the_sicilian comments

Ken HolcombToday 08:51 am JST

Oh look. The ever present US military bashing has been awakened yet again.

Fine. Send all the US troops back home and let's see how long it takes a Russo-China assault to begin. And then let's see how long it takes all the bathers here to start whining about being left to the wolves........

Exactly. Once the bullets and bombs start coming, they will be begging for help. What I think they are not seeing is China has already stated and shown "ancient maps" that depict the Nansei Shoto string as Chinese. So it may only be a matter of time.

1glennSep. 4 06:43 pm JST

What is the story behind the Love Hotels? Are they primarily used by singles, cheating married people, or perhaps married people looking to change the scenery, but keeping faithful to each other?

Most Japanese live with their parents until they get married, so Love Hotels were a way to do the deed without the discomfort of bringing in your love interest.

kurisupisuJuly 8 06:58 am JST

China has the right to protect its borders the same way Japan has.

I receive scores of opened and resealed parcels from abroad but I accept that customs in Japan has a right to do so -same as China has.

You can't pay me enough to eat food from China. With low to no controls/oversight. No way. Japanese food products are superior.

sakurasukiToday 06:37 am JST

 He was then informed to pick up his payment at a separate rendezvous on a later date, but when Omori went there, no one else showed up.

He is being tricked, he should insist payment before he handover the card. Even to think that he isn't clever enough.

This is how drug mules get caught up, they do it for a promise. And because they are in such dire straits, they agree.

I got to do it in 89'. Was great. Would never try to do it now, especially with the influx of Chinese and Korean tourists.

Good for her. I hope she can make it to some level.

So if Japan goes down the same mad road the West is doing, trying to make people buy electric cars, will this not put a real pinch in electricity availability? If the actual high voltage "grid" is not improved, then in a few years blackouts will be common and the government will tell people to not charge cars at certain times of the day.

YubaruToday 09:03 am JST

 He was cancelled by a woke mob in the US.

Hardly, if he was actually worth anything the powers that be would have overlooked it and signed him.

He is a PR nightmare that no one wants to deal with!

The problem is the issue was domestic violence, and the courts said he did not commit what he was accused of. MLB is similar to the NFL, in that even if the courts find you not guilty you must have done somethingso they take an action not favorable to the player so their "image" is not tarnished.

So reading from the Cochrane report, this was pretty telling:

Medical/Surgical mask vs. no mask

"We included 12 trials (10 cluster‐RCTs) comparing medical/surgical masks versus no masks to prevent the spread of viral respiratory illness (two trials with healthcare workers and 10 in the community). Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness (ILI)/COVID‐19 like illness compared to not wearing masks (risk ratio (RR) 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84 to 1.09; 9 trials, 276,917 participants; moderate‐certainty evidence. Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.42; 6 trials, 13,919 participants; moderate‐certainty evidence). Harms were rarely measured and poorly reported (very low‐certainty evidence).

"Ten studies took place in the community, and two studies in healthcare workers. Compared with wearing no mask in the community studies only, wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu‐like illness/COVID‐like illness (9 studies; 276,917 people); and probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test (6 studies; 13,919 people). Unwanted effects were rarely reported; discomfort was mentioned."

"There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect. The pooled results of RCTs did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks. There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection."

Basically, the report can't tell if they work or not. The limited evidence points to being of little to no effect. But that's all. Very interesting.

It wouldn't be a news day without a panty thief of some sort. Remember the one guy that got caught and the police made a big deal of it, putting out a blue tarp and putting each piece of underwear out? It was on here. That was some serious crime busting.

I see the pro Chinese are active today. But they floated this balloon, so they are at fault. I say bring in the missiles. Japan will need them.

So for those that defend using masks, here's this: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full

Basically, the only masks that might make a difference are well fitted N95 masks. All others were pretty much useless.

I'd say this is a Greta dream, where the alarmists quote the "97%" number and fail to go into the context of that debunked story.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexepstein/2015/01/06/97-of-climate-scientists-agree-is-100-wrong/?sh=75bb598b3f9f

I think the proximity of the earth to the sun (sun/solar flares and actual radiation from the sun) are the main culprits for temperature change. Is man having an effect? I'm sure there is some degradation of the atmosphere by man, and we should do what we can to reduce it. But it is not the alarming thing that will lead to the demise of the world.

I grew up in Western NY (near Buffalo) and was in the storm of 78. It happens. Lake effect snow. Scientifically proven. Look at snow totals for these two locations in NY: Fredonia and Mexico, NY. Those numbers are scary. In Japan, Hokkaido gets hammered with snow. Why? Proximity to water and air temperature. This is not too hard to figure out.

"First of all, the U.S. has no legitimate right to demand a replacement be built if we wanted"

Once I hit "we" this ended any argument you may have had. Your feelings are not the topic. And you do not speak for Okinawa. The US presence is the greatest deterrent to any actions China make take. Now, oppose this if you like, but there's no magical Ryukyu Kingdom coming back, where the US leaves and the Okinawan's are left to their own devices.

My Okinawan family disagrees with your opinion. And that's the ones living there

Yeah, off a year. I didn't google it, just went from my memories of being a 9 or 10 year old at the time.

voiceofokinawaDec. 30 08:10 am JST

> The Henoko new base in Okinawa is a case in point. There is no other reason other than this why it must be built in Henoko, Okinawa. The explanation that the Henoko relocation is the only solution from a strategic point of view and to eliminate danger and noise pollution at Futenma’s current site is nothing but a farce and shenanigans.

