rurika comments

I don't understand why people in Ireland are tolerating this.

In Northern Ireland, women can get abortions for medical reasons only and are forced to travel to mainland Britain if they want to abort a child for other reasons. This situation is grotesque when you consider that N.I. is still officially part of the UK where abortion "on-demand" is legal. The second problem in N.I. is that there are no clear guidelines on medical abortions, putting medical professionals in an impossible situation. Several attempts to define guidelines were blocked by both protestant and catholic institutions and the political parties affiliated with them.

In Eire they have no abortion on demand, again hypocrisy as everyone knows huge numbers of women travel to England to have abortions. Their criteria for performing medical abortions is even less defined than in Northern Ireland, which is again a nightmare for everyone involved.

This lady's baby had zero chance of survival, the medical staff knew that. Aborting the baby would have prevented her death, the "we're a catholic country" comment sounds like thinly veiled racism against an Indian lady. I hope her death wasn't in vain in the sense that it will prompt people to DEMAND a change in the law.

Very sad news. She will be missed by many, she was like a mother or grandmother to so many entertainers. I always admired how lively she was even in her late 80s, she was someone who really lived life to the full.

JTDanMan the problem in these situations is that the co-workers don't want to be involved for fear of losing their job and damaging their chances of getting another one. This is why we only have her testimony to go on. I do believe her version of events for many reasons too long to list here, one of them being that she knowingly committed career suicide to make a point. Did you know that Prada offered her a settlement in 2010 and she refused it?

Sadly most of the press reports have focused on the fat and ugly name calling, but it was just the tip of the iceberg in this case. Some people are under the impression she was a shop assistant who was fired for not fitting the Prada image, when in fact she was a senior retail manager in charge of 40 stores.

She reported that staff were expected to be available 24 hours a day every day of the year including days off, and answer phone calls from Prada staff in other regions in the middle of the night. Store staff who refused to buy Prada goods from their own salaries were threatened with job termination. The ones.who attempted to resolve work issues by going to HR or management were fired or demoted. Ms Bovrisse was fired illegally - she was told she was fired and should go home. She asked for written confirmation, which was refused. After a few days at home, she was then told she was fired in writing, because wait for it... she didn't turn up for work!

These are IMO the issues everyone should know about beyond "fat and ugly". Unfortunately Ms Bovrisse herself made a big mistake by using those accusations in the lawsuit and lost because she couldn't produce proof. We need more outspoken women like her for Japanese women to have equal rights in the workplace, sadly I doubt it will happen in my own lifetime.

1 - according to Ms Bovrisse, women were fired for being aged, ugly, fat, bad body shape, bad teeth, disgusting and not cute. Assuming this is true, women were discriminated against for being older and not looking a certain way. How can some of you defend these disgusting employment practices? In the 21st century?

2 - as a woman who has bought Prada in the past, I feel degraded because Prada are assuming that I'm so shallow and brainless that I only want to be served by people who look like models.

I want to be served by people who are helpful, polite and knowledgeable about the products they sell. Obviously I expect them to have basic good hygiene etc... but I don't care if they're fat, old or not conventionally pretty. Needless to say I will never buy Prada again.

Yokosonews has some info in English for the blackouts (list currently being updated). look under home > news. It won't let me post the link here, sorry.

@sqwak science isn't advanced enough to tell the difference between an isolated earthquake and a foreshock. with hindsight we can call some of these events foreshocks. small and moderate earthquakes happen regularly and there is no certain way of telling which ones will lead to a great earthquake.

secondly, all coastal areas have regular rehearsals of evacuation for a tsunami. however, the time to react can be very short depending on the location of the epicentre in relation to the coast. in some cases it will literally be minutes before the tsunami hits. even with an efficient tsunami warning system, it won't be possible to evacuate some areas.

While I have some sympathy for genuine asylum seekers, the truth is that the vast majority of people who claim asylum are simply economic migrants. If the Japanese start accepting large numbers of asylum seekers like Europe has, they will soon find their hospitality abused.

There is probably a middle ground but the Japanese people should have a say in this. I certainly wish I had a say in my home country...

I don't believe America is so racist that the market isn't open to asian entertainers. Korean stars like BoA and Se7en are becoming known to people who had no familiarity with kpop.

Lack of English ability is a big problem. I cringed when I watched a big name asian entertainer being interviewed in English and muttering answers that weren't related to the questions and were nearly impossible to understand.

This is a big deal. Jews in Europe, especially the ones who are easily identifiable (because they wear a kippa for instance) are bearing the brunt of the hatred of the islamic nutjobs.

France needs to make a stand to make sure this never happens again and that those who planned such barbaric actions receive the harshest penalties.

Aiko looks happy and healthy. Please let her have regular visits to the dentist so she doesn't end up with a 'smile' like Masako's.

