Steve Fabricant comments

Circumcision would not be an effective public health measure in Japan because of the very low prevalence of HIV here. It also has been shown to be ineffective for transmission by gay men, which is the main reservoir of infection in Japan. As for its efficacy in other settings, by citing a particular situation in Zimbabwe kchoze obscures the fact that when it is done properly and men abstain for at least 6 weeks afterward, it is very effective in reducing heterosexual transmission. One issue is that circumcised men are more likely to engage in risky sex, and in some countries HIV has been transmitted through blood during the operation.

All the kiddies and nannies were found in a condominium. Surely a misnomer!

It is excellent baseball and a hell of a lot less boring than watching MLB. I admire the fine sportsmanship. If that's some Japanese aberration, I'm all for it.

If this is really such a dangerous part of the world, the US military should definitely not be bringing their dependents here. The whole establishment might have been suitable for the colonial era up until 1972, but since then has just been a relaxing overseas posting ("deployment" sounds too serious) costing both countries billions of dollars a year that mainly goes back to big contractors. Give some of the land back that is now used for housing, schools, and recreation and maybe there would be less objection to the new base.

"When everything is said and done, it's the price for the losing the war."

A truly simple and simpleminded equation. I haven't heard about any Vietnamese bases in the USA, and that only ended 40 years ago, not 69.

Power went out at 9:45 am in my part of Naha and is still out at 8:30 pm. We just drove around and it appears it was just local, about 1-km radius in the area bordering Haebaru. Hope it comes back before the fridge gets too warm, but we enjoyed a candlelight dinner.

I'm waiting for the movie. Someone in Hollywood must be working on the screenplay right now.

The 50% increase in the road tax is a major shafting of people who bought a Kei expecting that they could save money over the life of the car by giving up some performance and luxury. The size and performance restrictions were intended precisely so they did not compete directly with larger cars, just as motorcycles do not compete with cars for market share. So to reduce the cost savings in order to make them less competitive is really backasswards policy.

There was a student/teacher group in Okinawa and Tokyo last week from Lapland! Santa Claus will have some special goodies this Xmas.

Agree with WilliB ^^. Kinko's, a massively successful chain of photocopy shops in the US, has survived a long time, although who knows what really goes on behind the counter late at night? My online bank changes its name every few years and that's just confusing as hell.

@Jimizo: This is not a racist remark, but Japanese who have not lived abroad have not needed to develop the reflexes and instincts that Europeans have to guard against personal crimes, and many of the criminals probably understand that and target them. I think the warnings are appropriate and I hope that they will be followed.

With all due respect to Car Talk, this case has the fingerprints of Dewey, Newcomb, and Howe all over it.

To single out the manufacture of solar PV equipment is disingenuous, since the production of all materials used in industry has unwholesome side effects. Thousands of tons of rare and exotic metals have to go into nuclear reactors and gas turbines, and they all are mined somewhere and refined by processes that may produce toxic products. It's a wash on that score.

@ Disillusioned - I wouldn't call the report inflammatory, and even if it is, it's about time someone lit a fire under the deniers and fossil fuel interests that claim it is too expensive to do anything significant. @Bertie - isn't it ironic that China is moving to the leading spot not only in renewables, but with a big move toward "clean coal" with the world's first large-scale demonstration of carbon sequestration. Very expensive and surely to be supplanted by better technology, but at least they are actually doing something about the problems they have caused. An American energy giant is partnering with them, incidentally.

Too bad that such advanced technology was not available to avoid the collision in the first place. Sad.

I was just in HK and dined with a local acquaintance and my family at an Indian vegetarian restaurant. We were all disappointed with the food and I the waiter was worse than useless. I paid by credit card and did not notice the "Tip" line so automatically only paid the meal amount because my friend said that tipping is pretty optional there. (Some restaurants add 10% service, others none). The waiter leaned over me when he returned the card and asked if everyone enjoyed the food. I said, 'some of it was edible', which seemed to answer his unspoken question, I would not have tipped him even if I had seen the blank line.

Lots of agreement AND disagreement here, but one common idea is that teachers should know how to teach a language. That means (duhh!) stop hiring untrained people, no matter how little they will work for. From what I've seen they do more harm than good. The lousy ESL system in Japanese schools isn't going to change quickly, but how about online pre-hiring interviews that also test teaching skills? Seems like a no-brainer.

