Wednesday February 15, 2012

smithinjapan's past comments

  • 1

    smithinjapan

    This is old news to foreigners here, but I hope this is somehow being disseminated to the Japanese public, particularly to those in Tohoku who are still in shelters. They need to know how hard their government is working to block them receiving the help they need. They indeed want it all to be in-house, because they don't make a profit if it's a foreign firm doing the business.

    This government can go out of their way to deny their people sufficient aid, but can't take a minute to record the minutes of a meeting. Corrupt all the way through.

    Posted in: Foreign firms feel sidelined in post-quake rebuilding

  • -2

    smithinjapan

    Jonnydesu: "Now in the states, where you may be from, 18 is considered an adult, so that makes one udnerage girl."

    Not from the US, sorry. Nor does adult age in the US make an adult in Japan, unless you think a kid saying 'b-b-b-but it's legal at this age in ??? nation!" is a valid justification for what is tantamount to crime.

    "As to what I thought of the video, well, obviously in my western eyes it was all about sex. But then I read an interesting little tidbit from the director of the video (a Japanese woman) who said that the video shows a somewhat typical side of Japanese girls. According to her, many young Japanese girls display such actions towards each other."

    So you were duped by someone whose argument is completely transparent and ludicrous. Do you think that makes it okay because the director knew she was taking advantage of a society that exploits children sexually?

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -4

    smithinjapan

    BurakuminDes: At least he won't have to learn how to miss the goal and then be upset because a goal was his god-given right. :)

    Posted in: Honda to join Italian club Lazio

  • -4

    smithinjapan

    LoveNot: "Holliwoond remakes everything to make it worse. i.e. The girl with dragon tattoo etc"

    Not true. Hollywood makes some terrible copies, to be sure, but they occasionally make a show that is better than the original. The Ring is one example.

    Posted in: Film box-office revenue down 17.9% in 2011

  • 4

    smithinjapan

    Himajin: "Interesting that when an American speaks, he's instantly believed."

    As opposed to what... a Japanese politician? "We will be transparent from now on (doh! no one hit the record button!)", "Trust me", "We did nothing wrong in the first moments of the disaster. ummm... we have no minutes to prove that, but hey... trust us!". "We promise to eliminate wasteful spending... except when we go 180 in a few months and promise to spend more -- except on where it's needed!".

    Catch the drift, Himajin? This guy is exactly right in everything he's saying, and he doesn't NEED to prove it because the Japanese government itself has proved it.

    Posted in: Ex-U.S. diplomat Maher pulls no punches on Japan

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    SushiSake3: "Please don't put 'make your nation better' and 'GOP' in the same sentence when talking to an American conservative.......;-)"

    You're right. My bad!

    Posted in: Surging Romney aims to knock Gingrich out of race in Florida

  • -2

    smithinjapan

    Serrano: "That would be the Democrats nominating Barack Obama for a second term."

    Isn't this getting tired yet? You've said the same thing twice on this thread, and at least a dozen times during the GOP campaign run to try and deflect the fact that there are ZERO people worthy of running for president on the side of the Republicans. You are starting to make broken records sound good. So what do you suggest to make your nation better, since you claim nothing Obama does is good to misdirect the fact that no one in the GOP has any suggestions?

    Posted in: Surging Romney aims to knock Gingrich out of race in Florida

  • -2

    smithinjapan

    jonnydesu: "Smith, just curious, what artists would you prefer most people listen to?"

    Whatever they choose to, so long as it's legal. It doesn't mean I have to support little girls in lingerie.

    "I suppose they are the leaders of the group and well above the 20 year mark."

    Suppose what you like. When you know for a fact come on back and tell us. So how did you feel about the 'heavy rotation' video? I mean, aside from the extreme lack of talent.

    "Bottom line is that these girls do what they want."

    No, they do what they are told, by a company that preys on little girls for the sake of sales.

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    'Noda also told the gathering that Japan is recovering from last year’s earthquake and tsunami and thanked the international community for its support. He also said that Japan is “very much open for business,” and encouraged foreign companies to invest in the country.'

    Anyway, Noda needs to talk about how Japan will address it's own problems before doling out advice as though it knew what it were talking about. What nation in the G8 has the highest debt? What nation is in danger of raising taxes because it cannot cut wasteful spending? etc. The pot calling the kettle black really won't accomplish much.

    Posted in: Eurozone crisis biggest threat to world economy, Noda tells Davos forum

  • 0

    smithinjapan

    What it says to me is that a lot of people are satisfied with drivel and lack of content, not to mention lack of ability. They'd probably be content with watching their wallpaper -- so long as it was less than 18 years old and had frilly panties on.

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    Serrano: "You want to see a clown show? The Democrats are actually going to nominate Barack Obama for a second term!"

    It's awfully nice of you to pop in from time to time and turn a rather serious debate into the kind of fluff the GOP makes certain is a circus indeed. Thank you... it allows certain tempers to dummy down a bit and return to critical points after realizing how ridiculous the GOP can be at times (Let me predict your response: "No".).

    Laguna: Kudos to you on your excellent posts on this thread. True, it has been met with childishness worse than Serrano's, but you make objective points and back it up with facts. Good work!

    Posted in: Surging Romney aims to knock Gingrich out of race in Florida

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    Cos: "Well resign if you are a useless incompetent minister."

    It would only be the second time in less than three years he had to quit his position.

    Posted in: Gov't says no to free medical care for children under 18 in Fukushima

  • 2

    smithinjapan

    KingBasil: "Why do you insist on dragging this down unrelated avenues. First you cannot get their ages right, now this. Everything they are doing is perfectly legal except perhaps in Saudi Arabia."

