OldHawk comments

I hope nobody is surprised that the "renewable" energy industry is as corrupt as any other.

Am I too late to pop in and say "maximum sentences for him and his accomplice(s), then deportation with lifetime bans"?

A dark day for Japan. May he rest in peace. Deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Having never met the man, I have nothing against him personally. All I can hope is that he somehow survives and recovers from this terrible attack. He didn't deserve this. Japan doesn't deserve this.

That'll be a cool sight. Hope the crosswinds aren't too bad that day.

No words, no opinion from me. Just grief.

I stopped checking bags years ago. One carry-on, one personal bag (mostly camera gear) and that's it. Got tired of the checked bag getting damaged, delayed, or items stolen from it.

The witness videos are heartbreaking. Deepest condolences to those affected.

most important

Unfortunately. We really fell for that one. And as Aly Rustom pointed out, China is nobody's partner.

I just don't understand how this happens. I'll never understand.

Khameneni and the mullahs need to be expelled from the planet.

Taiwan needs to be recognized as an independent country, period. I wonder just who among the current world leaders has the backbone to give the idea more than lip service?

Times may change, but this does not:

German is a nationality, not a race.

Spanish is a nationality, not a race.

Chinese is a nationality, not a race.

China's population is made up of four dozen or so ethnic groups. None of which are named "Chinese". They're all called Chinese because that's their nationality.

Ah_so:

Simply because something originates from somewhere orginally, I don't think we endlessly and gratuitously call something after it origin.

I don't know about you, but back home we still call Chinese food Chinese food. What do you call it? The salmonella buffet, perhaps?

bass4funk:

We don’t call it the Far East Virus?

I like "CCP coronavirus" or "CCP virus". That way, there is no mistake who is responsible for the conditions in which the virus was created and spread.

Just like the CCP originally called it the "Wuhan virus", they had the WHO deliberately pick a name that couldn't be associated with the CCP. It still does though. Check it out:

China

Originated

Viral

Infectious

Disease

2019

Mayor de Blasio declared Queens to be "the epicenter within the epicenter". Ironic that. 

Yes, quite.

https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-de-blasio-health-officials-resign-mismanagement-20200316-qboposyibfhdjntdz7eeq4badu-story.html

Captain, I wouldn't be too sure.

WaPo and NYT will never get tired of blaming Trump. If they follow their pattern of ignoring China's response in order to focus their hatred on Trump, they'll have no trouble ignoring Japan. Especially now that the Diamond Princess is out of the headlines.

IloveCoffee:

Look at the FACTS for your own.

I read the article you linked, and watched all of the Nathan Rich videos you posted.

Larry Romanoff has a long history of praising China and bashing the U.S. He's even blamed the Tiananmen Square Massacre on the U.S. He's basically a Baghdad Bob for the CCP.

Nathan Rich is very slick, but he practices the easiest, most effective lie: The lie of omission. He leaves out pertinent - even critical - information, such as the CCP's treatment of Wuhan whistle-blowers. He repeatedly refers to the hastily-built quarantine centers as "hospitals", echoing the CCP's propaganda. In the last video, he even admitted that he skewed his presentation to favor the conspiracy theory. Then moments later calls for more fact-based research. He also refuses to entertain even the possibility that the virus made its first animal-to-human transmission in a Chinese wet market. Perhaps you were swayed by the annoying background music?

Interesting background on him, though. From Scientology to the CCP. Something tells me there's more going on with him than his vlogging reveals.

I could go on, but I've wasted enough of my time reviewing your CCP propaganda. Perhaps you should look up facts (and research your sources) instead of soaking in confirmation bias.

PS: The CIA - a spy agency - lying, cheating, and stealing? Color me shocked! Pretty sure that's what they all do. Heck, his predecessor, Brennan, did all of those things to the American people and then lied about it under oath in front of Congress. Charged? Nah. He's still out there on Twitter.

oldman_13:

Gee, Pompeo, kinda late to the party huh?

