Japanese people are obsessed with food . . . looking at it, preparing it, eating it, thinking about it, remembering it, talking about it.
I don’t mean that as a criticism. I’m not complaining. It’s just that to my “Western mentality”, it seems odd, maybe a bit over the top.
For example . . .
There are hundreds of food and cooking shows on television here. Where in America, prime time TV — 7:00 till 11:00 pm — will consist of super-popular dramas or comedy shows, often times here in Japan, it’s some show about noodles or stir-fry or pastries. What? Making miso soup instead of riding around in a police car shooting unarmed citizens? Preparing udon — a type of Japanese noodle — from scratch instead of following the traumas tormenting the last survivors of a global pandemic sometime in the near-distant future?
Another example . . .
Every Saturday morning at 9:00, my wife and I watch a travel show. Interestingly it’s called Travel Salad and for twenty minutes they take a tour of some fascinating spot either in Japan or across the globe. Recently programs have gone to Cuba, Guam, Australia, Switzerland and Taiwan. What’s strange to my eyes is that after a few quick shots of typical tourist sights, they always end up in several restaurants. Or food stalls. Or taverns. It’s all about food and drinks!
Same with people. When I tell people here I’ve been in over 40 countries, after “Where?” it’s typically, “What was the food like?” or “What did you eat?”
Now I confess, I love food. In fact, moving to Japan has been a palate-pleasing, mind-opening, taste-expanding experience in every way. There are so many new, interesting foods I’ve learned to like. And it’s not just savoring edibles I’ve never eaten before — squid, octopus, ほっけ, 鯖, tempura, udon, ramen, soba — it’s the preparation and presentation. I’ve learned, for example, that to make something tasty does not required tons of sugar, barrels of butter, gallons of corn syrup, whip cream, ketchup, and mayonnaise.
Despite my love for food, now both Western and Eastern, I still can’t recall what the food was like or what food I ate when I lived for six months in India. Or five months in Uganda. Truth is, I have to struggle to remember what I ate yesterday!
Not so with the Japanese. And what’s my point? Stay with me. I think it’ll be mind-boggling.
Despite its reputation for “other activities”, some not very savory, the CIA researches the entire world, I guess to better understand how the U.S. can dominate and plunder other countries. It publishes something called The World Factbook. This is the first section of a chart taken from that publication on obesity rates by country.
Ever heard of Nauru? I hadn’t. It’s the smallest nation in the world with the biggest people. Here are some of the natives of that country.
I have no difficulty believing they are world leaders in obesity rates. Since ‘fat’ has come under fire from the PC Police, they certainly appear — as my mom would have said — “full-figured”. My choice would be to call them ‘pleasantly plump’, putting a cordial spin on it.
Now, please note where the U.S. stands, confirming what we all already know about its excess weight problem. Out of 191 countries, the U.S. #11. Apologies go out to those core members of Team America who believe America is #1 at everything. While the distinction of being #1 in this respect is dubious, at the rate that obesity is increasing in the U.S., it may only be a matter of time before it captures top honors.
Moving on. Here now is the last portion of that listing.
Ah hah! Now you must see where I’m going with this. YES, folks! Japan in terms of obesity is in the Bottom Ten, #185 out of 191.
Moreover, look where it sits. BETWEEN ETHIOPIA AND NEPAL!
I’m personally familiar with Nepal. I lived there for three months, and it’s a very poor country, not an abundance of anything. Food is a very precious commodity. As for Ethiopia, anyone who has paid any attention to food crises in the world knows that ‘Ethiopia’ is synonymous with famine and mass starvation. There’s no mystery about why the people of Nepal and Ethiopia are ‘thin’.
Then there’s Japan, sandwiched between them. Food is incredibly abundant here. You could eat at a different restaurant in nearby Osaka every day of your life and never come close to eating at all of them. I live in a farming community. Farming is an industry, a science, lifestyle and a religion. I’ve written extensively about my awakening from a city boy to an old boy, one who belatedly discovered a lot goes on before food ends up in a can, is shrink-wrapped or boxed, and finally shows up on the shelves of a supermarket. I live in the middle of vast fields growing every vegetable and fruit that can be grown here.
