A few days ago I saw this video that was introduced to me by fellow substacker, Turfseer. It is titled, “Beyond the Reset”. This is accurate to what I have lived through these past 3 years, especially the deterioration of the relationship between myself and my wife and often between myself and our son. Both are confirmed covidians. Unlike the main character in the film, it is not the “Great Reset” that causes the trouble, as I have not mentioned such to my wife, it is masks. We have not split yet but as I keep losing more and more work and mask refusal makes landing new positions a fantasy, once she learns why I can not replace lost hours I will most likely be thrown out. I have not been able to contribute to the family financially in over a year.
Yes, it would, it is hard to type anything about it. However, even without them actually bussing people anywhere, as they actually did in Australia, they have accomplished much the same just by keeping us in our residences and neighbors ratting each other out.
I watched the video. I live in the states, but it would be naive and ignorant to think anything I say about it will not have consequences. and yet I must say something because obviously saying nothing hasn't done anything worthwhile. The whole idea of "we will come back to some measure of rationality" isn't going to work. What I have to lose though is very little. I have ailing health, I don't have a wife and kids, and I am a freelancer. I will be respectful, civil, and sometimes sarcastic, but I will not call people names. They have been so indoctrinated by the narrative they know not what they do...even though they do get blamed for believing the same government that brought them the food pyramid.
I had already been exposed to so much falsehood long held to be truth by so many that when I learned about the Food Pyramid also being a total lie that those who studied such things knew but had been silenced for decades, I laughed. “But of course, this too must be untrue.” Was what I thought. Humans are imperfect, thus all we read is written by an imperfect author, except myself as I am perfect…..poor attempt at levity and humor, thus it too is imperfect. Everything we read, regardless the source must be met with, “Hmmm, I wonder how much of this is true?”. If of interest of importance, then we must dig deeper and read as much as we can from as many different viewpoints we can find and come to our conclusions. Which is essentially what wrote about in another post as having tried to teach another. Giving up blind faith in what we are fed is hard. Sadly, I fear we are out of time.
Agreed. It has been my experience, building great products initially in my career, and then marketing them, that the truly great products/ideas/solutions sold themselves. The horrible products, well, those required large marketing budgets, and ultimately sunk even a few great companies, whose names you would certainly know, living in Japan!
In the 90's, I noticed a repetitive theme of commercials on then "conservative talk radio channels" opposed to "bullying." Then, these became pleas for flu shots, saving the planet, and likely today they are all about trannie promotion. A sane person notices the gubermint agenda, realizes a central bank and reserve currency status gives them an unlimited marketing budget, and says, "if they tell me to jab myself one more time, I will steal a plane and fly it in to a Federal building." To my intelligence and police agency friends listening, this is purely a joke, of course no sane person would resist your tyranny with violence. Of course.
Well said Jimmy. I live in one of the freest of the so called United States. I stayed my keyboard less so because the FBI (Cheka) would bash my door in, but more out of courtesy. I want vengeance. Not to chronicle the crimes of the filthy Tribe and the monarchic/dynastic/financial families who have crippled 70% of the rational human minds. I want heads on Tower Bridge, but not until after they have been tortured with 6 daily doses of Moderna's worst batch. I want to stream them to the world, as they writhe in agony.
Also, as a man who has been married to a woman that is aligned with me, and follows my lead, and one that sounds much liked Kitsune's current wife, I want to tell him to leave her, and the ungrateful child. Go ex-pat in some obscure land, that allows you a new identity. Take what you can, rebuild yourself, and never look back, or feel an iota of guilt. Let the ex-family jab and mask themselves until gone. Life is way too short to save the bleating masses.
Aye, and all due credit. Very noble. However, I divorced the miserable wife, a rarity, and I am glad I did. It is much better, as I have it at present, to love, respect and actually admire the woman I share a bed with. Wasn't quite sure it was possible, and it is not a common thing in 2023, in most nations.
Kitsune: My apology for the somewhat out-of-place comment. I wonder if your Japanese is not better than you admit. I am familiar with China, which is very much a closed culture. I suspect there are similarities with Japan. If you stay you should improve your already existing mastery of the language. And work at all costs, as with the father in the film Tokyo Sonata. Any work whatsoever.
However, given your writing skill, you might follow the bi-racial Japanese American author Karl Taro Greenfield who is most recently known as the writer for a popular HBO Max series "Tokyo Vice," which, although completely fictional, includes elements of the writer's own experiences in Japan. I mention bi-racial because it still unfortunately matters in the culture. That series stars the one and only Ken Watanabe. To me that is the equivalent of having Toshiro Mifune in your movie when he was alive. No offense intended with this comment, but I recognize it may be interpreted differently by a reader.
None taken. Extra points if you catch the reference, which just so happens to fit as my response.
As this is for all, in our own individual ways, this is uncharted territory for me. I have never been underemployed and not insanely busy correcting the situation, until now. Until recently, masks were required. Now they are merely expected. I can not even interview without a mask for any thing. Even Uber Eats delivery men are masked.
Oh, I dunno. I like Ken Watanabe, but Mr. Mifune learned swordsmanship from his grandfather who was the real deal bushi. And he was a damned good actor to boot. But, we each have our reasons for our opinions.
You are the third person in a very short time who has suggested that I write. I’m looking into it. Thanks.
My biggest problem, is how to get paid without whoever is paying me getting reported to the US Treasury department. Long story, but through being asked by people around the world to purchase Japanese fountain pens and ink, I looked into starting a business of buying these for overseas buyers. For a couple of years, I did so for friends at no profit. They paid me what it cost and postage. Can no longer do that without reporting issues. Any and all activity on my accounts in Japan are reported to the US. This is a huge issue that can not be discussed in the clear but the laws and such behind this are FATCA/FBAR and CBT. Money coming to me from with in Japan is not worry free but cross border is just plain out. Too risky for all involved.
