Random Thoughts on Monday Morning: Toilet Paper, McDonald's, Coffee, David Bowie - Can You Find the Correlation?....

Thought #1: Toilet paper. 

It's strange, but I often think about toilet paper. I think many Japanese people might. I know people in Greece and Venezuela are thinking about it all the time, especially right now.

Did you know that, even today, many Japanese people are hoarding toilet paper? My evidence is anecdotal, for sure, but I know three families who have a few months of toilet paper stored up. 

We are one of them. There must be many many more.

Remember when I told you that Japanese people hoard toilet paper because there have been several times in modern history when it was completely gone for months on end? Yes, in 1979, when there was an oil shock, I have heard many stories from Japanese people that toilet paper was a commodity that could not be found anywhere. And that situation lasted for months. People were using old newspapers for the duties.

How could one of the world's top economies not have toilet paper? (Well, we have a problem with butter, so that may be a clue.... See: Economic Illiteracy and How Japan is Responsible for the Destruction of the Western Economies) 

Well, now, here is that "No Toilet Paper" threat in Greece (of all places). From Keep Talking Greece: "ND-candidate “sees” even toilet paper shortage, if SYRIZA wins the elections" 

"If SYRIZA wins the elections and forms a government on Monday Greeks will run will run out of toilet paper. This is what ND-candidate Sofia Voultepsi implied just 48 hours before the elections.

“Bank run” vs “toilet paper run”?"

Well, it looks like Syriza won the elections.  I figure that there is a toilet paper shortage coming all over Europe as EU bureaucrats are about to start shitting their pants because they are going to all be out of jobs soon enough. 

Good.

I mentioned this toilet paper shortage stuff to my friend Jeff Berwick and he tells me the exact same thing is going on in Venezuela; no toilet paper.

I suspect that this toilet paper problem is representative of a larger problem (of course) that has something to do with distribution, corruption (maybe) and government interference with the free market (of course). I mean, it's not like toilet paper is perishable, is it? How could there be a shortage (excepting that all of a sudden there are more people shitting their pants? There certainly is no sudden increase in the number of assholes....)

I think it is even weirder to have a toilet paper shortage in Japan because, as the Japanese are world famous for high-tech toilets, lots of people have toilets with washlets built in. We do. 

Why my wife wants to buy tons of toilet paper? We have a 1/2 year supply downstairs... No kidding. 

Thought #2: McDonald's. 

McDonald's is doing very badly in Japan: Plastics in food. human teeth in french fries... And it's not just Japan, in the UK a woman found "A worm in Chicken McNuggets."

That's disgusting, but the story is funny and shows how stupid people are. The woman was quoted as saying, "'I'm very fussy about what I eat and when I saw what was in the McNugget I went white."

She's fussy about what she eats, yet she was eating at McDonald's????

We live in a world with LOTS of stupid people.

Thought #3: Coffee

I used to eat McDonald's many years ago.... But stopped for my health about 15 years ago. I do like McDonald's coffee though. In fact, my favorite coffee is 7-11 coffee at ¥100 or McDonald's coffee at ¥120. I refuse to pay Starbucks ¥500 (about $5.00) for a cup of hot water and crushed coffee beans! 

7-11 is the best deal. But with McDonald's I can sit down inside. So that's good. I never eat the other McDonald's stuff.

But I no longer eat any fast food at all anymore. 

Thought #4: What Do These Things Have in Common?

Well, this is a stretch, but here goes....

Did you know that, in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japan came in third on total medal count and gold medals after the USA and the Soviet Union? That's right; Japanese used to be an Olympic powerhouse.

No more. 

As the years went by, though, Japan became more and more inept at sports and fewer and fewer medals were to be had. Nowadays, if a Japanese athlete comes in fifth, it's big news. If they get a bronze or silver, they are superstars for life.

Well, as the medal count has consistently dropped over the years, in the early 90s (I think it was) a right wing commentator said something to the effect of, "The Japanese athletes no longer win as many medals today because Japan now has sit down western toilets instead of traditional squat toilets. Thus, Japanese kids no longer do squats at home so their athletic ability has declined." 

No kidding. (If anyone can remember the name of the guy who said this, remind me, will you, please?)

"But, Mike, what does that have to do with McDonald's?" 

Hold on, I'm getting there....

In 1971 when McDonald's first came to Japan, it was founded by a guy named Den Fujita. He opened his first McDonald's in a ritzy Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza, an upscale district in Tokyo, Japan. It was a smash success. 

At that time, Den Fujita was quoted as saying, "Americans are much bigger and stronger than the Japanese and the USA wins much more Olympic medals than Japan does because they eat things like McDonald's." 

He really did say that, and he was dead serious. 

I'm not making this stuff up.

