Gwragged comments

Seeing so many losing their loved ones and the danger of March 11 made some people value work more than their family? What a load of rubbish.

They all need to be shut down, worldwide, not just in Japan. It is a threat to future generations wellbeing and health. We all just need to learn to live without nuclear energy again. Im hot, and uncomfortable, but Ild rather cook on a wood fire, sweep my floors, wash clothes by hand, and live with no air con than have even one of those plants running.

Why do we need so much energy? To make trash we dont need? New cars which are not truely necessary? Disposable earth-ruining plastic gewgaws? We need to live sustainably, within our means as a planet, and stop making deals with nuclear devils.

Our money, we can chose how we spend it, and where there is a demand for a service there will be a fulfillment of that need. Ive never felt unwelcome when we fly, in fact other people didn't give us a second glance, who were flying in the same section. I don't see other airlines rushing to follow suit, so what is this? The actions of one airline. They will either raise their profits by this move, or else people will boycott them and they will return to their old practices.

I have no idea why the air in economy seems so thin and stale, perhaps the direction in which it is blown through the craft, or more recycling of air in economy. Its not so much BO, as stagnant, stale, low oxygen air that just makes you feel horrible.

Im happy to fly with miserable and intolerant people, if they are not happy to fly with me and my kids, then it should be those people who pay more, then they can have the whole plane in glorious silence. Perhaps you can also ban the overweight who spill over into the next seat space, those who put their seat all the way back in economy, the smelly and unwashed, or any other social group of people who bother you. Because that is where this kind of move leads.

Since my oldest daughter and I went vegetarian, there are very few options for eating out, low or high end. Perhaps they will do a beanburger, but I guess it will still be fried in chicken-y oil. I wonder what their vege menu will be.

Alfie, yes I too was worried by privacy issues, which is why we chose to fly first class with our breast feeding baby. If I was stuck in economy I would have had to get on with it and try and be as discrete as possible I suppose, and anyone who didn't like it could have got lost. I'm sure crying babies are more irritating than ones who are quietly feeding.

I'm sure not every carrier will ban babies from first class, but this is really bad publicity for Malaysian travel. The trouble is the child-friendly zone is in cattle class, and I have no desire to fly with no legroom, no privacy, air that stinks, and no way to fully recline my seat, whilst people cough and sneeze everywhere. My husband would like to be able to work and stay connected.

Perhaps there should be child-free flights available at a nice big premium to all those who want to fly without children on the plane, that should fix it.

Alfie, sucking equalises pressure in small babies, get them to breast or bottle feed on landing and take off, and I know dummies are horrible habits, but the constant sucking does help to pop those ears, also dont let them sleep on landing. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2612/how_to_avoid_ear_pain_on_airplanes/

Its always worked for us, I just timed the feeds to coincide with our take off/landing.

Mia's mum, Im glad that your kids were reading fluently before the age of 5, and are well behaved, I would say that is an extreme exception to the rule. I know I could not give my children the attention they need to succeed if I were out at work.

"The more time children spent in child care from birth to age four-and-a-half, the more adults tended to rate them, both at age four-and-a-half and at kindergarten, as less likely to get along with others, as more assertive, as disobedient, and as aggressive, according to a study appearing in the July/August issue of Child Development."

I feel for the kids who die because their parents didnt give enough of a damn to make sure they were safe, not Steve's kids who obviously have a very good caring and committed family on their side, nor mine who are well on the way to having a wonderful future - something these poor boys have been denied due to poor parenting.

You worry for a reason, Mia's mum, because you know full well that you are taking a gamble every time you let your children out alone unsupervised. You gamble that they wont get run over, that no nutter will hurt them, that they will make sensible and adult decisions at 6 years old. You gamble with their safety and their sense of security.

My husband is Japanese, but it is low income, poorly educated Japanese who do these things, Mia's mum. The mothers I know would never leave their kids unsupervised, they meet them at the school gate to take them to activities and juku, normal middle class Japanese put their kids on school buses, or drive to meet them. Their kids are studying after ballet or karate, and not out playing till all hours. My child is not Japanese, she is a citizen of the world and that is how we are raising her, as such she is comfortable in western and Japanese society, but we have no desire to raise sheeple.

Yes, the parents of these boys are ARE criminally bad and lazy parents, who dont supervise their children, bad risk taking parents, and these boys would have been alive if they had had good parents. It is not like they lost them in a shopping centre for a moment, they allowed these boys to go out alone with their blessing and this happened as a direct result of the laziness and sheer stupidty of their parents.