I'm not buying that there ever was a pandemic or "Covid" was the cause of disease. I am also not buying that the hospitals were uniformly filled to the brim at the beginning of this grand self-delusion. In the case where there was actual overcrowding that can be explained by numerous other reasons. For example people panicking and unnecessarily running to the hospital due to media reports designed to spread fear; pre-existing conditions--particularly old people; environmental poisoning such as air pollution in certain areas such as Wuhan, China and Northern Italy; PCR tests that measure nothing except blown up genetic fragments; iatrogenic treatment (e.g. death by "ventilators" and/or anti-viral medication).
I also believe there were too many doctors twisting themselves into a pretzel trying to make the case that cases of "Covid" were all the same. If not for the bogus PCR they really couldn't distinguish one serious case of respiratory illness from another.
I am of much the same thinking. It has been documented that hospitals were never overflowing except when artificial made to be, like laying off a huge portion of the staff and closing down most of the facility.
I have though that there was the virus and that it did cause some disease and even a few deaths among people who were either at death’s door are on his porch, but that if so, that it had probably been with us for a long time but we never looked for it and thus never found it. At any rate, it was never anything we should have gone batshite crazy over. Now, I am not even sure there ever was a virus nor a disease. Just an excuse to do what they did. All the rest, though, I have long thought the same.
Thanks too for the recommend, BTW. I tried to cross post some of yours but have yet to figure out how.
I saw the video a few days ago. Very grim, and quite plausible.
Unlike you, I 've decided to go along to get along except when it comes to getting the shot myself. I told friends and family why I decided not to get the shot, but didn't manage to convince any of them not to themselves. I did manage to talk my parents as well as two friends out of getting boosters, but that's it. Whenever there's a mask policy in place, I wear a mask. Masks are useless and dehumanizing, but this is not a hill I'm willing to die on.
I understand why you feel the way you do, but you really have to consider whether you truly want to end up divorced, alienated from your son, and unemployed. And back in the US, because you wouldn't be able to remain in Japan without a work visa.
ETA: I should add that I greatly admire your integrity. If we all refused to comply, this nightmare would end immediately. However, in your case, it seems to me that there's a high probability of you losing everything without having any sort of meaningful impact on the society you currently live in.
The problem is manifold. Being certified in respirators, I know the health risks associated with mask use. Additionally, children around the would are deficient in their own native languages due to mask use, my own son among these. He can no longer clearly understand the spoken word.
I do not hold it against those who are without the specific certifications related to mask use who wear/wore them as they did not know before the panic and those who do know have been censored making it next to impossible to learn of the dangers. As one who has qualifications in this area I can not go along to get along on this issue. Before the panic, if I allowed those under my supervision to wear masks as we are currently told we must/should, i and my employer would be exposed to civil and possibly criminal penalties.
I have long had a Permanent Resident visa, so the visa issue is settled. However, not earning enough to cover living costs have a similar effect on my ability to remain in country. However, without my family, I have no desire to remain here.
I think the only thing that will end up swaying public opinion about all the C19-related measures, whether shots, masks, lockdowns, is when the truth comes out about the deaths and disabilities caused by the jabs. The tide is starting to turn in North America as most people now personally know someone who's been killed or disabled as a result, lessening the impact of propaganda and censorship.
Of course, it's going to be too late for many and it'll be years before we know the full extent of the harm done. My brother's two-year-old twins are fully-vaxxed, so I doubt they will survive to adulthood. Every time I babysit, I follow the FLCCC protocol for exposure, due to viral-shedding.
These are grim, heartbreaking times. The only cause for optimism is that there's a huge discrepancy between vaccine batches, so some are less harmful than others, but that doesn't help much if someone has had three or more jabs...which is pretty much half the Canadian population.
I was visiting a friend today in hospital, she was previously healthy, had endless energy with no medical history of illness or medication. After 3rd covid injection she has experienced a downward spiral of neurological symptoms. At present her mobility is poor, zero energy, she is having problems with her voice leading to difficulty in communicating and sometimes swallowing plus has lost 2 stone in weight, she believes a very mild covid infection has caused her problems. Across the bed from my friend is a woman with severe thrombocytopenia which she said was also caused by covid (of course nothing to do with her previous 4 covid injections). Neither of them or their family has questioned why their very mild and barely noticeable covid infection has caused such devastating conditions. Many, many people continue to be asleep, they do not question they just accept. I wish I could be optimistic about the future but after today I am not.
It is indeed difficult to be optimistic in these times.
Earlier I wrote somewhere that most would still stand in line to get the next shot if they witnessed with their own eyes all those before them in the line drop dead right after the shot. How do we reach such people? I don’t think we can, though must keep trying.
This was a very sad video. But there were funny parts, like the names on the packaging. The news stories about exterminating trees and cows. The part that I found unbelievable is that he was watching the news still. I understand that it was part of the narrative of the movie, but there should have been something about their being nothing else on. Also loved what it said about restricting the Godfather/Pulp Fiction. There was a nice connection in the video made between wokeness/covid.
There is a sadness to the video, the main difference is there are those of us in our requisite places of work (even at home) who are saying something against the narrative. We can only do what we can do. Tonight on Twitter I think I found someone pretending to be something they aren't. Despite their account name concerning hatred of the DeepState, they bought into a lot of the narrative. They were quad vaccinated...claimed to have many people "die" around them of Covid, yet provided no details of who these people were.
