Ben Jack comments

I think some people are jumping to conclusions that are not indicated in this article. Japan generally has rather rather high levels of iodine worldwide. Japan does not have an unusual amount of thyroid problems (Fukushima problem excepted) or high numbers of brain damage problems as a result of low iodine consumption. As to this article, the company somehow made a huge error and they now should try to make it right by the Hong Kong consumer.

These guys will do anything if you show them a dollar sign in front of them.

They get paid in yen.

Iran which openly encourages the destruction of another nation and supports, trains, arms and finances groups who have as their goal the destruction of another nation are hardly in any position to call for calm here. Why haven't they been calling for calm all these years up to now instead of actually working towards violence?

It was marked by a minor incident when the NTC chief had a woman who presented the inaugural session replaced, as she was not veiled and was visibly made up.

Reading this does not set my mind at ease for the future of Libya.

“We believe in individual liberties and we expand them but we are Muslims and have principles,” said Jalil. “Everybody must understand this,” he said.

I wonder, Mr. Jalil, if you were veiled when you said this.

So....what are the other parties doing?

Erm, you realize that the LDP was the party to come up with this idea in the first place right? It does not matter what party came up with this, it is a bad idea and not the first thing that should have come out of Noda's bag of tricks to attempt to fix things. Why punish the public first when other cost cutting measures have not even been considered? Aren't things bad enough already?

but it is a whole lot better than doing nothing

How so? It never has been before. Every single time the consumption tax has been raised, the economy tanked even more. What makes you think it will be any different this time. No, it is not better, not a whole lot and not even a bit. How about cutting down the number of sleeping diet members and thus releasing that money first? How about actually looking at ways to be more efficient before causing people to pay even more and spend even less?

(assuming it doesn't go straight into the amakudari fund).

That is a huge assumption.

Is it discriminatory to discuss and to resist that?

There is nothing wrong with resisting discrimination. However, this resistance should not include discriminating against people because of their faith, culture, appearance, race or ethnicity.

Case in point:

"People would get in the cab, then get out” when they saw what he looked like, he said.

The people getting out of the cab knew nothing about the beliefs of the driver and they acted in a bigotted way. This is true whether the driver was Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Christian or Buddhist.

The problem here is actually discrimination against Muslims specifically. Just because someone is a Muslim does not mean they subscribe to the discrimination you described.

Rather than us taking a tax hike, I think I would prefer Noda take a hike himself.

Thanks for pointing out my obvious mistake; much appreciated!

No problem!

As to the Canadia reaction, the Olympics are supposed to be a place where countries can compete in a friendly atmosphere. Win or lose, it should be done with humility.

they might have looked "decent" a few decades ago

Nah, I don't think I've ever seen them looking "decent".

The US and Japan are allies. This is a good thing.

Maybe she wasn't the most qualified coach Norway had to offer.

She wasn't the coach. She was the referee.

only that they generally have no desire or need to leave Iran.

People generally prefer to stay where they were born and where they have family and friends. That does not change the fact they are second class citizens in Iran.

Thank you for proving the main claim, which is that the following is not true

??? I did not make that claim. I am merely responding to what you wrote and what you wrote was off the mark for the reasons I wrote.

Indeed, but what is very rare is the kicking out

Your continued (for how many years now?) attempts to revise history again have nothing to do with this argument. Israel exists. It is a UN recognized country. You do not like this. In fact, you hate this. However, it does not change the facts of this.

I disagree with the 10-year ceasefire though, do you have any believable evidence for that?

??? You have had this conversation so many times and have had evidence given to you so many times. Please stop it. Isn't it bad enough you are posting under at least two different names in this discussion? Do you have to compound it by ignoring reality time and time again? Believeable evidence? I believe Hamas when they say it.

The main point about settlements is not that they obstruct diplomacy

??? The Palestinians have gotten nothing from not negotiating for peace. You are against a two state solution. You are against the existence of Israel. Hamas agree with you. Settlements? You know there are none in Sinai and Gaza. Why? Because when Israel leaves, they take them with them. If and when (hopefully within our life times) Palestinians negotiate and Hamas is willing to negotiate for peace, the settlements will be dismantled. Just as they have been in Sinai and Gaza.

Bottom line is that you actually have to be for a two state solution to really be willing to discuss it. You are not yet either, Ciao. Hopefully someday you will change your mind. I am eternally hopeful of this.

Madverts,

Didn't hear about that one. This could certainly be a similar case.

An erroneous racist hate crime?

I might be mistaken myself, but I think I remember reading about hate crimes against Sikhs after 9/11 when some racist morons mistook them for Muslims, which still would have been hate crimes anyway. It is entirely possible that this moron followed the same path.

Some people are getting hung up on the word racist meaning solely aimed at a race when it can also mean being aimed at a culture or ethnicity. If the attack was targeting Sikhs or another culture or ethnicity specifically, I think this easily can be termed a racist hate crime.

