Prelude to the Apocalypse

[quash]

You are high...

This + This = preparing for peace?

...And ill-informed.

Oh? Care to elaborate?

The one thing they need: young people. All the scientists and engineers in the world don't mean shit.

LOL, you cannot be serious. I guess all it takes to sustain a first world economy is hordes of young people with little to no skills.

[Opus131]

You know it is bad when even obnoxious leftists are starting to notice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLD2xzAX8Aw

[Skykid]

You are high...

This + This = preparing for peace?

Paranoia 101 man. No wonder you're a Trump supporter.

The Chinese will expand their military reach regardless of disputes over landmasses - and there are several onging, including waters around the Philippines and Vietnam. Any country with cash in the bank always puts their national security/military fortification in the largest spending bracket and continues to expand while cash flow remains stable. That's a normal process.

Only weeaboos and ignoramus's think the Japanese have a legitimate (out of the blue) claim to the oil rich Diaoyu Islands, so you can be sure it won't be handed over any time soon. That doesn't mean there's going to be a war. Taiwan's sovereignty has also been in dispute for almost fifty years (or whenever it was that the US turned it into their little Asian products factory) and no-one has let loose with so much as a firecracker over it. China Taipei as it's now known on the global political stage, has been dubbed so based on ambiguity, economy and political pressure.

Japan isn't stupid, and the US even less stupid: there's no way they'll have a war over an island when China and Russia are the world's most formidable military alliance.

The one thing they need: young people. All the scientists and engineers in the world don't mean shit.

LOL, you cannot be serious. I guess all it takes to sustain a first world economy is hordes of young people with little to no skills.

It's not about young people with no skills, it's about an ageing population who can't undertake critical work to sustain a healthy economy. Everything from business to construction, to slave labour to McDonald's requires energy to maintain. The issue is that Japan is dangerously low on birth rate and a vast proportion of people have one foot in the grave. Without a baby boom you have a generational gap that will have enormous ramifications on industry and the development of new business.

Why do you think China's one child policy recently became a two child policy? Clue: It's not because the population has significantly decreased.

[Rob]

A response with a documentary about... China's smog.

Yeah, having clean air is a quality of life basic, and here's this Chinese woman sensationalizing the issue to an audience of Chinese people in 2015.

[Rob]

You know it is bad when even obnoxious leftists are starting to notice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLD2xzAX8Aw

He has a point - this stupidity and Trump supporter stupidity are two sides of the same stupid coin. You must've missed that part.

[Skykid]

A response with a documentary about... China's smog.

Yeah, having clean air is a quality of life basic, and here's this Chinese woman sensationalizing the issue to an audience of Chinese people in 2015.

Believe it or not, it isn't my goal to make you or Minty sound massively ignorant and/or accuse you of being alarmist for self-serving smug satisfaction: you're doing a good job of that by yourselves.

However let me put this as simply as possible: do you think anyone, including the governing powers of the PRC, aren't concerned with the pollution issues in certain cities in their country? Did I not provide you with a recent air quality chart informing you that the majority of the country doesn't suffer the same problems as Beijing and many major cities have cleaner air than London, New York and Berlin?

I mean fuck, repeating oneself is always a total ball, but hearing western Joe no.622348 trot out "Beijing smog" as the breadth of their experience of foreign territories for the umpteenth time is more a ballache.

[Strikers1945guy]

Anyways I definitely don't know the ins and outs of China and anything you say on the subject I listen to seriously as you are actually living there. How long are you planning on staying?

When I got here I was thinking maybe a year or two, but now I just can't go back. There's nothing really to go back for. Based on things like prospects, salaries, opportunity, luxuries and quality of life, going back to the UK would be a step backward on every front.

Now you have to figure out a way to get your entire arcade / game collection into China though ! I wouldn't ever trust someone else mailing out my stuff to me.

[quash]

The Chinese will expand their military reach regardless of disputes over landmasses - and there are several onging, including waters around the Philippines and Vietnam. Any country with cash in the bank always puts their national security/military fortification in the largest spending bracket and continues to expand while cash flow remains stable. That's a normal process.

