GalapagosnoGairaishu comments

Posted in: Without Trump, Republican debate has 2nd lowest rating See in context

"Without Trump, Republican debate has 2nd lowest rating"

This is what media addicts call "going cold turkey." They'll get over his absence eventually.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Trump looks to grab attention as Republican rivals debate See in context

Trump is right about one thing. I have no interest at all in watching the debate tonight. It's like going to a circus but there are no clowns.

Actually, it's more like going to a circus with nothing but clowns.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Trump escalates fight with Fox News before debate See in context

Trump should use his billions to buy out Faux News. If he's really serious about Taking Back America, it should begin with Americans getting their misinformation from a native-born wacko, instead of an amoral Australian media mogul.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Posted in: Foreign visitors to Japan in 2015 reach record 19.734 million See in context

I think I saw most of them taking photos at Shibuya's scramble intersection.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Group urges changing Buddhist temple mark on maps to avoid Nazi connotations See in context

Changing it would be as stupid as Kinki University changing its name because it made foreigners snicker.

Likewise for Kinki Nippon Tourist....

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Becky in hot water over rumored affair See in context

There was a female newscaster who was seen by a sharp-eyed photographer trying to sneak out of the Hotel New Otani one morning, obviously in the midst of some sort of torrid affair. When he approached her in a judgemental way as if to imply "naughty, naughty!" she confronted him with the question, "Hey, do you know how old I am?" The meaning being that acts between consenting adults are none of the public's business. Her image actually picked up after this story went public. She was a few years over age 40, by the way.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Posted in: How would a 'President Trump' deal with Japan? See in context

Wish Sapio magazine would encourage -- no, make that "insist on" their writers attributing their quotes. How do we know the writer isn't just extrapolating them from Fox News or MSNBC?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Should the statue of a girl dedicated to the memory of Korean women forced to work in Japanese military wartime brothels be removed from outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul? See in context

These kinds of things set a bad precedent. Foreign embassies in any country enjoy certain types of immunity, and that should include immunity from harassment. It's the job of diplomats to keep channels of communication open. One has got to draw the line somewhere, or the next thing you have are mobs burning down the building, like what happened earlier this week to the Saudi Embassy in Iran. A one-hour demonstration might be acceptable if the locals feel the need to protest something, but a permanent fixture on the street outside is taking things a bit too far, IMHO.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Posted in: Trump embraces Muslim ban in opening TV ads See in context

This is a classic example of demagoguery that will eventually wind up in college textbooks.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' returns to German market in new form See in context

There are several Japanese manga versions of Mein Kampf, and even they contain disclaimers about the dangers of Hitler's psychotic rants.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Attorneys exploit guardian system to prey on senile elderly See in context

The attorneys know that if they don't steal it first, the government will, with its oppressive inheritance tax. So the chances of family members receiving any more than a pittance once the person under guardianship dies is next to none.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Putin praises Donald Trump as 'bright and talented' See in context

I think we're looking at a repeat of 1964. Democrats walked away with the election and then within four years there was the war in Vietnam, a huge protest movement, black riots over MLK's assassination, etc., and Richard Nixon, who almost won in 1960, was back in the White House. It would seem that Americans vote against certain parties and candidates as much as their vote for them. But even if he gets the nomination, there's zero possibility of Trump being elected. He's be lucky to get 15% of the vote, if that, carrying Mississippi, Alabama, Arizona and Alaska.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Columnist suggests language tests for foreign journalists See in context

To the Sankei, being an "anti-Japanese" journalist means taking a stance that disagrees with the "Japan didn't do anything wrong and its wartime leaders were subjected to victors' justice" editorial positions taken by the Sankei Shimbun on such iconic issues as the comfort women, Rape of Nanking, etc.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: 安 chosen as kanji character best representing 2015 See in context

The kanji character 安 “an,” meaning peace or safety,

It is also the first character in the current prime minister's surname. I don't believe in coincidences here.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Schools hiring tech-savvy 'guardians' to detect online bullying See in context

I read some time ago that Glendale, California embarked on a similar program, for which the school system pays about US$ 40,000 a year, if memory serves me correct. I wonder what the charges are for such services in Japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: New book claims to shed light on Setagaya family murders in 2000 See in context

Ichihashi has also written books about several other unsolved crimes, including the famous 300-million yen robbery by a faux motorcycle policeman in 1968 and the Glico-Morinaga corporate blackmail case in the mid- 1980s. He does exhaustive research and has a gift for exploring every possible angle. For instance, he went over all the securities transactions to see if the Glico-Morinaga blackmailers could have benefitted by going short on shares of the targeted companies, and came to the conclusion that any such trades would have been quickly flagged by auditors. As far as Jeff Lee's comment above, about not wanting to know the motive (or nab the culprit), there is certainly something to be said for that point of view, but somehow I can't see the police letting a man who killed two children and their mother run free. Such a person is viewed as a danger to society and there's always the chance he'll commit future crimes. The pressure from the public to nab the culprit is too great.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Teenager on Australia terror plot charge denied bail See in context

The teenager was also the subject of raids in 2013 and 2014, and his psychologist told the court he was suffering from anxiety and depression as a result of the police visits.

