Posted in: Putin draws nuclear red line for the West See in context
Putin has had multiple "red lines" drawn. All of them have already been crossed. He threatened a nuclear response if the West supported Ukraine. He threatened nukes if the West sent HIMARS and similar systems. He threatened nukes over F-16s. He threatened nukes if Western weapons were used to strike Russian territory. All of these happened, without any nuclear response. This is the same thing. The West knows that Putin is bluffing. Everyone knows he won't go through with it. He can't go through with it. The US has already outlined what will happen if he uses even tactical nukes against Ukraine. Putin is losing his grip on power and he knows his days are numbered, and quite literally days. His economy lay in ruins, his military has been humiliated, his "strong man" image has been shattered, his people are getting more and more outraged, and the country is stepping closer and closer to civil war. And when a Russian president loses their strong man image, they're kicked out of office sooner or later. The same will happen to Putin. His threats will amount to nothing because they are worth nothing. Threats only work if you're afraid of the person making them. Ukraine isn't afraid, and nor is the West. He's finished.
8 ( +9 / -1 )
Posted in: National treasure-class mirror, sword found in 4th-century tomb in Japan See in context
@Moonraker a "meandering" blade is also described as a flame-bladed sword, a flamberge, a wavy-bladed sword, and a few other names I believe. Basically the blade has a wavy pattern to its shape. It's fairly common for swords of this type to be ceremonial, as the shape is tricky to forge, so it's a sign of skill from the swordsmith.
I'd be interested to see pictures of this sword (and the mirror too, of course). I'm always fascinated by these kinds of archaeological finds, and a ceremonial sword well over 2 metres in length is certainly intriguing, especially given the time period and material used.
@Awa no Gaijin: Damascus Steel (proper name Pattern-welded steel) is not the same as what Japanese blacksmiths have used for centuries. They use steel Lamination. Pattern-welded steel mixes two or more different steels into one single bar, which is then forged into a blade that possesses distinct patterning (hence the name). Lamination doesn't do this, and doesn't create that distinct pattern either. Lamination of steel is endemic to Japan. Also, a sabre is a type of sword. So yes: Japanese do make swords.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Do you consider the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be war crimes? See in context
Not just a war crime, but an act of terror and an unnecessary display of violence. The bombs were dropped on civilians in an effort to strike fear into Japan, to scare them into surrendering even though they were already beaten, surrounded on all fronts with no hope of victory. There was no need to use such a horrific weapon, let alone twice. Imperial Japan was already finished, it's just that the Emporer and his cohorts were a little slow on the uptake. The combined might of the Allied Forces would have soon made that reality inescapable.
But it's worse than that. Nuclear weapons are the worst thing we've ever invented, and they've paved the way for the current Ukraine crisis. The "nuclear deterrent" has failed in its intended purpose. People like Putin can now use nuclear weapons as a shield while they attack non-nuclear nations, safe in the knowledge that they can't be effectively retaliated against.
There was no need for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Innocent lives were lost due to America's bloodthirsty desire for revenge, revenge for the Pearl Harbour attack. That's all it ultimately amounts to. Japan had already lost the war. It's naval forces had been repeatedly crushed, its airforce stripped down to just inexperienced pilots, its ground forces pushed back to the home islands. They refused to accept that their messages were being decrypted, costing the military so many lives and so much hardware. Their days were numbered, and the number was a very small one. What America did was little different to stamping on a fly after ripping its wings and legs off.
10 ( +11 / -1 )
Posted in: Japanese company uses video game-style hit point badges to help employees know who needs a hand See in context
Pretty sure that if HP gauges were an actual thing IRL, mine would permanently be at 1 HP.
All jokes aside, this isn't going to work out the way Onken seems to think it will. Not many, if any, would be brave enough to wear the yellow HP badge, let alone the critical. Doing so would likely result in a barrage of questions, as well as silent judgement, behind-the-back gossip, and criticism from management (especially HR, who forever seem to be seeking to "trim the fat" by getting rid of people it can't abuse). So for the sake of a quiet life, and for their jobs, everyone would wear the green badges even if the truth is far from it.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Netflix shares drop 23% after it loses 200,000 subscribers See in context
Too much lacklustre originals, too much restriction on what you can watch (though this can be circumvented using a VPN), and too many shows that they'll only host a few seasons of rather than the whole lot. Rectifying these will lessen the tide of people leaving, but it won't stop altogether. The price of everything is going up but wages aren't keeping in line, so people are having to cut non-essentials from their lives. Netflix is most certainly not essential. You want people to continue using it? You have to make it worth the money. Just because the execs think it is, doesn't mean the users agree. Clearly they don't.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Twitter says it's testing an 'edit' button See in context
With all the screenshotting and archiving that people do and is done there is a trail of edits in most cases.
