Vast Right-Wing Conspirator comments

First of all, there is very little English education here. There is a LOT of Eigo education, but little English. I mean classes taught by Japanese to Japanese in Japanese using Japanese textbooks to pass a Japanese test to enter a Japanese university. Not much room for English there...

Big Problems;

a/ False mythology about the utility of English. Many Japanese equate learning English just with communicating with native speakers, or doing business in the US or UK. Reality is that most English speakers in the world are NOT native speakers. Learning English means that Japanese can communicate with Koreans, Germans, Malaysians, Vietnamese, etc.

b/ False notions of nationalism. The idea that learning a foreign language too well by necessity means that you are somehow less Japanese. How many times have we heard, "I'm Japanese, so..." as an excuse for something?

c/ lack of drive. English needs to be taught as a skill, like a sport, rather than as an academic endeavour. Sitting passively in class with an open book and closed mind won't do anything. Language learning requires active participation, gambling, and expecting temporary failure. These are not things most Japanese like to do.

Social anxiety happens everywhere, but IMHO the response in Japan is different. The emphasis here is on keeping the family name clean and avoiding embarassment, rather than on treating the afflicted.

Mental health issues in general are not well understood here.

Sorry, but there really is no such thing as a true "hikkikomori". Answer these simple questions:

a/ Do they bathe/crap/pee in their rooms? b/ Do they do their laundry in their rooms? c/ Do they cook/eat in their rooms? d/ How do they get money to buy smokes, games, snacks, etc?

There is a whole lot of enabling going on, by families who are far too generous and understanding. Simple solution, lock/nail the door shut when the hikikomori goes out to Lawson's, takes a bath, eats lunch. Then, have a counselor standing by to talk to them. If they talk, they can go back to their room. If not, the door is over there, and have a nice life...

Typical petty bickering by Korea. Anything to try and breathe more life into the long-dead ghosts of the past.

The worst part for Brazil is having to play in a consolation match against the Dutch. It is a stupid idea to have a game to decide third place. There aren't gold/silver/bronze medals at stake, so it strikes me as a useless gesture. Plus, what if they lose again to the Dutch, a very distinct possibility? Double humiliation to wear around their necks like an albatross.

I was happy to see their fans snuffling and balling in the stands.

This isnt too surprising for a couple of reasons. First, in Japan Tanaka was used to pitching only once a week. In the Majors, it is every 5 days. He isn't getting the rest he (and his arm) is used to.

Second, Japanese kids who show promise as pitchers are brutally overworked from the time they are in high school. It isnt uncommon for them to throw 200 or 300 pitches in a couple of days at tournaments like Koshien. Teams will try and ride a single star pitcher all the way to the championship, no matter the long term cost to that player's health. It is sickening that there are no rules in force to protect players from this kind of abuse by coaches.

Disillusioned; actually, Japan canNOT defend itself. The military is far too small to do anything but moderately inconvenience a serious threat from communist China. Having friends, especially friends with big guns, is one way to preserve your freedom.

This decision wasnt so much about free speech rights as the RFRA, a 1993 law signed by President Clinton and sponsored by the late Senator Ted Kennedy. The right to access birth control has nothing to do with employment. Hobby Lobby isnt forbidding its employees to use birth control, or to use any of the "morning after" type medicined in question. All Hobby Lobby wants to do is to not pay for them. Not a big decision IMHO. After all, a dose of the "oops pill" costs around $10 in most places, and is also available at Planned Parenthood.

The constant demands for more, and more formal, and more sincere, apologies is getting tiring. It shows me that South Korea sees its future as being part of red China's orbit rather than the free world's. They are merely following along with their masters in Beijing. In turn, China keeps North Korea from imploding and wrecking the economy of the South. It is a bizarre symbiotic relationship.

Yabits, the Korean government at the time in 1965 refused to let Japan participate in the specific distribution of the money. Instead, it kept the cash for infrastructure projects and paid a pittance to the victims. So, if the survivors have a beef with anyone, it is their own government. THEY are the ones who stole the apology money.

To an outsider, the whole fetish for apologies that is such a large part of many Asian cultures is fascinating.

The Korean American community needs to remember that they are American first. This pointless dredging up of old issues and opening old wounds only serves one purpose: to drive Korea into the Chinese sphere of influence. It has been plain for a while that Korea sees itself as having more of a future by kissing up to red China than remaining with the free world.

The statue itself? Meh. Next, I'd like to see the Vietnamese American community erect a statue beside it to commemorate the thousands of innocent Vietnamese civilians butchered by Korean soldiers during the Vietnam war.

If you don't like the name, that's fine.Don't buy their souveniers, don't attend or watch their games, give them the cold shoulder. Ask the owners to change the name if you are so motivated. However, IMHO it gets dangerous when the idea comes that the name should be banned or forbidden.

