gelendestrasse comments

Certainly 30 years ago the hope was that China would become a modern power that would work withing the rules of conduct that has kept peace, for the most part, for 70 years. Instead we've got a bully in the neighborhood with a huge chip on their collective shoulder. That's not going to work, as Japan and Germany both found out. The sad part is that the West has given up so much of their economic clout to help China out and this is the thanks we get. I hope it doesn't get worse than it is.

Maybe if Tesla was profitable I would be interested....

I think all politicians should fly cattle class, stand in TSA lines, and eat nothing but fast food. They shouldn't have high class health care for life and they shouldn't have paychecks until the shutdown is over.

This is going go get very weird and worse before it gets better. But I have no idea what is going to happen now.

Every crook proclaims their innocence even from prison. Until the trial there's not enough facts to really say what's going on.

If this had started out as a death penalty then it's China's affair. Since the Chinese court decided to up the ante to death AFTER the Canadian's arrested Meng and have also detained two other Canadians for improbable reasons they are obviously just putting pressure on Canada rather than seeking justice.

Good, maybe they'll get something done, like solving brexit.

Yeah, trust your instincts. And I trust this bum will be in Japan for the rest of his life.

I don't know, automatics are so good now that they're tough to beat. The only thing they don't have is the ability to predict. And most drivers these days seem to have abandoned their brains anyway....

Yep, just another Stalinist dictatorship...

Just another Stalinist dictatorship trying to bully the neighbors.

I would love to see big pharma brought to heel. But I'm afraid that pharma has bought the swamp.

Wall isn't going to stop anything in the long run. The steel pillars wouldn't even stop bullets let alone a determined person.

Wait, the Japanese are politicizing the issue? Wait. Am I missing something?

I'm not sure Brexit can be stopped at this point. It seems that neither Labour or the Tories have any idea what do to next. But whatever happens I'm sure Britain will muddle through. Always have. Brexit isn't the end of the world no matter what the press moans about.

Joe, I guess you didn't go to a party school. Engineering school sure wasn't but we knew which colleges to drop in on too. There will always be men and women who like to bed hop and there are going to be schools where there's more drinking than studying.

Actually Trump, Pelosi, and Schumer deserve each other. It's the American people who are getting the shaft because of these fools playing politics with people's lives. Just like the immigration policy is a farce but nobody in DC will do anything constructive about it.

Let's put the three of them on an island somewhere and let them fight it out. Alcatraz comes to mine.

Just trying to make Putin look like more than a tinplate czar again, eh? Let's blame everybody else for problems caused by the Kremlin.

Abe has to defend Japanese interests, it's part of the job. Of course if Japan had dealt with these issues the way Germany had the issue might have gone away. But at the same time I'm not positive about that.

In the USA it took major legislation to get handicapped accessable buildings and it's an expensive retrofit. I don't think anything will happen in Japan without something similar. I'm surprised it hasn't happened just as a payoff to the construction companies. But I don't expect a change in Japan. People are far to busy trying to maintain their standard of living in spite of the economy to worry about strangers.

Until China and NK actually go along with a true "peaceful rise" the bases are going to stay on Okinawa. There's just no changing that unfortunate reality.

It's pretty obvious that a simple wall is an albatross and a $5B one at that. Most people aren't going to go for that.

The market has been overvalued for some time but the observations that the political uncertainty of a trade war, failure in Syria and Afghanistan, and constant upheaval in DC with resignations and indictments is spot on and certainly not going to give investors confidence. In 2019 will the Dems create gridlock the way the Reps did with Obama? Given that the cast of characters hasn't changed that's what I'd bet on. So down the market goes.

Trump may be the ringleader but the US government is a circus worthy of a Looney Tunes production.

Well, I should be paid a lot more than I am when compared to CEOs in general. These "titans of industry" are usually just managers, not leaders. There are a few exceptions, sure. But the Nissan boys club certainly aren't.

I just got done commenting that Trump was like the Grinch and here the J-gov goes and trumps Trump. Now they're going to look really stupid too.....

And yeah, don't risk getting arrested in Japan. The legal system is positively feudal.

A wall isn't going to stop anybody and shutting down the government just before Christmas; leaving all those folks without a paycheck, is just Grinch-like. I support good border control but this is just a really lame publicity stunt.

While I don't see the risk in leaving the IWC, which seems to be just another talk shop, I don't see the point in spending taxes to pay for whaling that most people aren't interested in. If they need a "make work" project for these guys surely ocean research would be more useful. Or get some guys to invent a way to clean up the Pacific garbage patch. Japan would be a world hero.

Americans deserve security and safety

Not going to get that from a wall.

Republican president, Republican Senate, Republican House, Republicans heading government agencies and they still can't get things done.

a wall is such a stupid idea the level headed Republicans aren't going to vote for it.

Just getting out of the way so the Turks can attack the Kurds without the US being caught in the middle....

I've brewed my own beer. Maybe I'll try sake. But not at that price!