True, but at the same time, screenshots can be Photoshopped. Memers have been doing that for over a decade now. Without an archived trail that is safe from manipulation, screenshots can't really be used as acceptable evidence.
Edit button? So you can something and then deny you said it. Sounds like lying to me.
People can already deny what they've said, blaming it on miscommunication or claiming someone else made the statement on the account. The majority of people who want an edit button do so just to be able to fix spelling and grammar errors, accidentally tagging the wrong people, that sort of thing. It would be especially popular with people using the mobile app since things like predictive text and autocorrect can cause all kinds of problems that sometimes get overlooked. When you're trying to post a "hot take" in the moment, you don't have time to proof-read, so errors happen.
I'd be glad to see an edit button, personally. I make mistakes in tweets, same as many users. It happens, especially in the early hours when you're tired. To address the concerns of the edit button being abused, rather than having a time limit on editing, I would propose having a publicly visible Edit History that archives the original tweet and shows what edits have been made. That way transparency is maintained without restricting edits to a window of a few minutes.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: 'Grand Theft Auto' game maker says new edition in development See in context
Okay cool, so GTA Vi is finally on the way. Good. Maybe when that launches I'll finally be able to play GTA V online without being swarmed by griefers. I really want to enjoy GTA V but the online aspect is a toxic cesspool on par with Reddit, and Youtube comments.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Double masked See in context
That fox mask looks like it was photoshopped on. The shading (what little there actually is) looks too faint given the rest of the shadows on that guy, and there surely ought to be more shadows on the mask, particularly around the snout. It looks like it was just grabbed from an anime and edited onto some random dude. I can't be the only one, right?
-2 ( +1 / -3 )
Posted in: Russia sets out tough demands for security pact with NATO See in context
Well, that's going to be a hard "No" from every NATO member nation and partner nation. Russia has no right to try and dictate who can and cannot join NATO. But he's going to try anyway because he's desperate. Russia's economy is in a poor state, and its military has been hit hard as a result. They're trying to keep up with US technology but have depressingly insufficient funding to keep all their hardware and personnel combat-ready. That was why Putin invaded Crimea. He needed to try and seize land and therefore resources as well as more people to tax. That cash balloon has been deflated, now he's looking to try again with a bigger target. But, as long as Ukraine has NATO protection, Russia won't suicceed in taking Ukraine. They can try, and they may make some progress, but ultimately they'll be routed, the operation will fail, and the cost of that failure will be devastating. Putin's stuck between a rock and a hard place, but he's too prideful and obsessed with appearing strong to take the diplomatic route. His time in power is basically over, and those like him won't do any better.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: U.S. hits China with new trade curbs, sanctions over Uyghur rights See in context
Well, it's a start. It's nice to see that action is being taken, but a lot more action needs to be taken and by many, many more countries. China can ignore a few countries, even if America is amongst them. Harder to ignore when it's 90% of their customers.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: 'School Days' haunted house event lets you live the life of anime’s most brutally murdered playboy See in context
I think I'll pass on this one. As an outside observer I can see this being quite amusing. Watching people's reactions as they realise they've underestimated what it's like to be in Makoto's shoes when he gets what he deserves... I think there'd be a few funny reactions there. But being in it myself, it's just not my cup of tea.
You've got to wonder at the mental state of most Otaku
Most otaku are normal individuals just trying to get on with life. We work hard, we buy our groceries, we go home, and then we let ourselves be ourselves. The ones you see in the media are the extremely rare exceptions, and anime has nothing to do with their mental state.