BTW, this opens a dangerous "Panodra's Box" as well. Should the Notre Dame Fighting Irish be forced to change? A pugilistic leprechaun is a virulently racist mascot, after all.

It all becomes silly...

Michael, the problem is that there WERE no actions. Just a few remarks in a conversation that he thought was private. Of course what he said was rude, but who among us has not made comments that we thought were in private that we would not want to be made public?

The issue isn't about free speech. It is about privacy. I don't want to have to frisk all my friends when they come to my house, and make sure they aren't carrying any recording devices. I don't want my unguarded words to be made public. Nor do I want them given to my boss or co-workers.

What a waste of government time. What business is it of the federal government what name a private sports team uses? I think that perhaps there are more pressing issues that need to be taken care of.

Let the players decide. If they don't want to play for the Redskins, they don't have to. Let the fans decide. If they don't want to attend Redskin games, or purchase Redskins gear, they don't have to.

This is a truly strange and ironic situation.

IF Jeb's last name were, say, Johnson instead of Bush, he would be a seriously strong candidate. Moderate views, bilingual, good track record as a governor, etc.

OTOH, IF Hillary's last name were, say, Johnson instead of Clinton, she would be nowhere on the political radar screen. Just another mediocre carpetbagging senator and cabinet member.

Both parties need to be careful about repeating the current mistake: electing a one-term senator who is long on communication skills but short on political/leadership savvy.

Well, now the NAACP is taking back Sterling's award in a show of character and principle. I'm sure that the NAACP will of course now RETURN all the money that Sterling donated to their organization and other causes. After all, they won't want any part of money tainted by racism, will they?

Of course not. (/sarcasm)

Ironically, Sterling didn'Teven use the "bad" word for blacks either. He called them "black people", which AFAIK is the current politically correct term. He had no trouble with his mistress sleeping with black guys, feeding them in his house, or taking them out in his cars, as long as she didn't bring them to his place of business and publicly humiliate him. It doesn't sound like much to ask.

And now people are calling for him to be stripped of his property!? He should lose a $500 million business because he said something bad in the privacy of his own home, in what he thought was a private phone call? That is a truly frightening precedent.

Let him be judged by the court of public opinion. People can protest by not attending Clippers games or buying their merchandise. Players can protest by requesting to be traded, or refusing to sign contracts.

It's a sad day in society when an old man can't even have an argument with his girlfriend without the results being public fodder. Of course what he said was nasty, more so because his young mistress is herself half African American. Just another old man being hit with the reality that his young arm candy may herself want a more, how can I say politely, "vigorous" lover. Sterling didn'T care if she cheated on him as long as she didn't publicly humiliate him about it afterwards.

I don't think a truly racist man would spend decades involved in a sport dominated by Black players. Nor would the NAACP feel compelled to nominate him for a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lest we forget...

The Korean president/dictator who was in power back in 1965, when the issue was supposedly resolved, was the FATHER of the current leader. He made the decision to take the money from Japan and use it to pay for infrastructure projects rather than distributing it to the victims. Ironically, he was also a member of the very same Imperial Japanese Army during World War 2..

It seems that Korea is also having trouble dealing with the myriad "inconvenient truths" surrounding this issue.

It's a tough position to be in, but as a homeroom teacher she should have gone to her school's ceremony. A couple of reasons...

As others have said, homeroom teachers have a lot of responsibility for their students. It starts the year off on a bad note if the teacher skips the ceremony and accompaning events/orientation.

Assuming she is married, her husband could have taken the time to attend the ceremony for their son. Failing that, her parents could have gone as well. However, no-one can substitute for a homeroom teacher.

Her son was entering high school, not kindergarden. He would have understood if his mother had explained the situation to him. I've been to a lot of ceremonies (both as a parent and a teacher). There really isnt much role for the parents. They take a few photos and go home. Teachers OTOH are much more important.

Stranger, if sharing a bed with a president were qualification, then Nancy Reagan would have been a great Commander in Chief. Also, parachuting into a very safe Senate seat doesn't show any talent other than rank opportunism. As for her stint as SecState, can you name any accomplishments? Major treaties or deals?

Didn't think so. She's all hat and no cattle.

Whistleblower protection?!? Does the name "Snowden" ring a bell? Obama has declared war on WHistleblowers- he has used the law to supress them more than any president in recent memory. Obamacare is a sad joke, the worst of private care plus the worst of government bullying all rolled into one useless law. As for his "support" of the HGBTIQTW community, it can best be described as weak. He was against gay marriage until Joe Biden forced his hand last year.

He's an intelligent guy, but dismal as a president. He looks down on those he sees as inferior, his vaunted communication skills are largely electronics, and he doesn't have 1/10 the political skill of a president like Clinton. Nowhere to go but up for whoever succeeds him.

