Mike Lau comments

Careless parents ARE SIMPLY THAT. When I walked my 2 year old niece in Las Vegas, I ALWAYS held her hands so as not to taken away by a child molester.

Back in the late '70s, I had a carbureted vehicle which did exactly what appeared to have happened here. A spring popped off the linkage and went to full throttle. I did not panic and merely put the car into neutral as suggested here. I had enough common sense to know that an engine in neutral would continue to rev but NOT APPLY IT'S ENERGY to drive the vehicle. After pulling over on to the shoulder, I popped the hood to discover the linkage was loose. Walking around the car, I finally saw a discarded hair pin which I then used to "repair" the carburetor and drove the few miles to home. I cannot say for sure that the same could have been done and was sad for the recent deaths. It appears some of you are the typical lawsuit hungry types that would always put blame on manufacturers. It was only recently that we heard of a pilot named Sully that had enough skill and brains to save his life and passengers. Too bad I can't say the same for the many other drivers who would easily put blame on Toyota. All I can say is that life is what it is.

Technically yes and no. For a famous golf athlete, logically his personal sex life has nothing to do with performance on the golf green. However, his fame is what got him his popularity and therefore his commercial earnings is a lot more than just his golf salary. Thus, there lies his responsibility to keep a good image for his sponsors. And that's why he really failed to keep his image to his sponsors, which potentially could sue. Technically, they could sue him for breach of what is probably written in his contract. Now that the "cat's out of the bag", he would best play it low key and focus on his relationship with his wife first. I wish him well. A great golfer on the green, but a poor character in maintaining a good husband to his wife. Life may not be fair, but he needs to own up to it.

Although simply a guess, it is likely the desperate and selfish act of the mom needing money for drugs without any consideration for her child. It's too bad that humans (and all animals for that matter) are automatically born with the potential to procreate. Wouldn't it be better if the reverse were true, where one would need a doctor's help in order to prepare themselves for becoming pregnant. Of course I am not God so it is simply a mere observation of what would better as a default condition.

I have always hated lawyers for their overly protected cause to their clients. Years ago, I happened to drive an older Toyota Corona which suddenly accelerated as the engine "raced". But I was quick to react and simply popped the transmission into neutral and then promptly shut off the engine after I safely pulled over and stopped. But would I have sued Toyota? Of course not. Once I had safely pulled over, I raised the hood to see if I could determine the cause. As I recall, a linkage to the accelerator had disengaged in such a manner to cause the engine to "race". Walking around the car, I searched to find a hairpin like wire to temporarily substitute for the disengaged linkage. Once "repaired" I safely drove home. I personally feel that Toyota was overly protective of it's reputation along with Lexus in order to keep it's ranking. While there are crooked companies, I feel there are way too many lawyers "protecting its' clients" going after the "deep pockets" of large corporations.

kyolicious, I want to comment that as a young boy, my mom had always taught me to be protective of my sisters. In one particular situation, when a guy was harassing my sister, I literally "bit him" on his arm like some crazy guard dog. Certainly wouldn't get away with it today, but it's amazing remembering this incident. Perhaps if I were your brother on this train, would I have bit him as well? :-)

Anyway, seriously, do you women not realize the power of your voice as protection? Screaming out "Aaagh, get away from me you pervert!" Does not that not create attention? Does that not create embarassment towards the perpetrator, an alleged pervert? That seems to me the most logical solution where you create attention, focus others towards the perpetrator, yet merely create embarassment without a physical interaction. Sadly, men are men. He should have been better behaved, just as in this situation. My advice is to use attention and embarassment as your first level of protection. That way, no harm done if mistaken and there was no real physical abuse.

Back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, I experienced riding japanese trains during my high school years. Perhaps not so much then, but even more so now, I saw that even the demure elderly japanese woman would push to get ahead to get on a train. I often did give up my seat when the opportunity arose. However, I was amazed at how japanese, were much like sheep in terms of behavior looking to ride on the middle most cars relative to the train platform. I often found that merely by walking a little farther toward the end cars be it front or back, that there generally was available seats if not more room to stand in. I also recall riding somewhat dangerously in the sections connecting cars. Occasionally, I paid the extra differential to ride in the first class cars. Being young high school kids, we also chanced in riding first class while only having a standard coach ticket. If caught, we then coughed up the differential. Others would hide in the restroom until the conductor passed through. Overall, I would say that japanese are still polite. But the younger generations today are probably no different than foreigners who lack respect for the elders unlike what I was taught by my parents.

The threat of a hand saw is one thing, but had the employee died in the freezer, murder would be foolish no matter how desperate. Sadly, this economy is and will continue to make criminals out of what would be simply average citizens.

Have long enjoyed Twilight Zone along with a similar series called One Step Beyond. Both were fascinating to the mind as opposed as to trashy new shows that couldn't even match up to their calibre.

Personally, although there "appears" to be evidence of what she may have actually done, I claim much of this is circumstantial. Instead, I would be much more interested in factual witnessed evidence of those who claim they saw her bring her son to school or anywhere while clearly under the influence. Having served as a juror both in a superior court criminal trial as well as a municipal court, I would hope that Japan has similar standards. Based on alleged evidence so far as a criminal trial, it would seem to hold to a standard of "beyond a shadow of doubt" instead of merely "preponderance of evidence" which is acceptable in municipal court. So far, there seems to be "some" inconsistency of evidence I won't reveal so far.

As an electronics geek, I enjoyed my trips to Akihabara back in the 60's and 70's. Now, as a soon to retire engineer, I find myself wanting to return to Akihabara also wanting to enjoy some "maid" fun. How life changes!

Zero tolerance laws work to a point. Either you plan for a designated driver or alternate transportation be it mass transit trains, buses, or cabs. Women, as a whole, generally have a much lower tolerance. If a woman hopes to pick up a man, then the risk is if she doesn't. The logic of anyone choosing to drink without an alternate plan is foolish. As a society, we can drink at home or at a party where we either stay long enough to "dry out" or have alternate transportation such as a cab or ride with a designated driver. I have "sacrificed" myself as a designated driver in years' past. It's better than the guilt of a friend dying in an accident, don't you think?

My other choice is to limit it to when I travel and be in a club as a part of the hotel I'm in such as Las Vegas. The biggest danger of drinking is when it's not pre-planned. Such is life, but we should all strive to decide before we embark on drinking in order to make a safe decision as to how to return home.