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Posted in: Rubella infections hit 5-year high See in context

they give MMR vacines, there is a purpose for it..

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Apple says more than 40 bil apps have been downloaded See in context

better question is, who cares? why take it so personally about the 40 billion number?

5 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: To rent or to own a property in Japan? See in context

Renting is just one means of getting shelter, as is actually buying a property. Your mortgage is pretty much rent anyways! Plus the amount of interest you pay on top of a mortgage to the bank, you're $350k house is now looking like a $450~500k piece of property. Wouldn't be a problem if you can actually sell the place for that much but way too many factors go into home prices.. and what if you are forced to sell during a slowdown in the economy?

People rent because it affords them a quick escape if need be. If you want to be a smart renter, take the difference between your rent and a mortgage (plus all the other costs of home ownership) and put that money to work.. whether or not you can get a good return in Japan remains to be seen

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Nissan CEO Ghosn earned Y987 mil in fiscal 2011 See in context

yeah sure, what did Ghosn personally do to save Nissan from near bankruptcy? CEOs are just the PR face of a company.. most of their "work" is done by delegating it to others and they just have to report the results to the public.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Posted in: Italy beats England on penalties to reach Euro 2012 semis See in context

when Jordan Henderson is brought on for Scott Parker.. you have to ask yourself "Is this the best that England can offer?"

England definitely lack creativity in the midfield and why on earth were they giving Pirlo so much time on the ball???

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: A tourist's day in 5 cities: Expensive, exhausting See in context

there's actually a Tim's in Dubai?? I'm gonna be on the first Emirates flight out there!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: England, France advance to Euro 2012 quarterfinals See in context

oh.. and let's not forget that during the buildup to the "goal", a ukrainian was offside. So if the technology was in place, the goal would have been awarded... a goal that was offside. So hypothetically, if the goal was allowed, now we have england complaining about how technology screwed them over because it only allows one portion of the play to be reviewed. Now we have a situation where we have to check offisides AND goal decisions. What are we to do?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: England, France advance to Euro 2012 quarterfinals See in context

Probie... yes, but where does it end? First you bring in replays for dubious goals.. then it moves on to see if a player was offside, then it used to see if a player used his hand.. then used to check if "he got the ball first"

Granted if its ONLY used to check goals AND it doesn't stop the game (for longer than a minute) then I'm ok with that. Once you start adding on to it.. it will become no better than the NFL

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: England, France advance to Euro 2012 quarterfinals See in context

bad ref'ing decisions is what makes sports fun and interesting to watch!!! Though I love the NFL, it is almost unbearable to watch because of all the replays and the absolute ridiculousness of the coach's challenge. The games are played by people, not robots...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan's May trade deficit jumps on soaring energy costs See in context

just out of curiosity, does Japan buy its oil using US dollars?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Jury rules Clemens not guilty on all charges See in context

yeah right.. like any baseball player will ever do time over this complete farce of an issue. They could do random drug tests, but the baseball union won't let that happen.. at this point why don't they just say "take whatever you want to while playing, but don't come back to us expecting a pension when your body breaks down"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Bank of Japan holds off fresh easing measures See in context

Pretty much since July 07, the Yen v US exchange has been on downward slope, ex July 07, we were looking at roughly $1 US = 118 yen, today.. around 78. And I'm visiting Japan in 2 weeks.. crapola

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Firepower bristles in South China Sea as rivalries heat up See in context

If China were smart, they'd work diplomatically with these countries to help them develop whatever resources are there.. instead of sending warships, flexing their muscles and re-hashing some 1000 year old claim to these islands. Unfortunate that things only get done with the threat of a gun pointed at your head...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: What is the best way for the government to cut the smoking rate in Japan? See in context

increase tobacco taxes (at least double to what they are) Ban smoking in public areas (restaurants, parks, etc..) I'll go with REMzzz's idea and have a campaign where they actually tell the truth how cigs are made and what they can do to you.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Why Sports Day is a big deal See in context

granted that partaking in Sports Day won't make children turn into mindless robots.. I don't understand the point of this article and she didn't really explain why it was a big deal.

