Howaitosan's past comments

  • 0

    Howaitosan

    I think the article says more about the screwed-up religious beliefs of the person who wrote it than anything else. Another delusional fruit-bat of a fundamentalist Christian; just ignore it and it will go away.

    Posted in: S Korean paper says A-bombs on Japan were 'divine punishment'

  • 5

    Howaitosan

    New Zealand First is a joke and hardly anyone takes them seriously. It's only New Zealand's rather odd representational electoral system that allows them to have any voice at all.

    If even a bone-head like Winston Peters is rejecting this idiot's comments, you can guarantee that the vast majority of Kiwis will be doing so as well.

    Posted in: NZ lawmaker calls for Western airlines to ban Muslim passengers

  • 1

    Howaitosan

    We scattered my father's ashes in a native bush reserve where he played as a child and which he had always loved; we scattered my grandfather's ashes out at sea, which he had always loved. Neither of them has a grave-stone, or any kind of marker, but we don't feel we need one; after all, the memories of them are always with us anyway, and when I look at the sea or walk through the bush, I'm reminded of them.

    What more is needed?

    Posted in: More Japanese choosing fertilizer as burial option

  • -1

    Howaitosan

    And the answer to America's increasing number of mass shootings is .......... PUT MORE GUNS OUT THERE!!!! This is a whole new definition of "stupid".

    The first thing the US should do to control the situation is to outlaw the NRA; and if they insist on having guns in every home, someone should use one to do the country a favour and shoot Wayne LaPierre.

    Posted in: U.S. teachers take up arms to prevent mass shootings

  • 3

    Howaitosan

    I can never understand it when modern medical scientists express surprise when one of these ancient remedies proves to be effective. Chinese traditional medicine has a 5,000 year history; that is one hell of a long clinical trial!

    Posted in: Revealed: secrets of ancient Chinese medicinal herb

  • 0

    Howaitosan

    You mean ..... it doesn't fly??

    Posted in: $1.35 mil giant robot KURATAS draws more than 3,000 orders

  • -1

    Howaitosan

    The responses to this article make me think of one of my favourite sayings: 'There are two kinds of fool in the world; one says 'this is old and therefore good' (Japanese Universities are perfect the way they are) - the other says 'this is new and therefore better' (Japanese Universities need to copy the West wholesale)". Neither attitude is in any way helpful.

    Sugita’s article is apt and to the point – and reflective of similar articles currently circulating about Universities in the West (at least those in my country, Australia). There is much that the West can learn from Japan, both educationally and socially; there is also much that Japan needs to learn from the West – the moribund nature of much of the commentary on this and other fora makes that abundantly clear.

    As a graduate of a major Australian University (M. Ed) who now works as an academic, I can assure you that the same kind of debate is happening here right now, especially with regard to the learning of Asian languages and cultures.

    Both educational communities can and should learn about those practices and philosophies that have proven most effective in their own as well as each other’s institutions and initiate those changes at the legislative, bureaucratic, institutional and immediate pedagogic levels that will result in the best outcomes for both their educational cultures and, most importantly, their students.

    Posted in: Japanese universities in crisis - what they can learn from Europe

  • 0

    Howaitosan

    I've never stayed in a capsule hotel, but I don't think it would bother me all that much; I'm quite used to "roughing it" in far less salubrious accommodation - I'm sure they beat the heck out of sleeping on a friend’s couch.

    As for the bathing arrangements; I loved the first Sento I ever went to and went back every night I was in the area (which was often). As a Kiwi, I have less of a problem with being publically nude than I most Americans of my acquaintance, so stripping in front of others is no problem for me. I just wish there was a public bathhouse in my current locale (sadly, not).

    I’ll have to try a capsule hotel next time I’m in Tokyo.

    Posted in: Squeezing into a capsule hotel room in Japan

  • 20

    Howaitosan

    We cannot allow legal conditions and factors to be determined solely by the perceptions of each individual of themselves.

    We are who we are.

