ANOTSUSAGAMI comments

Uh, how are Al Sharpton and Obama "friends"? Any proof? Anyway, "Live by the gun, die by the gun." No one can pick up a lethal weapon designed for killing many people, then complain when they get cut down. Teens or no. When I was 16 I knew that.

teleprompter- You DO realize that this month people are still paying Bush's taxes? They're a little early. And since when is a grassroots protest funded by Exxon execs? I'm glad people are voicing their opinion. I just wish they would have done that BEFORE or at least during the time Bush gave away that surplus with his "fuzzy math" (remember that one?). I wonder if the posters who believe it's unconstitutional to pay taxes were the same ones screaming that Obama's first treasury pick didn't pay his.

nisegaijin- Because most of them benefit from the sweat and labor of their subordinates who get paid a fixed wage even if the businesses that they are at the front lines of - customers rarely meet owners - are doing fantastic. They are the first to go once business goes sour, while CEOs routinely get multi-million dollar severance. This is all legal. The system overwhelmingly favors the rich. Why shouldn't they pay into the system more? Instead, it seems you would like the people who don't benefit from the system, who in fact often get screwed by it- to pay the rich people's share too. Work harder you say? My mom worked 3 jobs 7 days a week for years even when she was sick in order to buy a home and pay for my brother's college. BTW she never got rich. Her companies' CEOs however, were rich and showed up to work once a week at the most. How much more should she have worked? I know of many more hardworking families who never made over 40k a year, unable to expand because the system screwed them. I know you probably don't want to hear it, but discrimination plays a role in this too. You can't get rich if the system says you can't. Equal education, equal jobs and equal pay are but a few elements needed for the "land of opportunity" to cease being a misnomer. All I'm saying is the rich should pay their share. After all, they owe it to their country whose system has benefitted them so.

Why should the rich pay the least amount of taxes proportionately? Shouldn't those who benefit the most from America's economic structure pay the most? The top 20 percent owns over 80 percent of all wealth. They own the lion's share of America, why shouldn't they pay the lion's share of taxes? JoeBigs- right on. I have followed the money, and it leads straight to China, who owns a huge amount of American bonds- to pay for the wars Bush wanted while he cut taxes. Hey, the money had to come from somewhere- and Saudi Arabia, who Bush asked for the funds that ended up being used for the first bailout that he spearheaded. I love these people who want to say stuff like they can't pass on the debt to the children, and they were all smiles when Bush cut thier taxes and waged 2 expensive billion dollar/month wars. WHO did they think would pay!? Obama's just asking the rich to do their fair share of paying, and people are angry. I don't get it.

Teleprompter- are you saying that black people in general or black politicians specifically are not adults... Either way getting tired of your suggestive comments.

One must not forget the most important fact of the Boston Tea Party: The participants dressed up like Native Americans, pigmenting their skin even, to throw suspicion onto the Natives should the king decide to retaliate. They were cowards who would frame others in fear of the kings wrath.

LOL. A Repub talking to someone about fiscal responsibility. Bush was so responsible. You didn't see him flying chefs anywhere. I mean, he took that surplus Clinton left him and increased it tenfold, and everybody has jobs, right? Yeah. Back to reality. If Bush could string together sentences on his own, they'd pay him that kinda money too for his book. The right seem to want instant results to fix 8 years of their mistakes and greed, and any economist will tell you that's impossible.

sydenham- 2 contained outbreaks does not a cesspool make. Porn stars have to go through rigorous testing in America to make sure they are disease-free. Very rarely does one slip through. You only know of 2 cases. Planes crash more often. There are more cases where doctors performing blood transfusions mess up with tainted blood or wrong blood types, in first world countries no less. "Forgive?" How pretentious. what did she do to YOU that you refuse to grant your illustrious forgiveness?

Northlondon-Who better to teach about sex ed than one who does it for a living? From that logic, one shouldn't study medicine with a doctor as a teacher because they do it for a living. Think about it, would you ask a vegetarian how to cook meat? Or closer to the subject, a priest the hows and whys of sex and condom use? Many people on this site myself included have obtained at least some knowledge from AV movies, so why the disrespect?

