Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Martin on March 4, 2009 at 14:37

No, he left in January..... That is the fellow the West Verginnias are using as an example....

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Permalink Reply by Grillin' - MmmMmm on February 28, 2009 at 13:56

No, I was actually going to say very few people compare him to Hitler or the anti-christ. Now Marx and Lenin, yes! That nutcase down in Venezuela, maybe. Their social beliefs are the same.

Is he the anti-Christ? I don't think so but you know, that's well above my pay grade! Can't read his mind or his heart. I think he's a good Christian man, just a little contorted on the ends of the spectrum. Hitler? naw, not even close. Genocide appears to not be his thing. I do think he's more of a Robin Hood or PT Barnum, or a mix of both. A smooth talker, that's for sure. And he's been caught in so many "redirections of facts and statements" that he has been able to smooth over by schmoozing. Were he a conservative, I'd probably really like the guy! But if my dog had wings, he'd be a bird!

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Permalink Reply by Antsu-in-Japan on February 28, 2009 at 18:46

You know, I don't know President Obama personally but what I do know is that I hope he can help get our country back on a more positive track.

KB...it's embarrassing when you see Japanese news reporters stating how they simply cannot believe that a major US newspaper would stoop to allowing a cartoonist to use its media to portray President Obama as an ape. (For goodness sake, even the Japanese now know that kind of racial baiting is a no-no. For anyone in the US media to claim 'ignorance' regarding that incident....give me a freakin' break!! It makes me want to say: "If you want to play the race card, at least have the balls to stand behind your beliefs and accept the rewards from those who think like you. Then be prepared to suffer the consequences (financial, social, personal, etc) from those who despise the rhetoric you spew. Be real men...and stop getting your jollies off playing both sides of the fence!!!!).

Or better yet：having a California mayor circulate emails about the White House having a watermelon patch on its lawn now, thus no Easter egg hunt this year. (Japanese people don't get this one, as they eat more watermelon during the summer months than Black folks ever could!! I know...I live here.) How repulsive, how hateful, how ethnocentric...how INSECURE....HOW UGLY!!! Yet, from abroad, it looks oh, soooooo very American. And that really breaks my heart...

Our problem in the US: too many people with the means to help our country getting off on purposely adding to our problems. How sad...these people are supposedly our community of leaders. Makes me wonder what they are leading us into...?

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Permalink Reply by Antsu-in-Japan on February 28, 2009 at 19:01

Oh...almost forgot to add this before somebody starts questioning whether the WH chef now makes hog jaws or pigs feet for the Obamas: Japanese people eat pickled-pigs feet, too. Supposedly the collagen in it makes the skin more beautiful. But who am I to say...I mean the 2007 Miss Universe winner was Japanese, right? Those behind all that racist rhetoric in the US REALLY need to RUSH out and live abroad for a little bit. (I know you caught that, KB! Couldn't help it....that 'man' is nothing more than satan in a man's body!!).



I don't know about all that...but maybe, just maybe...Black women DID know what they were doing serving that up on the dinner table. (See article below!)

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Pigs' feet and turtle blood fuel Japan beauty trend
Tue Mar 4, 2008 5:34am EST (Reuters.com)
By Sophie Hardach and Yoko Kubota

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Jelly drinks, pigs' trotters, and now turtle meat and blood: a beauty craze over food rich in collagen, considered to be good for the skin, has added some unusual items to Japanese menus.

Japan's collagen supplements and cosmetics have already caught on overseas, and a Japanese pigs' feet restaurant has opened in New York.

Other products catering to the new passion for cartilage in one of the world's biggest skincare markets may be harder to export.

"Suppon", or soft-shell turtle, is a traditional delicacy here, but used to be served mainly to men -- it is said to boost sexual performance. Recently, female diners have taken over.

"There is a lot of collagen in suppon meals. All our female customers that come to eat collagen say their skins are doing much better the next morning, when they put on make-up," Sosuke Miyagawa, the owner of suppon restaurant Hanabishi, told Reuters.

He added that now about 70 percent of the customers who order suppon meals are females, many of them in their 30s, and demand is on the rise.

His own beauty tip for a perfect complexion: "We cut the neck of the suppon and squeeze out the dripping blood, then mix that with Japanese sake or plum wine. This gives an instantaneous effect."

Cosmetic surgeons around the world inject collagen to plump up lips, and using gelatinous foods as a beauty boost in itself is not new. In the United States and Europe, many women eat gelatin to strengthen their hair and nails.

But in Japan, beauty trends tend to erupt with a particular force and often become all-encompassing, as shown by the current omnipresence of collagen-rich products.

