News Stories

[sa547]

Filipino who accused Marine of rape changes story

I really doubted her story of rape from the beginning of the controversy (why would a smart college graduate wind up in there, at the wrong place at the wrong time, when she could be working overseas?), but her reversal today was the equivalent of a hard slap to the face (especially to her supposed supporters), after all that drama, polarizing ultranationalism, opportunism and media hyperbole (suspect is assumed guilty before proven).

It's sad and amazing that one woman can easily wreck the relationship of two countries.

[Shadow Kira01]

Ozawa tumbles to 5th in ideal PM survey

Once again, Koizumi has top the list which is a good thing but sadly.. His chances of becoming a prime minister for a second time is highly unlikely. On the other hand.. Okada Katsuya seems to have garnered quite a number of approval ratings. This definitely worries me. On the other hand, the guy is backed by at least 2 foreign nations and thus, there is no doubt that his approval rate may continue to increase.

On the contrary, there really isn't much to worry about. After all, any prime minister with a high approval rate may fall off the cliff is he doesn't know he is doing at the time and that any cabinet minister who decides to make a wrong move will end up affecting the entire cabinet. With this as a given, politicians are always on the losing side, while everyone else on the winning.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

Its the same thing when Singapore opens a budget Airport Terminal and holds a naming contest. After all the work and money, guess what they finally decide on. The new Terminal is call Budget Terminal.

Dumbest exercise this side of the Pacific. Really. I propose T1, 2 and 3 be renamed Terminal A1, A2, A3 and the Budget Terminal, Terminal B.

[yezhanquan]

I live in Singapore, and I don't even know that there is this renaming exercise.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

I live in Singapore, and I don't even know that there is this renaming exercise.

I don't think you read the news much do you (newpaper is not considered since it is always so gossipy)?

[yezhanquan]

Well, must have been a pretty small section of the Straits. I usually read world news first, then business. Now, I listen to the BBC on my handphone radio. If only the broadcast isn't so darn soft that traffic sounds can easily drown it out.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I don't think you read the news much do you (newpaper is not considered since it is always so gossipy)?

It's not just NP, Wanbao and Shinmin are the same too.

Well, must have been a pretty small section of the Straits. I usually read world news first, then business.

In other words, Section A and 1/3 of Section B. It was reported on the 2/3 of Section B you don't read. It's HOME section.

[yezhanquan]

For Home, usually a glance through. Same for Sports, the other part of Section B.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I don't think you read the news much do you (newpaper is not considered since it is always so gossipy)?

As opposed to sage advice from entire oceans of amateur, non-peer reviewed, opinions published in blogs and forums?

Wow, the youths of the future are going to be so highly "informed" indeed. Dinosaurs like me who grew up reading newspapers and magazines from Newsweek to The Economist should crawl into our holes and wait for extinction.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

As opposed to sage advice from entire oceans of amateur, non-peer reviewed, opinions published in blogs and forums?

Wow, the youths of the future are going to be so highly "informed" indeed. Dinosaurs like me who grew up reading newspapers and magazines from Newsweek to The Economist should crawl into our holes and wait for extinction.

He meant THE NEW PAPER, the only daily tabloid that you've gotta pay for.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Natasha Richardson Dead At 45

This is just depressing, especially since I was just introduced to Natasha Richardson after watch Nell a couple of weeks ago. Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson seemed like one of the more legitimately in love Hollywood couples and it seems like it's always the one's that look like they are going to stay together forever that get torn apart like this. Excuse me for getting a little sentimental here, but this is just like John Ritter & Amy Yasbeck (I was a huge fan of John Ritter like I am of both Neeson and Richardson and both couples always seemed really close unlike your average celebrity marriage) all over again. Especially because it seems like there are also grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit here given that the director of the ski resort apparently sent paramedics away from seeing her after the fall.

[sa547]

I watched Nell before, and it was moving, and now I'm disappointed with this tragedy. May she granted eternal rest. Inshallah.

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by sa547

Filipino who accused Marine of rape changes story

I really doubted her story of rape from the beginning of the controversy (why would a smart college graduate wind up in there, at the wrong place at the wrong time, when she could be working overseas?), but her reversal today was the equivalent of a hard slap to the face (especially to her supposed supporters), after all that drama, polarizing ultranationalism, opportunism and media hyperbole (suspect is assumed guilty before proven).

It's sad and amazing that one woman can easily wreck the relationship of two countries.

I saw some clips on TFC and GMA. The judge and her attorney are not pleased.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by mg1942

I saw some clips on TFC and GMA. The judge and her attorney are not pleased.

