The Media’s Assault On Homogeneous Japan

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Luke Ford

Washington Post today: “In Japan, single mothers struggle with poverty and with shame. Japan has a culture that makes it difficult for women to work after having children, and that makes life exponentially harder for single mothers, especially in a homogeneous society where those who do not conform try to hide their situations.”

OSAKA, Japan — The country suffered a “lost decade,” and then another one, after its bubble burst some 25 years ago. To this day, despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to reinvigorate it, Japan’s economy remains in the doldrums.

Now, experts are warning of a “lost generation” — a whole tier of Japanese children who are growing up in families where the parents — or, often, a single parent — work but do not earn enough to break through the poverty line.

“The Japanese economy has been getting worse and worse, and that’s hurting poor people, especially single mothers,” said Yukiko Tokumaru, who runs Child Poverty Action Osaka, a nongovernmental organizational that helps families in need.

The judgment and stigma that single mothers face in many countries are taken to another level in Japan, a homogeneous society where those who do not conform often try to hide their situations — even from their friends and wider family.

But Japan also has a culture that makes it difficult for women to work after having children — changing this is a key part of Abe’s solution to the country’s economic problems — and that makes life exponentially harder for single mothers.

“We have this culture of shame,” Tokumaru said. “Women’s position is still so much lower than men’s in this country, and that affects how we are treated. Women tend to have irregular jobs, so they need several jobs to make ends meet.”

Name me a country where single mothers do not struggle. A country where single mothers face no stigma is an unhealthy country.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Japanese Lawyers’ Problem: Too Few Cases

TOKYO—Japan is struggling with an unlikely problem: Its people aren’t litigious enough.

Fifteen years ago, the nation kicked off a plan to double the number of lawyers. Officials thought they could breathe dynamism into society by mimicking the Western legal system, where courts are more involved in settling issues such as consumer safety and corporate malfeasance.

But Japan’s new lawyers have failed to make a winning argument for why they are needed. The number of regular civil cases filed each year hasn’t budged in a decade. With crime near a record low and bankruptcies plunging, many lawyers are pleading poverty. …

Mr. Sakano said the overhaul ignored cultural differences with the U.S., whose law schools served as a model.

“A system that works in a heterogeneous society like the U.S. may not necessarily be suited to Japan,” he said. “Japanese have shown preference for more informal means of resolving disputes, such as through private negotiation mainly between the parties involved.”

The Economist:

As crime dries up, Japan’s police hunt for things to do

There was just one fatal shooting in the whole of 2015

Japan’s cluttered streets are not always pretty but they are remarkably safe. Crime rates have been falling for 13 years. The murder rate of 0.3 per 100,000 people is among the lowest in the world; in America it is almost 4 (see chart). A single gun slaying was recorded for the whole of 2015. Even yakuza gangsters, once a potent criminal force, have been weakened by tougher laws and old age…

This means plenty of attention for crimes that would be considered too petty to investigate elsewhere, such as the theft of a bicycle or the possession of a tiny amount of drugs. One woman describes how five officers crowded into her cramped apartment after she reported her knickers being swiped from a clothesline. A small army of detectives was assigned last year to apprehend a group of 22 people who had been growing marijuana for their personal use only and smoking it in deserted rural spots.

Japan needs more immigration!

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How Do You Keep Money In The Family?

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Luke Ford

According to Jewish law, one may marry one’s niece or cousin unless that is prohibited by civil law.

Rabbi Maurice Lamm writes:

A Man May Marry:

1. His step-sister (a step-parent’s daughter from a previous marriage, even though they were raised together as brother and sister from their earliest youth).

2. His stepfather’s wife (divorced or widowed).

3. The daughter-in-law of his brother or his sister (divorced or widowed).

4. His niece. In American and English civil law, a man may not marry a niece who is the daughter of his brother or sister, but may marry a niece who is the daughter of his wife’s brother or sister. The halakhic permission—even encouragement—to marry the daughter of a brother or sister is superseded by the civil law’s prohibition in this case.

5. His cousin.

6. His stepson’s wife (divorced or widowed).

7. His deceased wife’s sister, but not his divorced wife’s sister (unless she is deceased already).

8. A woman with whom he had relations in their unmarried state.

9. A kohen may marry a widow (who was never divorced).

A Woman May Not Marry:

1. Anyone not of the Jewish faith.

2. The son of an adulterous or incestuous union (mamzer).

3. A married man, until the civil and Jewish divorces have been completed.

4. A man with whom she committed adultery.

5. Her divorced husband, after the death or divorce of her second husband.

6. The following relatives (primary and secondary incest):

(a) Her father, grandfather and ascendants; her stepfather; and the husband of her grandmother and of her ascendants.

