albaleo comments

Posted in: It took decades, but San Francisco finally installs nets to stop suicides off Golden Gate Bridge See in context

Critics of the project say a lot of money is being spent on the nets to deter people who are determined to end their lives and who will simply find another method to do it.

I guess that's a fair, if unpleasant, consideration. Let's hope at least some who are contemplating suicide will be deterred completely. (I've read that there are about 4000 suicides per year in California. )

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Doctors in England to hold longest strike ever See in context

My solution would be for the NHS to fire the whiny spoiled children and hire responsible skilled doctors from India and the Philippines.

To attract more doctors from India, the UK may have to pay them more than now.

https://getgis.org/blog/best-country-for-indian-doctors-to-migrate

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Posted in: China likely turned neutral on Japan-Russia territorial row by 1992, documents show See in context

Because it isn't legal to drive the current occupants out of a territory, replace them with your own settlers, and then declare you are just following self-determination by taking a poll.

So the USA should be returned to the native Indians? I doubt you think that, and neither do I.

It's not an easy topic. But I think those who have lived from childhood to adulthood in a place must see that place as their country. Shouldn't they have a big say in their country's future?

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Posted in: China likely turned neutral on Japan-Russia territorial row by 1992, documents show See in context

The option of letting the inhabitants of those islands decide their own future never seems to get raised. Why's that?

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Posted in: The curious joy of being wrong – intellectual humility means being open to new information and willing to change your mind See in context

what I learned through loss may have salvaged a version of my faith that I can genuinely endorse

I find this a little strange. It suggests his beliefs have been chipped away, but he still holds on to the parts that might be true. Why not just shed all beliefs and accept ignorance? And then look for evidence that supports or refutes various ideas.

Idea 1: There is a single all-powerful god and he or she is kind.

Idea 2: There are seventeen gods. Three are kind, three are nasty, and the others don't care.

Looking at the state of today's world, which is more believable?

Should we now move on to Idea 3?

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Posted in: Xi urges Chinese envoys to create 'diplomatic iron army' See in context

TaiwanIsNotChina, theFu, thanks for your comments. I generally agree with them. My comment was aimed at the idea of people hating freedom. I still wonder how different the idea of "freedom" is viewed by the average person in China and people in other countries. What clothes to buy for the kids, what to have for dinner, how to repair the house, etc.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Posted in: Xi urges Chinese envoys to create 'diplomatic iron army' See in context

But it seems a very big part of the world actually hate freedom. Despise democracy. Choice and freedom scares them. They need a "strong man" to hold their hands all through life, and make every decision for them.

But perhaps for many, the form of government is irrelevant. Are the lives of bus drivers, nurses, plumbers, farmers, etc. so different in China than in other countries? I honestly don't know, but I suspect it's much the same for most. Does voting for Trump or Biden improve your life more than not voting at all? And I guess if you really want to change things in China, you could join the CCP and, through skill, trickery and lies, make your way to the top. Is that so different from how politics works in the democratic West?

My biggest grudge with China is its territorial nationalism. About as far from communism as I can imaginer. But unfortunately, we see that all around the world.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

Posted in: 18-year-old youth arrested over alleged sex acts with elementary school girl in Wakayama See in context

18 is an adult not a minor and the age of consent is 16.

But if both people are teens and not more than 5 years apart in age, they are exempt from prosecution. So an 18-year old with a 13-year old would be OK. The article doesn't give the age of the girl, but I guess not older than 12 if she's at elementary school.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: UK retains metric system for selling after overwhelming support See in context

And will the Shilling come back?

Chains and furlongs first, but especially chains.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Posted in: The right to protest is under threat in Britain, undermining a pillar of democracy See in context

I find the article a little bit confusing by not trying to classify the types of protest. I may sound like a grumpy old man, but I think "disruptive" actions should have consequences. Glueing yourself to a road, damaging paintings at art galleries, dousing athletes in orange powder - not very nice. Imagine if an ambulance taking a kid to the hospital for emergency treatment gets held up.

Holding a placard saying "Not my king" on the other hand doesn't seem disruptive. We should be able to protest and express our views, but not necessarily in any way we want. But I think we are generally able to do that in the UK.

Government actions that try to bypass the courts are a different matter.

12 ( +17 / -5 )

Posted in: Japan’s Revolutionary Alliance of Unpopular People holds anti-Christmas protest in Tokyo See in context

Look on the bright side. It gets them out of the house for a few hours so their mums can clean their rooms.

17 ( +23 / -6 )

Posted in: Lone gunman in Czech mass shooting had no record and slipped through cracks despite owning 8 guns See in context

The dangers of mental illness.

Combined with the dangers of access to guns.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: Man gets 20 years for policeman's 1971 murder after 45 years on run See in context

What’s with the “far left” moniker?

He was a member of the Chukaku-ha. Its English name was the Revolutionary Communist League. I understand it was a Trotskyist group, so perhaps "radical left" is more appropriate.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Supreme Court says no, for now, to plea to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted See in context

Why are the liberals so scared of Trump being on the ballot?

It's a fair question, and I honestly don't know. Personally, I think Trump is a useless idiot. But I preferred him as a safer choice than Hilary Clinton back when he was elected. But what a weird choice for voters.

Come on America! I'm hoping you can do better.

Note: I'm not sure the word "liberals" is helpful in such discussions. What does it mean? "Anything goes" is my general understanding, and I doubt most Trump haters or supporters hold that position.

-16 ( +6 / -22 )

Posted in: Biden believes U.S. Steel sale to Japanese company warrants 'serious scrutiny' See in context

Wow, it's like 80's!

That made me smile.

