a-447

Guilty as charged! 😂😂😂

Warning, Unicorn! I'm cutting and pasting from Notes on my ipad again. (Just thought I'd get in early) "There you go again, stating I couldn't know what was going on because I wasn't there." Let me see if I've got this right. So you're saying that not being an eye witness to an event is the same as actually being there.I think you should tell that to media outlets who employ foreign correspondents at great expense. I'm sure they'd withdraw them immediately. "..... the Communist Party and Socialist Party." I've already told you that the conservative farmers aligned with their sworn enemies - the leftists. (And I didn't need Wikipedia!) Are you making a new point now? If so, what is it? "I would hardly characterize 17,500 people as "the whole country." Nor would I. Then again, I never suggested that 109 million people all turned up to Narita to protest. You've missed the point. "while I deal with reality." No, you deal with speculation, illogical and irrelevant comparisons and forays into mind reading of a farmer you know nothing about. You wrote this in one of your posts in this thread : "When you jump to conclusions without knowing the facts, you just demonstrate yourself as someone who forms his opinions first, then ignores any facts which don't jibe with his opinions. Something doesn't become true just because you want it to be true." I couldn't agree more! Keithambrose wrote: "This is getting really boring." Not for me, Keith. Fighting against sheer ignorance can be fun at times!

This morning I woke up feeling the sudden urge for Asian cock so I went online a booked KL for a week. However, it is Ramadan, so I was wondering if otot-otot sauna would be open.

Actually, I don't think that was reader's conclusion at all. Did you not see the word "seem" (sic) in his OP? I tend to take anything I hear from a Thai with a grain of salt. In my experience, they love to gossip or they want us to think that they have some kind of inside information. I remember the fiasco around the closure of Soi Twilight. I got a different story from just about everyone I spoke to working in the various beer bars and gogo bars. The soi was supposedly on the verge of closing, it was never going to close, the closure was years away........ There was a sign at the mouth of the soi telling us punters that the soi would be open for another year. Then it suddenly closed! The only people who really know what's happening are the developers -people to whom we do not have access. Best just wait and see.

"July 2022. Zelenskiy posing for VOGUE with his wife, at the most tragic time for Ukraine." Well, not quite, Moses. They were not posing for a frivolous fashion shoot, which is usually the case - the words on the cover explain why they were there. It was PR for Ukraine and the war.

"name calling and childish posts." Fancy doing that! Thank God Trump is above that type of churlish behaviour.

"Typing in a huge font is childish and doesn't make your argument any more persuasive." Wrong. Again. The huge font is because I typed it into ipad Notes first and then copied and posted. That size font is probably not even available on this site. "he was the only holdout" Then explain why the government made the costly move to another location if you say it wasn't because many other farmers refused to sell. I'm dying to hear what you know to be the real reason is for that move. (What happens around the globe is irrelevant, as we are talking about Japan.) "As I said, neither of us can know what's in the stubborn farmer's mind." Actually, I think it was me who said that. You were the one claiming to be able to read the farmer's mind and thereby knowing how he feels about his decision, not me. "What one can see is that he's either sorry or very foolish (or both)." No, that's what you want to see. And you've just said that we can't see what's in his mind, so how do you know he's 'sorry'? "It is you who proclaimed, without any evidence to support it, that the "whole country" (your words) was behind the foolish farmer. That's pure fantasy and speculation on your part (you have declined providing evidence to the contrary, as I suspected)." There you go, 'suspecting' again. I told you that I hadn't done a survey, but that it was the overwhelming sentiment in Japan at the time. How do I know that? Because I was living in Tokyo at the time and you weren't. Because I watched it on TV every night and you didn't. Because I was reading it in the media and you weren't. Because I was talking to Japanese people and you weren't. Now, please address the points I made in my previous post. You know, how you could suspect that something happened when it was 10,000 km away and 50 years ago. Or what evidence you have to support your claim that only a small minority supported him. Or how you can judge his feelings of regret. Our how you decided he was 'insane'. You conveniently forgot to explain how you came to these conclusiions. Unicorn, I'm loving this! But without explaining anything and just speculating and making wild, uneducated claims based on your own beliefs, instead of facts, makes you look a little foolish.

Watching Trump being played like a violin, first by Kim Jong Un, and now by Putin, must be galling to everyone, apart from the magats. Both are way too smart for Trump, whose level of education is that of a third grader. He has the vocabulary of an elementary school student. He's such an embarrassment.

Zelenski is fighting a war, whereas Trump just plays golf. He surely has more important things to worry about than what to wear! BTW, in true dictator fashion Trump now only allows journalists who support him to attend media press conferences, thereby ensuring he isn't asked any hard questiins. He also chooses who asks questions, and only a few questions are allowed. Given the seriousness of the topic, that was a useless, frivolous question designed to antagonise Zelenski. Surely there were more important questions that could have been asked. Trump set it up. If they thought it was somehow important to wear a suit, they would have told him to get changed. As for "He is just Musk", you may think that but Trump obviously doesn't. He has a much higher profile than Vice-president J D Vance, who has virtually disappeared. So Musk should wear a suit instead of jeans and a T-shirt when on government business, especially when in the Oval Office, and should certainly not bring his kid into the Oval Office. It's a case of double standards.

