News Stories

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by iLney

Then what's the point of signing a treaty that will be broken?

what is to enforce a treaty is more the question

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by iLney

Then what's the point of signing a treaty that will be broken?

1. because it is political convenient

2. who is going to enforce it if the US give the treaty the middle finger 5 yrs form now?

[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

1. because it is political convenient

2. who is going to enforce it if the US give the treaty the middle finger 5 yrs form now?

#2 could also be described as a future government decided to disavow the treaty. Treaties are legally binding, but there could be escape clauses in case of a changing situation. If breaking a treaty - even without an escape clause - means the party "survives", then it gets broken.

Giant crack in Africa will create a new ocean

A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now confirm.

The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean. But that view was controversial, and the rift had not been well studied.

A new study involving an international team of scientists and reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters finds the processes creating the rift are nearly identical to what goes on at the bottom of oceans, further indication a sea is in the region's future.

Jilted bride turns wedding into party for seniors

A jilted bride turned her heartache into a Happy Halloween for hundreds of senior citizens.

Teanne Harris, who lives outside of Chicago, was supposed to walk down the aisle Saturday when her fiance suddenly got cold feet.
[...]
Instead of letting a Halloween-themed wedding reception go to waste, Harris, 34, and her mom decided to move the festivities across the street.

[SaintessHeart]

This looks bad.

China Censors Foreign Countries

[JMvS]

Originally Posted by LynnieS

Giant crack in Africa will create a new ocean

Hmm the conclusion is not that new: the African Rift being recognized as such since the discovery of plate tectonics.

But it'd nice if they developed more the points explored in this particular study: if there are definite proof that the extension is active, that would be really interesting.

Nevertheless I am definitely gonna explore this area one day, volcanoes are so amazing there: lava lakes, carbonatite volcanoes (which instead of red hot basalt release brown melted rocks with the composition of limestone, only about 200-300°C )

[Autumn Demon]

Two white female employees sue a company they used to work for over sexism and racism.

Wonder how these suits will go down in court, and how Japanese people will feel about foreigners telling them how to behave at work.

While these lawsuits appear just from a Western perspective, you've got to wonder what these women were expecting from working at a Japanese company.

[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

Two white female employees sue a company they used to work for over sexism and racism.

Wonder how these suits will go down in court, and how Japanese people will feel about foreigners telling them how to behave at work.

While these lawsuits appear just from a Western perspective, you've got to wonder what these women were expecting from working at a Japanese company.

Umm, being a Japanese company does not automatically mean you get this kind of statements. Western companies/banks get them as well. Certainly I had heard similar statements on the trading floors elsewhere in NYC in the past. Much less common these days, though, esp. during the workday.

As for the statement "But she said that there was "obvious hostility" from Nomura staff when her Lehmans team moved to the Japanese bank's City offices for fear their roles would be usurped.", well, yes, there would almost have to be. Japanese bank employees don't make as much as their Western counterparts; certainly ex-Lehman guys whom I know were worried about their salaries - not to mention they were in the "losing" side having been bought by Nomura. Their lawyer can likely get better reasons if he wants to either win or settle the case in the end.

But... "He also allegedly said that "the Japanese hate women, especially if they are too loud"."... WTH...

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

While these lawsuits appear just from a Western perspective, you've got to wonder what these women were expecting from working at a Japanese company.

They apparently didn't start out working for a Japanese company. She was working for Lehman Brothers and came to work for Nomura after Nomura bought that division after Lehman Brothers collapsed. It's not like they had a lot of choice in the matter. Even if they did apply for a job with Nomura directly, why should they put up with that kind of thing? Why should anyone?

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

Two white female employees sue a company they used to work for over sexism and racism.

Wonder how these suits will go down in court, and how Japanese people will feel about foreigners telling them how to behave at work.

While these lawsuits appear just from a Western perspective, you've got to wonder what these women were expecting from working at a Japanese company.

if they were working in Japan you might have a point but they were working in the UK. Their expectation working in the UK was to be treated like they were in the UK.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

Two white female employees sue a company they used to work for over sexism and racism.

Wonder how these suits will go down in court, and how Japanese people will feel about foreigners telling them how to behave at work.

While these lawsuits appear just from a Western perspective, you've got to wonder what these women were expecting from working at a Japanese company.

They are in the UK.... when in someone else's country, you "do what the Romans do".

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

Two white female employees sue a company they used to work for over sexism and racism.

Wonder how these suits will go down in court, and how Japanese people will feel about foreigners telling them how to behave at work.

While these lawsuits appear just from a Western perspective, you've got to wonder what these women were expecting from working at a Japanese company.

it can't be helped

[Shadow Kira01]

Hatoyama, Obama likely to meet Nov. 13 in Tokyo

The meeting will take place during Obama's first visit to Japan as U.S. president Nov. 12-13 amid growing tension between the two countries especially over the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

The two are likely to discuss issues concerning the bilateral alliance as well as the situation in Afghanistan, where Japan hopes to focus on enhancing civilian aid as an effective alternative to its refueling mission in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean following its expiration in January.

