Some of the stupid-name stuff is actually a good value
Agreed. In many cases, items with well-known brand names are just re-branded versions of a stupid-name company's OEM offerings.
It brings to mind a consumer news report that I saw about a decade ago that showed jackets being made in a Chinese sweatshop. The assembly line diverged into three separate areas where three different labels were sewn on: Ralph Lauren, Nautica, and George (Walmart). The reporter followed the shipments to their destinations and noted the retail prices. The RL jackets were sold for $400, the Nautica were sold for $150, and the George went for $80. Knowing that kind of info, it doesn't take a genius IQ to understand that one should shop around.
On a more personal note, I bought a stupid-name Chinese tool from Amazon recently. Before buying, I searched for the name on Google and, maybe not surprisingly, some AliExpress links popped up. On one link, the stupid-name manufacturer posted side-by-side photos of their tools and ones that they'd made for various name-brands. As far as I could tell the OEM and name-brand items were identical.
So, I guess the basic point is that you can get decent deals if you're a smart shopper. Reviews can give you some idea of quality, but relying on them is a fool's game.
Frankly, it sounds like your dealer is ripping you off. $300 for one spare PATS/SecuriLock key is very pricey, even including programming time.
A few years ago, a coworker lost the key for one of our work trucks (a 2003 F-350). He had a non-PATS spare key that would open the doors, but not turn the ignition, so he had to get it towed to the dealer (no charge for the tow due to auto club membership). The dealer charged us $125 + tax to program two new PATS keys. Overall, the whole ordeal cost much less than we thought it would.
As for buying a different make... immobilizer technology is pretty much ubiquitous. I've read that some countries have mandated engine immobilizers on new cars and trucks (and even motorcycles) since the late-1990s. I recall that Japan and Australia are among them. Up in my neck of the woods (Canada), we've had federally-mandated immobilizers on all new vehicles since 2007. Not sure about the U.S., although it seems logical that all North American vehicles would be similarly-equipped.
Shortly after the HandBrake team reported this to Apple, an updated XProtect version (2091) was rolled out which adds detection signatures for "OSX.Proton.B".
To check if you have the update, enter the following command into Terminal:
defaults read/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.meta Version
2091 (or later) should be automatically installed, assuming that you have "Automatically check for updates" and "Install system data files and security updates" selected in the App Store pane (in System Preferences).
If you don't have the latest XProtect definitions, then you can force it to update by entering this in Terminal:
I was born in 1967 and was 10 when Star Wars came out - Born and raised in Vancouver. Everyone I knew had seen Star Wars. Many kids in my grade 4 class saw it multiple times. I myself saw Star Wars 13 times in the theatre and I bought every comic. I read the novelization until it fell apart.
I was also born in Vancouver (...well, okay, Burnaby) in 1967. I saw Star Wars with a bunch of my friends on opening day at the Stanley. We camped out, watched the early showing, then went back in for the matinee.
As you said, parents weren't stiflingly overprotective of their kids, back then. My friends and I were extremely free-ranging. Those were the days, eh?
Yeah, I was in university at the time, too. I was walking by the campus security office when I heard a guard yell "Holy shit!". They were watching the broadcast live on CNN. Soon, there were hundreds of students milling around.
The interesting thing is that, within minutes, people were joking about it. I've read that humour is a common coping mechanism in the face of tragedy because it allows one to distance oneself from a traumatizing event. However, that was literally a case of "Too soon!"
By the way, one of the first jokes that I heard went like this...
My house has the original opener that isn't rolling, it was built in 1983. Rolling code technology came out in 1993 [wikipedia.org], which really isn't that long ago considering how often you need to replace them.
Similar situation here. I have a side-by-side garage with two separate early-1980s openers manufactured by Overhead Door Company. Each opener came with two one-button remotes.
One of the openers was damaged in 1994 (a roofing contractor backed into the door with his truck), so we ended up with the old fixed-code opener on the left door and a new rolling-code opener (also by Overhead Door) on the right. The new opener came with a pair of three-button remotes. Two buttons are strictly for rolling-code openers, but the third button can do both fixed- and rolling-code. Now, I can open both doors with one remote. Very handy.
