News Stories

[Vexx]

Jeez, what a response. o.O She didn't dress as anything kinky -- her outfit was basically a shamanist type medieval druid gown/robe with lots of feather, bone, and magic trinkets. She wore her hair long/loose and tied various things in it. Hardly any skin. I dressed in my usual Dark Age garb (chainmail, fur, sword, etc).

We just came up with that backstory as an explanation for a tiny asian in medieval garb. Vikings did sail down to the Mediterranean and traded on the shores around pre-Lebanon areas.
And no, no one took pics of us though we do still have the outfit components.

As far as "master/slave" nonsense... its more like a comedy routine where the "slave" is keeping the "master" on track with her tsundere modes.

And none of this is really on-topic -- I was just using an example of why it was premature to set this politician on fire for "dressing as a nazi" without more information.

That aside, I wonder what your sons think of the fact that their parents were in a master-slave relationship before....actually, never mind. It's quite probable your sons, if they knew about this, would probably just be mildly surprised that said master-slave relationship was working the other way around for once.

Our two sons are in their 20s... and we've played D&D and done Renfest/SCA/Halloween stuff all their lives and before.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

And none of this is really on-topic -- I was just using an example of why it was premature to set this politician on fire for "dressing as a nazi" without more information.

He wasn't set on fire actually, more like putting a very thick book over his head then hitting it with a hammer - a typical KGB torture technique in the 1980s.

[flying ^]

"multikulti" and robust welfare state? Looks like you can't have both.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...35fcbc6338.f91

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by flying ^

"multikulti" and robust welfare state? Looks like you can't have both.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...35fcbc6338.f91

Its a nice example of the combined incompetence of our leading figures here. On the one hand they say multikulti is over and on the other they want to have 400,000 highly qualified foreigners (they are inconsistent and delusional about these simple things, makes you wonder how they decide the more complicated stuff).
In order to be competitive in the short term, Germany sold its future (bad education, bad perspectives for most families). Now they want to lure in specialists from outside the country. The funny thing is, few foreigners would want to work for the money they are getting here. These politicians are so out of touch with reality...
Example:

The employers say they are in dire need of 400,000 high qualified academics. In reality they would use this number of workers to erode the wages of currently high paying jobs. Then again "high paying" is not exactly the right term when compared to other european/american countries. It is a fact that many high qualified foreigners (and some germans too) do not want to work here for the money they get in the so called "high paying" jobs.
Admittedly the amount of money you get is not so bad, but it is only so much worth as what you can buy with it. So, if you can live a better life in a neighbouring country with a little less (or a lot more) money because cost of living is far cheaper (on the same level)...

[JMvS]

Originally Posted by Jinto

Its a nice example of the combined incompetence of our leading figures here. On the one hand they say multikulti is over and on the other they want to have 400,000 highly qualified foreigners (they are inconsistent and delusional about these simple things, makes you wonder how they decide the more complicated stuff).
In order to be competitive in the short term, Germany sold its future (bad education, bad perspectives for most families). Now they want to lure in specialists from outside the country. The funny thing is, few foreigners would want to work for the money they are getting here. These politicians are so out of touch with reality...
Example:

The employers say they are in dire need of 400,000 high qualified academics. In reality they would use this number of workers to erode the wages of currently high paying jobs. Then again "high paying" is not exactly the right term when compared to other european/american countries. It is a fact that many high qualified foreigners (and some germans too) do not want to work here for the money they get in the so called "high paying" jobs.
Admittedly the amount of money you get is not so bad, but it is only so much worth as what you can buy with it. So, if you can live a better life in a neighbouring country with a little less (or a lot more) money because cost of living is far cheaper (on the same level)...

So true, and I cannot help but be bemused when the figure of 400'000 needed qualified immigrants pops out, considering that during the last decade 250'000 of the very best of Germany made their homes in Switzerland, despite the hurdles.

[SSIlanya]

Originally Posted by Jinto

And all that fascinating stuff has brought us where, has killed how many people?
Can't I be sceptical of someone who is "fascinated" by that sort of stuff (not drawing parallels that Hitler was a big war/weapons technology nerd) and what it possibly tells about the person's affinity to war-related matters?