(b) Her son, grandson, great grandson; her son-in-law, and the husband of her granddaughter and descendants.

(c) Her husband’s father, or grandfather, and the father of her father-in-law and ascendants; and the father of her mother-in-law.

(d) Her husband’s son or grandson and descendants.

(e) Her brother, half-brother, her full or half-sister’s divorced husband in her sister’s lifetime, and her husband’s brother.

(f) Her nephew.

7. A convert may not marry a kohen.

A Woman May Marry:

1. Her step-brother (a step-parent’s son from a previous marriage, even though they were raised together as brother and sister from their earliest youth).

2. Her step-mother’s former husband (divorced or widowed).

3. The son-in-law of her brother or sister.

4. Her cousin.

5. Her sister’s husband (after her sister’s death, not divorce, unless she is deceased already).

6. Her uncle. In Jewish incest law, an aunt-nephew marriage is prohibited, but an uncle-niece marriage is permitted even though the state prohibits it. A man may marry his deceased wife’s sister, but a woman may not marry her deceased husband’s brother. Even a childless widow, whom the Bible commanded to marry her husband’s brother, must today receive chalitzah, enforced separation.

7. A man with whom she had relations in her unmarried state.

8. A kohen’s daughter does not have the restrictions of a male kohen.

Wikipedia:

Jewish views on incest deal with the sexual relationships which are prohibited by Judaism and rabbinic authorities on account of a close family relationship that exists between persons. Such prohibited relationships are commonly referred to as incest or incestuous, though that term does not appear in the biblical and rabbinic sources. The term mostly used by rabbinic sources is “forbidden relationships in Judaism.”

One of the most notable features of all the lists is that sexual activity between a man and his own daughter is not explicitly forbidden, although the first relation mentioned after the Levitical prohibition of sex with “near kin” is that of “thy father.”[1][2] (This assumes that the Torah is only speaking to men. If it is speaking to everyone, then a woman is not allowed to have sex with her father.[1] It also explicitly prohibits having sex with a woman and her daughter.[1] A man’s daughter is obviously also the daughter of a woman with whom he had sexual relations.) The Talmud argues that this absence is because the prohibition was obvious, especially given the proscription against a relationship with a granddaughter.[3] As with the case of a man’s own daughter, the shortness of the list in Leviticus 20, and especially of that in Deuteronomy, are explained by classical Jewish scholarship as being due to the obviousness of the missing prohibitions.[4][5]

Apart from the case of a man marrying his daughter, the list in Leviticus 18 roughly produces the same rules as were followed in early (pre-Islamic) Arabic culture.[4] However, most tribal nations also disliked exogamous marriage – marriage to completely unrelated people.[4]

Judaism’s view is that prior to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, some of the prohibitions only applied voluntarily. Thus in several prominent cases in the Torah, the incest rules are ignored in favour of marriage to a close relative; Jacob is described as having married his first wife’s sister.

Some secular Biblical scholars have instead proposed that forbidding incest with a daughter was originally in the list, but was then accidentally left out from the copy on which modern versions of the text ultimately depend, due to a mistake by the scribe.

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Parasha Naso (Numbers 4:21–7:89)

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Luke Ford

This is the longest Torah portion and typically falls on the first Sabbath after Listen here.

* The Torah has no problem with different peoples having different gifts. “The Gershonites had the duty, under the direction of Aaron’s son Ithamar, to carry the cloths of the Tabernacle… The Merarites had responsibility, under the direction of Ithamar, for the planks, the bars, the posts, and the sockets of the Tabernacle, and the posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords.” The Levites duty is to guard. There hasn’t been a white starting cornerback in the NFL since 2004.

* Who rightly succeeds Mohammed? Are the Sunnis or the Shia the good guys?

* Lefty prof Justin Murphy: The psychology of prohibiting outside thinkers

* I wanted to watch some Australian TV and stumbled on the soap A Place To Call Home, which turns out to be about a woman moving to outback Australia in 1953 after she converted to Judaism in Europe just before WWII. The show was created by a gay guy and could easily be called, “Poofters in the Outback” because of all the gay stuff. It’s not fair. I know outback Australia. There are no poofters there. Believe me.

* How gay is soccer? “US Soccer to Wear Rainbow Numbers During Pride Month Friendlies” The poz is deep and wide.

