TrentonGaijin comments

Update.... Mr Dolin (wannabe author) shot himself & all charges against Mr Danielson (accused) have been dropped. No comment from Mr Dolin on why he shot himself or from the Valley County Montana Sheriff Department on why they arrested Mr Danielson.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/15/12240711-police-hitchhiker-writing-the-kindness-of-america-confesses-to-shooting-himself?lite

Wow, the Harley haters are out in droves on this one.... Don't want one? Don't buy one. I don't want a Honda, Yamaha, BMW, Ducati, or any other brand, but I don't spend my time telling people they're made in China, will rust out in a year, or that "most people" that buy one hate it. Perfectly happy with my Electra Glide (bought at Red Baron in Sagamihara). Stop dragging out the stories from bikes made in the 70s & pretending they apply to the bikes made today (or even 20 years ago)- aside from aesthetic similarities, they're totally different bikes.

Couldn't stand their music in the '80s, but by '04 I had every album (the only hip-hop I own or listen to) (ironically I was living in Israel at the time). RIP MCA....

Should've stayed partnered with Ford.... Although, to be fair, I'm not sure if it was Ford or Mazda's idea to dissolve their partnership....

Cute, but something seems to be missing.... Except maybe the girl in front & the gaijin on the end of the 2nd from back row (maybe the back row as well, but can only see their heads in the photo).

Seems Pres Obama's been taking lessons in namecalling from our own Gov Christie....

I don't have any issue with this item. My issue is with the women who seem to want to pick & choose which guys can look at them. If you don't want people looking, wear something else.... Or go buy a "chest line cover." Won't work though- I even look at the women wearing full burghas (obviously not in Japan). All in the imagination....

What brand pen did Misaki-chan use to write his name- still looks fresh after a year floating in the Pacific....

Suggest Mr Baxter send it to Nagasaki-san, the hermit of Sotobanari Island- we all know soccer balls make great friends for people living alone on islands....

The issue isn't that they bought prostitutes, it's that they brought people without proper security clearances into an area (i.e., their hotel rooms) where classified information was kept. I'm sure no one thinks this is the first time SS or military personnel have visited prostitutes. Especially where it's legal. Which probably contributed to their getting caught- they've probably tried to stiff prostitutes on the bill many times, but this time she could complain to the police.

Eat less & exercise more. The former really isn't too hard, but admittedly the latter takes some effort. Actually lost 15kg just by moving back to the U.S.- no convenience stores with good snacks & drinks and no good restaurants on every block. At 84kg I don't need to lose much weight, but exercise daily for the other health benefits (benefits I doubt this pill will provide).

Why is it always "Zimmerman" & "Trayvon"? Why can't it be "Zimmerman" & "Martin" or "George" & "Trayvon"?

Why have we only seen a mugshot photo of Zimmerman & a (at least) 5 year old picture of Martin (when he was a smiling little kid)? I'm not sure if they're authentic, but some of the later photos of Martin that I've seen portray a much different image.

In Trenton, NJ there's a shooting or stabbing a couple times a week & no protests. Monday afternoon (2pm) a 22-year old was shot dead. Monday night (10pm) a 48-year old guy was shotgunned in his car by 2 carjackers (who then couldn't steal the car because neither could drive a manual). Amazingly, no witnesses to either has come forward....

Same story in many large U.S. cities....

When he heard guys talking about their schoolgirl uniform fetish, he didn't understand that they weren't talking about wearing them.....

Good luck to Couples. Then come back at 72 for a really "age-defying" win....

My old neighborhood made the news.... I've always been tempted to take off in a cruiser that some cop left running. Maybe when I get to 73 I'll give it a try. Didn't know they had alarms though (must be different than theft alarm because they aren't usually activated while the car's running). Next thing will be a remote cut-off device that will allow cops to shut off the car as it drives away (of course, if they're dumb enough to leave the car running, they may forget the remote in the car).

Aside from "No Foreigners" signs on some hostess bars (where I wasn't going anyway), I don't remember any discrimination. Usually quite the opposite & I often felt like a rock star- especially in the smaller towns where foreigners aren't a common site. While I might have been initially offended by the label "gaijin," I eventually embraced it & have continued to call myself "gaijin" long after leaving Japan (trust me, even though I'm American I feel more like a foreigner in Trenton than I ever did in Japan).

