Rhaegar comments

“A silver lining of the pandemic….. ”….

I think the only silver lining that came out of the pandemic is lest trust in government, the media and big pharma, all of which revolve more around profit rather than the interests of the people at large.

Hilarious.

How about mass media monetization for 3 to 4 years of pushing the now proven debunked Russia collusion narrative in the US’s mostly left leaning corporate media? Oh no lets not talk about that… how about the suppression of the Hunter laptop story during the critical 2020 election and labeling that to be as an untruth… again by MSM… Don't even get me started on the MSM's miss/dis/mal information in relation to the "pandemic"... Oh I see, only when it’s not corporate sponsored and government influenced “Missinfomation” should we be concerned. Got it. The demise of MSM can’t come soon enough.

Wow. I always thought the rule was stupid... but then again I assumed (wrongly) that Japan's infrastructure was reliable... after watching that video I think I will pay more attention and rely less on the boom gates. Same way I always check for cars even though the pedestrian sign says its ok to walk before crossing the street.

Stay safe.

I wonder what OpenAi would have come up with in relation to the HunterBiden Laptop disinformation that occurred in 2020 election. Would it have fell in line with the true disinformation that came out of the FBI, big tech and liberal media suggesting that the story was false and the laptop did not exist? Sadly, its been shown that OpenAI already has a BIAS so we already know the answer.

“What makes you think that WHO do not promote healthy lifestyles?”

The fact that you needed to point it out to me is enough… ie when talking about Covid specifically, they primarily only mention the “vaccine”… if they really want to minimize peoples risk they should mention both….

So if a person gets the  “vaccine” and they then proceed to get Covid then the next line of defense is the body's immune system which works best if you are healthy, irrespective of whether you've had the shot or not.

“This level of preventable deaths is not acceptable”….

If the WHO really feel this is the case, why do they not also promote or encourage people to eat better and live healthier lifestyles? Why is their only advice for people to take up the “vaccine”? 

I think we all know the answer, and this is why their credibility has been decimated over the last couple of years.

Have you ever fainted? the process is not something that usually gives the victim time or capacity to react.

Yes I have, but leading to the event I felt light headed and knew something was up. If I was driving during that episode I would have had ample time to stop the car. I guess it varies but I find it hard to believe he just suddenly blacked out without feeling anything prior to him blacking out. In the end him not listening to his body and acting appropriately cost those 2 people their lives.

Two innocent people lost their lives, even if he was impaired by altitude sickness surely he could have noticed that he didn’t feel good and take proper action… taking a break or having someone else take the wheel… sure it was an accident… it wasn’t intentional, but he was still responsible in the end.

He got off very lightly.

Yes yes... always the "Osprays are unsafe" narrative.. how about the 10 Japanese personal that were lost just this April in AH-60 Blackhawk incident this April?

https://apnews.com/article/missing-japan-army-helicopter-5943b0468eb83af32af37a0fcbebd1f9

No talk about safety there?

NHK had a military expert discussing this weeks incident... As usual a question related to the safety of the Osprays was asked to him... to my surprise he responded that they are one of the safest crafts right now as the earlier incidents have been identified and resolved. Was nice to see him not playing along.

Actually it's against the law. On paper, anyway. Not that you'd know it in this country. Cops don't seem to give a damn.

They "don't give a damn" because its not mandatory and there are no penalties for not wearing one. Not sure why its even classified as a "law" if its a recommendation with no penalties.

"Japan has introduced a new law that says everyone should wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. However, it's not mandatory, and there are no penalties if you don't. The law is doryoku-gimu — a Japanese term that means 'duty to make an effort'.

Hope the girl recovers, one thing about driving in Japan... even if you're not at fault... the one driving the car is immediately blamed. If I ever buy a car here I wont go anywhere without a drive recorder...

If its not a lack of strength and will then what is it? At the end of the day this drug is for those with a lack of determination… sure go ahead and take a drug because you’d rather take an easy shortcut…

People need to get back to basics….do you ever see obese wild animals? Were humans obese thousands of years ago or even as recent as 100 years ago? No, No and No… Its really simple, eat real food, cut the sugars, get sun, get sleep... go for long walks.