* This week’s Torah portion deals with the Sotah (woman suspected of adultery). A civilization must police women’s sexuality more strictly than men’s because most men will never turn down sex from attractive woman. Men’s sexuality is generally fixed while women’s sexuality is more fluid. Women are the sex gatekeepers. We need to know who the father is or civilization collapses. I suspect many marriages would be helped by a Sotah-like ritual so men could cease suspecting their wives of adultery. In Jewish law, adultery only occurs when a married woman has sex outside of wedlock. A faithless wife is a much more serious problem than a faithless husband just as a promiscuous single woman is more of a problem than a promiscuous single man. “The unfaithful wife is a recurring prophetic image for Israel’s infidelity to God.” (Milgrom)

* Num. 5:13: “Although capital punishment may not be imposed on the basis of the testimony of a single witness (Num. 35:30), this verse implies that the case of an adulteress is an exception.” (Milgrom)

* I had some GFs cheat on me, while my own behavior in this regard has been as pure as the driven snow. I would really liked to have seen them go through the sotah ritual and have their bellies distend with the bitter waters!

* KC: “So boring! I wanna talk about the inversion of values and my own coming of age in a world that had recently shifted its definition of morals… how my strength has always been my weakness. Nietzsche. The Jews. Etc.”

* Torah is our road map to life. Everybody wants to rule the world, but you need Torah to change the world for the good.

* Jacob Milgrom: “For Israel, about to set out on its march through the wilderness, nothing was more vital than the assurance of God’s Presence, which depended on the strict maintenance of the purity of the camp.”

This reminds me of 12-step programs where sobriety depends upon the maintenance of a spiritual program, which entails drawing up a comprehensive moral inventory, making amends, asking God to remove your character defects (selfishness, self-seeking, fear, inconsideration, dishonesty), and developing your constant contact with God. It also means working hard, keeping your side of the street clean, keeping your home and car and office clean and organized, tracking your spending and earning and how you spend your time, and living as much of your life as possible in top-line behaviors.

SLAA: “Top Lines: Replace Behaviors with Healthy Ones: Break the habit pattern. We can’t get sober in a vacuum. We can’t simply stop destructive behavior. We have to replace it with healthy new activities. Often we have to be as compulsive for a time about sobriety as we were about acting out. Try taking creative actions you’ve never taken before. Prove to yourself you are capable of healthy actions by taking them. “In maintaining my sobriety, I find it more useful to keep in mind what I call my top line rather than my bottom line. My top line is what I do want for myself, my program goals. I want to integrate myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; to relate to others from a state of wholeness; to live making decisions from a place of freedom and clarity rather than compulsion and confusion; to feel sufficiently safe to stay open enough to find the little realities of life moving, rather than needing to get dropped off a cliff to get a thrill. I want to be present, see things the way they are, and be glad to be alive. These things are beginning to happen for me.” — ©1986 Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous p. 270

Some guys can’t go to sleep without watching porn. A healthier substitute is to watch Mayday: Air Crash Investigations. They are documentaries, they’re exciting, but not so exciting that you can’t get to sleep afterward. And you don’t feel dirty the next day.

* Vox: “The Keepers has brought newfound attention to Sister Cathy’s murder, which might also bring the police new leads. Still, it’s possible we may never find out who killed Sister Cathy. But solving her murder isn’t the primary focus of The Keepers. What compels filmmaker White is the abuse that took place at Archbishop Keough and the voices of Maskell’s victims. That they are given the proper respect to tell their stories, which the church was so intent on ignoring, is the essence of the series.”

* Wikipedia: “Recovered-memory therapy (RMT) is catch-all psychotherapy term for therapy using one or more method or technique for the purpose of recalling memories.[1] It does not refer to a specific, recognized treatment method, but rather several controversial and/or unproven interviewing techniques, such as hypnosis and guided-imagery, and the use of sedative-hypnotic drugs, which are presently rarely used in the responsible treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other dissociative disorders. Proponents of recovered memory therapy claim that traumatic memories can be buried in the subconscious and affect current behavior, and that these can be recovered. The term is not listed in DSM-IV nor is it recommended by mainstream ethical and professional mental health associations.”

* Num. 5:8. Restitution first goes to the defrauded (not God!), and if he’s not around, to the priest, not to royal eminent domain, and then you sacrifice to God.

You can choose the priest who receives your donation of meat and money. Charismatic leaders are a characteristic of Jewish life. The more followers you develop, the more power, influence and money you accumulate.

* Herman Wouke’s 1962 novel, Youngblood Hawke.

