Friday, January 16, 2026

American Innovation

China . . . China . . . China!

All we hear about these days is China. What’s their problem? Are they trying to prove something? Like what? That Communism works?

Frankly, it’s pretty obvious what’s going on. It’s a classic case of trying too hard.

I mean, come on!

They keep showing off, rolling out amazing stuff. Like we’re supposed to be impressed.

Here are a few over-the-top examples of a country that blows its horn a bit too loud.

China claims it has more high-speed train tracks than the rest of the world combined. Over 50,000 km, just over 31,000 miles. And they’re building more. They plan on expanding to 60,000 km within the next five years. Talk about overkill! They just developed the fastest bullet train in the world, which clocks in at 450 km/hour. Good luck getting across the tracks, arms loaded with groceries, when there’s a train coming at you at 280 mph!

On the socio-economic side, over the past 40 years, China has rescued 800 million people from poverty, completely eliminating extreme poverty across the entire country. I’m wondering, did the people have any say in this? I doubt it. Maybe some people prefer to live off the grid, living minimal lives. The communist country just barged ahead and gave everyone a higher standard of living. You sure won’t see this kind of “social engineering” in the U.S.

China also just opened the highest bridge in the world in Guizho.

Appears to be an awesome place to bungee jump!

China’s cities look like something out of science fiction, or maybe the 22nd Century . . .

. . . if you like that sort of thing, all those fancy lights and glitter.

Speaking of which, China has claimed the Guinness Book of World Records crown for the most elaborate drone show, utilizing 16,000 drones last year in Liuyang for a dazzling display of artistry and technology.

Well, Mr. Xi Jinping, you might want to note that the U.S. has drones too. Don’t push your luck or our drones will bomb your Confucian ass!

Claiming another “triumph” — isn’t boasting tedious? — the Chinese car company, BYD, has recently taken over as the major producer of electric automobiles in the world. Apparently, they’re less expensive than Teslas and people who have driven them claim they’re superior to anything else on the market. Fortunately, as a result of the enlightened trade polices of the U.S. government, you can’t buy these “spy cars” in America. That’s all we need is for the Chinese to be snooping on us every time we get behind the wheel, with BYD’s clever screen and AI powered computer brains.

Yeah yeah yeah. I could go on. Deep Seek, quantum computing, greening of deserts, Kela Power Station (the world’s largest hydro-photovoltaic power station), Taihu Tunnel (the world’s longest underwater tunnel), AI-Powered Humanoid Robots, etc.

All I really want to say is that this orgy of “progress” is well and good if you want a tiny group of commies, cloistered in a back room deciding what’s good for the country, dictating what will make the lives of its citizens more efficient and enjoyable, telling people HOW TO LIVE!

Sounds like DICTATORSHIP to me!

Any red-blooded, democracy-loving, freedom-loving American will set your thinking straight, make you to appreciate the incredible system America and the Western democracies have in place. They’ll tell you that the proper and right way to run a country is to let the PEOPLE decide, not some bureaucratic ideologues who read Karl Marx and think they know it all.

Capitalism is the name of the game in America. Consumers get to decide for themselves what’s important to them. Capitalism responds to demand, that is, the desires of the PEOPLE. American industries always have their ears perked, their fingers on the pulse of the consumer. When people make choices and decide what makes them happy, what enriches their lives and that of their families — what they’re willing to lay out cold, hard cash for — the engines of industry fire up, and voilà! Some new, amazing product appears on the shelves. That’s how America got to be the most powerful nation in history.

Take a recent example.

Americans know that the strength of the country relies on diversity and acceptance. Everyone is a member of the greater American family. And everyone should be made to feel so.

An American manufacturer heard the call. With the creativity and innovative genius only seen in the great U S of A, Mattel Toys just announced the latest addition to their collection of iconic dolls: AUTISTIC BARBIE!

As the referenced article points out: “This launch builds on Mattel’s previous efforts to broaden Barbie’s representation. Over the past few years, the company has introduced dolls with Down’s syndrome, Type 1 diabetes, visual impairments, and mobility challenges, reflecting both physical and neurological diversity.”

Hurray, I say! Autistic girls will no longer feel left out. Now they have a Barbie Doll they can identify with. While I can’t find an official announcement, I take it on faith that Mattel will soon follow up with an Autistic Ken doll.

By the way, my wife and I were recently in China and did extensive shopping in some of the most spectacular malls in Chengdu. I DID NOT ONCE SEE ANY BARBIE DOLLS, much less an Autistic Barbie. This clearly demonstrates how tightly the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) controls the information ecosystem in China. Chinese people are woefully kept in the dark on so many important things.

