Colonel Sturgeon

Memoirs of a Geisha - a movie

2005-12-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I went with my wife and friends to see Memoirs of a Geisha, or "Sayuri" in Japan. Before I saw it I had read several reviews, all having very qualified statements. I can conclude that anyone who has read anything about this movie should see it before they comment.I have heard two strains of criticisms about this movie. First, many are upset that the leading female roles are played by

What are they waiting for?

2005-12-04T01:02:00.000-08:00

Today my wife and I went to a nicer suburb of Tokyo to see a new movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It was an entertaining movie, and we both enjoyed ourselves.However, just watching a movie in Japan one becomes aware of small cultural differences. Movie theaters in Japan are very nice and modern. Unlike the US, they are usually on several floors connected by escalators, but are otherwise very

Ripples of Yasukuni

2005-11-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

On a cool rainy morning of October 17 Prime Minister Koizumi made a surprise, but not unexpected fifth visit to Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo. It was the first day of the Shrine’s autumn festival, but not an especially significant anniversary of World War II. In August many watchers held their breath not knowing if he would make an appearance at the Shrine on the Sixtieth Anniversary of the war. He

Smokin'

2005-11-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

Musashino city passed an ordinance in the last few years forbidding smoking in front of the stations. There is a small area within one block of the station where you aren't allowed to smoke on the sidewalk, except for at the "manner point." There are ash trays located near the entrance where people can do their business.However, people still smoke. Since this is a city ordinance, the police

Foreign Language Requirements

2005-10-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Kentucky Board of Education has proposed that all Kentucky High School students must learn to read, write, and speak a foreign language before they graduate. When I was a high school student at du Pont Manual high school, I thought I would never need to learn another foreign language. How wrong I was.I now speak three languages, including English. In my last year of high school I went to

Golf Diplomacy

2005-10-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Japan Times reports today a simple economic formula: in South Korea there are only 147 golf courses and more golfers than you can swing a club at. In Japan, only a short flight away, there are more than 200 times as many inexpensive yet high quality golf courses. South Koreans find it easier to hop over to Japan for a round of golf or two and a soak in an onsen (hot spa) before heading

he Chinese Draw

2005-10-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Karen Hughes, bushes new "minister of information," is travelling the world trying to improve the face of America. She is failing horribly. Her next target in Asia will be Malaysia and Indonesia where she will make yet another attempt to get them to like America.China, on the other hand, is doing little but is gaining popularity around the world. As the San Jose Mercury News reports, students

英語できますか　ー　Can you English?

2005-10-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was meeting with an English student and friend recently, and we discussed the low English ability in Japan again. She made an interesting observation that I have thought of before. The question I posed to her a week ago is: why, after spending so much money, can't Japanese people speak English. She noted that the only time she speaks English is our time together each week. I take this for

Who's in charge?

2005-09-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

The blame game is now delayed - rathar than pointing fingers, everyone is taking responsibility for the failures. To be more specific, everyone is taking charge of "fixing the problems." Today on CNN Chertoff refused to take responsibility for personal mistakes.A former professor had an interesting comment related to my federalism comments from a few weeks ago. R Payne points out that the people

Getting better in the Big Easy

2005-09-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Things are getting better in New Orleans. Finally, the city is dewatering, and people can think of returning soon. However, now it is time for the fingers to REALLY start pointing in all directions.One of the primary arguments that are sure to arise are the very issues that took the United States to war in 1861. Not slavery, but the very nature of federalism are at the heart of the response to

Approval?

2005-09-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

NOLA.com reports today that the National Forest Service offered use of firefighting planes to extenguish several fires raging in teh city. The local fire department is not able to respond - I am sure it is a mix of not being able to get equipment to the fire, not having firefighters on site, and lacking water pressure.However, the Department of Homeland Security has not approved their use. Yes,

"This is not Iraq!"

2005-09-03T01:34:00.000-07:00

After September 11, 2001 Rudolph Giuliani was the hero of the day. He served as the primary leader and motivating force.Today, that man is Lieutenant General Russel L. Honore, native of Lakeland, Louisiana. As the Mayor of New Orleans said, " he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done". He is the leader shining in this sea

Bad times are rolling...

2005-09-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Chaos... Anarchy... Urban Warfare...Are these the words we must use to describe one of my most beloved cities? Is it possible? As I sit here in Tokyo, I am shocked, enraged, and most of all embarassed. Is this my country?The Washington Post reports today that this is the largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War 140 years ago. Tens of thousands of people are abandoning the New

The shadow is fading...

2005-08-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Sixty years ago this week the second and third nuclear tests were conducted over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Hot searing gases burst forth from a hypocenter nearly 1,000 feet above the ground. The glazing on roof tiles bubbled up. Houses burst into flames. The skin of people on the ground flash boild and started dripping to the ground. A shadow was burnt onto the stairs of a bank

Return on your Yen

2005-08-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

The going rate for a private English tutor in Japan is about JPY3000, or nearly US$30. Being on the winning side of this equation, I am not complaining. I teach English a few hours a week - as somone once told me, I'd be a fool to forego this goldmine. When I teach, it is not uncommon to see another Japanese-Western pair with the obligatory dictionary and notebooks.Likewise, nearly every station

Are the aides freaking?

2005-08-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

It's official - it is a war on terror. It isn't a crusade, and it isn't just a mere "global struggle against violent extremism." Bush has spoken - the United States is engaged in a neverending war on terror. Why this switch? Why this sudden "flip-flop?"In January of 2003, Bush established the Office of Global Communications to coordinate the international message of this Administration. Staying

New Policy Directions

2005-07-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

The contradiction between the “widening” and “deepening” of security perplexes the Japanese security debate. On one hand, it is unthinkable that any nation in the world would attempt to invade Japan in a D-Day like landing. Only the United States could carry out such an attack, and the forces that would do this are already stationed in Okinawa. On the other hand, Japan faces these real threats

Paradigms of Security

2005-07-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

The reality of Japanese security is that it lies between two paradigms. The first is a deeply rooted understanding of traditional security of the Cold War. Traditional national security studies have been concerned with military threats and interactions between nation-states, such as the nuclear threat that has defined East Asian and Japanese security policies for the last sixty years.

Redefining Security, a Japanese Perspective

2005-07-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

“Distrust and caution are the parents of security.” Benjamin Franklin[1] Maintaining security for Japan in East Asia is a complicated balancing act among numerous contradictions. Two primary contradictions of Japanese security are especially troublesome. First, The Cold War has ended, but one of its relics, the conflict between People’s Democratic

How do we kill?

2005-07-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Overcoming the Aversion: How Can Executioners Kill? “After all, every murderer when he kills runs the risk of the most dreadful of deaths, whereas those who kill him risk nothing except promotion.” Albert Camus Murder, by most definitions, is the killing of another human being with malice. It requires planning and forethought. Society warrants two exceptions to murder:

Mutual Understanding?

2005-05-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

We often hear the words "mutual understanding," but do we really know what we mean when we say those words? According to dictionary.com, it is to: "n : sympathy of each person for the other." But what then is sympathy? It implies a relationship, an affinity, and in general a relationship with feelings towards another.How does one achieve this "mutual understanding" then? Rotary strongly supports

Public Diplomacy As Tool

2005-05-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

In order for this to take place, extensive reforms need to take place at the U.S. State Department. Congress folded the United States Information Agency into the State Department in 1999 in order to bring it closer to foreign policy making institutions. The strategy was to ensure that public diplomacy was “on the takeoffs and landings” of foreign policy.[1]