If you're not interested in the event, that's fine. Don't go. But don't belittle the people who want to enjoy themselves in an unorthodox manner. At the end of the day, that's all this event is: entertainment. Unusual, sure. It might even alarm some people, but it's all harmless fun, and it's a unique experience as well. I think that will be a factor in drawing people to it. Sports events are everywhere, every day, but when do you see something like this pop up? People will attend just to see something different, whether they actually participate or not.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Australian government vows to unmask online trolls See in context
Hm. I want to believe that this will be a good thing, but I can't be too sure. It's hard to be convinced by this suggestion, as it sounds a lot like any number of other empty promises in the past that politicians from many countries love to throw out there for vote-baiting.
It has the potential to be a good thing, if suitably defined and policed. If social media giants are dragged through the mud enough times on this issue, it might finally force them to actually tackle trolling. Especially Facebook. They really need to do something. It's mostly Facebook trolling that leads to victim suicide, and Facebook just doesn't care. Mark Zuckerbot doesn't have any emotions, after all. But if Facebook are dragged through enough mud and faced with enough penalties, maybe they'll finally address trolling and cyber-bullying in general. It needs to be tackled.
We'll just have to see. Either something will come of this, or it'll just be another fart in the wind.
-3 ( +0 / -3 )
Posted in: Grocery workers suffer mental health effects of customer hostility See in context
I'm a retail colleague in the UK, and I can confirm that working through the pandemic has been brutal, and customers have mostly made things worse rather than tried showing a little compassion. I hear people coming out with all kinds of conspiracy theories and all kinds of excuses for not wearing a mask. Even those that do wear masks tend to wear them wrongly, or else wear the same single-use mask for so long it turns brown. I can't ask customers to wear masks because they get extremely hostile. I can't not ask them to wear masks either because the customers who do wear masks get extremely hostile with me. It's a case of heads I lose, tails I lose.
When we had social distancing measures in place, only about 5% of customers would follow it. Less than half would use hand sanitiser as well. A huge amount of customers also seemed to think it was a good idea to slather their fingers in saliva when counting cash before handing it over. During a pandemic involving a virus that lives on surfaces for extended periods. Genius. Another challenge is that Wales (where I live) didn't strictly follow the same lockdown rules as England, usually entering lockdowns sooner and exiting them later, and keeping masks mandatory in public spaces for much longer as well, so when we get tourists from England, they follow England's rules instead, and get angry with us in Wales for not being the same. To add further harm is the fact that the summer holidays this year brought a 3rd wave of COVID to Wales, pushing local infection rates to the highest in Britain and we're still trying to bring cases down.
It was also pretty difficult for many of my colleagues and I once the vaccines started rolling out. Even though we were classed as Essential Workers, we weren't given priority for vaccinations. We instead had to watch and wait while non-essential workers, many of whom barely followed COVID guidelines if at all, got their first shot or even their second shot in many cases before we could get our first one. It felt like a double standard to us. We were essential enough to work right through the pandemic for what amounted to a pat on the back, but not essential enough to get vaccinated ahead of anti-maskers and COVID conspiracy theorists. A lot of colleagues I worked with ended up quitting because the situation was just too much for them to handle. Others had to take weeks or even months off to recover from the stress and avoid a nervous breakdown. I myself had to take 5 weeks off to try and come to terms with losing a relative and 3 friends, and almost losing a 4th friend, to the virus. I would have taken longer if I could have financially afforded it, but just those 5 weeks almost bankrupted me as it was, so I was still in a bad way once I returned.
Even as things gradually shift towards normal, the situation isn't improving. Retail colleagues are still getting abuse daily for things they have no control over, and all we get from head office is "try not to let it get to you." I'd like to see them accomplish that when getting punched in the face, but the people who work in head office have never once worked in an actual store, so they're massively detached from reality.
7 ( +7 / -0 )
Posted in: Film crew voiced complaints before fatal on-set shooting See in context
There is absolutely zero reason for there to be live ammunition on a movie set. It is just a recipe for disaster, especially when you have several people not checking what ammunition is loaded into a prop gun. This mainly falls under the Armorer's duty. They're the ones in charge of weapons on-set and they're the ones who should be triple-checking everything. The fact that there was no formal orientation on the weapons prior to filming is troubling enough as it is, but if the claim that there had been two previous discharges of live rounds turns out to be true, then that's even more shocking, and shows a failure by the directors and producers. Live ammo has no place being on a movie set, and now an innocent woman is dead and the director was injured as well.
