Japan Today

Kuribozu comments

Posted in: Kennedy confirmed by Senate as U.S. Health Secretary See in context

The Embarrassment of Wretches is nearly complete. What a clown show of a cabinet. Suits Donny Two Scoops to a tee.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: Trump makes first big foray into Ukraine diplomacy, speaking to Putin, Zelenskyy See in context

Hegseth is a walking, talking advertisement for DEI. Any reasonably qualified minority or woman nominee would be preferable to this feckless, loud-mouthed weekend talk-show host with a penchant for getting drunk and abusing women. In MAGA world, that profile qualifies him for a "merit-based" position, even though he is completely unqualified and completely unfit.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Posted in: Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Mexico, Canada after they pledge to boost border enforcement See in context

Trump is such an embarrassing fool. The only people who like and support him are professional wrestlers and people with similarly deformed personalities. The only world leaders who like him are the same. Sadly, it's not just Americans who will suffer under his 'rule' for the next four years. The long term impact of his foolish 'policies' will damage Japan and help China and Russia for decades to come.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Posted in: Republican senators mostly quiet on Trump's sweeping pardons of Jan 6 rioters See in context

Message to violent Trump supporters: Your violence on my behalf is... perfectly legal! Now stand by until I figure out where to sic you fine thugs next. Trump has his very own Brownshirt army now.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Posted in: Why are there so many cults in Japan? See in context

Happy Science has aligned itself with MAGA and posts daily YouTube videos by Oikawa Yukihisa that parrot extreme alt right conspiracies. They promote Jan 6 trutherism, Q Anon nonsense about liberals murdering children for their bodily fluids, basically every piece of lunacy that Trump World emits. Happy Science are radically pro-Putin and anti-Ukraine. In that sense, they are not too different than a lot of so-called Christian fundamentalists in the US who seem to have fallen into the thrall of the Trump cult. It's just a short stone's throw from here to Jonestown for some of these people. Just a crying shame this insipid disease is spreading to Japan.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: Russia says it's up to Trump team to make first move to improve ties See in context

Whatever Trump does relating to Ukraine and Russia, you can be sure it will be because he thinks there's something in it for him personally. That is, if Musk doesn't move first and force Trump to follow along, like he did with the spending package last week. We are in the hands of corrupt oligarchs everywhere we look.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Posted in: Iwaya raises 'serious concerns' over China military buildup See in context

TamaramaToday  08:40 am JST

The American military is drawing down its forces in Okinawa, not building them up.

Do you know how many military facilities the US has in Okinawa?

32, over nearly 19,000 hectares, manned by 25,000 odd people.

I don't know what their rate of reduction is, but the number of US aircraft flying around that island is wild.

If I were Chinese, I'd be very concerned about that.

Those US forces have been there for almost 80 years, and have been crucial to delivering peace, freedom and great prosperity to societies that had be wracked by destructive war for a generation, including Japan. Why is China only now "very concerned" about them? They haven't piped up until lately. In fact, those US forces are still guaranteeing freedom and prosperity to the nation where you live and pay taxes. Some people understand that freedom is not free, and appeasing a brutal one-party dictatorship has never worked out well. Some people don't understand that very well.

9 ( +14 / -5 )

Posted in: Iwaya raises 'serious concerns' over China military buildup See in context

TamaramaToday  08:15 am JST

As a Japanese resident and tax payer, I object to the American military buildup in Okinawa.

The American military is drawing down its forces in Okinawa, not building them up.

18 ( +24 / -6 )

Posted in: A nation exhausted: The neuroscience of why Americans are tuning out politics See in context

TaiwanIsNotChina has it right. In the past every town could boast one or two wingnuts who might stand up on a soapbox (literally) and spout nonsense in the public square. Most of the town could ignore them, and life would go on as normal. Now those odd wingnuts find each other on the internet and appear more numerous, as if hundreds of them are now speaking in the public square. Algorithms feed vast audiences of viewers the angro-tainment that results, the wingnuts garner thousands of views and suddenly you have Wingnuts On Parade. Their wingnut ideas take on an aura of legitimacy they would never have had in a pre-Internet age. That's how we've been "blessed" with the likes of Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, JFK Jr, and of course Donald Trump.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Hong Kong offers bounties for 6 pro-democracy campaigners in security squeeze See in context

Mr KiplingToday  05:09 am JST

The UK ruled HK for 156 years from 1841 to 1997. There was no "democracy" at any point. There was no voting, HK was ruled by UK appointed rulers. But now they want democracy? Hilarious or pitiful? Or both?

