Recruiting Forum Off-Topic Thread II

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#2,109
#2,109
#1Volfaninmo said:
Localities doing this claim it is for safety, but that is a bald faced lie. It is a money grab, plain and simple.
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Im pretty sure I've seen studies where they actually increase accidents, due to people slamming on the brakes because they know a cameras there and are afraid of tickets
 
#2,110
#2,110
The crazy part is that apparently none of these camera tickets are enforceable in any way. You do not have to pay the fines and they cannot seek legal action, bill collection, or negatively affect your credit rating even though some of the papers say so. They have zero authority whatsoever. When this gets out the traffic cam business will be over. Don't send those people your money, folks. Only a real agent of the law can write you a ticket.

Watch the video. It's takes like 3 minutes to really start, but my mind is blown. All this time everyone has been sending money to these people thinking it's law enforcement.
 
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#2,117
#2,117
So what does everybody think about the president's upcoming visit to Hiroshima? I've heard a lot of outrage about it and don't seem to get it. As someone who lives in Japan, I just want to give my perspective on the visit. I'm not sure how to connect it all fluidly in paragraph form, so I'm just going to go in bullet points.

  • First of all, there will be no apology. Neither side wants an apology. The Japanese government doesn't want one because it would put them under pressure to visit Pearl Harbor and apologize or (worse, for them) to formally apologize to Korea and China for war crimes committed to during WWII. Neither side wants to open up the can of worms that comes from an apology.



  • I don't think most Japanese people expect an apology, either. Most seem to look at the bombings as something terrible that happened to them as the cost of waging an imperialistic war. I've met few, if any Japanese people who are in favor of Shinzo Abe's recent re-interpretation of their constitution's Article 9 (the one that says Japan can't have a millitary) because of this type of view. Kind of unrelated to the visit in general, I guess, but most Japanese people I've talked with see the atomic bombings as the result of their past militarism and don't want to open up the possibility of going down that road ever again.




  • Another important side-point: Japan is the only country in the world to have actually had atomic weapons used against them. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are hugely important historic locations. I've stood at the hypocenter where the Little Boy exploded. It was truly awe-inspiring to stand there and think about all of the aftermath, from the destruction and loss of life, to the end of the WWII, to the beginning of the Cold War. It was a truly world-changing event and visiting the place where it happened is an experience that I think anybody should be able to have regardless of their political appointments or views.





  • Regardless of whether or not one feels the bombings were justified and/or necessary, I think everybody can agree that the bombings were terrible events. The death of 150,000 people in the blink of an eye is terrible no matter the circumstances. In a utilitarian sense, I get that dropping the bomb theoretically saved more lives (the estimated number varies depending on who you ask), but that doesn't change the fact that a huge number of people dies. If two people's deaths mean that 20 more people don't have to die, it's still sad that those people died.





  • Back on point: Japan is our most vital ally in East Asia (there's an argument to be made that SK is passing them in this, but geographically and historically, it's Japan). With the threat of a nuclear North Korea and China ever looming, we have to maintain good relations with Japan. They serve as an important economic ally and give our navy a vital base of operations in the pacific.





  • Recently there has been growing discontent over the actions of some bad apples from military bases in Japan (mostly in Okinawa). Over the past decade there have been multiple rapes and recently a murder perpetrated by US soldiers against Japanese citizens. People are starting to get fed up with occurences like this, and sentiment toward America (not Americans, per se) is suffering as a result.




  • I guess, in conclusion, I think a visit to Hiroshima just isn't a big deal. Obama will show up, walk around the peace park, and then give vague comments afterward about how our countries should work together and endeavor that something like the bombing of Hiroshima never has to happen again. Basically he'll give a speech that many other world leaders and past US presidents have given before about how dangerous nuclear weapons are and how everybody should work together to make sure they're never used again. I see it as more of a symbolic gesture to a very important ally at a time when a gesture is needed.
 
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#2,119
#2,119
Darth_Shiveman said:
So what does everybody think about the president's upcoming visit to Hiroshima? I've heard a lot of outrage about it and don't seem to get it. As someone who lives in Japan, I just want to give my perspective on the visit. I'm not sure how to connect it all fluidly in paragraph form, so I'm just going to go in bullet points.

  • First of all, there will be no apology. Neither side wants an apology. The Japanese government doesn't want one because it would put them under pressure to visit Pearl Harbor and apologize or (worse, for them) to formally apologize to Korea and China for war crimes committed to during WWII. Neither side wants to open up the can of worms that comes from an apology.