Chuck, never mind, it seems Madverts has solved the question of the Syrian prime minister. So, now you can focus on explaining whatever happened to that supposed nerve gas.

has he really defected or has he been kidnapped and now been killed as the "rebels" often do with their prisoners?

??? The article says he is in Jordan. Did you read the article by any chance. Oh, Chuck, by the way, whatever happened to your claims of the rebels being about to use supposed nerve gas that you wrote about on July 17th? Perhaps the rebels read your post here on JT and decided against using it?

Japan doesn't elect a Prime Minister.

That is the problem in a nutshell.

Morsi, who took the oath of office on June 30 to become the country’s first freely elected leader and its first head of state since Mubarak’s overthrow, said those who committed the “cowardly” attack and those who worked with them would pay dearly. "Those responsible for this crime will be hunted down and arrested,” he said.

I am honestly very encouraged by Morsi's words. After the election, I was concerned, but also hopeful, about what Morsi would do. Reading what he has to say here, I have to say I am less concerned and more hopeful. It would be great if this is the beginning of a new history for Egypt and in turn for the Middle East. Rejecting militants and the violence they bring is the right course of action and the best thing that can happen to the region.

TIme to avoid Family Mart.

Yeah, but I love Fami Chiki. It makes up for this silly ad campaign. It really does!

It was an amazing semi-final by Japan. I have developed an interest in fencing because of Japan's participation. I had never seen the sport before and I am very impressed with the skill necessary to do it. Great stuff!

The Ministry of Justice says that the gates can take a photograph of a face and compare it to a passport photograph to ascertain whether or not it is the same individual within 15 seconds.

Unless I am mistaken, it takes a person about a second to ascertain whether a photograph and an individual are the same. I prefer the human.

Toilet use is not an international security issue.

Depends on what the user had to eat beforehand.

Anyway, I have trouble believing this story is as it is reported. I am sure the people of Gaza want to keep their border with Egypt open. It would be incredibly stupid for them to do such a thing. I suspect something else happened.

It is not the 'people of Gaza' doing this. It is the militants. They have been using the border or attempting to use the border to attack Israel and to bring in weapons to attack Israel for years now. That is one of the reasons thing went sour after Israel pulled out of Gaza.

Actually, Hamas has expressed acceptance of the two-state solution

Actually, Hamas has done no such thing. You know this. Hamas has said they want a ten year truce in exchange for the land based on the 67 border. They have said repeatedly and recently that they do not want peace with Israel and will not accept peace with Israel. Hamas' leaders have said the ten year truce (called a hudna) would be used to fight the final battle for all of Israel. You may agree with this position. Unsurprisingly, Israel does not. Why repeat these things again and again? I just do not get it.

The Jews of Iran have no desire to leave.

Many cannot leave even if they want to. Many have left. I have seen little evidence of lots wanting to go to live in Iran. As you already know, Jews are second class citizens in Iran and are not allowed to have certain jobs, etc. You may find this acceptable, however, the lack of Jewish immigrants moving to Iran shows they do not find it acceptable. Your claims about where Jews do immigrate and why falls short as there are plenty of Jewish immigrants in Europe and the US. By the way, lots of countries offer subsidies to immigrants. It is hardly rare. However, you are correct, there is no way in heck that Iran would give Jews such incentives. Iran really does not want them there, so why should they?

The land did not "belong" to Great Britain...

Revised and bias history has nothing to do with this. Despite your deepest wishes for Israel to disappear or for it to be made to disappear, it will not happen. The only solution is a two state one and Hamas does not want that. Until they can be convinced that it is to their advantage, there will not be peace. I hope someday they change their minds. As I also hope one day yours does too, Ciao.

PressTV

Why do you find this media source reliable? Are you aware that Press TV is an Iranian government owned media? Why do you feel this is a better and more unbias source for information about the situation in Syria?

We can discuss endlessly nationality of these guys, but I think it is obvious that whole support for this "revolution" coming from outside (money , weapons, ammo ...)

I think the reason we can endlessly discuss it is because you cannot prove what their nationalities are, or more importantly, you cannot prove they are not Syrian. As I wrote right above here: Just because it has outside backing does not make it any less homegrown.

You acknowledge the moral aspect of my assertion

I acknowledge the prospect of your assertion. I believe you are incorrect. I believe this is a homegrown movement. Just because it has outside backing does not make it any less homegrown.

Does anytime West acting in another manner than

Heh, Russia has its bases in Syria. In the form of the Soviet Union, Russia invaded and failed to keep control over Afghanistan. In fact, Russia, has invaded lots of places. Russia is attempting to exert control over the Middle East through Syria. The phrase about being in a glass house and not throwing stones comes to mind.