Sunday, July 29, 2012

Why Facebook Will Go Bankrupt?


I getting a lot of feedback from Japanese friends that they are getting "burned out" on Facebook and that they are beginning to think it is a waste of time and boring (that was fast!) 

Many are complaining about boring posts from friends like photos of what people had for lunch or their desserts... Or pictures of their kids...

It gets tiring. Like I said, I'm sensing a loss of excitement in Japan over Facebook. When the average Joe-Suzuki loses interest so fast, then that spells problems in Japan.

Besides that, Facebook can't make any money on their website. Their big plan to save the company rests solely upon the notion that their mobile platform will generate enough revenues to pay of the party.

Sorry, folks. No way. No one has figured out a way to make mobile advertising work. Facebook isn't going to be able to do so, either.

Facebook finishes the week down (and another drop after hours)

I don't really mind ads on my PC or Facebook (I never click them, either) but, on my iPhone, with the small screen, the last thing I want on there is advertising. Space is a premium on a mobile phone screen and I can't imagine that anyone wants to see advertising on that small space cluttering up the view.

It's hard enough to see what's on the screen as it is without pop up ads and more noise.

Facebook is not going to be able to figure out how to make mobile advertising work... I doubt that anyone will for a long time, if ever.

Nevertheless, people are still hoping for better results from Facebook.


Despite the chatter that the social-networking website is fading in popularity, having a whopping 955 million monthly active users is a 29% increase over the past year. And despite concerns about mobile and monetization in general, revenue growth at a 32% clip shows that the company is making more money per user.

Right! Never mind the fact that research shows 40% of all Facebook users are Spammers. From 40% of Facebook's Supposed 900 Million Users Don't Exist:

“Social spam can be a lot more effective than e-mail spam,” says Mark Risher, chief executive officer of Impermium, which sells anti-spam software. “The bad guys are taking to this with great abandon.”

Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites, according to Risher. About 8 percent of messages sent via social pages are spam, approximately twice the volume of six months ago, he says. Spammers use the sharing features on social sites to spread their messages. Click on a spammer’s link on Facebook, and it may ask you to “like” or “share” a page, or to allow an app to gain access to your profile."

I also added:

"Woo-boy! Did I say "Facebook shares in the mid-20s by December?" I did. Good. But I was wrong. Look for the mid-10s!" 

OK. I was wrong. I said mid-20s by December. It's not even August yet and they are in the low-20s. Mid 10s? Quite possibly. I like this prediction for 2012.

Facebook since IPO: Down 38% in three months. Down 47% since IPO.


But what about Facebook's other success stories, you say? OK. How about Zynga, the Facebook game that many said was one of the high points for Facebook? Yeah. That's a Cinderella story. From Reuters:


Zynga shares have fallen 70% since its December 2011 Initial Public Offering. The investigation stems from concerns that Zynga misrepresented and/or failed to disclose materially adverse facts about its business and financial condition. Furthermore, certain Zynga executive officers sold a combined 43 million shares of Company stock during the second quarter of 2012, shortly before Zynga reported poor financial results. 


"As for my price target on the company I will simply note that there is very strong technical support at $0."


For 2013 and beyond, look for Facebook to drop out of existence (or do their best Myspace imitation) by 2015.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Bread and Circuses: Olympic Games are a Scam to Take Yours and Your Children's Money Away!




"… Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses."




They say the Olympics are a massive money making opportunity. They are for land developers, real estate agents, advertising agencies, the IOC, etc. For you? They stick you with a massive tax bill. For example, the Vancouver Olympics was such a massive burden and loss of public monies that the citizens of Vancouver and their children will be paying the bill for the next 30 years. 


Great deal, eh? 



Now do you feel proud when "your country" wins a medal?



Thanks to Aaron Egon Moser

Guest Post: The Benefits of Positive Volunteering for Your Business



(Note: Today's post is is a guest post written about something that is close to my heart: Volunteering and actually doing something, rather than just talking, about making our world a better place to live. Enjoy! - Mike)

The Benefits of Positive Volunteering for Your Business 
by Heather Smith

Volunteering is fun and exciting for people of all ages. It gets people in new social situations. They explore new career options. They love the feeling of being part of something larger than themselves. Volunteering can provide individuals with a great opportunity to get to know the inner workings of your company, experience a fun event and help your business thrive at the same time. If your company is thinking about collaborating with volunteers for a charity event or business event, then here are some reasons you should consider working with volunteers.

