Tag Archives: Japan Times

War

War is serious business, it comes with responsibilities and with an aftermath. Just like the fact that at present 2,500 soldiers are on route to Iran with a stated 2,500 soldiers to follow. I had a different scenario in mind, one that might not have required boots on the ground, But I am a no one. I don’t matter. But there is no fun in war. The consequences on both fronts tend to be horrible. I have always known that, I saw the impact personally and lets leave it at that. So the president who gave us ‘Trump accuses Starmer of seeking to ‘join wars after we’ve already won’’, we see that in the BBC (and many other newspapers, at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dn3j04lydo) and this was a week ago. Consider those words “join wars after we’ve already won” and a little over a day after we get “Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s vital Kharg Island oil export hub “just for fun”, rejecting the prospect of a swift peace deal with Tehran.” He is going to hit a place ‘just for fun’? What is he? 12? It comes across as empty as me proclaiming that I’ll hit 15010 NE 36th St, Redmond, WA 98052, United States with a nuclear bomb, just so that Satya Nadella bends the knee and learn some manners concerning our privacy. It is empty, hollow and has no business in war statements. 

Now consider that President Trump gives us ‘Trump urges UK and other nations to send warships to Strait of Hormuz’ a mere 18 hours ago. So what do we see? The war is not won, the powers that be in the defence department of the United States of America have no idea what they are doing and that is the message they are sending to the gulf states? This is probably the first time that the gulf states are considering that USA bases on their lands are a bad idea. I wonder how long it will take China to offer a setting of peace by allowing their bases on these spaces. You see all things have consequences and the worst are the ones done by players who have no idea what they are doing. It is nice in a poker game, because they get plucked right from the bat. In war there are larger considerations. I am not one of those ‘Epstein’ conspiracy people. I am of the mind that America is desperate for the oil Iran has, which I scuttled in the last 2 days by voicing that the 10 refineries Iran has needed to be bombed (with due haste) and after they hit the gulf states, they might support my point of view. Because these refineries in the hands of the United States might have larger consequences, the ones we do not applaud or look forward to.

So, whilst we were given (by the BBC) that “Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that “many countries” would be sending warships in conjunction with the US to help keep the strait “open and safe”. He claimed “100% of Iran’s military capability” had already been destroyed, but that Tehran could still “send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along, or in, this waterway”.” Which is nice as we were given as Politico gave us less than an hours ago ‘Gulf Arab states intercept new missiles and drones as Iran threatens to widen war’, which makes me wonder if President Trump knows the meaning of 100%. That implies they have all military capabilities scuttled (or drowned), but as attacks are still coming, and as the United States ‘needs’ others to come in and send warships, the setting of 100% is massively debatable. And we are given (via Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/15/gulf-arab-states-intercept-new-missiles-and-drones-as-iran-threatens-to-widen-war-00829221) “President Donald Trump said he hoped countries reliant on oil and gas exports would send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz. None responded with firm commitments by Sunday, though some said they were considering action. Israel said it continued to strike Iran on Sunday as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE told residents they were working to intercept incoming projectiles, a day after Iran threatened three Emirati ports, the first time it has done so against a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.” The game chances to some extent, as the united States is showing itself to be no closer to a clue on how to wage war, the pressure will soon come on Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to end solutions for their citizens. It is my personal view that this is a setting that China could press to push the United States out of the Middle East. Soon they might actually become the minor player in a band with Russia and Iran to survive, where Iran could offer the USA a barrel of oil every time it states ‘Polly want a cracker’ OK, this is mean, but the setting is there and consider that it could show that his Department of War is a bigger failure then it was in 1949 when President Truman was one of the people to make it the Department of Defense. That is the setting we see today and I wonder if the United States is hungry for a president that is showing to (apparently) set personal gains over the needs of the people of the United States (just asking).

So when we look at the statement in the BBC article where we see “In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!” Which gives is the little thought “How many Minesweepers did the American Navy deploy?” Because that becomes the next setting. This is seen as the Japan Times (at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/13/world/iran-laying-mines-hormuz-uk/) two days ago gives us ‘Iran has likely begun laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, U.K. says’ with “It’s becoming increasingly evident that Iran is laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.K., as Iran’s new supreme leader used his first comments to the media to say the critical waterway should stay closed.” And the Guardian gives us a mere 4 hours ago ‘UK may send ships and mine-hunting drones to help open strait of Hormuz, says Miliband’ with “Britain is considering sending ships and mine-hunting drones to the Middle East in an attempt to reopen the strait of Hormuz, Ed Miliband has said. The energy secretary confirmed on Sunday that ministers were talking to their allies about how the UK could help secure the vital waterway after the US president, Donald Trump, urged Britain and other countries to deploy ships to the region.” So now a small consideration, when did President Trump (or its lackey Pete Hegseth) give is the rundown on deploying minesweepers? They might not sound sexy, but they tend to keep shipping lanes decently free of mines. A critical need in War efforts and the strait of Hormuz is a bottleneck, as such essential. Where is that newscast? Just Asking?

