badmigraine comments

Posted in: Warrior spirit leads Nishikori to new heights See in context

There's a superficial racism in pieces like this in which Japanese athletes who do well are praised as "samurai" and warriors. What if we saw pieces in this style ascribing tired old racial or cultural stereotypes to athletes from, for example, Kenya, or Israel, or Saudi Arabia?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Japanese fans say new American Godzilla is too fat See in context

I didn't think "fat" but I was stunned to see the ridiculous shape of it. It looks like a giant hedgehog.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Posted in: Marijuana may cause heart problems in young adults See in context

How good or bad it is for this or that part of your body is irrelevant. If you get drawn down that path, you've already given up the high ground and are just talking about what kind of stick you agree to be beaten with. Same story with the foolish "medical marijuana" approach. The real point is, why and how are you regulating what I choose to put into my own body? It is not done to help me or society--the tragic and astronomical costs of the war on drugs have been shown again and again. I could drink bleach or smoke ground PET bottle caps, and the police would not smash down my door and waste vast amounts of public funds processing, trying and jailing me. There are so many vested interests, people and entities with a huge stake in keeping a few recreational drugs illegal, that it will never change much. As a famous man once said, "Thanks for a country in which no one is allowed to mind their own business."

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Electronics chain K’s Denki credits success to 'not working so hard' See in context

Oh, right, that's it! Not a point card.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Electronics chain K’s Denki credits success to 'not working so hard' See in context

Strange, our local K's Denki has a point card and we use it all the time. I wonder if any other "facts" in this article are as flexible.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: NTT DOCOMO unveils 16 new mobile devices See in context

Let me guess...as per govt. recommendation and Docomo past practice, Docomo will unlock all the smartphones as normal for their usual 3000 yen fee...EXCEPT, they refuse to unlock iPhones. Of course.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Dominatrix arrested for practicing medicine without a license See in context

Actually, the service she provides sounds much more pleasant than what I have to go through here in the office every day.

3 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Elderly man busted for arranging sex for senior citizens See in context

Sometimes, the hypocrisy, stupidity and blindness of law and its enforcement apparatus just beggar belief.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Posted in: U.S. pushes Pacific trade agenda despite shutdown See in context

The TPP is a terrible, secretive deal rushed through under the radar that favors special interests and is deeply un-democratic. It threatens free speech, privacy and online innovation, and exports the requirement that all signatory countries now repeat the last 12 years of DCMA mistakes that the US has actually lived. Read all about it here:

https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Nothing is costlier than nuclear power. The consequence of a nuclear accident is enormous, and it takes 40 to 50 years to decommission a nuclear reactor. See in context

Actually, I read that printer ink is the costliest item on the planet, way more than nuclear power. If you price it out by ounce, nothing beats it.

A close second is cellphone data. My Softbank bill shows I incur about 720,000 yen in fees every month, but--thanks to their kindness in bearing the huge loss themselves--I only pay 5500 yen per my data plan. Clearly Softbank is losing more than the entire Japanese GNP every year by generously providing people with data plans, and bearing 98% of the massive costs itself--which far outweigh the costs of nuclear power.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Posted in: Which side do you think is most to blame for the U.S. government shutdown? See in context

The politician side

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Plastic cords stretched across all 4 roads at Ibaraki intersection See in context

Maybe better not to publicize this kind of incident, it only gives other idiots ideas.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: Women account for only a small 7% of senior positions in management in Japan. Prime Minister Abe needs to do more to change the business culture that tends to bar women from playing an active role. See in context

This would be like asking the head of GM to do more to promote walking and bicycle commuting. And an elected official has almost no potential to revise a national business culture. Even if one could, Abe and the culture that spawned him represent the self-same status quo he'd "need to do more" to change here.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Police to raid Novartis over alleged data fabrication See in context

I think that's the right explanation, but then the next question is, who are all these people dull enough to need this ridiculous artifice--a pre-announced raid--and/or, who are the people dull enough to think they have to put on this farce because people are dull enough to need it?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Bringing HoneyBaked Ham to Japan See in context

Mike, wow, I'm a Michigander and I didn't know that!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Gov't plans to offer more than Y1.4 tril in corporate tax cuts See in context

Just plain old looting, the bare face of corruption and corporate socialism. It's not even thinly disguised. Back to the good old days of everything rigged, corrupt and for sale in Japan! The US is not far behind at all.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: Caroline Kennedy says she is humbled to carry father's legacy See in context

Amazing that in a so-called democracy, we still have these feudal family dynasties like the Bushes and Kennedies. It's galling enough to see it in Hollywood, with all the nepotism and cronyism, but to see these entitled fools use money and connections to walk into positions of massive power, control and responsibility for sale, makes me sick. What experience and qualifications does this clown lady have to hold one of the most-coveted and important ambassadorships the US has? The extent of the selloffs by US politicians and blatant, pay-to-play corruption...it's mind-boggling.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Posted in: Bringing HoneyBaked Ham to Japan See in context

When I lived in the US for 2 years with my Japanese wife, she went crazy over the honey-baked hams we got for holiday meals. She also loved roast turkey with yams, mashed patooties and stuffing. And the leftovers kept paying off for a week as sandwiches, soups, etc. I'm getting hungry just reading this thread! Not sure how the Costco one measures up, I'll give that a try for sure. But there are levels of yummy to honey-baked hams and I know from personal experience that the HoneyBaked Ham ones are hard to beat. Back home we always got that one on purpose, after trying others. It really is fantastically good.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Abe's Fukushima under control remark backfires at home See in context

hand-chosen, sorry!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe's Fukushima under control remark backfires at home See in context

So TEPCO's hand-chosed consultant, a nuclear village insider, who is paid directly by TEPCO, and probably vetted in advance by government players, says the things that TEPCO/J govt. want to hear...it's a "tiny detail", a tiny bit of runoff.