1. Boost the enthusiasm for your brand.

Your business will boost the enthusiasm that people have for your brand. Volunteers are often thrilled to help promote a product for a major brand because of the free products they receive. Your business can work out an arrangement with volunteers where they receive a free hotel room, meals and other surprises for working with your company. Volunteers will feel more committed in encouraging others to sign up for your company's event or trying out your company's product because of this. You will see them smiling, laughing and having a great time with others who can be potential customers for your business in the future.

2. Give others a purpose.

Volunteers often have some extra time on their hands and enjoy finding fun ways to spend their time. Perhaps your company is hosting a charity event that will help boost funds for breast cancer. Maybe your company is hosting a cookout and needs some people to act as servers or hosts for a silent auction. Your company can reach out to community members to find individuals who want to serve as volunteers for this charity event. Community members feel empowered when they know that they are working for a goal that is greater than themselves. They will have a greater sense of purpose, and that is a gift that your company can provide to individuals.

3. Help a great cause.

Your business and volunteers will ultimately benefit by helping a great cause. Whether your business is hosting an AIDS awareness event or charity ball that is dedicated to raising funds for the local children's hospital, everyone benefits from donating time for furthering these causes. Your business will be able to build stronger ties with the community, a better reputation and may even find new business opportunities by participating in these types of community events.

4. Have fun.

Volunteers have a blast when they help with a company promotion, golf course event or charity ball. They love being able to witness the socialites that attend these events and contributing their time to a great cause. They can also meet with other volunteers who have similar interests as them.

Your business benefits when it decides to collaborate with volunteers for events. Volunteers add an extra boost of energy to any event that your company decides to host. Your company can take itself to the next level of success by collaborating with enthusiastic volunteers.


Author Bio
Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to nanny service by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Groupon, Facebook Hit All-Time Lows; Why Groupon Can't Win in Japan; Zynga Implodes!



Even though Facebook met expectations for revenues today, their shares slumped to an all-time low after-hours trading.


Facebook hit Wall Street's bullseye on earnings and revenue was a slight beat but the stock fell below its all-time low of $25.52 a share in after-hours trading as worries about its future growth persist.

During regular-hours trading, Facebook shares fell 8 percent. After the earnings announcement, the company's shares initially rose then pulled back, falling below that all-time low. 

The company posted second-quarter earnings excluding items of 12 cents per share on revenue of $1.18 billion.

Facebook posted a net loss of $157 million, or 8 cents a share in the second quarter, due to hefty stock compensation charges related to its IPO, compared to net income of $240 million, or 11 cents, in the year-ago quarter.


July 26, 2012


The fall in Facebook shares might be a bit of a surprise (not really when you understand that the shares were grossly overvalued at its IPO price of $38 a share; they should have been about $9). And, still, today's price at $26.95 is about 300% overvalued; also, let's not forget that recent data shows that 40% of all Facebook users are Spammers.


The one slump that shoudn't be a surprise, but still is, is Groupon. Why? when the Dow skyrockets $211 (1.67%) on flimsy "news" that Mario Draghi, president of the ECB, says he will "Do what's necessary to maintain the Euro".... (Ahem... Where have we heard that before?) Yet still drops 8.7%, now that is a jaw-dropper.


It's only end July and Groupon hit its all-time low at $6.61. At this rate, when I seemed grossly pessimistic and said, "Groupon will hit $5 by December 2012" way back in November 2011 (when the shares were at $23.32) it seems those predictions are grossly over optimistic today.


Will Groupon hit penny stock status soon? I think in the next 12 months, that is highly likely if they don't go bankrupt first. 


Why Groupon in Japan Can't Win


There is another company doing the same business as Groupon in Japan but they make it work.... Well, let's say it works better than Groupon does. That company is Recruit with their Pomparade coupon service. 