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Trump & The Montana Election

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Luke Ford

Comments at Steve Sailer:

* The goy in Montana who allegedly punched a hostile reporter has comfortably won his special election to the U.S. House. Magically the election has immediately ceased to be an Important Test For The Trump Administration.

Follow up on Montana from Jeff Bezos’ emo blog:

The darker forces that propelled President Trump’s rise are beginning to frame and define the rest of the Republican Party.

When GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte assaulted a reporter who had attempted to ask him a question Wednesday night in Montana, many saw not an isolated outburst by an individual, but the obvious, violent result of Trump’s charge that journalists are “the enemy of the people.” Nonetheless, Gianforte won Thursday’s special election to fill a safe Republican seat.

“Respectfully, I’d submit that the president has unearthed some demons,”

Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) said.
 

Where is that name familiar from? Oh right, he used to be governor and he got caught having an affair… Anyway. You might think that this pos is going to whine that Trump’s anti media rhetoric has encouraged violence against the media. But actually,

“I’ve talked to a number of people about it back home. They say, ‘Well, look, if the president can say whatever, why can’t I say whatever?’ He’s given them license.”

…

“There is a total weirdness out there,” Sanford said. “People feel like, if the president of the United States can say anything to anybody at any time, then I guess I can too. And that is a very dangerous phenomenon.”

 

The real danger according to this REPUBLICAN is that Trump might make people feel free to speak their minds and criticize their rulers…

* Trump isn’t a liar- he always means exactly what he says at the moment he says it. He always says exactly what he believes at the very second he believes it.

The problem is, like Mr. Toad of Toad Hall, he’s forever changing his mind about what he believes and what he values. Toad was being totally truthful and sincere when he declared that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in a gypsy caravan. He just moved on to something else (in this case, cars) in a hurry, and truthfully claimed, “The caravan? That was just a whim, a passing fancy. THIS is my true calling!!!”

Donald Trump was probably on the level when he said immigration is bad and that we should build a wall. He probably meant what he said. But he’s already lost his enthusiasm for the project, and is likely to move on to another fad shortly.

Which means anybody relying on Trump to do anything he promises is delusional.

* Trump is an enigma inside a riddle, wrapped in a mystery. I suspect he never took any of his policies too seriously to be honest, and I’m not expecting many huge victories on immigration. Anyone who still thinks we’re getting a big beautiful wall for example is dreaming. However, Trump’s near-superhuman election win against BOTH the Bush and Clinton machines was probably the greatest blow against the forces of crypto-communist political correctness I’ve seen in my lifetime. He proved to us they aren’t invincible, and for that he is a hero in my eyes.

* Trump seems to have a cultural affinity to many of his supporters. If he were a Texan he would be accused of telling ‘Texas Tall Tales’, aka being a ‘Cracker’. Not a ‘whip cracker’, or racist, but part of the cultural continuum from the Celtic fringe through appalachia and the south.

We recognize the braggadocio and the blarney, and don’t take him literally. We don’t take it as deep seated dishonesty, as was the case with Hillary. And we think he is on our side, which we never suspected Hillary of being, or Obama after at most the first year.

* Trump’s supporters take him seriously but not literally. Trump’s enemies take him literally but not seriously.

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Did The PC Cause PC?

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Luke Ford

Comments at Steve Sailer:

* When you have non-PC stats to report, you describe them in extremely dry language and do not draw any conclusions, letting the reader to so if he wants.

Pew Hispanic Trust, for instance, reports a lot of unflattering stats about hispanics. But they do not get witch hunted because they either put no spin on them, or give them a PC spin.

Better to report the data carefully like this than not report it at all.

* PC is about denying ideas a PUBLIC. Nobody cared, or cares, what loners say to their friends. PC is necessary because it keeps getting easier for non-millionaires to spread their ideas around. Mimeograph, xerox, vcr, internet. Any ruling elite can afford to be laid back when disagreeing with them means taking out a second mortgage.

* Resistance to biological realities–including population genetics, which is far more accurate and predictive of human group behavior than “social” “science” ever was–may be starting to crumble, at least around the edges. Thanks to the constant gentle lapping of intellectual tides deftly guided by people like our host.

As an IPM entomologist friend once told me, in treating crop pests, you don’t need to obliterate every bug in the ecosystem. You just have to figure out how to make enough (minimum) members of the target species lose their tenacious hold on the steep upthrusting wall of biological/ecological survival. More like making five of them lose footing than all of them drop dead.

Or maybe more like, if you want to raise a 100-ton pylon, you don’t lift the damn thing, you counterweight it then wash out the sand under it so it drops erect into the ready pit.

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