USAkuma's past comments

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    USAkuma

    Sigh. This is typical Japanese politics. PM's have a shelf-life of one year, and that's it. It doesn't matter who they are or how bad the timing would be. After one year, they will be ousted by lack of popularity.

    Essentially, PM's in Japan are little more than old-men idol groups. They start each year with their election trucks, then after a year, they are gone and the next one takes his place. It's precisely this revolving PM policy that prevents Japan from being taken seriously by other countries.

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    USAkuma

    For all the nuclear power plants around the world, there have been less than a handful of serious nuclear accidents in which people suffered radiation-caused deaths. And the number of people who have died directly from radiation emitted from nuclear power plants in the last 50 years has been less than one year's worth of airplane accident victims.

    Is Fukushima a disaster? Of Course! Is it terrible that 3 nuclear cores melted down and that radiation leaked out? Of Course! Is it dangerous around the plant? Of course.

    Instead, we have Germany and other countries quickly abandoning nuclear power in favor of coal and gas because they fear that something 'Might' happen in the future. I guess that Global Warming thing that the reactionaries worried about last year is passe now. We won't hear anymore about eco or green technology because a lot of it relies on electricty instead of gas, and to get electricity without CO2, most countries were turning to nuclear energy as the safe, clean method of getting electricity. But not anymore. Forget the clean skies and cooler temperatures. Full speed ahead on those coal-burning power plants.

    Well,Germany, if you fear that a 9.0 earthquake and 20m high tsunami will suddenly attack your country... then I have news for you, the world has likely ended and its doubtful that anyone will be alive to care whether a nuclear power plant's cooling systems will be turned on or off.

    In the meantime, all the Germans will have to pay higher gas and electric bills as the country buys its electricity from the nuclear power plants in France, and its gas from Russia and the Middle East.

    Way to go, Germany!

    Posted in: Germany decides to abandon nuclear power by 2022

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    USAkuma

    This reminds me of the old argument about special effects versus story. Some people put all their money on technology in films, but those films always tend to lose out to films with better story.

    The 1st Matrix movie was a hit with its SF story and amazing with its special effects camera work. Suddenly there were Matrix-camera shot ripoffs everywhere. People got tired of it, and especially of B-rate movie versions that didn't bother with story.

    Also with style. Japanese anime has always used larger than normal eyes, but since its stylized, people ignore the strangeness. Maybe its because the heads aren't normally proportioned, or like Picasso it all fits despite looking strange. But when Disney or other western movie makers try to simulate the large eyes on a normal head, it is the creepiest thing ever. I think Lady Gaga tried it on one of her videos, but she may have been going for the creepy look anyway.

    Point is, the story has to be appealing long before deciding on the special effects to get audiences to ignore abnormalities. Zemeckis just hasn't learned that yet.

    Posted in: Too real means too creepy in new Disney animation

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    USAkuma

    I am very happy with both Jenny and Eric. My daughter likes Jenny's songs such as "In the City" and I don't mind watching her either. I think Eric has worked very hard to make the show successful, too. None of us are getting younger, and my hat's off to him for continuing the effort. I hope they both continue making the show popular. I also hope they will have a longer version in the future. From 10 to 15 minutes would be good.

    Posted in: Jenny Periman sparkles in NHK's 'Eigo de Asobo'

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    USAkuma

    If you are talking about encouraging Japanese people, all you have to do is ask them to buy something FOR those in the north. I've seen people dropping off diapers etc. at collection sites for just such a purpose.

    Give people a few months, and a more solid restoration of electricity, and they will quickly compartmentalize the quake as something that happened elsewhere... they will resume spending on luxury items. Maybe the owners of the "Radium" Hot Springs will have to shut down for the time being, but things will return to normal very quickly.

    The Japanese people are quite resilient. The country didn't collapse after the Great Hanshin Quake, and they didn't give up after the Niigata quake either. They won't just roll over and die just because this Great Tohoku Quake and Tsunami have caused so many problems.

    I'm more likely inclined to see a great resurgence of national pride and effort. That effort will include shopping as well if it is seen as a way to help out. Of course, right now no one would want to buy irradiated products or take vacations near the shore... that's too be expected. But its far from the END OF JAPAN.

    Posted in: Shoppers' appetite for spending is being restrained by a feeling that it is inappropriate when nearly 28,000 are dead or missing and more than 180,000 survivors huddle in shelters. What effect do you think this attitude will have on the economy this year and what is the best way to encourage people to start spending again?

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    USAkuma

    Now let's see how many people in the states panic and buy Geiger counters, toilet paper, and bottled water like the Japanese did.

    Posted in: Tiny amounts of radiation from Japan reach Nevada

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    USAkuma

    TV News implies that she was going to collect money from the cameraman who also has a wife and child(ldren). A love affair that turned into into blackmail? A cameraman so desperate to hide what happened that he killed the woman in question.

    Well, no one needs pay NHK fees for another year with this scandal. That's for sure.