Let me go through your post, line by line. It is full of assumptions and inaccuracies. The number of "vocal" supporters you referred to in relation to Mangioni can in no way be compared to the "majority of the population" of a country. As I stated above, I did not carry out a survey to see how many Japanese supported him, but the sympathy for him was overwhelming. (BTW, I haven't surveyed the population of Okinawa either, but I can say the feeling of the people there is that they want the US bases gone.) "I suspect, it was only a vocal minority". I admire your ability to 'suspect' from 10,000 kilometres away and after 50 years have passed! And also your ability to know that it was a minority, not a majority is impressive. "so it's up to you to look up any opinion polls to support your dubious claim" What opinion polls did you look up to support your own "dubious claims"? "I notice that you consider yourself the ultimate arbiter of what's "Japanese logic" and what's "Western logic." Not the 'ultimate arbiter' - I'm merely speaking from the point of view of someone who is in the unique position of having experienced both over decades. You have experienced both but one was only for a few weeks. Hardly comparable. "a selfish boor" Well, yes - 'selfish' in the sense that he was looking after himself. I can't comment of whether or not he is a 'boor' because I've never met him. But neither have you, so it's another example of you dealing in speculation - expressing an opinion about something you can't possibly know. "I do agree with @PeterRS is that being a selfish boor probably represents rather "un-Japanese" behavior. " I don't know much about Peter, but I do know he lived and worked in Tokyo. I'm guessing he was there for many years because his knowledge about Japan, its culture and its people is remarkable. He and I both know that, in general, Japanese are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the overall good of everyone else. I say ' in general' because it is not always the case. The Japanese are not masochists. If they feel strongly about something, they will put their own interests first, especially if, as in this case, they believe they have majority support. "After all, he was the only holdout. " I'm sorry, Unicorn, but you shouldn't make false claims based on ignorance of the situation. He was not the only one to hold out, and it is for this reason that the government had to move the original site of the airport 5 km away to the villages of Sanrizuka and Shibayama. In the end, half the farmers affected kept their land. "Of course, I have no way of proving that he regrets his intransigence." Well, in that case, don't make that claim. The fact that he turned down the compensation and is still farming the land today suggests he has no regrets, but neither you or I can know how he feels. "However, only an insane person..." Maybe his is. I have no idea as to the state of his mental health, and nor do you. Yet you are making this claim based on what you would do in the circumstances. "No telling what he could have made had he invested the money..." Again, that's Western logic - grab the money and run because money is the most important thing in life. I explained earlier the Japanese logic behind his decision. "I doubt this farmer's ancestors owned the land then,..." They're you go, 'doubting' again. But this time, you're in luck - indeed, they did not own the land. Land ownership was introduced in Japan after the 1868 Meiji Restoration. However, unlike the US, Japanese society during the time of the shoguns was feudal. Farmers were just below priests but above artisans in the feudal heirachy, such was their importance in society. The land was farmed by pleasant families and it is from here that generational attachment to land began. The US experience is totally different, which is why I suggested someone from a relatively young country would not understand. I mentioned earlier about the importance of knowing the Japanese language in order to understand their way of thinking. It goes for all countries and languages, not just Japan. Here's a very common expression which helps explain the farmer's thinking and beliefs: 七転び八起き (nana korobi ya oki) - fall 7 times, get up on the 8th. Hang in there when the going gets tough. And here's one for you : 井の中の蛙大海を知らず (I no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu) a a frog that lives in a well can not know about the ocean. And one more : 知らぬが仏 - Not knowing is Buddha. In other words, ignorance is bliss. And one more (I can keep going, but you get the picture): 身の程 知らず - mi no Hodo shirazu. You are in way over your depth. Unicorn, I'm not arguing with you - I'm simply explaining the situation to you from the point of view of an insider.

Musk never wears a suit when he's in the Oval Office. Nobody should "humble" themselves in front of anybody, especially in front of a convicted rapist, sex abuser and fraudster. "Reportedly" spent aid money on jewelry, "Reportedly", Bucky. Wouldn't you want to see a copy of the receipts? Or perhaps and interview with people working in the jewelry store? Or a photo of all the jewelry? Without that, this is just hearsay or one man's opinion. Hearsay and opinion are not fact and should not be reported as such.

What are his sources for this information? Was he in the room at the time? If not, he's yet another random guy you've managed to dig up making a tiktok video. Bucky, do you believe everything you see on the internet? Do you ever wonder where these ordinary people get their "information"?

Actually, I'm "pushing war" until the last Russian soldier leaves Ukraine.

Gosh, how dare Zelenski constantly berate a dictator and war criminal!

