Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

borscht's past comments

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borschtAug. 27, 2011 - 09:21AM JST

Imagine having to memorize all the PMs over the past 6 years,

Before and during WWII, children had to memorize the names of all the emperors (all 124) since Jimmu. And did. Or else.

I wonder if Japanese citizens really care who their leader is. This revolving door policy or prime ministers doesn't seem to upset people who work for a living.

Posted in: Revolving door of Japanese political leadership
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borschtAug. 27, 2011 - 07:07AM JST

It never really was being tested. It is sampled. Big difference.

That's the same anywhere in the world for food testing. It's impossible to test all food on the market. It's got to be done by selecting a representative, random sample of the food going to market.

I believe when one mad cow was discovered in US beef that one country insisted that ALL the beef be inspected before being imported. What country was that? Yes, Japan. If they wanted to, they could. They don't want to; they want to assure the farmers of an income more than they want to protect residents of Japan.

Posted in: Japan lifts ban on beef from Iwate, Fukushima and Tochigi
13

borschtAug. 26, 2011 - 09:45AM JST

the long flow charts of activities for "date night"

Has Mike ever been in love?

Posted in: A movie date? No thank you
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borschtAug. 26, 2011 - 09:35AM JST

Interesting article about radiation and the 'no immediate effects' on health:

submitted by Prime Minister Naoto Kan's cabinet

Aren't the prime minister and the cabinet part of, perhaps the most important part of, The Government?

The government, however, argued that the comparison was not valid.

So, Kan & the Cabinets released the report then immediately argued against it?

Government officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.

So, while the government made the report, and commented on it, they also do not confirm the report exists?

I think I see now why the Tohoku refugees have been sitting in junior high school gyms for nearly half a year. The ability of The Government to argue with itself about something they say doesn't exist.

Posted in: Fukushima cesium leaks 'equal 168 Hiroshima bombs,' says report
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borschtAug. 26, 2011 - 09:21AM JST

This is an old trick that used to be used when students could fly stand-by on US airlines. You book a reservation over the phone for a family of five or six, then show up at the gate. The fictitious family of five doesn't show up so the first five students on stand-by can get on. By 'used to' I mean over 30 years ago. Then, like Farmboy predicted, the airlines began insisting on payment up front.

Posted in: Man arrested for making fraudulent reservations on airport limousine bus
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borschtAug. 24, 2011 - 09:46AM JST

Does anyone know how an anti-landmine missile works? Does it shower clusters of tiny bombs to blow up all the landmines or what?

Posted in: Fire!
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borschtAug. 24, 2011 - 09:40AM JST

SmithinJapan,

Just to clarify, reported his wife and son missing, not their remains, in 2006. Then somebody - the police think he did it - started depositing their remains around Osaka in 2011.

Also, on NHK they had a cute computer-graphic that showed what 'witnesses' saw: one van with three people - a woman was driving while two men sat in the back. Then one of the men carried the two canisters to where they were found.

Does this mean Fujimori will roll over on his two friends soon or that NHK was wrong?

Posted in: Osaka police arrest man over dumping of body parts in park
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borschtAug. 17, 2011 - 10:20PM JST

You guys are right - the trains were delayed ten, twenty minutes not that the parents waited that time. My mistake.

Posted in: 2-year-old boy falls onto tracks at Nagoya Station
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borschtAug. 17, 2011 - 09:19PM JST

More things like this should be funded by the private sector. If there's not enough interest to pay for it, then they shouldn't tap taxpayers to pay for it.

It would be interesting to fund the military like this.

As for SETI, knowledge of any kind is important. If governments don't want to fund the search for knowledge, then maybe people should bypass the government. The problem is, of course, flying to the moon or finding cancer cures costs more than people are able to pay.

Posted in: Jodie Foster helps keep search for aliens alive
-6

borschtAug. 17, 2011 - 11:48AM JST

While attempting to board, a competent parent holds the toddler's hand and if the child misjudges the distance, he doesn't fall onto the tracks.

Also, if my toddler fell on to the tracks, I would be down on my belly grabbing him with my hand - not waiting 10 - 20 minutes waiting for 'staff' to be alerted. But I suppose if staff wasn't alerted, the train would depart, killing us both.