Why can Recruit make Pomparade work (or, at least not lose millions of dollars)? Simple. Groupon sells one product: a Spam mail based coupon service. Recruit sales people sell at least a good two dozen services (along with their Spam-based coupon service). 


Groupon cannot afford to place 600 boots on the ground and sell just one service. The costs of running a sales force like that are way too high. Recruit corporation, on the other hand, already has a high and very well respected market profile in Japan. Recruit already has as 30,000 sales people running around selling ads in free magazines (of which Recruit dominates the market) like Hot Pepper, R25 (and a bunch others). Recruit also has Pompare, Keiko and Manabu, ATND and the list goes on and on...


The kicker for Groupon? Recruit has a "subscription" service that only costs business establishments a mere ¥80,000 a month (about $1000) to advertise across the board in several Recruit publications (and that includes coupons, etc.) If you are, say, a restauranteur, you have your hands full trying to make your business work; you haven't time to deal with new people and, especially, new internet "stuff."


The Recruit salesman already has an excuse to see and visit businesses that have the where-with-all and capacity to spend on advertising. The Recuit salesman already has a relationship with the store owners and managers. The Recruit salesman has an arsenal of products and services that he can offer to various businesses... They already have a good name and reputation. 


The name "Recruit" is a door opener.


So when a new sales person comes in on a cold-call and says "Groupon," I'd venture to say that a very many people say, "No thanks!" or, "Recruit handles all my stuff." Or even worse, "Grop-what?!"


That's not to say that Groupon's service can't work or cut out a market share, it can. But not the way it's set up in Japan now.


I mean, think about it: How can Groupon afford to put all those boots on the ground and compete with Recruit when they sell only one product and the Recruit sales people offer two dozen? They can't.


Groupon's only hope is to be bought out by another company in Japan that offers other services. The logical choice is Recruit. But, as  said, Recruit already has Pompare... And, I'm not too sure Pompare is doing great guns either.. Maybe the Korean company G-Market?


Perhaps if Groupon had enough market share to seem a threat to Pompare, Recruit would consider buying it.... But, it seems, that Groupon in Japan has dropped off the map...


Maybe Groupon itself, world wide, is about to do the same.

Zynga, the Facebook game is also doing VERY poorly and this might bode ill for Facebook too: In Play: Virtual Farm-Backstopped Default Delay Securities Launched After Zynga Implodes - UPDATE: ZNGA is down 40% now, trading with a $2 handle:





Thursday, July 26, 2012

Banzai 7 Goes to the Fraud-Lympics in London



From Zerohedge, William Banzai has a true to form, realistic take on the scam the Olympics have become. The day where "Olympic athletes sacrifice and dedicate to their sport" is long gone (it it ever really existed  and has been replaced by policial, social, and nationalist goals (as well as crass consumerism and glorification of the state) and, ahem, big money. (Psst! Those athletes winning anything is not for you or "your country" it is for advertising revenues! pass it on!) 


Nah! Don't believe me, please refer to "Olympic Games Scandals and Controversies" where the sneaky business has been going on since, oh, 1908....


William Banzai, though, has a great take (as always) and a bunch of very well done and funny cartoons over at ZeroHedge. This is my favorite:






Go to Zerohedge to see all the rest of the images in their full Banzai 7 glory!!!! 


EXTRA POINTS! Fun Olympic quiz!


Question: When that athlete crosses the finish line first for Olympic gold what is the first thing that come into their mind?


Answer (pick one):


A: "I did it for my country and people who I don't even know and will never ever meet."


or


B: "Alright! Now I get that juicy sports sponsor contract and millions of dollars... I'm rich!"





Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Useful Protest: Firefighters in Spain Demonstrate Naked! (Use Social Media!)



I'e complained a lot about protests and demonstration that are useless and really have no meaning but to capitalize on other people misery. Please refer to: Why I Don't Go To Protests Anymore - Not Nuclear, Not Anti-War, Not Anything where I complained about big money concerts being held in massive halls (that use a lot of electricity):


Just like the anti-nuclear demonstrations in the 70s in California or the weak anti-Iraq war demonstrations we held in early 2003 (that I helped arrange - so ask why I am disillusioned) or the "Aids Awareness" concerts held in the mid-eighties: Everyone gets together for a few hours, claps their hands and feels good about themselves and feels like they actually did something or learned something.....