"Why not just look on them with the scorn and pity they deserve, instead of letting them into your brain? You don't need them." Wish I could, but these are the same wastes of space that because they thought I was inferior- no doubt taught this through the racial stereotypes they cling to - they thought it was their right to violate my person. Breaking heads is tiring. I've also encountered these kind of idiots in managerial positions above me, who thought they could cheat me out of equal pay for equal work, and tried to work me 7 days a week and only pay me for 6. I can't afford to just silently pity these people. Not when their racism affects my life and freedoms.

"I 'know' lots of stereotypes about the Japanese (mainly from the 'wisdom' imparted on JT) - but I also know better than to believe any of it." Good for you. I'm genuinely glad to hear that. Though the key is you don't believe any of it. Again it is not the simple knowledge of the stereotypes that bothers me. It is when one BELIEVES it to be FACT and acts accordingly. It has been my experience that those who buy into one stereotype, buy into others. I didn't just choose to see "fried chicken" as an insult, that veiw was foisted upon me by racists. "[I]f it were accompanied by some ignorant slob snarling 'honkie' or 'whitey', it immediately becomes an insult." Why? Why do these particular words get your recognition as insults but "fried chicken" does not? They all have harmless origins- even the N word has a innocuous etymology- but what they mean now when addressing certain people is insulting.

I would ignore it, if people didn't believe in it. You see, stereotypes usually come wholesale. If you believe one, you are more likely to know and believe the others. Seeing as the times the fried chicken insult was hurled at me the N word always accompanied it solidifies my point. It never behooves one in a job interveiw for the potential boss to think they are sub-human, or in an airport for the security to assume criminality based on skin color. I've lived through these things. It is because these stereotypes went unchallenged that I had to experience these things. Silence is tacit approval. I understand your point about the Tokyo Sushi Bar et al, but one might find all those restaurant names stereotypical and racist. It was not their intention to insult sure, but they cannot claim they did not wish to perpetuate the stereotype. Thus, they have contributed to a culture's malignment, unintentional though it may be. Road to Hell and all that.

Don't be absurd. No one calls black people "fried chicken" and you know that. The insult is in the stereotype that fried chicken and watermelons are ALL black people eat, degrading us by lumping us all in a stupid little box, the same one that says that we are somehow inferior. Cleo appearently hasn't spent any significant amount of time in the states if she doesn't get it. Americans know the significance. Since I personally have had this insult directed at my person, I can tell you this is as serious as being called the N word. It's the same as saying Japanese only eat sushi, or Italians can't touch anything without tomato sauce, or Jews only eat bagels. You get it now? It's prejudice.

Dubya, telepromter, sharky- What exactly would happen if gays and lesbians have the right to marry? Would it destroy your own marriages? What would possibly happen that would affect you? You can't just say "because I said so", there should be some reason. Oh and it has to affect you and your freedoms none of this "it's better for them" crap.

Haha, Sharky is sad. All out of homophobic ammo. Good on Iowa.

"Is that enough? And will it ever end?

Not unless good citizens like yourself stop talking and get acting to get gun laws tightened." Sushi- I'll say it once more, Criminals will always be able to get guns, law or no law. Even if it were against the law, this guy and criminals like him would still have guns. It's what makes them criminals, this disregard for the law. Gun laws don't apply in this story.

This guy had a bulletproof vest. Seeing as owning a bulletproof vest is illegal at least in PA, before he even shot these officers he was a criminal. A gun ban would have done nothing for this guy as it is clear he would have circumvented the law to obtain his weapons in the same way he did to get his vest. I do think making it harder to get guns MAY help, but it will not stop these incidents. Criminals will always be able to get guns, law or no law.

Fredster- the headline is accurate if only because that's how other posters here- myself included- have referred to the numerous other dekichattakekkon stories here. I will say though it seems like the translators here are expanding vocabulary-wise.

Survived 2 atomic bombings in the span of 3 days. And you think YOUR week was bad.