And yet the people of Hong Kong have made clear they prefer the lawful system they inherited from the UK over the tender mercies of Xi's CCP and its brutal, lawless dystopia. Defenders of Xi's gulag regime in comments sections like this one are shameless. Or worse.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: Hong Kong offers bounties for 6 pro-democracy campaigners in security squeeze See in context

The CCP is a single-party dictatorship, staffed by lickspittles and small-time grifters, and run by mafia thugs. The Chinese people deserve better. The people of Hong Kong were substantially free, and now they aren't anymore. You can now be arrested for a social media post. Sent to prison for singing a song. It's just another CCP ghetto now.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France See in context

Brain size alone is not a measure of intelligence. 

Intelligence as defined by who? Humans? Humans have evolved capabilities arising from their opposable thumbs that allow them to create technology in their terrestrial environment. Which is why we have the capability to, for example, kill whales on an industrial scale. Whales have no comparable capability, because they are not technological beings. But we know whales do have complex social structures and evolved capabilities for echolocation, navigation and for thriving in a marine environment consisting of huge, deep oceans that span the globe. Humans and whales have evolved to the top of their respective, but radically different evolutionary environments. Whale brains process information in a completely different way and for different purposes that ours do. Whales probably have the highest number of cortical neurons among mammals, including humans. There is certainly a moral case to be made for not killing and eating such mysterious creatures, whose intelligence and culture must be profound in ways we are not able to grasp.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France See in context

I have not seen one comment here talking about the moral (as opposed to ecological) case against whaling. Whales have the largest brains of any animal on earth. A Sperm Whale's brain is six times the weight of a human brain. They are not technological beings, because they don't have opposable thumbs like us, but they may well be more intelligent than us, and more advanced socially, morally and even spiritually. They communicate with each other across vast distances, in a language we don't understand. Surely we can make space in this world to avoid killing and eating such mysterious creatures, who might just be our older brothers and sisters.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

Posted in: Trump, wife have dinner with widow of ex-Japanese PM Abe in Florida See in context

So he blows off the PM Japan saying he's not allowed to meet with foreign leaders, and then he goes ahead and meets with (other!) foreign leaders. What a slap in the face to the people of Japan. Won't be forgotten.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Pet adoption in Japan: Things to consider See in context

I've seen too many mistreated dogs in Japan, chained up outdoors 24/7 in all weather. Rescuing these poor creatures should be a priority. And the cruel human culprits really need to be held accountable.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Biden pardons his son, Hunter See in context

Not one BLM violent protestor was jailed, causing billions and billions in damage across many cities and yet J-6 marches were persecuted, even old ladies!

HopeSpringsEternal, you are dead wrong. More than 10,000 BLM protesters were arrested for actions related to the summer 2020 protests. Your precious J6 heroes have been treated correctly according to the law.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Posted in: Hearts, tails and blubber at Japan fin whale tasting event See in context

Haven't seen any comments about the morality argument: Whales have brains much larger than ours, may well communicate in languages every bit as complex and rich as ours within deeply intelligent societies, and though not technologically evolved (they don't have opposable thumbs like we do and can't make tools), they may be spiritually and emotionally more advanced than us. I can't see why we should kill and eat such creatures when these possibilities exist.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Posted in: Pope brings in a ton of humanitarian aid, toys to remote Papua New Guinea See in context

“You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world,” Francis said. 

What an odd thing to say. Who thinks of their homeland as "far away", or "situated at the end of the world"?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: If China wants Taiwan, it should also take back land from Russia, president says See in context

The KMT carried out what came to be called the White Terror. Martial law lasted from 1949 to 1987.

(Bellflower)

Yes, all true. And the brave people of Taiwan have since shamed their oppressors and gained their freedom. They now live in a true democracy with full human rights, civil rights and the rule of law, and are an inspirational example to the world. Now, please tell us the corresponding story of how their brethren on the mainland have fared since, oh, say, June 1989?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Tom Cruise at Olympics would be 'disgrace', say French anti-cult groups See in context

Lots of cults use media-friendly frontmen to appear friendly and acceptable. The Scientologists have a particularly good one in Tom Cruise, but the damage they do to normal 'followers', and the reasons they do it (to take your money and amass power), are somewhat different than the rationales of most mainstream religions, which mostly started as genuine selfless movements. It's easy to recognize a cult founded by a true charlatan, like L Ron Hubbard (Scientology) or Okawa Ryuho (Happy Science).