I completely agree. The current lack of standards is very frustrating for passengers. I would also suggest that shops inside terminals stop selling items that you aren't allowed to take on the plane or at least label them clearly.

saborichan and Ranger_Miffy, the girl on the right isn't in cosplay or trying to look like Judy Garland. I believe she is wearing an outfit from BTSSB (Baby, the Stars Shine Bright), which is a very popular lolita fashion label, both in Japan and abroad.

You can see the full picture here http://www.daylife.com/photo/08D77hccumbYW/japan

I'm not crazy about the outfit of the girl in the middle, but these girls are undeniably cute IMO. They're not supposed to represent the image of the average Japanese women. They will do a lot less damage to the image of Japan abroad than some drunken politician.

Pearls are beautiful but they are difficult to look after. They get easily scratched if you forget to separate them from the rest of your jewellery. They are also fragile and can get damaged by components of face creams and cosmetics.

While I'd rather be "let go" in a tactful than a tactless manner, the end result is the same for me. I will be out of a job and I will have no loyalty for the company.

The ultimate insult to all staff is that even if the people who caused this crisis are fired, they go with a big fat bonus that is larger than the salary of a regular employee.

It is time to abolish the capitalist system which has created unprecented levels of wealth for a few and a spiral of misery for everybody else.

Sounds interesting, do the have a distributor in Europe?

Marriage isn't the be all and end all of someone's life. A good marriage in a wonderful thing but you don't see that many these days. You can be single and have a happy life.

These books just teach women how to be something they're not in the hope of finding a husband. Who wants a relationship based on at least one partner being fake? If these ladies really want to get married, they should lower their standards a little. The same goes for men, too many people have completely unrealistic expectations of their future wife/husband.

what an awful way to go. RIP Mr. Policeman.

I'd rather have a soft drink. What's the point of beer without alcohol?

Leftover food needs to be stored at the right temperature to avoid food poisoning. Some countries are already looking at banning doggy bags due to health and safety considerations.

I don't like wasting food and I try not to order more than I can eat. Japanese and most European portion sizes are right for me, American portions are usually too large.

Whether we agree with the views expressed in Fitna or not doesn't matter. Geert Wilders has the right to move freely within the European Union and express his views. Free speech is one of our most basic human rights.

Britain is a dictatorship masquerading as a democracy.

memyselfI, she is of mixed Dutch and Chinese ancestry.

This just shows how unethical the fertility industry is. This woman needed psychiatric treatment, not fertility treatment. She has been treated for severe depression and suicidal tendencies in the past. She could not (and still can't) provide the emotional and financial stability needed to raise a family.

I wonder how many of the 14 kids will grow up to despise her. Her oldest child is only 7. ALL her children are at an age where they need a lot of supervision. She can't possibly give each of these 14 children the love and attention they need to become well-adjusted adults. She can't afford a home, food, clothes, medicine and toys for all all of them. She's either mentally ill or extremely selfish and irresponsible.

Police said the victim lives together with her son who has been staying in a nursing home for a few days.

Should that read "lived together with her father"?

So what happened after the two weeks? Did he find another job? Did he move in with friends or family?

To the heartless people who commented: are you aware that many people have no savings? Have you experienced the struggle to make ends meet every month? When you can barely get the money together for rent, food and utility bills, you have none left for savings.

Sadly there is widespread ignorance about hidden disabilities.

There are a lot of people out there who have serious problems with their spine, joints, nerves, etc... which make it very painful to stand. Others who look healthy may actually be having dialysis, treatment for cancer or a number of conditions which make them weak and tired.

Never seat in a courtesy seat unless you really need it!

homelessness has its fun side.

How offensive to trivialize homelessness like this. With the continuing crisis, maybe the sales of weekly Playboy will drop so much that these two will find out how much fun it is to be homeless for real.

Speaking at a promotional event for American cosmetic brand “Love and Hate,”

Never heard of them. Why would a cosmetic brand want someone like Kyoko Kano promoting their products? She's frighteningly unattractive.

@Notginger, before 30, you are "cute" and past 30, you are "elegant and refined". That's my understanding of why there are no winners for women in their teens and 20s.

I would like my money to go towards things that I need - health care, schools, pension... I pay for these things and I would like those improved.

tmarie, the taxes you pay aren't just for YOU and the things YOU need. We all pay taxes for some services we don't use (and services that we hope we'll never need).

Hopefully this crisis will mark the start of a new way of living where we all become more caring towards each other. The ever-growing gap between the rich and poor is creating no end of social problems. It's clear that the kind of divided society we have now doesn't work. We need to create an inclusive society which cares for everybody.

In many countries it has become more lucrative for people on live on unemployment benefit than work for low wages. If we create a more equal society with more equal wages, people will want to work and they will regain their dignity. We will all be better off for it.

Ryoko Hirosue and Christel Takigawa look lovely. No-one should wear a yellow suit, ever.