dg meets world

My friend Malte sent me this link yesterday: Germany vs USA

A US American and a German guy talk about the various (cultural, social, etc…) differences between the USA and Germany. It sounds quite interesting, and I, for one, am really interested in this topic, but … maybe you should watch some of the videos on your own first, so you can make up your mind yourself. You know, thinking and stuff involved, but maybe first: the trailer, and yeah, it looks promising, but again …

And now the two episodes about alcohol & drinks, my favorites (I mean the alcohol & drinks, not the videos).

To be honest, Radler, the first drink Alex mentions, really is a girls only drink. No real man ever drinks that shit. So, in conclusion, Alex is a pussy|wussy.

My conclusion: I like the overall concept, I like how they approach the whole thing, but, I can’t really put my finger on it, I, I … I don’t like it. Yet. My very first impression was like “WTH? Who are those two ************? And why the fuck does Alex thing he speaks for all European countries? Or why does it feel like he thinks he is the UBER European guy who knows everything and squat?” But, as I watched some more episodes right now, I kinda getting used to their style and their little rough edges and quirks. Maybe I should give it some more time.

btw, this is their YouTube account info.

Germany vs. USA (GvU) explores the contrasts and joys of two unlikely friends, Jim and Alex, as they learn more about each other’s cultures, languages, and the greater friendship between Europe and America. Insightful, whimsical, educational and always genuine (not to mention unscripted) the show aims to bring a slice-of-life perspective to viewers around the world.

Oh, and they got one thing right:

We believe that learning a language needs a basic understanding of the respective culture.

You may not be familiar with Volker Pispers, but I’d like to introduce him to you. He is a German “comedian”.

But the word “comedian” doesn’t really fit the description. What he does is political satire and comedy, often in a very sarcastic and ironic way. In German we have the word “Kabaret” or better “politisches Kabaret” for this (so he is called a “Kabarettist”), but in English the word cabaret has a very different notion.

The English (or French) connotation of the word “cabaret” is more like this:

But what I mean is this:

His program about the USA is quite old (like 2004 or 2005 or something), but nevertheless it is still pretty good. And here are the remaining 5 parts:

I already commented on the current swine flu craziness in Japan.

But since then about 20 new tabs with newsworthy facts opened up in my Firefox. I thought about writing another lengthy article about those, but, lucky me, somebody else beat it to me.

[...] On the surface, the overall media reaction to what could have been a serious outbreak seems fact-based and rational (with notable exceptions!). They followed every government move and reported on the infections. And basically the government did what it should have – maybe there was an over-emphasis on masks and they were a little slow to switch tactics when the virus turned out to be relatively harmless. But I have to agree with Mike and Takashi Uesugi who argue that the media completely freaked out over the swine flu. The breathlessness, the dead-serious tone, and the constant “breaking news” of every miniscule detail of the story all have combine to create an fearful atmosphere that’s truly numbing when you realize how comparatively non-threatening this flu virus really is. [...]

So instead of writing my own article, I will just quote some of the headlines and news videos that accumulated over the past week. And of course you really should read Adamu’s blog post and the comments. It’s worth the time!

Espescially the first comment by a fellow who calls himself Aceface is very interesting:

I have arguments here.

One.Japan isn’t the only country to think this is the second black death.So was the WHO,and elsewhere around the world.
[...]
Five [sic: it's actually #6].Very Obviously,this guy wasn’t in the states in October,2001.When America went crazy about another terrorist attack,envelopes with anthrax and wackos gunning down the Indians in turban and everyone weared the badge of the flag.
[...]
OK,so you are telling me that the whole western media outlets have somekind of mission to topple down the exisiting order and turn the whole society upside down.eh?

I think he actually has a point there with number “Five” (it’s #6, really, trust me). That reminds me of Volker Pispers (esp. 5:01 till the end).

Anyway, you should read all the comments, it’s quite interesting.

And here now the promised headlines with quotes and embedded videos:

 

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Schweine Influenza aka H1N1 in Japan Fortsetzung (2009/05/18) (German blog post by Michael Hess)

 

Masks selling out in Japan (2009/05/18) The flu is still being treated like the the ultra-deadly virus it is not, and the authorities still insist on encouraging people to wear masks.

 

Osaka governor not falling for the swine flu panic (2009/05/18) “The measures we have taken have assumed a high virulence akin to avian flu, but the swine flu virus appears to be less virulent,” Hashimoto said.

 

AP: H1N1 flu causing schools to shut down “across Japan” (2009/05/19) The Associated Press filed this video report in which it told viewers that schools were shutting down “across Japan” because of the swine flu:

 

Cases of swine flu near 10,000 (2009/05/19) Nearly 10,000 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in 40 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

 

Flu prompts karaoke boom in Japan (2009/05/19) Students from schools and colleges in Japan shut down over fears of swine flu have been flocking to karaoke clubs to fill their new-found free time.

 

Swine flu reaches Tokyo (2009/05/20) The Japanese press is reporting that the Tokyo area now has its first confirmed swine flu case.