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Global warming accelerating at 'unprecedented' pace: study See in context

"And still not voting for Trump or Biden. Can not take anymore division. Its crazy. We all used to be able to get things done."

That makes absolutely no sense. One (Trump) pulled the US out of the Paris climate accords and is committed to doing nothing other than supporting Big Oil to the very end. The other (Biden) is engaged with the issue and advocating policies to address it. The choice is clear and stark.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Posted in: Security tight in China and Hong Kong on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary See in context

Living in China today must be what life would be like in Germany if the Nazis had won. Internal spying everywhere, secret police, neighbors watching you all the time and turning in other neighbors for thought crimes, people being disappeared for singing a song, corrupt courts that are simply instruments of the Party. The way the Party has debased the people of China is an atrocity.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan publisher threatened over publication of trans-skeptical book See in context

The extreme Right has invented a fictitious fantasy of otherwise normal children being led towards changing their gender by some imaginary nefarious cabal of evil left wingers. This just isn't happening. What IS happening is that a very small number of children are born with intersex characteristics, and the parents of these innocent, vulnerable children, together with healthcare professionals and, yes, caring teachers and safe schools, need to take care of these children. This is not an issue for charlatan politicians or bomb-throwing, Qanon sociopaths to adjudicate. Leave the innocent children and their parents alone!

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Posted in: Japan publisher threatened over publication of trans-skeptical book See in context

The radical right has latched on to yet another fake 'crisis' to stir up passions for its own benefit, regardless of who they hurt. Trans people are not a "problem" and they should be left alone, not scapegoated and traumatized by the government. Parents of innocent, vulnerable trans children and their doctors should be left alone to decide the best care, not forbidden certain treatments by fear-mongering, anti-science bigots. This whole issue has been created for and adopted by the QAnon crowd. Their stupidity and cruelty IS a problem. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, look up pizzagate.

-5 ( +7 / -12 )

Posted in: Emperor turns 64; mourns Ishikawa quake victims See in context

"Emperor of what, exactly?"

The Emperor of Japan, of course.

I think the question really is, of what empire is he the emperor? The Empire of Japan ended almost 80 years ago.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Posted in: Japan decides to strip Unification Church's religious corporation status See in context

There are quite a few 'new religions' in Japan that employ similar 'malicious practices' that could just as easily be dealt with in the same way as the Unification Church. Koufuku no Kagaku (Happy Science) is a prominent one with a truly bizarre cosmology. They've even spun off their own political party (Koufuku Jitsugen-to) that seems like it wants to be the Japan branch of MAGA.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Scientists warn entire branches of 'Tree of Life' are going extinct See in context

Trying to scare everyone so they get more funding and line their pockets.

It's revealing that those who make this argument are actually themselves heavily influenced by big money industries like tobacco, oil and gas, who want to continue lining their own pockets. Those profit-driven interests have been unmasked over and over again for deliberately manipulating scientific data and public opinion to obscure real threats to human health, and the health of the planet and all our co-inhabitants.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Posted in: N Korea unveils first nuclear-armed submarine to patrol waters between Korean peninsula and Japan See in context

North Korea has about 20 Romeo-class submarines, which are powered by diesel-electric engines and are obsolete by modern standards, with most other countries operating them only as training vessels.

Not sure where the writer gets his information from but diesel electric are still the standard for most countries.

The writer was referring to Romeo-class submarines, which are indeed obsolete, not diesel-electric powered submarines in general.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Posted in: Gov't may seek to dissolve Unification Church: source See in context

There are dozens of "new religions" in Japan, many of which appear to be as abusive as the Unification Church. For example, 幸福の科学 (Happy Science) has enriched its leaders through similar abusive methods. They startrf their own political party, 幸福実現党 (Happiness Realization Party), and actively promote both their cult leadership and MAGA-style political views all over Youtube.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: U.S. says Russia's defense chief asked N. Korea to sell munitions See in context

Two weeks ago Ukraine was exposed using North Korean manufactured munitions - specifically GRAD rockets.

Ukraine has also been 'exposed' using Russian manufactured munitions, captured from the Russian invaders. That is very likely the same source of the NK Grad rockets - they were captured from the Russian invaders. In other words, NK is already selling Russia munitions.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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