Any sane and rational person knew a long time ago the Chinese government was willfully complicit in not only withholding vital information, but also deliberately covering up the true scope of the disaster unfolding in Wuhan.

That Pompeo made this public statement today and you heard it today doesn't mean he's only just become aware of the CCP's dishonesty today. It's not unreasonable to suggest that he, like any other rational person, has been aware of the CCP's history of dishonesty and corruption that has spanned generations.

bass4funk:

Who was the first country to name the virus in the beginning Wuhan virus? China

A fact which is quickly getting lost in all of this race-mongering. The CCP did that to put the blame on local officials and distance themselves from any responsibility for the virus. Which they then lied about, not just to the residents of their country but to the world. Now that it's their fault it's a global pandemic, they have to continue deflecting the blame elsewhere.

I'm originally from a part of the U.S. that runs out and buys all the bread and milk in the stores when the TV weatherman says the word "snow". And yet I've never understood why people did that. I learned from my Depression-era parents to stock up when items are on sale or I have a coupon (and those golden times when coupons line up with sales). Also learned (the hard way) from the 2008/09 collapse to have at least six months income set aside and to live within my means. I can't do my job from home, and may even end up getting laid off if this pandemic drags out too long. But I had already started taking time off a couple of weeks ago (had loads of vacation time saved up) as I'm in a higher risk group due to my age. The only thing I'm really worried about is either getting this disease and/or transmitting it to someone else. Well, that and daytime television.

@HBJ

I would have expected a much bigger decrease in serious accidents, especially concerning elderly drivers, specifically due to the proliferation of safety features.

Those safety features work for the people in the car, not for the pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists on the outside of them.

I've seen conflicting reports about whether the 70-year-old cab driver had Chinese passengers recently.

Perhaps it's this scenario: Chinese person who didn't know they were infected (or worse, took enough Tylenol to get their fever down and escape China) got into this fellow's taxi...

Or it could be someone from one of the recent evacuation flights who either wasn't showing any symptoms or turned down the screening.

@zichi

The republican party is white, and getting whiter.

You're apparently unaware of two political movements in the U.S. One is #WalkAway, where people are leaving the Democrat Party (or the Democrat Party left them, as it continues to goosestep to the Left). The other is #BlackNotDemocrat, where... well you can probably figure that one out. I recommend that you look into both of these to get some current insight into American politics.

While you're doing that, you may see some recent polling numbers where Trump has a 28% approval rating - and growing - among Americans who are black. By the way, did you know that 19% of Trump's voters in 2016 identified as progressives (according to Forbes)? Did you know that a survey was done of the people attending a Trump rally in Florida, and 24% of them were registered Democrats and 27% were Hispanic? At a Mississippi rally, 20% were black and 27% were Democrats. These numbers have been fairly consistent for all Trump rallies.

So if you want to emulate this movie (or fantasize about it), you'll end up hunting people of color and your own political party. Not a good look, dude.

Strangerland, you keep using the word "reality", but you apparently have a different definition for it than Websters.

Unless you can provide a source to back up your claim that the van driver was a conservative, that is. Bonus points for doing the same for your "just like every mass shooter since 2016" claim.

I think I saw previews for this movie. Oh wait, it was the undercover videos of Bernie staffers expressing their desires to put people who disagree with them in gulags, and burn down cities.

I wouldn't want to be probed by Japanese prosecutors either.

It's bad enough when the TSA throws my shampoo in the little trash car under their inspection table because it's "suspicious".

I think we can universally agree that helping others escape criminal justice is with extremely rare exceptions unjustifiable.

Perhaps this is one of those exceptions?

I don't work for Nissan, but know quite a few who do. The bureaucracy involved in getting any sort of money moved - even a check for a few hundred dollars to pay a contractor - suggests that if Ghosn was moving and under-reporting billions of yen, they knew about it and didn't have a problem with it.

Until they had a problem with him.

Oh boy.

Yes, the old station was tiny, outdated, and overdue for a replacement. And yes, "it's just a train station".