Anyway, the point is that some of these openers can last a long time. Like your opener, my remaining fixed-code example is verging on 33 or 34 years old. Considering how often it's opened and closed, it sometimes surprises me how it continues to operate so smoothly.
I also use a mini-carabiner to hold two keychains together. One is home-related and has a car key/alarm fob, house keys, gun safe key, and safe deposit box key. The other is work-related and has a truck key, office keys, gun safe key, firearm trigger lock keys, Leatherman Micra multi-tool, and an Inova LED squeeze light.
Depending on where I'm going, I unclip them and leave one or the other in the gun safe.
As for other stuff that I carry... Just the usual things like a wallet, cell phone, and a Leatherman multi-tool. On the job, I sometimes also have to carry a satellite phone, GPS, a shotgun, and various other tools.
I had pretty much the same experience that you did. I was 14 and was a big PKD fan, so I dragged half a dozen friends down to see it. I recall that one of the other choices at the theatre was a sword-and-sorcery movie; might have been Conan or Beastmaster or somesuch. We were conflicted about which to choose (because barbarian movies usually had babes in chain-link bikinis), but I convinced everybody to see Blade Runner.
Luckily, most of my friends were high-minded enough to recognize and appreciate the film noir aspects of it. The grittiness was a stark contrast to, as you said, the "clean futures" that most science fiction movies portrayed.
The one negative influence that I noticed from Blade Runner is that it influenced the production of a lot of low budget,"neo-noir" movies set in dystopian future settings. The entire decade of the '80s was rife with them. On the other hand, it also influenced many decent movies like 12 Monkeys and even The Dark Knight Rises. You win some, you lose some.:)
Shit with these kind of stories, even the experts aren't allowed to be experts!
Well, it turns out that she isn't an expert in animal behaviour. Her specialty is zooarchaeology which is mostly concerned with how ancient people utilized animals in their cultural and dietary practices. (Disclosure: I'm an archaeologist who works on Vancouver Island where Dr. Crockford is located (University of Victoria). We hire people like Dr. Crockford to carry out studies like this for us.)
It's like comparing Kraft Mac & Chesse to your own homemade. Sure, making your own is less expensive and has more options for upgrades (bacon)... but Kraft is much more convenient if you don't want to sweat the details, has a nice box & packaged look, and a taste you cannot fully replicate on your own.
Also, something that do-it-yourself PC builders always overlook is the warranty, phone support, documentation, etc. that comes with a manufactured product (like a Mac Pro).
Those kinds of things are not free, obviously, but are almost never taken into account.
"You're not going to hunt for your dinner," said Leesburg resident Anne Meyers. "So I don't know why you'd need a gun in a restaurant."
Lessburg Police Chief Joseph Price agrees, especially since Crosswhite's restaurant serves beer and wine.
"No, sir, I don't plan to go [to the restaurant]," he said, "and having carried a firearm for better part of my adult life, I clearly know alcohol and firearms do not mix."
I think that he's referring to the Remington Model 7600 pump-action rifle. It was called the Model 760 until 1981.
This model is very popular because it can be stored in the relatively safe Condition 3 (hammer down, full magazine, empty chamber), yet brought to Condition 0 (ready to fire) with one pump.
On the other hand, I think that guards at the kind of checkpoint that the AFGE (the TSA employees' union) envisions would be using auto/semi-auto carbines or SMGs, instead of a rifle more suited to deer-hunting.
But anyways I don't think bringing up internment camps is a prudent thing to do in the greater context of things.
Why not? My intention was to show that wartime propaganda from both sides was used to justify various actions. I exemplified it with events that occurred in Japan and in North America. Also, I think it's safe to say that propaganda was even more important to the war efforts of certain European nations at that time.
Unfortunately, some people seem to be keying on the example used and ignoring the reason why I used the example in the first place.
