Morris135 comments

There is a god after all! Very much looking forward to watching the series.

The next time you fly on JAL or ANA, it will most likely a Boeing aircraft......a U.S. product. Or didn't you know that?

Well...actually many parts that go into Boeing aircraft are sourced from outside the States. In the Dreamliner for example - and in terms of Japanese input - Jamco makes parts for the lavatories, flight deck interiors and galleys; while GS Yuasa manufactures the lithium-ion batteries used in the aircraft's electrical power conversion system.

What else does Britain have to trade, except perhaps Branston Pickle, jam and Ed Sheeran?

Not even Branston Pickle I'm afraid. It's Japanese owned already (a Mizkan brand) - along with Sarson's vinegar and Hayward's pickled onions! :-)

She went to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her Dad went there too. That speaks volumes....

How many family trips will they take on the taxpayers' dime??? China, Australia, Central and South America: Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Panama;, Eastern Europe....now Japan, Korea (I left out Christmas in Aspen).

....and still some :-(. You left out his visits (with "Mother" - not sure about the girls) to Germany and Belgium!

The sooner self-driving vehicles are successfully developed the better!

This is a PM of a small country, who (like Gordon Brown) nobody voted for 

She in fact contested a General Election in June but lost so many seats that in effect she governs only thanks to a pact with Northern Ireland's Democratic Union Party.

The only decent follow up was the short-lived but acclaimed The Sarah Connor Chronicles. 

Agree!

Expecting someone to not use that when it's there is entirely unreasonable.

Well, I feel that It's also unreasonable in such a situation for you not to show some understanding and some common politeness towards your fellow passenger in the row behind regardless of your ability to suddenly push back at will. I certainly do that if I feel the need to recline.

In my experience a lot of rage is caused by the morons who put back their seat without checking behind them first.

Hear, hear! Just a simple standard loudspeaker announcement at the start of each flight reminding people of this basic courtesy would help.

In answer to Moonraker, my guess is that the calculations made are very basic. it's merely the total individual uses made of a MasterCard regardless of how many times that person returns during the year. So, this sum would also include individual times Mastercards were used in transit through the airport hub rather than setting foot in the country beyond.

Now they can all take a well deserved rest

.....Not yet though for Andy Murray! The Davis Cup Final between UK and Belgium is taking place in the second half of this week

Europe's migrant malaise is all of German Chancellor Angela Merkel own doing, aided and abetted amongst others, by EU president Jean-Claude Juncker, both must take personal responsibility.

Without care or forethought and a propensity for the shrewdest form of gesture politics, Merkel flung open Germanys and subsequently EU member states doors to a tidal wave of refugees, knowing full well this massive movement of human misery will fall prey to a ruthless brand of people smuggler.

Hear, hear! And to the posturing of politicians I would also add irresponsible pressure and emotive manipulation from the media.

Now highlighted by German and Austrian politicians ludicrous threats to the British government's insistence that all potential asylum seekers be processed within existing Middle Eastern refugee centres coming some way to dealing with the people smuggling.

I must admit David Cameron on this issue has kept a relatively cool head, strongly sent out the right message and gone up in my own estimation. Thank goodness we in the UK never signed up to Schengen.

Many laughed at or ridiculed that famous Thatcher line but her vision will be the future of England and Wales. It's horrific.

That's what is so good about Scotland - there is quite definitely society here - and has been demonstrated with the resurgence of the SNP's fortunes along with the left-of-centre socially responsible values it holds dear.

No offence caused. We Brits "don't give a monkey's" about it! :-)

Educator60

Nonsense. Her mother is still very much alive at the age of 66 and living with her daughter and granddaughter in Osaka, as the last paragraph says.

To clarify for others, that's because Mika's mother is Mika Kitagawa, who was Toshiro's mistress.

Police quoted Sato as saying he stole the support vehicle because he had been in a hurry to meet someone.

Why did he then head off down the highway in the opposite direction? :-)

Excellent! So if I were Russian and would buy it, would the island become Russian territory then?

No, first of all, you'd have to form a hold a referendum amongst family members expressing the "wills of the people"!

Here in the UK, consumption (or in our case VAT) tax - with certain exemptions unlike Japan on books, food and kids' clothing - is 20% so 8% is still on average is pretty low. Maybe however there should have been an introduction of such a varied system instead of this blanket increase? Indeed, I certainly agree with the idea of having a much heavier tax on cigarettes!

No doubt there is a logical reason why Japan has never employed this tactic. Probably that traditional roof tiles would be too heavy for this style.

There has been use of such a design shape in Japan. Gassho-zukuri houses with steeply pitched 'prayer hands' roofs to be found in the Shokawa Valley. They embody thatch though rather than roof tiles, thus overcoming the weight problem. An example is also to be seen in Hida Folklore Village, just outside Takayama.