smartacus said...

smartacus at 08:40 AM JST - 4th May

Judging by the irate housewives in my neighborhood supermarket on Friday, I'd say food. Apparently, Japanese consumers have been sent into a panic over rising prices for foodstuffs and ingredients like cooking oil, etc, and they are freaking out. Heaven help us all if there is ever another rice shortage…

Posted in What will the next wars be fought over? at 08:40 AM JST - 4th May
smartacus at 01:19 PM JST - 3rd May

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and Alan Menken. I think their musicals stand the test of time.

Posted in Who gets your vote for the greatest songwriter of the last 100 years? at 01:19 PM JST - 3rd May
smartacus at 08:05 AM JST - 2nd May

WhiteHawk

Actually, Iran's leader doesn't affect the rest of the world and Fukuda doesn't affect the rest of the world financially or any other way. Statements such as that are indicative of what may be termed an uninformed electorate.

Anyway, since we're being asked the question, I also would like…

Posted in If it were possible, do you wish non-Americans could vote in the U.S. presidential election? at 08:05 AM JST - 2nd May
smartacus at 04:33 PM JST - 1st May

Wow, what's come over the judges in Japan. First, they let the Swiss miss go, and now the British guy gets off.

Posted in British man cleared of cannabis smuggling at 04:33 PM JST - 1st May
smartacus at 08:03 AM JST - 30th April

I think I have said it well enough on the thread about the girl who drowned trying to save her brother. Parental supervision is poor in Japan. No, I don't expect parents to put their children on a leash, and no, I don't expect parents to watch their kids 24…

Posted in What's your impression of parental supervision of children in Japan? at 08:03 AM JST - 30th April
smartacus at 10:23 PM JST - 29th April

Cos

What do I propose? Exactly what I said in my first post. That parents supervise their children when they are near water, railways tracks and platforms, balconies, on sidewalks and numerous other places. That means watching them, not reading a book, chatting on a cell phone, window shopping or…

Posted in 8-year-old girl drowns while trying to save brother in Kagoshima river at 10:23 PM JST - 29th April
smartacus at 07:45 PM JST - 29th April

I don't know how many more times I can post this. When are parents in this country going to learn to keep an eye on their children? This story and the one above about the boy being hit by a train make me furious. Children should never be left unwatched…

Posted in 8-year-old girl drowns while trying to save brother in Kagoshima river at 07:45 PM JST - 29th April
smartacus at 05:33 PM JST - 27th April

Honest cops on the beat. My cousin is one and he's out there on patrol many nights, knowing he could get killed any time. He also has to do thankless jobs like tell parents their children have been killed in an accident, died of a drug OD and so on.…

Posted in Which professions do you respect the most? at 05:33 PM JST - 27th April
smartacus at 04:54 PM JST - 25th April

Ozawa is one of the most boring politicians in Japan. Bring back Koizumi. At least, he had personality, dancing with Richard Gere, riding a Segway, doing a Elvis dance etc.

Posted in Ozawa is a necessary evil. He's weakened Fukuda, but the public sees him as a blocker of everything, not a ruler. at 04:54 PM JST - 25th April
smartacus at 08:28 AM JST - 25th April

My mother used to smack me and my brothers all the time because that was the way parents disciplined kids back in those days. Teachers also used to give us the strap at class, too. I can't even imagine that in today's society. I can't say, though, that being smacked…

Posted in What are your views on parents hitting young children as a means of punishing or disciplining them? at 08:28 AM JST - 25th April