yagura comments

The fact that he lied for so long about using drugs is bad, but the really horrible part of the is that he apparently went to great lengths to keep up the charade. This included trying to ruin the life, both professionally and personally, of anyone who might have known the truth and tried to expose him. It apparantly even included threats of physical violence. This goes way beyond taking a few PEDs to stay ahead of a bunch of others taking a few PEDs just to win a bike race.

I don't hate Armstrong, but I feel a heck less sympathetic to his plight after reading this article. He has a seriously darker side that people shouldn't be so quick to ignore simply because he has has done lots of good things too.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/questions-oprah-should-ask-lance-armstrong-230849439.html

He scratched off the ticket, then jumped up and down and repeatedly shouted, "I hit a million"

Mistake number 1 perhaps? Best to keep quiet and not attract attention to yourself.

Have known people from the old neighborhood who have won quite a lot (yes a million or more) via the lottery. In almost every instance, the thrill of winning so much cash was quickly overshadowed by the grief and tragedy that followed.

It's amazing just how bad that many of the lives of these big winners end up becoming. Most of these winners are just not prepared to handle all of the nastiness/jealously that so much cash brings out in others, especially family members.

caffeinebuzzDec. 19, 2012 - 08:07PM JST "We will take it into consideration.[click] " This only prompts these kinds of people to keep calling back saying so-and-so promised them some kind of resolution, and escalates the problem. I've dealt with these utterly moronic cases in Japan and they will not back down and trying to throw them off the phone lines just causes them to storm in and irritate everyone in person until their nutjob fantasyof being told they're right is fulfilled.

This is exaclty what happens. Like I said, hanging up is not usually the recommended course of action for the typical employee in cases like this. Most are advised to pass it along to the people who usually handle this kind of thing and let them deal with it. Many companies have a special employee or special section to deal with this kind of thing.

In some ways, rocket science might be easier.

smithinjapanDec. 19, 2012 - 03:04PM JST Why? It's not anyone's business but their own, and quite frankly I don't think dragging politics into the lives of people who are here, upon request, to entertain. Requiring people to state their preference on the issue because of who they are would set a dangerous precedent that would lead to Japanese being asked the same when they went to China or Korea for business or what have you.

Yep, exactly. Imagine if every Japanese person trying to do business in China was officially asked to go on record regarding the Nanking Massacre. How about Japanese people doing business in Korea (North or South) being forced to take a position on the Comfort Women issue?

NessieDec. 19, 2012 - 02:44PM JST Hanging up is not rocket science, especially when part of your job as manager is to deal with people who are out to waste your time.

Sure sounds simple, unfortunately it's not always so clear cut. That approach was tried many times and they just kept calling back. Just exasperated the situation. Unfortunately being rude on the phone to anybody (even jerks who may deserve it) is typically not a good trait to put on display when you're working in an office. I've worked in offices both here and back home (Western country) and hanging on people just like that is not typically not something that is encouraged. At home sure, at the office not so much.

I used to work for a municipal office and have had the pleasure (not really) of witnessing a few such incidents. Was not uncommon for an individual or group to visit some department head and begin a discussion that would not end until they had been placated in some way. It was also not uncommon for these individuals to claim that they were the representatives of the larger group of similarly concerned Japanese citizens so that they would be taken more seriously. Totally disruptive with more than occasion shouting which in no way could be similarly returned by any of the affected komuin.

Have also worked for private companies where similar tactic have been employed by individuals or groups looking for some sort of satisifaction. Non-stop extremely long phone calls preventing section managers from properly doing their jobs. Employees being hassled at the office by buisiness men demanding to no why that vendor contract was given to Company A instead of them. I have personally been involved in a few of these meetings/phone calls. It is not fun at all.

The threats may be unspoken but the fear and havoc these people can cause is very real. Usually it most cases, these things go unreported. Cops are almost never called. So if the police got involved this time then it probably was quite serious.

