I would have to say after hearing all of these posts, that both English-speaking people and the Japanese seem to be the most ethnocentric lot. I hear both sides complaining about this and that. The only group of people who I never hear complaining are the Latinos. I have so many Latino friends who hear this bs and just say, "Relax, have a beer." Manana, baby.

In fact, I think Spanish-speaking people end up speaking the best Japanese among foreigners. They may have a hard time reading Japanese, but they become damn good speakers after only a short time.

 

You conveniently left out some info there:

90% of Americans consider their neighborhood extremely safe FROM A TERRORIST ATTACK". Ummm ... last I checked, a shooting spree, gang-related gun death, etc. does not constitute itself as a terrorist attack.

 

You do have a point. There are only two logical causes for this violence: the guns or the people. And since you so eloquently stated that it isn't the guns, then it's gotta be the people. Then by all logic, you would be saying that America is overun with lunatics and wackos.

However, wackos exist in all countries. Heck, I've heard a few stories in Japan where a wacko was slashing the arms of passerbys with a knife, until they caught him. Now, as disturbing as this may sound, all people lived. Imagine if this guy had access to a gun?

 

The Houston Astros will regret not signing free agent Roidboy Bonds instead instead of Matsui. I mean, it seems all the baseball sites also have been claiming that Bonds is being framed by the U.S. government and the U.S. government is lying through their teeth (after all they've lied before; think WMDs), so why not choose a homerun hitter (albeit a possible cheating one) over a slap hitter like Matsui. Roidboy has proven he can hit, unlike cleanboy Kazuo Matsui.

 

Uh ... then why are we reading about Italy's (note: not Japan's) win of the tournament, right here on JT, which has gotten this news from Kyodo. Let me enlighten you a bit. Kyodo is a Japanese press source. Japan Today is also a Japanese news source, albeit written in English.

 

I guess you haven't done any reading of the Daily Yomiuri, the Japan Times, and the Asahi Shimbun. Heck, every Japanese baseball fan who follows Matsuzaka, that I've talked to (and I've talked to a lot) knows about Dustin.

I mean, if the Japanese here didn't know about Pedroia, then how can you explain the fact that many of them know that he went to Arizona State, and was groomed for three years in the Boston farm system?

 

The timing of this and the news on the link below are quite interesting:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071111/ap_on_he_me/sa...

 

A perfect game to boot too. I can't understand though, why some posters here that place individual statistics over results (especially one that ends in a win and the Japan Series). Sheesh. Yes, Yamai was close to a perfect game all by himself, but he was clinging to a one run lead. Had he more of a cushion to deal with, I'm sure the manager would have left him in.

Wasn't it Al Davis who said, "Just win, baby". Bottom line is they won the game.

 

Actually, Japan does not have "one up on them" since this system has not been implemented in Japan yet. It is only being proposed. Please read the article carefully.

 

Great skating all around by Kimmie, Miki, and Zhang. I especially love how well Caroline can spin and boy is she flexible. She seems to be the next Michelle Kwan.

However, I was really disappointed by the turnout for this event. It looked really sad to see all the empty seats considering the talent at this event.

 

I agree, there should be more balanced reporting. Here's an article with a little more balance (Not from a Japanese news source):

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Atat21V6SZOW...

 

Seems like everyone is counting out the Rockies. Let us not forget that the Rockies did take 2 games out of 3 from the Red Sox in Fenway, and that was way back when the Rockies were not so hot. They even rocked Beckett for 6 runs in only 5 innings of work. I predict the Holliday-Helton-Hawpe-Atkins-Tulowitzki combo to get their hot bats out. Rox in six!

 

However, you now have to face the Rockies. It'll be an intriguing matchup of Dice-K vs. his ex-Seibu Lions teammate Matsui. I predict Rockies in 6!

 

This is the final nail in the coffin. For months now, ever since that Kameda-Landeta fight, and its rematch, the Japanese public have been tuning out the Kamedas and growing disgusted by their antics. It's no wonder how hard they had to scrape to get the opportunity for this fight. I'm sure you will never see them fight again; and that is a good thing.



Yeah, but my money will be on any midget to pummel the daylights out of any of the Kameda clan.

 

The 'Snakes are on a plane'now.
It doesn't matter who comes out of the AL; Rox will win it all.
They've got the best hitters, an awesome bullpen, and now their starting pitchers are coming together. Not to mention the best
fielding defense ever (.98 percentage as a team).
Go Rox!

 

Glad the Yanks are outta there. The Rox have a great chance, but they face a stiff challenge against Webb Hernandez and the 'Backs (However, the Rox did take the season series 10-8). Go ROX!

 

Well, good for her. About time she fessed up. Roid boy Bonds could learn a lesson or two from her. Makes you wonder how many others in the sport is continually in denial.

 

Yeah, that's longer than the Brittney Spears- K Fed combo.

 

That's what I call multitasking.

 

True. I guess the umpire felt guilty because he wrongly called off a potential homerun by Garrett Atkins in the seventh inning. That homerun would've been the difference, and they wouldn't have had to play the extra innings. But in the end, it was poetic justice and a fine gritty performance by both teams. Go Rox!

 

That Rox-Padres game has got to be the most exciting MLB game ever. Wow! What a tremendous comeback from the Rox! Good luck to them against the Phillies. I'll be rooting for you.

 

No, I don't worry about violent things like terrorism, unlike you. I remember that from your past posts, you are all for the Iraq war and Bush's fight on terror. However, don't you know that even before the Iraq war, and even before 9/11, the risk of ever dying in a terrorist act was miniscule?

You are more at risk of dying in a car accident in America, or in a drive-by shooting, or in a work-related or school-related shooting, than in a terrorist attack. Yet we spend billions upon billions for that very cause, in a country thousands of miles away, with no proven WMDs. Why is that? Seems like Americans are the country of worrywarts.

 

No, I don't worry about violent things like terrorism, unlike you. I remember that from your past posts, you are all for the Iraq war and Bush's fight on terror. However, don't you know that even before the Iraq war, and even before 9/11, the risk of ever dying in a terrorist act was miniscule?

You are more at risk of dying in a car accident in America, or in a drive-by shooting, or in a work-related or school-related shooting, than in a terrorist attack. Yet we spend billions upon billions for that very cause, in a country thousands of miles away, with no proven WMDs. Why is that? Seems like Americans are the country of worrywarts.

 

Seems like I can do that quite well in Japan with no worries.



True, as a matter of common sense, I lock everything, but never had I had to lock my bike to something stationary in Japan. Worst thing I had to worry about being stolen in Japan was my umbrella.



Well, I see so many people doing that everyday in Tokyo; no problems there.



Ditto.

 

I agree. I am still proud to be an American, but very worried whether our government has lost its focus. It seems all our government's time, money, and energy is being spent on Iraq, when people are suffering at home, from violent crime (we don't even have to mention the recent shootings that have been occurring on our university campuses), a national housing slump, and medical coverage that is adequate, but could be better.

True, it's nice to think that we won't have to worry about terrorism so much, but isn't it more likely that we will die from something like inadequate healthcare and violent crime?