I don't expect charm or character from every train station, but this isn't another random stop on the Nippori-Toneri. It's one of the top stops for tourists. It's Harajuku, man. It should look like more than an industrial utility shed. Hopefully the interior will have some eye appeal.

(Disclaimer: Okay, I haven't actually been to the old Harajuku station since October or November, when I needed to change trains on my way to meet friends at an izakaya. So no, not a regular user. Partly because there's not much that interests me there, and partly because the old station was always so cramped. There. Full disclosure.)

Best for what, exactly?

The experiences of a traveler and a resident, other than a well-off resident, are significantly different, as are the measures for trying to rate cities

Quite right. And while Kyoto was very nice to visit a few (or several) years ago, I understand that it is quite overrun now, and the residents are not enjoying it.

Even if it isn't true, it's completely believable.

So was the Covington Kids case.

And Trump telling Cohen to lie to Congress.

And Trump Jr. getting advance notice of Wikileaks dumping DNC emails.

And Manafort visting Assange.

Everything Michael Avenatti claimed.

Oh, and let's not forget about Trump claiming that white supremacists were "very fine people".

Have I mentioned Jussie Smollett yet?

Sure, lots of untrue things are completely believable... if you "think" with prejudice instead of logic.

Sounds like the only train still running this morning is the Nippori-Toneri Line.

Albaleo, about your reasons...

At around 100 meters/second, a falling bullet can kill someone - and has, many, many times. It's an unnecessary risk, especially in a populated area.

Less risky than shooting directly at the person and missing: Sending a bullet to a random, unpredictable destination is less risky than trying to hit the threat? In what universe? (Also, one of the shots fired at the man did in fact miss. Was it fired by the same officer who fired the warning shot?)

Shooting at soft ground: Again, a waste of time when a threat is charging at you. (See: Tueller Drill)

Two policemen: Who have to work out in advance who will fire the warning shot, train for it in a variety of scenarios, then always patrol together.

More cases of accidental shooting by US police than Japanese police: You don't say. How often are Japanese police threatened with deadly force? Different stats there too, right? And what does that have to do with firing aimless warning shots in populated areas?

yoshisan88, I doubt it's true, and if it is, it's dangerous policy, putting an officer's safety at risk. According to the article, one officer fired a warning shot, but both officers fired a shot each at the knife-wielding man. If they're supposed to have a blank for the first shot, then one of the officers wasn't practicing that rule.

Strangerland and Kestrel are spot on.

Warning shots are a terrible idea. Consider the physics. Depending on atmospheric variables such as wind, humidity, base altitude, etc., a .38-caliber bullet (like those used in Japanese police handguns) fired straight up will climb to an altitude of around 1,200-1,500 meters before coming back down at 100 meters per second. Where will it come down? That is entirely unpredictable.

Likewise, firing a warning shot horizontally but not directly at the threat is just as dangerous. You have to pick something to fire at that the bullet will neither penetrate (and continue on to an unintended target) nor ricochet off of (and continue on to an unintended target), leave yourself enough time to re-aim your weapon at the threat if they are not intimidated by your warning shot, and do it all in a fraction of a second.

If Japanese police are taught to fire a warning shot, they need to be retrained. If you un-holster your weapon when engaged by a threat, the threat should see that and already understand that it is in mortal danger (drugs/mental issues notwithstanding). Warning shots waste time and generate incalculable risk.

Likewise for shooting at anything other than the largest part of the threat. The torso is called "dead center mass" for a reason. The purpose of using a firearm in self-defense (or defense of others) is to neutralize the threat as soon as possible. And even if you were capable of choosing a much smaller part of the anatomy of a charging threat to target, arteries are located in shoulders, legs, etc., and the threat can still bleed to death before adequate medical help arrives.

These realities - and many more, including legal and financial issues - are taught in every civilian carry permit class in America. If your entire knowledge of firearms, defense scenarios, etc., comes from the entertainment industry, please take into consideration the distinct possibility that your personal opinion may not be fully informed.