You might remember when John Belushi set the world record in winning 8 Gold Medals at the 1975 Olympics?... He attributed his success to "Little Chocolate Donuts" being at his training table every morning. Can't argue with success.

So you see, I guess we can deduce from this that, because the Japanese no longer use squat toilets, they have lost lower body strength because they no longer do squats; in spite of the fact that they gained strength because they started eating more McDonald's.... 

Just like Americans and American athletes do.

So, now you know what the relationship between toilet paper and McDonald's in Japan is...

Sort of.

-------------

Silly joke I thought of when I was contemplating coffee yesterday in a coffee shop with my friend...

Question: "What do you call David Bowie when he is sitting in a coffee shop?"

Answer: "Ziggy Starbucks."*

* Apologies to Ziggy Starbux of "Roxy Suicide."

Thanks to Jeff Berwick and James Santagata

Japan Debt to GDP Approaches 300%!!!

The Atlantic has an interesting article that made my eyes bulge out of my head. Why, it was just two years ago that people were sounding the alarm that Japanese debt to GDP had surpassed 200%. Then, last year, it was 230% over GDP.

Now? Here's an article that is talking about the debt nearing 300% of GDP.

From the Atlantic "Will Japan Become Greece?":

Japan's government has borrowed so much and for so long, without having to pay higher interest rates for the privilege, that we've come to assume it can go on for ever. At the same time, this gravity-defying feat may lull us into thinking that public debt can also rise far, far higher in the US without giving rise to serious problems. James Hamilton links to a study that casts doubt on both points.

As is well known, Japan has benefited from low interest rates despite its high debt ratio because nearly all of its public debt is domestically owned, and its savers are a compliant lot. But as Hamilton explains, a demographic transition is getting under way that will thin their ranks. The study by Hoshi and Ito shows that the household savings rate is going to fall, forcing the government--by this time with a debt ratio approaching 300% of GDP--to borrow more heavily from abroad. The pressure would be worse if interest rates start rising in anticipation of the problem.

Remember, what's not sustainable won't be sustained. 

Read more at Will Japan Become Greece?

I've said it a hundred times and will keep saying it, "Got gold?"

Citi's Chief Economist: "Greece Will Be Forced Out of Euro" - The Greek Elections Don't Matter!

Got gold?

Citi's Buiter: Greece will be forced out of the euro regardless of who wins the Sunday elections

New Democracy. Syriza. Doesn't matter. According to Citi's senior political analyst Tina Fordham, chief economist Willem Buiter, and global economist Ebrahim Rahbari, "any new Greek government, regardless of its composition, will struggle with implementation challenges related to the imposition of further austerity measures demanded by the Troika in exchange for further assistance," and as a result, they "consider it likely that a new troika deal would ultimately fall apart and lead to Grexit."

Citi notes that there is growing sense among European leaders that "promotion of economic growth can no longer be subordinated completely, even in fiscally unsustainable euro area member states, to the requirements of fiscal austerity," but no one has any idea what that means.

This seems to be the current thinking, according to Citi:

"The only operational, practical consensus on growth is that austerity policies should not be unnecessarily pro-cyclical. If a deficit target is overshot because of bad luck (economic activity and government revenues are weaker than expected despite full adherence to all conditionality) rather than bad faith (there has been a failure to implement agreed measures or policies), the shortfall will not have to be made up immediately – in the original time frame. More time will be given to achieve the original objectives without the need for deeper and faster austerity than originally envisaged. Bad faith (non-compliance) will, for incentive-compatibility or moral hazard reasons, continue to be punished with demand for enhanced and faster austerity."

Warning. Also, reminder: "And of course, reduced austerity does not mean no austerity, let alone the reversal of austerity...fiscal policy will remain contractionary overall – just less contractionary."

Citi's doesn't think Greece is able to handle any more austerity, and its rapidly deteriorating fiscal condition is hastening a day of reckoning.

Read more.

There was another article that caught my eye at Zerohedge:

As Greek Banks Run Out Of Safe Deposit Boxes, An Eerie Calm Takes Over The Country 24 Hours Before D-Day

...the most ironic moment in the Greek denouement will come when fractional reserve lending collapses onto itself:

Stavropoulos and her friends have a new strategy to deal with their daily expenses. "We charge everything to our credit cards," she says. If the Greek banks fail, they won't be able to collect the outstanding debts, she argues. "If they want to mess me around, I will do the same to them."

In other words, Greece is now America, where the vast majority of people also live on credit alone, and have taken up the following motto when dealing with banks: "you pretend to be solvent, we pretend to have money."

