hokkaidoguy said...

hokkaidoguy at 08:14 PM JST - 14th February

spudman - According to Japanese law, it's legal. You might not like it, and that may not be the case wherever you happen to live, but that's the fact.

Breaking and entering to steal mail, on the other hand, is illegal everywhere.

Posted in Greenpeace protests against Japanese whaling, activists' prosecution at 08:14 PM JST - 14th February
hokkaidoguy at 09:26 AM JST - 14th February

They broke into a warehouse, stole mail (that turned out to be perfectly legal, like it or not), and held a press conference to admit it.

Why should they be let go? To prove the point that stealing mail is OK as long as you've got an axe to grind?

Posted in Greenpeace protests against Japanese whaling, activists' prosecution at 09:26 AM JST - 14th February
hokkaidoguy at 02:35 PM JST - 9th February

Tahoochi said:

repair the damage

When you say "repair" and "damage", do you give them proper French pronunciation?

If not, why not? Don't you think you should, on the off chance that you decide to learn French someday?

Moderator: Readers, the topic is English, not French.

Posted in What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan? at 02:35 PM JST - 9th February
hokkaidoguy at 10:50 AM JST - 9th February

I'm not convinced that there IS a problem with the way English is taught here. As a Canadian, I've found that the level of English ability in Japan is roughly similar to the level of French ability among native English speakers back home. Some people take the study of language…

Posted in What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan? at 10:50 AM JST - 9th February
hokkaidoguy at 12:53 PM JST - 6th February

cleo:

do you think that is justification for using a military grade weapon (the use of which is banned in the Antarctic, incidentally) to potentially crash the heli, with the very strong chance of loss of life that that would involve?

Calling an LRAD a "military grade weapon" is…

Posted in Sea Shepherd ship collides with Japanese whaler in Antarctic at 12:53 PM JST - 6th February
hokkaidoguy at 11:10 PM JST - 2nd February

JT wrote: On the Net: Sea Shepherd: http://www.seashepherd.org/

What's with the free plug for SS?

Posted in Whalers blast activists with water cannons in Antarctic Ocean at 11:10 PM JST - 2nd February
hokkaidoguy at 01:31 PM JST - 22nd January

Betzee -

I would never have thought that someone would take the time to connect a story on Ramen to events that happened over 60 years ago during the war.

You've lowered the bar for all of us. Thank you.

Posted in Japanese ramen winning converts in Hong Kong at 01:31 PM JST - 22nd January
hokkaidoguy at 05:29 PM JST - 10th January

This is a bad one - at least in eastern Hokkaido. Pretty much zero visibility where I am right now. High winds, lots of snow. Nice night to curl up with a bottle of sake.

Posted in Airlines cancel over 100 flights due to heavy snow at 05:29 PM JST - 10th January
hokkaidoguy at 12:35 AM JST - 3rd January

300 Homeless 510 Volunteers

Sorry to all the people determined to slag the Japanese on this story (and everything else), but - that ratio is stunning. I worked with social agencies and soup kitchens in Canada for 10 years, and I've never seen numbers close to that, even for a…

Posted in Tent village in Tokyo park draws over 300 homeless people at 12:35 AM JST - 3rd January
hokkaidoguy at 09:15 AM JST - 2nd January

mindovermatter - You must be new to Japan. You don't get very much done here without a couple of photos attached. The article refers to the standard passport style photo you'd include with a job application, rather than a group shot making peace signs in front of the tent.

Posted in Nearly 150 homeless people have uneasy New Year's Day in Tokyo park at 09:15 AM JST - 2nd January