Foggia comments

Seriously, get a grip. They're getting time off, whatever they're doing with it. I'm not saying it's a great idea, but it's no scandal.

Especially for Obama & Biden. Considering their job, if they can't go get a couple hours off everytime there's a big problem, they'll never get free time. I mean, their jobs makes the whole world's problems concentrating in their hands. Emergency status 24/7. I think there's ways to do it properly without offending people, and sure when one gets a job like that, one should expect little free time. But it's not like they were boasting "now whatch that drive" kinda thing either.

I would agree on the whole, but there's a bit too much generalization and "why don't they do it like America does it" in my opinion. And I do not think the USA's educational system is without flaws, is it?

Just my two cents as a Frenchman, but renting in Paris is at least as hard for foreigners, and there's no "gajin houses" out there.

Baseball fans with those inflatable plastic tubes they use to clap during the whole match have the same effect on my ears & mood. Aim seems to be to make as much mindless noise as possible.

Japan is low in the bookmakers ratings because they are in such a tough group, otherwise I bet they'll fare better in the bookies opinion.

On the other side, France is against South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico, which should provide less of a challenge in general, unfortunately for the two commentators above. If they can get their heads out of their asses faster than the last world cups, they should finish first of the group, second otherwise is my guess (and/or hope). BTW, on coach level, France's Domenech is at least as criticized as Okada...

It is probably not against the law, but it is against Sumo regulations. It is actually written behind each ticket that admission is not permitted to gangsters. (written in Japanese as "affiliated to a Boryokudan/Yakuza group")

Whatever the so-called artistic quality of this guy's work. Fact is that porn movies are being taped all over this town in all kind of public places all the time, but this one guy doing kinda tame nude shots is getting arrested?

What a joke.

Japanese literature is of awesome proportion, and people read book all the time here, just take a train and witness that. Even people on their cellphone may actually be reading books, and those cellphone books are especially popular with young women, the exact same ones usually deemed the most empty headed. True those cellphone books hold probable little literary value to the classic-educated people, but it's part of the voice of this generation, and it still is reading material.

It would help if the author new the correct spelling of "dystopian".