I know of two people that died with Covid, and I am very specific about it. They were both in their seventies, both had comorbidities like COPD and heart issues. At times they would not come to the restaurant I hung out with them at because they were sick.
I was wrong when I thought cooler heads would prevail. We look at this insanity...and all the previous insanity like the "green new deal" and now I wish I had spoken out more about it. These people need more than "yes people" around them. Someone to tell them there ideas don't make any sense. Here in the US we had, for the longest time, checks and balances, but now that we are ruled by rubes...as el gato malo puts it, we are gloriously and completely FUBARED.
Wanted to include this in my last post but got distracted. I recently saw a statement somewhere that sums up how we got here and how it will end unless we change. In competitions between those who want to win and those who just want to be left alone, the former always carry the day.
If I would ever run for office it would be on the "you will be left alone" platform. That would mean actively dismantling government wherever I could. I doubt I would make it very far...probably not even nominated. Too many people "want something" without knowing what the price of it is going to be.
I picked up that there was nothing else on the TV. I think the screen closed down at the end the broadcast. The fact that all he could find to read and watch were woke in my mind, covered that. I have spent several years at sea. After a short time you will read, watch or listen to anything available to you to break the monotony and boredom. True boredom is known only by those who have been at see or in isolation without contact to the outside world.
I know not a single person who has died with Covid, not to mention of Covid. I know two who may have died from the shots though, actually one it is the likely cause as he was under 40, slim and trim with no health issues before he dropped dead of a heart attack while on a business trip.
I too would be suspicious of that person on Twitter.
I found nothing in it to be funny as it hits too close to home for me. The killing of cows and trees is too real. Those stupid wind turbines are killing off all manner of animals including whales when they are put in the sea. For years Europe has been destroying ancient woodlands to feed their biomass electro generation plants. How it has escaped the greenies that biomass is trees is almost as unbelievable as Michael Moore not knowing that the electricity for EVs comes from the same place all electricity comes from, the power plants he though he was avoiding. Idgits. So, those actually close to the truth. If they stated that the timber was being used as biomass and that solar panels set up in its place, spot on accurate.
Yes, it is close, but this wasn't meant for us as the audience anyhow. It was meant to be for those steeped in the narrative as a warning. This could be us (is us) if we aren't careful. And by careful I mean saying something.
Tonight I went through two articles, a Washington Post, and a New York Times article on Twitter, and I broke it down into paragraphs and "showed by thinking." That's all I can do. First, I demonstrated to the person that I was taking their link seriously. Second, I showed them (at least to a degree) the difference between opinion and fact. Third, I showed them, at least to my incompetent way of doing so, how to generate questions while reading an article that aren't addressed in the article itself.
As for the video, I liked how the main character escaped in the recycling truck. The only problem is I can't believe the surveillance drones wouldn't catch him. By the way, one of the first things I might have done is incapacitate the surveillance drone. Also, I hope it wasn't lost on everyone that the residents of the quarantine facility far outnumber those that run the place. Imagine if no one complied.
I hear you though. The thing is, you're not being unreasonable about masks, they are the one in the clown world being unreasonable. You are however, too independent thinking . It's probably the result of too much downtime as a kid back in the woods and figuring ways to amuse yourself. Such an occurrence can lead to independent and creative thought.
Well, he did disable the one drone. I would have taken the makeshift club. We do not know what becomes of him. The area around the prison is flat and without vegetation for a long distance. He would be easy to find if he got out through the wall or fence. That leaves two options; he is either hunkering down within the facility of hitching a ride on a vehicle. I think he would be caught at the recycling facility. But let’s say he isn’t, where does he go? He has no usable money. They know who he is, they would be surveilling what was once his home.
That said, I would have done what he did much sooner. Actually, I would never have gotten on the bus.
Yes. There are homeless here. I may not have seen a single homeless person during my time here in the early 90s with the navy. I think the first I saw was while here in college, my second time here in college. I was shocked as this was a point all spoke of, Japan does not have homeless people. I have seen their numbers increase as the economy here slowly founders. I have even seen some near my kids’ school in a Tokyo suburb. They usually take up residence in parks, along the river and under bridges. There are certain areas where the congregate. Long ago I saw a TV special on the homeless. A TV personality acted as if he was newly homeless and with a hidden camera and far off camera crew recorded his interactions. Afterwards he would disclose his discoveries to the TV audience. He was shocked to learn that many homeless had lots of cash. Not all of course, but he was surprised that any had any money at all. At the time, getting an even a run down apartment required a huge amount of cash (first and last months’ rent, deposited and “key money”) and a guarantor, think “co-signer”. Hard to do unless one has regular employment. There are now places that no longer require Key money but the economy is much worse. In the past, if employed, one could probably find a place, but if not you would be outta luck even have a lot of money saved up. While things are better now for renters, as I said earlier, the economy is sinking.
My in-laws are Austrian. They came to the US last year to Texas and Oklahoma. It was definitely good for them to see how normal people lived here without masks. They had been very fearful and fully masked before they came. But they didn’t ever put a mask on here. We didn’t lecture them but they just figured it out on their own. They jet tons of friendly, smart, successful and educated people. It definitely helped them put all the covid hysteria in the rearview mirror. Maybe their is a region in Japan where you can take your family for a nice wknd holiday for perspective.
Btw my son will be in Japan this summer. He is interning in Tokyo and taking the N2 on July 2nd. He taught himself Japanese during covid. He is obsessed!