The original topic was obscured, and it seems that we're now just trying to corner people in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" dilemma. Frankly, I don't know if the new topic is truly of overriding importance to the person concerned (for example, he had a relative who were prisoners of war in WW2 Japan, or had relatives in an occupied area), or if it's just a case of faux outrage.
I mentioned in an earlier post that Japanese citizens were under the sway of wartime propaganda. As I also mentioned, demonization of the enemy was de rigueur. Some of that had to do with the fear (instilled by the military) that white men were amoral savages, but also from the notion that almost all non-Japanese were sub-human. That probably explains the dehumanizing treatment inflicted on prisoners of war and on the citizens of nations that Imperial Japan invaded.
Assuming that I was a Japanese citizen around at that time, I would probably have agreed with that policy. Not doing so meant imprisonment and the infliction of that same dehumanizing treatment on one's own person. It would be nice to think that conscientious citizens would rise up and protest, but the truth is that the majority of people would be looking after their own hides. It's a cliche, but we are products of our times and surroundings.
Today, we look back and say that the treatment by the Japanese Army of prisoners of war and citizens of occupied areas was exceptionally brutal. Would I want to be treated in that fashion? No, obviously not. Would I prefer internment In Canada over imprisonment in a wartime Japanese POW camp? I truly do not know. After losing half of my existing family during and immediately after internment, it doesn't seem like either option was particularly savoury.
Which would you rather be, a Japanese internee in the US/Canada, or a prisoner of the Japanese?
They aren't even in the same league.
Not sure what this has to do with the original topic.
In a nutshell, we were discussing the use of propaganda to sway the outlook of a civilian population. AlphaWolf_HK's mention of civilian suicides during the Battle of Saipan and my mention of the internment of Japanese-Canadians and Japanese-Americans are examples of the effects of propaganda (in general, the demonization of the enemy).
But, if we're going to veer off onto the topic of the treatment of prisoners, then I guess we can can expand this to a discussion about Gitmo. Or maybe the treatment of dissidents in China or Myanmar. Seems like a completely different discussion, though.
I never denied that Japan has an ugly past. I was merely stating that the numbers that you posted were questionable.
As for being disliked by other Asians, you forgot the Filipinos, Singaporeans, and to a lesser extent, Indonesians and Malaysians. I live in a multi-ethnic neighbourhood in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I have a Chinese neighbour on one side, a Korean neighbour on the other side, and a Filipino neighbour across the street. I also work with a guy who hails from Indonesia. They've all told me at one time or another that they were taught as children that Japan was "Teh Debil!1!!!11", mostly based on Japan's history. I find this somewhat amusing because my Chinese neighbour sounds like a mouthpiece for the Communist Party. In light of the brutality of China's current regime, any talk about Japan's past imperialistic exploits seems incredibly hypocritical.
Anyway, the wartime ugliness extended to this side of the water, as well. Perhaps you're aware of the internment of Japanese-Canadians and -Americans during WW2? More info: Japanese-Canadian Internment Japanese-American Internment
On a personal note, despite being Canadian citizens (all were born here), my family was stripped of their possessions, their rights, and their freedom, and loaded onto cattle cars and shipped by train to internment camps in the remote B.C. Interior. The men (including my 15-yr old Dad) were forced to go on to Ontario to work on a road gang. My grandfather suffered a broken back while working there and was permanently debilitated. Two of my aunts died of tuberculosis without medical intervention. Their last moments were spent in a tar-paper shack in a remote prison camp in the dead of winter. After the war, some of my relatives were forcibly repatriated to Japan. For most, this was their first time setting foot there.
So, you want to talk about a dark recent history? Does anyone really believe that only the Japanese demonized their "enemies"? Well, I have news for everyone; the propaganda machine was working overtime on this side of the Pacific, as well.
Hey, want more? My uncle died in the Fukushima quake in 2011. If we're still making recriminations, then I suggest one of these: "This was payback for Pearl Harbor!" or "This was payback for Japan beating the U.S. in the Women's World Cup!"
