Wednesday February 15, 2012

sarcasm123's past comments

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    sarcasm123

    With the money spend on this stupid habit Japan could employ hundreds of REAL researchers working on more important problems.

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    Japan voluntarily accepted the moratorium, and switch to research whaling, remember? If it wanted to keep commercially whaling, it could have done so, and they'd be killing loads more whales.

    Uh, no. What Japan actually realizes is that there is no demand for whale meat in Japan. So, commercial whaling would not be profitable anymore. So, they created "scientific whaling", using the exact same personnel and the exact same ships as they were using for commercial whaling, and started pumping money into it to keep it alive. It goes like this: some politician tells the whaling town he will support them if they vote him in. He gets elected and starts pumping money. Meanwhile, together they start telling all Japanese that whaling (the minor habit) is in fact Oh-So-Important-Japanese-Culture, yet that the Bad Bad White People try to force Japan to stop whaling. Japanese love this kind of story and happily believe every word of it. So, more and more money gets pumped into this useless "research". In fact so much that without some "result" (no matter how fake it is), there might come some criticism from within Japan. That is where those unread, and un-cited, papers come in. "See", says the politician and the whalers-turned-researchers: "we ARE doing research! Now give us more money and we will vote for you again!".

    But no, Japan said OK we disagree with the silly moratorium, but if you insist that there is insufficient scientific knowledge then we'll switch to research whaling and fill those gaps.

    Nope, Japan said OK because it can now play the victim role. Japan plays the victim role, the politician gets elected, and the small whaling town gets its money. It is a perfect deal in the Japanese mind. Never mind the international criticism, Oh-So-Great-Japanese-Culture, the job of the local politician, and the jobs of the whalers-turned-researchers are at stake!

    And indeed... as you ignore... the scientific committee confirms that Japan's research has the potential to improve management of whale stocks.

    No, the committee recognizes that Japan is basically a 12yo with too much money on this subject. They just let it play and spend bribes.

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    Which Australian has suffered over the past 20 years because Japan conducts a research whaling operation there in accordance with the whaling convention?

    Which Japanese has suffered over the past 20 years because of a lack of whale meat? None. Oh, except those who used to do the whaling for commercial purposes, of course. They now have to write "research" on their whaling ship.

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    Japan will fight in court and win, so what?

    Yes, it will "win" international attention and criticism. No more and no less than that. And for what?? In order to hunt an animal they started eating about 60 years ago...

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    It's very easy to prove that it is research (because it is), but it's very hard to prove that it isn't (because it is).

    Yes, it is research, but on the level of a kid throwing stones through windows in order to count them. Millions of yens are spend on this, and what is the result? Papers in journals with minor impact, which are never cited even by people in the field. Whoo, what GREAT research! NOT!

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    Japan could just use any such complaints as an excuse to pay

    Japan has been in an economical crisis since several years, and it does not look like it will stop in the near future. CAN JAPAN REALLY PAY? Can it really afford to waste money on this crap?

    for an upgrade of the Nisshin Maru so that whaling is even more environmentally friendly.

    Moving a fleet to the other side of the world is never going to be "environmentally friendly". Even more if its goal is to kill wild animals.

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    ‘‘Our whaling for scientific research is allowed (under Article 8 of the International Whaling Commission),’’ he said, adding that Japan will continue to explain this fact to gain understanding of its whaling activities.

    Except that it is not really about research, now is it?

    How can Japanese be so schizophrenic? On one side they ALL admit that the scientific research is just a lie, yet to the outside world they keep using it as a valid excuse. Do they think we don't know?? Do they really think we can't tell? Is it that they really think that "foreigners" do not understand "honne" and "tatemae", or what is it??

    WE KNOW YOU ARE TELLING LIES JAPAN. WE KNOW IT. Stop behaving like a child.

    Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling

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    sarcasm123

    I have a few remarks on this article.

    The prices were expensive, probably due to the fact that the Chinese food here is more authentic than usual Chinese fare in the rest of Japan, requiring ingredients to be imported from China.

    I for one don't believe this. The prices are high in some places, and they are not in other places. The fact that some are expensive is mainly because they are in the main road of the China Town, which is a tourist spot. I would honestly be surprised if many of these restaurants really import their ingredients from China more than any other restaurant in Japan.

    By the way, I often felt that the service in these restaurants is far below that of other restaurants in Japan. In many places you have to pay extra for smiles.

    I decided to take a taxi to Yokohama’s waterfront and arrived there minutes later.

    The waterfront is "minutes" away from China Town even by foot...

    A man wearing a Yokohama Bay Stars baseball shirt asked me if I was lost. No, I told him, just confused. Was I still in Japan?

