Agnosto comments

I take issue with the part about individuals over 250 buying a second seat. I'm over 250 and I fit fine in a regular, cattle-class, seat. Of course I'm 193cms tall and go to the gym everyday. No way will I be lumped into the same category with someone that has "let themselves go". I especially take issue with airlines that put short, elderly people in the exit row seats when they are obviously unable to fulfill the requirements (be able to lift 50 pounds) when these seats could be better used for taller customers who won't destroy their knees sitting behind other people and prevent them from reclining their seats. If we're discussing charging extra for annoying passengers (overflowing their seats). I would rather sit next to an obese person than a family with a child that screams through the entire flight. Maybe the airlines should penalize those people unable to control their children.

I spoke with a friend at DoCoMo who stated that the biggest reasons for no deal with Apple were: 1. Apple wants profit from the service. 2. Not compatible with their 3.5 G network. 3. they believed that it was too bulky to sell well as noone would be able to text with one hand and they weren't convinced the qwerty layout would be convenient for kanji input. Ultimately it was more trouble than it is worth so they passed. Softbank though is desperate for a higher market share and is willing to do anything to increase it's marginal share....including picking up a phone that will be only popular with a niche market.

funny comments. It will be interesting to see how many Japanese people buy these though even when J-phones are so much better....

I lived in SK for a number of years and lectured at a university in Seoul. The protest culture there is such that people get worked-up over the smallest things and suddenly there are thousands of people involved. I was there after 2 middle-school girls were killed in an unfortunate accident involving US military maneuvers; there were months of protests. The US is the most popular demon in SK and it's mostly the Korean government's fault as they have encouraged that attitude for decades as a way of deflecting interest away from local concerns. No protests ensued when a number of people died from eating at stalls on the street when it was found that a number of these places were getting food from trash bins and serving it to customers. Koreans doing atrocious things to Koreans is ok because it's "all in the family" and they'll be apt to believe the most insensate things, such as "fan death", even supposedly educated people....

I'll never forget the first time I was patted down by a female security officer in Narita.... I returned to the US after 8 years abroad only to be treated like a criminal and given the 3rd degree at LA international airport. I finally became board with the whole procedure, looked at the officer behind the counter, and stated "why thank you, yes, it is good to be home." He appologized and let me through. Now I work for the government, in a different capacity, and can somewhat understand the man's attitude; you can only deal with so much negativity on a daily basis before it begins to affect you. I was pulled-aside in Narita on my first entry into Japan and shoved into a tiny room for several hours because someone at my future employer accidentally scribbled on the entry document.....I was forced to write an appology to the Japanese government before they would allow me to enter. I guess my point here is that, silliness happens at entry points into every country in the world and to say some of the knee-jerk things that are being said here is not only childish but irresponsible.