Sure some people ask to leave this "victim" in peace, but the worst consequence of this is how the world will view the Filipino women, who have already gotten a bad share of stereotypes abroad (including infamy in the so-called "mail-order brides" business), as a whole.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Meeting Japan's cyber homeless

BBC's Matt Frei visits a cyber cafe just outside Tokyo, where some homeless young people are choosing to live in the tiny cubicles.

Tokyo (March 19): "...At the end of the commuter line from Tokyo, there is a cyber cafe that's unlike any other.

"Inside it is dark and silent but for the occasional cough. The clock no longer works, but that doesn't seem to matter much here.

"There are shoes and slippers outside the booths, which is normal in Japan, but look closer and you'd notice something about the customers who rarely emerge from their dark, windowless boxes. They have settled in — for good.

"Sixty people are nesting here; young, old, male, female — you can tell by their umbrellas. Japanese society calls them cyber drifters — men or women with too little or no work, who cannot afford a home and have just enough money to stay off the streets.

"They are a new and growing class in Japan, stepchildren of the credit crunch."

- BBC NEWS

[FateAnomaly]

?? I don't quite understand. Are the rates in a cyber cafe that cheap? Is it 24hours?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

?? I don't quite understand. Are the rates in a cyber cafe that cheap? Is it 24hours?

Actually if you pay by the hour it is cheap, as long as they don't mess up the place and the owner earns money, everyone is happy.

The only these people can hope for is for their government to improve. There is quite a number of ministers being given the sack recently.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

?? I don't quite understand. Are the rates in a cyber cafe that cheap? Is it 24hours?

Hmm... my mistake. I assumed that most people here would be familiar with how cyber cafes work in Japan. To be sure, the form of "cyber cafe" I'm more familiar with are actually manga cafes and, yes, most of them are "open" 24 hours. The one featured in the BBC report charges the long-term renters US$500 per month for a tiny cubicle the size of a wardrobe.

Besides a roof over your head, you'd get a PC with Internet access. If it's a manga cafe, then you'd usually have free access to a well-stocked library of manga, magazines and DVDs too. From what I know, many cafes also have shower facilities as well as vending machines for food and drinks.

I ended up staying in one such manga cafe back when I visited Tokyo in 2007, after I missed the last train back to my ryokan. It was... an interesting experience, to say the least. Not unpleasant, because the guy at the counter turned out to be a student from China, so I actually had a nice conversation with him. More like an eye opener, because it was clear, even back then, that many of the customers were actually vagrants with no where else to live. I was actually very relieved to have found somewhere to put up till morning — the cafe felt like a safe refuge because I would otherwise have been trapped in the vicinity of Kabukichou, which gets fairly rough at night.

Here is an older report on this growing social phenomenon in Japan:

Japan cyber home offers address to homeless

Tokyo (Dec 24, 2008): In a country where an street address is key to getting a job, an Internet cafe near Tokyo is offering the unemployed and homeless more than just a virtual, e-mail address.

In addition to the usual Internet services, comic books and unlimited beverages offered by most Japanese Internet cafes, Cyber @ Cafe offers its residents long-term lodging and an official registered address.

This simple service is vital for the 50 semi-permanent residents of the cafe, many of whom have taken refuge here after being laid off abruptly during the current recession.

Cyber @ Cafe has a microwave and shower and lodgers pay about US$20 a day, much less than budget hotels.

Since late October, 50 cubicles in the dimly lit Cyber @ Cafe have been packed with jobseekers, giving cafe owner Akihiro Sato a close-up look at the economic recession.

He said younger lodgers in their mid-to-late-20s tend to stay for a couple of months before finding a home and a job, but older and poorer residents, with little chance of finding work, are almost permanent fixtures.

"People who lost their jobs in this recession have absolutely no where to go so this cafe is their last resort," Mr Sato said.

"The government just announced that they'll build some kind of housing for contract and temporary workers, but the process is too complicated. They need a place right now and we can offer that and that's why there's a great demand," he told Reuters.

- REUTERS

[ClockWorkAngel]

I think it's a pretty good relationship between the two. The owner gets his normal pay, and the people get a roof over their heads (And internet access!) At the $500 BBC quotes a month, its very cheap seeing as they don't have to worry about utilities etc. Hopefully the job market will open up.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by ClockWorkAngel

I think it's a pretty good relationship between the two. The owner gets his normal pay, and the people get a roof over their heads (And internet access!) At the $500 BBC quotes a month, its very cheap seeing as they don't have to worry about utilities etc. Hopefully the job market will open up.

And the good thing about those tiny cribs is that though they're semi-public spaces, they're still better than those claustrophobic capsule hotels.