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1 - Did you know that Japanese children clean their schools for a quarter of an hour every day with teachers, which... led to the emergence of a Japanese generation
who is modest and keen on cleanliness.

2 - Did you know that any Japanese citizen who has a dog must carry special bags to pick up dog droppings. Hygiene and their eagerness to address cleanliness is a part of Japanese ethics.

3 - Did you know that a hygiene worker in Japan is called a "health engineer" and can command salary of USD 5000 to 8000 per month,
and a cleaner is subjected to written and oral tests!!

4 - Did you know that Japan does not have any natural resources, and is exposed to hundreds of earthquakes a year, but that has not prevented Japan from becoming the second largest economy in the world.

5 - Did you know that in just ten years Hiroshima was returned to what it was, economically vibrant, before the fall of the atomic bomb.

6 - Did you know that Japan bans the use of cell phones in trains, restaurants and indoors.

7 - Did you know that in Japan students from the first to sixth primary years must learn ethics in dealing with people?

8 - Did you know that the Japanese, even though they are one of the richest people in the world, do not keep servants - parents are responsible for the house and children.

9 - Did you know that there is no examination from the first to the third primary levels because the goal of education is to instill concepts and character building, and not just examinations and indoctrination.

10 - Did you know that if you go to a buffet restaurant in Japan people only eat as much as they need without any waste. There is no wasteful food.

11 - Did you know that the rate of delayed trains in Japan is about 7 seconds per year!! They appreciate the value of time and are very punctual to within minutes and seconds.

12 -. Did you know that children are taught to brush their teeth after every meal at school; they are taught to maintain their health from an early age.

13 - Did you know that students are taught to take half an hour to finish their meals to ensure proper digestion of food.




I NEVER KNEW THIS ABOUT JAPAN ...


Have you ever read in the newspaper that a political leader or a prime minister from an Islamic nation has visited Japan ?

Have you ever come across news that the Ayatollah of Iran or the King of Saudi Arabia or even a Saudi Prince has visited Japan ?

Japan is a country keeping Islam at bay. Japan has put strict restrictions on Islam and ALL Muslims.

The reasons are :

1) Japan is the only nation that does not give citizenship to Muslims.

2) In Japan permanent residency is not given to Muslims.

3) There is a strong ban on the propagation of Islam in Japan.

4) No Arabic or any other Islamic languages are taught at the University of Japan.

5) One cannot import a 'Koran' published in the Arabic language.

6) According to data published by the Japanese government, it has given temporary residency to only 2 Muslims, who are obliged to follow the Japanese Law of the Land.
These Muslims are required to speak Japanese and carry out their religious rituals within their own homes.

7) Japan is the only country in the world that has a negligible number of embassies in Islamic countries.

Japanese people are not at all attracted to Islam.

9) The only Muslims residing in Japan are employees of foreign companies.

10) Even today, visas are not granted to Muslim doctors, engineers or managers sent by foreign companies.

11) In the majority of companies it is stated in their regulations that no Muslims should apply for a job.

12) The Japanese government is of the opinion that Muslims are fundamentalist who even in an era of globalization refuse to change their Muslim laws.

13) Muslims cannot even think about renting a house in Japan .

14) If anyone comes to know that his neighbour is a Muslim then the whole neighbourhood stays alert.

15) No one can start an Islamic cell or Arabic 'Madrasa' in Japan (there is no Sharia law in Japan either)

16) If a Japanese woman marries a Muslim then she is considered an outcast forever.

17) According to Mr. Kumiko Yagi, Professor of Arab/Islamic Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, "There is a mind set in Japan that Islam is a very narrow minded religion and one should stay away from it."

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The following refers to http://www.trueactivist.com/former-pro-gmo-scientist-speaks-out-on-the-real-dangers-of-genetically-engineered-food/
I'm intrigued by Thierry Vrain's comment

I refute the claims of the biotechnology companies that their engineered crops yield more, that they require less pesticide applications, that they have no impact on the environment and of course that they are safe to eat.

This seems rather a big jumble. Let's break it down:

I refute the claims of the biotechnology companies that their engineered crops

* yield more,
* require less pesticide applications
* have no impact on the environment
* are safe to eat.