Trust me, there’s a lot of food here in Japan! And by the way, this includes some of the best chocolate I’ve ever eaten, incredible cakes and pastries, an entire panoply of snacks and treats, beer and a range of other alcoholic drinks. There are a lot of unhealthy foods to choose from!
So . . .
Why are Japanese, as obsessed as they are with food and eating, so svelte? I have a few ideas. But I’d like to hear yours. Any educated guess will be welcome in the comments below.
Most recently and most admirably, Matthew Hoh ran this past election cycle for Senate, representing North Carolina. His bid was unsuccessful for the usual reasons, chiefly among them big money in politics. But I suspect there was another decisive factor. Matt ran as a peace candidate and since ‘peace’ has been expunged from the national conversation, voters may have had no idea what he was talking about. The U.S. is now 24/7/365 war and talk about cooperation and diplomacy tends to fall on deaf ears. Yet, his candidacy represented the only possible hope for a future for this country and the rest of the world. If you doubt this, just watch this interview.
Matthew Hoh is currently Associate Director at the Eisenhower Media Network. He has been a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy since 2010. Previously he served nearly twelve years with the US military in the United States Marine Corps, as well as the Department of Defense and State Department. In 2009, Matthew resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan with the State Department over the American escalation of the war. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Matthew took part in the American occupation of Iraq, with a State Department reconstruction and governance team and in 2006-2007 as a Marine Corps company commander. When not deployed, Matthew worked on Afghanistan and Iraq war policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department.
Matthew’s writings have appeared in online and print periodicals such as the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Defense News, the Guardian, the Huffington Post, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. He has been a guest on hundreds of news programs on radio and television. The Council on Foreign Relations has cited Matthew’s resignation letter from his post in Afghanistan as an Essential Document. In 2010, Matthew was named the Ridenhour Prize Recipient for Truth Telling and, in 2021, he was awarded as a Defender of Liberty by the Committee for the Republic.
Matthew is a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Public Accuracy, an Advisory Board Member for the Committee to Defend Julian Assange and Civil Liberties, Expose Facts, North Carolina Committee to Investigate Torture, The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace, and World Beyond War, and he is an Associate Member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He is a 100% disabled veteran and has been certified by North Carolina as a Peer Support Specialist for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder.
“Hegemons don’t have friends”, notes Margaret Kimberley. “They only have enemies and vassals.” That’s why the U.S. in its attempt to rule the world is becoming so disrespected and despised — and of course distrusted and feared. Margaret Kimberley doesn’t hold back one iota in this thought-provoking interview.
William J. Astore knows the military. He’s personally seen how the closed loop of the DOD and the commercial defense industries has exponentially grown and now dangerously and disproportionately determines direction of America’s dealings with the rest of the world. Here he offers his informed and rather bleak view of the prospects for peace under the current neocon-infested regime now in power in Washington DC.
William J. Astore is a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel, has taught at the Air Force Academy and Naval Postgraduate School, and now teaches history at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. He’s a senior fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network (EMN), an organization of critical veteran military and national security professionals. He is the author or co-author of three books and numerous articles focusing on military history as well as the history of science, technology, and religion. He is a regular contributor to TomDispatch, and his own website, Bracing Views, likewise contains much of his fascinating and highly-informative political analysis.
World events continue to unfold at a quickening pace. Facing an alarming escalation in tensions around the world, we look to Scott Ritter for his most current thoughts. As I’ve indicated in other interviews, we’re honing in on the realities of the international power struggle unfolding in real time, specifically addressing the role of the U.S. in the tensions, and its capacity to reduce them. We hope to discover paradigm-shift ideas for improving the prospects for peace. Today’s interview focuses on five questions.
Scott Ritter is a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and author of SCORPION KING: America’s Suicidal Embrace of Nuclear Weapons from FDR to Trump, and his most current book, Disarmament in the Time of Perestroika: Arms Control and the End of the Soviet Union. He served in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, served in General Schwarzkopf’s staff during the Gulf War, and from 1991 to 1998 served as a chief weapons inspector with the UN in Iraq. He is highly regarded for his expertise in international security, military affairs, Russia, and the Middle East, as well as arms control and nonproliferation. After being banned by Twitter, the best way to follow him and benefit from his invaluable insights is https://scottritterextra.com.