    Posted in: NHK cameraman in missing housewife case deleted email records

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    USAkuma

    I have to agree with somuchatalent. If I want real bear, I pay for real beer, and it doesn't come from Japan. If I want a cheep alcoholic drink that isn't sweet, then I get a happoshu alchoholic drink.

    Since my wife is demanding that I lose some weight, I will have to cut back on the good stuff. Now, if this or other diet, alcoholic, malt-like beverages can taste better than water or other diet drinks, then I am all for it.

    Instead of pointing out the obvious that this isn't a real beer, let's compare diet malt-beverages and decide which tastes the best. LoveUSA likes Kirin. I tried that 0stuff, and its not as bad as the green label stuff. Any other constructive comparisons?

    Posted in: Light beer

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    USAkuma

    How much alcohol is in it? The Happoshu group of beverages are tolerable due to an increase in alcohol... I like the ones with 7%.

    But a lot of the diet beers have only around 3% which means you have to pound 3 to 4 times the amount to get the same buzz, which nullifies the diet aspect.

    Posted in: Light beer

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    USAkuma

    Congrats to Japan. They've always been chided for a lack of stamina, but this year, they seem to have gotten the right vitamins to keep up their energy though the overtime.

    Posted in: Japan lifts Asian Cup with 1-0 win over Australia

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    USAkuma

    I would love to get an accounting of JapanToday posters who have actually seen dolphin meat at their local Japanese grocery store. I live in Saitama, and have never seen it at the local Tobu store. I check there pretty regularly for dinner things. haven't seen whale nor dolphin for sale. Maybe the Taiji people are eating it, but I'm not seeing anyone else buying it.

    I wonder if Sting is gonna show video clips of Taiji in his concert. If he does, his following will likely drop really quickly in Japan.

    Posted in: Sting meets dolphin advocate Ric O'Barry; advocates debate

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    USAkuma

    Congrats to Japan! They made it look easy. Now the question is, will they be able to sustain this winning streak through to the Asian Cup Championship? And how will they fare against European teams?

    Posted in: Japan, Jordan advance to Asian Cup quarterfinals

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    USAkuma

    My take on this is that yes this guy is a nut case. But thanks to the NRA promoting that everyone (including nut cases) has a right to gun ownership, this guy could get his weapon.

    And while he may not be a card-carrying member of the TEA Party or on Palin's i-phone address list, it IS the Tea Party that has been flooding the airwaves and filling this nutcase's TV, internet, and apparently his head with all the rhetoric about how bad Giffords was for supporting healthcare. Palin used crosshairs in her campaign against Giffords and her Tea Party opponent encouraged people to fire off an M-16 in support of getting rid of her.

    With all that negative media bombardment, Faux News and the Tea Party were all but telling him to go kill Giffords. In his crazy mind, he just took their political rhetoric for an actual order to kill. And now that he has, the far right is playing it off by saying that since their fingerprints aren't on the gun or the ammo, they aren't responsible for the hate they fed him. That's total B.S. Spreading hate has brought about this turn of events, and I doubt it will be the last as long as Palin and the Tea Party keep up their messages of hate.

    Posted in: Arizona Rep Giffords shot, 6 killed, including judge, 9-year-old girl

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    USAkuma

    Funny point is that he put on his news program Saturday night that he can't speak a word of English except for what's scripted for him. He showed video of himself practicing with the ECC "Professionals" looking on. He garbled out his lines, but everyone applauded him anyway. That kind of counters the adds, doesn't it?

    ps to darkbob: The french love him, and he has a museum of his 'paintings' and other artwork... The Japanese Andy Warhol...

    Posted in: Beat Takeshi appears in ad for ECC language school

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    USAkuma

    One final note from me on this topic. Paul Watson and SS along with their supporters feel that by attacking Japan's whaling vessels, they can get people to decide against killing and eating said whales. As far as I have seen, attacking any country is not a way of making them like you. Certainly 9/11 hasn't made Americans love Al Queda, has it?

    and on a more direct note... there have been a lot of posts here against the supporters of Watson's SS. Having been "attacked" by those of us who do not support him, do posters such as TKOIND2 and CLEO now suddenly feel a love for Japanese whalers' lives and a desire to arrest Watson?

    My guess is probably not even if pigs did fly, right? So if attacking someone's beliefs doesn't change their opinions, why would anyone agree that physically attacking Japanese whaling vessels would somehow make Japanese people less inclined to eat whale? It hasn't worked with my co-worker, and I doubt it is working anywhere else either.

    THAT'S WHY I DON'T SUPPORT WATSON'S SS. THAT'S WHY HE HARMS THE ANTI-WHALING EFFORTS RATHER THAN HELPS THEM.

    Posted in: U.S., Japan discussed action against anti-whalers: WikiLeaks

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    USAkuma

    tkoid2, one minute you want verification for things via mainstream media and the next moment you are blaming mainstream media for holding people accountable. Make up your mind which you support.