But there will always be a place for drugs such as these to compensate for peoples mental weakness….its big business after all ... (google search showed $900 US per month for this one???)

Sadly, there will always be consequences in taking these shortcuts… as the title of this article clearly suggests…mind you, this drug hasn’t even been out that long.

Why wouldn't expats simply use PayPay like everyone else here?

Its free, you can change the language to English and top-ups are simple at the 7-eleven....

All you need is a local mobile phone number...

Jind & WeiWei

Curious though about "don't ask don't tell" when renewing or applying for a Japanese passport the application specifically asks - "do you hold another nationality?" - with a sub category stating how it was obtained, "at birth" "obtained later" etc....

So you ARE being asked by the state whether or not you hold another nationality during the application... 

So what are those people who hold dual nationality doing here? I would assume you are answering truthfully in the application and there is no issue (especially if you obtained your foreign citizenship at birth due to being "half") or are you answering untruthfully "no" on this form.

I would assume that answering "no" in spite of holding another passport/nationality is risky in that you would be lying during the application which could result in serious consequences...

Who is this message really targeting?

Based on the nuance difference in the wording between English and Japanese it seems much stronger in English…

Japanese: Shibuya is not a venue for Halloween.

English: NO EVENTS FOR HALLOWEEN AT SHIBUYA STREETS.

I guess its only OK when its official...

https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/hawkish-tokyo-governor-declares-crow-war-41051

Even if the WTO somehow was able to get China to reverse the ban….

1.      Would the Chinese citizens want to eat fish from Japan?

2.     Would importers want to invest in importing fish that isn’t popular and goes bad pretty quickly?

Either way, I don’t think lifting the ban would help the Japanese fish industry all that much… if the consumer doesn’t want it, it won’t be consumed regardless…

Do Japanese medical institutions and restaurants require to be contactable from China?

Maybe I’m wrong, but I would assume that similar to a network firewall, the phone exchanges should be able to block numbers by region/country code… don’t waste time asking to “please stop it” it only encourages the delinquents…

Simple lesson.

I treat all emails as fake, never click any links.

If I am curious or want to find out more I log onto the official website directly on a PC, via a dedicated browser that I only ever use for banking/finance....

I feel for the older folks who don't really understand the dangers... the police/media here put a lot of effort in making people aware of the fake phone callers that prey on older folks but not much is done to inform about email based communication. I've drilled this into my parents/grandparents... but I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that don't have anyone to warn them.

As for censorship, there was none. It's the fever dream of a cult.

I'm no fan of either of these guys... but to be fair, Zuckerberg did admit to censorship based on FBI warnings.... turns out the FBI was wrong.... whether intentional or not....

Here is some politically correct mainstream "news" which should pass the bias filter:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62688532

Hope this "fight" takes place.... I recall a Friends episode with a rich guy wanting to be a UFC fighter... he got beat up every time... Kinda reminds me of Musk too.

@Phillip bear.

Must be beautiful along the south coast of Tassie. Been there a few years back but couldn’t go on any long hikes… would love to someday go into the south west area… amazing place…

I’ve had a few scares with ankle rolls in the past… I only ever use high cut hiking boots now just in case… I think they make a nice difference in support… albeit with a slight impact on extra weight and some flex.

Safe Hiking everyone!

Funny story... straight to the comments :)

Perhaps he was embarrassed to purchase them, so made the mistake in thinking he could steal them instead.... keep it hush hush.... ironically he ended up telling the entire country.

I hope the system isn't too hard on the poor bloke if this is the case...

People need drugs now in order to reduce cholesterol? By artificially “blocking some of the livers cholesterol production”…. What could go wrong? Sad how the “first-choice treatment” is via some drug, when for most simply tweaking your diet will achieve a natural and safe reduction to cholesterol without any drug side effects…. But yeah, there is no money to be made via the natural method….

Why do westerners make such a fuss about wearing a mask? It is no big deal and if it keeps our hosts happy, why not?

Do you really believe it makes "our hosts" happy or that they even care?