Better a visit by the police than the mortician, eh mate?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Senate committee: Religion-based entry to U.S. is un-American See in context

Senator Cruz is now regarded as the front-runner in Iowa and some political pundits are predicting he'll be the Republican nominee for next year's presidential election. His archconservative positions apparently outweigh other qualities, such as high principles and personal likeability, which is his case warrant negative figures.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Trump rejects criticism of his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering U.S. See in context

since people who are not US citizens are not protected by the US Constitution.

Alphaape@That's nonsense. Legal protection is accorded all persons residing legally in the US, even those on business or student visas. There is no citizenship requirement to live wherever they choose, publish one's opinion, purchase a firearm, belong to a religion, etc. There are some exceptions, such as the way probate is handled regarding a non-citizen who died while holding property in the U.S., but for the most part resident aliens in the US enjoy the same freedoms as Americans.

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Posted in: Pearl Harbor ceremony unites former U.S. and Japanese pilots See in context

I wonder if, 74 years from now, wizened veterans of the US military and Islamic State will embrace in friendship and take part in a similar ceremony. I'm not implying they will or they won't -- who knows what the world will be like by then.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

Posted in: World's first washable smartphone to debut in Japan See in context

I would like to see a bio-degradable smart phone that I can flush down the commode. Can't think of a better place for them either.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Engaging in damage control following a 'bonenkai' blunder See in context

I've been to a lot of bonenkai over the years and most of them are fairly tame. But things get hairy during the niji-kai follow-up, after most of the ladies have gone home. Once inhibitions are lowered a lot of red-faced screaming happens, and it's the job of nearby colleagues to calm down the screamer. Japanese tend to be much more tolerant of people's indiscretions committed when they're drunk. (Or maybe they're not really as drunk as they seem and commit the indiscretions because they can use being boozed up as their excuse.)

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: California shooting rampage leaves 14 dead; 2 suspects killed in gun battle with police See in context

To protect US citizens from that sort of thing, citizens were recognized to have the right to bear arms.

Sorry, Mr. Jefferson (or whoever you're pretending to be), but the 2nd amendment says no such thing. It reads, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Nowhere does it say "To avoid the domination of tyrants and usurpers, the right of the people..." Any way you look at it, the words "regulated militia" are a reference to citizens' collective responsibilities, not individual rights.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: California shooting rampage leaves 14 dead; 2 suspects killed in gun battle with police See in context

From the editorial in today's Los Angeles Times: This nation's infatuation with guns — inflamed by the ludicrous stances of the NRA, and abetted by Congress' fear of that powerful but irresponsible group — is suicidal. There are too many guns, too easily obtained. Often they are in the hands of those who should not have them at all, such as the mentally ill.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: California shooting rampage leaves 14 dead; 2 suspects killed in gun battle with police See in context

True the US has a crisis, but it's not necessarily the fault of the second amendment.

But it's the 2nd amendment that empowers the NRA and other lobbying groups and the military-industrial complex.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: California shooting rampage leaves 14 dead; 2 suspects killed in gun battle with police See in context

It's sooooo ironic that Japanese are grateful to the United States for putting into effect the postwar law banning gun ownership. That's right -- guns were much easier to obtain in Japan before the war. It was the US military occupation that disarmed not only the military, but civilians as well. When they finally got around to debating a new statute in 1958, the Diet decided that the law imposed by Americans restricting firearms ownership was working fine, and kept it virtually as-is. The "right to bear arms" was not debated in the Diet and was passed by simple voice vote, without a single vote of opposition. Fewer people will die from firearms homicides in Japan in all of 2015 than did Californians in San Bernadino on Dec. 2.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Posted in: Do you think the mass media brainwash or try to brainwash the masses in your country? See in context

Agree@katsu, in the sense that brainwashing from the get-go was always coercive. The correct word in the question should have been "manipulate." If that word had been used, I would have certainly voted yes. But national governments are far worse than the mass media when it comes to manipulation.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Trump: I was 100% right on 9/11 Muslim remarks See in context

The entire Republican campaign up to now resembles the plot of a certain Terry Southern novel -- the one featuring Peter Sellers in a starring role.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Jindaiji: Waterwheels, greenery, soba and history See in context

"Fukuman" sounds like a Japanese superhero. But Jindaiji is definitely a cool place to visit.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: 9 ways Tokyo could become more foreigner-friendly in time for 2020 Olympics See in context

How about taking foreign currency transactions away from the banks and allowing dedicated money changers to set up kiosks around the city? (This is assuming that by 2020 the current clunky process of changing money won't already have been automated.)

2 ( +4 / -2 )

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