I am in my 50s. I have no credit history in the States as I have lived in Japan for over 209 years. I have Japanese driver’s license but no longer have a valid one for the States. No driving history there either. I would be homeless the moment I stepped off the plane as I have maybe enough for a one way ticket left in cash.
Hypothetically, suppose you had a comfortable way to travel here-would your family want to see what’s going outside of Japan? How’s their English?
As for your options here in the states, a veteran that can speak Japanese can find something if need an escape.
Also not sure this already exists but I’d pay good money to have an expat immersed in the Japanese culture to serve as your guide if my family and I travel there one day (sons too young for now, but it’s always been something I wanted to do but have know idea who to trust.
Be kinda funny if every few months you give a tour to Americans/Europeans all unmasked and she sees everyone is just fine.
70,000 yen a day seems reasonable for base package (just spitballing)
Lots packed into your short post. My wife now knows that the masks are useless, but still wears them, it’s the rule, you see. She does believe that they have their own health risks. That may be changing soon, however.
My language skills at their best was far from fluent, though conversant and competent in some areas. While the last three years have done tremendous damage to what remained of what ability I once had, in truth the lions share of the loss of Japanese began long ago. It has been a bitter irony that the longer I’m here, the worse my Japanese becomes. I use English only at work and with little time outside of work for a number of year my Japanese ability has decreased. The panic has dealt a death blow to an already mostly dead animal. I respond to masked speakers of Japanese based solely upon what experience tells that they are most likely saying, such as with a waitress taking my order at a coffee shop. Between hearing lost in the engine room and the firing line and people having still not learned that they must speak louder when speaking through a mask and behind plexiglass despite wearing them for 3 years and an older, less flexible ear, I can’t make anything out except for the last syllable. Could I regain it with practice? Probably but only if Japanese drop the mask so that I can hear what they are saying, and I yet to se a single person dealing with customers unmasked. That’s in the negative column.
On the positive side, I do know my way around. I can read road signs and maps, I drive here. I have extensive experience riding the trains here with each day of the week working in a different location. I can read the rail and subway maps. This translates to be able to read the “ACCESS” pages on the websites of places of interest. Shopping, drinking and eating and helping in any of these situations are still with in my ability.
Back on the negative side, is payment. All payments to my account are reported to the US. There is the obvious work around. A bigger concern is licensing. Leading up to the recently concluded olympics armies of licensed and registered volunteers trained and other wise prepared for the hoarders of anticipated spectators from abroad. I had studenst who were among these. As we all know, they were to be greatly disappointed as their efforts were to come to naught. I would not be able to advertise lest I run afoul of licensing issues as those Shio sought to earn extra by braiding hair in the States have.
I do not think these negatives are insurmountable but they must be taken into consideration. Could run substack tours. We are in good with two micro breweries. I carry mikoshi with a rickshaw runner. Another of our matsuri group works at a sushi restaurant. If I were to guide people in and around Tokyo, I would have to help my friends out by at least suggesting their businesses for those open to experiencing Tokyo as residents do.
My hubby and I already discussed this morning that we'd pay good money to have someone like you to be our "Tokyo tour guide" for a day -- join us for craft beer at various craft beer bars in Tokyo, and then even sake and shochu "tours". Similar to this:
I think the first thing is to find a place that stood up to a lot of it. I imagine no area is perfect. Florida looks like a good place. I think Georgia did "okay" but Kemp talked out of both sides of his mouth and deferred to Toomey a lot.
Yes, looking at just which places did the least bad, Florida is high on the list. But I would arrive in my fifties, jobless, homeless and penniless without any credit history nor even a valid driver’s license.
You sound like your in roughly the same boat I am. Although I do have a valid driver's license. Do you have any family back here you talk to? You probably need to at least examine your options. I say this as someone who hasn't properly examined his options.
Reading this is heartbreaking. I think you need to find a way to come visit somewhere which strongly participated in this nonsense and has since recovered from the mass hysteria. Like come to Cleveland. I’ll put you guys up.
Maybe if they’re exposed to what normalcy was like they will realize how useless and silly all of this was.
Get your kid out of cram school. None of mine went. My daughter graduated university last year and took a year out to get married and have a kid. My son just graduated too. My youngest went into an IT job after high school last year. The two boys did soccer bukatsu and I encouraged them to do the barest amount of homework possible. All have done and are doing well.
My wife ended up taking 2 clotshots. My kids took none. I'm proud of them and me for making them see reason. The whole family is done with the shots after my sister-in-law almost died due to a brain hemorrhage last October. At a family bbq I lost my shit and told everyone they'd be dumb idiots if they took anymore. My passion might have knocked sense into them.
I'm now maskless at school. I have been encouraging kids to drop them and got told this morning to stop. Until May 1st at least. I'm just wondering when the schools will admit responsibility for the huge psychological damage they've done to kids and actively try to reverse. Because without a decree that they must remove masks, the majority won't. They've hidden behind them for 3 years and they don't want to come out.
Watched the video. Everything I want, and need to type, would get my door kicked in. Unlike many, I would not die alone.
Yes, it would, it is hard to type anything about it. However, even without them actually bussing people anywhere, as they actually did in Australia, they have accomplished much the same just by keeping us in our residences and neighbors ratting each other out.
A jewish dystopia. A dysgenic people, expelled more than any other in human history, controlling the "culture," money supply and freedom of the world.
I watched the video. I live in the states, but it would be naive and ignorant to think anything I say about it will not have consequences. and yet I must say something because obviously saying nothing hasn't done anything worthwhile. The whole idea of "we will come back to some measure of rationality" isn't going to work. What I have to lose though is very little. I have ailing health, I don't have a wife and kids, and I am a freelancer. I will be respectful, civil, and sometimes sarcastic, but I will not call people names. They have been so indoctrinated by the narrative they know not what they do...even though they do get blamed for believing the same government that brought them the food pyramid.
