March 27, 2007
On Friday March 23, 2007, Anthony stepped in elementary school for the last time in his life. At approximately 10:00 in the morning, Anthony walked across the stage and met the principle and vice-principle of the school on stage, was handed his diploma and immediately left the stage and returned to his seat. As he strolled across the stage in his dapper outfit, Anthony was oddly calm and relaxed, knowing full well that he will never have to step foot on these grounds again.
Anthony received his diploma after an excellent performance throughout his sixth and final year of elementary school. Just one day earlier he brought home a marvelous report card. This year Anthony’s executed like no other; his report card had not a single C written on it anywhere. There were a mere 5 B’s, with the rest of the report car being littered with nothing but A’s. It is amazing how well he has done under the circumstances; Anthony sincerely despised his fifth and sixth grade teacher even though it was quite apparent that Anthony was thoroughly loved by his teacher.
The entire graduation ceremony was a long and painful two hours of sitting on the smallest chairs in existence. Notwithstanding my fat American ass, the chairs were horribly uncomfortable and the surroundings were almost claustrophobic because they had people packed so close together to watch the ceremony. This entire evolution was carried out in a gymnasium, as Japanese schools rarely have auditoriums with decent and semi-comfortable seating accommodations.
The extremely slow migration of the children from their seats, up to a “staging point†on the side of the stage, across the stage to receive their diploma’s and then right back to the very seat they left moments ago was surreal. It took almost 3 hours just to get through 4 classes, and that time does not account for the various songs and performances that came before and after the “walking the line†portion.
It is wildly amazing to see my own son grow up so damn fast. It was mysteriously emotional watching him walk up to the principle, bow and take his diploma. I say mysterious because generally speaking I lack such emotions; well, not that I lack them but I do refuse to give in be consumed by emotion. Both Junko and I felt a sense of pride as we watched the sum of our own flesh and blood walk with such dignity across the stage. If I were still a sailor then I might have said, “it fucking rocked to see my son graduate!â€
I wish Anthony the best of luck in middle school, which he graciously starts on April 9th. The next 3 years should prove to be an interesting portion of Anthony’s journey to adulthood. While I do look forward to these upcoming years, I remember the little bastard that I was when I was this age and am someone hesitant to be too excited. I imagine that this will be the most difficult part of parenthood, whether that is for better or worse.
Anyhow, little dude, rock on and keep up the good work. By all means, continue to be a complete pain in the ass at home, so long as you are taking care of business at school. We will give you grief, as we are supposed to as parents, but remember that your mother and father will *always* love you, no matter what.
March 19, 2007
Another day, another story about the United States Navy in Japan. This time, the wife of a USS Kitty Hawk sailor was convicted of abusing her infant but was “lucky enough” to receive a suspended sentence. Natasha Yvette Anderson, who was convicted of “bodily injury against a child†after repeatedly shaking her then month-old infant in their Yokosuka apartment while her husband was away at training, will not see the inside of a jail cell.
Anderson “violently†shook her daughter three times between Nov. 1-8 and also threw her on the bed, according to court documents. The baby sustained a brain contusion and assorted fractures and was comatose when Anderson took her to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka on Dec. 6.
Anderson was “trying to stop the baby from crying,†she said in earlier testimony. She didn’t know about “shaken-baby syndrome,†though she had been abused by her own mother as a child, Anderson said.
Anderson said she was afraid to take her daughter to the hospital prior to Dec. 6 because she was worried that her daughter would be taken from her if it was discovered that she injured her baby.
After the arrest of his wife, Anderson returned to the United States with his child, hoping for recovery. The child is currently under the care of a shaken-baby syndrome specialist, although any form of recovery is uncertain. The presiding Judge on the case lashed out at the abusive mother, stating that the child “could completely recover or continue to be affected, we still don’t know, although if you had only followed your instincts as a mother, the whole incident would have been avoided.â€
In accordance with Commander, Naval Forces Japan policy, Anderson was sent immediately back to the United States after being convicted in Japanese court. There is no word on whether or not she will face legal action of any type back in the United States.
