Posted in: 4 Japanese detained in Thailand over alleged role in scam operation See in context
Arrested, as in faulted, for scamming, even though they were kidnapped by a criminal gang and made an offer they couldn’t refuse?
I don’t follow.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Tourist arrested in Japan for striking convenience store clerk over 3-yen bag altercation See in context
That conbini worker sure is dedicated to his craft.
Can you imagine some minimum wage worker in the US running after some drunk guy over two cents?
9 ( +12 / -3 )
Posted in: Japanese police arrest Canadian over smuggling of stimulants hidden in machinery See in context
Supposedly amphetamines are the drug of choice in Japan, but I've never met anyone who uses them. I've known plenty of Japanese pot smokers, but have never heard of any tweakers, other than in a Jake Adelstein book about Yakuza. Anyone else know any?
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Ad giant Dentsu fined ¥300 mil over Tokyo Olympics bid-rigging See in context
Fining a guy 0.50 cents for stealing $20 bucks, and letting him keep the $19.50.
Very effective!
9 ( +9 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan's imperial family gets 19 million likes on Instagram in 6 months See in context
The bronze spray-painted shovel without a hint of ever having been stuck into the earth, the prostate exam gloves instead of gardening gloves, and the boots, shiny black to the toes, all point to this photo being completely staged. Not even an attempt at making it look like they'd actually been doing this work. It's like they're at Disney and they paid ¥5,000 to dress up as Wyatt Erpp and his old lady to get their sepia-toned photo taken. At least when George W. Bush did photo-ops with his chainsaw on his ranch, he was actually ripping the chainsaw chunking up logs and he had sawdust all over him.
Then again, Japan is a very superficial society, so perhaps nobody will bat an eye.
-1 ( +2 / -3 )
Posted in: Climate misinformation is rife on social media – and poised to get worse See in context
ClippetyClop
If you don't think climate change is happening, then why is the climate changing?
Did I say that I don't think climate change is happening? Where did I say that?
Clearly it is happening.
What I'm saying is that when everything is contributed to climate change, it's disingenuous and discredits those same people when they talk about legitimate evidence of climate change.
But this is the problem with the conversation around the whole thing: "You're either with us or against us", there is no discussion allowed. Either you believe every puff of wind and drop of rain is climate change, or you're a right wing climate denier.
0 ( +3 / -3 )
Posted in: Climate misinformation is rife on social media – and poised to get worse See in context
Yet whenever anything happens in the weather, climate change is blamed and we are expected to take it at face value.
Prior to European arrival and industrialization, roughly 10% of the land in California, and similarly, about 10% of the land that is now L.A. Country would burn in a GIVEN YEAR. Yet when under 2% of it burns, it's all because of "climate change".
We are told that tornados are getting worse because of climate change, because they are destroying more houses. Yet anyone who has been to the Midwest over the years knows that farmers are always selling agricultural land to developers. That 2,000-acre cornfield that was here 5 years ago is now a neighborhood of 250 nearly identical houses, and that's happening all over the place. Nobody said much when the tornado ripped through a cornfield, but now there are more houses in its way. Of course more houses are being destroyed. The same is true with the fires and the proliferation of house-building in the hills of California.
0 ( +5 / -5 )
Posted in: Young Japanese adults show lowest dating experience level yet in annual survey See in context
Fish in a barrel for the local ALT....
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Ishiba hopes to work closely with Trump for robust Japan-U.S. ties See in context
Ishiba should cut off all diplomatic relations and trade with the US for 4 years to protest Trump saying there’s only two genders.
-1 ( +4 / -5 )
Posted in: Musk raises eyebrows with salute gesture at Trump rally See in context
Listen, I know it's fun to sit around and get all worked up into a tizzy about Trump and all that crap, but come on- do you really think he meant to salute Hitler or whatever? Give me a break.
-9 ( +4 / -13 )
Posted in: Yakuza leader pleads guilty in U.S. to trafficking nuclear materials from Myanmar See in context
Let this be a lesson to other Yaks to keep their shenanigans on their side of the lake.
Love him or hate him, Uncle Sam doesn't F around.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Tuna fetches ¥207 mil at year's 1st auction in Tokyo See in context
Peter Neil nailed it.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan governors push to have hot spring culture recognized by UNESCO See in context
Japan needs to realize that the only people who’ve heard of the concept of UN World Heritage Sites are people who read news about Japan.
Nobody cares.
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: Record number of teachers in Japan took mental illness leave in FY2023 See in context
Maybe if they didn't make the science teacher supervise the ping pong team until 7:00 each night before going back to the teacher's room until 8:00 to finish grading papers, then come in for half the day on Saturday to supervise the team, as well as for their entire summer "vacations", all while they've got their own kids at home.
