Category: general

I’d been wondering for awhile what the deal was with schoolteachers in Japan refusing to stand for or sing the national anthem, Kimi ga Yo. While news outlets continue to refuse to even begin to explain the issue, there are some enlightening comments on Japan Today on the subject. (And, of course, the usual riffraff.)

BlackKnight writes:

Several reasons here.

In Tokyo 253 teachers have been punished, re-educated, admonished, and or have had their salaries docked for not standing, not singing, or not meeting the requirements set down by the district. (This includes not playing the National Anthem, or singing it loud enough). The courts have upheld those ‘punishments.’

The second underlying issue is that in 1999 the Hinomaru (Japan’s) flag was officially re-instated, as well as “long shall the Emperor reign” Kimigayo. Both are closely associated with Imperial Japan (and extreme Nationalism) … and were pushed through the Diet by the LDP … when there was about 50% opposition against these two symbols publicly.

Problem is – how do you recognize your country when you do not like the “association” with its dictatorial past?

There is also a push to have ‘included’ in the new constitution a ‘test’ of patriotism – and Hinomaru and Kimigayo are both included in that … the teachers come in two very extreme camps – either totally for this, or totally against it … not too much fence sitting in the center…

And Poppa adds:

After the end of WW2, Japan was forbidden to fly the Hinomaru flag or sing the Kimigayo, as both were used as symbols of the extreme nationalism that drove Japan to wage war in Asia and the Pacific.

From the late 50’s onward, there began a push to raise the national flag and sing the Kimigayo at schools. Due to opposition at the time, this was only a “guidance”, not a law, though the Hinomaru and Kimigayo were not officially recognised as the national flag and anthem in Japanese law.

In 1989 the ministry of education issued a stronger “guidance”, but the Japan Teacher’s Union refused to recognise the directive, saying there was no legal basis for recognising the Hinomaru and Kimigayo as the national flag and anthem.

In 1994, the Hinomaru and Kimigayo were officially recognised by the government as “offical national emblems” and the Teacher’s Union dropped their opposition. Though officially recognised as emblems, that recognition was never actually legislated in law. This was a compromise solution to balance the factions that wanted to recognise the flag and anthem, and those that opposed.

After a further dispute in 1999 where a school principal in Hiroshima committed suicide over being unable to resolve an issue over singing the Kimigayo at a school graduation, the LDP pushed to legislate the Hinomaru and Kimigayo. This step was immediately opposed by most other parties, as well as the Teacher’s Union.

The bill was passed, though, but with no provision for actual enforcement (so it could get through). This has caused problems as the education department’s teachers manual tries to enforce the raising of the Hinomaru and the sing of the Kimigayo at school ceremonies. The Ministry of Education claims that making students stand and sing the anthem, or ordering them back to their seats if the try to leave, does not constitute “enforcement”.

There are pretty huge contraditions in the teachers manual and the law, and what the government can and can’t force the teachers or students to do. This current issue is just another manifestation of the problems.

ColumbaOphidia points to an About.com article on the subject.

At this point I decided that Wikipedia might have something (why do I always go there last?), and they do: Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem, Kimi Ga Yo, Hinomori.

Episode 46 = good.

But, you know. Now I need 47.

And more than that, really. Because 47 seems to involve a lengthy Dan Hiri Weller/Gwendal flashback. Which will be damn cool, of course (young Gwendal = cute!), but like…after the ending of 46? How can they do this to me?!

別の世界, indeed! ;P

(Ah, see? I can just write spoilers in Japanese!)

It doesn’t bother me that androids designed to appear human are being created. At this point, I kind of feel like that’s inevitable. I’m more concerned by the fact that it’s a woman being emulated…and the fact that that seems perfectly natural to me.

Somehow, a male android would be boring and pointless. Somehow, it just makes sense to make it a woman. What is that mentality? Is because women are “prettier”? Is it because their traditional role has been “help-meet”? Is it because the market for realistic androids will probably be Japanese guys who can’t get dates? (Don’t think I’m just being harsh–have you read about the lifesize doll/lap pillow/chest pillow industries?)

If I was going to get an android to help me around the house, I would probably choose one with the appearance of a female. Why is that? Is it because women are somehow less threatening? Because women’s traditional place is the home? Because I wouldn’t want to make my husband jealous? (Would I then be jealous of the android? ;P)

Blah, gender issues can be so irritating!

