tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post1864157059044444549..comments2024-03-14T07:32:30.141+09:00Comments on Marketing Japan: Everyone is Sick: People Do the Weirdest Things When They Are In Love: Why I am Against the Death Penaltymike in tokyo rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04977446676243085409noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post-19736716882260269382012-01-13T15:50:36.599+09:002012-01-13T15:50:36.599+09:00PS: The government is bankrupting the nation with ...PS: The government is bankrupting the nation with these social security schemes.<br />The situation we have today is proof of that.mike in tokyo rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04977446676243085409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post-75144993552224361572012-01-13T15:09:13.052+09:002012-01-13T15:09:13.052+09:00Ryu,
No. The government is not an insurance compan...Ryu,<br />No. The government is not an insurance company. The government shouldn't be doing any insurance at all. There is no way that the government can do it for cheaper than a private company... The government can't even fix a hole in the road with out it being over budget and past deadline... Evidence? Just look at the government red-ink surpassing 229% of GDP. Any private company would be bankrupt running things this way.mike in tokyo rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04977446676243085409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post-80363050237324814802012-01-13T12:53:47.802+09:002012-01-13T12:53:47.802+09:00Very interesting post, thanks Mike! As to your sol...Very interesting post, thanks Mike! As to your solution at the end;<br />"I suggest an economic solution to the problem. Say an insurance based one. Insurance companies insure everyone. If they insure someone, and that person commits murder, the insurance companies pay millions and that person loses everything in retribution (their home, bank accounts)" - What's the difference between everyone paying into a government-based insurance program (the person then committing a crime and losing all their belongings, etc.) and a private insurance program with the exact same result?<br />At least with the government based program, the monthly insurance fees won't be nearly as high as private ones (therefore not making innocent people pay as much for things they haven't done).<br /><br />Now...my long reply to the interesting reply Mr. Nobody gave...<br /><br />"It seems that they have replaced deifying the Emperor, to deifying the government." - I think almost every government tries to make it so they're supported no matter what terrible acts they do. The best example being the American government.<br /><br />"why does the government hate Aum Shinrikyo so much? They don't like the competition." - There is and was no competition from Aum. It was a terrible attack, you could say it's the Japanese equivalent of 9/11. By the same logic you could say that Al Qeaeda is competition for the American Government.<br /><br />"Also, without laws, isn't a libertarian fundamental belief, that without laws, we won't revert to mobs and mass disorder, that governments and laws actually cause more mobs and mass disorder, than they hinder?" - I, personally, am against the hardcore libertarian mindset because I honestly see no differene between true Libertarianism and Anarchism. There should be laws to uphold order which can be protested against democratically. However, in saying that, I don't believe government should have any influence in our personal lives, saying what we can and can't do- but I do think that the government should be there to protect the best interests, saftey, healthy and education of the people (which is why I say yes to nationalized health care, free education, etc.) But I -really- don't want to get too much into a political discussion, it usually ends badly.<br /><br />"As to sending her to a mental hospital on the family's dime, why should they have to pay?" - I agree. I also think that health and education should NEVER be for-profit.<br /><br />"I think to some degree the answer is cultural. In many cultures, when the death penalty was abolished the murder rate went down, but in a few I believe it went up." - Doesn't that just prove that it's not the Death Penalty which deters crime, but rather a cultural, societal thing?<br /><br />"I think the that putting someone on a remote desert island, and say air-dropping them provisions provided that they couldn't escape, would be an idea that most people could get behind" - Yeah, it's called Guantanimo Bay.<br />However, Prisons are a good and bad thing, in my opinion.<br />For serious crimes, they're great and I'm fully behind them. But for low-level crimes, all they tend to do is surround normal people with criminals which can influence them to do bad things when they leave. Low-level criminals (drug addicts, petty theft, etc.) should be rehabilitated, high-level criminals (murderers, rapists, peadophiles, etc.) should be incarcerated.<br /><br />Please don't misunderstand to mean I disagree with everything you [Mr. Nobody] said, for the most part- I agree, these are just the parts where I diverge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post-47346938338575933562012-01-12T15:05:21.880+09:002012-01-12T15:05:21.880+09:00Thanks Marc! That's a weird one....
