Hawk comments

But curious to know... someone goes to the beach wearing your g string your ex wife bought for you & they want a drink or something to eat and there is a row of shops close by. Do they need to change out of the atire to fit within Hawks Law?

Sorry, I stopped reading at "waaaagh..."

Alongfortheride,

You are hilarious!!

I thought so.

But based on what this guy was arrested for then yes they perhaps should do so!! Whats good for women is good for men right?

I am willing to bet that if this guy wore his T-back to the beach, he'd have been fine. Beaches (and swimming pools etc) are kind of an exception to these rules. Everyone who goes is agreeing that they are going to see things that they wouldn't see in a shopping mall. Topless men, bikinis, Speedos, thongs.... If they don't want to see that stuff, they are perfectly entitled to stay home or go to one of your Victorian era beaches where everyone is covered from head to toe in wool. I mean, have you ever been to a festival in Japan? Bare butt cracks as far as the eye can see. It's all about context and intent. Shopping malls exist outside of that shared agreement.

And seeing as this guy was arrested for violating a nuisance prevention ordinance, rather than an indecency law, intent was probably a bigger factor. Although, I'm perfectly willing to admit my ignorance of the law here.

Alongfortheride,

What do people wear at the beaches that you go to? Full wetsuits?

Jay,

*People, wake up! Today, it's our health insurance. Tomorrow, it's our bank account, our employment. Do not trade liberty for the illusion of convenience. This is the road to authoritarianism, paved with good intentions and digital IDs. Resist it now, or forever hold your peace while Big Brother watches your every move.*

May I just ask: what are you doing about it? How do you resist? And if you're living in Japan, how will you avoid this MyNumber system?

Congratulations to Maddison Levi and the other Australian players whose job it is to give her the ball. It's a great game plan that they use effectively.

And to Spain, as well. Their first final in years of trying! Dominated the All Blacks Sevens TWICE on the way to the final.

Not so sure anyone has their panties in a bunch over a father coming to the rescue of his son though.

And yet, because it's Biden, they do.

Sure, he may as well, it's not like Trump wouldn't have done the same thing so his supporters can just unbunch their panties.

It does give his and the Democrats' 'tough on guns' stance the lie, though.

It sounds a bit like the Streisand Effect. The more they try to do to solve the problem, the more attention it brings to it and the site, and the problem gets worse.

Just leave it. And if a few morons get knocked over by cars, then, you know. Darwinism.

Weight loss does not require calorie restriction. Calorie in calorie out model has been thoroughly debunked

Awesome. Where can I read about how it was debunked?

Also, what is required? With links, please.

Good. Harry Potter related sword crime is out of control.

The one and only Christmas song you'll ever need is Sabaton's Christmas Truce.

So about 44+ million potential new users for these drugs will be coming to market with their costs covered by US taxpayers. ...

These drugs cost about $12,000 per year, so 100 billion+ taxpayer dollars will be spent on those inevitable failed outcomes (assuming they stop trying at just one year), not to mention the billions in additional costs that will come with treating all the side effects.

Not according to this article:

"Medicare is the federal program that provides health insurance to Americans ages 65 and older. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ new rule expanding coverage would affect 3.4 million Medicare recipients."

"Medicaid provides coverage to lower-income Americans. Around 4 million Medicaid recipients could gain coverage under the proposed rule. States would have the option to pay for it."

"Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials estimate the expansion would cost about $40 billion over 10 years."

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2024/11/26/weight-loss-drugs-cost-insurance/76588819007/

It also makes the point that the price of the drugs is far higher in the states than it is elsewhere.

Who buys CDs anymore?

According to the article, K-Pop fans.

When the kids' pestering finally becomes unbearable. This year, that was last weekend.

“I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.”

Well, 13 pounds isn't nothing, but it's a shame it wasn't successful for her.

Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds.

That's more promising. 20 pounds in less than two years, about. There's no one-size-fits-all for health and weight loss. Good luck to her.

Racism is bad and you shouldn't be racist - on X or otherwise.

But seriously, a criminal conviction - he was also fined - for a tweet? There was no threat, no incitement to violence, he tweet-quoted his supposed reaction to the player missing a shot. "In interview, Ogunmilade “stated the message to be a sarcastic joke within a friendship group, which is why quotation marks were used. The group were mimicking what white racist hooligans would say.”" This is complete overreach and an absolute violation of freedom of speech.

You get what you pay for.

It seems to be a requirement.

Terrible. Off for a fun backpacking holiday or whatever, and dead from a couple of dodgy shots. Condolences to the families.

I had a blast in Vang Vieng, but I stuck to Beerlao and the occasional 'happy' shake.

The Maori elites have been doing incredibly well under the status quo. The top ten iwi are worth just under 12 billion collectively, and the Maori economy is doing better than the national one.

For example, my cousin married a Maori, so her kids are technically Maori. They're fairly well-off, but her kids will have a free education and they use the Maori ticket as much as they can. Why not, if it's possible, it's possible. But they don't need that special treatment, so shouldn't have access to it. Assistance programs should be based on NEED, completely race-blind.