Where I live in Japan, winters are quite mild. In fact, in sharp contrast to the blustery cold and mountains of snow in Michigan where I grew up, they are almost identical to winters in Portland, Oregon, my last permanent home in the U.S.
Thus the temperature hovers right around freezing, occasionally dipping as low as -2º or -3º C (26-28º F), practically t-shirt weather back in Detroit. Similarly, it might snow three or four days over the entire season, an inch or two at the most, with the snow typically melting within 24-48 hours.
Well . . . it was not business as usual this past week. I believe that new records were set for Tambasasayama in both departments. The temperature plunged to -13º C (8º F) and it snowed four days in a row. One day we got almost a foot of snow and you can see what the pergola I built a few years ago looked like the next day in the photo at the top.
This might be a major inconvenience for most of the residents — our city has none of the necessary equipment or manpower to deal with this kind of storm, so getting around is very challenging — but I’m not complaining. I loved it! The landscape, which in my view is exceptionally beautiful to begin with, became a ‘winter wonderland”, which just happens to be the motto that appeared on all Michigan vehicular license plates when I was growing up. Thus this week brought back heartwarming — if bone chilling — memories of skating, sledding, snowball fights, snowpersons [note the nod there to political correctness], frozen toes and fingers, runny noses, snowdrift diving, blizzards, ice storms, frozen ponds and lakes, skiing, snow saucers, and everything which arrived with the beautiful brutality of Michigan winters.
I’ll stop sentimentalizing now. Enjoy a few pics I took during a 30 minute walk right after the big snowstorm ended and the skies turned sunny for a couple hours.
Ajamu Baraka is most famously known as the vice-presidential candidate in Jill Stein’s bid for the White House in the 2016 presidential race. But that is far exceeded in importance by his work as a peace activist. This was a very inspiring exchange indeed! Hopefully, it will inspire YOU to spend some time on the Peace Dividend website.
Ajamu Baraka grew up on the South Side of Chicago and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He has taught political science at various universities and has been a guest lecturer at academic institutions in the U.S. and abroad. As a human rights defender whose experience spans four decades of domestic and international education and activism, Ajamu is a veteran grassroots organizer whose roots are in the Black Liberation Movement and anti-apartheid and Central American solidarity struggles. In 2016, he was the Green Party nominee for Vice President of the United States. He currently serves as the national organizer and spokesperson for the Black Alliance for Peace.You can follow him on Twitter @ajamubaraka.
In parallel with the Peace Dividend Project, I interviewed Dan Kovalik this past November, just before he made a trip to Russia and Donetsk. He went to obtain first-hand knowledge of the situation in that part of the world. Do I have to tell you what’s going on there is NOT AT ALL what we in the U.S. are being told in our propaganda-saturated media?
Dan is a peace activist, and a human rights and labor attorney, with a professorship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. I found him fascinating and highly informative.
Eight years ago — OMG, has it been that long? — I wrote a song and Masumi, my multi-talented Renaissance wife — who unlike me can actually sing — and I recorded it in my modest home studio.
I played all the instruments but frankly was never happy with the piano performance. I guess I should have used my hands instead of my feet. Anyway a couple months ago, I did some simple repairs to the piano playing and it sounds at least passable to my ears now.
Of course, this meant I had to resync the music to the song video. I did that and took the opportunity to replace a couple of the images which weren’t really appropriate. One was Netanyahu, who when I originally used his pic I honestly didn’t recognize. He hardly fits with the message of peace and harmony I want to convey with this song, so he’s history.
It was interesting listening to the music and lyrics again. Usually when I go back to a song I wrote, there’s always something I want to change. But honestly . . . I wouldn’t change a single word or syllable here. Why? Because it comes from my heart and says exactly what I want to share with others.
It’s New Years Day here in Japan as I write this. The world has another chance at getting it right, 365 days to show respect and love for one another. I know that 99% of us will try to do just that. For our leaders — crazed, sick, power-drunk megalomaniacs — it’s another story. I hope those of us who know the incredible potential there is in the world for peace, fellowship, and acts of kindness can defeat the purveyors of evil, mistrust, division, war — those for whom love is impossible, those who want to make it impossible for the rest of us to experience and share.