I've personally heard both of those in the last couple of years. It's bad enough to read it on Twitter (and Slashdot), but to have someone say such things to my face was almost beyond belief. Well, I guess I should expect these kinds of things. People harbour all sorts of irrational hatreds. Maybe it's xenophobia, as you touched upon, or maybe it's jingoism.
p.s. AlphaWolf_HK, I'm wondering why you've expressed such interest about Japan's "dark history". I'm guessing that the "HK" in your username stands for Hong Kong? Are you still sore about Nanking?;-)
I mean shit, 5,000 civilians committed suicide upon report of US advancement of Saipan because they didn't want the shame of being captured.
I think you're confusing things here. It's estimated that 5,000 Japanese soldiers committed suicide. 2,000 committed suicide, outright. Another 3,000 did so by charging directly into the face of U.S. Army and Marine units, actually managing to overrun the frontmost U.S. units. This gained some time for their comrades to carry the counterattack forward, but we all know how that turned out; more than 24,000 of the 25,000-man garrison was wiped out.
As for the civilians, various reports say that 1000-3000 civilians committed suicide (e.g. Wikipedia says 1000, About.com says 3000, etc.). The majority committed suicide because they had been incessantly told by the military that white men were savages; the women, children, and elderly would be tortured, raped, and murdered without pity. Anybody who balked was either coerced to commit suicide or was shot by the (fleeing) soldiers.
Also, some civilians were forced to act as "bait" to lure unsuspecting U.S. soldiers into ambushes. In the end, a lot of civilians were killed ("accidentally on purpose" as mentioned in one document) because the U.S. soldiers couldn't be sure if they were being suckered. Oddly, I've heard that these deaths were also considered suicides.
Anyway, I guess the point is that the suicides (both military and civilian) show very clearly the power of Imperial Japan's military propaganda during WW2.
p.s. Before being accused of talking out of my ass, I just want to say that my heritage is Japanese. I have relatives there who witnessed things firsthand, including the A-bomb drops. Reports of the nature that I described above are commonplace.
I have to ask...what show are you watching that has cat toy commercials that are so evil and offensive? I'm not sure I've ever even seen a cat toy commercial...
I assume that he's talking about the Cat's Meow motorized cat toy gizmo. This thing is advertised non-stop on daytime TV.
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed. In many cases, items with well-known brand names are just re-branded versions of a stupid-name company's OEM offerings.
It brings to mind a consumer news report that I saw about a decade ago that showed jackets being made in a Chinese sweatshop. The assembly line diverged into three separate areas where three different labels were sewn on: Ralph Lauren, Nautica, and George (Walmart). The reporter followed the shipments to their destinations and noted the retail prices. The RL jackets were sold for $400, the Nautica were sold for $150, and the George went for $80. Knowing that kind of info, it doesn't take a genius IQ to understand that one should shop around.
On a more personal note, I bought a stupid-name Chinese tool from Amazon recently. Before buying, I searched for the name on Google and, maybe not surprisingly, some AliExpress links popped up. On one link, the stupid-name manufacturer posted side-by-side photos of their tools and ones that they'd made for various name-brands. As far as I could tell the OEM and name-brand items were identical.
So, I guess the basic point is that you can get decent deals if you're a smart shopper. Reviews can give you some idea of quality, but relying on them is a fool's game.
Frankly, it sounds like your dealer is ripping you off. $300 for one spare PATS/SecuriLock key is very pricey, even including programming time.
A few years ago, a coworker lost the key for one of our work trucks (a 2003 F-350). He had a non-PATS spare key that would open the doors, but not turn the ignition, so he had to get it towed to the dealer (no charge for the tow due to auto club membership). The dealer charged us $125 + tax to program two new PATS keys. Overall, the whole ordeal cost much less than we thought it would.
As for buying a different make... immobilizer technology is pretty much ubiquitous. I've read that some countries have mandated engine immobilizers on new cars and trucks (and even motorcycles) since the late-1990s. I recall that Japan and Australia are among them. Up in my neck of the woods (Canada), we've had federally-mandated immobilizers on all new vehicles since 2007. Not sure about the U.S., although it seems logical that all North American vehicles would be similarly-equipped.
