goldorak comments

Posted in: Japan, Vatican partners in realizing nuclear weapons-free world, Abe tells pope See in context

Sadly, a nuclear weapon free world is a pipe dream. There will always be nuttas, rogue nations with expansionist ideas, ppl you can;t trust etc who threaten regional/world peace. Humans are obsessed with dominance (world, social, physical, financial etc) and that won't change any time soon i reckon.

Do ppl really think that Russia, the US, China, euros, NK, israel/arabs et all will one day get rid of their nuclear arsenal and wmd, i mean ALL OF THEM?? Who first!? Trust will always be an issue.

We've gone too far and am afraid that some sort of wmd 'deterrence' (mutual) is the least-bad solution for now & the foreseeable future. It only takes one nutta (out of 7-8 billion!) to get their hands on wmd. Too big a risk imo.

And tbf, NK, Iranians & others have been living under 'our' (western) nuclear sword of Damocles for decades.

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Posted in: Trump's doctor dismisses speculation of chest pain See in context

My biggest fear is that religious nutter Pence would become President.

Same here. That would divide & isolate the us even more.

Tbf I think he'd lose against most dem candidates even pretty mediocre ones (and the reps know that).

Def not potus material.

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Posted in: He, she, they: Americans and the choice of gender pronoun See in context

Elizabeth Warren, one of the frontrunners in the crowded 2020 U.S. Democratic primary field, last month became the sixth candidate to add her pronoun, which corresponds to her birth sex, on her social media.

"Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that starts with using correct pronouns. I'm Elizabeth. My pronouns are she/her/hers," she wrote on Twitter.

Candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, has specified that he is a "he/him" and heterosexual candidates Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Tom Steyer have also indicated their pronouns.

Surreal. The fluffy US/anglo world's getting more insane by the day. Say what you want about good old europe but they haven't quite reached this level of nonsense yet. Continental euros have more mature, less prudish societies where sexuality, identity etc have been discussed out in the open for decades (esp in western/northern europe).

Euro pollies know that a "hi I'm Liz/Bill & my pronouns are she/he/his/her/hers' comment would be equiv to political suicide. Just sounds very immature, fake/strategic, childish and hypocritical to me. Reeks of political opportunism.

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Posted in: Joseph to take Japan to next Rugby World Cup See in context

It's one of those offers that you can't refuse I guess... Apparently he's now on $900k a year (highest paid coach), almost tripling his current salary.

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Posted in: Weightlifting is Japanese salarymen’s newest hobby, report says See in context

“For jogging, you have to run every day [to see results],” Nagahama says

Not entirely true. A 5-8km run or two a week will help you kick start a life-style change, lose weight (if that's what you're after) get toned and look/feel better. Add a few sit-ups, push-ups etc here and there and you'll get fitter.

The economist also asserts that unlike high-impact activities, like jogging, or sports that require other participants, like tennis, weight-lifting is something that’s easier to start in middle age".

Again am not sure it's entirely true, unless you've never played any sport in your life, then yes. Personally I've always seen gym work-outs as a complement to other physical activities i.e football/rugby/basket training, jogging or even touch footy, cycling etc. Being 'gym-fit' & buff and not being able to run a 5k, catch/throw a ball of any shape, sprint, jump etc has never been for me. Love the outdoors too much and with a gym-only program I'd miss the feeling of being out of breath, the rain, wind etc. I need a bit of both (gym & outdoors).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Trump says N Korea went too far in calling Biden 'rabid dog' See in context

US President Donald Trump issued a rare -- if tepid -- defense of Joe Biden on Sunday, saying Pyongyang's depiction of him as "a rabid dog" who should be "beaten to death" went a bit too far.

"Joe Biden may be Sleepy and Very Slow," Trump tweeted, using his nicknames for the former vice president and potential Democratic presidential candidate, "but he is not a 'rabid dog.' He is actually somewhat better than that."

What defense!? Trump's sticking the boot in. Not-so witty banter at best; more like brutal backhanded compliment.

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Posted in: Living alone becoming a way of life for many, but that's not necessarily for worse See in context

PS: loving or even 'being ok' with solitude doesn't mean being asocial, having no friends/partner nor social interactions etc. Just means knowing you can cope with being alone and don't 'need' others in your life at all times (solitude isn't -for most ppl- a permanent state).

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Posted in: Living alone becoming a way of life for many, but that's not necessarily for worse See in context

Living alone becoming a way of life for many, but that's not necessarily for worse

It sure isn't. Once you learn to love solitude you feel indestructible, nothing & no one can hurt or mess with you; no matter what everything is/will be all right.