Agreed. My sister married into a fabulously wealthy family, and her kids, with their 1/16 Maori ancestry, have access to all sorts of benefits that my kids, should I choose to raise them there, in not nearly so affluent circumstances, would not.

All New Zealanders should have the same rights.

In response to Hawk - Uniqlo Thailand collects unused clothing and donates it to hilltribe children. They have collection bins all around Bangkok

Well, I wasn't talking about Uniqlo specifically. But good for them. They have collection bins here in Japan, too. I use them.

However, do they represent every clothing brand?

I often wonder about this too. There must be an enormous amount of waste, even if some of the unsold stock is donated to charity and the like.

A lot of unsold and out-of-season stock is intentionally damaged i.e., brand labels and logos removed, smeared with paint, hacked up, and then discarded. The reason being is that brands don't want their items worn by poor or homeless people.

The Ben Shapiro Show ( the obvious choice ) Conversations with Coleman ( brilliant ) , Lex Friedman ( legend ) , Konstantin Kisin and Francis Fosters Trigonometry, John Anderson podcast ( for us Aussies, pure class ), the Jordan B. Peterson podcast has been a journey! Douglas Murray, Candace Owens, the Daily Wire, Sam Harris, Dennis Pragers Fireside Chat, Chris Williamson Modern Wisdom, Patrick Bet Davies PBD podcast and a whole bunch more. The Russel Brands and Jimmy Dores of the world are more of a circus, can listen to them but do have my limit!

I know most of those names. The more balanced of those, I would say, are Sam Harris and Chris Williamson. I'm a big fan of Douglas Murray's books and will hit the download button like it owes me money when he guests on podcasts that I listen to. I don't agree with all that he says, but I enjoy the way he says it.

May I add Josh Szeps, and Alex O'Connor's Beyond Reason?

*That, but I think the real resurgence of the Wallabies’ success can be directly tied to the end of Alan Joyce’s disgusting influence as head of our former major sponsor QANTAS and his Uber progressive, LGBTQ charged leadership style. Under Joyce, our team became increasingly embroiled in woke ideologies and social justice movements that distracted from our core mission - winning rugby union games.*

Not really. Qantas' sponsorship ended in 2020. In the years after that, they reached their lowest ever world ranking in 2022, and failed to make it past the group stage for the first time ever in a World Cup in 2023. They've been up and down under Schmidt, taking the All Blacks close, and the two recent wins in Europe look promising, although England and Wales have been dreadful this year.

Top-rated shows include “Breaking Points,” “Stay Free with Russell Brand,” “The Joe Rogan Experience,” The Culture War with Tim Pool“ and ”This Past Weekend w/Theo Von.“

I don't know who Pool is, and Brand is a complete tool. I listen to Rogan and Von occasionally, when I think they have interesting guests. It's not that I particularly agree with everything said, although I do agree with some of it, but it's important to listen to both sides of an issue.

And not to disparage people for disabilities or medical issues, but I find Kennedy difficult to listen to, simply because of the voice. And the anti-vax stuff.

After paying out previous coach Pivac's contract, Wales probably won't want to pay out Gatland's £600,000 a year one and replace him. They should though.

Sorry (careless reading on my part), make that 5 attacks among the 8,000 that occured over a span of 2 years.

It's a fair point; and two attacks were by the same dog.

I'm wondering if: "According to the latest data, 42 of the animals were registered in Sapporo, 191 in Ibaraki Prefecture, and nine in Saga, southwestern Japan, among other municipalities," is a complete, nationwide count.

There are 3 attacks over the span of 2 years cited here. How exactly is that a "spate"?

I count nine separate people and animals bitten in this article, in five attacks.

*...pit bull owners are warned *not to let them come in contact with other people or animals.

*Sapporo, the prefectural capital of Hokkaido, and some other municipalities have under local ordinances designated pit bulls as "specified dogs" that may harm people. These authorities urge that they be kept in cages that lock and be muzzled, among other measures, and impose fines if such steps are not taken.*

*Gifu Prefecture does not have a similar ordinance, but it calls for *walking pit bulls on streets with little to no traffic or during times of the day when there are few people as well as asking owners to hold their pet's leash with both hands.

If all those steps are recommended to, or required of, pit bull owners in order to make them 'responsible' and to prevent their dogs from attacking other people or animals, can those dogs really be called "good dogs?"

Personally, I don't think an entire breed should be banned because of the actions of a few. However, I do think ownership should come with more restrictions and regulations, etc.

Announcing Kennedy's nomination on Thursday, Trump said that "for too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies."

Does that mean the government will be allowed to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices, like they are in other countries? Besides the extremely few negotiations to be allowed through Medicare, beginning in 2026?

Apologies if my info is out of date.

A good game. Congratulations to France.

Barring a disaster against Italy next week, my prediction for four losses this season for the All Blacks was almost spot on. Just need to swap out the loss to Argentina and the win against Ireland.

A rebuilding year, and we can see where this team may be headed. Unfortunately, still no clear 10, no answers in the centres, and no proper captain. Some of the youngsters are really putting their hands up, which is good.