sqwak comments

Wanna know more about the real Japan? Go off the beaten track? "Geek in Japan" will not help much in this regard. Instead come to JT here, spend some time (not less than 2 weeks suggested) reading it's contents, including comments posted by commentators' and the "JT experts (who are a actually commentators pretending to be experts)". By the time the 2 weeks are up..... ta da ! ..... you get to see the real Japan like no other, never ever seen in any tourist brochures

To name a few of the interests you get to "see" off the beaten track here :

There is the kind of candy or bubble gum with a hard to pronounce name, a tongue twister, that one can find on store shelves, goes to show that the Japanese are human after all to the kinds of beers being guzzled here to the angry and frustrated elderly man who kills his wife to the cluless, disillusioned and whinny husband who works long hours to death to the brain dead "cougars" keeping psycho young blood sucking lovers who abuse and kill their (cougars') children to learning from the "JT experts" on how to avoid getting detected when using love hotels or about learning to understand the many confusing ratings of radiation (be warned, by the time you get through them all, you might find your limited brain power already atomised) to the initiative-less populace who will only move when prodded and their unique dependence on invisible manuals to guide them to the mirror checking young-peahens / peacocks, who would not even be aware should a nuclear bomb were to drop beside them to the "vultures" and yaks who are only interested in building their family wealth and dynasties, not anyone or anything else to the regular local performances of the changing of prime ministers to the bitchy performances of "war games" between politicians to the comedy of errors and lies of a major power utility company's bunch of inept and burn-out executives (bet they are still looking for the lost copy of their invisible "how-to emergency procedure manual") to the happy marriage and/or dismissal of some entertainment artistes to the chameleon commentators here who go by a multitude of monikers, such as being a scotch egg, to tumbling dry, to being a klein2, to being a zenny master, to being a sioux chef, to being a iamacat, or a foxie, to being on the gogogo, etc, etc. to our JT's very strict moderator here who watches the comments posted here like a hawk .... etc etc etc etc

Too many to name all. Want to know more? Just visit JT and spend sone time here, that is, if you have the time to spare. However be warned, it is a "battle" ground here. So make sure to come prepared with your hard hat, errr... a gun if you have any, lots of humour, preseverance, a thick skin, plus a great capacity for telling fibs, and make sure that you are married, has a husband/wife, kids and a fierce MIL - btw make- believe ones are OK, that is, if you do not have real ones, and finally, bring along your Wikisqueak or Wiki assistant.

Here you will get the "inside" views of the real Japan. Unless of course, you would prefer to visit sites recommended by tourist brochures which honestly, are far safer sites to visit but are boring to death though. The choice is yours, either be bored to death, or be atomised by the "education" you gain here, both are just as fatal.

@vinnyfav

If I am not mistaken, you have this bias opinion that just because it is an old Chinese saying, it is outdated and silly in this "modern" world, hence your rather defensive stand here. Or you are a women's libber. Have you thought deeply what exactly this old Chinese saying means?

Don't look at the shallow and physical attributes of the 3 classifications, but the basic intrinsic values/attributes of each character of womenkind.

And do you realise that what you are saying, is actually in tune with this old Chinese saying, only difference is that you might have expressed it differently by adding "education and open mind", but the end result is the same - that is - the shaping of a basic character is what we decide what we are to be, and what we are, shapes our basic character?

If you think that education and an open mind alone shape our character, you are wrong. Education is only an additional bonus. It is additional tool for our survival, that is all It only gives us a wider horizon and open a bigger option for us to look at as we shape our life along our life's journey.

One point that you missed out is the psyche. It is an important ingredient in the make up of our basic character too.

All said and done, at the end of the day, whether we are a flower, a man or a mother, is how and what we decide and shape our basic character.

Should you be thinking of women's lib here, then it is another kettle of fish altogether, as you will note the subject matter here is about the values of a wife, a woman, not women's lib.