0 ( +7 / -7 )
Posted in: Japan media watchdog organization responds to complaints about 'Demon Slayer' See in context
With a title like "Demon Slayer" you kind of have to expect there to be blood. The two kind of go hand-in-hand, especially where anime is concerned. Given the franchises fame as well, people really should know already that it contains gore. That's like being surprised that football involves a ball. There is also warnings about the content of the show and that viewer discretion is advised, so there really isn't any excuse. But, we live in an age where people love to complain about everything. If it exists, someone is complaining about it. Even if it doesn't exist, someone is still complaining about it (mostly about how it doesn't exist). Hopefully this behaviour will fade out in time and we can go back to enjoying things in peace.
10 ( +10 / -0 )
Posted in: Man kills 5 people with arrows in Norway See in context
I'll be interested to hear what comes out once the guy is actually interrogated, but I think it's fair to rule out terrorism. If that were the case, he'd have used home-made explosives or incendiaries. Something quite a bit more terrifying than a bow and some arrows. I mean, assuming you know what you're doing, you can apprehend and disarm an archer with a fair amount of ease. IF you know what you're doing. Not so easy if they're lobbing Molotovs though. I also don't buy into this "right wing nutter" theory. That's just toxic and childish politics bashing. It solves nothing. I'd say it's quite likely he just snapped. The pandemic has been very stressful on everyone, and not everyone handles stress all that well. Mental healthcare is lacking the world over, so it's rare that people get the support they need, assuming they even seek it out.
The comments about how this could have been prevented with conceal-carry permits would be laughable, if it wasn't so depressingly ignorant. Guns aren't the solution to every problem. They're rarely the solution to ANY problem. Guns would not have made this situation any better. Shooting a guy dead because he killed someone else is not justice, it's revenge. Justice and revenge are two very different things, and certain people really need to understand and accept this. Then again, the majority of the people who support guns for solving every problem, also happen to live in a highly religious country, so they think Satan will do all the work. No. If you kill a killer, the number of killers remains the same. This attacker is going to go to prison, for a long time. There, he's going to have to confront his actions and realise what he has done, and try to atone for his misdeeds, or else he's going to have to get used to prison life and the prospect of never leaving there. As long as he is a threat to society, he needs to remain separated from it. THAT is justice.
0 ( +3 / -3 )
Posted in: Reduced splash, easier smartphone operation among reasons more guys prefer to pee while seated See in context
Why is smart phone operation even a factor in this decision? What is wrong with people that they can't even go for a leak without their smartphones?
I pee sitting down simply because I just can't pee standing up. Not unless my bladder is about to explode, anyway. Even then, it takes 30+ minutes to get the flow started. It's even harder for me to go in public toilets. Again, I can only ever use those if my bladder is on the brink of rupturing. Don't ask me why I can't pee standing up, it just doesn't happen.
4 ( +5 / -1 )
Posted in: China's Xi warns of 'grim' situation with Taiwan See in context
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were "grim" on Sunday
Gee, I wonder why? It's almost as if Xi Jinping isn't aware that people really hate freedom-oppressing tyrannical dictators. Maybe if he tried being a good person for once, opinions of him would improve. Maybe if his diplomacy involved respecting Taiwan's independence rather than trying to force them to obey his orders, there'd be warmer ties between the two countries.
And maybe I'll win the lottery.
16 ( +16 / -0 )
Posted in: UK counts on vaccines, 'common sense' to keep virus at bay See in context
Unfortunately, common sense stopped being common a long time ago. We live in an age where people just don't care about consequences anymore, where people doubt the experts just because expert advice is inconvenient. So many people only wore masks because they were required to, not because they wanted to. They then spent the following months complaining bitterly about wearing masks for 20-30 minutes, right in front of shop workers and other essential workers who have to wear masks for hours a day. If it provides even the most minor of inconvenience, people will reject it unless legally required. Regardless of what common sense might suggest, people will frequently do the exact opposite with a "what's the worst that can happen?" attitude.
While our death toll has been unusually low and our vaccine rate fairly high, that doesn't excuse us for letting our guards down too soon. We did that after the first lockdown and ended up having to have a second one. If we'd acted faster and with greater efficiency, we could have lessened the impact of the second wave at the very least, shortening the second lockdown and avoiding the infection and death rates we saw. While not the worst response to COVID, we didn't exactly have the best response to it either. We still could be doing things better, particularly in schools and the NHS, but also in other public locations.
