Concerned Citizen comments

@Strangerland

Not yet. Hand to hand cash transactions are still mostly allowed. But the day is coming.

Just as Big Tech, which dominates the flow of information, seeks to dictate what can and cannot be said, those who control the flow of money will seek to dictate how it can and cannot be spent. An unfortunate reality. Those of us who dissent from 'normal' thinking better prepare.

Rakuten bullies.

Bernie is not liked by Hillary, the Dem's establishment and other elitists because he is sincere and does actually care about the people. As much as I disagree with some of his policies, he is the best of the Dems. No chance of defeating Trump though.

No hand to hand cash transactions means that the banks/govts will track our every cent spent, which means monitoring, which means control, which means dictatorship. Get ready. God help those who think differently than the elites.

Ideally, U.S. society without violence and guns would be great, like Japan. Would a ban work? I don't know. I'd hate to be a legislator who had to decide these things. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

I do respect Bernie Sanders while not agreeing with many of his policies. Poor guy has been absolutely shafted by his own traitorous party in cahoots with CNN.

Warren just doesn't have the understanding, or stature to be president.

In the end, neither of these two can possibly defeat Trump in 2020.

Is he planning to invest in pulling African Americans out of poverty while neglecting others?

How about tackling income inequality for all the poor regardless of skin color?

No wonder Dems are facing another humiliating loss in 2020. They only care about certain groups of people and openly despise the the rest aka the 'deplorables'.

Congratulations on a fine victory.

subject of two alleged sexual assault investigations in Ireland.

If he was a conservative politician or commentator, clergyman or in any other way 'deplorable' he would not be given such favorable press.

What a hypocritical joke of an accusation, as others here have pointed out.

Nissan and the Japanese authorities have been exposed and embarrassed. Now they're just trying to save face.

Great news. I remember when it was 30,000/yr.

I wonder why countryside prefectures like Yamanashi, Akita and Iwate have the highest rates? Depressed farmers?

May the downward trend in suicide rates continue.

We lived not far from the epicenter at the time and got shaken up significantly, but not hurt. It was amazing to be active in the relief effort and to watch the city recover and be rebuilt so quickly.

The Japanese justice system is very tough. This has both positive and negative results.

Positive in that it helps keep crime levels very low in comparison to other countries. For that, I am very grateful. Negative in that if administered unfairly then the innocent suffer greatly, as some posters here have.

As far as Ghosn goes, I would say that if he was guilty of those accusations then he should be punished. The rich get away with stuff that us common folk would never get away with. Nevertheless, I think it is hypocritical that he was treated so harshly, when so many Japanese execs and elites are committing similar crimes and either getting away with it or getting slaps on the wrists. Obviously there was an agenda to get him.

It's not their genders that counts these two out in 2020, it's their and their party's policies.

The Democratic Party has had a spectacular downfall in recent years. it is now terminally infested with liberal woke bible thumping elitism, racism against whites, misandry, identity politics, victimhood, slaughter the babies up until birth, false climate change claims, etc. They need to get back to the Democratic Party of old that actually cared about the working class.

Neither of them can win2020.

Well said.

She's standing up to the bully Chinese communist govt that doesn't care about the welfare or feelings Taiwanese people in the least.

Congratulations to him.

But what on earth does his skin color have to do with it?

Poor guy. It's tough to find true love when you're that rich. And it's seems that's not even what he's looking for anyway. He probably just wants an ongoing series of playmates.

Most guys like him end up lonely and unfulfilled and so do the gold diggers who chase them.

The situation in the city of Baltimore is the product of the choices of its residents and the people they elected. You reap what you sow.

What a disgrace. The Japanese authorities ought to be ashamed of themselves now that they've been brutally exposed and humiliated before the whole world. I hope this leads to needed reforms.

I admire her guts and conviction to fight for what she believes and she should be credited for that. But she is obviously misguided by the adults in her life, phony science, fake news media and the globalists.

I think we can criticize her ideas, but we ought to treat her respectfully, as we ought to do with everyone.

If she were guided properly she could be a great advocate for genuinely needy causes such as child abuse. poverty, homelessness, drug abuse, etc.

Well done Taiwan. May you continue to stand strong in your freedom and independence.

@Chelsea

Therefore, Netflix is just a bunch of biased, anti-Christian bigots who are cowering behind freedom of expression to slander someone they know is incredibly valuable to us.

I'm not sure we can label every person at Netflix like that....but I think it is fair to say that the entertainment industry generally portrays Christians negatively and makes fun of us in ways they would never do to most other groups or religious people. Because we usually 'turn the other cheek' we're easy game.

