daraho comments

Dumb, dumb and dumber....

At a very simplistic level this is an example of supply and demand. Japanese men get young girls for sex and young girls get money for the things that the Japanese media brainwash them into wanting. The guilty party here is the dark underside of the moral framework of Japanese culture/society and the wholesale sexualisation of children for the gratification of adults that has been occurring for a number of years.

Anyone standing on a 'traditional values' platform immediately attempts to hinder and even obstruct progress. The simplistic and ignorant nonsensical ramblings of Palin and Beck hark back to less enlightened times and ignore the threat that irrational religious beliefs pose to all human kind.

The thing I most dislike about Obama is that even though he appears to be sane and reasonably rational he lacks the courage to declare that he is in reality an atheist and that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of Gods, scriptures or any other fantastical devices.

It is fairly well known by criminologists that when inmates are consulted regarding the treatment of other prisoners they are normally far harsher than the rest of the population. Perhaps in democratic societies prisoners should be allowed to vote regarding the fate of their fellow inmates after sentence. I am sure this would result in a dramatic increase in executions. Prisoners might also be involved in deciding appeals as many long term prisoners have a great deal of experience in legal matters and would no doubt deal with matters quickly and at minimal cost.

An interesting technical achievement but the film itself has a simplistic plot that treats the audience like dummies. Basically zero contribution to the cultural heritage of the planet Earth

These rallies are frankly ridiculous as they are largely composed of one group of irrational people who believe one set of nonsense screaming at another group who believe in another lot of nonsense.

All religious belief when taken seriously should be recognised as a hindrance to the progress of humanity and the advancement of civilisation as a whole. The freedom to practice and hold clearly irrational beliefs is largely harmless and should be viewed by a rationally governed society as benign and eccentric a bit like those who pretend they are elves or dress up in Star Trek costumes. Problems would no doubt occur if such persons really believed that President Obama was Sauron and that all Mexicans were Klingons/Romulans and that is how those who have religious beliefs are acting.

However, those who commit or are planning or supporting crime should be investigated and prosecuted wherever there beliefs come from. All religion is based on irrational belief and it is all forms of irrational belief that are the real potential danger as these beliefs can radically distort thinking and in extreme forms lead to irrational and sometimes dangerous/criminal behaviour. Rational law abiding persons in every country should be protected against extremely irrational persons whoever they are and whatever group they belong to.

The fact that these irrational belief systems have been around for a while and pervade institutions from the top down should not fool us. The war on terrorism should be a war on irrational-ism and scientific ignorance.

Democratic nations should simply not vote for people who hold irrational beliefs such as evolution did not happen or that there is an all seeing extra terrestrial who wants us to eradicate all those who do not believe in it. As for those who make a good living out of peddling irrationality ... laws should certainly be passed to protect children and vulnerable persons from being brainwashed with such nonsense and they should be told the truth as we know it from evidence (rather than ridiculous unfounded beliefs).

We need to build a moral and just world without wasting our energies and resources on fairy stories and other fantasy that lead to conflicts over whose irrational belief system is the right one.

False accusation is almost as common as actual cases of sexual harassment in Japan and more credence is often given to the accuser than the accused. Where there is a lack of evidence or evidence is obtained under duress prosecutors should have a lot more clout in telling police to do a better job. The same problem existed in many other countries including the UK and after several unsafe prosecutions the Police and Criminal Evidence Act was passed that lays down rights and rules for the treatment of all those in custody. This includes how interviews should be conducted, legal representation, welfare of those in custody and most importantly how long they can be detained. The effect of the legislation is to focus the police on the quality of evidence such as their interview that is recorded. There have been amendments by other legislation, particularly in relation to terrorist suspects, but its basically the same. If the rules aren't followed then the police would be in serious trouble as any departure from agreed procedures needs senior authorisation and ultimately permission from the Judiciary and when this is not obtained then the police themselves can be prosecuted. I suspect there is similar legislation in the US and Canada and also other European countries in addition to the UK. The Japanese criminal justice system has long been under the spotlight of those concerned with human rights.