You wonder why they need a consultant at all for such a tiny, insignificant droplet of very slightly radioactive water.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Posted in: Ministers disagree on corporate tax cut to offset sales tax rise See in context

That anybody has the gall to even propose this is jaw-dropping. These people just do whatever they want and no accountability, no shame.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: Apple introduces 2 new iPhone models See in context

The big question for me is, will Docomo add the iPhone to the list of phones that it will unlock for a fee of 3150 yen? Here's the current list and rules.

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/support/procedure/simcard/unlock_dcm/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Doubts linger over Syrian gas attack responsibility See in context

Advisor #1: Boy this NSA surveillance stuff sure is hard to explain...the public's not buying it...what can we tell them next?

Advisor #2: How about we whip up some kind of controversy about military action, you know, mention words like 'protect international humanitarian norms', 'terrorists', 'protect US interests" and 'potential threat to US Homeland..?

Advisor #1: OK sounds good, what do we have?

Advisor #2: Well there's a long list, but my former and future employer Halliburton, and your old outfit Raytheon, are suggesting this "chemical weapons in Syria" thing.

Advisor #1: Great, people know nothing about Syria and the place has no powerful friends, I like the missile strikes, those things cost over $1M million each. We may need to use dozens and leave the door open for further action.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Posted in: Docomo to begin selling iPhone soon, reports say See in context

Never happen, but wouldn't it be great if Docomo offered to unlock existing iPhone handsets which are already out of contract, and sold a data plan for them at the normal "low" price? It's years beyond overdue that iPhones get unlocked by Japanese carriers, and that an all-comers data plan exists at a price same as you pay for the one you get when you buy a new handset. Behold the magic of the industry cartel and rigged game!

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Posted in: Critics savage Diana film after London premiere See in context

Maybe just me, but I really hate movies about relatively recent, in-my-lifetime news events. It just seems so stupid and stultifying. Even if they were cinematic masterpieces (LOL), I would have zero interest in seeing them.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan's military seeks big boost in defense budget See in context

I think it's less about geopolitics and more about greed and corruption in government contracts. People here in Japan have watched with envy the war profiteering of connected, revolving-door companies like Halliburton, where the contractors and suppliers and their politically connected cronies raking in mountains of cash with little accountability or oversight, then bending and shaping legislation and policy by big-money lobbying and campaign contributions.

And none of that is new. This is an old, old story.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: July bonuses rise 2.1% in Japan See in context

In any country "government data" gets cooked and polished to suit whatever is the agenda. Things may be picking up, but I would never be so bold as to conclude that based on "government data" as the Abe regime marshals all resources to raise consumption tax, devalue the yen, get back to massive pork-barrel pubic works projects doled out via bribes and bid-rigging, expand the army and equip it with trillions of dollars of equipment, armament, services and other lucrative military-industrial contracts all per the Halliburton/US-style. There's a huge amount of money to be made there by politicians and their friends. Don't think for a minute the proposed constitutional changes are actually motivated by strategic or philosophical concerns about "NIPPON". It's just all about the money.

Here's my conclusion based on 4 decades of reading about what the "government data" said: The pay-to-play corrupt model is business as usual for almost any country, at any time in history, and will never change.

The best thing you can do right now is get into supplying the government with things at exorbitant prices and with zero transparency or accountability. All you need to get started is some cash and brown paper bags.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe pledges comprehensive, prompt steps for Fukushima See in context

Turns out the "kills you in 4 hours" thing was hysterical misinformation. It would be true for alpha exposure, but apparently this one was beta radiation so no such risk. Still totally unacceptable and horrible though. An unending series of lies, deceptions, bungling and clumsily executed fakery. And these are the guys in charge of nukes. Our local konbini is run much better than this.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: We have to consider our position while closely watching the situation and continuing to collect all relevant information. See in context

"We have to consider our position while closely watching the situation and continuing to collect all relevant information..."

This is exactly what I used to do at the bars, and never once did I manage to meet any girls. You connect the dots.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Scornful Syria hails 'historic American retreat' as Obama hesitates See in context

Maybe now Americans will see that arguing about Bush vs. Obama, red vs. blue, is like arguing about hamburger vs. cheeseburger. These guys are all the same on almost every major issue. There's only one party in the US: the corporate business corruption pay-to-play party.

And why would that be surprising? In any country where individual kinglike dictators or religious nutjobs don't control it all, this is and has been the default model. Good luck changing it.

And what about the jaw-droppingly exceptionalistic language of MSM articles like this one, that talk about Obama "punishing" Syria or a regime. An elected official sits on the throne like a global emperor, fully entitled to dole out punishment and death from the skies as he sees fit..spending my tax dollars and murdering Americans and foreigners in the process.

Who will punish the "punishers"?

2 ( +8 / -6 )

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