An old Chinese saying goes - "There are 3 types of wives. The FLOWER*, the MAN, and the MOTHER". Explanation: FLOWER is giddy and fluffy headed, who is exactly that, a flower, good for decoration only. The MAN is a level headed, cool and steady wife. The MOTHER, is as it says, a mother.

For a wife, a man will subconsciously gets attracted to one of these 3, and pick her to be his wife.

From the whiners' complains here about their wives, it looks like either they got married with their eyes tightly closed or, most likely, they have picked a "flower" for a wife, probably because at that time, it was their bottom bit that was doing the talking. And when their bit has calmed down, they realised that what they actually needed was a "mother" for a wife but then it was too late. And this was when the dissatisfaction and complaints about their wives start. So whose fault was it?

@Yasukuni 04:45 PM JST - 26th May

If he had a glum face people would complain. If he were in Japan with a happy face, people would complain because he should be sad and serious. If he were in Japan with a serious face, people would complain that he wasn't showing positive, confident leadership.

If he doesn't go to Tohoku people complain that he doesn't care. If he goes to Tohoku people complain that he is just doing a photo-shoot and wasting time and money.

There are worse things you can do than smile in front of a camera at a meeting that everyone expects you to be at, so give the guy a break.

Anyway, he can probably rest assured that the political, economic and nuclear experts of the Japan Today community will be keeping abreast of things here for him and giving advice where necessary...

Hohohahahahaha.... how true, how true!

Post of the day! Can't stop laughing....

...... He allegedly smashed the aluminum frame of a sliding door before seeing the 59-year-old owner’s face and fleeing the scene.

Cartoon ! Hahahaha LOL

@Zenny11

So everyone should follow the lowest levels of rules and be able to do as they wish. Welcome back to the old barbarian ages when "Eye for an Eye" etc was the norm?

Glad that intelligent, modern nations, leaders are willing to lower themselves to the lowest denominator.

And what do you suggest? Do you have any better way to fight terrorism and the terrorists? Mollycoddle them to death?

Get real! Marshallah !

I wonder sort of people the special ops team members have to be - cold-blooded, emotionless killers. I know, we need them them to do the dirty work, but imagine having one for a husband, boyfriend or father. Doing that kind of work would make one almost borderline psychotic.

Borderline psychotic - could be used to describe such specialist operators I suppose.

I have no doubt the royal couple would appreciate all the expert advice given here on how to live their lives.

Hahaha.... no big deal actually..... just the usual sub-sub-sub JT experts at work, minus fukushima.

The one with the horns was Beatrice. There is a conspiracy theory that their mother Fergie, who didn't attend, let them dress that way..

Really? Oh me gosh... Horns, eh.....

@SiouxChef

I wouldn't go that far. Claiming to understand things about the universe that one clearly does not is lying.

Universal crap? Lying? You sure like to cook and twist things around to suit your arguments don't you. It is obvious that your mind does go wondering, diverting to the universe and accusing people of lying. What an exceptional healthy imagination you have. However, cannot say of the depth of your thinking.

Sorry to disappoint you SiouxChef, looks like it would be a waste of time for us to engage in any further discussions here.

Have a nice day.

Saw printed on a wedding momento : "Don't Panic There Is Still One Prince Left". Ohhhh.... if only....

@Ironchef 08:02 PM JST - 29th April

Sqwak has got it right on the money. Everyone has a "god" they bow down to. For atheists, it's whatever they put as their most important value in their lives.

Ironchef, thanks. You have helped explained/projected what I have been struggling to express.

(Please people, read with an open mind. Nobody is right or wrong here).

Sorry, correction - 5th line above, should read :

....... whatever motivates them to go on another day through the trials and tribulations of life?

Atheists might not believe in God. And God is representative of many religions. The only difference is that they come in different names according to their roots and culture.

But atheists do worship something in their lives, don't they? Be it their husbands, dads, boss, children, career, money, etc. ..... whatever motivates them to go on another day through the tribulations of life?

