Elephunk comments

Yuri, it is nice to see people admit when they've made a mistake; takes a big person to do that. The reason that I am pointing this out is not to gloat over you or anything like that, but to point out that sometimes we as people need to be more patient and non-reactionary. It is always better to resolve such things through diplomacy rather that threats. Imagine how Chinese would react if USA issued some kind of a threat with regards to Chen; the guy wouldnt live for long I presume. Believe it or not but I dont want my country to go to war with anyone; even less so with China. You are right to point out that China's society as a whole is still messed up, but they are working on it. A confrontation with USA will only make the process longer. All of these types of issues need to be resolved through diplomacy rather than confrontation, and USA is often the country that undertakes this burden. It is true that we still have voices in this country that call for war over minor disputes, even with countries like China. What is surprising to me is that you, as a Japanese and as someone who knows the real price of war, often sound like the local war-mongering rednecks :)

I told you Yuri that this is how the story would play out.

I guess you could say that she was hungry for justice :)

So... just like I've said it would happen. Yuri, I'm looking at you :)

Yuri, once again you show your naive view of international politics. It would be impossible for US government to get Chen out of the country without the consent of Chinese government. He is protected while he is on embassy grounds, but he would be a prisoner there for the rest of his life unless China lets him leave.

Also, Chen did NOT ask for asylum when he entered US embassy and he left because the chinese threatened to harm his family if he didnt. There is NOTHING that US can do to stop China from harming his family who are not in US custody. What Chen is doing now is raising stink so his entire family (who are NOT in US custody) can leave China.

Chances are, this is exactly what will happen. I bet you that the Chinese will let him leave for US because my guess is that it's already been negotiated behind the scenes by US govmt, and Chen's release back from the embassy was a face saving gesture to China so they can later claim that they've let him leave the country on their own will.

Also, please note that US has ZERO responsibility to help this guy, and the fact that he is now badmouthing US makes me wish that my country wouldn't. What Chen is asking US to do is to tell China what to do with several of its citizens, which US has no right to. Remember how upset you get when US tries to dictate terms to Japan? How you alway curse United States when it says or does something that you dont agree with? How you tell Americans not to impose our values on Japan (in things like divorce and abductions of children; those are human rights abuses too you know)? Why is that you dont extend the same courtesy to Chinese Yuri? Do Chinese not have a right to conduct their internal affairs without US interference?

Nevertheless, my government IS doing something to help this guy (there is a congressional hearing going on as we speak with Chen phoning in live) and chances are his release is being negotiated as we speak. When he does indeed leave China for US, I expect an apology from all of you that are badmouthing my country.

p.s. Yuri, also please note that YOUR country, Japan, is doing absolutely NOTHING in terms of helping this guy. So please get off your high horse.

you will not allow? didnt they already bow to the pressure? seems a bit too late.

lol yuri, did you already forget how self-isolation turned out for japan in the past? considering that more than half of your economy is dependent on exports, please stop saying silly thing like "global economy is a falsehood from the west". makes you look really unintelligent.

unlike in japan though, the public actually does something about these clowns; whenever there is ultranationalist gathering, the crowds usually beat them up.

i've read somewhere a quote by general mcarthur that you have to treat japanese like they are 12 year olds; is it really that bad over there guys? do people not care about issues unless they are presented in comic form?

wow, has it really come down to this? can we not have a grown up and mature discussion with japanese anymore? if it was me, i would be very offended by the condescending nature of this manga. we (americans) are definitely crossing some line with this propaganda. if we cannot discuss these issues like adults, wtf are we doing in japan anyways?

Having manners will never go out of style, at least for the people who want to matter in this world. Just look at any high level interactions (such as political summits, scientific conventions, academic or economic forums) and you will find people with good manners. The gestures mentioned (be that towards women or men) show that you have respect towards that person, which is still important in this day and age. BTW, I hold doors for both men and women :)

Or we can attack China while we still have an advantage :)

Same legacy as 3 PMs before him - a string of politicians with no spine that promise more than they can chew.

Anyone who complained at least once about Japanese police racial profiling them needs to stfu about supporting this Arizona law. This WILL cause people to harass legit immigrants AND citizens based solely on their race. It is a definition of racial profiling, but I guess it's ok as long as it's not against a white man right? If you support this Arizona law, you have no right to complain about Japanese racial discrimination.

and here we have some japanese saying that they dont need immigrants; the facts speak for themselves. allow your poorer east asian neighbors to come there permanently and the problem will be solved.

here is a link to a video - now this is what I call politics: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/27/ukraine.punchup/index.html?hpt=Mid

these countries want more influence but they dont want to contribute the dough. US calls the shots at that and similar organizations because we contribute the most money. Lest time I've checked, China is not exactly known for its humanitarianism.

@motogaijin - Obama meets with muslim leaders all the time. In any case, right howled at Obama for using dijon mustard instead of ketchup on his hamburger; it is doubtful that anything he does will please them.

wtf? what is with all of these criminals admitting to their crimes? do Japanese police kick them in the groin until they confess or something?