CHEWY TURTLE

Drinks and yoghurts with added collagen line the shelves of Tokyo convenience stores. Handwritten little signs on menus and even in office kitchens point to teas, drinks or dishes that are rich in collagen and allegedly plump up the skin, smooth wrinkles, and have an overall anti-aging effect.

Experts are divided on the benefits of these products, but some consumers do believe in their beautifying impact.

Kyoko Shinonaga, who works in the mineral water business, booked a turtle dinner at Hanabashi to celebrate "Girls' Day", a Japanese festival, with female friends on Monday.

She said she had recently started to eat pigs' feet because of their collagen content and had heard some celebrities were eating turtle meat to maintain their beauty.

Shinonaga's own decision to try turtle was "50 percent for fun and 50 percent serious". "The taste (especially the soup) is great but the texture of the legs and thighs is strange ... no effects have been confirmed ... but I found warmth of the body and energy today," she said in an e-mail.

Japanese women enjoy a global reputation for porcelain skin and classic beauty, and it is not surprising that some entrepreneurs have tried to spread the collagen fad abroad.

Hakata Tonton, a Japanese restaurant that serves mainly pigs' feet, opened late last year in New York.

New York restaurant reviewers, however, have yet to be convinced by "healthy collagen salad" and dumplings garnished with pigs' nails.

"Offal dilettantes, the curious but skeptical and those without a tested track record of enjoying foot eating should eschew the nine-course beginner's tasting menu," wrote reviewer Peter Meehan in the New York Times in January.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

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Permalink Reply by Antsu-in-Japan on February 28, 2009 at 19:52

B-I-N-G-O...! Maybe we can now expand that definition of "scumbag" a little bit in here. We've got some MAJOR deadbeat dads in the US heading those fortune 500 companies. Taking the money, stuffing it in their pockets and waiting for us taxpayers to bail out their corporate families.

Yes, certain people think they see the world as it truly is but in actuality, they are looking at it through "perception-filled" lenses that actually serve to tell us more about who THEY are. As for the gang bangers pedaling drugs in our communities...if our government had the balls to cut out the GANG BANGERS at the TOP....you know, the handful of men who don't live in the hoods...the ones who are in charge of bringing this crap into our country....hhhhhhmmmmmmm! Just a thought.

Or how about distributing tax money from a county evenly amongst the schools so that ALL children have the SAME access to education...which, in turn, would guarantee the SAME access to knowledge...thus better access into college!! It's REALLY easy to conclude that certain groups of people have lower intellectual abilities when they are treated as inferior/lower, have far fewer resources, less opportunities for educational advancement because of a method of tax money distribution that gives them less financial backing....fewer numbers of well-paid teachers, etc. I'm not even going to make this a racial issue (though it often is in the US)...but when I was growing up, all students from my county went to one high school. When our school got up to around 3,500 students, they built a new high school. We kids from the country side were sent there, while the city kids enjoyed the very rich benefits that came with their school. Was it fair?...NO. Was it the American way of educating kids?...YES.

Would that ever happen in Japan?...NO. All money is distributed evenly from the taxpayer base so that ALL public schools have comparable resources (and yes, kids pay tuition in public school as well)...the governmnet decides which teachers are sent to schools to ensure all have access to a similar quality of education...and then teachers are rotated every 3-5 years to provide a much-needed freshness to the ways things are done. Does Japan have its share of problems...of course. Is this system better than ours? In my opinion, having worked in it...YES!! Hhhmmmmmm....still thinking up in here!!

Oh well..been here for half the day reading. Got to get outside for a bit. Stay well...

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Permalink Reply by Susie Brown on February 28, 2009 at 20:39

I have read each of your posts: Antsu, KB, Earl and you 3 are always talking racism. I didn't read anything racist in Mmmmark's post, but you 3 are redundant with it to the point you are obsessed. Antsu, you constantly criticise the US, but I sure don't see a grand exodus of residents from the US to other countries. I haven't heard about Mexico trying to keep US citizens from rushing into Mexico to get jobs. Look at immigrants from all over the world begging to become citizens of the US. Who went in and freed Europe from Hitler's attacks? The US. Why would you ever be embarrased about your country.
Earl and KB, you equate gangbangers with the heads of corporations. Walk into any big corporation and ask to spend the day. Think you will be safe. You betcha. Walk into a rough neighborhood and spend the night on the street with the gangbangers. The cops would have to scoop you up the next morn.
Welfare Moms: The new way to get money is to get your kid declared "developmentally delayed" and the kid will get $647 per month for life with FREE medicaid. Get 3-4 kids on that program and you will live good.
Does Japan offer all those welfare programs Antsu? Does any other country in the world offer help to the poor like the US?
As far as what is running our country now, why would any of you think this president had the experience to run a country. He was a junior senator who missed most of the votes in the senate while he was there.
You 3 need to get in the real world. You 3 are GROSSLY MISINFORMED AND NAIVE.

