Swami Vas comments

Despite the nuclear plant mishaps of recent years in various parts of the world including Japan, in a world-wide scenario of ever-increasing demand for energy, there is no alternative to clean energy and nuclear energy is and will remain an inevitable part of that process for an infinite period of time!

It simply shows how consumers have been fooled and taken for an unhealthy ride by these unreliable fast food giants!

Only Japan can come out with such an awesome gadget to make life easier for beer drinkers! Cheers!

On top of the hilarious Hillary Clinton private e-mail id episode stands the query as to whether or not there are norms for officials of a new administration to follow as they take office!

Query 1: Is not the income already taxed? Query 2: Is not the interest on savings already taxed? Query 3: Is not thus the new tax tantamount to double or triple-taxation? Query 4: Won't foreign nationals resident in Japan be forced to remit a part of their income on a regular basis so that there will be none left when they exit Japan for good to attract the new tax? Query 5: Won't this discourage future foreign investments in Japan which will be detrimental to the otherwise long time unhealthy Japanese economy?

Instead of continuing with the past practices of bilateral Free Trade Pacts between countries, the move should be to establish world-wide free trade between all countries and measures in that direction should be chalked out by the World Trade Organization!

Such an act is crystal clearly contrary to Japanese values and a breach of trust people around the world have in Japanese products!

An interesting experiment which is worth following by others rendering similar service across the world!

Apologies and Japanese style deep bows by store officials are no convincing answers to the blatant blunders by the international fast-food chain McDonald’s Corp - repetitive in nature as the report itself clearly suggests! Putting blame on or pointing fingers at others for crystal clear quality control shortcomings on the part of the international giant will not help problems of this nature resolve in a go. There ought to be drastic QC measures by the retailer as blunders of this nature could easily end up in fatalities or irreparable injuries to the victims. As some others have suggested, the international chain may soon be forced out of sight in Asia if such repetitive incidents are not properly dealt with lest the love-hate relationship claimed by the management will in no time turn to be a permanent state of ''I HATE McDONALD'S'' ATTITUDE ON THE PART OF CUSTOMERS IN THE ENTIRE REGION!

A timely reminder from a wise man at a time the world is undergoing rapid changes never witnessed before!

That indeed is a serious matter of concern to the government of a country which occupies a prime place in the world economy! What it will lead to in the next two decades or so though is unpredictable - to Japan as well as to the entire world! One option which is already progressing is to locate most of its manufacturing operations to other countries such as India shaping into powerful economies!

As in politics, there is no permanency in economics as well. China is rightly toning down its growth rate after a long spell of exceptional economic growth. India has launched a series of measures to move away from its economic sluggishness lasting a long time now. Japan is still in a state of economic chaos which has already lasted several years and there is no sign of an early recovery to sustainable growth. With these three major economic powers of the present century registering more or less stagnant economic growth, it is natural for the ball to land in the USA court! When the US economy shows signs of economic growth in the sky direction, there is likely to be a surge in overall economic activities which could result in an increase in overall consumption and this in turn could produce a need for more imports and that increase in US consumer demand could provide more opportunities for increasing economic activities elsewhere, notably in the three Asian countries featured here – China, India and Japan. Thus, the economic growth momentum will continue in this global era of inter-dependence!

That sounds a straightforward way of serving a summons and giving an instant verdict! There is a Catche-22 question though, what if the miscreant happens to be a high government official or that of the airline itself or anyone related to them? Will the chief pilot stick to his guns and go ahead with the appropriate action which though should normally be the case? Interestingly, in an Indian TV serial entitled Airlines, the pilot just did that to deal with some miscreants one of whom claimed to be the son of the country's civil aviation minister. They not only misbehaved with the flight attendants and other passengers but also consumed alcohol in the flight against domestic flight regulations. The Captain first treated them courteously and even upgraded them from economy to business class. Having subdued them, he got back to the cockpit and told his co-pilot to send a message to the destination airport to get the security ready to arrest them. Subsequently, even against the orders of his superiors and the Minister himself, he insisted on their being tested for alcohol or they will not be granted bail by the police under any circumstances. Well, although this story is just a fiction such incidents are not uncommon in flights across the world. Air Passengers ought to bear in mind that just because they are flying they cannot demand from the flight attendants VIP treatment other than what is normally allowed and provided in such a scenario. The Korean Airline incident is indeed unfortunate and the Korean government is perfectly right to deal with the wrongdoer firmly though the passenger who happens to be the daughter of the president of Korean airlines has already relinquished position with the airlines!

