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Category Archives: Social Commentary

USFJ: Troops Commit Less Crimes Than Japanese.

Three cheers for Commander of US Forces Japan, Air Force Lt. General Rice. Mr. Rice stated the obvious, as I’ve been doing for a while, that US troops stationed in Japan commit much fewer crimes, on average, than the Japanese. Sure, I know the fact that we commit fewer crimes, doesn’t make it any [...]

Posted 18 July 2008 Jim § In The News § Japan ‡ Comments (2)

FEWL.NET Blocked on the USS Blue Ridge.

About a week or so ago, someone left a comment on another post telling me access to my site was restricted from the USS Blue Ridge. I still have no definite reason as to why, but now I think I have an idea. Looking through other sites that were linking to me, I found this [...]

Posted 22 June 2008 Jim § Fewl.net § Navy Life ‡ Comments (14)

My Contribution to the “Navy Ethos.”

Someone in the Navy’s Department of Redundancy Department ran out of busy work, because the Navy is now seeking inputs on revising the “Navy Ethos.” From the message, here’s what they’re aiming for:
ETHOS GENERALLY IDENTIFIES THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTER, CULTURE, OR GUIDING BELIEFS OF A PERSON, GROUP, OR INSTITUTION. THE PURPOSE OF THE NAVY ETHOS STATEMENT [...]

Posted 25 May 2008 Jim § Navy Life ‡ Comments (3)

CAPT J. M. Van Tol on FDNF Liberty Restrictions.

I know I’m late, but a recent Proceedings Magazine article entitled “Worst Than a Crime - A Mistake” has been making the rounds of Seventh Fleet ships. It was posted in my comments, and I’ve received dozens of e-mails about it. The author, Captain J. M. van Tol (RET) was previously a skipper of [...]

Posted 17 May 2008 Jim § Japan § Navy Life ‡ Comments (8)

Japan Thinks We’re All Criminals.

My buddy Graham linked me to this little gem. (original)
SAPPORO, Feb. 15 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Defense Ministry’s Hokkaido bureau is considering assigning officials to accompany U.S. servicemen during off-duty outings when they visit the prefecture for a drill later this month, in light of the recent alleged rape of a local girl by a U.S. [...]

Posted 16 February 2008 Jim § Japan § Military ‡ Comments (3)

Japan’s Anti-US Military Legal System.

So I’m sure everyone has heard about the 38 year old Marine being accused of rape in Okinawa. Despite the fact that it is only alleged he did something wrong, the Japanese media, public, and Okinawa’s political leaders, as well as THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER, have already declared him guilty. There is no right to [...]

Posted 14 February 2008 Jim § In The News § Japan § Military ‡ Comments (9)

20 Frequently Asked IT Questions

Being the IT guy on the ship, I’m commonly the “go-to” guy when it comes to any and all computer issues. The position has it perks, as I’m sometimes hooked up by colleagues who happen to be in convenient positions, but more often than not, it’s the bane of my existence. Everyone knows who I [...]

Posted 09 February 2008 Jim § My Life § Techy ‡ Comments (5)

Does Alcohol “Deglamorization” Really Work?

It seems like every year or two someone comes up with some clever slogan that spawns a new campaign set on “deglamorizing” alcohol. Usually in response to an increase in alcohol-related incident (ARIs)s or DUIs, the local community gets blanketed with posters, banners, brochures and other propaganda aiming to get you to try a [...]

Posted 07 February 2008 Jim § In The News § Navy Life ‡ Comments (6)

The Wisdom of Dave.

Dave is a 31 year old Petty Officer 2nd Class originally from New York, which he affectionately refers to as the Terrorist State. He’s a right-wing Libertarian (he explains this as “I want guns everywhere, but no pot.”) who has an unhealthy obsession with keeping Hillary out of office. His vocabulary consists mainly of 1960’s [...]

Posted 11 October 2007 Jim § ‡ Comments (8)

Who Cares if Gays Openly Serve?