  • I don't think most Japanese people expect an apology, either. Most seem to look at the bombings as something terrible that happened to them as the cost of waging an imperialistic war. I've met few, if any Japanese people who are in favor of Shinzo Abe's recent re-interpretation of their constitution's Article 9 (the one that says Japan can't have a millitary) because of this type of view. Kind of unrelated to the visit in general, I guess, but most Japanese people I've talked with see the atomic bombings as the result of their past militarism and don't want to open up the possibility of going down that road ever again.




  • Another important side-point: Japan is the only country in the world to have actually had atomic weapons used against them. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are hugely important historic locations. I've stood at the hypocenter where the Little Boy exploded. It was truly awe-inspiring to stand there and think about all of the aftermath, from the destruction and loss of life, to the end of the WWII, to the beginning of the Cold War. It was a truly world-changing event and visiting the place where it happened is an experience that I think anybody should be able to have regardless of their political appointments or views.





  • Regardless of whether or not one feels the bombings were justified and/or necessary, I think everybody can agree that the bombings were terrible events. The death of 150,000 people in the blink of an eye is terrible no matter the circumstances. In a utilitarian sense, I get that dropping the bomb theoretically saved more lives (the estimated number varies depending on who you ask), but that doesn't change the fact that a huge number of people dies. If two people's deaths mean that 20 more people don't have to die, it's still sad that those people died.





  • Back on point: Japan is our most vital ally in East Asia (there's an argument to be made that SK is passing them in this, but geographically and historically, it's Japan). With the threat of a nuclear North Korea and China ever looming, we have to maintain good relations with Japan. They serve as an important economic ally and give our navy a vital base of operations in the pacific.





  • Recently there has been growing discontent over the actions of some bad apples from military bases in Japan (mostly in Okinawa). Over the past decade there have been multiple rapes and recently a murder perpetrated by US soldiers against Japanese citizens. People are starting to get fed up with occurences like this, and sentiment toward America (not Americans, per se) is suffering as a result.




  • I guess, in conclusion, I think a visit to Hiroshima just isn't a big deal. Obama will show up, walk around the peace park, and then give vague comments afterward about how our countries should work together and endeavor that something like the bombing of Hiroshima never has to happen again. Basically he'll give a speech that many other world leaders and past US presidents have given before about how dangerous nuclear weapons are and how everybody should work together to make sure they're never used again. I see it as more of a symbolic gesture to a very important ally at a time when a gesture is needed.
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The problem is that it's Obama. Nobody trusts that tool to not say or do something that breaks protocol. If he really wants to send Japan a friendly gesture he needs to commit to defending them against the territorial theft of the Chinese. The Chinese are preparing for war and Japan and Vietnam are getting screwed.
 
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#2,121
#2,121
Nothing is going to happen. Good grief. He will walk around bow a few times and get on a plane. Doesn't mean a thing.
 
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#2,122
#2,122
Vols4us said:
Always, always, always question what your government tells you. Thanks, Skull.
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Very true. In addition, you should question authority of all kinds at all times.

Can't wait to see how GV will weigh on this.

(Note: I didn't say to defy authority, only to question it. Big difference. And, at the very core of who we are as Americans.)
 
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#2,124
#2,124
Skullbone said:
The problem is that it's Obama. Nobody trusts that tool to not say or do something that breaks protocol. If he really wants to send Japan a friendly gesture he needs to commit to defending them against the territorial theft of the Chinese. The Chinese are preparing for war and Japan and Vietnam are getting screwed.
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China poses a looming threat, no doubt. But really the only territory Japan has that could be seen as under "threat of theft" are the Senkaku Islands. And really those are just a few uninhabited rocks that neither country has much of a real legal claim to. Really they just represent a bit of a pissing match between the two countries that leaders will use to rile up the people when there's a real problem going on.
 
#2,125
#2,125
Darth_Shiveman said:
China poses a looming threat, no doubt. But really the only territory Japan has that could be seen as under "threat of theft" are the Senkaku Islands. And really those are just a few uninhabited rocks that neither country has much of a real legal claim to. Really they just represent a bit of a pissing match between the two countries that leaders will use to rile up the people when there's a real problem going on.
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The land,sea,and air that China has seized is critical to economic and military activity in the region. It matters a lot. A whole lot. Do you realize President Obama had to alter the normal flight route to Vietnam to avoid certain international air space that the Chinese military has illegally seized ? You may not think any of that matters but I'm telling you there's a very serious problem looming with China. A new cold war has begun.
 
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