No system, however sophisticated, can be perfect and successful in detecting what goes on in the minds of such ruthless terror-minded people across the world, though success rate may be comparatively better in checking physical possessions of people!

Good idea but chances are pretty bleak!

Yet again, another saga affecting automobiles! The basic blame should go to the airbag supplier/manufacturer who apparently has no perfect QC. The vehicle manufacturer is also equally responsible for the obvious absence or imperfect product check, especially those they get fully completed from the suppliers!

I often fly by Korean Air and the cabin crew are well-known for their exceptionally polite and smiling service and this incident simply reflects more on the character of the involved passenger than the service provided by the inflight staff! Perhaps, the passenger should have conveyed a special pre-flight message as to how the humble honey-coated peanut or whatever should be served in a golden platter perhaps! Come on passengers, whatever your personal status, consider the plight of inflight staff flying up and down all the time and give them some space! By the way, it was unheard of for a passenger to have acted so and diverted back a flight causing undue delay and confusion to not only other passengers but also to the airport staff of the affected airport! While on this, I remember an interesting personal incident. Korean Air had just introduced the giant A-380 flight and serving passengers in such a flight during a short flight from Seoul to Hong Kong could be a nightmare to even experienced cabin crew let alone new recruits! While serving tea, rather pouring tea in a cup that I was holding, turbulence struck the flight and there was a little spill of tea on to my jacket. The little adorable doll like girl felt so bad that she kept bowing in traditional Korean style and apologising to me while walking up and down the aisle several times almost throughout the flight despite my consoling, comforting and utterly assuring her not to worry at all as it could happen to anyone in the given situation! Even as I got off the flight at the destination, she was standing near the gate and gave me yet another spectacular bow and smile giving me thus a sense of VIP treatment! Hilarious incident indeed!

Sounds somewhat satirical but unique and pretty interesting!

Japan is indeed undergoing a rough time at least economically and Prime Minister Abe whose re-election may be certain will have a trying time to find appropriate cures for economic ills in the days, months and years ahead! Also, the frosty relations with neighbours notably China and North Korea should also give him some headache though a cure is not out of his reach!

It is indeed sad even today in this age of advanced technology and medical attention available to the public our Muslim folks continue to consider an important vaccination program such as polio vital to children as anti-Islam!

Food safety assumes utmost importance and should be given added care and attention to cleanliness especially when it comes to meals served to school children! The culprits deserve stringent punishment!

While a better understanding of past events does provide a lesson or two to the present generation especially the youth, one wonders if harping on some unpleasant issues will help anyway improve harmony between nations especially those directly affected by such events! It is ideal to leave behind such unpleasant incidents of the past and move forward with a conviction never to indulge in them in future!

An ideal Royal family which should help spread ideal values to a society where all sorts of crimes take place and are reported in the press!

How come there are frequent reports of such unacceptable exploitation of the children taking place in Japan! Maybe the Japanese government should rethink and introduce more stringent laws to solve the problem!

One wonders how on earth such an important passenger safety gadget got approved in the first place without apparent thorough examination! Hopefully this serves as an eye-opener to all auto-makers!

It is indeed a surprise that the never-ending unpleasant war-time saga continues without any lasting solution in sight!

What a Japanese inventive mind!

This announcement of a snap election in Japan so soon after the last one has indeed come as a surprise not only to the Japanese people but also people in other countries following developments in Japan. Whether it was the right decision or not will be known within a month's time when the elections will have been held and results announced! Though the opposition in Japan is unprepared for an election now and their chances are bleak, there is an element of uncertainty in Japanese politics!

Though Japan and China are neighbours and meetings between the two leaders should take place in an informal way as frequently as possible, this meeting on the sidelines of APEC in Beijing is historical in the light of mounting tensions between the economically strong two nations! Establishing personal rapport between leaders can go a long way in resolving political differences without causing tension which in turn can ensure undisturbed economic growth!

It was said somewhere that it would take over 200 years for Bill Gates to spend all his whopping wealth amassed over the years from his lucrative business and with annual income still running at millions if not billions, the overflowing kitty has to find suitable outlets and it is indeed good that the funds are allocated for good causes such as public health which no doubt deserves commendation!