It’s like reverence for innocence. Well, yes, kids sure are sweet, unsullied, open, positive, vibrant, curious. They wear their innocence well and we all envy their abandon. But we’re protecting them. So we bear all the risks and potential for endangerment. They play. We watch the playground to make sure there are no perverts, rabid dogs, or kidnappers.
As adults, it’s a different story. ‘Ignorance is bliss’ and ‘What you don’t know won’t hurt you’ work for a while . . . until the axe falls. Or the bill comes due. Or the door is kicked down in the middle of the night. Being stupidly innocent as an adult can bring heartache and tragedy, in fact, typically does. While embracing wholesome open-mindedness and holistic trust, so as to not preclude learning and discovery, we are also well-advised to maintain a wary eye for the sham, the con, the manipulation, the lie, the entire range of possible mischief humans are capable of.
From what I now see reported on the news, such prudence is no longer at all possible. Evidence would suggest that a dam has been breached. A tsunami of misinformation, disinformation, fake news, deep fakes, propaganda, calculated deceptions, accompanied by a bottomless barrel of salacious scandals and mindless trivia, has flooded the once-habitable terrain of public discourse and understanding. We are drowning in bullshit.
It shows. People are becoming confused, erratic, and increasingly desperate. We’re being constantly bombarded with bad news, rendering us numb, dumb, wary and increasingly frightened. It seems that folks are stressed out to the max. We have the firing squad of 24/7 if-it-bleeds-it-leads news coming at us from every direction. We’re surrounded by crises, personal, political, national, international. It’s beyond overwhelming.
This makes us hunger for both relief and anything that will make sense out of the chaos.
Which renders many, if not most people, vulnerable to brainwashing.
I recently saw a compilation of talking heads relentlessly hammering home completely vaporous, frankly ridiculous but engaging, arresting, highly charged, and clearly effective memes. I presume that a majority of citizens, already reeling and punch drunk from years of propaganda, hearts and minds filled with hatred and fear, stumbling about in the house of mirrors that media has become, react to a frightening degree by buying into what these people are saying. Repetition is like kickboxing. Or like kneading dough. It’s just a matter of time before the target succumbs to persistence and becomes a subdued and unresisting lump, next to be carted off on a stretcher or put in the oven. Or in the case of the TV/smart phone-addicted public, put in a coma-like trance, a hypnotic stupor, an obedient oblivion. Cut to KFC commercial or ad for a miracle age spots remedy. Launch the cruise missiles.
Here’s the video (if you can handle epic levels of tedious repetition).
Seriously? We are fine with media messaging that’s like Chinese water torture? To have our brainwaves flat-lined by nonsensical, hyperventilating, Orwellian vapor. This is not news reporting. To think so is like mistaking a metronome for a symphony orchestra.
But that’s where we’re at.
To suggest for even a moment that somehow this state of mental paralysis came about organically, the result of societal entropy or personal devolution — as if random impulse, modernity, complexity, technology, solar flares, pollen, coronavirus, climate change, over-the-counter drugs, 5G, GMOs, aspartame, and ozone depletion, randomly interacted and the default became wholesale stupidity — is both foolhardy and extremely dangerous. It didn’t just happen. It is part of a plan. That plan is about control and oppression, gross manipulation and enslavement.
Let’s give credit where it’s due. Our manipulators, our oppressors, our autocratic puppet masters, are phenomenal at what they do. They’re organized; they’ve got the bucks; they’ve gained a total monopoly over the seats of power and the social/political levers of control; they are unencumbered by ambivalence, morals, common decency; they are merciless, ruthless, focused.
For just a single but highly representative example, read this article about how the lunatic power elite work to shape the entire narrative about the conflict in Ukraine.
