DoctorTofu said...

DoctorTofu at 08:05 AM JST - 18th June

Public support is of course important, but it's not everything. You know what other policies would have huge public support? Raising wages 300% effective tomorrow, abolishing taxes and giving free cars and apartments to newlyweds.

For the same reason, I'm not sure if looking at the law "keeping in mind…

Posted in Death penalty has public support: Fukuda at 08:05 AM JST - 18th June
DoctorTofu at 04:03 PM JST - 17th June

Tatanka - good point, although it doesn't prove anything. On the contrary - it shows that people overwhelmed by strong emotions should not create or even influence laws. I'm pretty sure if my loved ones were killed by, say, a freak lawn-mover accident, I'd want the maker of that lawn…

Posted in Serial child killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, 2 others executed at 04:03 PM JST - 17th June
DoctorTofu at 02:01 PM JST - 16th June

Havent been near an Eikawa for years, actually. My main contact with foreign men is at the school gates, or having the misfortune to be railroaded by them at the supermarket. Central Tokyo, quiet family suburb, there are a few at the school, picking up or dropping off at…

Posted in Stereotypes ’R’ Us at 02:01 PM JST - 16th June
DoctorTofu at 10:14 AM JST - 16th June

pinga - it seems your experience is based solely on hanging around eikaiwa teachers (in an unfortunate neighborhood too, it would seem - everyone you meet is a wanker? Dear god!). I'm not a teacher AND I don't live in Tokyo, but my experience is very different from yours. Sure,…

Posted in Stereotypes ’R’ Us at 10:14 AM JST - 16th June
DoctorTofu at 07:28 AM JST - 16th June

Expats in Tokyo seem to believe that Japanese culture has few redeeming qualities.

Yeah, nothing like a sweeping generalization to start the day, and it only gets better further on... What exactly is the point of this article though? What I see here is oh-so-popular recently "on one hand…

Posted in Stereotypes ’R’ Us at 07:28 AM JST - 16th June
DoctorTofu at 03:40 PM JST - 13th June

What if all damaging material was removed from the net? Would your reaction be sorrow or praise?

There we have it. That's the main problem. How do we define "damaging material"? Damaging to whom? Where do we draw the line? Do we even need to draw the line? In…

Posted in Akihabara rampage foretold but lost among myriad messages on Internet site at 03:40 PM JST - 13th June
DoctorTofu at 02:30 PM JST - 13th June

Zenigata2 - so are you saying that there is such a need in any country? You are not bothered by all the false positives the American system is generating? You think that raiding a teenager's home and seizing his computer for a joke post is "maybe a tad extreme"? Do…

Posted in Akihabara rampage foretold but lost among myriad messages on Internet site at 02:30 PM JST - 13th June
DoctorTofu at 02:26 PM JST - 13th June

It's a partial repost, but maybe here someone will be able to explain this decision to me.

Following last Sunday's stabbing spree, I will refrain from wearing red underwear on Saturdays and I will place the accent on the last syllable of "Akihabara" on every 3rd, 20th and 28th of…

Posted in 'Pedestrian paradise' to be suspended in Akihabara at 02:26 PM JST - 13th June
DoctorTofu at 12:33 PM JST - 13th June

nisegaijin - good and valid points, all of them, but I'm afraid that private health care also looks great only on paper... In an ideal world, where insurance companies were not putting most of their time and energy looking for preexisting conditions to deny your coverage, the free market system…

Posted in Fukuda apologizes for insufficient health care insurance for elderly at 12:33 PM JST - 13th June
DoctorTofu at 12:27 PM JST - 13th June

I just saw the news about stopping the car-free Sunday in Akihabara and I'm baffled. There was not a single word of explanation for it, basically what they said is "due to recent fatal stabbings in Akihabara we decided to cancel the pedestrian paradise for a time". Of course it's…

Posted in Police consider banning some types of knives following Akihabara stabbings at 12:27 PM JST - 13th June