At the end of the day, it is all just one big global monetary circle jerk, only this time in reverse, as the snake of fractional reserve banking has finally started to eat its own tail. With people spending money they don't have, and in debt to their eyeballs to a banking system that itself is just as insolvent, is there any wonder that nobody really panics any more over daily threats the grand reset is finally coming?

And on that note, 


I've found the best place to buy gold and silver in Tokyo. The place is called Ishifuku Metals and it is located in several locations around Japan. In Tokyo, it is just a 20 second walk from Kanda station on the JR line.

I went there the other day and found that Ishifuku's price on a 20 gram gold bar was a full ¥2,000 yen lower than the price on the place I usually go to in Okachimachi (I won't go there anymore!). 


Ishifuku Metals is not a just wholesale metals dealer, they are a metals factory that provides materials for medical uses and dentistry as well as for product manufacturers. Since they are a factory, buying from Ishifuku gives you rock bottom prices since there is no middle man. And, of course, they also sell to the public just like a regular gold or precious metals dealer.

From Kitco


Ishifuku Metals has been in business since 1930 so you know they are a reputable company and the service is excellent..


Address in Tokyo is:


Ishifuku Metals
Uchi Kanda 3-20-7, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 101-8654


Tel: 03-3252-3131

Other locations? Here.

More on Why Japan's Economic D-Day Could be Coming Soon - The Euro Collapse Has Started

As predicted, events are quickly spinning out of control in the Eurozone and this is going to have many unforeseen consequences to Japan and the rest of the world's economy. The recent news and chain of events have even begun the clarion call that the countdown to the breakup of the European Union has begun.

When a politician holds up a copy of EU Constitution and says, "Elect me and I will make a country for our people, not the EU" He will be elected... Greece recently elected Neo-Nazis to parliament. Will it happen in other EU countries? I think the answer is "Of course!"

I think it is a safe bet that the Euro is a dead currency and I don't think it will last another two years. In fact, I believe that things will completely spin out of control this year (but have been wrong with timing before).


Zerohedge reports in Countdown to the Breakup of the Euro Has Officially Begun:

It turns out that austerity is extremely unpopular.  But if newly elected politicians all over Europe begin rejecting austerity, this puts Germany in a very difficult position.  Should Germany be expected to indefinitely bail out all of the members of the eurozone that choose to live way beyond their means?  If Germany pulled out of the euro tomorrow, the euro would absolutely collapse, bond yields for the rest of the eurozone would skyrocket to unprecedented heights, and without German bailout money troubled nations such as Greece would be headed directly for default.  The rest of the eurozone is absolutely and completely dependent on Germany at this point.  But as we have seen, much of the rest of the eurozone is sick and tired of taking orders from Germany and is rejecting austerity.  A lot of politicians in Europe apparently believe that they should be able to run up gigantic amounts of debt indefinitely and that the Germans should be expected to always be there to bail them out whenever they need it.  Will the Germans be willing to tolerate such a situation, or will they simply pick up their ball and go home at some point? 

"It turns out that austerity is extremely unpopular." Duh!


This looks to me like a lose-lose proposition. 


If the EU countries stick to austerity, the people revolt and their governments fall. If they reject austerity (which I believe they will) then the Euro collapses. Germany is not going to keep bailing out these countries.


I expect that Greece will leave the Euro - soon! And then Germany won't be far behind...


Couple that with US economic problems and the Japanese financial disaster we are faced with and, as I said, I expect the bug to hit the windshield this year... Possibly summer.  

Morgan Stanley Reports: Japan's Total Debt, Public, Private and Household, is More Than 600% of GDP

At least we're not the UK... And at least Greece isn't the USA.


Zerohedge reports in "We Are Number One!", Or Why At Least Broke Greece Is Not America 


The article talks about public debt then continues...


When one adds private financial and household debt, things get truly hilarious, as seen on the following chart also from Morgan Stanley (which unfortunately excludes such critical components of public debt as contingent and NPV of pension and healthcare) which shows why the UK, with its 950% global consolidated debt/GDP, is quite fond of infinite rehypothecation, or the iterational “fractional reserve” creation of credit money from one asset (most likely robo-signed away to someone, unclear quite who: just ask Jon Corzine how fiat money can evaporate when one tries to match it with the “asset” that spawned it), as many times as necessary to pay those record banker bonuses.

It's as I mentioned so many times in the past, folks... In Japan's case, like the rest of the world, our problems of public debt stem from uncontrolled government spending... They can raise taxes to the moon and it won't matter if they do not cut spending.


If you have a can with ten marbles in it, you cannot take out eleven marbles. We need to cut government spending immediately...

Entire Country of Japan Goes on Auction for ¥3 Mil. Yen (about $35,000)!