Just a thought.
10 ( +14 / -4 )
Posted in: Tradition vs tourism debate clouding future for famed local festivals See in context
"It is our dream for our very famous festival to be known by people around the world!"
[people from around the world show up]
"Japanese only!"
-4 ( +3 / -7 )
Posted in: Man mistakenly arrested after bar fight See in context
Drinking in any bar, in any city, after 1:30am is an invitation for bad things to happen. Just sayin'.
If you consider your chances of maneuvering a one-night stand improving by about 250% a “bad” thing..
-1 ( +3 / -4 )
Posted in: Man mistakenly arrested after bar fight See in context
Japanese policing is improving.
20 years ago, the mistakenly arrested man would’ve had to confess to a lesser charge so that the police could save face.
0 ( +4 / -4 )
Posted in: 80% of female inmates in Japan convicted on theft, drug charges See in context
Lots of the older ones are probably just after 3 hots and a cot.
-2 ( +1 / -3 )
Posted in: Do you tend to eat and drink too much this time of year? See in context
My rule is to eat heavy foods and too much of them, including copious amounts of Christmas cookies, between Thanksgiving and New Year's. After that, I eat well and intermittently fast.
Last year, I stacked on 20 pounds during this period, then lost it within 2 months.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japanese team launches research to make living on moon reality See in context
They're gonna need to do research on how to insulate walls, not a Japanese strong suit. It gets pretty cold up there. Can't just have the astronauts huddling around a kerosene heater with their legs under a kotatsu.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: California man beheaded his 1-year-old son with a knife, authorities say See in context
People think American cops are hotheads. Really? The guy came out in cuffs, not in pieces stuffed in a body bag. How many of us, especially fathers, could control ourselves like that? If I was one of the responding officers, I'd be locked up wearing an orange jumpsuit right now and that guy would be in a refrigerator with a tag on his toe. I could never become a cop. God bless 'em.
2 ( +9 / -7 )
Posted in: 8 people die in multiple early morning fires across Japan See in context
Where are we at with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in Japan? Some years back, I installed both throughout my mother and father in-laws' and my sister in-law's houses, as they didn't have them. Moreover, -and more worrying- they had no idea they needed them. Apparently their homeowners insurance companies weren't on it, either. The local Home Depot-type stores had a decent selection of them, though.
I figured that must be pretty common over there, not to use them. Is it still the case?
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: At least 2 dead, 60 hurt after car drives into Christmas market in Germany See in context
A car, huh? Self-driving?
Or rather, is the news media trying to avoid telling us WHO was driving?
Gee, I wonder why...
-1 ( +9 / -10 )
Posted in: Man arrested for assaulting wife after argument over pajamas in washing machine See in context
Well I guess she won't do that again...!!
-9 ( +1 / -10 )
Posted in: Why Americans in Japan must file U.S. taxes See in context
I just went through a bunch of crap here in the US over a background check for a job because I didn't have my returns from doing JET 20 years ago.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan consumers' Christmas budgets down 27% amid rising living costs See in context
What's the Christmas budget in Japan for? A bucket of chicken and a love hotel?
2 ( +4 / -2 )
Posted in: New fences installed at Mount Fuji photo spot to curb jaywalking See in context
At this point, it seems that those who've decided they don't want people taking pictures of the mountain are just trying to save face.
3 ( +6 / -3 )
Posted in: Ecuadoran workers accuse 'monster' Japanese company of exploitation See in context
I'd never work for a Japanese private company again. Japanese executives seem to have some kind of tyrannical Napoleon complex over their grunts. Happy right where I am in corporate America, thankyouverymuch.
-4 ( +0 / -4 )
Posted in: 2 JAL pilots consume alcohol before flight, causing 3-hour delay See in context
If you've failed an Australian drinking test, you've DEFINITELY been drinking. A lot.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Nippon Steel slams 'inappropriate' politics in U.S. Steel deal See in context
Japan wouldn't even bother laughing at a foreign entity trying to come in and take over a strategic industry player like a steel company. So go pound sand, Nippon Steel.
0 ( +5 / -5 )
: LOL, LOL, LOL, This is a joke right. Invest in USS ??? Yeah right.
Posted in: Ishiba proposes Nippon Steel invest in U.S. Steel rather than acquire it
Posted in: Trump official orders consumer protection agency to stop work
"He needs not just to end the war. He needs to act so that (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin has no…
Posted in: Trump plan to end Ukraine war must prevent new Russian aggression, Zelenskyy says
Posted in: Vance and Musk question authority of the courts as Trump's agenda faces legal pushback