To check if you have the update, enter the following command into Terminal:
2091 (or later) should be automatically installed, assuming that you have "Automatically check for updates" and "Install system data files and security updates" selected in the App Store pane (in System Preferences).
If you don't have the latest XProtect definitions, then you can force it to update by entering this in Terminal:
There's an explanation of how these vending machines work in this NHK documentary: https://youtu.be/8SNqD6YqVhQ?t=264
I was also born in Vancouver (...well, okay, Burnaby) in 1967. I saw Star Wars with a bunch of my friends on opening day at the Stanley. We camped out, watched the early showing, then went back in for the matinee.
As you said, parents weren't stiflingly overprotective of their kids, back then. My friends and I were extremely free-ranging. Those were the days, eh?
Yeah, I was in university at the time, too. I was walking by the campus security office when I heard a guard yell "Holy shit!". They were watching the broadcast live on CNN. Soon, there were hundreds of students milling around.
The interesting thing is that, within minutes, people were joking about it. I've read that humour is a common coping mechanism in the face of tragedy because it allows one to distance oneself from a traumatizing event. However, that was literally a case of "Too soon!"
By the way, one of the first jokes that I heard went like this...
Q: What were Commander Scobee's last words?
A: Let the girl drive!
No, it's not a typo. According to the OED, produce is:
[MASS NOUN] 1 Agricultural and other natural products, collectively. Example: dairy produce
Similar situation here. I have a side-by-side garage with two separate early-1980s openers manufactured by Overhead Door Company. Each opener came with two one-button remotes.
One of the openers was damaged in 1994 (a roofing contractor backed into the door with his truck), so we ended up with the old fixed-code opener on the left door and a new rolling-code opener (also by Overhead Door) on the right. The new opener came with a pair of three-button remotes. Two buttons are strictly for rolling-code openers, but the third button can do both fixed- and rolling-code. Now, I can open both doors with one remote. Very handy.
Anyway, the point is that some of these openers can last a long time. Like your opener, my remaining fixed-code example is verging on 33 or 34 years old. Considering how often it's opened and closed, it sometimes surprises me how it continues to operate so smoothly.
I also use a mini-carabiner to hold two keychains together. One is home-related and has a car key/alarm fob, house keys, gun safe key, and safe deposit box key. The other is work-related and has a truck key, office keys, gun safe key, firearm trigger lock keys, Leatherman Micra multi-tool, and an Inova LED squeeze light.
Depending on where I'm going, I unclip them and leave one or the other in the gun safe.
As for other stuff that I carry... Just the usual things like a wallet, cell phone, and a Leatherman multi-tool. On the job, I sometimes also have to carry a satellite phone, GPS, a shotgun, and various other tools.
I immediately thought of solar-powered wristwatches. I'm guessing that it will be a Citizen Eco-Drive or Casio Tough Solar.
I had pretty much the same experience that you did. I was 14 and was a big PKD fan, so I dragged half a dozen friends down to see it. I recall that one of the other choices at the theatre was a sword-and-sorcery movie; might have been Conan or Beastmaster or somesuch. We were conflicted about which to choose (because barbarian movies usually had babes in chain-link bikinis), but I convinced everybody to see Blade Runner.
:)
Luckily, most of my friends were high-minded enough to recognize and appreciate the film noir aspects of it. The grittiness was a stark contrast to, as you said, the "clean futures" that most science fiction movies portrayed.
The one negative influence that I noticed from Blade Runner is that it influenced the production of a lot of low budget,"neo-noir" movies set in dystopian future settings. The entire decade of the '80s was rife with them. On the other hand, it also influenced many decent movies like 12 Monkeys and even The Dark Knight Rises. You win some, you lose some.
The reliability of the Lee-Enfield is not the issue. Rather, according to TFA, they've run out of spare parts to maintain/repair them.
Therefore, they're looking for a modern, off-the-shelf, firearm with similar reliability, accuracy, and stopping power to replace them.
Shit with these kind of stories, even the experts aren't allowed to be experts!