I had already been exposed to so much falsehood long held to be truth by so many that when I learned about the Food Pyramid also being a total lie that those who studied such things knew but had been silenced for decades, I laughed. “But of course, this too must be untrue.” Was what I thought. Humans are imperfect, thus all we read is written by an imperfect author, except myself as I am perfect…..poor attempt at levity and humor, thus it too is imperfect. Everything we read, regardless the source must be met with, “Hmmm, I wonder how much of this is true?”. If of interest of importance, then we must dig deeper and read as much as we can from as many different viewpoints we can find and come to our conclusions. Which is essentially what wrote about in another post as having tried to teach another. Giving up blind faith in what we are fed is hard. Sadly, I fear we are out of time.
Agreed. It has been my experience, building great products initially in my career, and then marketing them, that the truly great products/ideas/solutions sold themselves. The horrible products, well, those required large marketing budgets, and ultimately sunk even a few great companies, whose names you would certainly know, living in Japan!
In the 90's, I noticed a repetitive theme of commercials on then "conservative talk radio channels" opposed to "bullying." Then, these became pleas for flu shots, saving the planet, and likely today they are all about trannie promotion. A sane person notices the gubermint agenda, realizes a central bank and reserve currency status gives them an unlimited marketing budget, and says, "if they tell me to jab myself one more time, I will steal a plane and fly it in to a Federal building." To my intelligence and police agency friends listening, this is purely a joke, of course no sane person would resist your tyranny with violence. Of course.
You worked for Apple?
Well said Jimmy. I live in one of the freest of the so called United States. I stayed my keyboard less so because the FBI (Cheka) would bash my door in, but more out of courtesy. I want vengeance. Not to chronicle the crimes of the filthy Tribe and the monarchic/dynastic/financial families who have crippled 70% of the rational human minds. I want heads on Tower Bridge, but not until after they have been tortured with 6 daily doses of Moderna's worst batch. I want to stream them to the world, as they writhe in agony.
Also, as a man who has been married to a woman that is aligned with me, and follows my lead, and one that sounds much liked Kitsune's current wife, I want to tell him to leave her, and the ungrateful child. Go ex-pat in some obscure land, that allows you a new identity. Take what you can, rebuild yourself, and never look back, or feel an iota of guilt. Let the ex-family jab and mask themselves until gone. Life is way too short to save the bleating masses.
I am a snipe by history and temperament. I go down with the ship. I choose the vessel and do my best to keep it afloat in all weather.
Aye, and all due credit. Very noble. However, I divorced the miserable wife, a rarity, and I am glad I did. It is much better, as I have it at present, to love, respect and actually admire the woman I share a bed with. Wasn't quite sure it was possible, and it is not a common thing in 2023, in most nations.
Good luck patching the hull.
Kitsune: My apology for the somewhat out-of-place comment. I wonder if your Japanese is not better than you admit. I am familiar with China, which is very much a closed culture. I suspect there are similarities with Japan. If you stay you should improve your already existing mastery of the language. And work at all costs, as with the father in the film Tokyo Sonata. Any work whatsoever.
However, given your writing skill, you might follow the bi-racial Japanese American author Karl Taro Greenfield who is most recently known as the writer for a popular HBO Max series "Tokyo Vice," which, although completely fictional, includes elements of the writer's own experiences in Japan. I mention bi-racial because it still unfortunately matters in the culture. That series stars the one and only Ken Watanabe. To me that is the equivalent of having Toshiro Mifune in your movie when he was alive. No offense intended with this comment, but I recognize it may be interpreted differently by a reader.
None taken. Extra points if you catch the reference, which just so happens to fit as my response.
As this is for all, in our own individual ways, this is uncharted territory for me. I have never been underemployed and not insanely busy correcting the situation, until now. Until recently, masks were required. Now they are merely expected. I can not even interview without a mask for any thing. Even Uber Eats delivery men are masked.
Oh, I dunno. I like Ken Watanabe, but Mr. Mifune learned swordsmanship from his grandfather who was the real deal bushi. And he was a damned good actor to boot. But, we each have our reasons for our opinions.
You are the third person in a very short time who has suggested that I write. I’m looking into it. Thanks.
My biggest problem, is how to get paid without whoever is paying me getting reported to the US Treasury department. Long story, but through being asked by people around the world to purchase Japanese fountain pens and ink, I looked into starting a business of buying these for overseas buyers. For a couple of years, I did so for friends at no profit. They paid me what it cost and postage. Can no longer do that without reporting issues. Any and all activity on my accounts in Japan are reported to the US. This is a huge issue that can not be discussed in the clear but the laws and such behind this are FATCA/FBAR and CBT. Money coming to me from with in Japan is not worry free but cross border is just plain out. Too risky for all involved.
A line from actor Chief Dan George as Lone Watie in "Outlaw Josie Wales."
*edit* - also coincidentally a film currently available on HBO Max, heh!
Even more specific that I expected. I remembered the movie and as I recall, it was a line that got much mileage.
I'm not buying that there ever was a pandemic or "Covid" was the cause of disease. I am also not buying that the hospitals were uniformly filled to the brim at the beginning of this grand self-delusion. In the case where there was actual overcrowding that can be explained by numerous other reasons. For example people panicking and unnecessarily running to the hospital due to media reports designed to spread fear; pre-existing conditions--particularly old people; environmental poisoning such as air pollution in certain areas such as Wuhan, China and Northern Italy; PCR tests that measure nothing except blown up genetic fragments; iatrogenic treatment (e.g. death by "ventilators" and/or anti-viral medication).
