Wednesday February 15, 2012

Ah_so's past comments

  • 0

    Ah_so

    This article basically argues that Japan should dump the yen and join a currency akin to the euro with weaker Asian nations. The suggestion that Germany formed the euro to take advantage of weaker nations is not surrported by any fact. Germany is also now in the situation of having to bail out other nations with weaker economies (Greece, Ireland and maybe more), hardly something Japan would support.

    There are numerous reasons why a single asian currency would be disasterous for Japan. I hardly know where to start.

    Posted in: How Japan can turn the tables on its economic decline

  • 0

    Ah_so

    Wikileaks is irrelevant. And if you choose to put information about yourself on the internet, that is your business.

    Posted in: In view of what has been happening with WikiLeaks and various file-sharing software, is privacy a lost cause?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    My American employer has blocked access to Wikileaks.

    You've got to love them - trying so hard to do the right thing, earnestly towing to US government line. Bless 'em.

    Posted in: Hackers strike at MasterCard to support WikiLeaks

  • 0

    Ah_so

    My child is seven - probably this is the last year she will be believe in Santa Claus, but she is loving it.

    Perhaps belief in Santa is low in Japan, where Christmas does not have a deep cultural meaning. But in Christian countries, I have never met anyone who has deliberately destroyed this part of the magic of childhood.

    Article Unavailable

  • 0

    Ah_so

    I am going to get a new Kindle shortly. They look great, have a great battery life and can be read in sunlight. You can also download a huge number of the classics for free or for a nominal cost.

    I will still have a need for "real" books, but some things I read only ever take up space after they have been read. Personally I would rather download the workd of Dickens for a dollar rather than have them take up half a book shelf for 100 times the price.

    Posted in: Are you going to buy an e-reader or do you already have one?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    With sophisticated lyrics like, "Ner-ner-ner, ner-ne-ne-ne-ner", she should prove a hit.

    Posted in: Kylie Minogue to tour Japan in April

  • 0

    Ah_so

    Puffy are very much "J-pop", but their songs are actually well-written and quite old-fashioned, with clear influences from 60s music - Beatles, Kinks etc. However, their song writer is not Japanese, but American!

    Posted in: Does J-pop really suck?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    Britain returned Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997. Isn't it time the USA returned Alaska to Russia? Any economic and personal costs would be compensated for by adding a clause that Russia had to take Sarah Palin as well.

    Posted in: Sarah Palin: Serious 2012 contender or pretender?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    "Of or pertaining to a governor."

    Posted in: Nakaima reelected Okinawa governor; voter turnout 60.88%

  • 0

    Ah_so

    With the claim that he was going to bomb the airport were clearly a joke. the judge who suggested otherwise is nothing but a pompous fool.

    Yasmin Alibhai-Brown may be Britain's most stupid woman (the topic is open to debate). Compton made the stoning remark after she said on the radio that Britain had no right to condemn other countries human rights records, even for stoning to death of women under Sharia law. The twitter comment from Compton was actually relevant under the circumstances and perhaps a natural response to his outrage at her ridiculous comments.

    Those who care for freedom of speech should be very concerned about these recent cases.

    Posted in: Twitter tirades test limits of freedom of speech

  • 0

    Ah_so

    I was only thinking this morning about how Japan really, really needed a new variety of canned coffee.

    Posted in: Georgia coffee

  • 0

    Ah_so

    If they were up in early October, I'd consider that early. November seems about par for the course.

    Here in the UK there is no sign of Christmas decorations in shops yet - that does not really start until December.

    However, if you think Christmas is too early in Japan, think what it must be like for Santa and his elves building all those toys over in Lapland.

    Posted in: Why do you think that Christmas decorations and illumination displays are put up so early in Japan?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    I am an ex-JET and had a great time in Japan and got a lot out of the experience, but even at the time, back in the 1990s, thought that it was a waste of money.

    There were certain benefits - I remember certain students who were definitely inspired to learn a language and have something to do with abroad by having a foreigner around. However, at that cost, it would be better to have trainee JTEs study abroad for one year.

    Also, as the article states, "internalisation" is a mirage if the only difference to an area will be a youngster who comes and drinks for a couple of years to be replaced by another. What practical benefit does that have to a small inaka town?

    Posted in: Grounding the JETs

  • 0

    Ah_so

    I went to one of these 'gokons' in Uni in Japan......ugh.

    Now this is a story I would like to hear a bit more about - gaijin girl at a gokon - tell us more.

    Posted in: 'Herbivore' men misunderstand what marriage arranging parties are all about

  • 0

    Ah_so

    International money transfers in Japan can be a nightmare too, or any wire transfer for that matter. Do they have anything like "Western Union" in Japan?

    Lloyds Bank run a very good and cheap international money transfer system, which you can operate from a Japanese ATM, for JPY 2000. Google "GoLloyds Japan".

    Posted in: What do you think of the banking system in Japan? What are the pros and cons?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    Japan imports very little, so there are few savings to be had.

    Posted in: Windfalls from soaring yen not necessarily passed on to consumers

  • 0

    Ah_so

    I managed to live in Japan for a couple of years without a computer. OK, it would be hard today, but it was not a real problem back then. However, a fridge is a real must and without airconditioning life would be even worse.

    Ask this question in mid-July and I bet aircon would rate a lot higher.

    Posted in: Which electrical appliance in your home would you find it most difficult to live without?

  • 0

    Ah_so

    Newsflash, Japanese isn't a race, it's a nationality. Glad to see some others at JT think likewise.

    A few posts into a discussion on what is basically a nice picture of some pretty girls and we are already into a discussion on race and Japanese-ness.

    Long live JT!

    Posted in: Girls, girls, girls

  • 0

    Ah_so

    **denwa, denki, densha

    Does anyone feel that it was a mistake to create alternatives to the standard English terms in Meiji Japan? I like these words and do not think that Japan should have gone with "terefon" or "re-a-ruwei". Japan got stuck with "terebi", but something along the lines of "電画" might have been nicer.

    Posted in: Too much katakana contributing to Japan's malaise

  • 0

    Ah_so

    Peanuts wraps America up in an idealised 50s/60s blanket - perhaps the era when the USA felt most comfortable with itself and still longs for.

    It has the same appeal as Forest Gump had in the mid-1990s.

    Posted in: As 'Peanuts' turn 60, Schulz family plans future

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