A blind young man has mastered videogames after years of perseverence, trial and error, and broken controllers.

Mellen hangs out any chance he gets at the DogTags Gaming Center in Lincoln, which opened last month. Every now and then someone will come in and think he can easily beat the blind kid.

That attitude doesn’t faze Mellen.

“I’ll challenge them, maybe. If I feel like a challenge,” he said, displaying an infectious confidence. “I freak people out by playing facing backwards.”

There’s nothing he likes better than playing video games, Mellen said.

He will be a senior in high school next year. After graduation, he plans to take a year off because he wants a break from school.

When he does go to college, Mellen wants to study video game design.

Product placement is set to escalate dramatically, according to CNN. I personally don’t have a problem with product placement, as long as it isn’t gratuitous. The scene in Friends where Phoebe is assured that she is giving “the best gift in the world” (by being a surrogate for her brother and his wife) wouldn’t have been nearly as funny if Chandler had used a made-up product rather than blurting, “You’re giving them a Sony PlayStation?!” I think it’s naive to assume that money didn’t change hands there. Even if it didn’t, treating a sitcom line as a ringing endorsement is just silly.

That’s why I think Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, is a little nuts.

“We think that broadcasters are thumbing their nose at the law,” says Ruskin, whose nonprofit advocacy group petitioned the FCC nearly two years ago to require more prominent advisories, including labeling on-screen each instance of product placement as it occurs.

The FCC has yet to rule on the petition.

But Adelstein agrees that “we may need to change our rules to address the fact that, even when there is some disclosure, people still don’t know that they’ve been advertised to. At a minimum, it seems that advertisers should disclose up front (in the program) there’s going to be a product placement, so that when somebody sees it, they know what they’re seeing.”

Ruskin does bring up some decent points, such as the following:

Adelstein is outspoken about cracking down on violations of federal payola laws, which (along with undisclosed product placements) can include video news releases misrepresented as legitimate news reports, and appearances by consumer product experts who evaluate products with which they have an unacknowledged financial tie.

But seriously, imagine trying to watch your favorite show, only to have little notes popping up everywhere a la Pop Up Video. How obnoxious.

Japan, Russia and Korea aren’t the only ones fighting over dinky islands. Apparently Denmark and Canada both claim Hans Island in the Arctic, and the conflict has spread to…Google ads.

Toronto author Rick Broadhead said he bought an advertisement on Internet search engine Google after spotting a Danish ad that said “Does Hans sound Canadian? Danish name, Danish island.”

That ad linked to the Danish Foreign Ministry’s Web site and a copy of a protest letter Copenhagen sent Ottawa after Canada’s defense minister visited the island.

Broadhead’s ad showed a large Canadian Maple Leaf flag, and it now carries the message: “Hans Island is Canadian.”

“To my knowledge this is the first time that a squabble has ever broken out between two nations on Google,” he told Reuters on Thursday.

Canada is avoiding a Freedom Fries fiasco:

“Notwithstanding the disputed area, the Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry is allowing its cafeteria to sell Danish pastries as a goodwill gesture towards the Danish government and people,” ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron said.

Okay, so, the world can end now. There’s going to be a Voltron movie. (Via Slashdot.)

I used to be really into that show. I even wrote some fanfiction. When I was 18.

-_-

I only hope the movie retains some of the original brilliant dialogue. “We’re space explorers, and we need space!”

(But seriously, are they going to include Sven? Is he going to die? Are they going to bring him back later and have him fall in love with Allura’s identical cousin? …are they still going to call her Allura?)

Washington recasts terror war as ‘struggle’

In recent speeches and news conferences, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the country’s top military officer have spoken of “a global struggle against violent extremism” rather than “the global war on terror,” which had been the catchphrase of choice.

Administration officials say the earlier phrase may have outlived its usefulness, because it focused attention solely, and incorrectly, on the military campaign.

General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the National Press Club on Monday that he had “objected to the use of the term ‘war on terrorism’ before, because if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution.”

He said the threat instead should be defined as violent extremism, with the recognition that “terror is the method they use.”

Although the military is heavily engaged in the mission now, he said, future efforts require “all instruments of our national power, all instruments of the international communities’ national power.” The solution is “more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military,” he concluded.

Administration and Pentagon officials say the revamped campaign has grown out of meetings of President George W. Bush’s senior national security advisers that began in January, and it reflects the evolution in Bush’s own thinking nearly four years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

I, for one, think this is a good thing. It’s just a name change, but we all know there is power in language. It is important to focus on the diplomatic side of this problem, on the things we all can do to help. The timing is also good, dovetailing with the IRA’s statement yesterday.