I also believe there were too many doctors twisting themselves into a pretzel trying to make the case that cases of "Covid" were all the same. If not for the bogus PCR they really couldn't distinguish one serious case of respiratory illness from another.
One of my favorite blogs is this one by Jon Rappoport. The Pandemic Pattern--How the Illusion is Built. https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2021/09/08/pandemic-pattern-how-illusion-is-built/
I am of much the same thinking. It has been documented that hospitals were never overflowing except when artificial made to be, like laying off a huge portion of the staff and closing down most of the facility.
I have though that there was the virus and that it did cause some disease and even a few deaths among people who were either at death’s door are on his porch, but that if so, that it had probably been with us for a long time but we never looked for it and thus never found it. At any rate, it was never anything we should have gone batshite crazy over. Now, I am not even sure there ever was a virus nor a disease. Just an excuse to do what they did. All the rest, though, I have long thought the same.
Thanks too for the recommend, BTW. I tried to cross post some of yours but have yet to figure out how.
I think the pontification about climate change is what causes climate change and needs to be reduced.
Yes yes, they certainly are full of a lot of hat air!
Thanks, needed the laugh, true though this is.
I saw the video a few days ago. Very grim, and quite plausible.
Unlike you, I 've decided to go along to get along except when it comes to getting the shot myself. I told friends and family why I decided not to get the shot, but didn't manage to convince any of them not to themselves. I did manage to talk my parents as well as two friends out of getting boosters, but that's it. Whenever there's a mask policy in place, I wear a mask. Masks are useless and dehumanizing, but this is not a hill I'm willing to die on.
I understand why you feel the way you do, but you really have to consider whether you truly want to end up divorced, alienated from your son, and unemployed. And back in the US, because you wouldn't be able to remain in Japan without a work visa.
ETA: I should add that I greatly admire your integrity. If we all refused to comply, this nightmare would end immediately. However, in your case, it seems to me that there's a high probability of you losing everything without having any sort of meaningful impact on the society you currently live in.
The problem is manifold. Being certified in respirators, I know the health risks associated with mask use. Additionally, children around the would are deficient in their own native languages due to mask use, my own son among these. He can no longer clearly understand the spoken word.
I do not hold it against those who are without the specific certifications related to mask use who wear/wore them as they did not know before the panic and those who do know have been censored making it next to impossible to learn of the dangers. As one who has qualifications in this area I can not go along to get along on this issue. Before the panic, if I allowed those under my supervision to wear masks as we are currently told we must/should, i and my employer would be exposed to civil and possibly criminal penalties.
I have long had a Permanent Resident visa, so the visa issue is settled. However, not earning enough to cover living costs have a similar effect on my ability to remain in country. However, without my family, I have no desire to remain here.
I think the only thing that will end up swaying public opinion about all the C19-related measures, whether shots, masks, lockdowns, is when the truth comes out about the deaths and disabilities caused by the jabs. The tide is starting to turn in North America as most people now personally know someone who's been killed or disabled as a result, lessening the impact of propaganda and censorship.
Of course, it's going to be too late for many and it'll be years before we know the full extent of the harm done. My brother's two-year-old twins are fully-vaxxed, so I doubt they will survive to adulthood. Every time I babysit, I follow the FLCCC protocol for exposure, due to viral-shedding.
These are grim, heartbreaking times. The only cause for optimism is that there's a huge discrepancy between vaccine batches, so some are less harmful than others, but that doesn't help much if someone has had three or more jabs...which is pretty much half the Canadian population.
I was visiting a friend today in hospital, she was previously healthy, had endless energy with no medical history of illness or medication. After 3rd covid injection she has experienced a downward spiral of neurological symptoms. At present her mobility is poor, zero energy, she is having problems with her voice leading to difficulty in communicating and sometimes swallowing plus has lost 2 stone in weight, she believes a very mild covid infection has caused her problems. Across the bed from my friend is a woman with severe thrombocytopenia which she said was also caused by covid (of course nothing to do with her previous 4 covid injections). Neither of them or their family has questioned why their very mild and barely noticeable covid infection has caused such devastating conditions. Many, many people continue to be asleep, they do not question they just accept. I wish I could be optimistic about the future but after today I am not.
It is indeed difficult to be optimistic in these times.
Earlier I wrote somewhere that most would still stand in line to get the next shot if they witnessed with their own eyes all those before them in the line drop dead right after the shot. How do we reach such people? I don’t think we can, though must keep trying.
This was a very sad video. But there were funny parts, like the names on the packaging. The news stories about exterminating trees and cows. The part that I found unbelievable is that he was watching the news still. I understand that it was part of the narrative of the movie, but there should have been something about their being nothing else on. Also loved what it said about restricting the Godfather/Pulp Fiction. There was a nice connection in the video made between wokeness/covid.
There is a sadness to the video, the main difference is there are those of us in our requisite places of work (even at home) who are saying something against the narrative. We can only do what we can do. Tonight on Twitter I think I found someone pretending to be something they aren't. Despite their account name concerning hatred of the DeepState, they bought into a lot of the narrative. They were quad vaccinated...claimed to have many people "die" around them of Covid, yet provided no details of who these people were.
I know of two people that died with Covid, and I am very specific about it. They were both in their seventies, both had comorbidities like COPD and heart issues. At times they would not come to the restaurant I hung out with them at because they were sick.