Much healthier lifestyle than spending your whole life chasing ppl, being needy/clingy etc.

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Posted in: Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Croatia qualify for Euro 2020 See in context

The Belgians’ ninth win from nine qualifying games ensure they top Group I and join Italy as one of the six seeded teams in the finals’ draw on Nov. 30.

Arguably the world's best team right now. Euro 2020's gonna be a great tourney with at least 7-8 serious contenders all peaking at the right time (for once).

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Posted in: Jones admits selection error but wants to turn England into rugby 'powerhouse' See in context

 That England isn't a powerhouse in Rugby already is a mystery. 

I'd say they already are 'a' powerhouse (not 'the' though). NT aren't the be all and end all of sports.

One major difference between the NH & SH is that the poms and other NH nations love their club footy (same with other team sports) and don't want NT coaches & federation to dictate what they should do, who they should rest etc during the domestic/euro cups season. SR franchises on the other hand are essentially aru, saru and nzru's puppets/toys; can't do that in europe i.e. noone's gonna tell saracens, toulouse, man u, real & co (rugby, football, basket etc) who to rest & when or that they should have a 4-5 month long domestic season. Not gonna happen.

Euros love their 9-10 month long leagues and i don't think (and hope) it will change anytime soon.

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Posted in: 'Beverly Hills Cop' back on the beat in new Netflix sequel See in context

Won't watch but i understand Netflix' strategy; need to bring in the big bucks to produce/buy quality non-mainstream, low-key series (highly recommend 'Unbelievable' which is currently airing on netflix. absolutely brilliant series/cast).

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Posted in: Usain Bolt brings his e-scooter to Japan despite regulatory road bumps See in context

Never been into escooteers, segways, hoverboards etc (GOB arrested development lol) they scream hipsters/douche/ massive W to me.

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Posted in: Women leaders driven offline and out of work by social media abuse See in context

"It's disproportionately women who experience the most vile content," Julia Gillard, who was Australia's first female prime minister, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

Yeah tend to agree with that. I remember the sh*te she had to cope with i.e. physical appearance, stay at home/hairdresser bf, childless etc when she was pm. Ruud, abbott, howard, morrison & co was a walk in the park by comparison. Have the impression that attacks are often more personal when women are involved.

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Posted in: Japanese hospitals struggled for profitability in FY2018: survey See in context

The prescription drugs are also vastly inflated as well!

From my experience it very much depends on the drugs' class or even product itself. OTC drugs on the other hand are a massive ripoff, i mean 10-20 x markup (sometimes more) is taking the mick.

Overall i think Japan has a pretty decent healthcare system considering the significant challenges they're facing (ageing pop, inaka vs urban areas etc). 2,500 yen for a dental check up/cleaning (used to pay aud 250.00 in oz, roughly x8), 1000-1500 yen for a gp (sort of), dermato/ortho etc consultation (300-500 yen for a 2nd visit), i mean it's pretty good!

Nurses & dental assistants are much more involved than in the west (at least vs oz/europe), which is imo a good thing. Not rare to see 2-3 'assistants' per doc (30sec-1min consultation with the dentist then 20-30min with the assistant seems to be the norm in japan. fine with me)

Is the current system sustainable though?

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Posted in: 158 kg of meth bound for Japan seized in Thailand See in context

Not sure Japan was the shipment's final destination tbh. If i were based in thailand and wanted to send 150kgs of Ice to say oz (massive market), i'd send it first to Japan where customs checks are probably not as thorough then to oz hoping my now J treadmills wont raise too many questions through customs (at least less than the same treadmills directly from bkk, bogota etc).

Same happens in the us and all over the world tbh, smugglers often use 'clean' (or 'friendly', not as thorough etc) stopovers as a decoy.

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Posted in: More young Japanese men romantically involved with older female coworkers than younger ones: survey See in context

You just show your anti-male bias clearly.

Am a bloke and know dozens of other guys (all generations) who've dated, married and/or had children with older women. Age is only an issue (both ways) if you choose to make it an issue (or if you're unlucky enough to grow up in a country/family/religious group who think they can/should control their children/younger citizens).

Arent you the bloke who not so long ago mocked macron for having an older wife? Am not pro-older women nor anti-male (lol), i just never gave a * about age nor succumbed to peer, social, religious, family pressure.

Glad you're finally seeing the light though.