BurakuminDesNov. 30, 2012 - 05:36PM JST He obviously needs to eat more Big Macs! Seriously, if he was a Japanese champion I doubt he would have people already questioning his form and speculating that his time is up. I reckon he is a chance of coming good - he will never be in the same class as a Asashoryu or Hakuho though.

Some people questioned Wakanohana's promotion to Yokuzuna right from the get go. He was Japanese and he was quite popular. As it turned out, he never won an Emperor's Cup as a Yokozuna. Injuries played apart but he was essentially pressured into retiring for similar reasons.

Tel PorterNov. 28, 2012 - 05:38PM JST That is lunacy, everyone has a bad tournament. He just went 15-0 twice consecutively in July and September. The backlash from knowledgable fans would be immense.

Yokuzunas are not allowed to have a bad tournament. Pre-Yokuzuna records means nothing once a rikishi gets his tsuna. Everything changes. They all know this which is why I've read that some of them consider it to be a mixed blessing. Actually got to ask a former Ozeki about this once. In a moment of complete candor, he said that although is wanted to reach Yokozuna, it many ways he was glad he didn't. He felt it allowed to remain active for almost 6 more years whereas reaching Yokozuna would've probably meant retirement in two or three at best.

Caveat Emptor

Not sure why this is so surprising. LCC's have to cut costs to maintain their low fares. Everything is in play. Experienced aircrew and maintenance personnel are expensive. If a LCC can ensure its fares are lower than those of its competitors by hiring the less experienced, it is going to do so as long as it can get away with it.

People flying LCC are pretty much only interested one thing: flying as cheaping as they can. Ask 100 Jetstar customers waiting to check in at Narita if this bothers them and probably all 100 would say yes. Then ask the same 100 if they would be willing to pay twice the fare to cover the costs well trained, experienced flight crews and maintenance personnel, and I'd bet that many would opt out and search for a cheaper alternative.

Good for him. However, I am worried that he might be burning out. He was crying during his post tournament news conference. His face is covered with acne. Wonder if it might be time for a short break from it all to recharge his batteries.

Obviously not winning in two years was tough, but he'd already had won 9 tournaments which is much more than your typical pro golfer wins in an entire career. Maybe expectations need to be lowered a bit. He is still only 21 and he should win many more tournaments, if he stays healthy both physically and mentally. His management team better take care to not push him too hard and overload his schedule. Otherwise, he could end up like many phenoms: a few brilliant seasons only to be followed by many more years of injuries and average results. Hopefully, they are given him time to step back and enjoy all of his success.

It's not only the Phillippines that is doing this. Other WBC countries are doing it as well. And, it's not only happening in baseball, but also in other sports. Also, it's not just men, women do it as well.

The chance to play internationally can be quite tempting even if your connection to a particular country is questionable at best. Think of all the Olympic athletes, Japanese olympians included, over the years who have changed nationalities because they had no chance of being selected for their home countries teams.

avengerNov. 10, 2012 - 06:11PM JST I think that with MMA and all the different martial arts that have come to light, Sumo is just not seen as so mythical any more. As well, they are all quite fat and if you invited line backers from the NFL to compete, they would be completely wasted. What is interesting, just trip and armlock these guys

I think Sumo is a little bit more complicated than it seems at first glance. There would be hardly any NFL linebackers who would stand against a Juryo/Makunouchi Rikishi. The top level guys would destroy them without hardly any effort. Too completely different sports requiring to completely different skill sets.

Unfortunately, international play does not really matter to US sports fans when it comes to sports like baseball or basketball. Of course they are happy when US teams do well, but they are happier when their favorite pro team does well. Miami Heat fans would not be happy at all if LeBron James, Dywane Wade and Chris Bosh decided to skip the first round of the NBA playoffs to play for a gold medal. Detroit Tiger fans could care less about the Olympics is it means they lose Verlander, Cabrera, Fielder and some others for 1-2 weeks in September.