Since you're from Germany, I guess I understand where you are coming from.

Here however there isn't a big taboo. There's a fascination rather with Germany and the WWII-era Wehrmacht (the other side). And I guess the Waffen-SS as well. Amazing how many stories have been written addressing ways the Germans could have won the day.

War is hell.

But everything should be done to win it and bring it to an end as soon as possible. And for that, Hitler's Germany remains fascinating. In one great gamble, Germany was able to conquer France in 1 month. Not to mention he had his way with regaining Rhineland and splitting Czechoslovakia apart. And I'm an admirer of the big game strategies.

That one man, an otherwise insignificant failed Deviantartist was able to take advantage of an entire population during a time of trial and notably achieve his goal by Sun Tzu's golden rule 'The best war is one accomplished without firing a single bullet' and convince it to conquer most of Europe.

Hitler was opportunistic, cunning and an excellent orator.
He was also arrogant, self-obsessed and insane.

But I despise wars of aggression and I have an admittedly strong distrust of people who play war for fun (and I don't mean the occasional ego-shooter - I am able to differentiate that much).

Fetishism for conquest I guess. Days of Alexander the Great, Napoleon are long gone. Now we live in a Globalised society where resources can be gained from trading.

Now guys can take out these obsessions by cosplaying, videogames and writing stories.

But I do believe that in politics, even if you are a big nerd with RTS calmer heads will prevail should one know how much they have to lose by going to war with the other nation.

So until then we can sleep at ease and imagine what will happen when a M1 Abrams goes up against a T-99.

Iotts should migrate to South East Asia by the way.

[flying ^]

Originally Posted by Jinto

Its a nice example of the combined incompetence of our leading figures here. On the one hand they say multikulti is over and on the other they want to have 400,000 highly qualified foreigners (they are inconsistent and delusional about these simple things, makes you wonder how they decide the more complicated stuff).
In order to be competitive in the short term, Germany sold its future (bad education, bad perspectives for most families). Now they want to lure in specialists from outside the country. The funny thing is, few foreigners would want to work for the money they are getting here. These politicians are so out of touch with reality...
Example:

The employers say they are in dire need of 400,000 high qualified academics. In reality they would use this number of workers to erode the wages of currently high paying jobs. Then again "high paying" is not exactly the right term when compared to other european/american countries. It is a fact that many high qualified foreigners (and some germans too) do not want to work here for the money they get in the so called "high paying" jobs.
Admittedly the amount of money you get is not so bad, but it is only so much worth as what you can buy with it. So, if you can live a better life in a neighbouring country with a little less (or a lot more) money because cost of living is far cheaper (on the same level)...

I'm not sure what other migrants you get but we have our own model and I think it works, but is being sorely tested by South of The Border horde of the 1980s and 90s. We get some trickle from the Pacific, but they come with skills, language and hopes of creating wealth beyond their dreams. I'm not sure those from North and North Atlantic would even want to settle here anymore since we don't have mandatory public services and gov-imposed regulations that they universally consider a "human right".

[SSIlanya]

On Saturday, crowds estimated at over 10,000 people took to the streets in at least three cities to protest Japan's control of the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are known in China as the Diaoyu Islands.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese government had called on the public to express patriotism rationally and legally after protests over a territorial dispute with Japan turned violent the previous day.

"We maintain that patriotism should be expressed rationally and in line with law. We don't agree with irrational actions that violate laws and regulations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement issued early Sunday that was carried by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Radio and Television Hong Kong said protesters in the city of Mianyang ignored government pressure and clashed with police. They also stoned a Japanese restaurant and shattered the windows of Japanese cars, the broadcaster said.

A local car dealer for Honda Motor Co. said some of its customers' cars were damaged by the protesters.

As the violent acts escalated, local police reportedly lost control of the demonstrators.

On Saturday, crowds estimated at over 10,000 people took to the streets in at least three cities to protest Japan's control of the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are known in China as the Diaoyu Islands.

Officials of retailers Ito-Yokado and Isetan in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, said protesters barged into the stores and vandalized them. Protesters also broke into a Sony outlet and a Mizuno sporting goods store in Xian, Shaanxi Province.

Take that Japan and Sankaku.

