151E comments

No thanks. Not interested in GM Frankenfoods. I'll be sticking with protein as nature provides.

So according to Kishida, Japan's national interest is synonymous with the military industrial complex's interests.

It can't comprehend anything. It just processes data and generates images according to its programming and the training data it's provided.

I suppose it depends on one’s definition of ‘comprehend’. Certainly transformer neural networks, such as Gemini and Sora, have come to develop ‘neurons’ (i.e. a specific node or set of nodes that capture specific information) that recognize such disparate things as sentiment, entities, and fluid dynamics without ever receiving explicit programing in such. If you want to fault TNNs for not 'comprehending' things, then I'd argue that most people do not really 'comprehend' things most of the time so much as 'recognize' them.

@starpunk - How can Zionism be an *anti*semitic term when modern Arabs in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria are also semites? I think it's more accurate to parse Zionism as a political movement concerned with reestablishing a homeland for the Jewish diaspora in response to European pogroms and later the Holocaust, as distinct from the religious practices of Judaism. Criticizing Zionism then is more akin to criticizing any other ~ism - communism, socialism, fascism, vegetarianism, effective altruism etc.

@PTownsend - Are you familiar with Victoria Nuland's March 8th, 2022 appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee? If not I suggest you visit C-SPAN.org and scrub forward to 41 minute mark. When asked if Ukraine has chemical or biological weapons, her careful response was, "Uh, Ukraine has, uh, biological research facilities which, in fact, we quite concerned that Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to, uh, gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of, uh, Russian forces should they approach."

Nuland essentially confirmed the existence of bio-labs. Now, whether they are for pharmaceutical research, biological weapons, or dual-use is unknown (to us plebs). But your insistence that it can be safely disregarded as Russian propaganda suggests to me that you have uncritically internalized US propaganda. However, in this instance, the only epistemological honest position is to admit that one doesn't know.

Both the pelvis and femoral neck angle are different in males and females. As a result, the natural resting state for men’s legs is open, not closed. It takes active muscle engagement for men to sit with their legs parallel. Of course, some men take this to an extreme; but, generally speaking, it is due to anatomy rather than a lack of manners that most men sit with with their legs slightly splayed open.

The problem is many conspiracies are real.

Corporations are routinely fined for collusion (Forex Scandal) and/or falsifying data (Hino emissions scandal).

Media giants selectively amplify some information (Kuwaiti Incubator Hoax) while suppressing other (Hunter Biden laptop controversy).

Governments have been caught in false-flag operations (Gulf of Tonkin Incident), experimenting on unwitting citizens (MKUltra), and propagandizing their own populations (Operation Mockingbird).

Of course not all conspiracy theories are credible (flat-earth), but the elites use the label of ‘conspiracy theorist’ to dismiss anyone asking uncomfortable questions (COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis).

However, thanks to social media, the elites are losing narrative control.

But, of course, they’re fighting back with tools such as the Trusted News Initiative and the UK’s Online Safety Act.

If the government and media truly want to regain public trust, they need to increase transparency and accountability, and promote dialogue and debate rather than muzzle it.

This explanation is as much of a surprise to locals as well as foreigners, given that the English word “homogenise”, known as “kinshitsuka” in Japanese, is far from common knowledge. 

I don't know what kind of foreigners the author is referring to but, in North America at least, milk used to be sold in grocery stores as either 2% or homogenized, so even most children would be familiar with this meaning. Furthermore the prefix 'homo' -- from the Greek 'homos' meaning 'one and the same' -- is used by most European languages, so again should be common knowledge for most Europeans as well.

This reads like Sokal 3.0.

Hey there Roy. Thanks for the links to the blog posts. I always enjoy food for thought!

( 1. ) With regards to the frameshift error, the paper that first identified the problem was published December 6th, 2023. I would argue that there simply hasn’t been time to extensively research whether incorrect proteins resulting from frameshift errors are linked to adverse outcomes in those who got the mRNA vaccines or not.

In the blog you linked to the author dismisses such a possibility saying, “we do know what such adverse outcomes would probably look like. It would likely look the same as any other errant immune reaction or autoimmune condition.”

Oddly enough there just happen to have been reports of new-onset autoimmune diseases after vaccination. In the interest of patient safety, this at least warrants further investigation, no?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10108562/

( 2. ) In the very blog post you post in response to my concern about a lack of cell targeting it acknowledges that Pfizer’s own LNP pharmacokinetic study for PMDA showed, albeit in a rodent model, that only 53% of LNP stayed within the intramuscular injection site. 

More recent studies, performed on newly deceased patients, provide more evidence of widespread biodistribution, including uptake by cells in the myocardium. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-023-00742-7

Personally, given that the average age of death 'either due' to or 'involving' COVID-19 is roughly 80yo, the risk from LNP + mRNA platform are currently one I’m not willing to take. But don’t let my misgivings influence you. By all means, please go get your bi-annual boosters!  I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/singleyearofageandaverageageofdeathofpeoplewhosedeathwasduetoorinvolvedcovid19

Until the issues of ( 1. ) biodistribution and ( 2. ) frameshiftings errors (a consequence of the inclusion of pseudouridine) are properly addressed, I'll be sticking with traditional vaccines.

Wearing a wide brimmed hat, as well as long, loose fitting clothing, and retiring periodically under the shade is a far healthier strategy to minimize the risk of sunburn rather than slathering yourself with some chemical sunscreen that can cross the blood brain barrier.

All these mRNA vaccines suffer from the same critical design flaw, namely that there is no way to control what cells will take up the LNP and start expressing foreign proteins. If it is simply confined to the muscle tissue of the arm, fine; however various studies have demonstrated wide spread migration away from the injection site. This is of particular concern if the LNP is taken up by heart tissue. Until this problem is addressed I'll be staying well clear of all mRNA vaccines and rely instead on older time-tested inactivated virus formulations.