Or deadbolting the apartment door.

I am now stranded in the office, because I’m still in my nightclothes and a maintenance guy came in to look at the dishwasher. I guess I didn’t hear him knocking (this is pretty standard when I’m in the office–sound doesn’t carry well), and he just came right in.

My first reaction upon hearing that someone was making a TV show about the Iraq war was, “How tasteless.” But I read CNN’s article about it anyway, thinking that maybe I’d be proven wrong. At first, things looked promising, but then I started to notice that pretty much all of the characters are in the Army due to problems in their lives–one of them joined because he couldn’t follow his real dream, one of them’s there in lieu of a prison sentence, and one of them is being “forced” to serve another 90 days after his yearlong tour. None of the soldiers are described as having chosen to be in the Army, though maybe we can assume that of the characters whose backgrounds aren’t explained in detail.

Later, CNN edits out the word “terrorists”:

An Arab-American in the unit, Tariq Nassiri, deals with a reality many such soldiers face in the Middle East.

“He’s an American, and he’s willing to die for America, but he is aware of his heritage,” explains Omid Abtahi, who plays Nassiri, and whose own brother is a member of the U.S. military serving in Iraq. “Tariq has simply decided that regardless of his heritage, he’s fighting for America, and the (Iraqi dissidents) are the enemy.”

It might end up being an interesting show, but I’m getting the feeling that the overall tone is “look at these poor victim soldiers who have to do what our evil government tells them to”, which is unfair not only to our policymakers but to the soldiers themselves.

“What up with that, Mister Senator? It’s okay if we shoot a hooker in the face but it’s not okay if we bang the chick?” –Francis

(BTW, if there are any 15 year olds out there, please tell me you would never come up with a name for yourself like “Purple Shinypants”. Please.)

Wow.

IRA says ceasing all armed activity in N.Ireland

The Irish Republican Army formally ended its 30-year armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland on Thursday, in a potentially historic move that could take the gun out of Northern Irish politics for good.

[…]

The IRA said it would engage with an independent arms decommissioning body to verify it had put its massive arsenal of guns and explosives beyond use, but gave no date for completion.

“All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programs through exclusively peaceful means,” the IRA said in its statement.

Here is the statement in full.

Notwithstanding these difficulties our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland. We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage. We are very mindful of the sacrifices of our patriot dead, those who went to jail, Volunteers, their families and the wider republican base. We reiterate our view that the armed struggle was entirely legitimate.

We are conscious that many people suffered in the conflict. There is a compelling imperative on all sides to build a just and lasting peace.

[…]

There is now an unprecedented opportunity to utilise the considerable energy and goodwill which there is for the peace process. This comprehensive series of unparalleled initiatives is our contribution to this and to the continued endeavours to bring about independence and unity for the people of Ireland.

If this works out, it will be fantastic…a great example for the rest of the world.

New stills from Goblet of Fire!

I technically have 20 minutes of lunch left, but it’s hot, and I’m not wearing particularly comfortable shoes, so I didn’t feel like strolling around Riverwalk like usual. I ate my lunch (Asiago Chicken with Portobello Mushrooms, or something to that extent, from Healthy Choice) on a bench next to the small raised stage where the workout people usually come and do leg lifts (but they didn’t show up today). I kept feeling tiny drops of water falling on my face and arms, so light it was more similar to having small bugs land on me than it was to feel rain. The sky wasn’t clear, but the clouds didn’t look all that grey, so I’m not sure if the water was actually rain or if it was coming from the fountain just beyond the entryway to Riverwalk. That’d be a long distance for the water to travel, but maybe that would explain the miniscule size of the drops.

Once I was finished eating, I decided to move my car to a parking space in front of the office. My reasoning was threefold. First, if it is going to rain (and the forecast has indicated that it will tonight, at least) then having my car nearby would be good. Second, my car has a better chance of starting in the heat if I can get it to start once. And third, it gave me something to do. So I walked down to St. Paul’s and got my car and brought it back over here. It started right away, thankfully. Maybe having been in motion briefly when the sun was at its peak will mean that it won’t play its little games with me at 5, even though it will have been stewing in the heat for three and a half hours. That would be nice.

I’ve had four cups of water today and am working on my fifth. Isn’t that fascinating?