ヤフオク出品中！即決６９０万、２９０万円から入札可能，ただし落札者は日本の赤字の支払い義務が生じます！


They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery so I hope the folks at Zerohedge will forgive me for, er, umm, flattering them so! Yeah. That's it! Flattering them! Over there they have a hilarious graphic showing the entire country of Greece on auction at E-Bay.


Absurd! Well, of course that would never work in Japan as no one in this country uses E-Bay. E-Bay came to Japan and failed like many other western countries did before them by not adapting their system to fit Japan and the Japanese mindset... But that's another story for another time.


In Japan, the online auction market is totally and completely dominated by Yahoo Auctions. 


Over at E-Bay, the starting bid for Greece was $1500.00 (USD) but Japan is far and away a bigger, better and more prosperous country than Greece so the price is a bit heftier but well worth the starting bid of about $35,000 (USD).


Check out the Yahoo Japan Auction page for the Wonderful Asian Paradise Auction! Japan!:

click on image for larger view:

Three days left and no bids?! Weird, eh?

There is, though, one tiny-weeny catch though... Beware the fine print! The lucky purchaser also receives the wonderful responsibility of taking over Japan's public debt of ¥1 quadrillion yen.


I'm sure the auctioneer might be guilty of mis-stating the debt on the graphic so let me explain for you:


¥1 quadrillion is a one followed by 15 zeros: ¥1,000,000,000,000,000 


In US dollars that would be about ¥12,000,000,000,000. In mere mortal terms that's 12 trillion dollars.


Will you be paying by cash, credit card or Paypal?  


Apologies to Zerohedge

Here Comes Europe's and Japan's Debt Crisis - Just in Time for Summer

A good friend of mine, John Shippen, who works in the investment banking industry in Japan, says he totally agrees with my take on the disaster heading toward Japan that I wrote about two days ago. Please refer to: Japan's Collapse Will Be Absolute and it Cannot be Stopped - Here's Some BIG Reasons Why. The only thing about that article that John seems to take umbrage with is my description that the "disaster is heading Japan's way." John says it's the opposite. He says that the disaster isn't coming, Japan is intentionally driving into it... He describes it as, "Japan is a bug that's looking for a windshield."


Hope you got a laugh from that. It's the only one you'll get from this post. 


On that note, an easy article this morning for you referring to the huge financial calamity that is quickly heading our way (or, if you prefer, we are heading full speed ahead towards!) If you live in Japan, better put down that coffee before reading this. Hate to spill!


First a few charts from Mish Shedlock about debt in Europe - Sovereign Bond Yields Sharply Higher in Spain, Italy, Portugal:

This debt crisis has terrible repercussions for the world economy and Japan. Reuters has a good article on it entitled: Europe Poses Global Recession Threat: IMF. The article is a good rundown of the debt problem but the solutions they offer of throwing money at the problem are completely wrong (Been there, done that. Didn't work)... For proof of that, just look at how well throwing good money after bad has done for Greece.


Looks bad. These things have a way of getting out of control. But Japan is OK, right? Because these European countries can't print their way out. Japan can. Let's look at a few charts there. Here's a chart that shows the world ratio of debt to GDP:

Here's one to show Japan's debt mountain in yen:

As an important note, as of 2009, the Japanese national public debt, according to my handy-dandy calculations equaled over ¥6 million yen per man, woman and child in the country (about $72,000 USD). That means that if every single one of us coughed up ¥6 million yen and paid off our total debt today, we'd still be back in massive debt tomorrow as the costs of running the Japanese government, social security and health care, etc., etc. are completely out of control.


As of the writing of this post, Japan's national debt according to the Japanese National Debt Clock is: ¥972, 133,157,539,777 (about $11.8 trillion USD) at debt of over ¥7.5 million per person (about $91,000 USD).

To see what the debt is now, at this moment, go see the Japanese National Debt Clock here.


But wait! Things are getting better, right? Wrong! Here's an article you might want to read from a the New York Times that asks the laughable question: "Could Japan's Debt Lead to a Crisis?" (Let me ask you: "Could the next Pope be Catholic?") But, like I said, that article is a year old. I add it because it is a typical example of the confused reporting emanating out of the MSM... "Everything will be alright as long as government's keep printing money! We have to save the system!"


Well, no. We don't have to save the system. We can't save the system. The system is a wreck.


Here's a much more realistic and sober account of the mess we're in from Global Economic and Market Analysis That Matters: Debt Crisis 2012: Forget Europe, Check Out Japan: 

In addition to the current Euro crisis which we discussed here and here, Japan, the world's third largest economy, could have its own debt crisis as early as 2012 bigger than the Euro Zone.

CLICK ON CHART FOR FULL SIZE VIEW

So as long as Japan could keep financing a majority of its debt internally without going through the real test of the brutal bond market, the country most likely would not experience a debt crisis like the one currently festering in Europe.

