Runner He Always Imagined Bonus Additional Article: Blade Runner: The Final Cut - Movies - New York Times Powered by ScribeFire .

CBC.ca Arts - Canada's Lois Maxwell, who played Moneypenny, dies Canadian actress Lois Maxwell, who played the definitive Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond films, has died. She was 80. Maxwell died in hospital in Fremantle, Australia on Saturday. Powered by ScribeFire .