Now I have ten minutes left. I think I’ll surf the web for a bit.

If you still want to have lunch with me today, post a comment and let me know when! I have brought a frozen dinner today, but am perfectly fine with going out somewhere instead. Just post what time and where you want to meet. I realize this is horribly inconvenient, but I can’t get on AIM or send email from here, and I also turn my phone off when I arrive, so there is really no other way to get in touch with me…

Today begins the four day sales tax-free spend-spend-spend weekend here in Georgia. In general, clothes, shoes, computer stuff, and school supplies may be purchased with no sales tax charged, state or local.

South Carolina’s tax-free weekend is next weekend; how convenient that they don’t overlap!

I don’t think Kentucky does this, because I’ve never heard of anything like this before. However, Kentucky doesn’t charge sales tax on food year round, so I think Kentucky wins. :P

I went to Mari’s beginners bellydance class tonight. Because I’m crazy, I biked over there instead of driving. The classes take place at the Warren Road Community Center, which is very close to my apartment. It actually only took about 15 minutes to get there, but it was very hot and there were all kinds of hills on the back roads between Pleasant Home and Warren. I was pretty hot and very sweaty when I arrived.

I’d left early because I wasn’t sure how long the ride would take, so I ended up being at the center a half hour before the class was to start. To pass the time, I spent about fifteen minutes riding my bike in a circle on the track near the park, eventually getting to where I could ride the whole thing without using my hands. Those turns are pretty tricky, but I figured them out. I’d gotten through three circuits no-handed when I finally decided I was tired and that I’d go see if anyone else had arrived.

I went into the center to ask if it was okay for me to bring my bike in, but no one was in the office…so I brought it in :> At that point I realized I wasn’t sure where classes were held. There were a bunch of people in the gymnasium playing basketball, and no bellydancers. So I walked my bike down a very dark hallway to the other side of the center, and was lucky enough to see Mari’s mom coming in. I followed her into the workout room and parked my bike behind a bench near the weight machines.

Class was good. I’d done some bellydance stuff with Mari privately before, so I remembered all the moves. Remembering and being able to actually do them are two different things, but I performed reasonably well. We warmed up, did a few drills of the moves in Waady, and then ran through Waady a couple of times…and that took up the whole hour. It was a great workout–I really felt it in my arms.

While the room was air conditioned, the workout was pretty intense, so I continued to sweat and feel hot. After class was over I decided to sit around and watch the Tribal class for awhile so I could cool off. Chris was there, so we talked a little about the girls who sing that Moulin Rouge song (his favorite is Pink, while I prefer Christina–purely for her voice, I assure you)–and before you think we are way behind the times, the Tribal class danced to that song…that’s why we were talking about it :>

After awhile I finally felt ready to bike again, so I came home. This time I chose to go the other way on Warren and then go up Washington Road to Pleasant Home. I’m not sure if this was better or not, hill-wise, because Pleasant Home has quite a few hills of its own. I was also unhappy to discover that there were no sidewalks on that first stretch of Washington Road, so I was forced to cross four lanes and a turn lane in order to get to the proper side of the street to ride on. Fortunately, traffic wasn’t too bad, but I would hate to have tried that during rush hour.

Now I’ve had a nice shower and I feel very refreshed. I’m glad I worked out today, and I’m glad I rode my bike to get there.

I’ve mentioned to Brooke before that I don’t really think bellydancing is my “thing”. I’d also alluded to the fact that I was starting to feel jealous/resentful because it seemed to me like I had to do something I didn’t want to so I could hang out with my friends. I have now decided to stop being a baby. Bellydancing is a good workout, and it’s far more interesting than regular aerobics.

There is a lot of pressure to perform–even though Mari always says nobody has to, the classes are very performance-centered. But I can deal with that. At this point, I don’t want to be on stage. I will wait until I’ve lost enough weight that I can show my belly without being embarrassed. This may take awhile. But a great way to work towards a flatter stomach is to actually go to bellydance class…so I think I will start doing that. I mean…why not?

Heat keeps many from reaching cooling centers

And while the city does have cooling centers open at community centers, many remain deserted, because of the difficulty residents have in getting to the centers.

“No one’s going to come here to be cool,” said Ruth B. Crawford, the founder of the Shiloh Comprehensive Community Center. “It’s too hot.”

I currently have a fan blowing directly on me. I suppose I’m reasonably comfortable, but I could be happier.