TrappedNTokyo comments

anyone ever stop to think that parts for Toyota in the U.S. are made in China and assembled in Mexico? Where as every Toyota sold in Japan is composed of parts made in JAPAN. Due to the Japanese's goverments ability to stave of outside competition for manufacturing in Japan with protectionism. I'm sure everyone in the U.S. just see's Japan when they buy a Toyota, but don't actually stop to look at the sticket on the inside of the door jam to see where the parts are from and where it was assembled. I find it convenient that when the Chinese car market on the rise and the American car market on it's a** that they all of a sudden exploit the media coverage for this. Never has any car company had to speak with congress over a recall. Also I believe GM reached out to Toyota for help during their crisis and Toyota told them to go blow smoke. I'm an american and I have owned 4 Toyota's in life. Never had a problem. I owned 2 american cars and had several problems. This is all political.

Fox News best news money can buy.

I'm tired of all the cryin and whining. I understand that there arewere greedy people on wall street or in the financial industry that accelerated this mess, but what people forget to remember is the consumer (a.k.a. american tax payer) that also needs to shoulder some of the blame. I am not accusing anyone on this blog of this, but you do know of someone that has run up their credit card bill with 20% interest in order to "buy" the finer things in life that you so valuably wanted. How come no one is willing to share their part of the blame in all of this. A credit card is your promise to your bank that you will pay them back for the money they loan you. The interest rate is the banks way to earn money for loaning it to you. If you charge up all your credit cards ( as its the american way) and you cant pay the bill, where does that leave the bank? Alot of defaulted accounts. Kind of like the woman that is a bus driver that bought a 800,000 USD house. How the hell can you explain to me that a woman who drives a bus for a living can afford an 800,000 USD house? I will admit I do have nice things, but I paid cash for them. I have no debt, but I am willing to bet that the average american household is in debt. Nice house, nice car, T.V., vacations ect. More times than not are financed on a credit card. I know that there are people that make due on their debt and pay what they owe, but there are alot of people that do not. It's time to stop blaming everything on other people and start looking at yourself sometime. If this does not apply to you then disregard, but if it does pertain to you maybe you should think a little more before you make that next big purchase on your credit card. This problem hits on all levels of the economic chain, not just some greedy real estate investor, but also the average american consumer as well. Once those that default on their debts realize that they are part of the problem as well then maybe this situation can clear itself up as well. Live within your means.

I agree that this should be dealt with. Being a veteran of the U.S. Army and spending 2 years in South Korea (3 months of that on the DMZ) I feel this problem needs to be once and for all erraticated. But be careful in advocating war. Currently there are hundreds of field artilery batteries fix aimed at Seoul. Once you go off the cliff to war, there will be easily millions of casualties in South Korea. 9 years ago we (the U.S.) had 30,000 troops stationed in S Korea. Now with some deployed ot Iraq and some decommisioned it might be even less. It will take the U.S. and any coalition of Allies aprox 48 to 72 hours to mobilize re enforcments for those troops. N. Korea has at least 1 million troops on the boarder. Now that being said, I'd say about half of them will desert the military if war broke out, but your still looking at all those Field Artillery Batteries that will let the shells fall on Seoul. Would we win, yes. I dont think their would be an all out invasion of N.Korea, but there would be carpet bombing and air sorties flown like you've never seen before. In the long run N. Korea would be wiped off the map, but you still looking to lose millions of S Koreans in the process and once you attack be sure that the dear leader will exhaust all his missles on the South and Japan. I hope whoever is advocating war factors in the loss of life you are going to see in the South and maybe even Japan.

@likeitis

Who cares! Look you buy a microsoft product and low and behold you recieve their browser. Do you really think that if there was a cost for IE since it was bundled with MS software that it really makes a difference. You argument is convaluded. If you are not happy with the browser download a different one for free, install it and disable IE. Are you the kind of guy that buys a car and then complains that you got an xyz air conditioner "bundled" with the car? So your answer is to sue the car manufacture cause they dared to equip the car with an xyz air conditioner instead of an abc air conditioner? You are arguing apples and oranges and anyone that complains that Microsoft has a monopoly then just man up, invent your own product, package it and advertise it. If people like it they buy it, if not then well you should re think what you are trying to sell. Bottom line is if you dont like it then dont buy it. But tying up courts with litigation and wasting time and money is not going to fix the problem.

"TexasAggie"

Once again can someone explain to me that just because you are a conservative christian or religious person and go to church makes you an ethical person. There are plenty of other people that do not go to church or belong to a religious group that are moral and ethical. Comparing all science research to those beliefs of Hitler is B.S. The ""un born" baby embryos were more likely held up in clinics and were going to be through out or disposed of. The only reason Religous groups get their undies in a bunch about science is not because it has anything to do with morals or ethics, its because the more science uncovers facts about evolution and the origin of man it debucts the Myths of creationism and God. The only thing the church is really worried about is losing its followers and their collection plate offerings. Using the myth of God to control and subjicate a society is even more immoral than the act of science itself.

bebert You're right, it wasnt "banned". However it was essentially "embargoed" by the previous administration. There is no way you can not say that GWB's religious views did not play a role in his decision to ban federal funding for stem cell research. There was always an underlying faith and belief of reasoning to everything that GWB enacted. To deny this would be foolish. I also dont agree that he is "pissing" away money. Even if private corporations are the ones doing the researching they still employ people from private sectors, maybe with federal funding it will help enact them to be able to employ more people. Spending up trillion dollar deficits for the Iraq war was "pissing" away money. Funding programs that might actually turn out to find cures for debilitating diseases that run up health cost and weigh heavily on american families that have to take off from work to car for or pay for supplimental insurance policies to cover cost not covered by their default insurance should not be considered "pissing" away money.