    If you fail to see the extremem irony of both these concepts being posited by the same person in the same post, there is no hope for you.

    You have managed to completely contradict your own orgument in a few sentences.

    Posted in: Transsexual denied recognition as father

  • 20

    Howaitosan

    Neversubmit, shiofuki, wtfjapan, HonestDictator; you guys have SO much to learn about psychology and human sexuality. Go back to the books and READ about this stuff before you comment again so that you prevent yourselves from looking even more backward and stupid than you already have.

    Posted in: Transsexual denied recognition as father

  • 0

    Howaitosan

    Hmmmmm ...... let's wait and see what the reality will be. My experience in Australia (and I'm distinctly Anglo) is that there is still a definite undercurrent of racism here, albeit fading as the immediate post-war generation dies out. Furthermore, the whole idea of 'engagement with Asia' seems to be predicated on a purely economic basis; the idea of affiliation on any other level is seen as neither necessary nor desirable by many. As my Japanese partner who has lived here for over 20 years often notes, while most Australians as individuals are generally welcoming and friendly, Australia as a nation is rarely prepared to cross the bridge when it comes to other cultures; most of the traffic seems to be in the other direction.

    While this initiative sounds good on paper (and I have yet to see the details) the situation on the ground may not be so positive. Learning a language at high-school is certainly beneficial; the problem is when you want to extend that linguistic and cultural study to a higher level. Universities across Australia are adopting a slash-and-burn approach to Humanities Departments, including languages and cultural studies. My old Alma Mater recently made a move to excise Indonesian as a subject (thwarted by an intense response from the student and academic bodies), and Swinburne abolished its languages department in totality years ago. Cultural studies generally are under threat in most universities in the country. This does not bode well for the hoped-for goals outlined by Gillard.

    Engagement with another nation or region takes a great deal more than teaching the kids how to speak a foreign language. In my opinion, Australia has a long way to go before it achieves the capacity to truly engage with the cultures that surround it in any meaningful way.

    Posted in: Australia sets new strategy to engage with Asia

  • 7

    Howaitosan

    Wow! I've spent the last few years getting myself qualified in TESOL so that I and my Japanese partner can live and work there; all this is making me question whether or not that was such a good idea (not that I have much choice - I'm not qualified to do anything else). Aren't there any people who have had positive experiences teaching English in Japan? I can't believe that all the schools are just there to rip the teachers off and treat them like office furniture.

    As for the working hours and times; obviously many people posting here think a regular 9-5 job is what everyone does. I have worked much stranger hours and longer shifts - and no, not as a barman. Try working in a major public hospital, especially in ICU or A&E; they make the hours mentioned above seem easy. Plus I don’t imagine that conversation-school students bleed on their teachers very often.

    As for wearing a tie, presenting a positive attitude to clients, turning up on time (I am almost always at least half an hour early) - this is called "being professional" where I come from. Anyone who has consistently worked in a customer service environment should have no problem with all that – if you did have a problem, you wouldn’t last very long in that line of work.

    I don’t imagine that all English language schools are heaven on earth and I’ve no doubt the work is demanding – most teaching positions are. But the conditions outlined in this article don’t seem all that terrible to me. I think some of the respondents might be being a little precious. I will be careful, of course, and do my research before I get there. But I’m sure that it is quite possible to find a worthwhile and satisfying job teaching English in Japan.

    Posted in: 5 challenges of working for a major English conversation school

  • 0

    Howaitosan

    I just find it laughable to no one - not even Japan - was the slightest bit interested in these insignificant lumps of rock until it was discovered that there are significant natural resources to exploit in the area. Prior to that, everyone was happy to leave them in Japan's hands.

    All of a sudden, they are part of China's and Taiwan's "national heritage", politicians are mouthing off about "territorial integrity" and there are mass street demonstrations expressing "outrage".

    It's pathetically transparent; what is even more pathetic is that so many members of the general public seem to be taken in by the rhetoric.

    Posted in: Bullet from 'Yoshihiko Noda' sent to Chinese embassy

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