Africanist said...

Africanist at 05:38 PM JST - 2nd August

I read the official English translation of the essay that got Tamogami fired. It was a model of how not to write an essay: incoherent, self-contradictory and factually incorrect. This guy is the Japanese equivalent of Orly Taitz, America's "birther queen" who was just on Comedy Central giving everyone a…

Posted in Critic raps Tamogami's planned speech in Hiroshima as 'act of malice' at 05:38 PM JST - 2nd August
Africanist at 05:10 PM JST - 2nd August

Reports are calling this group a "Nigerian Taliban" but their doctrines would seem to be more closely related to the 'Yan Tatsine who also condemned western education as forbidden in Islam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MohammedMarwaMaitatsine

Posted in Nigerian official says 700 died in recent violence at 05:10 PM JST - 2nd August
Africanist at 04:37 PM JST - 2nd August

"Vowel heavy" just means plenty of open syllables (i.e. every syllable ends with a vowel). This is the case in African languages, too, but Japanese and the author of this book don't really consider Africans to be part of the human race. The real reason it concentrates on Polynesians goes…

Posted in Why the Japanese Are a Superior People at 04:37 PM JST - 2nd August
Africanist at 03:20 PM JST - 12th July

"Tokyo Joe" is not a classic Bogart film, but it is one of the few Occupation era films to actually show the American Occupation of Japan. As such it deserves special mention in any look at foreign films shot in Tokyo. Japanese films weren't allowed to show the Occupation.

Posted in Filmed on location in Tokyo...not quite at 03:20 PM JST - 12th July
Africanist at 12:51 PM JST - 10th July

"We were playing pinochle. It's a rough game." - Stalag 17

Posted in 14-year-old boy in hospital with iron burns after card game gets out of hand in Fukuoka at 12:51 PM JST - 10th July
Africanist at 08:54 AM JST - 28th June

If the US is headed for Socialism then Socialism is inevitable. The United States is the only country in the world that doesn't have a significant Socialist, Communist or Labor Party. If Democrats are really being forced into Socialism by circumstances, against their will, then Socialism is inevitable, and the…

Posted in Republicans accuse Obama of socialism at 08:54 AM JST - 28th June
Africanist at 07:40 PM JST - 27th January

The main issue in patent "reform" has been over "first to file" (Europe and Japan) vs. "first to invent" (the U.S. system). Why doesn't this article even mention this issue? A Japanese inventor I know really wants the US system here.

Posted in Gov't aiming for full revision of patent law in 2011 at 07:40 PM JST - 27th January
Africanist at 04:30 PM JST - 30th October

Don't pay any attention to anything "revealed" during the last three weeks of the campaign. The only reason they bring it up now is because there's no time to refute it. AAMOF, this one was really brought up six months ago, but the McCain campaign is trying to make hay…

Posted in McCain criticizes LA Times for protecting Obama by not releasing tape at 04:30 PM JST - 30th October
Africanist at 11:41 AM JST - 26th September

All languages are equally difficult, but they have different hard parts and easy parts. The hard parts of Japanese are kanji and keigo. The easy part is the pronunciation. That means Japanese is relatively easy of Chinese speakers and relatively difficult for English speakers. Japanese is also easy for speakers…

Posted in How difficult or easy is Japanese to learn, compared to other languages? at 11:41 AM JST - 26th September
Africanist at 04:20 PM JST - 11th June

Nimbus, do you know the difference between birth rate (%) and population size (x million)? AAMOF the low population density in Africa is a major reason Africa has the same high birth rates everyone else had decades or centuries ago. They're still trying to fill up their continent. They don't…

Posted in Is pouring more financial aid into Africa the best way to help that continent develop? at 04:20 PM JST - 11th June