1glenn comments

"Sound of Freedom?" Never heard of it. So much for the next big thing.

China has no right to meddle in Philippine-Japanese maritime issues.

One of my favorite actors. I miss him already.

Must be very embarrassing to be stopped by Denmark.

A cane is a great walking aid.

Over a thousand heat stroke deaths at the Hajj in Mecca. Religious fervor has a cost.

"On May 15, 2024, Republican governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.......signed a law that deleted the phrase 'climate change' from many of the Sunshine State's laws......"

Talk about misinformation! As if using the power of government to stop conversations about global warming is going to solve the climate crisis.

Putin's trip to North Korea is an example of his failure as a leader. When you have to go begging to Kim for allies, you know you are in trouble.

The news now reports over 900 dead from heat exhaustion in Mecca. Temperatures hit over 51 Celsius.

So in Japan it is illegal for politicians to intentionally lie? Sounds good to me. A certain convicted felon would be ineligible to run for office, if that were the law in the USA.

It was reported elsewhere that nearly 600 people died from heat exposure at the annual Hajj in Mecca this year. Apparently only pilgrims who can prove that they paid for the privilege of taking part are allowed access to A/C cooling facilities.

All of Australia has a population roughly equal to just Shanghai's. It is no wonder the Chinese behemoth looks down on Australia.

I talked with an American World War I airman who said he was shocked to see Parisians going around collecting snails. He also said that both the French and Americans ate horsemeat, because they were hungry.

Who needs to be told not to take all of their cash to the beach? A five year old?

I have had seven Covid vaccinations, I had Covid, twice, and I have been sick with a cold since April. I won the trifecta.

They both need to be careful. Kim might find himself falling out of an upper story window, and Putin might find himself strapped to the front of a cannon barrel. In a perfect world,.........

Money wins, again.

One of our favorite local Korean restaurants uses similar delivery robots. At this point they are not replacing the human workers, but helping them when they get very busy. And yes, using these requires wider aisles.

Auld Lang Syne and Enya. It doesn't get much better than that. Have to give credit for liking beautiful music.

I think some things are cross cultural, like beautiful music, great art, beautiful architecture, and inspiring statuary.

It is interesting that the tune of Auld Lang Syne became so much a part of the Japanese culture that it was no longer considered Western by the 1940s. I recently witnessed something similar with the British. In the 1800s they took something from California and mislabeled it. They have been mislabeling it for over a hundred years, and today they have no intention to go back and do things the "right" way. I am talking about giant sequoia trees. They insist on calling them redwood trees, no matter how often one points out to them that they are a completely different specie. Oh well. Good intentions on their part, if frustrating to us who grew up here in California. Giant sequoias grow ten times the size of redwoods. Redwoods used to be widespread, but today are very limited in range, and may even go extinct with the next round of global warming, unless humans take active steps to transplant them into a more northern range. Anyway, both types of tree are beautiful, but to me the redwoods are sublimely beautiful.

Very interesting. Would like to learn more. As stated in the article, "It raises questions......."

Looking forward to reading about results of further studies.

I had an olfactory experience that amazed me. For many years I was working around some chemicals that have a strong odor, but I lost the ability to smell them, most of the time, while I was working. After six months of retirement I noticed that I could smell the chemicals again, and that the odor permeated the clothes I had worn at work. At that point, since no amount of washing would get rid of the odor, I tossed those clothes and got new ones. I have to wonder how my wife put up with me bringing that odor home for so many years. She deserves a medal for putting up with me.

Have talked with a lot of people who really liked their time in the Caribbean. As for us, the only time we have experienced it was when we were traveling through. The thing that immediately struck us was the overwhelming humidity, even in April. The western coast of Mexico is much closer for us, and for six months of the year, December to May, the weather is fantastic.

I asked an in-law about their experiences in Jamaica. He said that other than for the resorts, he did not like it. Outside of the resorts they were accosted by locals to buy things, and they had to be concerned about their safety as well. He does not recommend it, other than for the resorts. I suspect most visitors limit themselves to the resorts and day time tourist areas.

The commenter who questioned going to Jamaica to learn English has a valid point. The Caribbean patois is attractive, but is that what one wants to learn? The idea of a Japanese person speaking with a Jamaican style gives me a smile.

I confess, this is an issue outside my experience. I do not understand what is going on with this phenomenon.

If I read the article correctly, the buyers intend to get into the funeral business? Can someone explain this to me?

The reason why the USA and Europe are not letting in the Chinese EVs is that they are being sold way below cost, due to policies of the Xi controlled Chinese government. Allowing Chinese cars to be sold in the West at way below cost will inevitably put Western auto manufacturers out of business.

Western nations allowed Japan, Korea, and Mexico to sell their cars, but that was with the proviso that there was a semblance of fair trade. With China, they don't even pretend to be selling their cars at what it costs to make them. The issue isn't quality.

The Philippines have historically been reliant on coal and oil for their power generation. Switching to natural gas will reduce emissions by about 50%, while they take the time to switch to green energy. That is what the US has been doing. Switching to natural gas (aka methane) is relatively quick and effective. It is what China should do, rather than building more coal burning plants. Building green energy plants is cost intensive and takes time, compared to switching to natural gas.

By the way, the Philippines is one of the largest producers of geothermal energy in the world, getting nearly 15% of their energy needs from that source. However, their development in solar power and wind is still minimal.

For most of its history, China did not "own" Taiwan.

Why the sudden interest in Taiwan, while ignoring the lands stolen by Russia in the 19th century? If Xi decided to take back Vladivostok, no one would come to the aid of a much weakened Russia.

Beautiful flowers. A shame they bloom for a short time.

N2O is truly a global warming disaster in the making.

As long as they can accept me, I guess I can accept them. Not my cup of tea, but so what?

Solar panels plus battery storage = problem solved.

Looking forward to it.