[FateAnomaly]

Seems like they are out to make a quick buck to me.

[LynnieS]

Gay leaders blame TV ads, Obama for loss in Maine

SAN FRANCISCO – Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.

By inference, if this is true, then if Barack Obama supports the next move and there are no ads, the next attempt would succeed? Why does this sound like "passing the buck" instead of a realistic examination of the now-failed attempt in order to succeed later? If this is the only lesson learned, then I would not be surprised to hear of later tries failing as well.

[SeijiSensei]

Apparently turnout was higher than expected in Maine. While some commentators thought this might help supporters of gay marriage, it looks more like opponents felt motivated to go to the polls.

Trying to interpret the results of off-year elections, especially those in odd-numbered years without a national campaign, is a dicey task in the best of circumstances. Putting my dusty political-science-professor hat back on for the moment, I can think of a number of reasons why the result came out the way it did.

First, Maine isn't all that liberal to begin with (it has two, admittedly moderate, Republican senators), and it has an older-than-average population (32% over 65 compared to 26% nationally). Turnout, especially in off-year elections, is correlated with age, so we might surmise that a good portion of yesterday's voters were from the older age groups. Polls show that older voters are much more opposed to gay marriage than their younger cohorts.

Compounding the age issue is the fact that off-year electorates tend to contain a disproportionate number of unhappy voters. There are a number of explanations for this phenomenon, in particular, the findings from psychological research which show that negative perceptions are a stronger behavioral motivator than positive ones. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that a majority of the voters who turned out yesterday in Maine (and elsewhere) had generally negative views about the Obama administration as well.

As for the concerns of the organizations you cite, I'd be shocked to see Obama take any strong public position in favor of gay marriage. The political costs would be substantial, and the benefits few. The Administration has expressed its general opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act, but it's been forced to defend the law in Federal courts because that's the job of the Executive branch. Anyone here old enough to remember the fights over "don't ask, don't tell" during the Clinton years will understand why the Obama Administration wouldn't want to touch the issue of gay marriage.

[mg1942]

does Bradley Effect ring a bell?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by LynnieS

Gay leaders blame TV ads, Obama for loss in Maine
By inference, if this is true, then if Barack Obama supports the next move and there are no ads, the next attempt would succeed? Why does this sound like "passing the buck" instead of a realistic examination of the now-failed attempt in order to succeed later? If this is the only lesson learned, then I would not be surprised to hear of later tries failing as well.

Which is why, out of academic interest, I'd like to see how another similar referendum in Washington state is going to turn out. mg1942 highlighted it in the by-now overheated gay marriage thread. The approach is different as it does not directly ask about gay marriage, but rather asks about what rights a civil union is supposed to confer.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Trying to interpret the results of off-year elections, especially those in odd-numbered years without a national campaign, is a dicey task in the best of circumstances. Putting my dusty political-science-professor hat back on for the moment, I can think of a number of reasons why the result came out the way it did.

It's always interesting to read such insight into a given group of people.

The one thing I've always disliked about social debate in the American context is how it almost always ends up polarising an entire community. Almost every issue becomes a zero-sum game. Why can't it be more about "give and take" instead?

When reflecting on the moods and desires of my own countrymen, I often find that, if you probe deep enough, what they say is often not what they actually mean to say, what they actually believe. I find that if you try to engage their concerns, to walk them through their beliefs from their own perspectives, there is usually a good chance that they would be willing to strike some kind of compromise, and hence move the agenda forward.

Taken at face value, it often seems to me that "compromise" is a dirty word in American society.

[Xellos-_^]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/wo...r.html?_r=1&hp

Northern Myanmar is very much a world apart, both lawless and heavily militarized, a medieval-style patchwork of obscure ethnic armies, borderland casinos, brothels and the walled compounds of drug lords.


The steep hills in northern Myanmar are lined with rubber plantations that feed Chinese factories’ demand for latex. There is extreme poverty — thatch huts and farmers tending fields with buffalo — but also much unexplained wealth: modern, walled compounds and the frequent passage of Mitsubishi Pajeros and Toyota Prado Land Cruisers, vehicles that cost well upward of $100,000 in southern Myanmar because of onerous import duties. (Residents of rebel-held areas in northern Myanmar avoid the taxes because cars are imported through Laos or China and bear license plates issued either by the Wa or Mong La governments.)

i always wonder where Black Lagoon was located in Asia.

[Mr. DJ]

This struck home...

http://www.kxxv.com/global/story.asp?s=11451553

I'm shocked this could happen on the largest military installation in the world

7 dead
20 wounded
1 shooter captured

I'm glad my mom wasn't working at the PX today and that my sister was gone before the shootings started.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by DjTrizz

This struck home...

http://www.kxxv.com/global/story.asp?s=11451553

I'm shocked this could happen on the largest military installation in the world

7 dead
20 wounded
1 shooter captured

I'm glad my mom wasn't working at the PX today and that my sister was gone before the shootings started.

it is probably because it is the biggest. just 2 more guys walking around in military clothing won't draw attentation.