It is extremely unfortunate that such a young child has had to endure this type of abuse. While I completely understand the difficulty that spouses face when their other half is deployed, there is no excuse for hurting your child. Anderson should be ashamed of herself both as a mother and a human. It can be quite frustrating when trying to determine why a child is crying, though shaking the baby in an attempt to stop it from crying will almost never work.
I wish the little baby and the family the best during the recovery. It will be a shame if this child is scarred for life because of the stupid decisions by a mother who was not prepared to take care of her children. I sincerely hope that the little guy or gal recovers and is capable of living a full and completely normal life.
March 16, 2007
A Saudi woman who was blackmailed in to meeting a man that she is not related to was kidnapped at knife-point, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother. A Judge sentenced her to receive 90 lashes for meeting the man, which is strictly forbidden according to Islamic Sharia law.
After driving off together from a shopping mall near her home, the woman and the man were stopped and abducted by a gang of men wielding kitchen knives who took them to a farm where she was raped 14 times by her captors.
Five men were arrested for the rape and given jail terms ranging from 10 months to five years by a panel of judges in the eastern city of Qatif, near the woman’s hometown.
But the judges also decided to sentence the woman, identified by the newspaper only as “G,†and the man to lashes for being alone together in the car.
Unrelated men and women are forbidden from interacting in public in Saudi Arabia, which strictly enforces Islamic Sharia law.
“G†said one of the judges told she was lucky not to have been given jail time. “I was shocked at the verdict. I couldn’t believe my ears,†said the woman, who has appealed against her sentence.
I realize that Saudi Arabia is a sovereign nation, entitled to it’s own morality system, but this is just fucked up beyond all comprehension. At least the men that were responsible for her rape were punished with jail time. This entire incident is completely ludicrous and defies logic.
I sincerely hope that “G†is able to recover from her ordeal, although I have a sneaky suspicion that she is going to find herself in a very delicate position from here on out.
March 15, 2007
It turns out that the RIAA, everyone’s favorite music trade group, is wearing off on similar trade groups around the world. The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) is forcing singers not to perform a slightly revised version of the popular Japanese song “Ofukurosan” (my mother) because it “could violate the rights of the songwriter.” Not that the performances do, but that they could, violate rights.
Kohan Kawauchi wrote the song, Ofukurosan, for traditional Japanese singer Shinichi Mori. The song was composed by the late Kosho Inomata and was a huge hit in 1971.
For some 30 years, Mori has performed the song with an added part at the beginning written by another person. Mori published a live version of the revised song in 1977.
JASRAC has been forcing record companies, broadcasters and concert organizers not to perform the revised version, although it was kind enough to allow the original version to be performed publicly. So nice of them, right?
Is it just me or do these copyright cartels (i.e. RIAA, MPAA, JASRAC, IFPI, etc…) have too much “power” and influence?
March 14, 2007
The many American military bases in Japan are some interesting creatures. Each service has their own special way of conducting business, in many cases with complete disregard for common sense (granted, common sense is not all that common these days). I recently had to update Junko’s driver’s license, so that it was a “Yokota” driver’s license, which would then ensure no problems this coming April during road tax season.
See, Junko had a driver’s license from another base, which was set to expire mid-March. Yokota AB does not recognize the other base driver’s licenses as “valid” for registering your vehicles on the base, though it is a valid license that one may operate a vehicle with. What is completely illogical about this is that the driver’s license form is a United States Forces Japan (USFJ) form.
Though the form is governed by USFJ, who is in charge of each and every American military base in Japan, each base applies their own set of standards with regards to the policy published by USFJ. Each base has their own rules and requirements for the little piece of paper that tell you that you are allowed to operate a motor vehicle. This defies logic and common sense, because such a policy is supposed to be applied uniformly throughout the country.
In any event, because I am disgruntled about the lack of common sense, I sent in an official complaint via the ICE system. Not that I expect the Air Force, of all services, to change their unique manner of conducting business; I did feel that it is my civic duty to make a professionally worded complaint about the utter stupidity that seems to plague the many policies surrounding driver’s license’s on Yokota AB.
The following is the text of my complaint, which will hopefully be listened to. I used damn near the entire allotted space of 4000 characters!