England is doing fine, thank you very much!
England might be, but Wales certainly isn't. The recent summer holidays brought a third wave of coronavirus out here, brought in by English tourists. We're still struggling with that, and the NHS in Wales is not at all equipped to handle a third wave. Especially not in North Wales, where an 8 hour wait for an ambulance is considered normal and where hospitals are very few and far apart, and this is where the majority of English tourists have brought COVID to. Despite the Welsh government holding onto stricter rules, we've still seen a sharp spike in COVID rates out here over the summer. Which is probably why it seems like England is doing fine: because they've brought COVID to Wales instead. If these tourists had any common sense at all, they'd have worn face masks, observed social distancing rules, and avoided dumping a third wave of the pandemic on a region that cannot handle it and is still battered by the previous waves.
1 ( +3 / -2 )
Posted in: Vaccine mandates: Is no jab, no entry into restaurants, cafes, bars, sporting and event venues discrimination? See in context
Discrimination? Not at all. This virus won't be defeated if people are going to ignore science. If you choose to refuse the vaccine, you endanger yourself and everyone around you. So yes, you should be restricted from entering places where you can potentially infect lots of people. If you won't take steps to protect yourself and others, then governments are going to have to take steps of their own to protect people from you. That's not discrimination, that's just the reality of the situation.
Stop ignoring science, stop believeing conspiracy theories, get the vaccine and protect yourself and others. It's that simple.
0 ( +8 / -8 )
Posted in: Some praise, some doubts as Facebook rolls out a prayer tool See in context
You might as well talk to a cat for all the difference it'll make. Then again, cats actually exist and can actually do things. Prayer isn't an act of faith, it's an act of doubt. You have doubts that "God's Divine Plan" is working the way you'd like it to, so you pray for a change in that plan. It's pretty selfish too, when you think about it that way. As Burning Bush said: if you're praying for your friend to be successful in an interview, you're simultaneously praying for other people to fail that interview. If you're praying for your sports team to win so you can be happy about that, you're also praying for the other team to lose and for that team's fans to be upset.
This is nothing more than another desperate attempt to stem the flood of people abandoning the platform in favour of one that actually fixes its problems rather than ignoring them.
7 ( +9 / -2 )
Posted in: Can Facebook's $1 bil gamble help it regain lost cool? See in context
Facebook isn't failing just because it's old. It's failing because it's a permanently broken website that regularly has security breaches, regularly sells personal data to advertisers, and regularly brings out new updates that don't work properly. They've also closed off their support services so if you want to report problems, you can't. Their default reporting system is all automated, and about as broken as the rest of the site. Facebook has been turning a blind eye to these problems for well over a decade now, and as long as they keep doing so, they're going to keep losing users. This latest scheme is just another desperate attempt to ignore the problems that they're too lazy to deal with. They think throwing money around aimlessly is going to help. It isn't. You can't fix everything with that strategy. That's not how reality works.
6 ( +7 / -1 )
Posted in: Japanese parties vie to boost number of female lawmakers ahead of election See in context
It's one thing to say you want more women holding seats of power, but that alone is not enough. You need to actually support them, put an end to sexism, ensure they get paid the same rate as their male counterparts and also make sure that they can not only speak, but be heard as well. Saying you'll increase the number of women in politics means nothing if you also tell them that they can only have those positions under the condition that they don't say anything. If you really want more women to view politics as a viable option, you have to actually prove that it genuinely is a viable option, and not just a publicity stunt to garner votes.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Andrew Lloyd-Webber vows to defy gov't on London theater reopening See in context
This Delta strain is picking up pace in Britain because people are letting their guards down prematurely, and this guy is recklessly encouraging that in order to try and save an outdated, dying art form. I get it, he wants to keep theatre alive, but you don't do that by risking a third wave and a third lockdown. Why is it only the adults who are the most impatient? Children do as they're told, adults do whatever the heck they want and damn the consequences.
