escape_artist said...

escape_artist at 12:38 PM JST - 14th June

I found it rather typical that when the spread popped up in my area of Japan, the Starbucks near my office went gung-ho -- all employees with masks, annoyingly removing all condiments (anything touchable by customers) so you couldn't put your own things in your coffee, and amazingly keeping the…

Posted in Expert says large-scale new-flu outbreaks inevitable in Japan at 12:38 PM JST - 14th June
escape_artist at 01:08 PM JST - 13th June

@pawatan ... Lotte needs Bobby!!!

Japanese baseball needs people like Bobby!

Posted in Bobby Valentine's supporters gather 100,000 signatures on petition at 01:08 PM JST - 13th June
escape_artist at 11:12 AM JST - 11th June

@Statistician

Be nice in Obama made it to Hiroshima for 6 August

In recent months I've had to edit a number of letters from Hiroshima govt officials and leaders of a hibakusha group based in Hiroshima, personally requesting that Obama visit (though through Nancy Pelosi, not directly). No doubt I'm…

Posted in Hiroshima launches 'Obamajority' campaign for world without nukes at 11:12 AM JST - 11th June
escape_artist at 04:15 PM JST - 10th June

Japan helping dictatorships continue being dictatorships?? Duh. Why is this any surprise in Japan Inc.? Pretty much everything in Japan is modeled, measured or viewed based first and foremost on the pursuit of money. Ever notice how nearly everything, even though not related to finances or money, is measured in…

Posted in Japan PC makers rushing to meet China's new rule of filtering software at 04:15 PM JST - 10th June
escape_artist at 07:07 PM JST - 5th June

In Japan, just about anyone can be a "talent" or parade around like brand item, including many politicians. This to me explains why such folks get elected, on image, not necessarily on substance. Once you ask WHY or HOW they're getting elected, then it starts making a bit of sense.

Posted in Osaka Gov Hashimoto urges LDP to come up with 'dazzling' policies at 07:07 PM JST - 5th June
escape_artist at 10:38 AM JST - 3rd June

How horribly sad.

Who are we to judge their intentions, lost dreams and probable feelings of hopelessness, though? It's unfortunate how it turned out, but unless we're in the same exact position as they were, we really have no right to judge how they decided to handle their situation. They'll…

Posted in Japanese woman, British husband leap to death with dead child in England at 10:38 AM JST - 3rd June
escape_artist at 03:45 PM JST - 2nd June

This whole scheme of "saving" the earth and environment by buying and using more electrical goods is oxymoronic at the least, and deeply misleading at the worst. Only someone who thinks only about money and business gain in the short term could come up with such ridiculousness. About as truthful…

Posted in Japan green incentives lift electronics sales at 03:45 PM JST - 2nd June
escape_artist at 02:52 AM JST - 2nd June

Even if it's true, of all the constructive things she could have said on this day, and she basically just whips out more self-aggrandizement. Yeah, that'll give all her fans something to emulate (though the govt's population ministry might be happy).

Hopefully these celebrities and CELEBRITIES said more than just…

Posted in Marie, at AIDS awareness concert, says she has sex five times a day at 02:52 AM JST - 2nd June
escape_artist at 06:25 PM JST - 24th May

Just as the Japanese govt & businesses will make deals with any dictator out there (e.g., Burma, North Korea), so also they'll put aside whatever moral scruples they might have in the name of business & making money. Big time war machines like the US do this too, of course,…

Posted in Japan to relax arms export ban, Nikkei reports at 06:25 PM JST - 24th May
escape_artist at 01:13 PM JST - 16th May

Bummer. I was all set to go the Kobe festival this weekend but just heard it's been canceled. Lots of merchants are understandably upset, too. TV also says masks are selling out in Kobe like mad. But maybe overreacting is the best approach here instead of doing nothing. I heard…

Posted in 1st domestic infections of new flu confirmed in Japan; some schools closed at 01:13 PM JST - 16th May