Indeed. The issue is that China is dumping sand in the ocean and calling it land, giving the rest of the world great cause for concern over how it treats maritime and air traffic in those areas. When the war does start, it will be over this, and like I said earlier it's not going to be a total war, pretty much just a skirmish. After that there'll be some talks at the UN and such, and beyond that it's anyone's guess.

Keep in mind you are talking to someone who breathes and lives the South China Sea, quite literally. Maybe this does cause me to read too deep into things, but at the same time, in a less economically codependent age, the war would've started a long time ago.

It's not about young people with no skills, it's about an ageing population who can't undertake critical work to sustain a healthy economy. Everything from business to construction, to slave labour to McDonald's requires energy to maintain. The issue is that Japan is dangerously low on birth rate and a vast proportion of people have one foot in the grave. Without a baby boom you have a generational gap that will have enormous ramifications on industry and the development of new business.

Obviosuly I am not saying that Japan will be able to grow like it did before without significant population growth: the question is if it should. As it is they are mostly being utilized for their specialized manufacturing in terms of global trade: they aren't really in the mass produced electronics race like they used to be. They are doing just fine with that and in terms of domestic labor they still have enough young people to sustain for the time being.

I am failing to see how this is so dire when all it would realistically take to reverse course is controlled immigration and economic incentives to raise children (as I understand it, they have already started to do this). In any case, if they don't think sustaining economic growth is worth replacing a significant portion of their population, then so be it.

[Rob]

but hearing western Joe no.622348 trot out "Beijing smog" as the breadth of their experience of foreign territories

As opposed to a western tourist's expertise on all facets of country x from a glimpse outside of their tiny window. The breadth of an individual's experience means next to nothing when speaking of an issue like air pollution. What gives me a "ballache" is any defense of deplorable pollution standards, and a man in America with any support at all stating clearly that he wishes to emulate those standards.

Did I not provide you with a recent air quality chart

Yeah, I've checked that site multiple times. It says exactly what anyone with cursory knowledge would think it would say - the EPA works.

[Opus131]

You know it is bad when even obnoxious leftists are starting to notice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLD2xzAX8Aw

He has a point - this stupidity and Trump supporter stupidity are two sides of the same stupid coin. You must've missed that part.

No, i didn't miss that part. And no, he has no point (which is why i called him an obnoxious leftist, which is what he is. Not to mention an hypocrite, since Bill Maher has no problems with Israel and has no qualms defending Netanyahu, a person who is much more on the right than Trump is. Now why is that?). White guilt and white self-hatred are a direct consequence of whites being told they cannot think positively about themselves, ever, which where all the support of Trump comes from, especially as far as working class whites are concerned, which are pretty much the most hated group in America. If you are going to be bad no matter what, you might just stop giving a shit about being called evil or racist, especially when the other side is filled with lunatics.

[Rob]

which where all the support of Trump comes on,

...Exactly. It's reflexive idiocy. Both of these sides are obsessed with playing a role of either the other-hating victim or self-hating victimizer, whatever the truth may be.

Can't be great ("Make America Great Again" ) with no ability for honest self-critique, however. Trump supporters seem to see self-critique, self-improvement, self-awareness, etc. as weaknesses.

[Opus131]

No, it is people expressing legitimate grievances and voting for their rights. And honest self-critique is precisely what the left is utterly incapable of. After Trump wins the presidency, they'll still be scratching their heads trying to understand how did it happen while continuing to tell everyone how great things would be if we could just get rid of all white people.

[Bananamatic]

legit question

what is the "reasonable" candidate this time around

[Skykid]

Now you have to figure out a way to get your entire arcade / game collection into China though ! I wouldn't ever trust someone else mailing out my stuff to me.

I'm forming a plan.

When the war does start.

I think you may be erring on the side of pessimism. I'd never say never, but I don't think there's any opposition with quite enough balls yet to start provoking a war with the Chinese.

Obviosuly I am not saying that Japan will be able to grow like it did before without significant population growth: the question is if it should.

Of course it should. You know the Japanese economy has been royally fucked since the 90s recession right?