But the chips seem to have stacked against Japan now.  On top of the new and re-financing needs, the Japanese government estimated that the economy will shrink 0.1% this fiscal year citing supply-chain disruptions from the earthquake and tsunami disaster in March, the strengthening of the yen and the European debt crisis.  Moreover, S&P said in November that Japan might be close to a downgrade.  After a sovereign debt downgrade to Aa3 by Moody's in August, 2011, it'd be hard pressed to think Japanese bond buyers would shrug off yet another credit downgrade.   

Burgeoning debt, coupled with the global and domestic economic slowdown, and continuing political turmoil (Japan has had three Prime Ministers in the last two years, and the current PM Noda’s popularity has fallen since he took office in September), would suggest it is unlikely that Japan could continue to self-contain its debt. 

I think, as I've said many times before.... The summer of 2012 is going to be a very hot one for Japan - as well as all around the world.

The Perfect Argument Against Bailouts and Big Government Spending in One Picture

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Here's a comic that does. It shows why we should be against all nationalization of industry and bailouts of industry and banks as well as tax increase and adding debt to our already un-payable debt.

Of course the free market system (which, by the way, we haven't ever really tried - there's always government control and cronyism) has its warts... But the way we do things now (bailouts, credit rate control, printing money, government take over of industry, government controlled education, medical care and retirement) just doesn't work. The fact that we're heading for bankruptcy (Greece is showing us what's going to happen to us soon enough) shows that we must stop this big government mentality.


If an industry like banks or big companies like General Motors or TEPCO in Japan go bankrupt, let them! Why do private companies get to keep profits but when they lose money the government wants to socialize their loses and stick it to the taxpayer?


And some taxpayers actually agree with this twisted logic?


Say in the case of a company like GM. If we bail them out, the same incompetent management get to keep their jobs. If they go bankrupt, a new group comes in and buys them up. The new group gets rid of the bad parts. The factories are still there, the buildings are still there, the new company needs someone to run those factories; they get rid of bad management and bad workers and start again. That's why they buy a bankrupt company in the first place; they think they can make it profitable!


But, when the government bails them out? The incompetents keep their jobs (and donate to the next election of those government people) and confused people in the public sector think that those industries should be nationalized. Yes. Nationalized and run ostensibly for a profit. Like the profitable venture that our, say, Japanese government has us at public debt of 229% of GDP.


What's wrong with this logic and this picture?  


Anyway, the same old same old way of doing business that we've been doing for the last 40 years, since 1971, has got to stop. 


Haven't we screwed up the world for our kids and their kid's kids enough as it is?

Debt in Japan Actually 492% of GDP! UK 497% of GDP!

That's right. You read that title correctly. A chart released by the giant blood sucking vampire squid, Goldman Sachs, says that when you combine "government, business, banking and household debt, the true scope of a country's obligations." This chart is truly shocking. 


But first, watch this video of a sinking ship and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about here:

You back? OK. Well, the video is relative because, first; the passengers are oblivious to dangers coming (the passengers represent us "the people"). Second; when the ship started sinking, the captain and crew were splitting. The captain & the crew represent our politicians and bankers.


Not a pretty picture. People going along, as usual, in their ignorant bliss. The "leaders" knowing full well what's going on but trying to get out with what they can, while they can! The only difference between the sinking ship and the economy is there won't be any rescue coming for us.


While the entire world watches Greece and Italy, it seems, from looking at this chart, the real action is the UK, Japan, Spain and France. 

Business, government and household debt in Japan show a 492% of GDP problem for Japan. The tax and spend days are coming to an end soon in Europe, the USA and, of course, in Japan. 

This entire house of cards is going to collapse around our heads. When the collapse does come, it will come suddenly. Hope you have cash readily available and at least a few weeks of food and water ready. Because when the crash does come, stores will be empty in a matter if a few hours - if it takes that long. 

A reader sends in this video. Kyle Bass on the BBC saying that Japan is "next": 

Thanks to Zerohedge: http://www.zerohedge.com/

Dancing With the Stars, Spray Tans, Mindless American TV

Every morning, like clockwork, I turn on my computer to do work and to write this blog. Every morning I see something on the top page of Yahoo that just makes me roll my eyes. (Yes, I know everyone uses Google, but I use Yahoo to get the financial and stock market news).


Everyday, at the top of the page, Yahoo has their 5 "hot" stories. These are always incredibly stupid and useless. Usually it is about an unusual football play (when, upon clicking, you see that it is not so unusual at all)... Or it it about some idiocy involving some Hollywood person getting a divorce or the dress s/he is wearing or something else.

Here's what was at the top of Yahoo this morning: $2.5 million dollar bra, Wal-Mart's sales, Golfer gets angry, 10 strange sports venues, Billy Crystal hosts Oscars? Hoo hum...