I personally see several openings for China to become the settlers of hardship in the Gulf and as President Trump is making a mess of things, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China might consider that this is the best time to kick the United States of America out of the Middle East, perhaps they will still have a base near Tel Aviv, but that would be about it. And that is speculation, or I prefer to think it is presumption. The mess that is shown over the last two weeks shows that the United States of America (with its Department of War) seemingly have lost their grips of reality, because who bombs an already bombed place ‘Just for fun’ consider that these bombs cost an alleged $200,000-$350,000 per run and that includes logistics plus an additional $18.95 for coffee and cakes. 

So (according to the BBC) President Trump gave on Saturday “He repeated his appeal in a post later on Saturday – extending it to all “the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait” – and said the US would provide “a lot” of support to those who participated.” So, why? He had won the war 100%, so why was this needed and for reference, how many minesweepers did the United States deploy before that point? Simple questions and anyone who attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis would have known this. So, why allegedly didn’t Pete Hegseth know this?

These might seem simple questions, but they have had a massive impact on the gulf states, especially the UAE as it has faced over 1,600 Iranian-launched drones have been engaged or detected by UAE air defenses as well as 294 ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles. Simple numbers that apparently the United Stated have had little say over, even if they defeated the IRGC 100%. As such there is a chance that the Chinese flag will proudly wave in gulf states soon enough. That is not set in stone, but tactically there is every chance of that, but what am I saying, the people at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis should be telling Pete Hegseth this as well, whether he will tell President Trump is another matter. 

Have a great day.

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The drowning swimmer

We all have the moments when we make an error, an error that requires us to re adjust views. The problem is that some people tend to be overconfident when they make that critical error. Sometimes it comes with ‘Watch this’, all whilst the public watches the person dive to death. At times it is less visible, in Australia 249 people drowned during the 2017-2018 season. The Guardian gave us in the beginning of the year: ‘Drownings in Australia up 51% on last summer after five men die on New Year’s Day‘, all because these people overestimated their abilities regarding knowledge on how the ocean reacts and overestimated their fitness and there we see that nature has no regard for stupidity, it merely takes lives, unyielding and not caring.

Sports

The earlier stage is at present important, mainly because we are about to face it in different ways as well. The Japan Times (at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/08/06/commentary/japan-commentary/2020-tokyo-olympic-games-cant-rescue-japan) gives us in an opinion piece: ‘2020 Tokyo Olympic Games can’t rescue Japan‘, the writer gives us a view where the impact against the 1964 Tokyo Olympics are set. The writer is correct, the entire commerce engine, the murder truck called Olympic exposure benefit is a much larger issue and Japan cannot rely on the Olympics to give them the economic needs that they have. We accept that there will be an influx for Japan. There will be people who will attend in person that year, because it was always on their bucket list. I would be in that group if I could afford it, but that is not a realistic option for the bulk of all of us, the quality of life has regressed to the lower end of the scale for too long and for many the trip is not an option. In addition with 5G we will be able to see more, enjoy more than ever before and even if that impression is not for all, it will be for the larger group who cannot afford to make the trip. So as the writer (Fumika Mizuno) gives us: “True transformation requires confrontation with the sticky problems holding back Japan’s society, like gender inequality, lack of diversity and rigid notions of ethnic identity. No sports event can grapple with such a task“, we see partial the correctness of it all, yet we also need to consider that this is happening in a stage where digital visibility will be in the midst of an overhaul, so the Tokyo Olympics is happening just when the digital providers are shouting and screaming towards the consumer acceptance of a changed digital footprint. It also intersects with the offered “With plans for AI-powered surveillance robots and real-time 8K broadcasts delivered over 5G networks, the games are set to be a celebration of Japanese prowess in sectors the country is desperate to dominate“, in a stage where AI is nowhere near ready to the degree it needs to be by 2022, two years early whilst the entire 8K matter will be unaffordable to well over 70%, so how will that help matters? So when we see: “Addressing the labor shortage and the aging crisis in a meaningful way requires profound cultural and political shifts. Blind optimism in the power of technology even reduces the urgency of social change“, we see a stage where labour shortage is optionally replaced by technological scripted events where the high tech enablers like news casts, streaming players and awareness seekers are jumping the digital shark to capture what is needed to enable the visibility of the people in the below 70% who are missing out and none of that will be captured by Japanese firms and/or Japanese enablers, it will be up to the FAANG group to maximise that capture taking the bulk away from Japanese economy players. So not only will they miss out on the sporting parts, the stage is then set to a larger community, one that never existed in 1968 giving Japan a much larger concern and that is where the expectation of Tokyo 2020 fall short for Japan to a much larger degree. Optionally the players like Samsung and Huawei (South Korea and China) who truly will enjoy the boost that Japan (NTT Docomo) was hoping for. That part is shown in several sources when we are introduced to: “Japanese mobile operators are preparing for commercial 5G launches between March and June 2020“, Japan is nowhere near ready and that is largely because Japan started almost a year to late in all this and they are nowhere near what Huawei can offer. In that stage there is every chance that players like NTT Docomo will face almost public humiliation when they have to explain congestion and latency on a network that needed proper testing an adjustment no later than November 2019 to make it ready for the larger consumer groups, in this stage Japan could lose revenue four times over, on the loss of preparedness, on the loss of deployment, on the loss of consumer traction and on the loss of network reliability and that is not merely the workforce, it is the loss of not having a 125% workforce readiness at the time that the initial presentations of the 2020 locations and press readiness is offered. There is no way that this will be ready at present and such we see a dampened visibility as well as larger digital losses, digital losses not because it is not there, but because it will be in the hands of non-Japanese corporations. In this there is one benefit, Japan gets to show the US what happens when you enter the field not being prepared for what comes, the US will surely panic at that point (to some degree), all this could have been prevented by driving innovation over iteration and it will be shown to a global community in full view and full exploitation by others.