Well, it turns out that she isn't an expert in animal behaviour. Her specialty is zooarchaeology which is mostly concerned with how ancient people utilized animals in their cultural and dietary practices. (Disclosure: I'm an archaeologist who works on Vancouver Island where Dr. Crockford is located (University of Victoria). We hire people like Dr. Crockford to carry out studies like this for us.)
Meanwhile, she does appear to be connected to the Heartland Institute. There are lots of references to this via Google, Bing, etc. (Example: http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-payments-university-victoria-professor-susan-crockford-probed).
There are also examples of her denialist stance from the Heartland Institute's own website (Example: http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2012/09/17/polar-bears-successfully-adapt-climate-change-scientist-says). A search of Heartland's site finds that she's quoted or cited on several of their pages, actually (http://policybot.enginez.com/results.engz?uq=crockford).
Yes! With this doohickey, I can finally play the Hardest Chord Ever!!! \m/
He's probably just poking fun. :) See:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Terrist
Also, something that do-it-yourself PC builders always overlook is the warranty, phone support, documentation, etc. that comes with a manufactured product (like a Mac Pro).
Those kinds of things are not free, obviously, but are almost never taken into account.
Leesburg Restaurant Gives Discount to Gun-Toting Customers
From the article:
I think that he's referring to the Remington Model 7600 pump-action rifle. It was called the Model 760 until 1981.
This model is very popular because it can be stored in the relatively safe Condition 3 (hammer down, full magazine, empty chamber), yet brought to Condition 0 (ready to fire) with one pump.
On the other hand, I think that guards at the kind of checkpoint that the AFGE (the TSA employees' union) envisions would be using auto/semi-auto carbines or SMGs, instead of a rifle more suited to deer-hunting.
Why not? My intention was to show that wartime propaganda from both sides was used to justify various actions. I exemplified it with events that occurred in Japan and in North America. Also, I think it's safe to say that propaganda was even more important to the war efforts of certain European nations at that time.
Unfortunately, some people seem to be keying on the example used and ignoring the reason why I used the example in the first place.
The original topic was obscured, and it seems that we're now just trying to corner people in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" dilemma. Frankly, I don't know if the new topic is truly of overriding importance to the person concerned (for example, he had a relative who were prisoners of war in WW2 Japan, or had relatives in an occupied area), or if it's just a case of faux outrage.
I should clarify...
.
I mentioned in an earlier post that Japanese citizens were under the sway of wartime propaganda. As I also mentioned, demonization of the enemy was de rigueur. Some of that had to do with the fear (instilled by the military) that white men were amoral savages, but also from the notion that almost all non-Japanese were sub-human. That probably explains the dehumanizing treatment inflicted on prisoners of war and on the citizens of nations that Imperial Japan invaded
Assuming that I was a Japanese citizen around at that time, I would probably have agreed with that policy. Not doing so meant imprisonment and the infliction of that same dehumanizing treatment on one's own person. It would be nice to think that conscientious citizens would rise up and protest, but the truth is that the majority of people would be looking after their own hides. It's a cliche, but we are products of our times and surroundings.
Today, we look back and say that the treatment by the Japanese Army of prisoners of war and citizens of occupied areas was exceptionally brutal. Would I want to be treated in that fashion? No, obviously not. Would I prefer internment In Canada over imprisonment in a wartime Japanese POW camp? I truly do not know. After losing half of my existing family during and immediately after internment, it doesn't seem like either option was particularly savoury.
I already stated that Japan had an ugly past. I do not see the point in rehashing things.
:-D
But, if you really want an answer, then I'd have to say that I'd rather be a prisoner of the Japanese. Considering that I'm Japanese and all.
Not sure what this has to do with the original topic.
In a nutshell, we were discussing the use of propaganda to sway the outlook of a civilian population. AlphaWolf_HK's mention of civilian suicides during the Battle of Saipan and my mention of the internment of Japanese-Canadians and Japanese-Americans are examples of the effects of propaganda (in general, the demonization of the enemy).
But, if we're going to veer off onto the topic of the treatment of prisoners, then I guess we can can expand this to a discussion about Gitmo. Or maybe the treatment of dissidents in China or Myanmar. Seems like a completely different discussion, though.