In a few words, God! American society is stupid! 


You know this stuff is there because Yahoo is "giving people what they want"... There is never any news about anything that actually matters.


But sometimes, even Yahoo can have something so stupid, so asinine that it irritates me to hell. Yesterday had a link to the person who does the tanning for the people on "Dancing With the Stars"! Jesus! I just have to read about that! 


The article is just Hollywood fabulous. Let me quote:


Each season of "Dancing With the Stars" features a revolving line-up of contestants and professional dancers, but one thing remains the same: spray tans are a big part of the show. And that's where Julie Nostrand, the owner of South Seas Skin Care, comes in. All season long, she's spent every Sunday flying from Loveland, Colorado, to Los Angeles, to ensure celebs look luminous in the ballroom and in front of the camera. omg! caught up with Nostrand to find out more about what the stars do to get glam.


Isn't that just ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz......... Oh, where was I?


No wonder the USA is all f'ed up. Ask Anyone says the average American watches 6.7 hours of TV a day!!!!


Average American watches 6.7 hours a day of TV.


How, in the hell could anyone spend 1/3 of their waking time on TV?


But for more, er, "serious" info let's go to our Neilsen ratings: 

According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.

The average child will watch 8,000 murders on TV before finishing elementary school. By age eighteen, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. At a meeting in Nashville, TN last July, Dr. John Nelson of the American Medical Association (an endorser of National TV-Turnoff Week) said that if 2,888 out of 3,000 studies show that TV violence is a casual factor in real-life mayhem, "it's a public health problem." The American Psychiatric Association addressed this problem in its endorsement of National TV-Turnoff Week, stating, "We have had a long-standing concern with the impact of television on behavior, especially among children."

Millions of Americans are so hooked on television that they fit the criteria for substance abuse as defined in the official psychiatric manual, according to Rutgers University psychologist and TV-Free America board member Robert Kubey. Heavy TV viewers exhibit five dependency symptoms--two more than necessary to arrive at a clinical diagnosis of substance abuse. These include: 1) using TV as a sedative; 2) indiscriminate viewing; 3) feeling loss of control while viewing; 4) feeling angry with oneself for watching too much; 5) inability to stop watching; and 6) feeling miserable when kept from watching.

OK, 4 hours a day or 6.7 hours a day of watching TV!? Are you kidding me? Don't these people work? How can anyone, in this day and age, have the time to watch that much TV? Why would anyone want to watch that much TV? These people are truly sick, especially when they feel miserable when they cannot watch enough TV!


What's to watch on TV? Nothing good.


I heard from my friend who works at NHK that recent surveys in Japan show that the average Japanese under 30-year-old watches an average 20 minutes of TV per day.


If these statistics are true then the USA is definitely done for. People in the USA no longer read books, they don't know their basic geography. They don't know the difference between John and Yoko staying in bed to protest the war or Lenin doing the same. They think Falafel is a political party in Pakistan and the people in Eye-rack had nooklar weapons.


They think Mexico is in Central America even though Central America doesn't exist... And, they think Napoleon is an ice-cream sundae at 31 Flavors. They couldn't pick out "Grease" on a map of Europe and don't care about "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" anyway. 


As Fred Reed writes in Dark Ages:



The night closes in. Read the surveys of what children know, what students in universities know. Approximately nothing. We have become wanton morons. As the intellectual shadows fall again, as literacy declines and minds grow dim in the new twilight, who will copy the parchments this time?


No longer are we a schooled people. Brash new peasants grin and peck at their iPods. Unknowing, incurious, they gaze at their screens and twiddle, twiddle. They will not preserve the works of five millenia. They cannot. They do not even know why.


Twilight really does come. Sales of books fall. Attention spans shorten. Music gives way to angry urban grunting. The young count on their fingers when they do not have a calculator, know less by the year. We have already seen the frist American generations less educated than their parents. College graduates do not know when World War One happened, or what the Raj was. They have read nothing except the nothing that they read, and little of that. Democracy was an interesting thought.


Ours will be a stranger Dark Age than the old one. Our peasants brush their teeth and wash, imagine themselves of the middle class, but their heads are empty.


We are witnessing the end times for the USA as we've known it for all these years.... It's too bad that, when the drunken giant in the room finally collapses, his fall is going to break everything on everyone else's tables.

Crisis in Groupon Boardroom & Greek Coup Du Etat?

It's been written on these pages since the beginning of 2011: Groupon has BIG trouble. Now, with events in Greece completely throwing a wrench into the Eurozone and markets, it looks like Groupon could suffer greatly from events in Athens. It must be confirmed by the latest news today: There must be crisis in the EU and the Groupon boardroom bordering on a full-blown panic.