10000 strong march!

[JMvS]

Originally Posted by flying ^

I'm not sure what other migrants you get but we have our own model and I think it works, but is being sorely tested by South of The Border horde of the 1980s and 90s. We get some trickle from the Pacific, but they come with skills, language and hopes of creating wealth beyond their dreams. I'm not sure those from North and North Atlantic would even want to settle here anymore since we don't have mandatory public services that they universally consider a "human right".

Well, in Europe each country has its particular immigration demographics. Regarding Germany the most distinguishing feature is its rather large Turk community, which originated as gastarbeiter: guest worker brought in during the reconstruction post war period. Likewise, France is characterized with (an even larger share) of Arabs and African from its former colonial Empire, as is Britain with its community originating from the Indian subcontinent.

During these past decades, mass immigration had been advocated by mainstream politician in order to fuel the post war growth, and more recently simply to compensate the demographic decline of many European countries (save maybe for the Irish, most native populations are stagnating or already declining).
A recurrent motto is "we need them to pay for our retirement pensions!".

But the economic necessity is wearing off, for the trade off is becoming less and less appealing, as appear the costs of dealing with unskilled, ill-educated, ill-integrated and jobless prone masses of immigrants. So far, calls for a "selected immigration" are light years away from reality.

And in the context of many countries, as you point out, there's a rising perception that the European Dream is mostly about raking in the generous public services, rather than the "I'll make it big" American Dream.


But another rather important difference with the United States are perhaps stronger cultural connotations, particularly in the present context, as across the resulting minorities, the Muslim component is much more important than in the United States.

I think the debate around "Ground Zero Mosque" illustrate pretty well the present climate. Except that in Europe, while public irritation toward some attitudes of Muslim communities is growing stronger across the continent, as shown in the aftermath of the Swiss Referendum on the Minaret construction ban (polls in neighboring countries showed similar sentiment), there is way less room for debate, as all mainstream politicians, media and "peoples" are remarkably homogeneous in their support of multiculturalism, dissenters being ostracized and vilified, Godwin points scores rising to the stratosphere.

At least is has become more and more evident that some of these communities tend toward strong communitarianism, which in the context of recent radicalization of minorities of Muslim origin, leads to serious conflicts with local law and culture (the application of Sharia in England would be a prime example of that). Furtherly, in some instance, this tendency has led to the formation and growth of ghettos, precluding social and economic integration of those minorities, even degenerating into lawless areas during the recent decades.

[flying ^]

Originally Posted by SSIlanya

Take that Japan and Sankaku.

10000 strong march!

...an approved pogrom indeed.

[SSIlanya]

Originally Posted by flying ^

...an approved pogrom indeed.

Not yet, there still needs some round ups of ethnic Japanese. Just a protest gone out of hand.

Gene Simmons, frontman of the band KISS, is hardly impressed with the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on GeneSimmons.com - and indirectly - SimmonsRecords.com. In fact, according to a news post made to his site yesterday, Gene is threatening legal action against the perpetrators, along with posting their names and pictures online. Here's the post as it appeared yesterday:

Some of you may have heard a few popcorn farts re: our sites being threatened by hackers.

Our legal team and the FBI have been on the case and we have found a few, shall we say "adventurous" young people, who feel they are above the law.

And, as stated in my MIPCOM speech, we will sue their pants off.

First, they will be punished.

Second, they might find their little butts in jail, right next to someone who's been there for years and is looking for a new girl friend.

We will soon be printing their names and pictures.

We will find you.

You cannot hide.

Stay tuned

"It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr"- Napoleon Bonaparte

[flying ^]

Is the situation in Japan really that bad that The Times would have us believe?

This is a long read. Enjoy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/wo...pagewanted=all

[Decagon]

Originally Posted by flying ^

Is the situation in Japan really that bad that The Times would have us believe?

