CSummerville comments

Short and simple (from the article) for Herve L'Eisa: Scientists say climate change is intensifying the risk of heavy rain in Japan and elsewhere because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.

I am an environmental radical and if you knew the poisons that are being put on your food you would be too.. This instant nationwide ban was stupid and the transition to organic should have been done in stages over a few years but let's stick with the corrupt politicians and companies like Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow who are forcing dangerous chemicals into our bodies for their profits. Women in so-called developed countries now have over 200 synthetic chemicals in their breast milk--more than 40 of which are still being studied for the carcinogenic impact on the mother's and baby's health..

Unless the whole junior high school and the senior high school system is overhauled to encourage critical thinking and as long as Japanese universities remain mainly just a stepping stone to getting a job after getting a BA where most students are not even interested in the major they chose and where their club activities are often more important than many of their classes, and as long as they continue to cram 4 years of classes into 2-3 years so they can job hunt and continue to have the lowest % of students in the developed world going on to graduate studies (due in the main to the senpai/kohai culture in the workplace) Japan will NEVER be on par with international universities no matter how much money they receive.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/28/joe-rogan-neil-young-spotify-streaming-service

Reply to Fizzbit---HERE is the life-threatening information!!! Rogan, the podcaster, UFC color commentator, and former actor, is no stranger to controversy. He has repeatedly urged his younger listeners not to get vaccinated and has touted ivermectin as a COVID treatment. (Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat or prevent COVID. Its list of side effects is long.) Rogan has also hosted a variety of conspiracy theorists (including Alex Jones), has given voice to anti-trans views, and has falsely claimed that “left-wing people” started forest fires in the West.

Phrasing for the day:

“When I left Spotify, I felt better,” [Neil] Young wrote on his website today. “I support free speech. I have never been in favor of censorship. Private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information. I am happy and proud to stand in solidarity with the front line health care workers who risk their lives every day to help others.”

[Neil Young], who has long criticized audio quality on streaming services, and on Spotify in particular, closed with one last dig. “As an unexpected bonus, I sound better everywhere else,” he wrote.

https://arstechnica.com/.../spotify-support-buckles.../...

This is only the beginning....the Climate Crisis has been known to be approaching for over 35 years (45 if you work for Shell) and we have done nothing..the new normal...

First of all, well done to the Japanese national who remarked on the announcement. Japan belatedly, like so many other countries have done in the past 50 years, is going through the 'acceptance' pains of finding themselves awash with non-natives who act, speak, and look different. My parents generation in Britain had the same problems in the 1960's with non-white visitors let alone residents. Much of mainstream conservative USA STILL has issues with non-white residents and visitors after TWO HUNDRED years. This incident is not 'unbelievable' at all, as one comment stated. It is part of the so-called 'globalization' process..

This is why Abe and his gang of corrupt ministers are HOPING Trump will be elected...so COAL will continue to destroy our planet and our children's future!!

Yes, maybe elegant but not a cup of Fairtrade coffee in sight..Used to have it, but due to lack of awareness and demand, disappeared! SHAME on the Customers and Starbucks..charging $3-4 a cup while paying coffee farmers that much for a 10-12 hour working day...BOYCOTT STARBUCKS!!!

Japan is still going through the cycle of ‘Westernization’ that it seems every country inevitably has to go through (like many individuals?) before more and more ‘return’ to the values and unique facets of their own culture. This Westernization is both positive and negative; note the changes that are happening both in the West and here in regards to gender rights, acceptance of immigrants and mixed marriages, to name a few. ‘The grass is always greener on the other side’ is an obvious axiom here, evident in the comment about vegetarian restaurants being so common in Britain now. Finding such restaurants 20-30 years ago was almost impossible, as was finding decent beer; does anyone remember the days of Double Diamond, Watneys Red Barrel and Budweiser? Even now, 20 years after the U.S., decent craft beer is only now becoming available in Britain as it is here in Japan and the same is true for vegetarian restaurants, Fair Trade products and organic vegetables—all of which were almost unheard of when I was growing up in Britain in the 1970’s. Comparisons of countries are always a subjective exercise. We only have to look at the efficient train system, the relative cleanliness of the cities and the fact that I can leave my door unlocked here in Japan to make another subjective comparison between Japan and the West. Change is always slower when a ‘value’ was imposed on or transferred to a country than in a country where the change evolved due to a political or popular movement. Note how due to democratic demands, drug laws and gay marriage rights are finally throwing off the shackles of the conservative 1950’s in the West, while the laws that were imposed by the US on Asia, not demanded by the populace itself at that time, are still strongly in place. All we can do is to live and teach those values we believe to be sustainable, free of cruelty and beneficial for the planet and the change will happen-in its own time, and often all too slowly!!