White people came to America illegally; would be hypocritical to turn these people away. What US needs to to is allow majority of these illegals to become legal workers; at least this way they would pay taxes. Mexicans will come to US no matter what is happening cause of a simple fact; for a lot of them life in US jail is better than what it is back home (like not having food to eat). While I am against illegal immigration, the amount of effort that it will take to keep these people away will be much grater than the disadvantages associated with illegal immigration. Plus, it WILL create human rights abuses; cops WILL pull over and harass millions of legal hispanic-looking US citizens to enforce these kinds of laws.

@NationalistRE - but Napoleon and Hitler didnt have hundreds of nukes as well as thousands of cruise missiles and jet airplanes - did they? In any case, China will never become what US is now for one simple but profound reason - there is not enough resources on Earth to support US level of consumption for Chinese (even if US disappeared off the face of the earth).

Why I do applaud Germany's effort to prevent nutcases from denying history (Japan could learn from this), why are Germans prosecuting a British citizen for something the he said in Britain? Do they have jurisdiction over British citizens because they are all part of EU. This seems very strange to me.

I hope that this tragedy will be a catalyst that will help Poland and Russia to reconcile and improve their relations (which, ironically, they were doing by attending this commemoration). Lets hope those peoples' deaths were not in vain. Of course, this wont stop all the nuts from saying that Russia did it.

This is why we cant have nice things; one idiot mother screws it up for hundreds of US families that adopt from Russia on yearly bases. A child is not a puppy; even if what the grandmother is saying is true (doubtful), this was certainly not the way to handle it. Try therapy perhaps? A 7 year old child that has to go through cultural shock might behave strangely. In any case, the mom is an idiot.

@5SpeedRacer5 - so me having a discussion with someone who has both the education and real life experience in the industry makes my opinion unqualified? I read your posts and there is a huge amount of pro-Japan bias in all of them, so you accusing US of bias on the issue is quite ironic. Remember, this is not Japan; we dont get our panties twisted in a bunch over our domestic brands. An unbiased view of the issue will reveal that Toyota is at fault; the facts collaborate this.

Toyota broke US safety laws and they will pay for it; nothing more nothing less. All the Japan fanboys here need to chill-out - just because the company is Japanese doesnt mean that they are beyond reproach. @5SpeedRacer5 - why are you trying so hard to make it look like there is nothing wrong with toyotas when even their CEO came out and admitted that there is a problem? Here is a clue for you, when comapny's CEO comes out publicly and admits fault and also says that their quality has declined - chances are something is wrong. I know that it doesnt fit into your narrative that everything that Japan makes is super duper quality and nothing could be wrong, but you gonna have to be a big boy and come to terms with a fact that toyota screwed this one up. I've had a discussion with my Quality Control professor about this, and he basically said that the chance that the amount of sudden acceleration occurrences is somehow driver's fault and not design flaw, is statistically close to zero (this is based on all the customer complaints even prior to the scandal). Does this mean that I will stop driving my toyota and go buy american? Unlikely, but please stop pretending like toyota can do no wrong, you only making yourself look biased.

Im curious, how marketable are these degrees (both from globis and akita intl uni) outside of japan?

I'm really hoping that posters mentioning Japan building robot armies are just trolling because I cant believe someone would be this unintelligent. In any case, the current state of Japanese army will change swiftly if/when US leaves; them main reason for its unseemly state is the fact that they dont really need to worry about wars since US is expected to fight them for Japan. Once that is no longer the case, I would imagine that changes would come about quickly. Also, having fancy equipment isnt always a good indicator of fighting ability; Russians, for example, did fairly well in the wars that they fought with a lot crappier equipment than that of western countries.

Lol Lars, you just not gonna admit it are you? I love it hove you say that "if fair election are held then I would support it", well buddy, do you think that Chechen rebels were holding fair elections (or any kind of vote) among Chechen people asking them if the majority wanted to leave Russian Federation and create a Kavkaz Emirate? No they did not. SO how again are you going to justify their actions? They've had guns and following SU's collapse they saw an opportunity to force their agenda unto people and whoever didnt agree with them they've shot them. I was there when SU collapsed and I saw mass political movements by people in different satellite countries to gain independence - which they did with almost no fighting or resistance whatsoever. A lot of former SU countries gained independence, including my family's home country. Why do you think Chechnya was different? There was no mass political movement - there was a bunch of militants who decided to take Chechnya by force in the name of Islam and whoever didnt agree with them was killed. I'll say it again, I know what I'm talking about because I grew up in one of those "occupied" countries (so it makes me infinitely more qualified than you to speak on the subject) and despite of all the hardships that my country suffered at the hands of commies, I would pick modern Russia's rule over Sharia law each time, every time.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but reading your post I get an impression that you justify atrocities committed by Chechen terrorists against their own people (and yes, they have done a lot of that) just because they are of same nationality - care to rephrase that?