According The New York Times, the Ukrainian army was using cluster bombs in Donetsk, as far back in 2014. I don't think anyone can claim the moral high ground when using these indiscriminate weapons.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/world/ukraine-used-cluster-bombs-report-charges.html

Japanese companies used to lead the world with innovative automotive assembly line robotic arms, but they've fallen far behind the likes of Boston Dynamics and Tesla. Impractical devices such as this, Asimov, Pepper, and the animatronic creations of Hiroshi Ishiguro are, frankly, just sad.

The government and media seem strangely unconcerned by the excess deaths that have been recorded recently. It's interesting to compare late the early part of the pandemic (late 2019 to mid 2020) against later stages. For more information see https://exdeaths-japan.org/en/graph/weekly/

Interesting that many of the posters in this comment section seem to think Japan should be embarrassed about the lone male participant in the photo above. How would a panel of all women be in alignment with the ideals of gender equality?

The AI-elected president could… use the mantle of election to pursue Republican or Democratic party policies. But because the party ideas may have had little to do with why people voted the way that they did… the president’s actions would not necessarily reflect the will of the voters. 

In case the authors hadn’t noticed, this has already been the case for decades. Candidates campaign on different policies, but once elected always act in alignment with their corporate donor base.

there is no reason to automatically extend the First Amendment’s protection to the product of these machines

And gere we go! The only thing learned from the Hamilton 68 fiasco, in which hundreds of innocent Americans were falsely identified as Russian bots, is that smears and censorship work! Hello Hamilton 2.0. Anyone who posts opinions or information that run counter to the interests of the military industrial complex will be labeled an AI bot by some nominally independent third-party 3-letter-agency cutout, and have their comments shadow banned or removed from social media.

Some relevant background to this issue: The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), states that passage is considered innocent as long as “it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State.” The LOSC specifies twelve actions that are classified as non-innocent, such as the use or threat of force, military exercises involving weapons, etc. But disagreements remains regarding the interpretation of "innocent passage" concerning warships. Unsurprisingly, the US and the UK interpret it as allowing warships to engage in innocent passage as long as they adhere to the explicitly listed twelve conditions of non-innocence. However, several nations, including China, argue that warships, due to their military nature and the fact that they carry weapons, inherently pose a threat to the security of coastal states. Therefore, they argue, warships are inherently non-innocent.

Hmmm... Bit of a mixed message here. On one hand, the government wants to make it easier for the rich jet set to come and go on their private planes while, on the other hand, encouraging the rest of society to adopt personal carbon trackers, stop eating meat, and limit travel within within 15 minute cities.

@RKL

Just a recommendation.

The WHO has no legal authority to compel anyone to do anything.

For now, yes. Are you aware of the WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty, aka WHO CA+? You can read the Zero Draft of the treaty here https://apps.who.int/gb/inb/pdf_files/inb4/A_INB4_3-en.pdf

@1glenn

Unless the article has been edited since your comment, nowhere in the article above does it claim the vending machines takes more CO2 out of the air than is put into the air by its manufacture. However, it clearly says in the second last paragraph that: the annual CO2 absorption per unit is expected to set off "around" 20 percent of the CO2 emissions from the electricity used.

@La vied douce

That Kitagawa was a predator is not in dispute. And that these men are at last now alerting others to the dangers of the industry is a good thing. My only point is that Okamoto was complicit in his own victimization. After the first instance, he could have told his parents. He could have reported it to the police. He could have quit Johnny & Associates. He should have done all three. Instead, by his own admission, he repeatedly put himself into the same situation — some 20 times! over 4 years between the ages of 15 and 19. Why? I’d suggest the answer is obvious. At the time at least, it was the price he was willing to pay for the promise of money and fame.

 he was abused by Kitagawa about 15 to 20 times 

Sorry, but if you keep going back to be 'abused' more than twice (since maybe you're not so bright and you believe his professions of remorse), you're not a 'victim' of 'abuse', you're 'trading favors' in hopes of being famous.

@JeffLee

I'd recommend you read 'Nyet Mean Nyet' 2008 diplomatic cable from CIA director William J. Burns (available to us thanks to WikiLeaks). In said cable the then US ambassador to Moscow writes, "Ukraine and Georgia's NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, the engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region. Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia's influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests. Experts tell us that Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic-Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war. In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face."

But... but... but... What about all those who remain unvaccinated in the Global South? We were told time and time again that the unvaccinated were "variant factories", that hybrid-immunity from vaccination and recovering from infection was far superior to natural immunity, and that to end the pandemic everyone needed to get the vaccine. How can it be over with billions still unjabbed?

The Constitution of Japan, regardless of provenance, expresses an ideal that all nations should aspire to. Renouncing war as a means of solving international disputes, while retaining the right to self-defense is the highest expression of bushido.

Those who casually dismiss Chinese manufacturing as cheap and of poor quality should remember the same used to be said of Japanese and Korean manufactures. I wouldn't sleep on Chinese industry or they may well eat your lunch.

As the old saying goes, "If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." This is a misleading title. As a safety precaution, the rocket self-destructed when separation from the booster stage failed. Events like this are expected to happening during the development stage. Design mistakes will be corrected and the next iteration will perform better. The main test was still successful.

While my wife has her own business; she is the exception amongst our female friends and acquaintances, most of whom openly say they aspire to marrying a guy rich enough that they don't have to work. Given such attitudes, who is WEF to chide Japanese women for not wanting to work an 80 hr+ work week?