I don’t. Unfortunately, it seems the rest of the military doesn’t necessarily feel the same way. In a recent poll, 37% of service members believed homosexuals should not be able to serve openly. I don’t like to generalize, but I’m going to blame that statistic on the input from the Army and Marines. There’s way [...]

Posted 06 May 2007 Jim § Military ‡ Comments (13)

Hold Military to Higher Standards.

The Department of Defense is investigating a video that allegedly depicts soldiers cruelly making an Iraqi boy run a long distance in the hopes of getting a bottle of water. They’re heard laughing throughout the video and even chuckling when they finally drop the water, only to be picked up by someone other than the [...]

Posted 30 November 2006 Jim § Military ‡ Comments (14)

Hazleton, PA: Little Town with Big Balls.

Yesterday the city council of a small town you’ve never heard of, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, passed a city ordnance making English the city’s official language, and making it a crime to be an illegal alien or offer housing and employment to illegal aliens. I saw this on Digg and was a little shocked that such a [...]

Posted 14 July 2006 Jim § In The News ‡ Comments (11)

Military vs. Corporate IT.

Someone working as an IT in the Air Force wrote to Slashdot asking for advice on where to work once his enlistment is up. He compares his experience of 6 years to being in the real life Dilbert comic, having to deal with so much bureaucracy and office politics, and wondered if there was still [...]

Posted 11 June 2006 Jim § Navy Life § Techy ‡ Comments (1)

My Time in Pattaya Thailand.

Ask any retired Sailor where their favorite port call was, and most likely they’ll name some place in Southeast Asia. More than likely that place will be Thailand. I’ve never been worldly man, and while that’s changing, I’m still pretty ignorant to a lot of happenings in countries that aren’t as developed as those in [...]

Posted 05 March 2006 Jim § My Life § Travel ‡ Comments (21)

The Duty of Humans

Taken from here
The first duty of being human
is to realize the highest thing available to us
before becoming corpses and ghosts
not wasting the opportunity of human birth.
The second duty as human comrades
is to help each other to the highest degree
stop hurting, stop fighting over scraps
aim for true friendship in birth, aging, and death.
The third duty as [...]

Posted 04 March 2006 Jim § ‡ Comments (0)

A Truly Dangerous Idea…

I came across a story about Edge.com, an online magazine, asking a bunch of intellectual types to write a short essay on their most dangerous idea. I didn’t get it at first, but after reading a few of them…I feel doomed. There are well over 70 different answers to the question, so I didn’t read [...]

Posted 04 January 2006 Jim § My Life § WTF ‡ Comments (1)

Google is Anti-Christmas!

Even they prefer the “Happy Holidays” crap

Posted 22 December 2005 Jim § WTF § Web Stuff ‡ Comments (5)

Trusted Computing and Why You Should Hate It.

According to Wikipedia, “Trusted computing refers to a family of specifications from the TCPA with a stated goal of making computers more secure through the use of dedicated hardware.” It was designed limit the impact of viruses, hackers, and other security threats. After that never took off, the world’s largest computing companies, like Intel, [...]

Posted 11 September 2005 Jim § In The News ‡ Comments (0)

Hey Media! Stop Using the Race Card!

Now that the help has finally arrived, the media is turning from pictures and reports of looting and other mayhem, and waving around the race card. Some members of government as well have implied that the reason why New Orleans is in it’s current condition is because the helpless are mostly black. New Orleans [...]

Posted 03 September 2005 Jim § In The News ‡ Comments (3)

Hate Crimes Are Only Committed by White People.

At least that’s what it seems like. Lately, I’ve been seeing different news stories about heinous crimes, that if the roles had been reversed, would be considered hate crimes. The difference is that the perpetrators aren’t white. The latest is a story I read about in Seattle. Two soldiers who had just returned from [...]

Posted 28 August 2005 Jim § ‡ Comments (5)
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