Now, take that level of calculated deceit, cold manipulation, audacity, unscrupulousness, ruthlessness, arrogance, pernicious intent, disdain for we the people, and scornful sense of entitlement, then replicate it over the entire spectrum of social/political ills, crises, and dysfunction — the things we whine about and debate constantly: the economy, wealth inequality, corporate welfare, socialism for corporations and Wall Street, our deteriorating education system, our crumbling infrastructure, our fake democracy, the ruling elite-controlled two-party duopoly, Covid-19 “pandemic”, our entire shameful health care system, the destruction of labor unions, the criminalizing of dissent, the marginalization and disempowerment of minorities, the Fed, the CDC, the FDA, the FCC, censorship, citizen surveillance, our two-tier justice system, and perhaps the worst and most egregious of them all, the expanding militarization of our country and its foolhardy, suicidal pursuit of world conquest.
Yes, just imagine all of this contention as the product of sociopaths and power-drunk bullies, who have no sense of duty to country, or responsibility to you and I normal everyday citizens, smug self-anointed sociopathic despots who are incapable of conceiving of, inaugurating, and promoting anything which doesn’t serve the narrow agenda of an ultra-wealthy ruling aristocratic class — truly sinister malefactors who live and breathe to humiliate and subjugate others, abuse their power and privilege, gain advantage and mount incomprehensible piles of money and affluence, regardless of the harm and suffering it causes everyone else.
Yes, imagine that!
But wait! . . . you don’t have to imagine it after all. You just have to look around you.
Because that is exactly what is going on.
This is what we end up with when WE THE PEOPLE lose control of our country.
This is what we end up with when self-serving oligarchs control the narrative.
This is what we end up with when fed a 24/7 diet of lies and propaganda.
Now the question is: What can we do?
The answer couldn’t be simpler. Or more difficult.
This is where improbable teams up with impossible. Because the only way to stop this is through individual responsibility — everyday citizens taking charge, both of their own lives and our government. The existing private and public institutions which have engineered this juggernaut of blind ignorance and social control surely are not going to change. The puppets of the oligarchy we dutifully “elect” to represent we the people know who butters their bread. They and their ruling elite sponsors reap huge rewards from keeping us dumb and misinformed. So if anything is going to reverse this disastrous course, it will be us as individuals, hopefully working collectively to provide support and reinforcement, wielding the power of ‘NO’.
Obviously, this is a very tall order, as epic in scale as apocalyptic it is to be on the present course. We have to be honest. Perhaps it’s impossible. Old habits die hard. For most of our lives, we everyday folks, busy with their personal lives and trusting by nature, have relied on what we thought were worthy, reliable government spokespersons, TV news anchors, elected representatives, thought leaders, even celebrities, for the honest scoop on the specific events going on across our nation, more generally for our broad understanding of the world out there beyond our immediate reach. But slowly, imperceptibly, they turned on us. They increasingly recited from a intentionally faulty script, designed to hide the truth and substitute a fabricated reality. This was calculated — correctly so — to make us easily manipulable, often voting and behaving against our own interests. They fooled us so many times, we lost count and became completely detached from reality. Evidence? Look at what we put up with as citizens. We are treated abysmally, our government no longer works for us, and somehow we maintain pride in a nation which regards us as some necessary evil it needs to patronize with hollow promises and fairy tales about exceptionalism and greatness.
Most Americans now are totally brainwashed. We everyday citizens have no idea that those who we were certain we could trust are now lying to us with every breath they take. Any resemblance between what we are told and reality is a coincidence, or a convenience because it just happens to fit with the web of lies which surrounds it.
That’s hard for anyone to swallow. It’s depressing, demoralizing, unsettling, infuriating. Worse, “staying informed” has always been and still is so convenient. Just flip on the News at 6, read Time or Newsweek or USA Today. Scroll through Yahoo News on a smartphone. These wonderful trusted sources look and feel as they always have. But now they’re all streams of toxic misinformation and propaganda. And most people have no clue.
So quite honestly, I’m not very optimistic.
But of one thing I’m sure. We can stop this. We know what to do.
The only question is: Will we develop the presence of mind and resolve to . . . ?
Life In Japan: Food … Fixation Obsession Celebration
Japanese people are obsessed with food . . . looking at it, preparing it, eating it, thinking about it, remembering it, talking about it.
I don’t mean that as a criticism. I’m not complaining. It’s just that to my “Western mentality”, it seems odd, maybe a bit over the top.
For example . . .