North Americans (possibly being general here but I know of no other schools in my province that had an event like this) like myself who never ever had a sports day-like event at school may find this extremely bizarre, watching kids practice for a few weeks before the actual day, the marching around, etc etc.. whereas a Japanese person who grew up with this may think the same of me, that it was bizarre that I never had this.

When I was teaching in Japan at elementary schools.. I never really understood why so much time was being spent on preparing this. Why everything needed to be practiced again and again, I felt it took the fun out of it.. but thats just me. And the kids set up the event in the sense that they helped put up tents and chairs.. but to say they did everything themselves.. yeah right

I did enjoy however, going out and getting rip roaring drunk with the other teachers that evening

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: U.S. firm to create 'virtual' Elvis Presley See in context

Who does Elvis think he is.. Tupac?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: K-pop boy groups 2PM and 2AM merge See in context

This is a joke, right?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Kagawa joins Manchester United See in context

so no chance of him signing for Newcastle united? damn...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: What do you think about all the patent suit and countersuit battles going on between companies such as Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Apple, Samsung, Oracle, HTC, Yahoo and Facebook, among others? See in context

I listened to a really good podcast from 'This American Life' called "When Patents Attack" that spent an hour talking about this issue. Got the feeling that all this litigation does a good job of stifling innovation

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: From left to right, U.S. haunted by 'decline of empire' See in context

per capita GDP of the US is still miles ahead of China, but again these economic indicators will never tell the true story of what is happening inside a country. The US has an utterly broken political system and the Chinese have an utterly broken social system

there is no doubt that China will surpass the US as the world's #1 economy and as a poster above pointed out, China has been the most powerful country in the world previous times. This is the ebb and flow of the world. In the past, empires would last for hundreds of years.. today, thanks to the speed of technology.. what are we seeing, 50 years tops?

I just hope that when China does become #1, it acts like a responsible nation, i.e not threatening its neighbours over resource reserves, free speech and all that

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Best breasts and wings in town See in context

i'm hungry for wings all of a sudden

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Yen hits multi-month highs against euro, dollar See in context

considering the internal problems that Japan has and will have in the future, I don't understand how the Yen is still considered a "safe haven"

A strong yen does nothing for this country that relies heavily on exports

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: How to stop kids from walking into door handles See in context

wait, I'm confused.. Japanese youngins are walking into door handles BECAUSE Japanese department store chain Tokyu Hands has begun selling a polystyrene safety grip??

wtf?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan insider trading probe snares JP Morgan See in context

as of right now, only 1 JP Morgan salesman has been identified... so to say the entire bank, right up to Jamie Dimon, had a hand in this is slightly premature..

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Woodford agrees to out-of-court settlement with Olympus See in context

Olympus said Woodford was sacked because the 30-year company veteran failed to understand its management style and Japanese culture

this is my favourite quote.. and this makes absolutely no sense and so SUBJECTIVE! There is now a precedent that has been set. Foreign heads of Japanese companies could easily be sacked because they "lack understanding of the management style" and... Japanese culture? Please...

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: Tokyo police inspect six stores selling herbs See in context

what kind of herbs are we talking about here? basil?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Buying real estate in Japan See in context

@j-boh: I'd agree with your sentiment that renting is not throwing your money away.. at the end of the day, it depends on an individual's situation and preferences. We all need shelter, renting is one way of obtaining it.

and never listen to those people who say that owning real estate will always make you money. Its like an investment advisor telling you this stock is a sure fire winner!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Small step in high heels; a giant leap for prosthetics? See in context

I believe that women should wear heels all the time, if only for my viewing enjoyment

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Growth figures show Japan on recovery track See in context

also losing its manufacturing sector to China

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Record-breaking 'Avengers' smashes $1 billion mark See in context

I saw this in IMAX.. cost me $30, but it was a fun movie. No kidding this grossed a billion dollars!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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