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Showing posts with the label Fail

Stupidity and Selfishness

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I feel that stupidity and selfishness are the two main things that are wrong with this world and people in this world.  Each is like a vice that can be irritating and frustrating on its own, but with their powers combined they can bring the universe to a standstill.  Even if you are the most selfish person in the world if you aren't stupid then there will eventually be a limit to how greedy you are and how destructive you are. At some point you have to realize that if you act too selfishly there will be nothing left to possess and be selfish about.  Even if you are the stupidest person in the world, if you aren't selfish then you will ultimately be harmless. You will be too stupid to actually affect anything around you in any real way. The fact that you aren't selfish means that you won't constantly seek pathetic ways of hiding your stupidity and blaming all others for your failings. The last time I met someone who combined sheer stupidity

Nagasaki Trip, Post #5: A $15 Billion Smokescreen

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I was asked by a reporter in Nagasaki, Japan about what my thoughts were on the transfer of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam. This came after we had spoken for more than half an hour already on the issue, with me updating him on the latest protests from activists and responses from the Department of Defense. I think that in my statements I had been to rooted in the events I was describing and didn’t say anything which was useful in terms of summing it all up or being a good quote to use in trying to represent the feelings or the mindset of the people on Guam. So he asked a question which I had already spent quite a while answering again in a more direct way in hopes of getting me to give it that less academic, but more human touch. I always have problems with media and these sorts of questions. Most reporters already have the story written before they speak to a single person, in their head or in their notebooks, and so your purpose is to confirm, deny or provide some details or soundb

Hiroshima Trip, Post 6: International Incident Win

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At the 2010 World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, everything is conducted in English and Japanese. Since most of the people attending the conference are from Japan and do not speak English, all the overseas delegates have headsets and during the proceedings off to the side there is an interpreter who is telling us what people are saying. While I was in South Korea I had the experience of attending a conference where I did not understand a single word, and while I did get a lot of other work done during that time, it was disappointing to not be able to follow what was being said. One thing that the organizers of the conference request in order to make their job easier is that we turn in our speeches ahead of time so that it can be translated into Japanese ahead of time, or so the interpreter can have it in front of them while you speak to help guide them. I submitted my speech a week ahead of time, but was told the day I arrived to make some changes and cut its length. In