As a tax paying permanent resident living here longer than the entire lives of many of “my hosts” I think I am within my rights to set an example, by following government guidelines and actually NOT wear a mask out in the street… I consider it doing my part in educating the captured majority that can’t think for themselves yet…. On some occasions I’ve had “my hosts” remove their masks upon making eye contact with me… can’t get through to everyone but happy when the message gets through...

If you wish to wear a mask to "keep our hosts happy" you are most free to do so.

Good luck J Gov… Mental weakness here wont be solved by revising “guidelines”… just the other day I saw an interview of a man wearing a mask on NHK, “When will you take off your mask?” the reporter asks… “When more than 50% of the other people aren’t wearing them” was the reply…. In other words, if most people have the same line of thought mask wearing will be the status quo for a while….for the mentally weak that is. With the exception of those with Hay fever or are genuinely sick, mask wearing isn’t about Covid anymore… its fear… fear to stick out and be different.

Giving people the option is nice and all… but why would anyone want to do this?

Makes no sense to me. Locations you can use it are limited. Network conditions can make digital payments un-usable (basement floors, parts of the countryside etc etc) Restaurants etc during lunch often only accept cash… how about your bank transfers to pay rent etc… there are holes in this idea everywhere….

How much trouble is it really to top-up you digital wallet from a linked bank account?…not much trouble at all and depending on the service you use you can set it up do to it automatically… This looks more of a show to make it appear that things are moving forward to compensate for the banks which are still in the stone age… fact is though you can use your cash anywhere so for versatility it still cant be beaten.

I bet the uptake of this and workers volunteering to get paid in this way would be very small.

The irony of everything the government does here never ceases to amaze me.

They removed the requirement to get a PCR test if you have had 3 shots… and a negative PCR test is required otherwise…. So in effect the only tourists that are most likely to be bringing the virus to Japan are those who have had the 3 or more shots since they don’t need to be checked with a PCR…. Case in point,  Kishida got Covid after having had the shot 4 times. So basically Japan’s stance is… if you have had 3 or more shots… you have the right to bring Covid into Japan whilst those with 2 or less shots don’t.

Having said all that, In all likelihood it’s the tourists who have more of a chance of catching Covid whilst here from the locals than the other way around…

As to the masks… well the government guidelines say its ok to NOT wear them outdoors… so if foreign visitors don’t do so outside why should this even be a topic of conversation or have their photo splashed across a news site?

Maybe if the child is vulnerable and high risk of complications from a covid infection the vaccine could be an option. But in cases like this healthy 13 boy who died the same night after taking the shot you really have to consider the risk/reward. No definitive link between his death and the vaccine… but really… Do you think he would have died if he hadn’t taken the shot that day?

https://youtu.be/JbrKAOXQSxg

Must be hard a hard decision to make for a parent.

@ Virusex

But it helps reducing both risks (according to scientific data that proves it), which is a reason valid enough to get it.

You forget to mention the harm/benefit aspect…

Since you keep bringing up scientific data, here is some peer review scientific data for you published on the National Institute of Health government site. Published AUG 31st 2022.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877/

In summary: "The excess risk of serious adverse events found in our study points to the need for formal harm-benefit analyses, particularly those that are stratified according to risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes. These analyses will require public release of participant level datasets."

If you are healthy and low risk for serious impact from COVID getting the shot is something to question indeed.

I think part of the issue is that many people aren’t actually aware of the government recommendations… the government isn’t doing a good job of putting the word out…

Here is the official guideline.

www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10900000/000942851.pdf

I’m tempted to print a few hundred copies and doing a local mail drop.

I think it’s a sad reflection of people’s mental weakness really. Most of my Japanese colleagues say they are only wearing them because they are worried about what other people think. In our office we are free to remove them at our desk (most do) and now it’s our choice whether or not to wear them whilst walking around. It will take time but things are heading back to normal I suppose. I wear mine on my wrist now outside and put it on only when entering a store/building or public transport. Haven’t had any issues, I’m not breaking the law and actually following government guidelines so don't care what people think… Still makes me laugh though when I see a lone person at 11PM in a deserted street with the mask on, I guess some people don’t really care, each to their own. Personally, I can’t stand them.