I live in Japan too, Mia's mum, but my children have never walked to school alone. I do what my mother did for me - wait in the car to pick her up, and drive her home. Admittedly we dont send them to the local school, but even if I did, she would not be walking alone, especially with the lack of sidewalks in my bit of Tokyo.

There is no way Ild allow her to walk to school, or take the train alone, just because everyone else does something in Japan does not mean I as a non Japanese have to follow suit. Il'd rather have the distain of a few people than my child getting run over/falling in a pond/snatched by some crazy/stabbed in the neck on the train, or how about if there is a big earthquake while they are unsupervised? Is it really worth risking all this, just to fit in with everyone else? I wouldn't do it where I come from, and I wont do it here either, and I dont think I am wrong.

I dont see how there is even a choice not to supervise children properly. Im not talking about teenagers, but young children should be treated like children and treasured, not thrown out to the wolves to defend themselves. If you dont have enough money and time, then you dont have a dog, let alone a child.

Whats wrong with being 'upper middle class' as you put it? Working mothers are not what is best for families and Im sick to death with hearing them evangelize about how wonderful they are, when in fact they are creating a lot of problem children who are not going to be productive and well adjusted members of society, or not members of society at all, because mummy let them go out alone at 7 and they got run over etc.

You know why my 4 year old can read fluently? Because I stay at home. Or why my kids dont run feral, or get drowned in a pond. Because I stay at home. My husband would take on another job if he couldnt afford to keep me at home with the children. He was the victim of a working mother, and didnt want the same for his children. We paid quite a bit more to sit in first class, and had every right to be there. People can vote with their feet, and I certainly will cross Malaysia off the possible vacation spots list, and give our money to a more welcoming country.

A 7 year old should never be let out without their mother there to supervise them. Even 9 is too young. Anything else is just lazy parenting, and asking for trouble.

There is absolutely more that could have been done to prevent this - a mother could have gone out with them, kept her distanmce and not got involved unless someone had a silly idea, like getting in the pond. Children are not capable of making good decisions, their brains are not mature yet, and to give them the responsibility for their own safety is cruel, and potentially deadly.

Ive flown 1st class 3 times with babies/young children and it was for them, not for myself or my husband. I didnt want to be in cattle class with everyone coughing and sneezing over the baby, and I didnt want the whole row of seats to see my boobs as I breastfed. We wanted the bed type seat so I could lay down with the baby, and the shutters for privacy, and got what we paid for. Whether we fly first or not next time, I wont go to Malaysia, nor fly with this airline. We will go someone a bit more welcoming to children and families and with an airline that doesnt try to prohibit mothers and babies from comfortable travelling. Dummies or instructions to feed on take off and landing should be given out, as the sucking helps equalise pressure in little ears. It really is as easy as that, and the ears is often what leads to the screaming. Mia's mum, quantity AND quality of parenting matters. You can be the best mother in the world for 2 hours a day, but when the rest of the child's awake time is spent in day care, the day care workers and environment are having a bigger impact than the mother who dumps her child there. Ive known a lot of working mothers, and they are a selfish bunch in general, who treat their kid like a hobby instead of centre of their life then wonder why little Takashi is such a handful, or the baby is crying incessantly.

You and I both know babies can be soothed so they stop crying, or given a dummy to suck so their ears don't pop, older toddlers can be taught right from wrong, also known as discipline. I dont know what YOUR idea of disciplining a child is Cleo, but mine doesnt include child abuse. Of course if you are at work all day usually, then you probably dont know what soothes your own child.

There is a difference between teaching right from wrong - discipline, and what this is - child abuse.

These people need to go to prison for a very long time, especially the mother. I hope these children find a loving family instead of a children's home.

Dont be silly, shogun, we could never afford a private charter plane long or short haul, but first class is expensive, but within the realms of possibility. The first time we flew first class was because we had a new baby, who I didnt want to put in ecomomy with all the recycled air and close quarters germs, so we specifically chose to pay more because the baby was the one we wanted in first class.

Foxie, if they were my kids, they would not have done that, and if they swung their legs you would have got an apology from me and from them, and they would have ceased immediately. Its only bad mothers who let their kids do these things.

The best thing they can do now is drop the case and let this woman get on with her life. He is clearly guilty, but she is the one on trial not him. A woman can be a slut, a drug dealer, an illegal immigrant, have mental health problems..and STILL be raped. Unfortunately anyone less than the Virgin Mary herself will never come out well from a rape trial.

I truely hope women look at this case and save themselves the horror of going through the court system, if they are raped. There are many good support groups who will not force a woman to put herself through this.

Ive traveled first class with a baby/young child on a few occasions, and we did so because I didn't want to breastfeed pushed up against people I didnt know, because we could afford to do so. There were a few tears on landing, but the baby was easily soothed. My husband works very hard, and does not want to spend a flight separated from his children.