What I am trying to say is, whatever the atheists might feel about being free from religion, there is actually a religion (faith) in their lives. The only difference is - it is there in their lives without them being aware of it - a very subtle permeating quality in their subconsciousness. It is this faith (religion) that makes them wake up in the mornings and then to retire to bed at night, for yet another coming day. Their faith (religion) might just be something small and personal (such as their loved ones, etc) when compared to Christianity or Islam or Judaism but it is a quiet faith that is powerful and strong in them to see that they live another day? Faith = religion? Similar to the mainstream religions which make life worthwhile for their believers, more so during a life's crisis.

My point is, whatever the name we give our religion, it is there in each and everyone of us, whether we would like to call ourselves believers or not or whether we openly worship in a place of worship or quietly in our home or in our hearts.

We are all believers..... of our faiths !

Hope I have explained clearly what I am trying to say.

Hahahahaha..... this is so funny! One of the best threads on JT for a while.

The flyjins we are ALL talking about are those who left the rest of us here with extra work and extra BS to put up with. THOSE who took longer than normal holidays. If every employee were to do the same as those who left irresponsibly, companies would close rather quickly!

Hey ! Nobody stopped you from leaving too. But you chose not to leave, why grudge those who did! You made your choice just like those who left when they made theirs. It is just too bad that your choice had made you feel as if you had taken the short end of the stick. A choice is a choice.

If you had graciously accepted and respected the decisions that the flyjins made, do you think you would feel so uptight now, enough to bicker about it and exhibiting the small mind you have? Where is your professionalism and maturity?

By the way, it is still not too late to be a flyjin you know. What's so difficult about being a flyjin? Would this make you happier? Nobody is keeping you, not even the Japanese. Free will. No one is indespensible !

Chill out and grow up!

For your info my grandparents became aware of this thread and the silly bickering amongst the gaijins here. They are having a good laugh. Why, because this bickering is all so childish and silly. I am sure there others elsewhere in the world too could be having their chuckles about this. This is an internet site isn't it?

Have some pride.

Enough already. This is sickening !

Hurray for Palestine ! Yes, go for it Palestine !

Ozawa should be sacked from office and from the Party !

@haruka

Sounds like a good idea, but what about the houses and property of those that are missing?

What is there to flag?

I won't say much for if I do, I might be accused of scaremongering. However, I have one thing to say about the news report above : "Read between the lines". Interpret it the same way you would the Japanese whalers' reason for their whaling expeditions (being for scientific purposes).

Idiotic, really but hey! try to exercise your freedom of expression, by walking in a SM leather suit like and holding a panel claiming that Jesus is gay next to Terry Jones'a church. You won't go really far. Whatever, you have idiots everywhere. Truly sad.

Hey, you've said it, we have idiots everywhere. Wonder why is an irrelevant topic such as gay be brought up here? To provoke? You are barking up the wrong tree, man. Truly sad.

@Mangaman

The Europeans have been backing off of colonialism while the U.S. is expanding it after re-branding the product.

Huh aha... that's it.... I had been trying to put a grip on what I had for a while been suspecting but could not put a name to it - "colonalism" (though under new brand and new kind of packaging).

It was an Iraqi workmate who a few years ago, had quietly said to me "we are under American occupation". It me, the US were and have always been saviours, how can they be "conquistadors"? What he said had left this burning question in my mind. But now, bingo! That's it - it's "Colonalism".

The world does not change does it? History repeats itself. Until the end of time.....

After all that is said and argued here, the root cause is Terry Jones' burning of the Koran. Why has he to provoke the Muslims? He should have known better in the first place that what he had done was a downright insult to another's religion. But he could not care less about the consequences. He went ahead and did it! Sure enough, he got what he wanted, only this time it came from Afghanistan where the people are already a harassed and frustrated lot from years of war and fighting there.

...... and then Terry Jones absolves himself of this manipulative provocation by saying "Islam and its followers were responsible for the killings". Calling him a "Christian terrorist" is a mild way to classify such a person.