Saw this last night and thought it is was relevant to this discussion.
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/04/16/the-next-item-on-the-climate-cults-naughty-list-gives-away-the-game-n732268
I was wrong when I thought cooler heads would prevail. We look at this insanity...and all the previous insanity like the "green new deal" and now I wish I had spoken out more about it. These people need more than "yes people" around them. Someone to tell them there ideas don't make any sense. Here in the US we had, for the longest time, checks and balances, but now that we are ruled by rubes...as el gato malo puts it, we are gloriously and completely FUBARED.
Wanted to include this in my last post but got distracted. I recently saw a statement somewhere that sums up how we got here and how it will end unless we change. In competitions between those who want to win and those who just want to be left alone, the former always carry the day.
So true.,
If I would ever run for office it would be on the "you will be left alone" platform. That would mean actively dismantling government wherever I could. I doubt I would make it very far...probably not even nominated. Too many people "want something" without knowing what the price of it is going to be.
It is hard to compete against Santa Clause.
Yes, we are Fubared. We have lived as if democracy flew on auto pilot.
I picked up that there was nothing else on the TV. I think the screen closed down at the end the broadcast. The fact that all he could find to read and watch were woke in my mind, covered that. I have spent several years at sea. After a short time you will read, watch or listen to anything available to you to break the monotony and boredom. True boredom is known only by those who have been at see or in isolation without contact to the outside world.
I know not a single person who has died with Covid, not to mention of Covid. I know two who may have died from the shots though, actually one it is the likely cause as he was under 40, slim and trim with no health issues before he dropped dead of a heart attack while on a business trip.
I too would be suspicious of that person on Twitter.
I found nothing in it to be funny as it hits too close to home for me. The killing of cows and trees is too real. Those stupid wind turbines are killing off all manner of animals including whales when they are put in the sea. For years Europe has been destroying ancient woodlands to feed their biomass electro generation plants. How it has escaped the greenies that biomass is trees is almost as unbelievable as Michael Moore not knowing that the electricity for EVs comes from the same place all electricity comes from, the power plants he though he was avoiding. Idgits. So, those actually close to the truth. If they stated that the timber was being used as biomass and that solar panels set up in its place, spot on accurate.
Yes, it is close, but this wasn't meant for us as the audience anyhow. It was meant to be for those steeped in the narrative as a warning. This could be us (is us) if we aren't careful. And by careful I mean saying something.
Tonight I went through two articles, a Washington Post, and a New York Times article on Twitter, and I broke it down into paragraphs and "showed by thinking." That's all I can do. First, I demonstrated to the person that I was taking their link seriously. Second, I showed them (at least to a degree) the difference between opinion and fact. Third, I showed them, at least to my incompetent way of doing so, how to generate questions while reading an article that aren't addressed in the article itself.
As for the video, I liked how the main character escaped in the recycling truck. The only problem is I can't believe the surveillance drones wouldn't catch him. By the way, one of the first things I might have done is incapacitate the surveillance drone. Also, I hope it wasn't lost on everyone that the residents of the quarantine facility far outnumber those that run the place. Imagine if no one complied.
I hear you though. The thing is, you're not being unreasonable about masks, they are the one in the clown world being unreasonable. You are however, too independent thinking . It's probably the result of too much downtime as a kid back in the woods and figuring ways to amuse yourself. Such an occurrence can lead to independent and creative thought.
Do they have homeless in Japan?
Well, he did disable the one drone. I would have taken the makeshift club. We do not know what becomes of him. The area around the prison is flat and without vegetation for a long distance. He would be easy to find if he got out through the wall or fence. That leaves two options; he is either hunkering down within the facility of hitching a ride on a vehicle. I think he would be caught at the recycling facility. But let’s say he isn’t, where does he go? He has no usable money. They know who he is, they would be surveilling what was once his home.
That said, I would have done what he did much sooner. Actually, I would never have gotten on the bus.
Yes. There are homeless here. I may not have seen a single homeless person during my time here in the early 90s with the navy. I think the first I saw was while here in college, my second time here in college. I was shocked as this was a point all spoke of, Japan does not have homeless people. I have seen their numbers increase as the economy here slowly founders. I have even seen some near my kids’ school in a Tokyo suburb. They usually take up residence in parks, along the river and under bridges. There are certain areas where the congregate. Long ago I saw a TV special on the homeless. A TV personality acted as if he was newly homeless and with a hidden camera and far off camera crew recorded his interactions. Afterwards he would disclose his discoveries to the TV audience. He was shocked to learn that many homeless had lots of cash. Not all of course, but he was surprised that any had any money at all. At the time, getting an even a run down apartment required a huge amount of cash (first and last months’ rent, deposited and “key money”) and a guarantor, think “co-signer”. Hard to do unless one has regular employment. There are now places that no longer require Key money but the economy is much worse. In the past, if employed, one could probably find a place, but if not you would be outta luck even have a lot of money saved up. While things are better now for renters, as I said earlier, the economy is sinking.
Then we have this in today’s news.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/18/nolte-nyc-track-household-food-consumption-fight-climate-change/
I wrote about this in and earlier post on my substack. The tech to do this already exists.
My in-laws are Austrian. They came to the US last year to Texas and Oklahoma. It was definitely good for them to see how normal people lived here without masks. They had been very fearful and fully masked before they came. But they didn’t ever put a mask on here. We didn’t lecture them but they just figured it out on their own. They jet tons of friendly, smart, successful and educated people. It definitely helped them put all the covid hysteria in the rearview mirror. Maybe their is a region in Japan where you can take your family for a nice wknd holiday for perspective.
