Hanaguma

Hi Chomper; Thank you for taking the time to "go to the research". I just finished reading the article. Have you? It was quite illuminating. The authour is a Bangladeshi undergraduate student. I doubt he has been to Japan. He has managed to upload 11 publications within one year. This tells me he is not exactly thorough and is trying just to pad his CV. Few actually contain footnotes or other citations. Some are less than 5 pages. None that I can see are peer reviewed, or even actually published anywhere- just uploaded directly to that website. But if you wish to believe him, feel free. Or please tell me YOUR experience of living here. I'd actually be very interested in hearing it.

There is no xenophobia here. A xenophobic country would not allow tens of millions of tourists. Universities here welcome foreign scholars. Also have thriving international exchange programmes. Ditto many high schools. Foreign products are welcome. Foreign culture is welcome. Japanese export THEIR products around the world. Also live around the world. The fact that people don't want unfettered immigration does not equate to xenophobia.

That's a fair point. As for the whole 'divestment' argument, I have never been able to find out exactly what it entails. Is it direct investment in Israel based businesses? American companies that simply do business in Israel? Because if it is the latter, I would love to see the protestors put their money where their collective mouths are. No McDonalds for starters- , no Crocs, no Coca Cola, no Google...Mama Google alone has 2000 employees in Israel. So they had better "divest" themselves first before asking anyone else to.

Of course Hamas is responsible for the blockade. Since they were elected, they have been terrorizing and harassing Israel. Actions have consequences. You think the Israelis are stupid? They would far rather have a prosperous, peaceful, and free neighbor. But with the head hackers in charge, that is not possible.

The lack you speak of is directly the fault of Hamas. Not of Israel or Egypt.

Uh, I've been to Japan. I'm here now actually. Been here more than 25 years. So perhaps I can address your concerns. The economy will survive by automation, as it is now. Robots replacing workers and so on, increasing productivity. And they do let in foreign workers, depending on the needs of a particular industry. But what does NOT happen is the random immigration of anyone who wants to come.

A prison? Please. A prison with 3 star hotels, cafes, beaches, luxury homes ( but only for Hamas leaders), TripAdvisor recommended sites, AirBnB listings....

But so many of the protesters and their ilk claim they are not anti semitic but anti zionist. If that is the case, why do they harass and assault Jewish students, most of whom are American? I would love to see a similar level of anger directed at Iran, which is by any measure a far worse player on the world stage, a country where human rights are routinely ignored and where minorities are murdered.

Yes, exactly. And expanding their rights in states that don't want any restriction on abortion. Welcome to federalism? Although I AM curious about what "severe restrictions" are and how many states have imposed them. I guess you are talking about a Florida style ban after 6 weeks?

The answer to a demographic problem is not to import millions of people from the third world. Care to share your thoughts and experience on how Japan is not "the idyl you imagine"?

The President is, as is so often the case, utterly wrong. One of the strentghs of Japan is its cultural and social cohesion and unity. Simply put, things work. People don't trash their cities, commit random acts of violence, etc. There is respect for neighbors and public spaces. No looting of businesses. No crowds of homeless bums taking over parks and sidewalks. Things work. And there IS immigration, but on Japan's terms. At present, there are about 3 million foreigners in the country. Demographic problem? Of course. But the solution isn't simply throwing the doors open. Or removing the doors entirely, as Biden has done on the southern border of the US.

Nice non answer. It says a lot.

Interesting ideas. How about BOTH parents post an equal bond? The money to be used for the child's welfare either if raised by the parents or raised by the state.

Which land would that be? AFAIK Gaza has been Jew-free for nearly 20 years.

I would LOVE Gaza to be free. Free from Hamas, free from 7th century religious fanaticism, free for LGBT people to live as who they are, free for women to take their place in society as the equals of men, free from terrorist indoctrination of children...

True. Not too many people are willing to call a spade a spade. But somewhere in the middle between "health care" and "genocide" can be a happy descriptive medium that tries to be accurate and non emotional. I would say that 'abortion' would cover that. But in truth what is happening is that the baby is being sacrificed.

One thing is certain. Joe has certainly had a LOT of time to "monitor the situation". His daily schedule lately has been, shall we say, rather light. Wednesday. One campaign event for one hour in the late afternoon. Tuesday. One event at 300pm Monday. No events Last Friday. One 30 minute interview

Yeah, I do too. It's a guilty pleasure. But it really shouldnt be necessary. This is a job for law enforcement. No need to make martyrs of the idiots. The real villains are the cowards who run the universities and let this fester in the first place.

And, as noted, the police nowhere in sight. Whoever was wrong or right, this kind of violence should not be allowed on a university campus. Those participating should be identified, expelled (if students) and charged with crimes. It is shameful on the university administration to allow this. At least Columbia finally nutted up.

As usual, the people using the euphemisms are the ones who are in the wrong. Abortion is not "health care". It is killing a baby before it is born. At least have the stones to use clear language to describe what you advocate.

I dunno. I'd rather he get tough on Iran, and Hezbollah, and Hamas. Not due to domestic policy considerations, but simply because it is the right thing to do. The students aren't rioting because of Gaza or the plight of the poor oppressed Palestinian people. Most of them couldn't find Gaza on a map without consulting Alexa. Nah, they are piling on because on a superficial level, the conflict mirrors the racial bias that they have grown up on. Evil white colonizers surpressing poor innocent brown people. Typical shallow neo-Marxist BS that their professors shove down their willing throats at every opportunity.

Your guess would be wrong. There are myriad cases of Jewish students and faculty being denied entry to campus buildings, to their offices, and so on. Being assaulted and threatened with bodily harm. Have there been any cases where the police stepped in during simple, peaceful protests? Or were there other elements at play, such as blocking access to the campus, setting up illegal encampments, damaging/destroying property, and so on.

No, he hasn't. The Court decided to let the states decide for themselves, and they are. You might want to look at the polls that include JFK JR as a third choice. Apocalyptic for Biden.

Ah, that tired old shibboleth. "Jobs Americans won't do". That manages to be insulting to both Americans and the illegal immigrants at the same time. Americans are lazy, and illegals are only good for crap jobs that are beneath 'real' Americans. Congrats with that. But of course it is not true. There are millions of Americans working in agriculture, including in Florida. You are correct that unscrupulous employers exploit the illegals and take advantage of their vulnerability. This should and could be fixed by Congress so that hiring such labor results in a hefty fine and/or imprisonment.

I tihnk this kind of thing gets left up to the discretion of the immigration officer you happen to meet. You are flying in, not coming by land, which has a more formalized '2 entries visa exempt per year" policy. I would suggest perhaps at least once or twice visiting a DIFFERENT SE Asian country in between your Thai adventures. Malaysia is beautiful, Cambodia is fascinating, etc. If the guy in the brown uniform sees stamps from a variety of places, the chance that he will refuse you entry to Thailand will be lower. BUT if all he sees are Thai entry stamps, it might provoke his suspicion.