For centuries we have seen the slogan: “Si vis pacem, para bellum“, If you want peace, prepare for war, a known rule ignored by the technology firms who relied on iteration for too long, now we see that this is impacting a larger group. The entire global economy is set to a war theater (and has been for some time), we see it almost everywhere and now we see that a nation regarded as a front-runner in applied innovation for the longest of time is not ready. All this directly related to ‘Fortuna Eruditis Favet, fortune favours the prepared mind and we are shown that Japan is far from ready, all whilst their own stage was set 3 years ago. They all waited for things to fall in their laps and this was shown a few months ago in the US (thanks to Forbes magazine) with “In recent weeks several major developments affecting the roll out of 5G systems in the United States highlight the promise and the difficulties for near-term deployment of this transformative technology“, as well as “A major issue in the next few years will be the capital costs of installing the needed 5G infrastructure and software upgrades in the U.S. Effective deployment will require hundreds of thousands of new cell sites, new or upgraded connective nodes and central switches, new software and redesigned mobile devices“, the operative part being ‘in the next few years‘ (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasduesterberg/2019/04/30/problems-and-prospects-for-5g-deployment-in-the-united-states) and that is just one player, Japan is seemingly in a less positive place and that is also where Huawei and Google could make additional wins if they merely look outside the box and realise that they are not in a box, but in an terrarium. It makes for all the difference and their time to act is running short. For Japan the issue is larger and more dangerous. Japan has a population of 126 million, with only 10 million in Tokyo, so even if they adjust to get Tokyo covered, they will give 7% and set a stage where 78%-93% gets to miss out on the 5G fun, how would that sell to an economic event that should have been a boost? It is there where we see just how correct Fumika Mizuno is, Japan is facing a larger issue and it is about to cost them more than they realise.

It is at this point where we see the one part that is at present not very likely to happen: “Abe will bask in praise and the people of Japan will revel in politically correct bouts of national pride. But Japanese society will be no less rigid than it was before“, I believe that within the first week of the 2020 Olympics, there will be enough 5G issues for Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan to take a backseat and make the larger people of NTT Docomo and alike to take the stage and explain the failures to the people of Japan. It is my personal beliefs that at present people like Kazuhiro Yoshizawa (CEO NTT Docomo) are trying to safe or set the stage to make a quick exit by the end of this year to avoid the consequence of having to publicly face not being a prepared mind.

For the US Tokyo 2020 is more likely than not to be a rude awakening of public technological failure. LA (Olympics 2028) will have enough time to adjust to it all and it gives a much larger rise to technological spending for the US, and it is Beijing 2022 that gives the larger rise for the US and at present China is already prepared for that, they have Huawei in their corner, yet how it all plays out is depending on a few elements, so there is momentum in several direction, yet with the underlying lack, Tokyo has a much larger issue to face and at present there is enough indication that they will not be ready in time, they overestimated what they were able to achieve and how fast their stamina could adjust to what needed to be ready, just like all those swimmers that drowned in the Pacific river, which in the end was an ocean to endure, not a river to cross.

 

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