Most important for hurricane/typhoon resistance, besides enough strength to resist direct wind force, is maintaining the integrity of the structure so wind does not increase the internal pressure. Flying objects are not a big issue. People here seem to prefer reinforced concrete for that integrity since even roofs can be joined integrally to walls. But it is also amazing that there are still so many flimsily-built postwar houses still standing here. For earthquake, I don't see sliding joints or dampers used but I have not observed any very big buildings going up. It was mentioned that building codes are uniform in Japan, so adding typhoon resistance in vulnerable places like Okinawa must involve cost if not compromise. In small houses the commonly-used grade beams probably offer more protection than footings when the walls have plenty of shear strength. I don't know what Shindo they are designed for, but I do wonder at all the apartment buildings with open ground floor parking.

@nahaman - OMG, you mean pandabelle might have been mistaken? And maybe she was thinking about how timber-frame structures sometimes still used in mainland Japan can resist earthquakes but are more vulnerable to typhoons than reinforced concrete?

In any case, when I see new construction in Okinawa, the concrete and rebar are not spared and new buildings (even 2-story residences) look like they will be here for a long time, come earthquake or typhoon. The tallest building in Okinawa is only 28 stories, IIRC, and most are much lower.

@samuraiblue, thanks for the correction. I think the Shindo number in Naha was 3.7

@Weirauch - quite an insulting remark, so you must have facts to back it up.

Elbuda - the M scale used in Japan is not the same as the usual Richter moment scale we are more familiar with. There is no simple direct relationship, except that M6.7 is a lot less scary than 6.7 Richter. I am in Naha and it certainly woke me up, but no damage, panic, or sirens. As far as structural design is concerned, it would seem that anything built to withstand a major typhoon can survive a large earthquake, and vice versa.

"The system, which developers are hoping to have ready for Christmas 2015, can be connected to an iPod or other gadget and would allow the user to navigate through software programs using facial expressions, such as a raised eyebrow, a stuck-out tongue, a wiggle of the nose or by clenching teeth."

I just can't wat to see this in use.

The conventional wisdom that hackers don't bother developing viruses for Apple OS/Macs has been floating around since the days when it was true that Apple commanded only a small percentage of the PC market. Now that has not been the case for years, so why do people still believe it? Having said that, I do appreciate how relatively bug-free Apple stuff is compared to the Windows.machines that I do most of my work on. No viruses, knock wood, but crashes aplenty and incessant MS updates and bug fixes. So fix them already!.

@atrueokinawan: well said. Who can justify the private beaches, marina and golf courses, and the billions of US dollars it costs to keep the whole establishment going on forever? OK, some who actually get deployed to a combat zone are putting their xxxes on the line but most are putting them on barstools. The occupation of Okinawa is colonialism at best, and provocation of China at worst, and let's hope it doesn't come to the war that all the politicians and generals seem to be itching for. @Mikesbo - Shintoshin is not my idea of a great redevelopment scheme either, yet plenty of Okinawans like it just fine. You are seeing corporate ownership like Main Place and the pachinkos and chain restaurants, but that's just Japan for you. If you look closer there are hundreds of locally-owned businesses, and the Okinawan people living there are enjoying a taste of big-city life, which is entirely their choice. It is clearly prospering, as would other land returned by the US military. The locals who are in opposition are getting rent, which they would also earn under different ownership. Bar owners will survive, those who outlast the permanent curfew.

Oh yeah - really one-sided, those noisy antibase Okinawans. Like the tens of thousands of Americans and enormous contracting firms that make comfortable easy livings here don't ever try to exert influence through their Congressional representatives and lobbyists?

@Open Minded - the flus shot in Japan is only one dose. It is theoretically possible that another vaccine for a new strain could be introduced in the same season, but that doesn't happen often.

Can only speak for my time in Okinawa--- when I realized that these were the loveliest people in the world and I was happy to be among them.

Flu vaccines do work, just not completely effective. On average they reduce the chance you will contract flu by about 45%. If I had to ride the subway every day I'd get one because lower chances are better than near 100%. I've had the shot for the last 25 years and never had the flu, or any "immune-compromised" symptoms. And that proves... nothing, just as NOT getting the shot and not getting flu proves nothing. OK, blast away with those Bads.

Peacetrain, there was also jubilation in the US when we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Do we need to continue this line of debate?

Absolutely right, Alan. A relative was recently transferred and had to rent a small apartment for the workweek that seemed about perfect. After signing up and handing over the key money and deposit and moving in, it turned out that the neighboring apartment is occupied by a heavy smoker who was away when she had originally checked it out. Now she cannot open her windows for ventilation in warm weather because his are open too and the smoke flows directly into hers.