 

Japan Fears Spread of Swine Flu as Cases Rise (2009/05/20) It seems like the Japanese Government once again treated a disease as a foreign problem. [...] From the Washington Post: To stop swine flu before it could sneak off airplanes arriving from North America, Japan dispatched masked health inspectors with fever-sensing guns to walk among passengers.

 

Japanese government to stop onboard flu checks of arriving airline passengers (2009/05/20) “We need to shift the focus of our human resources from quarantine efforts to domestic countermeasures,” Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said at a hastily arranged press conference Monday.

 

Model UN conference was source of swine flu infections? (2009/05/21) The two Japanese high school students confirmed as the Kanto region’s first H1N1 infections had visited New York city between May 11th and 18th, staying in a hotel room together while participating in a Model UN conference.

 

Opportunists selling surgical masks for high prices online (2009/05/21) The swine flu outbreak in Kansai caused people to make a run on stores selling surgical masks. With so many stores sold out of masks, some people have turned to the internet to purchase protection from the flu.

 

Swine flu commercial: Prime Minister tells Japanese people to remain calm (2009/05/21) This commercial, in which Prime Minister Taro Aso tells the Japanese people to remain calm in the midst of an H1N1 flu outbreak, has been airing on TV a lot in the last few days:

 

Wearing masks in areas with no swine flu (2009/05/21) A clip from yesterday’s Fuji TV news broadcast shows that kindergarteners in Chiba Prefecture, an area of Japan with no confirmed H1N1 flu cases, are being forced to wear protective masks while going on a short field trip:

 

Osaka toy retailer goes bust in 1st case linked with new flu+ (2009/05/21) The Osaka District Court decided Thursday to begin bankruptcy proceedings for an Osaka-based toy retailer which went bust due to sluggish sales at airports as people using the facilities decreased as a result of the spreading new-influenza infection on top of effects of the global recession.

 

Watch the news and be afraid (2009/05/22) After showing the range of possible infection, the fact that the girls were wearing masks is mentioned. However, an expert tells us that masks are not very effective at containing powerful coughs.

 

Shops and restaurants try to lure customers with anti-flu measures (2009/05/22) As fears over the spread of swine flu cause people across Japan to cancel outings, many shops and restaurants have been seeing a decline in business.

 

Who is that masked man/woman? (2009/05/22) As the confirmed number of Japanese infected with the H1N1 flu virus rises, the growing question among many is: Where can we buy face masks? [...] On a Yahoo! Japan auction site, one box of 100 surgical face masks was auctioned at around $280, compared with the original price of $20. One listed on Friday was offered at $5,000 for a box of 50.

 

Japan Plays Down Swine Flu Threat as Business Suffers (Update1) (2009/05/22) Japan relaxed its policies for tackling swine flu to measures similar to those taken for the seasonal influenza to reduce panic about the virus that is damaging businesses and the economy. [...] “The damage done by swine flu is worse than the Lehman Shock,” Kitamura said today, referring to the global recession triggered by the implosion of Wall Street banks. “We’re so scared since we don’t know how long this will last.” [...] The number of confirmed swine flu cases globally totaled 11,034 in 41 countries. A total of 85 people have been killed by the virus, according to the WHO’s latest tally.

 

Chinese city donates 100,000 face masks to Kobe (2009/05/23) The northern Chinese city Tianjin is donating 100,000 disposable face masks to its sister-city Kobe to help it fight the outbreak of new-flu infections, Chinese state media said Friday.

 

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I tried to quote them in order they appeared, but I didn’t go as far as to check the exact time down to the hours&minutes.

As you can see my main source of information is japanprobe.com, but they link to the various original news site themselves, so it’s no big deal I guess.

Just ran across this enlightening article:

ENOUGH with the masks already! インフル予防効果のビミョーなマスク着用は不要 (by Adamu, May 15th, 2009).

DEAR JAPAN - YOU DO NOT NEED TO WEAR MASKS IF YOU ARE NOT SICK OR PARTICULARLY AT RISK FOR SWINE FLU!!
In Japanese for clarity:

日本の皆様へ：豚インフルエンザを予防するには、マスク着用の効果は低いのである。これはＷＨＯの発表でも明らかであり、日本の各メディアでマスクの推薦は、十分な裏づけがあるとは言えないだろう。

[...]

English translation:

People of Japan: Sanitary masks have little effect in preventing swine flu. This is clear from WHO reports and indicates that the Japanese media’s recommendations to wear masks do not have sufficient basis in fact. [...]

Like I said many times before: stop overreacting! It’s not helping the issue!

You are just being used!

Worst of all is the uncritical recommendation of masks by the Japanese media (as can be currently seen on the Asahi.com front page), flying in the face of WHO recommendations. Considering that the pharmaceutical companies (who make the masks) are ubiquitous advertisers in the media conglomerates (this blogger caught a documentary with one drug company executive laughing his ass off at how easy it is to sell masks), it is probably difficult to push back if it’s suggested that masks are the answer.

And here is another thing.

My girlfriend just wrote me about another stupid thing. Apparently the university where she is working just canceled their participation in the annual NAFSA (homepage) which is held in the USA. Of course, swine flu is the reason behind this idiotic decision.