Posted in: 2-year-old boy falls onto tracks at Nagoya Station
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borschtAug. 17, 2011 - 08:38AM JST

Crowded places this summer include department stores, bookstores, libraries and other places with free entry, a place to sit, and air conditioning. Just the place for the coming zombie apocalypse.

Yesterday I saw an old woman working in her field - hat, gloves, mask, mompei and long-sleeved shirt - and no water in sight. At noon.

Posted in: 35 deaths, 7,071 hospitalized due to heatstroke in one-week period
3

borschtAug. 16, 2011 - 10:34AM JST

Atsuko Okano is a qualified fool. Maybe in Japan the only reason a younger woman would marry an older man is economic or social status but in a series of articles I read a while ago, American women gave much different answers including:

Maturity level is higher

Man is more interested in her ideas and thoughts than her body

Able to have a decent conversation (younger men don't seem to be able to)

Man didn't play as many head games

Man had experience to comfort her in times of crisis and knew how

Posted in: The pros and cons of May-December marriages
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borschtAug. 15, 2011 - 10:03AM JST

Japan needs a prime minister that not only has the special interests in his or her pocket but also can lead. And has a vision of the future of Japan that he or she can lead the country to. Not a politician who only wants to be prime minister because he or she doesn't want the other guy to be prime minister. And not a politician who wants to be prime minister because it's his or her turn this month.

Posted in: Who do you think should replace Naoto Kan as prime minister of Japan?
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borschtAug. 14, 2011 - 01:48PM JST

An interesting article on Japan's eagerness to join an international treaty that limits compensation due to nuclear accidents.

http://news.yahoo.com/japan-eyes-global-nuclear-compensation-treaty-report-032630948.html

And who will compensate Tepco?

The same group who gives you money when you cause a car accident that totals out both cars: Nobody. Except this is Japan so probably the Tax Payer.

Posted in: Families who left radiation zone voluntarily ask TEPCO for compensation
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borschtAug. 14, 2011 - 09:02AM JST

Kyoto's city office said it had received about 2,000 telephone calls and e-mails criticizing the bonfire organizers for their action and accusing them of helping spread "harmful rumors"

I wonder how many of those 2000 calls were from people employed by TEPCO, given the history loading emails and such from the Kyushu Power co.

Posted in: Kyoto rejects ceremonial bonfire wood from Iwate over radiation fears
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borschtAug. 13, 2011 - 01:21PM JST

Casablanca is a love story - hardly a world under Nazi rule. Inglorious Basterds was a alternate universe fantasy, hardly a world under Nazi rule.

Life is Beautiful and Jakob the Liar might've been better choices. And Stalingrad.

Maybe the headline is misleading.

Posted in: Film series looks at world under Nazi rule
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borschtAug. 12, 2011 - 09:23AM JST

Are there any independent agencies that regulate anything in Japan? Independent meaning not paid by the Japanese government to do what the government wants them to do. Just curious.

Posted in: New nuclear safety agency to be set up under Environment Ministry
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borschtAug. 12, 2011 - 09:20AM JST

Ishikawa said through an interpreter.

Isn't he the poster boy for that English learning company?

Plus, if he shot his age, he'd have a score of 19 for a round. Pretty good, considering that would be at least 17 holes-in-one. i.e. That first sentence needs some cleaning up, I think.

Posted in: Ryo Ishikawa shoots 15 over at PGA Championship
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borschtAug. 11, 2011 - 09:10PM JST

South Sudan chose to secede from the rest of the country,

After 17 years of war, yes, they voted not to be on the losing end of genocide. And the Japanese SDF is NOT helping rebuild Tohoku - that should be left to the Tohoku people. After all, charity starts at home.

Posted in: Ban asks Japan to help in South Sudan
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borschtAug. 10, 2011 - 07:03PM JST

"None of us knew."

I believe this is the same phrase Germans used when the Nazi concentration camps were "discovered".

I can imagine a low-level government employee getting the info from SPEEDI, hanko-ing it, and sending it off to the next person for their hanko without anyone actually reading it or, if they read it, consider its importance. People are the key to any 'system' and if they are poorly educated in the THINKING department, the system, like SPEEDI, will fail.

Posted in: Japan ignored own radiation forecasts from very beginning