Introduction
The Yokota AB Pass and ID office has a requirement that all personnel attend a driver’s safety briefing followed by a test in order to receive a USFJ Form 4EJ driver’s license. Satisfactory passing of the exam will allow an individual the ability to receive a USFJ Form 4EJ, the “base†driver’s license, so long as the proper paperwork is brought to Pass and ID. This requirement has been placed on Pass and ID because of the Safety Office.
Many of the military, civilian and contractor personnel that are employed on Yokota AB are married to local Japanese citizens. In order for a dependent Japanese citizen to obtain a USFJ Form 4EJ they are required to attend the same briefing, and pass the same exam, as their spouses. The briefing and exam are conducted by the Yokota AB Safety Office on Thursdays at the Family Support Center.
A Japanese citizen who maintains a valid Japanese driver’s license, who has already been through far more driving training than the average American, is still required to undergo the aforementioned prerequisites. This is burdensome, counter-productive and completely illogical.
Background
Japanese citizens who desire to drive a vehicle must pay vast sums of money in order to attend driving education. Upon completion of driving school, a written and driving exam is administered. These exams are far more intense than the test administered by Yokota AB. Additionally, if a Japanese citizen already maintains a valid Japanese driver’s license then logic dictates that they “know how to drive†and should not be subjected to a test. This is driving, not rocket science!
Logically, there is nothing gained by forcing Japanese citizens to take a written test that they potentially are unable to understand due to the language barrier between Japanese and English. Moreover, the traffic signs that comprise a healthy portion of the base exam are covered far more extensively in the Japanese driver’s license exam.
Lack of Uniform Application of Policy
There is a clear and complete lack of consistency in the application of issuing driver’s licenses between the major Kanto area bases. Each base has a distinct policy for the issuing of USFJ Form 4EJ’s to Japanese citizens that maintain valid Japanese driver’s licenses.
- Atsugi Naval Air Field requires personnel attend the Driver’s License Presentation as part of the base Area Orientation Brief. An exam consisting of 60 questions is given, with a passing grade of 80% required. Electronic dictionaries and/or translators are allowed to assist in translating the test, as it is given only in English.
- Camp Zama requires personnel attend a safety class. No test is given to Japanese citizens that maintain a valid Japanese driver’s license.
- Yokosuka Naval Base requires personnel sign a “safety†document. No test is given to Japanese citizens that maintain a valid Japanese driver’s license.
- Yokota AB requires personnel attend a safety briefing. An exam is given, with a passing grade of 80% required. The test is given in English, and the use of electronic dictionaries and/or translators is not allowed.
A USFJ Form 4EJ is a *USFJ* form. A clear and precise driver’s license policy that is applied uniformly across all bases in Japan is necessary. Driving conditions on the Kanto area bases are neither substantially different nor complicated. It is not unfathomable for all “USFJ bases†to agree on a single interpretation and application of the USFJ driver’s license policy.
Conclusion
Forcing Japanese citizens who maintain both a valid military dependent ID card and valid Japanese driver’s license, is counter-productive, wasteful and abusive. This egregious mistreatment is completely unfounded and irrational. Japanese citizens who maintain a valid Japanese driver’s license should be allowed to obtain a USFJ Form 4EJ merely by attending the safety presentation and completing the required paperwork. No English-only exam should be administered. Anything more is entirely unreasonable.
March 10, 2007
Is it any wonder that America is so screwed up these days? I find it disheartening to read that more people tuned in to watch American Idol than to watch the President of the United States address the nation about the future of the country.
Coverage of the president’s State of the Union Address blanketed the 9 p.m. hour among all the major networks, while “American Idol” at 8 p.m. earned a higher rating than all four network airings of the Address combined.
I wonder, though, if the lack of viewers is attributed to the fact that the State of the Union Address was broadcast at that particular time or if there are other factors involved. President Bush is not the most eloquent, or exciting, speaker the presidency has ever seen, which quite possibly greatly contributed to his lackluster audience. Additionally, these days it takes more than merely sitting in front of a camera and spewing forth political rhetoric. America is a little more savvy these days, so POTUS might consider more unique methods of conveying his message.
Either way, it is just sad to read that people are more interested in American Idol than the direction that America is heading. Apparently if we all close our eyes and ignore Iraq then the problems in the country will just go away.