    Cleo; I wholly support Greenpeace's peaceful efforts, but to use your analogy, I don't support ripping the legs off of the kid just to get him to stop pulling the legs off of spiders. As has been stated, the harsher you push or attack someone, the less likely they will listen to you.

    The way to get the japanese to stop whaling is to catch the whalers in some kind of scandal that would upset the Japanese people themselves. The regular populous now only knows of whaling as something that fishermen do, and something other countries attack. The harsher the attacks, the less they like the attacker. Ask them how they feel about China in regard to Senkaku island. Do they care about the fish? no, only that the Chinese fishermen rammed their coast guard ships and then the Chinese demanded that the fishermen be released. How many Japanese people can you find to truthfully think, "Gee, maybe we should share our resources..."

    The Japanese people I work with say that although they normally don't consider whale to be tasty, every time they hear about SS attacks, they feel a patriotic desire to buy whale meat (if they can find it) just to thumb their noses at Paul Watson. Does that sound like Watson's eco-terrorists are winning people over? It doesn't to me and not to them either.

    As far as Assange and his group go, his shock-effect is now losing steam. His group is running out of big news to sell apparently. Is it really big news to ANYONE that Japan asked America for help in dealing with Sea Shepherd? If the cable had actually said that America agreed to send the Navy or do something about him, maybe I'd take notice. But the SS is too minor a problem for anyone but Japan to deal with. and Assange is running out of shocking news if this is all he has to relase...

    Posted in: U.S., Japan discussed action against anti-whalers: WikiLeaks

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    USAkuma

    one correction for tkoind2... these days the eco-movement ** IS** the establishment. It has been since Gore became a household name, and it definitely has been since Obama got in office. Anyone who **dares NOT **buy a Prius, drink Starbucks, or support eco-terrorism is in the anti-establishment group.

    Global Warming is used to blame the U.S. for the weather, and the "Endangered Seas" are being used to bully Japan into not eating Whales or other fish... which they have been doing for thousands of years... and yet its only recently that the fish are endangered. When only Japan ate sushi, there weren't any problems about endangered tuna... now that Australia, NZ, America, Europe... the whole world wants to eat sushi, its endangered, and people blame Japan.

    When the whole world hunted whales to near extinction, Sea Shepherd didn't exist because no one cared. when the IWC was created, whaling countries like Norway ignored the IWC, and continued their activities unhindered. Japan had the choice of either following Norway and ignoring the rest of the world, or following the rules of the IWC and limiting how many whales they catch. They decided to follow the rules and limit how many whales they catch each year. That's a step in the right direction towards not catching ANY whales at all.

    But how are they rewarded? Sea Shepherd and the eco-terror groups hunt them down and use them for footage in their Whale Wars videos for great profit. Why don't Whale Wars ever show any battles against Norway? because Paul would find himself selling videos to Davey Jones at the bottom of the sea. Japan's a much easier target. And he can sell his videos to the crowd who prefer to see non-whites as the bad guys. Since Japan's a pacifist country, Paul's SS group can attack them without ever worrying about anything more than water cannons being shot back at them. Dare him to try that against a Chinese fishing ship?

    And let's go one further. Which is more of a threat to the world's oceans, the Japanese whalers that catch less than 1,000 whales a year, or the oil producing countries who dump billions of gallons of poisonous oil into the oceans when their refineries explode, or their ships run aground? Want to save a whale? Stop using All plastics and other petroleum products. Paul isn't concerned about how much oil his diesel-run ships use or how they affect the environment. All he cares about is getting that money-shot for Whale Wars.

    That's why Paul Watson's SS group does more to harm the efforts to stop whaling than they do to actually curb the number of whales caught.

    Posted in: U.S., Japan discussed action against anti-whalers: WikiLeaks

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    USAkuma

    Some would say that Alladin's comments could also be said about a lot of people who post here on Japan Today. lol.

    I agree with Greenpeace. Watson's SS group has hardened a lot of hearts and is used by Japan to make themselves look like the victims. Australia's position against whaling is clear, but like a ball and chain, their support for SS hurts their efforts in the IWC courts. So as long as Watson is going around trying to sink ships (his own included), Japan will look like victims who need support... even for whaling.

    Posted in: U.S., Japan discussed action against anti-whalers: WikiLeaks

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    USAkuma

    Okay panda4777, our skepticism about idols' love-lives can't match your dedication and devotion to her. I hope she has a long, happy marriage with Manuel Schwartz, and I hope they have several beautiful children, as well.

    I hope she never divorces him, and they never cheat on each other like the other famous Japanese people who had short-lived relationships. And of course, I hope she never does anything to disappoint you the way some of us have been disappointed by other pop stars in Japan.

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    USAkuma

    Sounds like this is just a continuation of the promotion for her video. Likely after being married, she'll make a video about getting divorced, an guess what will happen next...

    But hey, who knows, they could truly be in love and make a bunch of babies and she could settle down to a happy housewife life.... and pigs will fly...

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