The fact is that they did nothing... 

How about some real effort and sacrifice and not just going to a concert and clapping your hands or walking down the street for a few hours only to return to a tall cool beer in time to watch the big game or American Idol on your big screen plasma TV in your most-comfortable air conditioned pad?...



Actually, I don't have problems with demonstrations and protests (I do have a problem with hypocrites who protest and then go home and do zero to change their lifestyle in order to help alleviate the problem)... And I don't have a problem with protests and demonstrations that are used to get the word out in a cost effective manner.



Thanks to Testosterone Pit, I have an interesting video for you about Spanish firefighters demonstrating naked to get the word out about their plight and cuts in pay and services.






I don't know if this will get them what they demand, but it sure gets the message out and it is original.

Japan's Deflation: The Department Store Numbers From 2009 to June 2012



I've been doing a lot of data searching and number crunching for the purpose of making presentations for a new Japanese company to obtain government funding. I sometimes help new companies and entrepreneurs to gain government loans and financing as the rates from the government of Japan are incredibly low, and, if the company goes bankrupt, in many instances, the entrepreneur does not have to pay back the loan as it is government backed. Wow! Free money, right?


Well, it is not as easy as it seems; the presentation must be extremely thorough and, when making a profit and loss chart, every single number input must have some justification and rationale.


In order to help make a realistic profit and loss three year sales projection presentation I searched the Japan Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry site for information on sales for typical bricks and mortar shops. 


While doing so, I found information for department stores which I deemed to be very good (to cast things in as positive a light as possible) as Japan's department stores are world famous as a barometer of the shopping and spending habits of the Japanese. Also, since the department stores are very geared to a slightly older and a bit more upper and middle class spenders (rather than young people who are not big spenders), I felt it would represent true Japanese society better. Meaning; it will represent people with money, not those without.


What I found greatly surprised me. Here's the chart and a brief explanation of what really stands out below;


Click on image for larger view:
Data from the Japan Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry


In the red circles are the final tallies for sales for each year. Comparing the final annual sales numbers from department stores from 2009 to 2011 show a full -7% drop in revenues and spending by customers (as indicated by the blue arrows). We don't have full data for 2012 yet, of course, but if you compare YoY from 2011 to 2012 it isn't so bad as sales are up +1.88% for the first six months of 2012.


That sounds great! Things are looking up.... Well, not so fast! Comparing 2009 to 2012 we have still experienced a full -10% drop! (Green arrows).


Now some will say, "Not so fast, Mike! This doesn't represent online sales which have grown. And yes they have. But still consider that, according to Nikkei survey results show that only about 60% of all Japanese households have a PC. This points to a still strong market for people to shop bricks and mortar in Japan... And, actually, isn't going out and shopping half the fun?


But let's compare just for fun... Let's look at the dominant player in Japan's online sales and that is Rakuten. Rakuten is Japan's #1 (maybe #2) online "department store." Here are figures from Rakuten's annual sales reports for the sample years of 2006 ~ 2011:


Click on image for larger view:


Data from Rakuten Annual Sales Report


Sales from 2006 to 2011 showed a brisk increase. It slowed down greatly from 2009 to 2011 (which was a bad year all around for department stores and the economy as a whole). Yet Rakuen still showed a healthy increase. Still total annual department stores sales in Japan are well over 173 times that of Rakuten... So, when the department stores are dropping 10% a sales increase of 130% from Rakuten is a drop in the bucket... 


I must add one point too, I go grocery shopping three times a week. I keep close track of food prices (in my world, that's one of the few things that matter). Prices have held steady or dropped over these last few years.


Couple that with the price of land (I keep and eye on that too) there can be no doubt that Japan is mired in deflation as land prices where I lived have dropped ever so slightly and that even with a brand new giant shopping center built within 12 minutes walk from my house just one year ago.