If all four points were true it would be hard to understand why any farmer would pay a high price for Monsanto seeds. It seems very likely that #1 and #2 are true and that is why farmers pay Monsanto. As written, #3 "have no impact on the environment" has no content. Presumably what is meant is "has no negative impact on the environment." Altogether, I don't think Vrain is correct about #1, #2, and #3. But I would like to have specific, numerical data supporting Vrain's side, if it exists.

We are really back to #4, "they are safe to eat". Safety is relative. Nuclear radiation is not "safe" but agencies set levels that are tolerable. Dirt in restaurants and food processing plants cause trouble but agencies set levels that are tolerable. The sole question is "what is a tolerable level" of GMO. Experience with actually eating it over years and years show that large amounts are tolerable.


Vrain writes

"I retired 10 years ago after a long career as a research scientist for Agriculture Canada. When I was on the payroll, I was the designated scientist of my institute to address public groups and reassure them that genetically engineered crops and foods were safe."

Vrain seems to be saying "I lied for money in my long career at Agriculture Canada." I guess it is true that government employees lie as well as those working for private companies.

Vrain writes

“There is, however, a growing body of scientific research – done mostly in Europe, Russia, and other countries – showing that diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious health problems in laboratory mice and rats.”

The reason laboratory animals are used in pre-human testing is to see if there are any apparent, giant problems. If the laboratory animals don't survive be extra cautious in trying the same thing with humans.

There is not a one-to-one correspondence between human diseases and those in other animals. Bird-flu is bird flu because it occurs mostly in birds and is not easily transmitted to humans. Termites can process wood and humans can't. Cow's do okay on a diet that is insufficient for humans. So, because some rats do bad on certain foods it is not definitely true that the same food is bad for humans.

What we do know is that American humans have eaten tons and tons of GMO food. Has this hurt them. Maybe so. How much? How do we measure how much? How about trips to the doctor, physical pain, or reduced life expectancy? On all of these measures Americans do about the same as Europeans. Any differences due to GMO are masked by differences due to life style: how much wine is drunk, how often a bicycle is used, the medical system, etc. So we know that the GMO effects are pretty small, if they exist. And, maybe they are positive. We just know they are small in humans.

Testing on rats may be a good idea before testing on humans. However, the test, a very large scale test, has already been done on humans. Thus rat tests don't tell us any more about humans than we already know.

Gerry

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the agency claims the practice discriminates against African-Americans, who have higher arrest and conviction rates than whites.

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I was told in my economy class that there is no such thing as "the value of things". Only the "value of decisions" in a given context.

How much is one gallon of tap water "worth" ? No much when you are at home. It may however make the difference between life and death in the desert.

I also have a Qnap TS-412, started with 2 disks, and when I wanted to add 2 more disks, I discovered I had lost the (rather unusual) screws used to fix the disks on the trays. How much were these screws "worth" ? Exactly the difference in prices between a 2-disk TS-212 ans a 4-disk TS-412. This theme is tackled somewhat in the "Treaty of Zen and motorcycle maintenance", around a screw too.

Karl Marx tought in his time that you could define "real" value as the sum of work (or wages + associated costs) needed to make something. Unfortunately, it does not work either : even if you work very hard to build something a product customers do not want, the "worth" of what you did is exacly zero. Coud even be negative if you have to close the shop and leave at your own expense things as they were before you started.

"You must deceive people. You must literally steal from them".

I have been told RCA did in the 60-70s, deliberately making TV sets that would break after 6 ou 7 years of use. Sony did not. AFAIK the only business result of this fantastic marketing strategy is that RCA went nearly out of business (in that precise domain) while Sony comforted its position. Can anybody confirm or infirm ?

As they say "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me !". This had been studied for more than 5 decades now with game theory, always leading to the same results. HOWEVER if you are the chairman of a corporation, it may be a good move for YOU to boost sales in a short-term view, bail out at the end of your contract and leave the coming problems to your successor. Yes, my firend, this is one of the reasons why the West is falling and China is succeeding : they try to be RATIONAL.

Switching to rationality in the West before it is too late could be a good idea. We can also choose to be irrational, and let us be sure it will give the same long-term results that were observed for islamic countries in the last 8 centuries.

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