The only way I see this possibly happening is if the MLB does like the NHL at stop all play for the Olympics. That's the only way everyone involved might agree. However, there is a big difference. The NHL stops all play for at least two weeks around the middle of its season. NHL players have only been participating since 1998 and every Winter Olympics since 1998 has been held in February which fits in with the NHL's schedule. The NHL also has an agreement in place not to hold its ASG in Olympic years. It's part of their collective bargaining agreement with the players. MLB has no such agreement and is unlikely to do so simply because the MLB ASG means more to the MLB (both historically and finacially) than the NHL one does to the NHL. Besides, if the Olympics took place during the Stanley Cup Playoffs (the NHL's main cash cow) then there is no way NHL teams would agree to release their players.

The MLB doesn't need the Olympics. They were always more than content with sending teams of amatuers/minor leaguers to play. They would much rather develop the WBC into a World Cup type of competition. The NBA is also leaning this way. If Stern had his way, he would limit the age of participation in the Olympics to 23 like soccer and then develop a World Cup type of Basketball tournament.

Also, MLB is not going to adjust its schedule to allow top players to play Olympic games during the months of September or October. It's not going to happen. They are not go to allow their chances at a World Series Championship be sacrificed for the Olympic Games. The only reason the NBA gets away with it because all the international stuff takes place during their off season. Many owners aren't happy with it, but as long as they get their insurance they go along with it. But, even the NBA, would not be able to pull it off if the Olympics occurred during the regular season. There is no way any NBA team would allow any of it's top stars to play internationally during the regular season/playoffs.

Comparing soccer and baseball is like comparing apples and oranges case. Soccer has much more world wide appeal. It has a much longer tradition of international competition. Baseball not so much. There are pro leagues besides the Major Leagues but they are nowhere near as powerful or as rich. It's not that simple at all. Also, Olympic soccer has an age limit. Only players under 23 are primarily allowed to play. That's still leaves a pretty good pool of really good players but that might not be the case for baseball.

A major league team can apply lots of pressure both contractually and otherwise to discourage any of it's players from participating. It can demand national federations to take huge insurance policies to cover their players during such competitions that would compensate the MLB team just in case. Many NBA teams do exactly that. It's not impossible of course but it could be very expensive for some of the less wealthy countries around the world. Some NBA players who have not been able to obtain suitible insurance have decided not to play in international competitions because of the risk involved. Baseball players would do the same thing. They are to risk their 20+ million a year salaries to play a few games if they can't make arrangements for proper insurance.

Sceduling is only one problem. Which team is going to want to be with out it's best players for a week or two weeks of games during a playoff race? Which team is going to want to have key players risk injuries that could have them miss the rest of the season. What if a team like Detroit says that it's OK for Verlander to play for the US team (because he's a pitcher and will only miss one or two starts) but not OK for Cabrera to play for Venezuela (because he plays everyday and could miss 6-8 games)? What if the Yankees do give all of their players permission to play, but the Red Sox don't? Fans are not going to be happy either way. That from a MLB owner's business standpoint is much worse than March.

I get what you're saying, but it should be in Summer... if baseball is ever to return to the Olympics, it will require Major Leaguers... there's no reason why MLB can't extend the All-Star break another 10 days...

This might be an option for a WBC style tournament simply because the organizer can simply schedule around the MLB ASG and ensure essentially the same schedule each time the tournament is held. Much more flexibility.

However, it won't work for the Olympics. The Summer Games do not occur at the same time of the year each time they are held. Depending upon the host city, the games may begin in July, but they also may begin in September. southern hemisphere usually hold the games early to mid spring their time, which would require a huge amount of rescheduling on the MLB part if they want the ASG break to coincide with the Games. Even if the games were hosted by a city in the northern hemisphere there's no guarantee. The Seoul Games in '88 began mid- September and lasted into August. The 1964 Tokyo Games (think 2020) began October 10 (this is why Sports Day in is October). The MLB is not going to agree holding it's ASG in September/October just to accommmodate the Olympics and the IOC is not going to force host cities and every other Olympic sport to adjust their schedules just to accommodate the MLB ASG.