Things do not look well in the Japan retail market at all... Or anywhere else in Japan for that matter.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

More on Racism and Racial Disparity



More on Racism:


"Nearly 80 percent of the players in the National Basketball Association in 2011 were black, and 17 percent were white, but if that disparity is disconcerting, Asians were only 1 percent. Compounding the racial disparity, the highest-paid NBA players are black. That gross disparity works the other way in the National Hockey League, in which less than 3 percent of the players are black. Blacks are 66 percent of NFL and AFL professional football players, but among the 34 percent of other players, there's not a single Japanese player. 



Though the percentage of black professional baseball players has fallen to 9 percent, there are gross disparities in achievement. Four out of the five highest career home run hitters were black, and of the eight times more than 100 bases were stolen in a season, all were by blacks.


How does one explain these gross sports disparities? Might it be that the owners of these multibillion-dollar professional basketball, football and baseball teams are pro-black and that those of the NHL and major industries are racists?"


Of course, the PC crowd will scream discrimination! How can this be tolerated?


I wonder if, on the locker rooms of National Hockey League doors, it says, "No trouble some blacks allowed"?


Oh, by the way, if you want to read more of the quoted article, by all means do...


It is on today's Lew Rockwell and it is an article entitled, "Stubborn Ignorance" it is about people who always scream about discrimination (yet wish for women to be treated better than men, or think the government has the right to tell you what to think or do - or who to associate with)....


The writer of this article is most probably a racist, right?


You'd think so. Anyone who'd tell the PC correct crowd that they were confused on their solutions for more morality or for justice, asks how they would hande the problems presented by the quote above.


The writer of this quote and article His name is Walter Williams. That's about a white sounding name as we can get, right?


Here is the picture of Walter Williams below:
























Walter Williams

Read more on "Stubborn Ignorance" here.

Giant Fembots in Shinjuku: Hooters in the 25th Century



Did you ever see the Austin Power's movie where the sexy Fembots came out and they fired machine guns from their nipples beneath their pink furry bikin tops? Yeah. OK, then instead of machine gun bullets, imagine of those bullets the Fembots fired were actually yakitori or french fries? Ok, well then you get the picture.



There's a new restaurant opened in Shinjuku that is called the "Robot Restaurant" and it features a rumored $1 million dollar robot show as well as scantily clad women running around serving the customers. There's tons of photos here on Google. Judging from the photos and seeing about the "scatily clad girls" makes me think that this isn't a Disney production and possibly might not be suitable for children...


It costs ¥3000 just to enter, so... I guess it is cheaper than Disneyland! Still, maybe I wouldn't take my kids there. Let's just say it's probably like a "Disneyland for Daddies!"


Leave it to the Japanese to take a "Good Old country home feeling" idea like the, er, "Girl next door" feeling of Hooters (think Denny's with loose women running around - Yeech!) and turn it into the "Jetson's." Maybe with how the Japanese like to torture English (Japanglish) it will be "Hooters meets Jetson's" as in "Jooters!"


I guess it's kind of like a Hooters in the 25th century, sort of....


Of course the restaurant uses iPads for ordering too. My friend says he is going to take me there this week. I'm skeptical... Though very partial to Japanese Fembot girls!!!!


To infinity and beyond!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

I Discriminate: I help the handicapped, I am kind to old people and give my seat to them and to pregnant women.


This is a response to a letter from a dear friend who is an unmistakable  minority where he lives (like me)...

....Yes, I've dealt with discrimination all my life. Once I decided to seriously study the use, and not just spout off platitudes, it took me over ten years of study to finally realize that the only answer to this question is the one that a understanding of private property offers. Other solutions cause us to be subjective and then hypocritical. 

I think if you consider this deeply, you will see why....

People who think they are not sexist or racist will say, "I dream of a world where people can be judged not by their skin color or sex, but by their merits.” They claim that want everyone treated equally. Then they go on, in the next breath, and say, “But special considerations for some people!” 


That’s incredibly subjective and hypocritical. One great example is "Women's Only" cars on trains and subways... Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with "Women's Only" cars... But I practice discrimination so it doesn't bother me. I don't claim that "everyone is the same and we are all equal." 


We're not.