Here we go again, the "new" base. For the last time, the base already exists. They are filling in a part of the bay to create the runway and air facilities for the 1st MAW (Marine Air Wing). You know this but you keep saying this senseless "new" word like it's the truth. Now the reality is the base relocation is needed. The expeditionary nature of the USMC requires their air support to be with the Marines. You can't have them 1500 miles away. This becomes a very large deterrent to China, along with more SAM capabilities.

Farce and shenanigans? I recall that the agreement was done between the US and Japan in 1996. But the stonewalling of every Okinawan governor (they get elected because of this) does some shenanigans to delay the construction. The Futenma Air base is in a horrible location and needs to be moved. But want to know the dirty secret that will blow your mind Voice? You think the JSDF is not going to want that base and use it, as the cleanup and destruction would take so long (Makiminato cleanup and rebuild was what, 15 years plus?).

Yubaru, I hear you.

YubaruDec. 28 03:38 pm JST

I'm talking about the overall U.S. military presence when I say JSDF is replacing USFJ. JSDF is virtually a part and parcel of the US Pacific Command headquartered in Honolulu, isn't it?’

No you are attempting to insert your own agenda here. It's off topic along with any commentary about Camp Schwab's landfill.

Your commentary about the JSDF being a part of USFJ is ludicrous.

Glad someone else sees this.

And in no way is this a provocation by Japan. They have the right to defend their sovereign territory. It just happens to be in close proximity to Taiwan. And ask Vietnam and the Philippines about some new "sovereign" territory being built from underwater coral and claimed as Chinese territory. Who's the provocateur?

I grew up in that area. They get storms that are no joke, 12-48 inches in one night. The blizzard of 77' was a pretty big storm. As a kid I made snow tunnels in my backyard.

But if anyone is resilient, it is the people of Western NY.

Funny, in Okinawa there seems to be a lot of young people with babies/ small children.

People will tend to agree that Germany is probably a bit more scientific in their approach. They have it on mass transit, but that's it. The world has gotten over the virus and is learning to live with it. And continue to hamper children's development because of mask wearing.

I'm in Okinawa and the use is ridiculous. Outside, in a car alone. Just pointless. I wear it because I don' twant to be the "ugly gaijin". But it's a farce at best. Plus Japan does not release the numbers of those that died "with" COVID" vice those that died because if it.I'm willing to bet it's like the US, with inflated numbers of people who happen to have it when they passed, or was a minor contributing factor.

YubaruToday 07:39 am JST

Got to love the picture! A Japanese Osprey....... and no "protests".

Don't think the Okinawa Times or Ryukyu Shimpo will run a story on those. Ha.

I do love the talk of it being a "bad" thing to have good arms and munitions. Take a look at Ukraine. Invaded by a superior force, but yet is actually winning. Why? Western armament. I think the US contribution is 5 times that of the EU (read on BBC). Some of that stuff must work. And all the we can all just get a long if we don't have an military is BS. You will get run over by China, or Russia (maybe by a Lada now). You prepare for peace by being able to wage war if attacked.

China won't do anything to Japan as long as the US is still there.

BertieWoosterToday 09:21 am JST

Produce on base is very expensive and low quality, It's shipped halfway round the world and it's shipped frozen. Produce in Farmer's markets is fresh, much better quality and cheap.

Almost correct. They do buy a little in Asia, but not frozen produce. Yes, it is expensive compared to San-A or Kanehide. And agree the Okinawa fruits and veggies are far better and cost less.

I find it funny that the rest of the world has moved on, but Japan is still struggling with COVID. I think this might have to do with not having real outpatient doctors, and every sniffle a Baabaa or Gigii gets turns into a hospital stay. This is where social medicine gets it wrong. Not everyone that has this needs to go to a hospital.

In a city of 14 Million, the stats in the story say 35 are hospitalized with severe symptoms. 35. So those are the ones that need the most care. and the death numbers. As proven in the rest of the world, if you dies of cancer but had a positive COVID test, it was a COVID related death. How about a reality check and have the miistry of health actually state who really passed BECAUSE of COVID, not died with it?

The title. You can't make this stuff up. I love Japan.

I would have liked the Athlete to have been sold in the US. Think it's a slick car, especially with some good aftermarket wheels, and maybe lower it about an inch.

Agree. I don't see this going away, and doing simple preventative measures helps. But we can't go out ruining peoples lives with economic ruin. That would be wrong.

@Virusrex:

"Nobody wants to eradicate the disease, but making an effort to control the cases so it can be safely managed by the health services is a completely possible goal."

Um, I think everyone wants to eradicate the virus, but we know that's not happening. And doesn't this statement prove your second point:

But he said hospital bed usage remained low, as did the number of serious cases and deaths.

He is in the region anyway. He can discuss some other political issues while in Japan, so it makes sense.

Had a recent visit to my physician, and she told me that over the past year, the incidence of the flu is about zero. So, knowing correlation is not causation, has COVID replaced the flu? I mean, basically being driven to a very small minority of sickness while COVID is getting headlines?

Curious.