Ive seen the damage working mothers cause, first hand, and totally agree with Steve. Mothers who are not centered on their kids, don't spend enough time with them to know how to soothe them, children who are not confident and at ease with their mothers because they spend more time in a nursery, poorly disciplined children who are used to socializing in a big pool of other kids, with not much individual attention being paid to their behavior or manners, attention starved kids who cry just to get a reaction off their mothers. Mothers can make all the excuses in the world saying their working does not affect their children, the evidence says otherwise.

There should be flights laid on which are no children, no families for those grumpy, misanthropic types.

Any woman who reports a rape is an absolute idiot for thinking that anything good will come of it for her, or that the man will be on trial, instead of her. Learn a martial art, carry pepper spray, but realise men can rape with impunity and it is always the woman who is going to go on trial, especially if she is not white. She was trying to survive, to stay in the US, to get together enough money to eat and live, but of course privileged people cannot ever imagine being homeless, scared of deportation, or what it is like to have so little money that one may be driven to do things which are not moral. This woman could not afford morality. He has been living in luxury, whilst SHE has been the one who has had to explain herself time and time again.

Pepper spray and kickboxing, wear a burka if you think it might make a difference, but after the fact it is better to just shut up and walk away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1pXXAQyM7c

Here you go Foxie!

A little bit, Benhur?! 21 degrees is a little bit. When it hits 30, it is downright dangerous in conditions like are on these trains, or at that school sports day which left so many children with heat stroke. Im glad you are tough, but the pregnant, young, sick and elderly find it gruelling.

Blaming the parents for a psychopath murdering their child! That is low! Noone is responsible apart from the person who did this. NO parent is infallible, and whilst I am the first one to admit I am protective and vigilant, all it takes is a moments distraction for a kid to run off. What are you going to do? Leash them? Forbid them to run around unless you are in control 24/7? I expect the parent who took their daughter to pachinko with them regrets that decision every day of their lives, judging them is very cruel.

I really hope that this case is reopened, and these parents can find some peace.

She had the affairs before she married her husband - the men was with were married, while she was single. Even so, social services because a parent has an affair? I think they have better things to worry about than someone who is married having an affair. It should be a private matter, and no concern for the State.

Working from home, even for a few days a week really would help. No daily commute, meetings could be done virtually for the main part. Think how much energy that would save! People are going to start dying of heat stroke if they have to travel on those trains in long shirt sleeves and suit trousers. It is insane. Im really quite worried about my husband on those trains.

Its not the heat but the unrelenting humidity which makes me feel awful. Fans do nothing to dry the air in the house. For people who like being warm in winter, no insulation in the houses, let alone central heating makes it not as comfortable as it could be.

So when people start getting horrible cancers, and the birth defects start, then will this idiotic female who has encouraged supporting farmers over people's health cry? Apologise? Admit that eating this contaminated produce has contributed to the problem? Or just count the money she has earnt from promoting contaminated food and carry on smiling for the camera.

Gosh why stay in a country you have so little regard for TMarie! These are very low numbers and I would also guess it was people who ran out of supplies and stayed in the area were looking for essentials just to get by. Its hardly people looting for luxury items, and doing so in massive numbers.

Could it have also been that some owners went back when they shouldnt have done so, and said 'oh no, not me' when questioned?

The vast majority of Japanese behaved with more dignity and retraint than could have reasonably been expected of them in the circumstances.

No Gogogo! Dont tell him he looks ridiculous and far too clean and styled! Its just too funny this way!

Those of you who say get the kids out now, just how is that meant to be achieved? Where are these children left in Fukushima meant to go, who is going to pay for them to leave Fukushima, and house and support them outside of the area? Just how are these families going to leave the area and survive? For all the praying for Japan, I dont see much in the way of concrete offers of decent physical shelter for these people.

Whilst I think it is appalling that anyone, adult or child is left there, what is the point of saying 'get the children out' without offering a way to do this? No they shouldnt be there, I suspect noone should be in Kanto, but achieving this is another matter. Profitability and money will win over safety any day. These poor people are trapped there. At least dosimetres will give an accurate picture of how much radiation these children have been exposed to, which is better than nothing I suppose. Will it also measure internal exposure through food and water, or just the radioactivity in the areas these children pass through?

Timeon, Ill have to take your word for it, but seriously? There are mature married women out there, in the same numbers as men, sending photos of their privates to strange men, for kicks? In Japan! Really? Im no innocent, but you would think people would be concerned about their marriages and ending up with their boobs plastered across some dodgy website! Well, you learn something new....