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Posted in: More young Japanese men romantically involved with older female coworkers than younger ones: survey See in context

As the saying goes 'the best soups are made in old pots'.

The old model forced men to marry a younger woman and support her but now men are free to choose older women for other reasons than just having children, and speaking for myself, a woman with a job and money is very attractive.

Men were never 'forced' to marry younger women they did so because they wanted to and/or were insecure, controlling, weak, vain and were obsessed with appearances, youthfulness etc and enjoyed/needed to be seen as the main provider. Their call.

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Posted in: What changes would you like to see in Japan's English education system? See in context

You'd have to change the whole country, culture, society etc to get better results.

The vast majority of J are just 'too' different, quirky, unique, 'weird' etc, they live in a different world and operate on a totally different logic. You can't teach a cat how to bark.

Better programs, teachers, material etc might help but it won't change the way most J ppl think which is imo incompatible with most other cultures/languages. Ability, fluency etc is only part of the pbm; 45yo blokes shouldn't ask 'excuse me can I go to the toilet?' during biz meetings or make sweeping, inappropriate generalisations. Most are just not logical, perceptive or perspicacious enough to communicate effectively in another language.

2-3 years in a different country fully immersed in their culture - preferably when you're in your teens or early 20s- is imo the best and only solution (or international school on J soil). Worked wonders for Kubo the young J soccer player who spent a couple of years in Spain (13-16yo if I remember correctly).

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Posted in: What do you think is the best way to successfully ask your boss for a pay raise? See in context

I think it really depends on the industry/line of work you're in (and probably country).

Things are pretty clear for BDM/product manager/ mkg or sales guys, strong sales results speak for themselves (yours vs others in your team, at national/international level etc).

If you really think -and have numbers on your side to back it up- that you're exceptional, near-indispensable etc be bold (can play with base salary and/or bonuses). Chances are if you're 'that good', your boss should/would already have brought it up (or will soon).

Don't even bother if you've had a crappy year.

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Posted in: LGBTQ characters on U.S. television at all time high See in context

Hollywood is “accepting” LGBTIQ, they’re promoting it.

Dunno about 'promoting' or 'pushing' any agenda tbh. Imo Hollywood and most mainstream media have no 'social' conscience, it's all about the money, viewership etc. If tmrw millions of ppl want to watch Lassie or a fish in a bowl they'll give you/us lassie &co. Look at what happened on the w-e with the logan paul vs ksi fight, even the once highly respected bbc were talking/tweeting (and probably broadcasting, not too sure) about it!!! They're not 'pushing' anything, just cashing in on ppl's stupidity, laziness and lack of intellectual curiosity.

Re tv series, i reckon we've reached the point where pretty much everything's been done hence today's over-representation of lgbt ppl/characters in modern tv series; they do bring something new/different, i guess.

Agree with others though, pretty much all new tv series seem to take the now predictable diversity/lgbt/multi whatever path; currently watching Designated Survivor season 3 and we've got a couple of gay dudes (blacks, 2 birds/one stone), a trans woman, an older woman banging young guys (like 60/20) etc and obviously all other 'minorities'. Was the same with Billions (i usually lose interest during season 3-4; euro series not there yet imo, less stereotyping & need to please/represent everyone).

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Number of medical graduates in Japan lowest among OECD countries See in context

Wouldn't read too much into this tbh. Hundreds of thousands of med students study/graduate abroad every year hence some rather 'strange' numbers on the OECD link provided by M3.

Most eastern european &/or Baltic countries have launched a 'study medicine in Estonia/Romania/Lithuania etc' program in recent years and attract thousands of euros, north am etc seeking an affordable (and in some cases easier - gaining admission to medical schools is more difficult in some countries than it is in others) alternative for their medical studies, in their own language (yep you can study med in eng, german, french, possibly italian, in some east euro counties). That's why countries like canada, the us, france etc have relatively low numbers and why Belgium (esp with francophones) and Ireland -who've always attracted thousands of foreign students- are ranked 1 & 2.

Nothing alarming about Japan's med students numbers; doctor-population ratio, overall quality, right number of docs per specialty (probably need more urologists than say pediatricians in 2019 japan) etc are imo much more important/relevant. Many developed countries are actually trying to make GP and other 'unsexy' specialties more attractive as a career option (most med students want to be cardiologist, plastic/neuro surgeons, anesth etc...wonder why $$!!??)

The report said that the ratio of medical doctors who were over age 55 was 37 percent in Japan in 2017, higher than the OECD average of 34 percent.