Sato is written 佐藤

This is just one way to write the surname Sato. It is probably the most common but it can be written in other ways. For example, 佐東, 左藤 and 左東

Actually no, because there is no "Toyota" surname in Japanese. Actually there is a surname 'Toyota'。 The reading 'Toyoda' is more common but there are some Toyotas out there. Also, 豊田 can be read as 'Tomita".

Another way to get around the iTunes Store regional restrictions and access the iTunes Store for your home country without using a credit card is to have somebody back home buy you an iTunes gift card and email you the code. Or, do it yourself when your visiting. Then just create a new iTunes account for that country and then enter the card code.

Went into an Apple Store while on vacation in Honolulu, bought a card, and had one of the employees help me create an account cause I wanted some stuff from the US Store. Works fine for me.

If you ever find your account running out of money, just have someone back home buy you another card and email you the code.

Should work the same (only in reverse) if you have friends back home interested in stuff from the Japan iTunes Store.

The box.bz is pretty good. Lots of interesting shows. Everything posted there has to be at least 2/3 British produced stuff.

However, like some similar sites, you do have to register. You also have to be willing to seed and maintain a decent ratio in order to keep your account in good standing and avoid being disabled. Most of these sites want you to seed for at least 24 hours. It's not too hard to maintain a good ratio if you don't mind downloading some of the fluff listed as "free" and seeding for a day or so. It's more of an honor system than anything, but they do clean house every now and then and low ratio/inactive accounts sometimes get tossed.

They don't like proxys and other things that can be used to mask your IP. Such things are considered to be a bannable offense. Lots of similar sites have similar policies and enforcement tends to be lax, but there are no guarantees.

I know exactly what you mean. I hate it when many English speakers mangle Japanese words like "karaoke" and say "Carry-Oh-key", "Tokyo" and say "Toe-Key-Oh", or "Kyoto" and say "Key-Oh-Toe". One of my favorite is hearing people pronounce "Kobe Beef" an "Ko-bee Beef" just because of NBA player Kobe Bryant. It was also annoying when people pronounced "Ichiro" as "E-Cheer-rue" though most people have stopped doing that by now. At least they always pronounced "gojira" correctly. Well sort of correctly.

I have heard some pretty funny Japanese both here in Japan and while travelling abroad. Went to a Japanese restaurant once in the US with the wife and the MIL. My MIL ordered some udon. The waitress (some college student) seemed at a loss. So I pointed it out on the menu and she said "Oh you mean You-Don" ("Don" pronounced like the name). Tried really hard not to laugh, MIL and wife had no idea what was funny until I explained it to them later.

Also, another time flying on a US carrier back , one of the cabin attendents (American man) was really genki and trying to use his Japanese. Unfortunately he seemed to have gotten most of what he knew from anime or other pop culture stuff. So, while pushing the drink cart around he was referring to passengers as "obachan", "ojican", "onechan", etc.,etc. which was kind of funny at first but it honestly got a little annoying after awhile since this person really had no clue.

@WilliB

My post about the clip being posted on YouTube was only in response to those going on and on about how the film makers "freedom of speech" was being threatened by the US Government, etc. I wasn't making a statement about why the video might have been posted or whether the attacks in either Libya or Egypt and subsequently in other places were or were not planned. Personally, I do think there is more to this story then it just being the "mother of all consequences".

However, I do think that YouTube and the Internet itself are seen in some parts of the world as another example of "Western" decadence and cultural domination. Posting the clip on YouTube, therefore, might only reaffirm this belief in some people's minds, even though anybody pretty much anywhere in the world can post anything they want on such sites without having to go through any initial screening process. Perhaps for many in the world, the distinction between the privately owned and operated YouTube and say the US Government and the American people as a whole is not so clear. For many, anything that is American must be evil and since the video was posted on the website of an American company, all Americans must feel the same way as a film maker.

If you're looking for a spark to get Muslims across the globe up in arms then I agree that this video clip would have been a convenient way to light the fuse.