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Permalink Reply by sesport on March 1, 2009 at 3:09

Susie - I'd just like to take this opportunity to enlighten you about some blatant generalizations you put forth ...

Spend the night in a rough neighborhood - I've spent the last 20+ years of my professional career in "rough" neighborhoods, and I'm still here to tell about it. Now, you want to know who, in my own not-so-rough neighborhood I'm concerned about? The white guy, with ties to a local family business, who beat his wife to within an inch of her life with a baseball bat, and broke it in half, then sat down to watch TV. Somehow, he's still here living among us. I used to be concerned about the young white man who went to a young girl's house asking to use the phone, and she being a compassionate person let him in only to be brutally raped, for hours and hours, to the point that she could never return to live in our neighborhood. He was released on bail to live among us, but is now incarcerated so I sleep a little easier. Then there were the 2 young white men that rented a house in my neighborhood ... to stash their cache of automatic weapons.

Now, getting money for developmentally delayed children ... truly a difficult task. First, it usually involves a medical diagnosis. Once the child is school age, pupil appraisal again takes over the task of making a determination, and the federal government has determined that only about 2% of the population should qualify as special needs. So, if the "quota" is filled, good luck getting a child placed and getting those monetary benefits. Unless you happen to be one of the "connected" people, then those "in the know" will direct you to every program & $$$ benefit available. I know of very few low SES people who are bragging about all the money they are getting, there are no more "crazy checks" to be had.

And I am NOT grossly misinformed and naive. Just not wearing no stinkin' rose colored glasses.

Best to you, and bless your heart, this Sunday - sesport :0)

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Permalink Reply by M. Mcwilliams on March 1, 2009 at 3:35

sesport,

You hit the nail on the head about kids that are delayed and SSI benefits. Why do people think that it's easy to scam this program? Oh, yes, there have been stories of this happening for years, but that's all they are - stories. To scam the system with kids' SSI entitlement, a parent has to, as you said, first scam a doctor into believing a child is delayed. Funny how that entails real developmental benchmarks, such as a child not talking, eating, crawling, or doing any number of child activities on time. Things that can be observed. Second, if the child is school aged, the parent next has to scam the school system into verifying the delays, and describing how these delays affect the child's learning. Third, she has to convince the Social Security Administration that the child is disabled. SSA is made up of people as skeptical as the general public, and they see their job as to keep people off the disability rolls. To do this for 3 or 4 kids in a row would be a pretty difficult task. To believe that poor, undereducated welfare moms can pull this off over a period of years is ridiculous. More likely, if a poor mom has 3 or 4 kids that are developmentally delayed, that mom is most likely living in terrible poverty, possibly disabled herself, and not at all likely to have the smarts to pull off such a scam.

Yes, it does and it has happened, but not nearly as often as the public wants to believe. People really think that parents, even poor parents, want to have 3 or 4 of their kids labeled as mentally retarded or mentally ill or behavior disordered for their entire life just to get extra money? Parents are not that evil, not even poor welfare moms.

And when people get up in arms about others scamming the public, why aren't they up in arms about the Bernie Madoffs of the world, who did more damage on his own than an army of welfare moms could do.

Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on March 1, 2009 at 7:09

You are WRONG about who gets SSI. It was designed for the physical/mentally impaired child, but now to get it you just have to be certified by the learning center that said you are developmentally delayed. They are supposed to be recertified every 3 yrs, but that doesn't often happen. By the way, what is developmentally delayed? I see kids working at their age level in school still getting it? You do not have to be poor to get this. Some of these moms are working at good jobs and still getting it. Social Security just keeps sending the checks way after the child turns 18. Call your social sec. office and ask them if they ever do any certifications to find out if a child is still developmentally delayed. Seasport, read the daily crime reports online for our local paper. Where do the crimes take place? Where are most of the shootings?

Permalink Reply by sesport on March 1, 2009 at 12:34

kittycat - Thank you for proving what I said ...

It's not the lower income that are gettin benefits ... it's the connected people, with jobs that give them access to those in the know, who are getting benefits for their children. Not that I am opposed if the children truly need benefits, but to generealize that it is only the lower income that get the funding is the misinformation.

The crime reports ... yes that's what's in the news because it sell papers & air time, gets folks reading & watching. The crimes that go on in the "right" neighborhoods don't get reported. IF an officer is called, it's "No, I don't want to file charges," or the reporters are kept away, it's all hush-hush. To be sure, the crimes are different, but they are still crimes.

I'll take the gentleman, a true gentle man, who lives behind me any day over the unscreened renters the upper-income real estate agent keeps putting in her house around the corner. I'll take the young couple (who between the 2 work 3-4 jobs), with a bright, precious toddler over the family of 3 living 2 houses down that let their water bills run into arrears for over a year yet the wife/mother isn't working because she "doesn't feel well."