@Jimizo

I can’t help but think that Christians should regard their relative restraint at supposedly negative portrayals of Jesus as a point of pride compared with the mayhem and butchery which often results from supposedly negative portrayals of Mohammed. I’m sure decent Christians don’t want the same culture of fear, fatwas and threats surrounding portrayals of their deity.

Agreed.

I also think that this one insignificant flick that will probably be a box office flop is probably not worth our outrage as much as the avalanche of movies that glorify the basest of human non virtues: violence, war, materialism, selfishness, anger, revenge, etc. The sheer weight of this Hollywood garbage negatively affects society far worse than this movie ever will.

So, I don't think us Christians ought to scream about this. But 90% of the Brazilian population is Christian. So is 65% of the US population. If they or the rest of us Christians don't like what Netflix or the rest of the entertainment industry is offering then they/we can just quietly ignore them, cancel our subscriptions, etc, like I've done for decades now. Losing a huge chunk of their customer base might make the entertainment industry clean up its act.

Huge win for freedom of speech, democracy and the common people.

Huge defeat for the fascistic, dictatorial, leftist, globalists. Aka the Democratic Party, Washington DC deep state swamp dwellers, CNN and other mainstream US media, Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, Hollywood elitists, etc, etc.

Well done Facebook!

Rather than protest and take legal action, these particular Christians ought to just ignore the film. Let the artists have their freedom of speech, however distasteful, just as we want our freedom of speech, however 'offensive' some think it to be.

We need to all just cool down and stop getting offended by every little thing.

This is great news.

Though I'm surprised to see that Japan ranks about average in the world for fatalities per billion km traveled. I would have thought that the Japanese are more law abiding and careful drivers than most other nations. It seems I was wrong.

It's great that such a positive and hopeful song is so popular in Japan. I'm sure it's at least partly because the people here appreciate some uplift and cheer in the midst of the daily grind.

Violence begets violence. It's just not worth getting involved. President Trump should not have provoked Iran. For the sake of peace and the lives of many I hope and pray that he and the Iranians calm down.

@girl_in_tokyo

According to Ms. Ito's testimony, she thinks she was drugged because the amount she drank was insufficient to cause her to throw up and completely black out.

If that was the case then that changes the story significantly and I would not have reacted by giving advice to avoid such situations. My advice was given because the article states 'she was in a state of intoxication and unconscious.' indicating she had drunk too much alcohol.

I don't have a daughter, but as a female with female friends and nieces, I would not say anything about "getting herself into such a situation" after the fact.....

Neither would I, because after the fact is, as you said, not helpful and such a person should not be 'berated' as you put it. But, if my daughter was sloppy drunk (not spiked) at the time of the assault and had left herself exposed to danger I'm sure she won't be doing that again, at least I hope not. And if she was back at it again getting sloppy drunk in questionable company than I would have to at some point somehow get it across to her that she shouldn't do that.

If a man gets drunk and passes out under a bridge and gets beaten and robbed, no one is going to lecture him that he "got himself into such a situation" and give him patronizing advice after the fact because hey, he must not have known know any better and therefore needs other people to tell him how to adult. But women are patronized on a daily basis and then outright told we are to blame.

On the contrary, I think most such unfortunate men would definitely get some at least sideways looks with accompanying 'what the hell were you doing drunk under a bridge? questioning. If it was my son or friend, after they recovered and the situation settled down I would definitely probe to see if they had learned their lesson and firmly tell them to stop such behavior if it looks like they haven't.

My primary concern is the safety and well being of my daughters, wife and female friends, and you and all women as well. I can see you, being female, feel that even more strongly than me. I absolutely share your view that better behavior should be expected of men. Once we've done all we can from this angle we should add an extra layer of protection by advising our girls to avoid dangerous situations. It's just common sense and being street wise to do both. Every one has to do this in certain situations in life, men, woman and children. I, as a man don't venture into dangerous parts of town at night alone. Why? Because I might get mugged and robbed. I don't allow my kids to walk the streets or go to school alone. Etc. etc.

All the best to you girl_in_tokyo.

Unfortunately Trump is being egged on by his Jewish friends and relatives, Republican war mongers, arms providers and theologically misguided Israel supporting evangelical church backers who all hate Iran with a vengeance or have a profit motive. He must ignore them and stick firmly to his promises to avoid conflicts with other nations.

President Trump should steer clear of conflict with Iran, or any other country, at all costs. It's not worth it.