The ones who claim to want everyone treated equally but are often subjective about what that means. They claim to want to use morality as a guide, but fail to see how that, too, is totally subjective. 


I raise a handicapped daughter and don't want people to be treated equal. I want special considerations for some. I love how Disneyland allows handicapped people to go directly to the front of the line and ride the rides. Is this discrimination? Yes! And I thank Disneyland for it. 


Also, I want to decide, for myself, how and to who those considerations should be applied. For example, I like having elevators and facilities for the handicapped; I think it is good there are men's and women's restrooms; I think pregnant women, old people and the handicapped should be treated with deference, kindness and respect and be given seats on the trains and buses, (I'm old fashioned) etc. 


Even though we should give up our seats to handicapped, old or pregnant (and others) do we need laws to force kindness or morality? No. And, by the way, just how does a law that forces us to, say, give up our seats to old people promote equality? I think that is forced age discrimination, isn't it?


I also think forced equality is bad for business... 

Let's be ridiculous for a moment and look at what anti-discrimination laws that force equality in employment would do to professional sports! Take the NBA (please!) Can you imagine having your favorite basketball team staffed with people that represent the cultural make-up of their "home" market? Imagine the new and improved Los Angeles Lakers; two white guys, one black guy, and one each of an Hispanic, short-legged Japanese who can’t jump, a great Jewish athlete (good luck finding one of those), two women, one gay and one lesbian, a transexual, a transvestite, a Democrat, and a hair-dresser (I can't specify sex of hair dresser as that would be discriminatory!). 


It would be wonderful. Probably would draw in as large the crowds the freak shows do at Ringling Brothers Circus!


Nope. I guess that won't do.

The only way to handle this discrimination "problem" is the private property vs. public property philosophy of Libertarianism. Libertarianism (or Anarcho-Capitalism like me) stands up for the free rights of all people.

"...Libertarianism champions equal rights. It champions the person and the potential of every person to use liberty to the fullest. Libertarians would NEVER have authored Jim Crow laws or denied the vote on the grounds of race or denied equal access to public facilities depending on one's race. Libertarians have for decades preached against the drug war, which severely discriminates against blacks and browns. The prisons are filled disproportionately with people of color. Libertarians have stood staunchly against wars initiated by the U.S. against people of color and fought to a large extent by American soldiers of color..."

In this Libertarian philosophy, private property is respected. You can do what you want with your private property as long as you do not commit aggression against me. Not allowing people in your private business, for whatever reason, is your choice. That you do not allow some people onto your premises is not, in any sense of the word, aggression against anyone. 


In fact, if you stop and think about it, people who want to use government power to force their way onto you are the ones committing aggression.

I don't have any right to order you to associate with people you don't want to on your private property. Nor do you have the right to tell me how to run my business or who I should allow as my customers. 

We don’t need laws against stupidity or bad business decisions. You can't outlaw stupidity. It won't work.

A public property (paid for by taxes) is a different story. Those places must be open to everyone regardless of race, creed or color.(But we all know the public government discriminates all the time). 

If a restaurants policy of, say, "No dark skinned people," was so odious that it scared away (or pissed off) all their customers (even ones without dark skin) what would happen to that restaurant? It would probably go bankrupt very quickly, right? The free market would handle the issue. 


I don't have dark skin and if I saw a sign that said, "No dark skinned people," I wouldn't patronize the place at all (I've been discriminated against many times in my life and I have friends who are gay, lesbians, women, men, white, transvestites, transexual, Indians (from India), Bangladesh, Germans, Kiwis, Aussies, blacks, etc. etc....) and I don’t particularly care for it, but I will not ask that government force people to do something they don’t want to do.

If I saw a sign that said, "No darkies!" I certainly wouldn't want my friends to go in there and would wonder if they weren’t nuts if they insisted upon doing so.... BUT! I don't think that the government can pass laws on who you associate with or laws against stupidity.... 


The more laws we have, the worse things are getting (current situation should be proof enough of that fact!)