I am failing to see how this is so dire when all it would realistically take to reverse course is controlled immigration and economic incentives to raise children

Controlled immigration? In Japan?

Wut.

Japan needs more immigration. Unlike Europe, its immigration scale is too far in the opposite direction. There's no balance. At the moment they really need to consider incentivising foreigners to come and work in the country to make up the growing workforce gap created by people not wanting to fuck or have kids anymore. The old folks just can't cut it.

[Durandal]

Japan needs more immigration. Unlike Europe, its immigration scale is too far in the opposite direction. There's no balance. At the moment they really need to consider incentivising foreigners to come and work in the country to make up the growing workforce gap created by people not wanting to fuck or have kids anymore. The old folks just can't cut it.

I heard stories of Japanese being extremely racist towards other Asian ethnicities working in Japan like the Koreans and the Chinese, although they're apparently more tolerant towards Westerners. Is that true?

[Rob]

legit question

what is the "reasonable" candidate this time around

Hitlery

[BulletMagnet]

...while continuing to tell everyone how great things would be if we could just get rid of all white people.

Try as I might, I still can't get over how self-indulgently neurotic and completely devoid of perspective anyone would have to be to equate "we probably ought to learn a lesson or two from history and use our considerable power more responsibly in the future" with "we all ought to just hurl ourselves into an active volcano". Once again, nobody is more built on and fueled by exploitative crybaby victimhood than the Trump crowd.

[Opus131]

There's nothing "crybaby" about pointing out actual injustices. It is not "ok" to be racist against whites as much as it is not "ok" to be sexist against men. It doesn't matter how much "privilege" (real or imagined) either whites or men are supposed to have in our society. Race is not synonymous with class you basket cases. I'm also really mystified by the seething and barely contained hatred the left has for the working class.

But by all means, keep pushing it. All you are doing is making Trump ever more popular.

[Opus131]

legit question

what is the "reasonable" candidate this time around

Take your pick:

[Mischief Maker]

So why do you think trickle-down economics isn't going to fail again under Trump? White power?

[Skykid]

Japan needs more immigration. Unlike Europe, its immigration scale is too far in the opposite direction. There's no balance. At the moment they really need to consider incentivising foreigners to come and work in the country to make up the growing workforce gap created by people not wanting to fuck or have kids anymore. The old folks just can't cut it.

I heard stories of Japanese being extremely racist towards other Asian ethnicities working in Japan like the Koreans and the Chinese, although they're apparently more tolerant towards Westerners. Is that true?

Asians just seem to dislike each other generally.

China and Korea specifically hate Japan for their wartime atrocities and the feeling is reciprocated. I once heard Japanese people consider Koreans to be sub-human. It's not outright racism though, it's kind of a blend of xenophobia and nationalism. And they're certainly not as crazy about Westerners as they were two decades ago; some dudes even camp out at airports to tell gaijin to fuck off as soon as the plane touches down.

but hearing western Joe no.622348 trot out "Beijing smog" as the breadth of their experience of foreign territories

As opposed to a western tourist's expertise on all facets of country x from a glimpse outside of their tiny window.

Lol, wat?

The breadth of an individual's experience means next to nothing when speaking of an issue like air pollution.

Well Rob, you have a regular ol' tirade going on here. Is it just the Beijing smog you dislike, or the Chinese? Dig deep now.

What gives me a "ballache" is any defense of deplorable pollution standards

Let me help alleviate your testicular cramping then. The statement above obviously shows you've been paying attention, so I'll just ask you to go back and find a specific quote where deplorable pollutions standards were being "defended".

Good luck!

[Opus131]

So why do you think trickle-down economics isn't going to fail again under Trump? White power?

Pretty much, yes. It is not "systems" that matter, but the strength and confidence of the people. Nothing works if the human material isn't up to the task. And with Trump we are seeing a resurgence of the "human", precisely, after the complete and utter failure of the various scientistic and mechanistic visions for social governance and economic planning. Man is a man of action, he doesn't subscribe to any particular theory, that's why you can't pin him on any specific thing. He just wants to fix things as they come along, he doesn't care about whether something is "free market" or not or any nonsense like that.