I never denied that Japan has an ugly past. I was merely stating that the numbers that you posted were questionable.
;-)
As for being disliked by other Asians, you forgot the Filipinos, Singaporeans, and to a lesser extent, Indonesians and Malaysians. I live in a multi-ethnic neighbourhood in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I have a Chinese neighbour on one side, a Korean neighbour on the other side, and a Filipino neighbour across the street. I also work with a guy who hails from Indonesia. They've all told me at one time or another that they were taught as children that Japan was " Teh Debil!1!!!11 ", mostly based on Japan's history. I find this somewhat amusing because my Chinese neighbour sounds like a mouthpiece for the Communist Party. In light of the brutality of China's current regime, any talk about Japan's past imperialistic exploits seems incredibly hypocritical.
Anyway, the wartime ugliness extended to this side of the water, as well. Perhaps you're aware of the internment of Japanese-Canadians and -Americans during WW2? More info:
Japanese-Canadian Internment
Japanese-American Internment
On a personal note, despite being Canadian citizens (all were born here), my family was stripped of their possessions, their rights, and their freedom, and loaded onto cattle cars and shipped by train to internment camps in the remote B.C. Interior. The men (including my 15-yr old Dad) were forced to go on to Ontario to work on a road gang. My grandfather suffered a broken back while working there and was permanently debilitated. Two of my aunts died of tuberculosis without medical intervention. Their last moments were spent in a tar-paper shack in a remote prison camp in the dead of winter. After the war, some of my relatives were forcibly repatriated to Japan. For most, this was their first time setting foot there.
So, you want to talk about a dark recent history? Does anyone really believe that only the Japanese demonized their "enemies"? Well, I have news for everyone; the propaganda machine was working overtime on this side of the Pacific, as well.
Hey, want more? My uncle died in the Fukushima quake in 2011. If we're still making recriminations, then I suggest one of these:
"This was payback for Pearl Harbor!" or "This was payback for Japan beating the U.S. in the Women's World Cup!"
I've personally heard both of those in the last couple of years. It's bad enough to read it on Twitter (and Slashdot), but to have someone say such things to my face was almost beyond belief. Well, I guess I should expect these kinds of things. People harbour all sorts of irrational hatreds. Maybe it's xenophobia, as you touched upon, or maybe it's jingoism.
p.s. AlphaWolf_HK, I'm wondering why you've expressed such interest about Japan's "dark history". I'm guessing that the "HK" in your username stands for Hong Kong? Are you still sore about Nanking?
I think you're confusing things here. It's estimated that 5,000 Japanese soldiers committed suicide. 2,000 committed suicide, outright. Another 3,000 did so by charging directly into the face of U.S. Army and Marine units, actually managing to overrun the frontmost U.S. units. This gained some time for their comrades to carry the counterattack forward, but we all know how that turned out; more than 24,000 of the 25,000-man garrison was wiped out.
As for the civilians, various reports say that 1000-3000 civilians committed suicide (e.g. Wikipedia says 1000, About.com says 3000, etc.). The majority committed suicide because they had been incessantly told by the military that white men were savages; the women, children, and elderly would be tortured, raped, and murdered without pity. Anybody who balked was either coerced to commit suicide or was shot by the (fleeing) soldiers.
Also, some civilians were forced to act as "bait" to lure unsuspecting U.S. soldiers into ambushes. In the end, a lot of civilians were killed ("accidentally on purpose" as mentioned in one document) because the U.S. soldiers couldn't be sure if they were being suckered. Oddly, I've heard that these deaths were also considered suicides.
Anyway, I guess the point is that the suicides (both military and civilian) show very clearly the power of Imperial Japan's military propaganda during WW2.
p.s. Before being accused of talking out of my ass, I just want to say that my heritage is Japanese. I have relatives there who witnessed things firsthand, including the A-bomb drops. Reports of the nature that I described above are commonplace.
I assume that he's talking about the Cat's Meow motorized cat toy gizmo. This thing is advertised non-stop on daytime TV.