In the 60s in Scotland, the shipbuilding industry hit various problems. We were told it had all moved to Japan, and that was probably correct. Then I moved to Japan in the 80s and got to teach [see below] at a shipbuilding company where they were laying off workers like crazy. Why, I asked. Because the industry has moved to Korea, I was told. And now I ask myself where it moved after Korea.

The steel industry in Scotland followed a similar pattern about a decade later. I also got to teach [see below] at a couple of steel companies in Japan. It's nice to see they're still keeping at it.

[below] My job was to teach the tech people English. I'm sure I learned far more from my students than they ever learned from me.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Honda recalls over 2.5 million cars in U.S. due to fuel pump defect See in context

They are made by Denso in the US.

Thanks, Desert Tortoise. If that's the case, then I guess only US manufactured cars are affected. I was worried as I have one of the models listed, but it was made in Japan.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Ex-doctor gets prison term for consensual killing of woman with ALS See in context

@grund,

It's legal in a number of European countries ( Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland). But the rules vary. For example, in most of those countries, the person must have a terminal illness.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Health misinformation rampant on social media – here's what it does and what people can do about it See in context

Counting people as 'Covid deaths' in the UK when they were hit by a truck a few weeks after a positive test just shredded belief in 'official science', as did the all those lockdown parties.

While I agree about the lockdown parties, the "hit by a truck" item is a little misleading. The NHS in the UK published two data sources for Covid deaths. One set of data was of those who died within a certain time after testing positive for Covid. The other was deaths where Covid was described as the cause of death on the death certificate. The former would include those hit by a truck or other non-Covid causes. The reason it was used is because it was immediately available. Death certificate data is often not available for several weeks after the person has died. I think those with a basic understanding of statistics would agree that Covid trends would be shown even if the data included non-Covid causes.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies See in context

I used to joke that for a few generations it should be compulsory for kids to be born from "mixed" parents (different races, different religions, or different nationalities). But now I'm wondering whether it should be seriously considered.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Boston Tea Party turns 250 years old with reenactments of the revolutionary protest See in context

"No taxation without representation".

I don't think it had much to do with democracy. At the time, only the wealthy paid taxes - i.e. those who owned everything. So more like "representation for the wealthy". Perhaps slightly better than all power being held by royalty.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: In hypochondria paradox, Swedish study finds higher death rate in those who fear serious illness See in context

 But I believe another contributing factor is that hypochondriacs are probably more likely to follow all the bad advice provided by the health authorities.

The article mentions those who change doctors or who avoid medical care. That suggests they won't follow medical advice unless it matches their own thoughts.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: Why does Japan often get the Fossil Award from a global network of nongovernmental environmental groups, whereas China, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, rarely receives the infamous award? See in context

I'm not sure why Japan and China are being compared. They both emit greenhouse gases at about the same rate per person, and at a far lower rate than Australia, Canada, Russia and the USA. (Oil producing nations in the Middle East have even higher emission rates.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_greenhouse_gas_emissions

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Posted in: Meta makes end-to-end encryption a default on Facebook Messenger See in context

I guess it's a case of weighing the pros and cons of allowing or disallowing access to data while en route. I'm generally in favor of end-to-end encryption. While there may be an argument for the good guys being able to access data, if the good guys can do it, it's probably not so difficult for the bad guys to do it too.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: New insights into ECT, a stigmatized yet highly effective treatment for depression See in context

ECT! They are surely not trying to trot that barbarism out again!

I think it is still used in some cases, but there seems a better awareness of potential problems.

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/electroconvulsive-therapy-ect/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Denmark adopts law making it illegal to burn Koran or other religious texts See in context

I'd have thought burning any book in a public place would be illegal as it is a fire safety risk. I'm fairly sure if I burned an encyclopedia, novel, or newspaper on my local high street, I'd get stopped by the police.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Posted in: Returning Naomi Osaka targets Paris Olympics, more Grand Slam titles See in context

I'm a fan, probably because I have two kids born in Osaka to a foreign father and Japanese mother. I like to think she puts her family before either country. It's not her fault that you're required to put a flag next to your name in sports tournaments.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Posted in: 'Oppenheimer' to get theatrical release in Japan, after all See in context

I watched it with my daughter. I can't say it in any way glorified the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It very much focused on Oppenheimer's role and relationships. A good chunk of the movie focused on the McCarthy era security hearing. I think I heard the word "communist" far more often than I heard the words "Japan" or "Japanese". (I may go back and actually count how often each was used.) I think it illustrated the differences between scientists, the military, and politicians. There was a lot of time jumping which confused me a little.

I'm not a great fan of movies that condense someone's life into a few hours. My daughter, on the other hand, enjoyed it and said it prompted her to go and check various things about the events. I'd say it's worth watching.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Centenarian survivors of Pearl Harbor attack returning to honor those who perished 82 years ago See in context

Hats off to these patriots and survivors. The world can learn a lot from them.

Considering the bombing of various places since World War 2 (e.g. Cambodia, Baghdad), I don't think much was learned.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: The challenges of being a religious scientist See in context

A lot of head scratching here. How to define "religious"? Those who believe or those who would like to believe? And then what is this belief? A single god, many gods, or simply another existence we can't see?

The word "atheist" crops up in the article, but not the word "agnostic". To me, atheism suggests belief of a kind (some will disagree). Agnosticism suggests ignorance, and I like to think that is the foundation of science. There's so much we don't know.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Japanese experimental nuclear fusion reactor inaugurated See in context

Fusion reactors cannot explode

I think that generally means they can't cause a radioactive explosion. But they may be prone to more general types of explosion. After all, hydrogen is the key input element.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

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