Here's the details you need to know:


Groupon IPO is Nov. 4th, 2011. They are expected to price on Nov. 3.


The stock market is crashing on fears of a Greek referendum on an EU funded bailout. Who is in charge of Greece? No one knows.


The Dow Jones lost nearly 2.5% today.

Nov. 1, 2011. Two days before Groupon pricing Dow Jones

drops nearly 2.5%... Situation in Europe up in the air. 

Groupon must IPO. Their situation is getting serious. They have yet to turn a profit and, if the books were closed today, they'd be over $221.7 million dollars in the red. Groupon is running out of cash.


SF Gate reports:



Groupon remains unprofitable. The company had $243.9 million in cash at the end of September and still owed merchants $465.6 million. The 8.4 percent increase in cash from the prior period was outstripped by the rise in marketing costs, which jumped 37 percent to $234.4 million.


The company has used 85 percent of the $1.11 billion it has raised from venture capitalists and other investors to buy equity from early investors eager for a return, instead of funding growth. That is contributing to a potential cash crunch, said Sam Hamadeh, chief executive officer of PrivCo, which provides financial data on more than 20,000 private companies.

With two days to go until IPO and the stock market's crashing worldwide, then Groupon must be in a panic... If not, then the stuff they were smoking when they rejected the $6 billion dollar offer from Google must be really killer weed! 



*NOTE & IMPORTANT UPDATE: Let me go on a limb here. I predict that Greece will exit the Euro as Panpadreou has replaced all his military leaders (they were NATO experienced). I suggest that this portends a Euro zone departure. This is roil markets even more in the next 24 hours. This move seems to be an effort to head off a military coup de etat.


Mish Shedlock has an interesting take in Is Papandreou Preparing for a Military Coup or Afraid of One?

Linkedin Japan FAIL! Stuff I've Been Thinking About: Video Mashups & I Told You So

Monday morning (Sunday for most people who read this blog). I've got a ton of things to do but here's a few things I've been thinking about... Especially how, even a few days after press release, you can see proof of how messed up a company Linkedin Japan is. Linkedin Japan is a FAIL!


First up, though, before the bashing begins, for your enjoyment, a very cool video Mash-up by Hexstatic of Nancy Sinatra's sixties smash hit "These Boots Were Made For Walking"

And speaking of getting walked on... It seems that is what's happening in Europe right now. It seems the Euro is collapsing right in front of our very eyes. Also, if you read between the lines, I'm getting the impression that we could see the bankruptcy of Greece very soon (as soon as this week or next?) Read this from Mish Shedlock, EU Finance Ministers Decide to Force Banks to Take Bigger Greek Bond Losses, Recaptialize by $140 Billion; Amount Insufficient, Few Other Details

The picture in Greece, whose troubles kicked off the crisis almost two years ago, is bleaker than ever. A new report from Athens' international debt inspectors -- the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- proved that a preliminary deal for a second package of rescue loans reached in July is already obsolete.

The report showed that in the past three months Greece's economic situation has deteriorated so dramatically that for the bank deal to remain in place, the official sector would have to provide some euro252 billion ($347 billion) in loans. Alternatively, to keep official loans at euro109 billion ($150 billion), banks would have to accept cuts of about 60 percent to the value of their Greek bonds.

….

100 Million Euros is insufficient. The IMF pegged the amount between 100 million and 200 million. There is absolutely no reason to suspect the minimum is needed. Indeed, there is every reason to expect 400 million euros is insufficient.

….

I believe 400 million Euros will prove way insufficient once Portugal, then Spain, then Italy get into trouble.

Read more at Mish.

Like I said, I think we could see the bankruptcy of Greece any day now. If that happens, all bets are off and it's every man (family) for itself. I think people would be wise to draw out a good sum of money from the banks and have it at home for a few weeks just to be safe until we can see what is going to happen. I fear a "bank holiday" where it might not be possible to withdraw money (or possibly even use credit cards) from banks for a few days or even a week or two (or more?)

I always follow my own advice and I think I've done pretty well. I always mess up dates, though... But I predicted a bad situation in Autumn on 2011 and, well, here it is, autumn. Please refer to: Japan's Financial Armageddon is Coming in 60 Days?

I warned people in October of 2008 to buy gold and silver and to stock up on food (click the links for proof). At that time, gold was $724.08 an ounce (today gold is $1562.30) and silver was $9.11 an ounce (today silver stands at $47.40).

If you had taken my advice, you would have easily more than doubled your investment in gold and taken over a 520% profit on silver. It's still not too late to get into gold and silver but a price correction is coming so wait a bit.* There will be no price correction on food. Stock up now, while you can. 