Yes, without a doubt, the U.S. is the innovation capital of the world. Which makes me think: we don’t have to make America great again. It’s always been great and it’s still great! In spite of the nattering nabobs of negativity who campaign for high office by planting seeds of doubt. Yup! It’s true. Or my name isn’t Wayne Gretzky.



[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

American Innovation | John Rachel





Friday, October 17, 2025

LIVE FROM JAPAN! The Journey Continues

Again, it’s time to send some love to the wonderful fans of LIVE FROM JAPAN!

My my how time flies! LIVE FROM JAPAN! was published end of January, 2021. I sent the first shot of love here to the fans of the book June 2023, and again July 5, 2024. On those two occasions, as now, I let everyone know that the adventure continues, as I regularly post articles on new happenings and my evolving perspective on life here as an American expat.

While I believe my understanding of and appreciation for the customs and people of Japan is always growing in depth and subtlety, one thing has not changed: I love living here!

There’s no simple explanation for this. All I can suggest is read my book, then read the articles that have subsequently appeared. Judge for yourself..

Here is the entire list of “living in Japan” essays that have appeared on this website, to date:

All of those were written after this splendid book got published. My way of keeping you up to date and hopefully dazzled and delighted.

If you don’t have a copy, you have no idea what you’re missing. Time to remedy that. You can order it from your local book store or visit one of these sites:

A Kindle ebook is available HERE.

An Apple iBOOK is available HERE.

A B&N Nook Book is available HERE.

Other popular ebook formats are available HERE.

A deluxe full-color paperback from the printer HERE.

A deluxe paperback is available from Amazon HERE.

A deluxe full-color paperback is available from B&N HERE.

ENJOY!



[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]


LIVE FROM JAPAN! The Journey Continues | John Rachel


Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Life In Japan: Samurai Jeans Revisited

Several months ago, this incongruous structure sprung up in a matter of a week. At first, I honestly thought it was an eyesore, contrasting dramatically with the rustic, traditional houses around it. It just didn’t seem to have any organic connection with the rice and bean fields, and vegetable gardens in our village.

But I’ve learned to accept it on its own terms. By some post-modern, pre-fab, industrial aesthetic, it is actually rather appealing.

Samurai Jeans has had a presence in the area for some time now. Almost three years ago, I wrote about its taking over fields in the area to raise cotton. This was what I thought their “world headquarters” was at the time.

Meaning, I surmised this operation was just some local entrepreneur making a fledgling effort to raise organic cotton, which I assumed he/she would sell to clothing manufacturers in Japan.

I had it all wrong. A few weeks ago, my wife Masumi and I attended the grand opening of Sasayama Cotton Base, the name of the “presence” here in our Noma Village.

There I met a gentleman named Dave Stewart — yes, I know, and the first thing he said to me was “I didn’t play in the Eurythmics” — who had come here from Osaka for the event. He was very familiar with Samurai Cotton Jeans and gave me the whole story, including what this big blue metal structure was all about.

It turns out that Samurai Jeans is a major corporation based in Osaka, and their jeans are sold all over Japan and worldwide online. They use organic cotton and traditional dying and weaving techniques. Most of the organic cotton is imported from the U.S. but some is grown right here in Japan. That’s where Sasayama Cotton Base comes in. Samurai Jeans can claim that they use locally grown organic cotton, and if you’re interested in visiting the cotton fields and familiarizing yourself with the process of preparing the denim, this is the place to do it!

Sasayama Cotton Base is a agritourism facility. You can stay in the blue building’s accommodations — sleeps 1 to 3 — then enjoy the calming quiet of rural life, while you learn first hand and hands-on about the cotton denim manufacturing process. There’s a cotton making building: “Divide the harvested cotton into seeds and fibers.” And a dyeing building: “Decide on a design and experience vegetable dyeing. Here, we will dye it using Tamba Sasayama black beans and Tamba chestnut dye.” Of course, there’s a shop for buying the products made from the work here.

Sasayama Cotton Base is certainly an interesting concept. It’s not intended to make money. In fact, from what I’ve observed, it probably loses money. I ride by the base every day on my bike and have never seen a visitor. The three or four fellows who work there are always glad to see me — probably glad to see anyone — wave enthusiastically and shoot me big smiles. Of course, whether the base itself make money is not the important thing. The important thing is the organic cotton grown here.

The number of people working on this project varies considerably. The core staff is maybe three. But sometimes I see several folks — men and women — working the field. As with all farming, most of this comes at the beginning and the end of the growth cycle.

What can I say? The excitement never lets up here!

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https:/jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Samurai Jeans Revisited | John Rachel