I need to find that t-shirt.... Bet I can find them on eBay next week....

Good luck....

I guess gone are the days of the overly polite Japanese drivers.... Used to be impolite if you didn't dim your lights (to parking lights) at stop lights or stop to let people enter traffic from gas stations. Only ran into impatience (not to point of obnoxious though) on the Tomei & other expressways.

One of my favorite sites & even have a Miyajima "safety drive" omamori in my car (hope they don't "expire" since I won't be able to return for another for quite a few years).

@ The_Pope- right on!

I hope Obama's determination that anyone involved will be held accountable "with the full force of the law" extends to himself & Congress for deciding that it's okay to send Soldiers on multiple deployments to Iraq & Afghanistan year after year. This guy had already been to Iraq for 3 tours (sustaining a serious head injury during one) before getting sent to Afghanistan.

I'm not condoning what he did & perhaps it would've been better if he did what a lot of his fellow soldiers did- use his weapon on himself. But then he would've just been another "non-combat related" casualty report that no one pays any attention to anymore. At least this way he's started us wondering how much is too much for us to be expecting of these guys.

A tragedy & my condolences to all those affected, but I don't think more gun laws would've made a difference. If the victims really were chosen at random (i.e., he wasn't planning to specifically kill them) & he just wanted to kill people, we should be glad he didn't look up the "recipe" for an IED & blow up half the school.

NJ has some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S. with each city/town's police chief deciding who will get a license. Judging from the daily shootings in Newark, Trenton, Camden, etc either those cities have really lenient police chiefs or people are somehow getting illegal handguns.

"Times of Trenton" & "Japan Today" seem to have the same sort of stories lately (albeit random stabbings instead of random shootings)....

Not very prosperous gangsters if they're eating at Denny's....

"former gang member"- one of those "you can join, but you can't quit" deals?

One of my first Japanese phrases was taught to me by my wife's ikebana sensei- when offered something you don't want, say "kekkoo desu." Applies perfectly....

"The original Python members... will voice a group of aliens...." Sounds like they're just doing voiceovers for the animated part of the film. Half the fun of the Python skits & movies was the visual antics (especially Cleese). Don't think I'll get my hopes up just yet....

Isn't that special.... Wonder who asked for an autograph first....

Bought my Electra Glide at a Red Baron in Sagamihara- now it's likely the only one in NJ that's been ridden from Tokyo to Kyoto (via Rt 1 since then you couldn't have passengers on the Tomei). Used to love going to the Harley shops in Kanagawa. Head out with a couple friends & we could spend an entire day visiting maybe a half dozen shops (some just H-D, some independent, & some multi brand). Best thing about H-D shops in Japan- more bikes & less MotorClothes & accessories.

Wasn't sure voting for Christie was the right choice until now.... Of course, if we had re-elected this clown these people would still have their $1.2B (not sure what would've happened to Jerseyans though).

"The Prius and a second Toyota... were not thought to be part of the supercar pack." Duh!

7777777- excellent points. I had a roommate (American in the US) who used abortion as her method of contraception & had no concern for the aborted fetuses (just a roommate- not lover or even friend). I suspect it would be the same for all who use abortion as contraception. Maybe not for those who feel they're "forced" into it for whatever reason (e.g., pregnancy really was an accident & parents aren't able to support). And maybe not for those who had an abortion in their 20s because they were "not ready" & find in their 30s that they can't get pregnant & start wishing they hadn't gotten an abortion.

There are enough children who are truly lost to keep Jizou busy for quite awhile without worrying about unwanted aborted fetuses. I've got two- a son who died of SIDS & a son who died in utero....

Wow, surprise.... As long as the super committee members wrap up in time to catch their flights home for Thanksgiving break they'll consider it a success (that they didn't accomplish anything doesn't matter). I was worried about the "mandatory cuts" until I found out that they won't hit until 2013 & this congress cannot obligate another congress to act (even though they'll mostly be the same bozos).