No, I want the country to stand up to these radicals and NOT have our President apologize for someone that decided to exercise his FREE SPEECH and I am glad that Youtube is not taking the video down, these radicals should go straight to hell!

This is not and has never been a "free speech" issue. The First Amendment does not say that American are granted universal and unlimited free speech. The only thing it says is that Congress shall not pass any law that abridges freedom of speech, etc. Neither the US Congress nor the State of California have passed any law preventing this person from making his video.

YouTube is not covered under the First Amendment. They can pretty much do as they please in this area. They have their own TOS and decide on their own what is offensive and what isn't based on their interpretation of community standards. They have in fact removed access to that video from certain locations around the world. Places in particular where it might be considered to be a violation of local laws. Why have they done this? To protect themselves from any potential litigation or any other negative fallout in such countries. This is the same reason why YouTube doesn't allow Pro-Nazi videos, Holocaust denial videos, etc. to be posted or viewed by people in Germany or other countries where such things are illegal.YouTube does similar things all the time all over the world where local laws against such content exist. Why do you think YouTube does not typically allow "child pornography" to be posted on its site? YouTube isn't for freedom of speech, YouTube is for itself.

I think you're giving the public too much credit here to be honest. A lot of people voted for Obama because he was black. That's it. That's the reason. A lot of other people voted against Obama because he's black. No rhythm, no reason other than skin colour. With Bush a lot of people voted for him because of his daddy. A lot of people voted for Gore because of Clinton. Most people who vote really don't have a clue what stance people take on most topics. Anti-abortion? Vote conversation. Don't bother thinking about anything else they stand for. Pro abortion? Vote Obama. Very small topics that get blown up while many other things get ignored. I do think some folks are more intelligent. I'll go one step further. Do you think people who live on handouts, who don't pay taxes and don't contribute positively (perhaps having numerous kids), who aren't educated vote for the good of their country or vote for what is best for them? Do you think rich cooperate who wants tax breaks and power vote for the good of the country or what benefits them?

I think you're giving the public too little credit to be honest. Of course, people vote for their own self-interests to a certain degree. But, their self-interests are often a reflection of what direction they believe their country should be headed in. I think most people selfishly tend to vote for the candidate that they feel will make their lives better, which in turn they equate as making their country better. I don't care how many kids they have or how much they pay in taxes. Their reasons for voting are their reasons. Is the process perfect? No. Are there many problems? Yes. But, I think it's much better living in a democracy with all its problems then living under the alternative.

Denying people the right to vote because you (general "you" not you tmarie personally) because they aren't as educated/rich/enlightened/the same gender as you, or are a different color/race/creed than you, sounds more autocratic/elitist than democratic. Exclusionary policies almost always do more harm than good and create more satisfaction than dissatisfaction.

Who determines who is "smart" enough to vote and who isn't? How do you determine who is "smart" enough and who isn't? Literacy tests? Civics tests? IQ tests? Net -wealth tests? What if somebody creates such a test and either you or someone in your family doesn't make the grade? Is that going be OK what you?

I don't know what nationality you are? I don't know if you live in Japan? But, if you are non-Japanese and are living here, do you like being excluded from the process? Do you like being considered a "gaijin" instead of a XXX-jin? Do you think it's fair that you are not even allowed to vote in local elections which may have a direct impact on you or your family? Assuming that you don't like any of that, you still want to exclude others in the same way? The reasons for exclusion may technically be different but the end result is the same.

It is not about disagreeing with them at all - it about most people not having a clue as to whom or what they are voting for.

I did not vote for W in either 2000 or 2004. I also disagree with many of the things he did while in office. However, I don't consider myself to be superior to anyone who did. These people most likely believed in who they were voting for just as much as I did. It's unfortunate the way things turned out, but that's democracy for you.

Quick to judge, quick to anger slow to understand. I don't think others who think and feel differently from me are clueless or idiots.

The problem with freedom of speech is that idiots are allowed the chance to speak. While I dislike censorship (and really, the US can't claim "freedom of speech with the way their media is controlled by rich, powerful guys with vested interests) some people really shouldn't have a "right" to say and produce whatever they like.