Camp ground require masks.
Btw my son will be in Japan this summer. He is interning in Tokyo and taking the N2 on July 2nd. He taught himself Japanese during covid. He is obsessed!
I suspect the future will be worse, get the fuck out of there;
To where?
Sweden, pretty much anywhere in the US but California, east coast.
I am in my 50s. I have no credit history in the States as I have lived in Japan for over 209 years. I have Japanese driver’s license but no longer have a valid one for the States. No driving history there either. I would be homeless the moment I stepped off the plane as I have maybe enough for a one way ticket left in cash.
Hypothetically, suppose you had a comfortable way to travel here-would your family want to see what’s going outside of Japan? How’s their English?
As for your options here in the states, a veteran that can speak Japanese can find something if need an escape.
Also not sure this already exists but I’d pay good money to have an expat immersed in the Japanese culture to serve as your guide if my family and I travel there one day (sons too young for now, but it’s always been something I wanted to do but have know idea who to trust.
Be kinda funny if every few months you give a tour to Americans/Europeans all unmasked and she sees everyone is just fine.
70,000 yen a day seems reasonable for base package (just spitballing)
Thanks. Thanks to both you and Moonspinner.
Lots packed into your short post. My wife now knows that the masks are useless, but still wears them, it’s the rule, you see. She does believe that they have their own health risks. That may be changing soon, however.
My language skills at their best was far from fluent, though conversant and competent in some areas. While the last three years have done tremendous damage to what remained of what ability I once had, in truth the lions share of the loss of Japanese began long ago. It has been a bitter irony that the longer I’m here, the worse my Japanese becomes. I use English only at work and with little time outside of work for a number of year my Japanese ability has decreased. The panic has dealt a death blow to an already mostly dead animal. I respond to masked speakers of Japanese based solely upon what experience tells that they are most likely saying, such as with a waitress taking my order at a coffee shop. Between hearing lost in the engine room and the firing line and people having still not learned that they must speak louder when speaking through a mask and behind plexiglass despite wearing them for 3 years and an older, less flexible ear, I can’t make anything out except for the last syllable. Could I regain it with practice? Probably but only if Japanese drop the mask so that I can hear what they are saying, and I yet to se a single person dealing with customers unmasked. That’s in the negative column.
On the positive side, I do know my way around. I can read road signs and maps, I drive here. I have extensive experience riding the trains here with each day of the week working in a different location. I can read the rail and subway maps. This translates to be able to read the “ACCESS” pages on the websites of places of interest. Shopping, drinking and eating and helping in any of these situations are still with in my ability.
Back on the negative side, is payment. All payments to my account are reported to the US. There is the obvious work around. A bigger concern is licensing. Leading up to the recently concluded olympics armies of licensed and registered volunteers trained and other wise prepared for the hoarders of anticipated spectators from abroad. I had studenst who were among these. As we all know, they were to be greatly disappointed as their efforts were to come to naught. I would not be able to advertise lest I run afoul of licensing issues as those Shio sought to earn extra by braiding hair in the States have.
I do not think these negatives are insurmountable but they must be taken into consideration. Could run substack tours. We are in good with two micro breweries. I carry mikoshi with a rickshaw runner. Another of our matsuri group works at a sushi restaurant. If I were to guide people in and around Tokyo, I would have to help my friends out by at least suggesting their businesses for those open to experiencing Tokyo as residents do.
My hubby and I already discussed this morning that we'd pay good money to have someone like you to be our "Tokyo tour guide" for a day -- join us for craft beer at various craft beer bars in Tokyo, and then even sake and shochu "tours". Similar to this:
https://www.contexttravel.com/cities/tokyo/tours/tokyo-sake-tasting
My sister and I had a blast taking two private tours in Rome pre-Covid with American expats living in Rome.
I think the first thing is to find a place that stood up to a lot of it. I imagine no area is perfect. Florida looks like a good place. I think Georgia did "okay" but Kemp talked out of both sides of his mouth and deferred to Toomey a lot.
Yes, looking at just which places did the least bad, Florida is high on the list. But I would arrive in my fifties, jobless, homeless and penniless without any credit history nor even a valid driver’s license.
You sound like your in roughly the same boat I am. Although I do have a valid driver's license. Do you have any family back here you talk to? You probably need to at least examine your options. I say this as someone who hasn't properly examined his options.
Reading this is heartbreaking. I think you need to find a way to come visit somewhere which strongly participated in this nonsense and has since recovered from the mass hysteria. Like come to Cleveland. I’ll put you guys up.
Maybe if they’re exposed to what normalcy was like they will realize how useless and silly all of this was.
Get your kid out of cram school. None of mine went. My daughter graduated university last year and took a year out to get married and have a kid. My son just graduated too. My youngest went into an IT job after high school last year. The two boys did soccer bukatsu and I encouraged them to do the barest amount of homework possible. All have done and are doing well.
My wife ended up taking 2 clotshots. My kids took none. I'm proud of them and me for making them see reason. The whole family is done with the shots after my sister-in-law almost died due to a brain hemorrhage last October. At a family bbq I lost my shit and told everyone they'd be dumb idiots if they took anymore. My passion might have knocked sense into them.
I'm now maskless at school. I have been encouraging kids to drop them and got told this morning to stop. Until May 1st at least. I'm just wondering when the schools will admit responsibility for the huge psychological damage they've done to kids and actively try to reverse. Because without a decree that they must remove masks, the majority won't. They've hidden behind them for 3 years and they don't want to come out.
I imagine that Kitsune's waifu would insist on the cram school, as that's "what everyone else does" in Japan.