And just for clarification, because I don't consciously make such distinctions, the former in each case are black, the latter are white.

Now, anyone else want to try to convince me that I am grossly misinformed and naive?

Sunday at it's best here ... sesport :0)

Permalink Reply by Antsu-in-Japan on March 2, 2009 at 17:35

Susie Brown:

Just to clear up some misconceptions you may have about Japan, as well as me personally...

1. No, I don't ALWAYS talk about racism in here...but yes, I am comfortable addressing it when it is mentioned. For the record, I never implied Mmmmark made racist comments. I actually applauded his charity work...did you read that far?)

2. No...I do not constantly criticize the United States. As I reported, the Japanese media did that. I was just informing those of you who are interested of how we look abroad...at least from the "eyes" of this country. For those who don't want to know what I have to say, kindly skip over my posts in the future!! For those who find it worth chatting about (especially when we disagree) please continue to broaden my horizons with your thoughts, ideas and advice! Much appreciated; it does wonders for my thick skin.

3. You seem to have this impression that many immigrants come to the United States yet Americans (in large numbers) do not leave to live abroad. Do some research, sweetie...you are SERIOUSLY out-of-the-know on this topic. Not only do we AMericans work abroad, live abroad, retire abroad...we also hoard our $$$ abroad!! And not to make you insecure about your own assumptions, but just because you don't happen to 'see' or 'hear' certain things doesn't mean they aren't happening. Also, immigrants from all over the world are banging on Japanese doors, as well. We, the US, are not the only country on the planet that offers comfort, quality education, a nice standard of living, safe communities in which to live...and exceptional healthcare. Catch the irony in that last one??

4. Why would I ever be embarrassed about my country? I would be embarrassed about my country if it did something worth being embarrassed about. But, as per my post, I'm disappointed regarding the route certain leaders in the US took during/after this past election. The United States is IMPERFECT, Susie Brown. That is a fact of life. Do I love my country, Yes (although I don't owe you any explanation regarding my patriotism). I watched this happen during past elections: whenever certain people said any little thing critical of the US, their patriotism came into question so their voice would be silenced. I think that's sad and refuse to shut up just because what I may have to say threatens the "bubble" people live in. And not that you owe me any answer...but if you are an American-loving citizen, why wouldn't you be embarrassed about something your country isn't doing as well as it could. Why don't you try living abroad just to get a broader perspective. I'm not saying that America is getting it wrong; just that in other places, other countries are doing a few things better. Are we, as Americans, too arrogant and self-involved to admit that even as the lone standing superpower, we can sometimes learn from other countries?

5. Yes, Japan offers programs such as you mentioned. Why?...because the country realizes the importance of taking care of its citizens and communities. When people default on their housing loans, Japanese banks do not kick them out of their homes. I pay health insurance based on my salary, and that covers 90-95% of my doctor/hospital bills and medicine, regardless of the amount and procedure needed. Preventative health checks are offered at HUGELY discounted rates yearly for citizens (mainly covered by health insurance). When I move into a new city, state, or neighborhood, the police stop by to make sure all is OK/answer any questions regarding my new community. We have mandatory laws requiring the separation of trash (burnable vs non-burnable...how 'eco' is that?); public schools have similar resources, which in turn allows for EQUALITY-based education in all neighborhoods. As for crime, I can't even recall a murder taking place in my city of over a million..and I've been here for almost 16 years. So my question to YOU, Susie...does the United States offer all these "welfare" programs? And if it doesn't, wouldn't YOU be embarrassed getting it in a foreign country???

Finally, I don't come here to stir up trouble or "constantly" remind us of America's ills. Maybe our country is turning a new page...and of course, many of us in here are not going to like that! I respect my country and its leaders and do not consider any of them a "what." President Obama, like former President Bush and the many others before him, is a person. With our criticism of his steps, we should be willing to do positive things to help him and other leaders turn our country on a more positive road. Finally, the argument of whether he had the experience to run a country is on the back-burner of my mind. Fact: he is now the president and HAS to run it, with or without the help of others. I plan on helping? You???????

PS...I live in the real world...and have seen more of it than many people. If that makes me "grossly misinformed" and "naive" in your opinion, oh well. I guess there are worse names to be called...

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Permalink Reply by sesport on March 2, 2009 at 18:19

Hey Antsu - just to humor me, and out of curriosity ... typically, how many languages do the Japanese speak? Just wondering because we Americans are typically "grossly misinformed" and "naive" in only one language. Maybe that's why there was a communications problem as per the post to which we responded? I'd just like to give the benefit of the doubt. :0)

Thanks - sesport

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