Hillary would be a disaster candidate and a disaster president. She has no qualifications to speak of: being first lady means nothing, being a carpetbagger senator parachuting into a safe Senate seat is no big deal, and she has no accomplishments to speak of from her term as SecState. Another consummate Washington insider. It shows how thin the Democratic pool of potential candidates actually is that she gets so much attention.

Not to mention if she ever got into a debate against someone like Ted Cruz, he would totally destroy her.

I think Christie can resurrect his political reputation with no trouble. He has two years and the electorate has a notoriously short attention span. As a running mate........ perhaps Paul Ryan again?

Strangerland; the situation you describe is the political version of the "heckler's veto", where free speech is limited due to the potential of noisy reaction. In Japan, Abe can do as he pleases and Korea can react as they please. However, Korea CHOOSES to react.

Face it, Koreans don't even really like each other! The South treats those who manage to escape from the North quite shamefully. They are seen as an embarrassment rather than as returning family.

A Japanese politician visits a Japanese shrine in Japan on a Japanese holiday to pay respects to Japanese who died in the war. Frankly, it sounds like nobody else's business to me. I don't hear too many politicians in Japan sticking their noses into Korea's internal affairs.

Korea is suffering the geopolitical equivalent of "small man syndrome". Let's call it "small country syndrome". They feel the need to constantly make noise and poke their larger and more important neighbours. It is a sign of national insecurity and immaturity.

Having a summit now, when there are no pressing issues, is a very wise move. It is better to start relations before anything happens than to scramble about in the heat of a crisis. Establish contact, set a schedule, and let things thaw out a bit.

But no. Kim wants to play the victim card. It's tiring. Korea has a short memory when it comes to the rest of the world coming to their rescue in 1950-53. Totally ungrateful. But they whinge about their colonial past with crystal clarity...

The Koreans can go pound sand.

The current president is obviously embarrassed by her personal history- after all, her father was a member of the Imperial Japanese Army during WW2, and he was also the man who signed the treaty normalizing relations with Japan. He also took the compensation money Japan paid at that time and refused to distribute it to the victims of WW2. Now, she has to live with that uncomfortable legacy.

"History" is exactly that, history. It's past. Reality dictates that nations have to move forward, not backward. Otherwise, every country in the world could continue to nurse grudges with their neighbours, and international relations would come to a standstill. The Koreans are acting like immature children.

I find one of the biggest barriers to internationalization is the purpose for which Engilsh is taught. We all know the "test English" problem. The other is "learn English so we can explain Japan to the world". Many students study so that they can explain the mysteries of tea ceremony, kimono, or hot springs to foreigners. IMHO this is a backwards stance. It would be much better for the Japanese to learn English so that they can learn about the world. There is no need to explain Japan to anyone- that is what Wikipedia and Youtube are for. Better to use language skills to broaden your horizons.

That,and lose the attitude that different = bad, strange, difficult, wrong. Different is cool!

Dan, you fail to see that this is not a partisan political issue. Asserting that other presidents/politicians may have been worse than the current ones is not relevant. It's a very weak argument if all you can do is fingerpoint and stammer, "but..but... but the OTHER guys were worse..."

The current president is failing in this test of his nerve and guts. THAT is the most important thing.

Dan, I believe the SEALs got Bin Laden. Not sure what the specific political feelings of the team members were, though. Good on the president for authorizing the mission. Other than that... "their guys suck" is hardly a cogent analysis.

As for the most unqualified person on a ticket, that prize may well go to the current inhabitant of the White House. Palin, for her myriad faults, at least had some years of leadership/executive experience on her resume. As well, she wasn't at the top of the ticket. Obama was. A partially filled term as Senator hardly seems equivalent.

Obama the leader of the West? God save us.

The man hadn'T led so much as a lemonade stand before he was elected President. It's hardly fair to expect him to man up now. The best we can do is hope the next two years aren'T too disastrous around the world, and vote in somebody who actually has a pair of stones.

He is the Scold of the West, but hardly a leader.

The Koreans need to mind their own damn business. What a Japanese leader does in Japan is nothing to do with them. The Koreans are the ones attempting to spread their disputes overseas with ridiculous actions like trying to change the name of the Sea of Japan, or trying to get American states to change their textbooks.

Yes, Korea was colonized. Yes, a lot of people suffered. Yes, Korea was also modernized and industrialized during their colonial period. Yes, the father of the current President was a complete Japanophile who joined the Imperial Japanese Army in WW2.

BOTH sides teach their own version of "history" in schools. As does every country in the world. Again, it's nobody elses' business. Japan shouldn't whine about what it taught in Korea, and vice versa.

Plainly stated, Korea needs to put on their Big Boy Pants. They won'T get any respect by kicking and crying and throwing tantrums every few months. Joining the larger community of nations means being mature enough to learn from the past, but not to bathe in it.