    So in other words you aren't willing to answer my question about the age of adulthood in Japan. Nice try on shirking the blame, though.

    "And I mean real and actual harm and not "I gotta personal problem"."

    You mean like prostitution houses advertising their women dressed in junior highschool outfits is no clue for you there is a problem or harm being done in society? How many underage sexual assault cases would you like me to link you to, for future reference, you know, to prove I don't just have a problem with kids being paraded as sex toys. You want me to buy you a subscription to weekly jump as a teaser, then an AKB48 album as a chaser?

    " They are in fact prevented from having what even you would probably consider a normal healthy teen dating relationship"

    Absolutely agree! How could a child being posed in lingerie and pursued by old men ever have a normal relationship? Hell, even when they say they want to leave to pursue a relationship their management says it's gossip!

    "The exploitation is psychological, and that is what is ugly about them. Its certainly not their legs, try as you might to make that blind accusation."

    Well, I don't disagree with you their, save that I've never mentioned their legs at all (I think). But given that you are misdirecting anger from somewhere else I'm not surprised you missed that in relation to the thread. And nowhere did I say their legs were ugly at all, did I? I just said it's society that's ugly when they push children as sexual beings.

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    Ah, the Japanese police at their finest. Guess if you're going to kill someone and get away with it with HELP from the police this is the place. I've never heard of such stupidity in my life... aside from other situations in which the police allowed criminals to escape (Ichihashi, etc.) under their watch.

    Posted in: Fatal hit-and-run suspect escapes from hospital in Wakayama

  • 0

    smithinjapan

    oberst: "nice sexy posture the way they seem to sway their hips, very Kara-ish."

    Save that Kara are adults, not children.

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • 0

    smithinjapan

    calm down: "smith your arguments got more holes in it than a sponge."

    So long as it's not a little girl wearing it, fine. Might disappoint you, though.

    ".the leaders are all 20 or older...and they have never ever worn lingerie.."

    There was a member as young as 14 until recently, and now the youngest is 16? Might be wrong. But my point was not only about AKB48 but also directed towards the tendency in Japan towards making little girls into sexual objects, since another poster brought it up, so it's not limited to underage AKB48 members. They've never worn lingerie, eh? What about the 'heavy rotation' video? Mind you, when someone suggested I watch it as an example of how disgusting things here can get I could only hack it for twenty seconds, so I can't tell you if the girls in lingerie were gussied up children or the 'leaders' you speak of who are older than twenty.

    Quick question(s), though... what's the age of adulthood in Japan? What's the average age of the total members in AKB48? If it's less than 20 years old, is it incorrect to say that more than half the band are children?

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    Johnnydesu: "Often it isn't a sexual thing, but yes sometimes it can be."

    Then why allow it if it involves children? Suggesting that some sort of ambiguity makes it less perverse is simply bizarre.

    "My point about the Paris fashion article was to show that exploitation of young girls is not just limited to Japan. Never said that it was considered allowable."

    And hence my 'sadly' at the beginning of my response. Nonetheless, if they were selling that kind of thing ONLY in Japan it would not have even made the news. It made the news because it's sick to have little girls around the age of 10 in lingerie, and serves ZERO purpose but to further the consumption of media that pose little girls as sex objets, then furthering the zeal to clothe kids in such rubbish. The fact the Paris show is news shows that it is controversial and a good deal of people are against it. Here it would simply be cherished, called 'kawaiiiiii', then people (foreign people, at least) would wonder why 援助交際 or sex salons that have women dressing in children's outfits are so prevalent.

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -1

    smithinjapan

    calm down: "they're having fun and making a lot of money."

    Having fun, no doubt. And when they are fired by 18 after their independent album attempts fail they'll be like Macaulay Culkin and impossible to work with and unwanted. As for 'making money', how do you figure? They've got to divide anything they make by however many hundred are in their ranks.

    "..only by you.the local village vicar and the Harper Valley PTA..."

    Ummm...no, you may not be adverse to seeing "tweens" in garters, g-string underwear, and a skimpy bra, but fortunately most of the world is against that kind of image. I find it sad you think it's positive that children pose in scanty lingerie (since you took me up on my comment on the "tween lingerie" thread).

    Posted in: Singapore singalong

  • -3

    smithinjapan

    "Japan and CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda, the 2011 Asian Cup’s most valuable player"

    I still remember how humorous a decision this was, and remember a lot of people suggesting it was made before the games were done. The guy did not, and does not, deserve the credit. He is an arrogant fool and not at all a great player. When he gets to his new team, assuming he's not still injured, that will probably show and he'll be marginal at best. But he'll still brag about himself.

    Posted in: Honda to join Italian club Lazio

  • 2

    smithinjapan

    Twenty years from now, when an unusually large number of people from Fukushima and surrounding areas are dead or dying from cancer and other illnesses, the government at that time (at the current going rate 20 prime ministers later) will talk about how the inaction of the government back then (ie. now) is 'regrettable', but that they cannot accept responsibility as it was not their government. They will not pay any money because, "it wasn't me". They will promise to deal with everything in a transparent manner, bow, apologize, say 'yoroshiku', ask for understanding, and then quickly run to the elevator, asking several months later why nothing was recorded in any meetings.

    Japan will never change from within -- it does and always has need outside stimulus. China dominating in most fields in the near future will probably spur some motivation here, but not enough to save the nation.

    Posted in: Gov't says no to free medical care for children under 18 in Fukushima

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