samwatters comments

Posted in: Should airlines be allowed to overbook on flights (selling more seats than available to account for the likelihood of no-shows)? See in context

@Haaa Nemui. Excellent, excellent idea!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Musician Ian McCulloch flees Japan amid U.S.-N Korea tensions; show cancelled without notice See in context

There is no reason to evacuate Japan due to "tensions" with North Korea. Nothing is going to happen. In a month from now an attack from or against North Korea will be added to the long list of disasters that never happened.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan's frugal households offer no respite for BOJ, retailers See in context

"Japan’s economy has sustained a modest recovery cycle that kicked off when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took power in late 2012 and launched his “Abenomics” package of aggressive monetary, fiscal stimulus measures and structural reforms."

Are you kidding me? Yes, Toyota and a few other companies got a boat-load of corporate welfare but few if any common have seen wages go up. Toyota workers had to bleed a kidney to get a few extra thousand yen a month--not a day but a month!. The fiscal manipulation only cannibalized future sales and created more debt. Not one--not one!---significant "structural reform" has been enacted. The Japanese government is as worthless as a snowblower in Okinawa.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: N Korean test missile explodes on launch See in context

Just can't stop laughing at North Korea.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Unlike many countries, Japan's school year starts in April. What do you think about this? See in context

I have always been leery of starting anything on April Fool's Day.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan's grim population outlook makes immigration talk inevitable See in context

All of this immigration talk makes three absurd assumptions. Assumption one is that many people want to come and live in Japan. Sure, if you're from a third-world hellhole then, yeah, Japan is pretty good. But look at Japan right now; a significant number of young people are not marrying and those that do are not having children. This is known as the "zoo effect" which means animals in captivity will not breed if the conditions are not adequate. Parents and children kill each other at an alarming rate, thousands of people locks themselves in their rooms and never come out and people start high-fiving each other when the number of suicide dips below 30,000 in a year. It seems like the Japanese people don't like Japanese life. Assumption two is that the people who do immigrate to Japan will immediately be able to contribute to and assimilate into society. It's politically incorrect to say this, but ask Sweden and Denmark how sudden mass immigration has worked out---and remember that those countries are about as welcoming as they come. Assumption three is that these immigrants will be willing to pay a boatload of taxes to support an armada of elderly and a bloated government but will also be willing to be treated as second-class citizens.

Not happening, folks.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Posted in: Video of passenger getting dragged off flight in Chicago sparks uproar See in context

@theFU. The only thing I can disagree with you about is the amount of money. I saw the video. The passenger should get millions. Cannot believe what I saw. Might as call United "Jackboot Airlines."

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: 3-time world figure skating champ Mao Asada retires See in context

Thanks for the memories, Mao!

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Posted in: YKK starts serving halal meals at cafeteria in Japan See in context

@Hermione2012. So well said!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Over 47,700 children wait-listed for daycare centers nationwide See in context

Wow! Good thing the birthrate continues to plummet! Just imagine how bad this problem would be if people were getting married and having children.....

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: What advice would you give to a man wrongly accused of groping by a woman on a crowded train? What should he do? For example, recently, some accused gropers have jumped onto the tracks to escape. See in context

@strangerland. I, too, keep my hands well above my head in the straps whenever I ride the subway in Tokyo. Guys, if you are accused, you are screwed. You are guilty until proven innocent.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: School operator head testifies in Diet he got Y1 mil donation from Akie Abe See in context

@SimonFoston. Well explained. I don't like Kagoike anymore than most other people on this board but he doesn't have any reason to lie. The Abe's, on the other hand, have to explain how a piece of government land valued at 800 million yen was sold for about 1/8 of that price, how Akie was named honorary principal and yet can't seem to remember if she did or did not give a million yen to the school in the name of her husband. "I can't remember" is the default answer of a liar.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Posted in: School operator head testifies in Diet he got Y1 mil donation from Akie Abe See in context

Ockham's Razor---the hypothesis that requires the fewest assumptions is most likely true--is beneficial here. To believe Abe, you have to believe that Abe's wife is such a ditz that she doesn't remember whether or not she gave a school that named her honorary principal a million yen. I could go on but you get the picture. Abe lied. Flush him and Imada and the rest of the LDP down the toilet.