And for the record, Trump isn't a "white" nationalist, but a nationalist proper. This is why a lot of minorities like him as well. The man is for "America", not whites specifically. But whites are for America too so it all works out.

[Rob]

Is it just the Beijing smog you dislike,

"Beijing" smog. Yes, I dislike Chinese smog and the mercury and other pollutants that make their way to and across the Pacific.

I'm not sure that defended is the right word. You refer to matter-of-fact reporting as sensationalism and speak as if the problem is isolated to one or two places.

Trump isn't a "white" nationalist, but a nationalist proper.

Which nation?

[Bananamatic]

Which nation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkm8Hteeh6M

[trap15]

Beat me to it.

[Xyga]

White power?

That would be too simple, think about a broader concept englobing our whole universe, just completely wrong about everything: Wrong Power!™, the trumpie's unstoppable driving force.

[Skykid]

Is it just the Beijing smog you dislike,

"Beijing" smog. Yes, I dislike Chinese smog and the mercury and other pollutants that make their way to and across the Pacific.

Oh don't lose too much sleep Rob, I'm sure all those airborne particles won't bother you too much by the time they've finished their seafaring, the same way people here don't lose too much sleep about nuclear fallout from Fukushima - which is much closer, incidentally.

I'm not sure that defended is the right word. You refer to matter-of-fact reporting as sensationalism and speak as if the problem is isolated to one or two places.

It isn't the right word. But you're mangling everything I said, so who's counting. Here's another:

I didn't say matter-of-fact reporting was sensationalism, I said the unnecessary regularity, regurgitation, scaremongering, and anti-Chinese sentiment cum racsim-by-proxy - of which you're clearly a victim - that makes tabloid headlines so wonderfully terrifyingly red, is sensationalism. And it is.

[quash]

I think you may be erring on the side of pessimism. I'd never say never, but I don't think there's any opposition with quite enough balls yet to start provoking a war with the Chinese.

To the contrary: both sides are at a point in the arms race where some of their most vital assets are now the most vulnerable. There has never been a better time for China or the US to start fighting in the region, as they are both (in theory) capable of quickly destroying high value vessels.

Of course it should. You know the Japanese economy has been royally fucked since the 90s recession right?

If our standard of "royally fucked" is remaining an economic superpower while offsetting depression, then sure. Otherwise, I would say they've just been sustaining on savings and the workforce they do have, either realizing this rat race isn't worth the cost of entry or that the opportunity to grow will come later.

Japan needs more immigration. Unlike Europe, its immigration scale is too far in the opposite direction. There's no balance. At the moment they really need to consider incentivising foreigners to come and work in the country to make up the growing workforce gap created by people not wanting to fuck or have kids anymore. The old folks just can't cut it.

Incentives are a band aid solution: if nobody wants to work or raise families in Japan for whatever reason, no amount of money is going o change that. That being said, it can help push a few who are on the fence, hence me advocating for it earlier. By no means is it going to fix anything large scale in the long term, and immigration, particularly of the "open the floodgates" variety, can potentially cause more problems than it's worth.

[Opus131]

Which nation?

Murrika, of course.



Trump is going to make the greatest nation on earth great again, if you don't like it, you can just git out.

[Opus131]

Incentives are a band aid solution: if nobody wants to work or raise families in Japan for whatever reason, no amount of money is going o change that. That being said, it can help push a few who are on the fence, hence me advocating for it earlier. By no means is it going to fix anything large scale in the long term, and immigration, particularly of the "open the floodgates" variety, can potentially cause more problems than it's worth.

Japan doesn't need any incentives. They are doing very well as it is. I don't know what kind of economic catastrophe their low birth rate is supposed to lead to, but apparently it isn't happening yet. Meanwhile America has been letting millions of immigrants in for decades and they are doing worse than ever.

And immigration of the "open the floodgates" variety doesn't just lead to "problems", it leads to complete and total annihilation. I'm talking biblical stuff here. Fire and brimstone, cats and dogs living together, that kind of stuff.