Now, in Japan, some people who scream "Discrimination" are in a huff because the Japanese women's team (Australia women’s basketball team too) had to fly to the Olympics by economy class while the men’s teams flew business... Well, that is terrible sexism! BY THE FOLKS SCREAMING DISCRIMINATION! I thought they wanted people treated by their merits? What is this contradiction whereby suddenly now they think the women should be treated differently because they are women? Uh, don't look now, but they are now contradicting themselves!

Why did the women fly economy class while the men flew business class?

Simple: they were treated equally and on their merits. 


Let me explain: The Olympics are a for profit organization (in spite of the nationalist brainwashing you receive about this event every few years). In just about every country, there is a privately run organization, that runs their own "Olympics" (kind of like a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise). The owners of the Olympic games know from advice given by their Madison Avenue Marketing agencies that to make money, they need to promote statism and nationalism. It's an old, tried and true formula. 


In Japanese case, the men's soccer team has a professional soccer league, the Japan Soccer Association (JSA) involved in the money making. That men's league get's 20,000 ~ 40,000 people paying to come and see their games. The games are televised. Some players play in European leagues. They have big name sponsors, money and all players are professionals. 


The women's league? Well, now, they lose money every year. They almost went bankrupt in 2000 and are now subsidized by the JSA. The women's games have a hard time with attendance. They might have a few hundred fans in attendance (non-paying mostly), no TV, no sponsors and no professionals...

Now, in a privately run for profit organization, why should the women be treated differently from the men? If we treat them differently then that is acknowledgement of their differences... Hence sexism (polite booing here, please!) 

If the Olympic committee were run by taxes, then I could see people complaining, but it is not (thank God for that!)

See what I mean?

Team A makes lots of money. They fly 1st class. Team B loses lots of money and is subsidized by an organization that lives off the profits of Team A. Team B flies economy class. What's the problem with that?

To claim, in this case, that Team B should fly business class, the same as Team A is not fair and is discrimination.

I can't see how these people complain about a sign that shows "discrimination" but then, a second later, say that women should be treated differently. That's fantastically hypocritical.

If this were a government run organization, paid for by our taxes, they can't do that. They are a private organization paid for by private investments and sponsors: they can do what they want with their money and their property and their employees.... The same as a privately run restaurant can. No?

After all, exercising freedom of choice is exercising discrimination.

I exercise discrimination: I help the handicapped, I am kind to old people and give my seat to them and to pregnant women, I like to go to Sushi restaurants and see a Japanese sushi chef. I like to go to Italian restaurants and see, not a Japanese, but an Italian cooking (trust I will ask where the chef is from or will have checked before I arrived).... on and on... I don't mind it if people want to enjoy their space and I don't think we should force people to associate with those they do not wish to.

I certainly don't care if someone is gay, lesbian, transsexual, Indian, black, Hispanic (though I am quite partial to Japanese women!) Oops! There I go discriminating again....

These people who claim discrimination are not consistent in their thoughts because they are confused on private property. How your mom and dad run their place of business is up to them and no one has the right to tell you or them how to act or what you can and cannot do inside of your own house or in your place of business.

See what I mean?

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Why is it only Sexist when bad things happen to Women but not the other why around?



Aaron Egon Moser asks a great question regarding my blog post Sexism entitled, Incredible Japanese Sexism and Racism! Watch From 2:23! Shocking! (and in the comments section about Japanese women not flying first class): 

Aaron says, "Why is it only Sexist when bad things happen to women but not the other why around?"

And, he sends some food for thought.... From the ITV, no less....


I can answer though, Aaron, people who claim racism and sexism don't think deeply enough to realize that their claims conflict. They fail to see the difference between private property and public property.

One the one hand, like at privately owned property, i.e. restaurants, they complain that people aren't treated equally. Then, on the other hand, in another case of private property, they complain that women, not be judged by their merits, but that they be given "special consideration."

It's laughable.

Folks, there's an easy fix for this: Private property is private property; People can do and discriminate as they wish. Privately owned establishments like restaurants, businesses, homes, etc., are private property.

Public property is paid for by taxes and, therefore, discrimination is not allowed (never mind the fact that the government doesn't allow us free access to supposedly public places).

If you don't realize the crucial and fundamental difference between private and public property, your demanding "fair treatment" to people in one case, then turning right around and demanding unfair treatment in another are nothing short of ignorant hypocrisy. And will give you due criticism.