Again not very significant.

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Posted in: Germany, allies mark 30 years since Berlin Wall fell See in context

A very one-sided article imo i.e. 'West/capitalism - good vs East & socialism/communism - bad' (as per Trump's quote). Don't think it was that simple tbh.

Many West German students & middle class had opposed their govts' economic liberalization policies in the 70s & 80s and were very much anti 'establishment/govt' (RAF and other similar groups had millions of sympathizers all across europe). Not saying that a majority of west germans/euros were full-blown communists or envied eastern euros but many were dissatisfied with the way things were going in their country and -rightly or wrongly- believed that 'another' world was possible i.e. left-leaning and/or libertarian rather than capitalist. That's why many western euros had a perhaps bizarre affection for brabant - Lada cars, east euro fashion/symbols or football clubs (i personally loved playing the likes of carl zess jena, dynamo dresden/berlin etc in euro cups in the 80s). Many west germans/euros hated wild-West capitalism & the 'flashy 80s'.

Personally, I always saw the fall of the Berlin wall as a 'let's unite/fight together' moment rather than the triumph of the West/capitalism over the East/communism.

As an aside, it would have been good to read/listen to what the old bloke in the last pic has to say or ask Jens Schmidt to extrapolate on "The team spirit," he said. "It was stronger back then."

the so-called Night of Broken Glass

aka Kristallnacht. no need to anglicise/translate everything.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: What can Tokyo 2020 Olympics learn from Rugby World Cup? See in context

How were they serving it? You'd think Heineken would have access to elaborate machinery such as kegs & pumps. 

Cans poured into plastic cups (beer girls on the terraces and at the bar).

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: What can Tokyo 2020 Olympics learn from Rugby World Cup? See in context

horrendous queues for toilets at Stadiums

Hear, hear! Never seen anything like this tbh; 20-30min for the toilets at 20k hanazono (over 30min for the ladies) and just too many staff/volunteers telling ppl to wait/queue 'here' (we get it).

Probably also need to look into/beef up stadium security; 3 pitch invaders during the scotland vs samoa game, all security staff & volunteers (felt sorry for them) looked dumbfounded/scared (kudos to the steward who chased the 3rd bloke though). Point is they clearly were unprepared for this.

Re beer price, paid 1000 yen on week 1 & 700 yen at other games (all pool games).

Re J fans, agree that they were outstanding; one of the perk of having a rwc in a non-traditional rugby nation i reckon. No booing, no whistling, no insulting the ref etc.

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Posted in: UK parties unveil election themes; Trump crashes the party by slamming Corbyn See in context

I’m surprised Trump knows so little about Europe and its history given that his father was born in Germany.

Watched the uk apprentice last night ( yeah I know). Candidates had to find a pre ww2 edition of a book... thing is no one knew when ww2 started, I mean 5-6 'educated' Brits in their mid 20s!!

Whoever wins the election should spare a few bucks for education.

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Posted in: What is America's game? 3 sports, 3 American eras See in context

Interesting article, surprised hockey's not mentioned though (guess not as popular in southern states or among Blacks and Hispanics).

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: What are your favorite Japanese manga or anime? See in context

Monster & real.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan's beer shipments to S Korea dive 99.9% in Sept See in context

Recently tried Minoh beer (Kansai craft) and thought they were excellent (not a massive beer drinker nor connoisseur). Had stout, pilsner and pale, all very good.

Reminded me of quality Belgian beers (Chimay, leffe).

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

Posted in: Australia's Woolworths admits underpaying staff up to $300 mil See in context

Been going on for years if not decades, usually Asian migrants/students, occasionally euros, Islanders & Brits even Aussies (the whole thing was exposed in ABC's four corners program years ago. Nothing's changed). Absolutely disgraceful.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: England fined for encroaching on All Blacks haka at Rugby World Cup See in context

Just another one of WR silly little rules ( nothing to do with the AB, pretty sure they're annoyed/embarrassed by the whole fine/wr ruling thing).

Surprised that a tournament has a special rule just for them, not sure if the referee did actually inform them it is a violation of the tournament rules 

Again pre match 'rituals' aren't specific to rugby nor nz (nor to this rwc). Other PI nations have their own, so do league guys even basketball folks do it (at least occasionally, not too sure tbh).

I remember a NZ vs oz junior league game a few years back that had a pretty heated/tense haka. France vs AB 2007 also up there with the best (much more confrontational than what we saw on the weekend with England, no fine though).

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