Hate to clean up the "air sickness" bags after that flight.

When has religion ever been good for science? The last time I have checked, The Catholic church has been on the wrong side of history when it comes to Science. If they had their way the earth would still be flat and the sun revolved around the earth. Also why is Adam and Eve always dipicted as having belly buttons? Does the fact that someone doesnt go to church and doesnt believe in creationism mean they cannot be moral and ethical people? I would prefer to put my stock in a group of people that make their scientific judgments based on facts and not interpret what they should believe based on religious beliefs. Conservative right should spend more time concentraiting on their own life and quit trying to tell other people how they should live their life, raise their kids or believe that Armageddon is upon us. It's perfectly fine to believe what you want to believe in, but for the majority of our sakes, please keep it to yourself.

Maybe they were arguing over the new members that joined Exile and couldnt come to an agreement over choreography styles. "Gangs" in Japan are a joke. They should take a field trip to South Central L.A.

*probable cause

I think that some people are missing the point that maybe, just maybe they were not shoplifting. Maybe they just committed SWG (Shopping While Gaijin). That gave cops probably cause so they searched them and then found the 0.2 grams of Mary Jay. Do you know how small 0.2 grams of Mary jay is? Probably put more soy sauce on your gyoza than 0.2 grams. This is stupid.

If it was my daughter he (the Teacher) would be getting his picture taken in a hospital gown cause he would have to be admitted for a detached retina and a camera stuck up his a**.

Republicans are doing nothing but window dressing. Let's see, Steele the minority head of the GOP...Check....Jindal minority Govenor to speak on behalf of the Republicans....Check....This is rediculous. The sad thing is the GOP honestly believes that the american public doesnt see through their big minority lie. This is a party that has for all the people in the world Rush Limbaugh as their #1 spokesperson that made derrogative comments about a Black QuarterBack on National television. It's a joke. You had your say for 8 years now shut up and let the other team have a chance to unscrew what you have screwed up for the past 8 years.

Republicans 8 years to destroy the economy, Dems will need 16 to get it back running again.

um why is this article relevant, anyone seen any Tokyo roadwork done lately. Two people to hold the flags, one to hold the shovel, one to hold the umbrella. Two people to remove the dirt, another 3 people to break up the asphalt, another person to get onigiri, 1 person to supervise and the other to fill in the hole. Nothing like cutting cost.

Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Nice people to endorse any party...NOT!!

He can hang out with DJ OZMA and work on some new choreographed dance moves....Paging NSYNC

There are far better looking japanese women in Tokyo. Im scared the U.S. will see these two. No justice.

cut the amount of taxis in half and maybe pedistrians have a fighting chance.

tokyoalex

I dont proclaim to know everything, but I do know a bit about the subject. It's not just DJ OZMA it's also about this whole group of "rappers" on the J-Pop scene. Comedian or not, he is trying to portray something he is not. Yes is it for entertainment value? Yes. But there seems to be this Fad in Japan that everyone non talented peformer tries to emulate something that they are not. To take a culture and profit from that culture is in poor taste. Most of your rappers in the U.S. used music to get a message out about the dire straits that are occuring in the inner city. Most of them have used this to bring themselves out of a sub stantard enviroment. You need to look at how rap got started and why it is what it is. All the youth in Japan think its just cool to be "ghetto" or like rap for its entertainment value does not do justice to why rap exsist in the first place. It's easy to be a comedian or for some poor "rappers" in Japan to try to emulate soemthing they are not. They do not know hard times. There are no drive by shootings in Shibuya. A majority of families in Japan have father figures present in the house to raise their kids. To take a culture that is rife with poverity and lack of a father figure and make it into some kind of fad is a joke. Then to hold a press conference to announce a retirement from a flash in the pan career is a joke. Most of these so called rappers in Japan could really rap about "How I didnt get into Keio or Man Ive been cramming to get into Waseda. Compared to people that are dying and have to sling drugs just to afford something to eat is marginal at best. I just think its wrong to mock a culture so they can be seen as cool or look at me I can rap attitude when they have no idea what its like to live the life that most rappers talk about. Even in the U.S. its become about the bling or I sold one album so let me get bank loans so I can have the big house and big car in my videos, but even people in the U.S. have to remember why rap became what it is. A lyrical narriation of the struggle of a group of people trying to make it in life. I seriously doubt any of the so called rappers in Japan can attest to that.

He thought it was the GSDF Generals house cause he was home on 3 days vacation.

Good bye and please dont come back. Really tired of all these wannabe rap stars in Japan that think they have street cred. It's a fad in Japan. None of these artist can claim hard times or know the "ghetto" which is the basis for rap music. It's really getting tiring watching these wannabe boy bands strut on stage in wife beaters with "choreographed" routines that make NSYNC look like Run DMC. Please just be honest with yourself and if you are talented then be honest with the public. This Jpop stuff is really getting nausiating. I say we drop off OZMA-san in south central L.A. and really see what he is made of. No need for a press conference just let the last sound be the sound of the door hitting you in the a$$ on the way out...