All evidence suggests it's because he wants to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Well, JD just put an end to any chance of that. Besides, caving into a dictator and war criminal to win peace is a peace not worthy of the prize.

Are you talking about Putin? How many of his relatives are fighting in Ukraine? What the world witnessed in the Oval Office was a draft-dodger and a Trump ass licker insulting a man fighting for his country. At the start of the war Zelenski was offered a chance to leave Ukraine, but he decided to stay and fight. And he is still fighting, while Trump spends his time playing golf.

What Trump is really saying is "Stop the war and give Russia all the land it has captured during its illegal war against a sovereign nation." In other words, surrender. Hitler would have loved you, Bucky.

Actually, I think it goes back to the time when Trump demanded Zelenski "find dirt" on Hunter Biden and he refused.

Err....you cannot equate "a bunch" with "the majority of the population". Simple maths. Where did you get "the moral high ground " comment from? In all the years since the riots this is the first time I've heard this expressiion, either in English or Japanese, in reference to this situation. But of course, here you are thinking with Western logic. Japan thinks with Japanese logic. There is no moral high ground from a Japanese perspective. It's interesting that you somehow know that he's lying when he says he didn't regret rejecting the compensation offered. How do you know that? And where are your sources to back your claim that he tried to extort more money? As you have only spent a few weeks living in Japanese society I do not expect you to understand the cultural importance the land has to the farmer. Your Western logic says, take the money and run. I don't know where you are from, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were a relatively young country (USA? Australia?) where farmers have not hear the time to develop their generational connection to their land.

. You make some valid points. I don't think the Japanese have a particular aversion to twinks. In fact, they are open to anything. I wasn't talking about host bars or beer bars - the bars I mentioned were sleazy hands-on bars where the language barrier wasn't a real problem. And twinks were few and far between in those bars. (I'm more into masculine types.) I still think the main cause for the demise of Sunee is the lack of advertising to the Asian gay tourists. If they didn't know it existed, they onviously wouldn't be turning up there. BTW, a bar like Eros would have certainly appealed to the Japanese, as they are totally into sleaze, whereas I think the Chinese are a bit more shy and reserved.

Unicorn, I find your comparisons between the farmer and cell phones and Luigi Mangioni very confusing and irrelevant. I was there when it all started, watched it for years and it certainly seemed like everyone was on the farmer's side. (But I didn't do a survey!) Even today the farmer is unrepentant and doesn't regret rejecting the monetary compensation offered. The location of Narita airport was chosen because it was a large area of flat land, it was far enough away from Tokyo to mitigate any forms of pollution and the government falsely believed the farmers would hand over their land without complaint. But the farmers were infuriated with the total lack of consultation with them and the total disregard for their connection with the land - in fact, I recall them first finding out about the site on the nightly news! The government, which relied heavily on the notoriously conservative farmers' votes, panicked and quickly decided to forgo the eminent domain solution, opting for the traditional Japanese way of solving disputes, which is through negotiation. And the result of that negotiation is the situation we see today. As I said in a previous post, trying to enlighten westerners to the complexities of Japanese logic is something I shy away from with my friends. It's too exhausting.

Note the word "reportedly." Are there any receipts we can look at? If not, it's pure speculation - just another person giving their opinion without presenting any facts to back it up. Does she have some kind of inside information unavailable to everybody else? Why doesn't she quote her sources? But if evidence proves it be true, then of course it should be paid back. With interest! And she is right when she says celebrities never do anything for free. Hey, Trump is the biggest celebrity of them all! As for the "mandate" to fire people, Trump never mentioned this during the election campaign, so he doesn't have any mandate. This is precisely why he got unelected Elon to issue the mandate.

Bucky, maybe you could post a tik tok video explaining why President Elonia and DOGE haven't looked into the cost to taxpayers of Trump's regular visits to the golf course. It is estimated that over $100,000,000 (!!) will be spent in 2025 alone. And while Doge is questioning the work ethnic of federal workers, perhaps they could look into the amount of time Trump spends playing golf rather than working.

Maybe we don't need to over -think this. I was a regular visitor to Sunee for many years - I even stayed at the Don Plaza/Elephant Plaza hotel, situated right in the middle of Sunee, a few times. My regular haunts were Eros, Holiday 2, Goodboys and the bar directly opposite called All of Me, and Krazy Dragon. Over the years I noticed fewer and fewer customers - they just stopped coming. So the bars closed. The final straw was when Eros closed. Over the years I rarely saw Asian customers. I did see a couple of Japanese guys, one Korean and one or two Chinese, but that's about it. I always wondered why the bars didn't get together and advertise on Chinese social media. Given their population, there must be millions of gay cocks looking for a home.

The attachment and commitment to the farm land can on no way be compared to cell phones or the internet. They didn't exist generations ago, so there is no attachment. And at the end of the day, his refusal to sell has has no impact on anyone. The airport was finished and 99% of people travel oblivious the the fact that they are taxi-ing past a farm. If the farmer is suffering from noise and pollution, that's his problem. So it's all good.