SuperLib-It's tragic that the kids died, but what does that have to do with these guys in the article? Do you have proof that the Canadian soldiers who died killed those kids? If so, only then would your post be valid. I don't think you do. You don't even know if these particular teams killed ANYONE. By your logic we shouldn't mourn the passing of our troops or police officers because people wearing the same uniforms have killed innocents. "Sorry Officer John, SuperLib says we can't mourn your passing because other officers you've never met or had any control over killed some innocent people." Your post is irrelevant and malicious. Again, its sad the children died, but the car was speeding in the first place. That itself is dangerous, with kids in the car it's just idiotic. I put some of the blame on the driver who should have been more mindful of his/her precious cargo.

sailwind- See you talk about hypocrisy but fail to realise your President put them there in the first place. Kills your whole arguement. If Obama just let everyone at Gitmo go with no trial, you'd be screaming about that too. Obama is going to make sure these people get thier due process, or do you think due process is useless? Any better ideas on how to deal with Gitmo? No? Hmmm... Sarge- You are on a roll buddy. "See, we don't keep innocent people locked up forever." You'll never live that one down. Gets my vote for "Tin Foil Hat Quote of the Year". Another new fave rivals the first-"I think all the posters who posted here after my last post, with the exception of sailwind, need to spend a night at Gitmo with all these "innocent" prisoners." - hooboy can you say meltdown? I gotta hand it to you, when you go down in flames, you really go down with style. Do you think you have one more gem in you? Love it.

Himajin- wow those numbers are impressive. So surely some progress, yes? Where are we on that, cardboard cutouts? Again, impressive.

Don't expect too much... I think it means unrealistic expectations like overnight systemic overhaul, instant market recovery, and painless deficit recovery are only going to disappoint, and are in no way productive. Because he's probably the most vocal and visually accessible President we've had in a long time, people expect that he'll solve all the problems that we ourselves should address to effect change. Right after winning the election he went straight to work (I remember Bush went straight to Camp David) and since then has repeatedly appealed to the American public through forums and town hall meetings to aid in his efforts as he can't do it alone. A former President said it better: "Ask not what your country can do for you..." There are a few things he's said and done that I don't agree with, but as he himself has stated he doesn't have all the answers, and has even offered apologies on his blunders -something Bush never did- and adjusted his stance accordingly. So far Obama has earned my trust.

That girl whose idea of a perfect date is to leave her whiny-go-nowhere boy at home needs to dump his sorry @ss. Why stay with a guy that complains about everything, and offers nothing? He can't find enjoyment in just being somewhere with her? I know a girl who dates a dude like that, and I can never understand why someone would tolerate such a selfish jerk. Practically alone even when they're out together, so why not go the extra step and forego the whining? So sad. Why do women put up with it?

Here's a link of a CNN article where Bristol Palin says abstinance only is "unrealistic": http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/bristol.palin.interview/

She's proof of the flaws in that theory. In school I was taught about contraceptive use. We were encouraged by the teachers to be abstinant, but if we wanted to have sex, we should use contraceptives. Speaking for myselfand my sample of friends, that approach has worked. No unintended pregnancies. I can't understand why anyone would want to keep teens in the dark on this issue. Why keep those we care about in the dark on ANY issue? Would you not teach your child about fire for fear that they might burn themselves? It's just irresponsible.

rollonarte- stop it. This article has nothing to do with your sour grapes over the Democrats historic win. This is about Madoff, and the fact that people laid millions on the line and he simply spent the money outright. While I sympathize in general with the people and organizations swindled by the guy, I have little sympathy for those like that lawyer who gave him 3 million. I mean, with that kind of money, you'd think they'd do some investigative work.

Badsey- shows they're not the sharpest tools in the shed. Though this statement is thier confession, now nothing will stop them from recieving the death penalty. Not that they had much of a chance before, of course. This is why the herd mentality is bad.

Vagante- No of course not. Only women are capable of sexual immorality. Men are holy vessels and women are unclean. That's what you get when you live in a misogynistic culture that believes a woman is only as good as who shes married to, a wife's only good for serving her husband and popping out babies, affairs are always the woman's fault, and educating women is a waste of time. That's Saudi Arabia for you... wait, sounds like another place too...

Watarigarasu- Wonder if you notice that the kanji rendering of your screename is a case in point? 渡り鳥 Wataridori and 渡り烏 look the same, but tori has one more stroke than karasu. People commonly make the mistake of adding the stroke on karasu. There are more examples of commonly misused kanji, but I thought it interesting to mention.

I don't think you fully understand the differences between Japanese and English. I stated before, in romance languages new words can be instantly found by spelling. English has spelling rules that help you pronounce new words upon seeing them written and then write them later. There are loan words in English that don't follow English pronunciation protocols, but again just use a dictionary. Without furigana even native speakers of Japanese would be lost faced with a kanji they aren't familiar with. This makes learning kanji inefficient at best.