He has never been the same since the accident. If I were him I would retire and take it easy.

There is so much hype about this little little touch screen functionally limited device I was expecting something exceptional. The iPad looks like an interesting but not ground-breaking gadget that still isn't quite there in terms of convenience, power, and versatility. Let's not kid ourselves that this is a truly multifunctional device -its not. It needs a camera, microphone with full voice recognition, off device virtual keyboard, compatibility with every format out there just for starters. It looks great so Mr Iven has done a good job. Frankly, I am disappointed with this product and sincerely hope that iPad2 will offer the kind of device that will cause real excitement. I just don't see it having any advantage over one of the new small laptops and let's face it who is going to use this product and where will they use it once the initial poseur phase is over? I seriously don't think there is a market for this at the moment for enough people who probably already have an iPhone. However, if it was half the price then it would be tempting to while away the time on the odd flight or train journey or to keep the kids amused on a trip. Definite thumbs down for every day use and thumbs up for visual/designer/poseur appeal.

Okinawans are a truly exceptional people who are often treated as second class citizens in Japan so it is particularly good to see Chibana do well. There should be no surprise at her good English as Okinawans are undoubtedly some of the most creative and innovative and Western savvy people as they have had to be to survive. Okinawa produces a disproportionate number of artists, musicians and models in Japan and has an excellent education system and lifestyle that makes people feel valued and supported when they are growing up. Chibana will be proud of her roots and the many differences that set her apart from Japanese mainlanders,desperate to claim her as one of their own, despite the fact Okinawa is the poorest prefecture in Japan and suffers greatly from occupation by US and Japanese military forces.

Okinawans are a truly exceptional people who are often treated as second class citizens in Japan so it is particularly good to see Chibana do well. There should be no surprise at her good English as Okinawans are undoubtedly some of the most creative and innovative and Western savvy people as they have had to be to survive. Okinawa produces a disproportionate number of artists, musicians and models in Japan and has an excellent education system and lifestyle that makes people feel valued and supported when they are growing up. Chibana will be proud of her roots and the many differences that set her apart from Japanese mainlanders,desparate to claim her as one of their own, despite the fact Okinawa is the poorest prefecture in Japan and suffers greatly from occupation by US and Japanese military forces.

“I want to end my single life this year because I feel lonely when I come back to my messy home.”

Wouldn't one of those talking robotic vacuum cleaners be a lot less bother than doing one of those celeb marriage jobs or is this just a weak attempt to boost his profile prior to the release of his latest recording?

The imaging technique can peer below surfaces of cells without damaging organic material

Surely this is a step nearer to producing fully working 3d X-ray specs. Good work IBM researchers working with the Center for Probing the Nanoscale at Stanford University in California. Who said scientists don't have fun?????

A strange hobby but hardly worth destroying the young man by naming and shaming him. This is scapegoating at its worst. Surely the police should have just cautioned him and made him apologise to the victim. He is small fry compared to much bigger problems that are far more embarassing to the Japanese government but perhaps concentrating on something trivial and mildly amusing for some diverts attention from issues that are a bit closer to home.

A far more serious problem would appear to be the underage sex industry that involves much younger children including police officers, government officials, university employees, and particularly teachers. This seems to be a greater threat to the fabric of Japanese society especially when you consider the rapid spread of STDs in recent years amongst very young people.

I have read all of his books, albeit in translation, and as far as I am concerned they all stand up pretty well s he has improved as a writer. He has created his own mini-genre and he does what he does within it -love him or loathe him. The fact of the matter is that he doesn't really have to write any more books as with smart management he could live very comfortably from the income generated from his existing works. As a struggling writer I admire him as he has resisted, for the most part, the role of pop-writer which would ironically led him into some kind of TV media career presenting a cookery chat show with sexy co-presenters and an audience of giggling teenagers hanging on his every word. I am not even a bit jealous of course.