Author Archives: johnrachel

Life In Japan: Festival of the Portable Shrines

Posted on October 24, 2019 by johnrachel

Every year during the third week in October we have a most unique and marvelous festival here called the Festival of the Portable Shrines, as the streets fill with colorful costumes, huge shrines either on wheels or being carried by the heartier men — many of whom are extremely inebriated on local sake — and visitors from all over who come to enjoy the festivities. Continue reading →

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Life In Japan: Harvesting Rice

Posted on October 12, 2019 by johnrachel

Being raised in a major city, a factory town no less, I find this whole rice farming business fascinating.  Almost magical! Detroit didn’t have any farms back then, though I hear these days there are quite a few organic gardens in the empty lots remaining now that all the houses are burned down. Continue reading →

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Why should the U.S. wage war on Iran?

Posted on September 22, 2019 by johnrachel

Why should the U.S. wage war on Iran? There are so many answers to that question, it’s difficult to know where to begin. But here are a few right off the top of my head, based on our current foreign policy and the thinking mapped out by the truly remarkable collection of political leaders currently at the helm. Continue reading →

Posted in Deconstruction, Nihilism, Political Analysis, Political Rant, Satire, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Julian Assange: Lest We Forget What Courageous Journalism Looks Like

Posted on September 10, 2019 by johnrachel

Lest we forget what this courageous man has accomplished at the risk of his life, here are the ten most important achievements by Julian Assange and Wikileaks, as provided by New Zealand citizen journalist and whistleblower, Suzi Dawson. Continue reading →

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Book Review: “The Plot To Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin”

Posted on September 9, 2019 by johnrachel

It takes enormous courage to write a book like this, which goes completely against the narrative promoted by America’s foreign policy and military establishments. Courage because now any defense of Putin and Russia as actors on the world stage will invite personal vilification, marginalization, attacks on character and integrity, aspersions about disloyalty and lack of patriotic commitment, allegations of treachery and even sedition. Continue reading →

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The Richest Sociopath in the World

Posted on August 27, 2019 by johnrachel

Jeff Bezos is referred to as ‘The Richest Man in the World’ and his personal fortune, while growing by $191,000 each minute, is currently estimated at around $150 billion. We need to correct that labeling. He should henceforth be called ‘The Richest Sociopath in the World.’ Continue reading →

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Book Review: “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela” by Dan Kovalik

Posted on August 5, 2019 by johnrachel

The thought-provoking Plot to Overthrow Venezuela by Dan Kovalik is extremely well-written, with a clarity, accessibility, and erudition which puts it in a class with the best works of Noam Chomsky. The Foreword by Oliver Stone is a worthy and deserving way to get this excellent work started started. It’s a must-read to fully understand the crisis in Venezuela as one component of the U.S. strategy of creating chaos and division across the globe. Continue reading →

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Life In Japan: My Bike Ride to Teach English

Posted on July 25, 2019 by johnrachel

I ride my bike to and from the English class I teach whenever it’s not raining.  Many of the photos appearing in other essays at this site were taken on that bike ride. I frankly never get tired of riding anywhere here in our traditional, rural town. There’s still a lot to see and discover. People I hardly know always wave. Smiles are our common language. Continue reading →

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Life In Japan: Annual Neighborhood Barbecue

Posted on July 16, 2019 by johnrachel

The Japanese love to barbecue just about anything that can be barbecued! Corn, squash, onions, eggplant, potatoes, different varieties of mushrooms, garlic cloves, squid. Yes, unbelievably phenomenal meat: beef, pork, sausage. However, you’ll rarely see hamburgers and hot dogs. Pork and beans? Forget about it. Can you imagine? Continue reading →

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Life In Japan: The Naked American

Posted on July 6, 2019 by johnrachel

My nickname back in 2008 in the town I live in here in Japan was “the naked American”. I’ve never been either fond or adverse to nudism. But now I hear that women can go topless now in six states in the U.S., meaning I apparently was just ahead of my time, leading the charge for freeing nipples from oppressive censorship. Even so, I am forced to concede that my desire to be a tanned demigod was not very respectful of the local folks here. Continue reading →

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