As always, thanks Aaron Egon Moser for some good common sense.

Japanese NHK TV News Announcers Mock Obama: Osprey Translates to "Failure" in English and Japanese



One of the really big news stories in Japan today is the story about how the US government is forcing the accident riddled Osprey onto Japanese bases in spite of vehement protests from the Japanese public.



Yomiuri has the story:




The United States has unofficially informed Japan that the first squadron of MV-22 Osprey military transport aircraft will arrive at a base in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Monday, it has been learned.

After transporting the tilt-rotor aircraft to Iwakuni, the United States plans to deploy them at the Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan.

A transport vessel carrying 12 Ospreys left the U.S. West Coast on July 1 and was expected to arrive at Iwakuni air base as early as Tuesday.

.....

After crashes involving Osprey aircraft in April and June, however, the Japanese and U.S. governments have agreed not to allow flights in Japan until the aircraft's safety is confirmed after U.S. investigations of the accidents.


The Japanese public and government are well-aware of the history and accidents involving the Osprey. Regardless, the US government has assured the Japanese that the Osprey is "perfectly safe" and the most safe helicopter type of flying vehicle in the world.

The funny part? In spite of all these announcements from the US military and Obama administration that the Osprey was perfectly safe, NHK TV just announced, at 7:20 am on the national news, that when Obama was asked if he would change from flying in his regular VH-71 Marine Sea King presidential helicopter to the Osprey, Obama said, "No!"

The newscasters (as well as the other 50 million Japanese who saw this news broadcast) mocked Obama for, on the one hand claiming the Osprey is safe, then on the other hand saying that Obama won't fly in one.

Now, that is funny!

Once again America sets a shining example for the world: Don't do what I do, do what I say.


NOTE: I don't have the NHK news report on this that was just aired, if they put it up, I will embed it here. Until then, here's a different news report:






Friday, July 20, 2012

"The more laws and regulations, the more thieves and robbers there will be" - Lao Tzu


"The Taoists were the world's first Libertarians." - Murray Rothbard

"The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished - The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu (600 BC)


Thanks to Aaron Egon Moser

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Incredible Japanese Racism and Sexism! Watch From 2:23!!!! Shocking!!!!



I'm getting really sick of PC bleeding heart Liberals who say stuff like, "I dream of a world where all people are treated equal..." Yeah? That's right. Me too. But the fact of the matter is that, SURPRISE!, all people are different. I am not you and you are not me.


Men and women are different! Whites are different from blacks (thank God) and both are different from Japanese!


Sexism? Really? Only a fool thinks men and women are equal. For myself, I think women are smarter than men, but that's just me. If you think they are the same, then let's abolish "Men's" and "Women's" restrooms.


Yeah! Power to the people! Equality!


How about black people versus white people?

Should discrimination be allowed? Is there are difference between men and women? Is there a difference between white people and black people? Of course there is. Look at any NBA team and witness the difference.... Should NBA teams be forced to represent the cultural makeup of their homeland area like businesses do?

Do the Los Angeles Lakers need to represent Asians by having a Japanese player with short legs who can't jump or dunk? Do they need to make their team 40% white, 40% Hispanic and 10% black?

Do you like to walk into a Japanese restaurant in the USA and see a black guy, or a white guy, or a Korean guy making your sushi? Do you want a Japanese cook making your Kim Chee?

No? I didn't think so.

If you go into a Soul Food restaurant, do you want to be served by a guy named Suzuki or a white guy named McDonald?

No! Of course not!

PC correctness and reverse discrimination are out of control. People are not processed cheese. Everyone is different and that is a good thing. It should be celebrated and not suppressed. 

The more power we give to the government to control our lives, the more f'ed up everything is.

If you don't understand that, you are one very confused person....

Here's some racist and sexist jokes on Japanese TV!!! The government should do something about it!!!



People who don't realize that we are all different and unique (and special) are color-blind and racist and sexist.

Nah... We're all the same, right? Even if we are 1/2 or 1/4 or 1/8.....

Only fools would think so.

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