Wednesday February 15, 2012

knews's past comments

  • 0

    knews

    Helly

    I find it hard to believe that those protests are staged. Where did you here that one from?!

    Also, maybe they don't have many English-speaking staff exactly because they don't want to encourage off-duty military people to visit their establishments. Who can blame them?

    The solution is for the U.S. to pull out in stages (not only in Okinawa but also Germany, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and any other large bases around the world). If they really feel the need to be a presence in the area then the Guam option seems to make sense. It's part of the U.S. for all intents and purposes. I don't believe that China or North Korea would ever attack if unprovoked and I don't think Japan would provoke them militarily. Unfortunately, the propaganda machine is designed to make us think otherwise.

    Posted in: Can anyone suggest a solution to the U.S. bases issue in Okinawa?

  • 0

    knews

    tkoind2

    Good to see that you are on the ball.

    Posted in: Obama's bow to emperor causes outrage in Washington

  • 0

    knews

    All this just shows the sad state of affairs in the minds of many people in the U.S.

    It is precisely this kind of inane thinking in the U.S. ("The US President shouldn't bow to anyone") that prevents a more positive view of the U.S. to take hold.

    As I stated before, Obama is showing respect for Japanese culture by bowing and the Emperor is showing respect for U.S. culture by shaking hands.

    Trying to find fault with Obama's action is ridiculous. He has a lot of fences to mend around the world and I reckon he's making a good start.

    Posted in: Obama's bow to emperor causes outrage in Washington

  • 0

    knews

    It's simply a bi-cultural greeting. The Emperor initiating the handshake and President Obama reciprocating with a bow, so both parties are showing respect for the other's customs.

    Article Unavailable

  • 0

    knews

    DELTA440

    Gee, I'm sure that would make you feel much better. A sign that we are evolving is that we don't resort to our primitive instincts.

    Posted in: Woman arrested for killing 9-year-old son in Nagoya hotel

  • 0

    knews

    Difficult as it may be to understand, there are those in Japan who feel that it is a kind of "responsibility" to take the kids with them when they decide to end things. It has a long history in Japan (and some other countries in Asia). We don't understand it and never will, but it is considered to be the right thing to do so that the child will not be a burden to others. It's hard to explain but as the "creators" of the child, parents are considered to take full responsibility including the decision to prevent any stain on the family name by leaving survivors. That's why jail sentences seem to be quite lenient here for killing family members. Strange but true. In this case, the mother failed to commit suicide but if she had succeeded , some may feel more sorry for both her and the kid. As it turned out, it's hard to sympathize with her at all.

    Posted in: Woman arrested for killing 9-year-old son in Nagoya hotel

  • 0

    knews

    Isn't the term "bestiality" more appropriate than "buggery" (as used in the article). Buggered if I know!

    Posted in: S Carolina man gets 3 years in prison for sex with horse

  • 0

    knews

    "Rodell Vereen was also ordered never to go near the stable where the horse’s owner caught him and held him for authorities at shotgun point over the summer."

    That's a hell of a long time to hold him at gunpoint! Can you hold someone at uzipoint?! And I'm not surprised the horse was acting strange!

    Posted in: S Carolina man gets 3 years in prison for sex with horse

  • 0

    knews

    The helicopter crew has very good eyes!

    Posted in: Two teens arrested for purse-snatching

  • 0

    knews

    I heard that in Japan the twin who is born first is actually considered younger than the one born second. Something to do with the elder one letter the younger one go first... Has anyone else heard this?

    Posted in: Younger twin stabs older sister after argument

  • 0

    knews

    Yeah, the younger sister was suicidal and stabbed her twin sister by mistake!

    Posted in: Younger twin stabs older sister after argument

  • 0

    knews

    Asking people to use the bathroom before flying is fine. More like "reminding" them to do so I think. And if it does help the environment a bit, why not? I always go just before boarding anyway as it can always take longer than you think to get airborne and they turn the fasten seatbelt sign off...

    Posted in: ANA asks passengers to go to toilet before boarding

  • 0

    knews

    martyman

    She may have asked him to do it. It happened in the early afternoon so, unless she was taking a nap, it wasn't bedtime as your "The same reason why they wait until their victim is asleep in bed" statement suggests.

    Posted in: 66-year-old man turns himself in after fatally stabbing wife

  • 0

    knews

    It would be interesting to know in Japan / US / UK etc. what percentage of divorced females end up with the kids and what percentage of divorced males are given custody of the kids. I assume it would be 70% or 80% in favour of the mother in many countries but maybe 95% in Japan. The Japanese government seem to believe that kids are almost always better off with their mother.....

    Posted in: Why do you think successive Japanese governments have refused to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, which seeks to ensure that the rights of access of both parents are protected?

  • 0

    knews

    There is no easy solution to this. Both parents want the kids to live in the parents' own respective countries. Both parents can't seem to live together or share the kids. Why should one be more entitled to have the kids than the other? So, it turns into this nightmare for all involved. If you are considering an international marriage, make sure you think hard about where you want to live 10, 20, 50 years later. It may not seem so important when everything is rosy and you spend all day in each other's arms. It's difficult for many people to say that they'd like to live forever in a country other than the one they were born in. Forever is a long time.

    Posted in: American father arrested in Japan had asked Tennessee court for help

  • 0

    knews

    gogogo

    Thanks for that. I had no idea.

    Posted in: American father arrested in Japan had asked Tennessee court for help

  • 0

    knews

    To get permanent residency (a visa category) in Japan, applicants are supposed to have lived in Japan continuously for 10 years. How could he go to the next level and get Japanese citizenship (a Japanese passport) after only 7 years? I thought citizenship was very difficult to get and reserved for special cases like foreign sumo wrestlers etc.

    Posted in: American father arrested in Japan had asked Tennessee court for help

  • 0

    knews

    The English conversation industry in Japan is unique in that the vast majority of customers have at least some passive knowledge of English. They can actually read the language. Imagine if you could read French or Spanish and understood the meaning of the words but couldn't speak it. This makes it very difficult to argue that teachers need some sort of "qualifications" to teach English here. I totally agree that some of the worst teachers have the most qualifications. At the end of the day, there is a market for such classes and there are companies that supply lessons to customers who want to practice speaking the language. Nova didn't make it and maybe others will follow, but the demand will always be there and the customers will pay. I wonder where the 50% market share (400,000 - 500,000 customers) that Nova supposedly had went. I don't think Gaba, Aeon, ECC, Berlitz or the others got all of them. Perhaps a lot of former Nova customers opted for smaller local schools. Anyway, maybe it is a good thing that Nova went down because it has shaken up the industry and hopefully made Japanese consumers a bit more aware and demanding.

    Posted in: What is your impression of the English-teaching industry in Japan? Have things improved since Nova's collapse or are there still bad apples in the barrel?

  • 0

    knews

    I'd always heard that Nova was connected with dodgy loan companies (like Aiful and Acom) so students could easily get credit to pay for lessons in instalments... That would possibly explain gangster links to Sa(ru)hashi.

    Posted in: Gangster trio held for confining ex-Nova president in hotel room

  • 0

    knews

    saseboni

    Who knows if the father is a decent, upright citizen or not? We certainly can't know based on this article. Maybe he was abusive and a real loser. Who knows?

    Whitehawk

    Whoopie doo if you might have friends and family who know him. That is so irrelevant, it's not funny. Doesn't help him or us...!

    Posted in: American arrested in Fukuoka for kidnapping own kids from ex-wife

Follow us

Facebook
Twitter

View all