cow76 comments

I don't think limited trains would work at night, at least not one every hour. If you have to catch two trains, you'd be facing a long wait for the first one and a 30 minute (on average) wait for the second. The links are always going to be a problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature_record_of_the_past_1000_years (warning: may contain science)

So if this is big news it suggests that bag snatching is a rare event in Japan?

Possibly some execs will leave to find better jobs but any company thinking of hiring will first think this: if they left their companies because times were tough, why would they not jump ship a second time? Ford could poach some executives but it's unlikely for this reason and also because those execs have an established losing record.

The sad thing is that it's only going to get worse.

LOL, Altria.

I personally hate the word 'outraged'. Almost nobody ever gets genuinely outraged. And instead of making people outraged, it is the outraged person who chooses to become outraged (their personality is the problem). Saying these musicians 'expressed outrage' demeans them, unless that's what they stated themselves.

Was it NIN's earlier or later work, BTW? Their recent stuff is certainly a bit torturous.

The portrayal of women on TV is not great but movies are generally worse. Every movie seems to be aimed at men, and women subtly fulfill the roles of male fantasy women. Just off the top of my head, try that movie about that guy who can teleport, starring the guy who played Anikin in the new Star Wars (sorry that's not more specific). I remember it really pissed me off when I saw it, and I'm a man.

I already love my 4 colour pen, no probs with it and only cost 280 yen. Great for English teachers (or anyone who uses a pen a lot, really). So, no thanks.

hang out and inhale paint thinners. I just can't believe anyone would be dumb enough to do this. Permanently killing parts of your brain... that's pretty sad.

Hopefully all the 'talents' on Japanese TV will be made redundant by animations. I could live more happily knowing people like Becky aren't really real.

The primary aim of war is to win. Secondary aims are ending it as soon as possible and minimising your own casualties. I usually disagree with right wingers like Sarge but I really don't think the US can be blamed for nuking those cities, especially given that they were not the aggressors in the war.

Lead by example, Mr. President. Lead by example.. Wow. How many Presidents have been community organisers prior to Obama? The closest example of helping the community that Bush the elder can cite is flying a plane in world war two. While praiseworthy in itself, technically I don't think it is volunteer work.

The only thing I've heard about the movie is that it's boring. Would watch it otherwise but it just seems to be dull.

Wii game selection is hit and miss, I agree. I've bought some crap but the occasional gem (like Excite Truck - best game ever, Mario Galaxy/Kart etc) fully make up for it. The other two companies tend to make less games but the average quality is slightly better.

Nice site gogogo but is said 1420 men got AIDS from unheated blood products and 18 women? Seems a bit unbalanced but maybe there are circumstances we don't know.

dbung10 - nicely said.

Even going drinking with the bosses after hours—a time-honored practice in Japanese corporate circles—is too much trouble for them; they persistently decline invitations that previous generations of recruits regarded as an honor. - you mean people are going to be shudder spending quality time with their families?!?

If the US believed in democracy it would argue for elections, South African style. Because that's what the situation is - SA style apartheid, forced separation of different peoples, greater rights for some and less rights for others.

Of course, the Jews would lose, being in the minority and all...

I think we should start Christmas celebrations over a year before it actually comes. It could be like the Olympics when everyone gets excited about the 2016 even though 2012 is nearer.

Because the thrill of getting a box of tasteless crap that I don't need and can't refund is just priceless.

Here's me thinking they made money from advertising. If they're happy to drive all their customers away to free sites, and forego the profits of advertising, good luck to them.

You can't have your cake and eat it, Rupert.

Why all the comparisons to Bush? Does anyone seriously believe Bush deserves a Nobel Peace Prize more than Obama? The idea is laughable - the guy started two major wars, pushed ahead with Star Wars (prompting a new arms race), wrecked relations with Europe, Russia and the rest of the world, refused to negotiate with NK, Iran etc (= getting nothing done at all). The list goes on.

As for Obama's accomplishments, I think a lot of people need to reread the headline.

I think the idea is that if Obama is working for peace, the award will make him even more powerful and able to achieve his goals. He hasn't achieved enough to merit the award but, as the article explains, the award is not just about merit.

I don't know about reducing the number of nukes to zero though. You can't trust all countries to do that but when all countries are in a position to destroy any other country, the chance of war is less because the risks are greater. Mutually Assured Destruction often brings peace.

But how do you judge how serious a crime it is? Not stopping at zebra crossings while driving is a crime but I don't hear anyone saying "Lock them up and throw away the key". Anyone advocating jail time for this victimless crime is a being hypocritical. It's got nothing to do with breaking the law, it's just because you hate drugs.

Obama is a pretty awesome president but this does seem kind of early. Certainly the world respects the US more now they have a strong president (and therefore the US is less likely to be attacked) but that's no reason for handing out Nobel Peace Prizes. I don't think anyone expected this, least of all Obama.

They should try giving them away or selling them for $10, considering they enable users to buy EBooks and make Amazon money. The big $$ is in repeated electronic sales, not one-off sales like the Kindle.

Ipods would also be $10 if people weren't willing to pay much more, because they enable users to use I-Tunes - Apple's cash cow.

The War on Drugs is 38 years old and has never, ever looked like being won. About time some of the states started doing their own thing if the Federal government doesn't change.

State Government can grow all the pot needed to supply the state and make money instead of allowing criminals to profit.

Cancellations galore tomorrow! Woot, I get paid by the month!

I believe oil companies have donated large amounts of money to scientists that are prepared to dispute global warming.

predictions that are impossible to scientifically prove is just bad science

Actually, no. Adopting the most likely scientific explanation is called the scientific method. Heard of it? That carbon in the atmosphere is trapping heat is considered the most likely explanation for global warming but if anyone can come up with a better explanation then the scientists will switch to that.

And doomsday predictions? Another word would be risk/benefit outcome. They're generally a good idea.

why is a plant that grows taking up CO2 which is later released when it is burned as biofuel any greener than a cow that takes up CO2 and emits it partly on the field or when it is consumed?

It's a good question but the most important thing is efficiency. If you grow plants, you degrade the land. If you raise cattle, you also degrade the land. But the latter is much worse because cattle eat plants, not just grass but corn, soy, maize etc. So you're degrading the land to make plants and then further degrading the land by feeding those plants to cattle.

Also, fruit and vegetables produce many times more food in a given area than cattle farming (or any other kind of animal farming). So less land is required. Hey presto, more forest.

Sarge, surely you could put a cow in a sealed area, measure accurately the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted and then multiply by the number of cows.

Yet again, another negative, snipey, poorly thought out question. Try positive arguments defending your own side for a change. Warning: may involve thinking.