There are hundreds of food and cooking shows on television here. Where in America, prime time TV — 7:00 till 11:00 pm — will consist of super-popular dramas or comedy shows, often times here in Japan, it’s some show about noodles or stir-fry or pastries. What? Making miso soup instead of riding around in a police car shooting unarmed citizens? Preparing udon — a type of Japanese noodle — from scratch instead of following the traumas tormenting the last survivors of a global pandemic sometime in the near-distant future?
Another example . . .
Every Saturday morning at 9:00, my wife and I watch a travel show. Interestingly it’s called Travel Salad and for twenty minutes they take a tour of some fascinating spot either in Japan or across the globe. Recently programs have gone to Cuba, Guam, Australia, Switzerland and Taiwan. What’s strange to my eyes is that after a few quick shots of typical tourist sights, they always end up in several restaurants. Or food stalls. Or taverns. It’s all about food and drinks!
Same with people. When I tell people here I’ve been in over 40 countries, after “Where?” it’s typically, “What was the food like?” or “What did you eat?”
Now I confess, I love food. In fact, moving to Japan has been a palate-pleasing, mind-opening, taste-expanding experience in every way. There are so many new, interesting foods I’ve learned to like. And it’s not just savoring edibles I’ve never eaten before — squid, octopus, ほっけ, 鯖, tempura, udon, ramen, soba — it’s the preparation and presentation. I’ve learned, for example, that to make something tasty does not required tons of sugar, barrels of butter, gallons of corn syrup, whip cream, ketchup, and mayonnaise.
Despite my love for food, now both Western and Eastern, I still can’t recall what the food was like or what food I ate when I lived for six months in India. Or five months in Uganda. Truth is, I have to struggle to remember what I ate yesterday!
Not so with the Japanese. And what’s my point? Stay with me. I think it’ll be mind-boggling.
Despite its reputation for “other activities”, some not very savory, the CIA researches the entire world, I guess to better understand how the U.S. can dominate and plunder other countries. It publishes something called The World Factbook. This is the first section of a chart taken from that publication on obesity rates by country.
Ever heard of Nauru? I hadn’t. It’s the smallest nation in the world with the biggest people. Here are some of the natives of that country.
I have no difficulty believing they are world leaders in obesity rates. Since ‘fat’ has come under fire from the PC Police, they certainly appear — as my mom would have said — “full-figured”. My choice would be to call them ‘pleasantly plump’, putting a cordial spin on it.
Now, please note where the U.S. stands, confirming what we all already know about its excess weight problem. Out of 191 countries, the U.S. #11. Apologies go out to those core members of Team America who believe America is #1 at everything. While the distinction of being #1 in this respect is dubious, at the rate that obesity is increasing in the U.S., it may only be a matter of time before it captures top honors.
Moving on. Here now is the last portion of that listing.
Ah hah! Now you must see where I’m going with this. YES, folks! Japan in terms of obesity is in the Bottom Ten, #185 out of 191.
Moreover, look where it sits. BETWEEN ETHIOPIA AND NEPAL!
I’m personally familiar with Nepal. I lived there for three months, and it’s a very poor country, not an abundance of anything. Food is a very precious commodity. As for Ethiopia, anyone who has paid any attention to food crises in the world knows that ‘Ethiopia’ is synonymous with famine and mass starvation. There’s no mystery about why the people of Nepal and Ethiopia are ‘thin’.
Then there’s Japan, sandwiched between them. Food is incredibly abundant here. You could eat at a different restaurant in nearby Osaka every day of your life and never come close to eating at all of them. I live in a farming community. Farming is an industry, a science, lifestyle and a religion. I’ve written extensively about my awakening from a city boy to an old boy, one who belatedly discovered a lot goes on before food ends up in a can, is shrink-wrapped or boxed, and finally shows up on the shelves of a supermarket. I live in the middle of vast fields growing every vegetable and fruit that can be grown here.
Trust me, there’s a lot of food here in Japan! And by the way, this includes some of the best chocolate I’ve ever eaten, incredible cakes and pastries, an entire panoply of snacks and treats, beer and a range of other alcoholic drinks. There are a lot of unhealthy foods to choose from!
So . . .
Why are Japanese, as obsessed as they are with food and eating, so svelte? I have a few ideas. But I’d like to hear yours. Any educated guess will be welcome in the comments below.