Mr. Nobody...Thanks Marc! That's a weird one....<br />Mr. Nobody, you keep asking me these wonderful questions that make me think about my positions... Gee, maybe I am wrong? Maybe I am right... I have to think about (ponder) what you ask as these are tough questions.<br />1) Do you blog?<br />2) Do you live in Tokyo?mike in tokyo rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04977446676243085409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post-84557220082327403852012-01-12T13:03:14.377+09:002012-01-12T13:03:14.377+09:00Aikido founder, Ueshiba, apparently kept a picture...<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morihei_Ueshiba" rel="nofollow">Aikido founder, Ueshiba,</a> apparently kept a picture of Jesus pinned to his "butsu-dan" (a student of Ueshiba told me).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207076947655236975.post-77318071384862836062012-01-12T12:33:30.128+09:002012-01-12T12:33:30.128+09:00Hello Mike,
The hits keep coming.
It seems stra...Hello Mike,<br /><br />The hits keep coming. <br /><br />It seems strange doesn't it, that modern society has increased almost everything, except our humanity to our fellow man, and love?<br /><br />Was Saito Akemi certainly sick at the beginning? Only G*d knows, but it seems everyone knows she was sick at the end. In many instances people are the master of their own destinies, but as your example shows, sometimes they are not. <br /><br />When does the Japanese government ever admit to being in error? It seems that they have replaced deifying the Emperor, to deifying the government. As everyone knows, by definition, G*d is perfect, and cannot be in error. <br /><br />As the joke goes, why does the government hate Aum Shinrikyo so much? They don't like the competition.<br /><br />That being said, I think that most people in general, and Japanese in particular, don't trust a murderer or accomplice in society, with the exception of in government or big business. Why is it Aum Shinrikyo gets people so fearful, but not Japanese gov/business practices that in all likelihood maim and kill far more people? Again, why if government and big business collusion, cause so much trouble, why are they so popular?<br /><br />Is there a logical jump in your statement of, "we must be a society of law and the rule of law," if one of your standing leitmotivs is the belief that government is the problem, and that laws and the rule of law, are just ammunition in their arsenal? Also, without laws, isn't a libertarian fundamental belief, that without laws, we won't revert to mobs and mass disorder, that governments and laws actually cause more mobs and mass disorder, than they hinder? Finally, isn't the Japanese government practicing the law, when they engage in capital punishment?<br /><br />I am against capital punishment because I don't believe that most people have a fundamental core, or center, a rock from which they cannot be moved. They can usually be moved, their actions and emotions can change and most importantly, be changed from external forces. I think many people are sick, but more so, most normal people can temporarily do sick things in sick situations, which can affect others and themselves for their entire lives. <br /><br />How many Japanese rice farmers would bomb and murder innocent people in 2012? How many would do so in 1942? Even if they have a fundamental core, I believe most still alive from 1942, have spent a good portion of their lives coming to terms with what they did temporally. The question is, was the rice farmer turned bomber in 1942 sick, or was the situation and society sick?<br /><br />As to sending her to a mental hospital on the family's dime, why should they have to pay? Is it a case of "we Japanese" are never at fault, it must be her family who is at fault, and who must impoverish themselves for their sins of having her born into the family? <br /><br />As to whether of not the death penalty is a deterrent, I think to some degree the answer is cultural. In many cultures, when the death penalty was abolished the murder rate went down, but in a few I believe it went up.<br /><br />I think the that putting someone on a remote desert island, and say air-dropping them provisions provided that they couldn't escape, would be an idea that most people could get behind. It would probably only cost a few thousand dollars a year, and it would reduce the fear amongst the public of repeat crime. <br /><br />As to what is just... It is strange isn't it, most people have an idea of what is beautiful, love, and just, but it is so difficult to define, and different for so many different people. <br /><br />It also seems strange that almost nothing gets under most people's collars more than the sense of injustice. It is strange isn't it?Mr. Nobodynoreply@blogger.com