    I am wondering what you were confused about really... Not about the shopping center I bet, as they are everywhere in Japan.

    Posted in: Yokohama and steamed dumplings

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    sarcasm123

    I thought the World Cup was in South America..

    I thought the World Cup was in South Africa..

    Posted in: On time

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    sarcasm123

    If you don't think so, Japan is not the place for you.

    And there we go again: if the foreigner can't behave he has to go home! Yet, what if the Japanese guy can't behave? It is ignored.

    If all people who can't behave in public would have to leave Japan, the population would decrease to just a few hundred people.

    Posted in: Dear Angry Western Guy

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    sarcasm123

    I have lived in the states for many years and you cannot compare in general the behavior of your average Japanese v.s. low class trash in some Western countries.

    Anyway, why is there even a need to compare the AVERAGE Japanese vs LOW CLASS TRASH in Western countries? Why not compare averages with averages and low class trash with low class trash?

    Moderator: All readers, please stay on topic. The subject is how a foreign man acted in public and the writer's reaction to it. It is not about how Japanese act in public or how people act in public overseas. Please focus your remarks on what is in the commentary and do not be ill-mannered toward the writer.

    Posted in: Dear Angry Western Guy

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    sarcasm123

    Most Westerners perspective of Japanese in their country is that they are law abiding and respectful of the culture that they are guests at.

    Indeed, most Westerners have never been to Japan, and many think its capital is Beijin. They should not be used as a reference.

    Unfortuantely, many "bad apples" foreigners here in Japan leave a negative impression unfairly to the rest of the Gaijin population.

    Just like many "bad apples" Japanese are present. Yet they do not seem to give the Japanese a negative impression of themselves.

    (Don't make this out to be a racist issue which it clearly is not.)

    Yet the title clearly says "Western". It even says "Guy". Why not "Japanese Girl"? I have seen plenty of loud and annoying Japanese girls. Is Melissa going to write a column on them too?

    Posted in: Dear Angry Western Guy

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    sarcasm123

    Mellisa,

    Here is some more lessons on Japanese behaviour.

    You know, in the guide books it says like this: "Japanese people pay attention to the people around them, and try to not disturb them".

    How the Western reader interprets it: "Japanese people are quite and well behaved."

    What it means in reality: "Japanese people are just as noisy and unmannered as any other country's people. But whereas in most countries people would ask the loud/badly mannered person to behave, many Japanese ignore it and try not to disturb the annoying person".

    Most people just ignore the angry customer abusing the shop tenant, most people ignore the loud guys on their bikes late at night, most ignore the annoying piano playing neighbour in the room next door, most people ignore the chikan.

    Posted in: Dear Angry Western Guy

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    sarcasm123

    Man, I recommend Melissa spends some time in Osaka; she could write a "Dear Angry Japanese Guy" column every single day.

    Which makes me think that "not expressing anger in public" is not at all a "Japanese trait" at all. Only a limited number of Japanese never express anger in public.

    I am sure this "Angry Western Guy" had a better reason to do what he did than many "Angry Japanese Guys" I see around here in Osaka.

    Posted in: Dear Angry Western Guy

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    sarcasm123

    It's also interesting that the article states some of the people with high mercury levels don't eat dolphin or whale meat, so where did they get it from? Tuna? Sardines? This fact is more alarming than the actual article.

    Or food including dolphin or whale, but with a false label...

    Article Unavailable

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    sarcasm123

    People who want to come to Japan and can work, they come to Japan and work. People who want to come to Japan and can study, they come to Japan and study. People who want to come to Japan and can neither work nor study, they come to Japan and "teach" English. That is why this is a maligned profession.

    Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?

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    sarcasm123

    for most of the world the answer would be a resounding YES!

    Uh??? What planet are you living on? No human with a sound brain would want bases in his or her back yard. Same as for nuclear power plants or land fills.

    Posted in: Anti-base ad

  • 0

    sarcasm123

    All together now:

    "THE LOCALS LOVE US" :P

    Posted in: Anti-base ad

  • 0

    sarcasm123

    Sounds suspicious if you ask me.

    Posted in: 10-yr-old boy hanged in park after bag strap gets caught in tree

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    sarcasm123

    Heh, yeah, there is very little visible violence here. But how about the invisible violence?

    Domestic violence, "ore-ore" scams, gambling (which should be illegal here, right?) present everywhere, human trafficking being ignored, most other organized crime being ignored, and so on and so on.

    In a way there is no need for violent crimes here. If a criminal wants money he can just call an old lady and she will give it to him.

    Is that a "safe country"?

    Posted in: How safe do you think Japanese society is, compared to other countries?

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