This is a long read. Enjoy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/wo...pagewanted=all

The article sounds pretty sensationalist. I'm surprised he barely talks about the government. Japanese that I know from school seem to absolutely detest how impotent their leaders have been and how the voting system stacks in favor of rural voters who keep them in power. Japan was also hit by the 2008 global downturn affecting their exports recently (125~ yen to 1 dollar in 2007 compared to what it is now...), but until then they still had several years of modest growth. The strong yen can help with imports of food, energy, and raw materials but depending on how businesses react they may opt to outsource jobs and work overseas for lower costs. That depends on how stable the value of the yen is and if the government tries to help keep businesses from leaving. Can't say I've studied Japan's economy in depth though.

[Bri]

Originally Posted by flying ^

Is the situation in Japan really that bad that The Times would have us believe?

This is a long read. Enjoy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/wo...pagewanted=all

Despite the somewhat dramatic tone and the human interest angle, the economic analysis is quite accurate. In short:

The debt deflation spiral and accompanying credit crunch have been largely responsible for the lack of growth in Japan for the last two decades. The financial transmission function had broken down which resulted in a lack of access to cheap credit. This has hurt both the start-up of new businesses and existing economic activity. Consumer confidence is down and the young have become risk averse. The Japanese government has been unable to reform the financial sector due to vested interests. Instead they tried to jump-start the economy by public expenditures, which have been largely ineffective.

The author or his co-writer shows that he is aware of monetarist theory and the Austrian and Chicago schools of economics, which I had not expected from a newspaper correspondent.

The article does not comment on the future. Which I don't think is as dark as the tone of the article leads to believe. I've seen Japanese economists propose things like publicly backed micro-credits and policy aimed increasing the birthrate. Both of which would be of help to solve current economic problems in the long term.

[Frenchie]

Originally Posted by Decagon

The article sounds pretty sensationalist. I'm surprised he barely talks about the government. Japanese that I know from school seem to absolutely detest how impotent their leaders have been and how the voting system stacks in favor of rural voters who keep them in power. Japan was also hit by the 2008 global downturn affecting their exports recently (125~ yen to 1 dollar in 2007 compared to what it is now...), but until then they still had several years of modest growth. The strong yen can help with imports of food, energy, and raw materials but depending on how businesses react they may opt to outsource jobs and work overseas for lower costs. That depends on how stable the value of the yen is and if the government tries to help keep businesses from leaving. Can't say I've studied Japan's economy in depth though.

When your country has to import all of the raw materials it needs, it puts itself in a vulnerable position. Japan mainly imported raw materials for its manufacturing industry. While the higher yen might help them build, you have to realise that they are an economy based on exports, and that a higher currency hurts their exports a lot.

Also, China's current monopoly on R.E.E. kind of hurts japanese imports anyway.

On another note, President Obama to promote science fair by making cameo appreance in the Mythbusters.

He just earned cool points.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Frenchie

When your country has to import all of the raw materials it needs, it puts itself in a vulnerable position. Japan mainly imported raw materials for its manufacturing industry. While the higher yen might help them build, you have to realise that they are an economy based on exports, and that a higher currency hurts their exports a lot.

You know what we should do? Wait for it to blow out into a full scale stand-off conflict, and buy up the Nikkei Index ETF (if you can afford it).

When it blows over, use the money and dump it into the Shanghai Composite Index. Then wait until 2015-2017.

Sell everything and retire to the Mediterranean.

*sarcastic*

On another note, President Obama to promote science fair by making cameo appreance in the Mythbusters.

He just earned cool points.

Why do I have a feeling that he is going to end up like JFK?

[ChainLegacy]

The currency war can potentially do more damage not just to Japan but also to the US and EU. I hope the global community can show some restraint.

[Terrestrial Dream]

Originally Posted by SSIlanya

Take that Japan and Sankaku.

10000 strong march!

Found an interesting article somewhat related to this. The article is mainly about Korea and Japan's territorial dispute.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/artic...sp?aid=2926670

Spoiler for for size:

[Viewpoint] Preparing the case for Dokdo
Korea needs to be thoroughly prepared with factual,historical and legal arguments.
October 04, 2010
Recent tensions between China and Japan concerning the territorial conflict over the Senkaku Islands have subsided. However, this regional dispute provides a lesson for Korea.

Let’s look at the case of Dokdo, a group of small islets whose sovereignty is disputed between Japan and Korea. Dokdo is currently controlled and administered by Korea, but Japan claims sovereignty to the islets. In contrast, the Senkaku Islands are controlled and administered by Japan, but both the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China insist that the islands belong to China.