As a leader of his Christian fratenity, he had shown such a bad example. And will this help to convince the world that the Christian faith is a better faith? Of course not. It puts the Christian faith to shame.

Looks like Terry Jones and the Afghans are no different. Both are like minded - religious extremism.

All is not totally lost. I believe contract workers can be arranged for with countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, China, India, Cambodia, etc. If this can work successfully now in can Asian country, I don't see why it can't work out in Japan, unless "as the crow flies" above said, Japan doesn't try and cling to an unviable past.

@realmind

The truth is that at that time, I was really scared too. But I had to face him and try to get him to back off. If I had not, that guy would have forced her and the baby into the car, and who knows what might happen to them after that. That was why, in that split second, I told myself "Now or Never". I am glad that I did it, otherwise, the "what if" question might haunt me for the rest of my life.

To me, nuclear power plants are WMDs. Just like their rogue WMDs which are connected to terrorism and wars, both are no different to being mass killers. The only difference between these two, is that one is embraced by governments of the world, the other is condemned as killers.

It is our greed of wanting more and more (electricity) that caused us to develop nuclear power plants to feed our greed. If countries were to cut the way we live according to the amount of energy supply we could safely generate, well perhaps, we need not have to contend to see more accidents like that of Fukushima in future. Anything that is man-made will not be 100% perfect. Nuclear power plants are man-made. Accidents are bound to happen, if not today, sometime somewhere in the future. And when this happens, let's hope that not many in different countries happen simultaneously. Let's hope they will take turns to malfunction around the world. Otherwise, there will not be any pockets of safe zones left for humankind to hide.

@bicultural

I'm noticing a trend here. It seems that anytime a baby / young kid is abused it's always a single mother with her boyfriend.

This is a very common occurence in other countries too. Very sad but true. One of the failings of society. Hard to eradicate but with support from NGOs and a caring government, some single mums can be educated to be independent and become strong single parents.

I would like to share with some readers here, the story of my experience with a true incident.

One morning last year whilst I was on my way to work and on nearing the train station, I came across a young mum. She was carrying a baby (about a year old), and at the same time struggling to lug a big luggage with her. She appeared in a desperate hurry. Sensing that something was wrong, I offered to carry her luggage for her. (She was going the opposite direction from mine, OK for me). I followed silently with the luggage behind her, wondering what was the matter with her. Just when we were about to reach her destination (a friend's house), I then noticed that a car was following behind us. I then knew.... She was running away from some guy. When this guy knew that we had seen him, he got out of the car, and approached us in a rather angry manner. This poor girl was so scared, she practically was hiding behind my back holding on tight to her little girl. I told myself - now or never. Faced the guy, and in not so many words, told him that I knew who he was and where he was working, not hard to do, because he was in his workplace shirt, (a prestigious corporation), with his name tag pinned on the left shirt pocket. I told him that I was that girl's good friend (I lied here) and that we watched out for each other, and that should anything were to happen to her, I would not hesitate to go to the police. He immediately backed off, and "politely" asked me to look after her. He then drove away. After this, the girl then was ready to explain to me what was going on. Apparently, she was a single mum, and that this guy was her boyfriend. He had often been violent to her, and that she was running away from him that morning. She safely reached her friend's house that morning with her baby. Until today, we do not even know each other's name. I had guessed that she wanted anonymity so did not ask. Neither did she asked for mine. Since then, I have not seen her anymore. Hope all is well with her.

Just when I am feeling good about myself, this reminder has to come. Move aside Garfield, your successor is on her way...

@Fabman

Honestly I hope I Bump into one of these CNN / BBC news editors so I can Smack em in the mouth.

Why need to bump into them in order to smack them in the mouth, so that you can make them write what you like to hear? Just write to them. I am sure they would appreciate hearing from their one and only reader. Problem solved? As well, you will be spared some jail time for assault?