I live and work in North Wales. We have the Delta strain over here thanks to tourists and it is spreading. This is in a very rural area, so I dread to think what'll happen if it pops up in a city. The vaccination might protect against the Delta strain FOR NOW, but how long until that, or another strain, mutates to become resistant to the vaccine? It's only a matter of time given how many mutant strains have cropped up so far, and in such a short time too. If we're not careful, there will be a strain that doesn't get affected by the current vaccines, and then the pandemic will pick up like wildfire all over again. How many millions more have to die because of selfish people? I've lost friends and family to this virus already. Stop asking me and millions of people like me to sacrifice more. That's not fair. That's not Human.
insisting they are "completely safe" for the public.
You don't know that. You can't see the future, and I know for damn sure that you know nothing about Virology. You just want to go back to lining your pockets and you don't care how many die in the process. I think it's time you tried seeing how the 99% live, especially during a pandemic, and get back in touch with reality.
The theatres need to reopen
No they don't. They are not an essential service. There is no need for them to reopen at all. The Theatre is just a very small, very esoteric branch of entertainment that appeals virtually exclusively to the Upper Class, and to a handful of Middle Class. The majority of Middle Class people, and the Working Class, couldn't care less about theatre. It holds no interest, it just reminds us that this is the sort of thing that rich people enjoy. There are plenty of job openings in ESSENTIAL businesses if these people are legitimately in need of employment. The fact that they can pick and choose means that they're not in any financial difficulties, ergo they're not amongst the Working Class, probably not amongst the Middle Class either. We don't have that kind of luxury down here at the bottom of the economic food chain. The pandemic has been brutal upon us and things really aren't easing up. If anything, reopening non-essential businesses has only increased the strain upon us, and it's allowed the Delta strain to start going nuts in various parts of Britain. Theatres don't need to reopen, not ever again, frankly. They don't contribute to society, they make very little contribution to the national economy. All they do is entertain the 1%, and let's face it: the rich and famous have no shortage of entertainment options. Theatres can stay closed. We don't need them, and we'd be better off without yet another potential virus-spreader being added to the list.
-1 ( +2 / -3 )
Posted in: Nike commercial about gender inequality in Japan receives backlash online See in context
The fact that so many attack the ad instead of supporting it only highlights the severity of the gender inequality in Japan. Anyone looking at that ought to see it as a wake-up call that action needs to be taken in order to bring Japan into the modern, civilised world.
Just leave the culture and tradition alone, Nike
They're not attacking the culture or the tradition. They're highlighting gender inequality and the difficulties faced by women in Japan. You should also consider that cultures evolve over time, as do traditions, in order to stay relevant. Those that don't, inevitably die out. Some of Japan's traditions are archaic and in desperate need of modernising.
Not everything needs to be "diversified" or "inclusive".
So you're saying it's okay to discriminate based upon gender or nationality? You're saying it's okay to exclude Japanese women from a sport that women in other countries are allowed to play? Please explain why not everything needs to be diversified or inclusive. If you can provide a valid reason, I'll retract this point. However, I must ask if you would still feel this way if you were a woman in Japan, being unable to play sports because of your gender, or being allowed on board meetings but not to talk, or being paid 43.7% less than your colleagues just because of the gender you were born as and have no choice in. Do you really believe these women chose to be discriminated against?
Don't destroy what you don't understand.
They're not trying to destroy anything, and they understand the problem a lot more than you seem to think.
Try to show some respect instead.
Please take your own advice.
Do you support transwomen competing against women?
I do. I think anyone from any race, religion, gender, political persuasion etc should be able to compete against anyone else. Sports are one of the few things in the world that actually brings people together, especially international tournaments like the football (soccer) World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Olympics, and so on. People from all over the world getting together and competing in the things they love. It's a beautiful thing, and vastly preferable to conflict and politics.
13 ( +19 / -6 )
Posted in: World's worst pandemic leaders: 5 who badly mishandled COVID-19 See in context
In response to Jimizo and BigYen: even if we increased the number of people on the list to 20 or so, Boris Johnson would not be amongst them, in all likelihood. Granted, he made some bad calls, but the fact remains that Britain has had a pretty good response to COVID-19 overall and our vaccination drive is one of the best in the world. We're well on track to come out of lockdown by June 21st as scheduled, which few other countries can say the same about. True, there was room for improvement, but I think you'll find the same can be said of just about every leader, even in the countries that have done very well. Pretty much the only person who can't be on the list is Joe Biden. 100 million vaccinations administered in 58 days? You'll be hard pressed to beat that.