Korea’s official stance is that Dokdo is traditionally a part of Korea’s territory and there should be no territorial dispute over the islets. Japan, too, officially argues that the Senkaku Islands belong to Japan and there should be no territorial dispute over them.

This time, China used its influence and pressured Japan to successfully make an international issue out of the Senkaku Islands and let the world know about the territorial dispute. Japan was alarmed by China’s aggressive display of power and released the captain of the Chinese fishing boat it had arrested after his trawler collided with Japanese coast guard patrol boats in early September.

When China demanded an apology and compensation, Japan made its refusal clear. If Tokyo makes an apology to Beijing and agrees to offer compensation for the incident, it would effectively mean that Japan acknowledges China’s sovereignty over the disputed islands.

Since China refuses to conduct high-level dialogue on the issue, Japan is now aggressively publicizing that the Senkaku Islands are Japanese territory in international venues like the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The Chinese government responded to the international attention sensitively. China must have taken into account that if Japan makes a logical argument for the legitimacy of its territorial claims, it would lack historical and legal evidence to counter Japan.

Japan has published its evidence on its Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site. If the Senkaku Islands dispute leads to a rhetorical contest between China and Japan, it is highly likely that Japan will have the advantage. Therefore, China has avoided a direct confrontation with Japan, for now.

The Dokdo dispute is similar. If Korea and Japan wage a battle of words, the key to the victory will be how Korea overcomes Japan’s arguments by clearly publicizing the fact that Dokdo is Korean territory. But Japan could use the international stage to make its argument that Dokdo is Japanese territory.

Instead of branding Japan’s claim over Dokdo unreasonable and unjustifiable, Korea needs to be thoroughly prepared with factual, historical and legal arguments. The question is whether Korea can calmly respond in a reasonable manner instead of raising its voice or using force.

Dokdo specialists should thoroughly research the region’s history and the Korean government needs to clearly summarize the research results so that Korea can counter and respond to any challenges by Japan. There is a possibility that the rightist nationalist groups in Japan might trespass into Korea’s territorial waters around Dokdo, as they have done before, as they respond to increased tensions with China.

Moreover, Korea also has to keep in mind the dispute with China over Ieo Island, south of Jeju Island. If we fail to resolve the tension diplomatically, we need to address the issue with arguments based on history and international laws.

China has territorial disputes with Southeast Asian countries as well, so we need to consider the possibility that China would use force to pressure Korea to tackle the Ieo Island issue.

We must not forget the adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

*The writer is a professor of Japanese studies at Sejong University.
Translation by the JoongAng Daily staff.

by Yuji Hosaka

Originally Posted by Bri

The author or his co-writer shows that he is aware of monetarist theory and the Austrian and Chicago schools of economics, which I had not expected from a newspaper correspondent.

The article does not comment on the future. Which I don't think is as dark as the tone of the article leads to believe. I've seen Japanese economists propose things like publicly backed micro-credits and policy aimed increasing the birthrate. Both of which would be of help to solve current economic problems in the long term.

I would think that more open immigration would be quicker and easier solution.

[AnimeFan188]

"Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is living comfortably in a house in northwest
Pakistan close to his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, CNN on Monday quoted a NATO
official as saying.

The Saudi-born militant wanted for the September 11 attacks on the United
States nine years ago is being protected by local people and "some members of
the Pakistani intelligence services," the television network said."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101018...xhZGVuMzlsaQ--

[Xellos-_^]

Since China refuses to conduct high-level dialogue on the issue, Japan is now aggressively publicizing that the Senkaku Islands are Japanese territory in international venues like the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The Chinese government responded to the international attention sensitively. China must have taken into account that if Japan makes a logical argument for the legitimacy of its territorial claims, it would lack historical and legal evidence to counter Japan.

huh? Historically those island do belong to China, it was annex by Japan along with Taiwan and Okinawa after China lost it wars to Japan.

As far as legally, US gave those islands to Japan following WWII along withe Okinawa because the US wanted a military base in Okinawa. Other then the legal right of the US having a bigger gun at the time it had no other rights to decide what happen to those islands.