After the big Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, when the stores shelves were bare for a week or so (and no one knew at the time how things were going to turn out on the food and water situation) my family was fine; we had 6 months of food and water, enough for 5 people, stocked up and ready to go. When people panicked and ran away from Tokyo or when they were fighting for parking spaces at the local grocery store, or fighting for bottles of water, I only watched and shook my head in disbelief.

How can people be so gullible and foolish? How can people be so negligent and irresponsible not to be prepared?

…..

Let me give you fair warning again. Especially if you live in Japan: 

1) Store up enough water for at least 2 months (6 months preferable)

2) Fill your bathtub with water every night (if water stops you can use for cleaning)

3) Today or this week, buy at least 2 months of canned food (6 months preferable)

4) It is still not too late! Start saving money every month by buying gold and silver. If you have some savings, take 33% of it out of the bank and buy gold. Take the other 33% and keep it at  safe place at home.

It looks like we are headed for some really rough times. Better be prepared to stay out of the way.

The point I am ultimately making is that of course no one can predict the future but just because of that fact not being prepared is just plain foolish. I'm sure that there were many people in Tohoku before the earthquake and tsunami who could make the same claim that "No one could have predicted the future" so that's why many did not have food or water or the means to escape (same as many in Tokyo)... But this is not about predicting the future, this is about protecting yourselves and your family.

If you think this is about predicting the future, then use that same logic next time you buy auto, car, fire or life insurance. Don't need them, right? No one can predict the future.

While I mention Greece, another curious thing about the situation there is that it is not being mentioned on the MSM. There's lots about demonstrations in the USA, where things are peaceful for the most part, but in places like Greece, where the sh*t is about to hit the fan? Not a peep.

I had been looking at many videos on Youtube and others showing some very heavy fighting between rioters and police. I wish I would have bookmarked them. This one, though, give a good idea. This is not a friendly party. 

The most worrisome point about the situation in Greece is that the government needs the police and military to stand by them to protect them from and increasingly angry and militant civilian gathering, yet, at the same time, even the Greek police and civil servants are furious about getting pay cuts and massive slashes to their pensions. I wonder how long until they switch sides?

What would that mean for Greece and the other countries in immediate danger (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland?)

And, finally, I see the ridiculous announcement from Linkedin that they finally "launched their Japanese site". Well, that's one big strike against them; they're lying. The service was actually launched sometime before May of 2010. 

Why is that important for Linkedin? Well, when dealing or considering new companies trying to penetrate the Japanese market, please refer to How New Companies Can Succeed in Japan and How They Fail

How to correctly handle a new product or service release? (in Japan)

A new company/product/service will need to appoint somebody in Japan to handle PR for them in Japan and work with that company to make a plan. 

A necessary part of any good plan of attack would be that the representatives in Japan arrange meetings with major media at least 1 - 2 weeks before Japanese release day, as pre-press release. This is critical.

If this sort of ground-work is not fully prepared by the company and their reps in Japan, I strongly suggest that the company postpone the release of the product/service (and fire their  representatives and hire a competent company) and then get properly prepared. If this sort of pre-press release is done correctly, the Japanese media will then follow-up and prepare and study the circumstances of the product/service and company so that they may be able to publish and provide better information for the Japanese audience (don't forget that the Japanese media are competing with each other, too, to provide up-to-date concise information, so this has to be done. No short-cuts here). This is critical for the success of any new company in Japan.  

Even after years of repeated failures by various companies, to this very day, foreign companies come to Japan and repeat the mistakes Pepsi Cola and Seven-Up made decades ago. Some recent examples are Linkedin; E-Bay Japan, Google.jp, and a few others. (I strongly suspect Sugarsync is about to make the same mistake too!)

Take, for example, Linked-in. Linked-in came out with a Japanese version quite a while back but no one here in Japan uses it because no one knows about it; they had no local representation; no pre-press release information. 

Kind of shocking, when you think about it; a supposedly forward thinking company coming to Japan and making such an amateurish mistake. 

Well, Linkedin made that mistake. I also am quite familiar with this as I wrote a letter to Linkedin twice in early 2010 offering them a partnership with some companies that suggested tying up with Sony and placing the Linkedin software with all new Vaio computers sold. I sent them the letter twice. Twice, no response. Chuckle. Now, they've realized almost 1.5 years later that no one uses their Japanese language product (and probably won't). They blew a golden opportunity to tie up with one of the biggest companies in Japan... Now, what are they going to do?

You don't penetrate the Japanese market on the cheap and you usually have only one chance to get it right.

Let me make a prediction that I will stand by completely: Linkedin Japan will be a flop and failure along the lines of E-Bay in Japan.

Well, it's the start of another week. Keep positive. Write down your goals and smile.

The whole world loves happy people.