"Freedom of Speech" has nothing to do with the private media. "Freedom of Speech" is not defined in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. All the First Amendment says is that Congress (i.e., the National Government) cannot pass any laws that restrict freedom of speech. Over the years, the USSC has made various interpretations on what constitutes "free speech" and what the Government can or cannot do to try and limit it. But almost none of this (except in certain cases) apply to privately owned and operated media organizations.

The problem with freedom of speech is not that "idiots" are allowed to speak. The problem with freedom of speech is that some people believe that it should only apply to themselves or to those who think the same way. The same thing can be said about the right to vote. Excluding others from participating in the democratic process by denying them the right to vote simply because you don't agree with their "politics" sounds great until you find yourself in the minority.

It wasn't all that long ago that certain groups of society (for example women, people of color, the poor) were denied the right to cast a ballot by those (wealthy males) who felt they were "idiots" and, therefore, incapable of making the "right" decisions.

Haven't you ever felt isolated and alienated by the majority simply because you are a Gaikokujin here in Japan? What if the Japanese people around you try and rationalize this by saying it is because you're an "idiot"? Would that make it OK?

Very nice.

@ sasukene I actually thought about going but decided not to. I am sure that this was only a small part of the event. Their choice of entertainment does seems a little inappropriate to me but maybe that's more of a reflection on me than anything else.

No, there is not, but you are making an excuse for these murdering thugs, just because ONE idiot in the states made a crazy movie that justifies a lynch mob?! Because of this ONE man's action, 4 people and some embassies had to be raided and burned down?! Please spare me!

This is intereasting. Countries have been bombed to rubble and many innocent people have been killed because of ONE man's (or ONE group's) crazy actions. Lynch mobs (so to speak) have been formed and innocent people have had their lives destroyed (literally or figuratively) becomes of ONE man's (or ONE group's) crazy action. Such retaliatory responses have been justified and even praised because this ONE man (or ONE group) is a threat to "our way of life" and, therefore, needs to be eliminated at any cost.

This person posted their clip on YouTube. YouTube is a private company that is free to regulate content posted on it's site anyway it wants. If YouTube decides that this film clip violates their TOS then they can remove it and there's pretty much nothing that anybody can do to stop them. Movie theaters can decide not to show this film and there is nothing anybody can do to force them to show it.

Also, it is quite possible that this "film maker" through alleged lies to the cast and production crew may have violated some other laws; laws that really have nothing to do with the "right" to speak one's mind. Not only may he (or she?) be crimminally liable, I imagine civil suits are going to follow as well. Those will probably be the straws that break's that camel's back. Putting people like this behind bars hurts, but ruining them financially really hurts.

Not to pile on but

Also last I heard, the US is a democracy and as such, this idiot and I call him an idiot sill has the right in the US is allowed FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

and

Having said that, it 's freedom of speech. The film makers are within their rights to say whatever they want in favor of or against Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, etc, and in my opinion shouldn't be banned.

sound nice but misunderstand what the First Amendment says regarding "freedom of speech".

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights does not guarantee unlimited freedom of speech for any US citizen. It simply states that Congress cannot pass any law that abridges the freedom of speech. This among other things was extended to apply individual state governments as well by the 14th Ammendment. Neither Congress or any state government has passed any law denying this person the right to make or exhibit their film. This has nothing to do with 'freedom of speech'.

Moreover, the Supreme Court has ruled many times that not all speech is protected under the First Amendment. In other words, certain types of speech can be legally restricted and regulated by government and is being done so everyday throughout the US. If you think that's not true then the next time you are at shopping mall, sporting event, movie theater, airport, train station, etc. trying screaming out "bomb", "gun", "fire", or "You #$%&". If those are too much for you then try something a little more pleasent sounding. When security or whomever approaches you and asks you to calm down or be quiet and stop bothering other customers then tell them no and that you are only exercising your First Amendment right of free speech. See how that works out for you.