If we increased the number, you'd see countries like Japan, China, North Korea, perhaps even Norway getting ahead of Boris Johnson. He didn't make the best response, far from it, but he's a long way from being amongst the worst as well. He never denied the threat of COVID-19 as others have, he promoted social distancing, he promoted face masks, he promoted getting vaccinated. He was perhaps a little too reluctant where lockdowns were concerned but he still made the calls, unlike some other world leaders.
I think Abe would probably come in 5th. Japan's going through it's 4th wave, which just shows you how bad the response has been. Suga's not doing much better, though I can't really pin all of the blame on these two. Japan has some rather unusual legislature hanging around which has ended up making the vaccine drive very difficult to get rolling, and that really doesn't help. That Coates guy from the IOC really isn't helping matters by insisting that the Olympics should go ahead even in a state of emergency. That's not really his call to make. But yeah, Abe and Suga haven't done as much as they could have and people and businesses in Japan are paying a hefty price for it.
-4 ( +3 / -7 )
Posted in: Does the arrival of Costa Coffee spell the end for Japan’s independent cafes? See in context
Given that Costa coffee tastes as though it has passed through a cat's anus, I think it's safe to say that they're not going to be much of a threat. Proper coffee served in cafes that actually know how to make coffee can never be beaten by a corporate chain.
Also, Costa in the UK is mostly popular with the younger people who don't really care about the taste as long as they can get a cheap caffeine fix. Starbucks' negative image doesn't help matters either.
2 ( +6 / -4 )
Posted in: Google threatens to make its search engine unavailable in Australia See in context
So apparently Google has never heard of VPNs. Or the rising popularity of Duck Duck Go. This is a very limp threat from Google, and great news for VPn providers as well as other search engines, as they're about to get a surge in customers.
Google, mate, just stop. I'm embarrassed for you. We all are. You've lost this battle. If you keep trying to die on this hill, you will. Other countries will follow Australia's example, and that's going to be very painful. Facebook, you too. Enough is enough.
14 ( +14 / -0 )
Posted in: Kyoto Animation arsonist says which scene he feels copied his work and incited attack See in context
“The thing Kyoto Animation copied from me was the scene in Tsurune where the main characters buy discounted meat.”
That's it? That's the thing he's claiming was stolen from him? Is this guy a moron? Does he not watch anime? Characters buying discounted groceries is pretty common in anime. I just finished rewatching Toradora a couple days ago, and Ryuuji Takasu often talks about buying discount groceries. Kamijou Touma in Toaru Majutsu no Index does this a few times too (it was more common in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, as I recall). Heck, just about any anime featuring a character living alone (which is basically all of them nowadays) has characters doing this sort of thing. It's not an original idea in the slightest, so how can this mass murderer try to say that it was his idea that was stolen, when it's a common trope? The guy is clutching at straws, but nothing he can say will ever justify what he did. Unbelievable.
10 ( +10 / -0 )
Posted in: Please refrain from making Evangelion fan porn, anime studio officially asks See in context
Yeah, good luck with that. Especially when there are screenshots that practically lend themselves to that kind of... content. If it exists, there's porn of it, and the harder you try to stamp it out that less you'll succeed. I can guarantee that this request is going to trigger a larger-than-usual response from hentai artists. We live in an age where being asked not to do something is basically an invitation to indulge in that very action.
Pretty much the "best" hope is to just say nothing. These artists are going to turn things into porn whether you want to or not. It's inevitable, but pouring fuel on the fire isn't going to help.
Now I shall head over to Rule 34 and see just how much of a middle finger the artists are raising in response to this request. Probably a "middle finger" that totals several terabytes of disk space.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
So what if he he lives till 83 ? life is sour and ugly at those ages.
Posted in: Man gets 30 years in prison for arson-murder of 2 nephews
Posted in: Man gets 30 years in prison for arson-murder of 2 nephews
Posted in: Pope has pneumonia in both lungs but remains in good spirits, the Vatican says
Job, jobs, jobs, I knew Donny was full of it when he was talking about US jobs. He's so corrupt…
Posted in: Tesla begins hiring in India after Musk and Modi meet