23 ( +28 / -5 )

Posted in: 5 dead, 40 injured in attack at British Parliament See in context

Sympathy to our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Posted in: Companies are actively hiring due to the economic recovery. See in context

How man of these jobs are full-time and how may pay by-the-hour?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: These findings show that children of a relatively young age have been on the receiving end of harassment. It is important that children are taught about these issues in school from an early age to pre See in context

I do not wish to be callous but I hope the survey did more than simply take these girls at their word. Just because someone feels harassed doesn't necessarily mean that someone harassed them.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Japanese baseball player sends message to boy who ruined his home run See in context

Good on Yamada! Nice to see an athlete with perspective. To those who attack the boy online; get a fricken life.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Posted in: Death penalty commuted to life for man who fatally stabbed 2 people on Osaka street See in context

At the age of 41, Isohi can now look forward to another 40 years of life subsidized by the tax payers at a cost of approximately 3 million yen per year. Thanks judge.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe's support dives in wake of school scandal: online poll See in context

NHK reported on this scandal last night for ten minutes.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Abe's support dives in wake of school scandal: online poll See in context

I wrote it before: Abe will be gone by October. You cannot sell land at 10 percent of its value during these crappy economic times and you cannot enrich yourself at the public's expense while the public is economically suffering. This is the one sin I believe the Japanese will not tolerate. Not surprised Abe doesn't get this; he's a spoiled rich kid who never did a real day's work in his life. He'll try to stay---he thinks the Prime Minister position is his birthright---and that will enrage people even more.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe says N Korea launched 4 ballistic missiles; 3 land 300 kms from Japan's coast See in context

My 2 cents worth; China, Korea, Japan and the US should sit down and make this kind of arrangement. 1) China refuses any further aid; just starve the beast. 2) The US and South Korea should promise not to encroach past the current DMZ and to not interfere with the ensuing chaos the will follow with the demise of the Kim regime. In the event of a desperation attack by NK all previously-mentioned countries should unite and remove NK from the map.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Trump's attorney general recuses himself from any campaign probes See in context

@strangerland. She met the husband (who was also a former president) of a suspect in a probe that was exploring the selling of state secrets and government access.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Posted in: Trump's attorney general recuses himself from any campaign probes See in context

OK, Sessions lied and he's gone. That's fair. You cannot lie under oath to Congress during a confirmation hearing and get away with it. However I would like to point out to all the Trump haters that Sessions DID remove himself while a Democratic Attorney General met with the husband of a Democratic candidate who was being investigated for "pay-to-play" tactics (that means selling state secrets which a crime in line with treason) and nothing, nada, zilch happened to the Democrat.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Posted in: The Japanese government and business community kick off the "Premium Friday" campaign this week to get people to spend more money by allowing them to finish work at 3 p.m. on the last Friday of every See in context

Waste of time. Sounds like something junior high school students would create.

@Aly. Well said!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Millions living in U.S. illegally targeted for possible deportation under Trump rules See in context

Immigrants are people who apply for entry and follow the procedure known as immigration. All stable countries have immigration and it is controlled and enforced without apology. America is a country of immigrants and immigrants are always welcome. Illegal aliens are people who dash across the desert or use a tourist visa to get into the country and then just disappear. These people are not immigrants. They are illegal aliens. They are committing a crime.

19 ( +31 / -12 )

Posted in: Senator says GOP colleagues question Trump's mental health See in context

Never got around to naming the "colleagues" did he?

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

Posted in: Japanese killjoys wage war on Valentine's 'conspiracy' See in context

I laughed at this until they said they were going after Halloween! Do not touch Halloween! I mean it! If you do I will shove a pumpkin into the place where candy usually goes!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Insults fly back and forth online over baby carriages See in context

I agree Smithinjaapn; cyclists should not be allowed to ride their bikes through a station but should be allowed to push/carry them in a safe manner---especially if strollers and carriages are allowed.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Posted in: Insults fly back and forth online over baby carriages See in context

@Tokyo-Engr. I will attempt to help you understand Nessie's position (or at least what I think is Nessie's position). A bicycle blocks fewer (if any) people in comparison to the "assault vehicle" (great line!) sized baby carriages moms often use. Bicycles can turn and weave-in-and-out while baby carriages often have the dexterity of a tank. Despite this, cyclists are often not allowed to bring bikes on buses or trains without extraordinary measures and sometimes not even allowed to enter stations. By contrast, some moms are pushing prams that hold a baby and several shopping bags. I don't know you obviously but many of the moms who use these monstrosity-sized carriages are the same moms who expect half the bus to jump up and give up their seats when they get in and take their babies on long air flights knowing it will be an unpleasant experience for the rest of the passengers and take up whole aisles while they stand their and chat with their friends. To these ladies I would like to say that while your baby is the most important thing in your life, it is NOT in mine.

I think---but I could be wrong---that kind of double standard is what Nessie was referring to.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Posted in: Northern Territories Day See in context

Great response, William 77 but let me add some information. I live in Hokkaido and most of the people I know have accepted that Japan lost the islands in WWII. Possession is, after all , 99 percent of the law. The problem is Russia dangles the "gives us aid and we will further discuss the matter" carrot. This doesn't excuse bad behavior on the part of certain Japanese but hopeful explains some of the resentment.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

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