I bet my life that right now, if they could, they would reestablish 鎖国 (sakoku, lit. locked country, or chained country), ie lock up the country, so no one can get in or out. And all those who trespass regardless will be shot. There, problem solved.

BTW: Here is a nice little list of things the Japanese paranoids have done so far. And it provides the prove that one can catch the flu even without going abroad.

Those unlucky enough to enter the country on a plane containing a flu carrying passenger will be forced to undergo 7 days of quarantine if they happen to be seated within a risky distance of the flu carrier.

Oh, and we have racism, too!

Josai International University had to cancel an academic conference because it was feared that its international guests would cause flu infections.

And I just have to comment on this one!

A panel of experts believes the virus may already be spreading throughout Japan. Those who may already be infected may not show symptoms for several days, and when they do, they will have likely spread it to other unsuspecting victims.

TOLD YOU!

But, the most perverted thing is that they started “to kill” everybody who does not follow mass hysteria!

Three high school students and a teacher from Osaka who were the first people in Japan confirmed to have the new flu have become the target of malicious phone calls and e-mails, local board of education and municipal officials said Friday.

[...]

“A few people called us to express their sympathy for the students, but the majority of the calls were spiteful,” said a spokesman in the city’s crisis-management division, adding that many were critical of the patients for not wearing protective masks during their stay in Canada.

[...]

“One of the schools has been receiving 20 to 30 calls of complaint a day,” the spokesman said, noting some of the comments were too horrible to repeat.

“Many people (who called the schools) criticized the students and teacher without really understanding their situation,” he said.

(via Japan Times)

QED: People are stupid.

PS: Here are some German information about the whole flu mess.

Update: A shopping area was not very crowded, and many of the people shopping were wearing masks.

I said you should be cool, but apparently, now is the time to panic, because it happened! (Click here for a German blog article by tabibito!)

So, now please: Everybody panic!

And I quote from the first comment by feitclub 2009-05-09 10:43:18:

Yes, a friend of mine arrived from the US last Friday and they called him at our place a few days later to confirm that he hadn’t gotten sick. Not sure what they would have done had he become sick (too late to quarantine, certainly) but they are definitely following up on their flimsy health inspections.

“They” is, as far as I understand it, the local Japanese government. That means, that “they” knew when, where and how long this guy was in a foreign country. I don’t like this. It’s definitly not a good sign if your government knows every single move and step you make. All - the - time! That sounds like a totalitarian system as George Orwell described it in his novel 1984.

Of course, I exaggerate, but then I remember my time being in Japan at a Japanese university as an exhange student and it was the same. They always wanted to know when and where I was or where and how long I wanted to go somewhere. And of course they wanted to know all the details, too. I had more than one argument with the stuff in the office about this, because I am a grown up and it’s my own fucking business. And don’t get me started with fingerprints and all the security shit at the airport. Privacy, you know that term?!

Ok, at least for the university I think it maybe has something to do with the fact that I was like 6 to 10 years older than the average Japanese student. That and the fact that the authorities at the university (professors, teachers, office personal) treat their students like little kids and they couldn’t really handle a foreigner being way older and a student at the same time.

Next thing that I think is strange is the following (quoted from the comment by Ken Y-N 2009-05-09 22:32:50):

On Friday we got new office rules - all overseas trips to anywhere cancelled and if you or your family have been/go abroad, on return you must spend 10 days at home monitoring your own health. Not sure if the company expects the days to come off your own holiday allowance

So, what happens if you are really sick and because of the incubation period you don’t really realize until you’ve already been to the local mall, the local kindergarten, local station, the local ramen-ya, onsen, whatever and infected several dozen other people in the first, let’s say, four or five days?

It’s just crazy. I, personally, think that those paranoid overreactions are kinda typical Japanese. Maybe it’s the mass media’s fault for making such a fuss about the flu in the very beginning, because IMHO the Japanese people are even more influenceable than the German people.

But that’s just my 2 cents.

And: Told you! People DIE when you turn them down at the door of a hospital: Von sieben Kliniken abgewiesen. Japaner stirbt an Herzinfarkt (German article)

Some random links about the topic:

New Way To be A F*cked Gaijin - And I quote from the #4 comment by TennoChinko who himself quotes Chris B who wrote a comment on Debito’s blog article “Wash Post on GOJ border controls of Swine Flu, Mainichi/Kyodo on hospitals turning away J with fevers or NJ friends“:

Hence those who are seeking to play down this virus are no different from those who remained at their desks after the planes hit the twin towers in 9/11 and they risk bringing disaster to us all.

If you ask me, I rather stay put at my desk than to panic like everybody else. There are more interesting comments and post over at the fucked gaijin forum and at Debito’s blog post. You should read those too if you are interested.

Anyway, here are some more links:
Health minister says domestic outbreak of new flu ‘matter of time’

Osaka school holds assembly to explain new flu infections to students

Flu quarantine in Japan: this is an interesting short Japanese news clips (translation script is provided right beneath the embedded video).