Sid comments

How about awarding a knighthood to my neighbour who for forty years worked with special needs children, and now retired on a tiny pension, helps so many people in our neighbourhood. Beckham has got this after endless lobbying and self promotion. The honours system in the UK is a joke.

This volatility in the markets is great for speculators, all the rises and falls are a sure way for huge financial gains to be made. Not that I'm suggesting that anyone would do such a thing to enrich themselves, especially not someone who is in a position to manipulate these rises and falls with their actions.

'Apparently it was a bag of money this big.'

The crazy thing about the George Harrison case was that the company that was suing him for plagiarism was purchased by Harrison, so he ended up suing himself and then paying himself damages!

@Namahage

That's the Adachi Museum near Matsue. It's one of the best museums in Japan and well worth a visit.

Only 10% of the recipients are female. That tells you everything about Japan right there.

I don't see the value in releasing such videos. I watched one on the UK news and, even if the bodies were obscured, it was a very harrowing watch. This is a sad situation which unfortunately happens to old people every day across the world and we should respect the dignity and privacy of the deceased.

This is very sad. The news here is being dominated by the upcoming funeral of the Pope and this story has been relegated to 'other news'. I'm sure Prince Andrew is very relieved that this is the case.

It's true her career did sag a bit as she got older, but she has my full support.

Why would you bring a knife into Japan anyway? Guns are impossible to get, but you can buy a knife anywhere, ones which could do a lot more damage than one you can hide in a sneaker.

Looks like a cut and dried case to me.

Bread and circuses.

A grotesque distortion of everything football is about. It's heartbreaking.

The US placed military bases in many countries, not because it's doing those countries a favour, but because it was in its own interests. It's getting a little old for the US to make out that it's getting a raw deal protecting other countries as if it was a one-way act of philanthropy.

Shirley Bassey has a special coin minted for her? I like Shirley Bassey, but it rather devalues the honour. She had along and successful career, but hardly changed the world.

Once you have one of the 'agent' t-shirts the obvious thing to do is wear it every time you go to Burger King. You'll be sure of good service then, and maybe even a freebee. You could keep it up for years!

I once dated a Japanese girl who complained that her face was too big. I had no idea what she was talking about as she was very attractive. Now I see it wasn't just her being a bit weird, but that it's a common notion in Japan.

Loved the Small Faces!

If you watch the video of her at the police station (available on the BBC) you can see that it's her ignoring the police. Her whole attitude and body language is like the worst ever teenager in high school determined to be rude to the teacher. It certainly doesn't look like someone who is afraid and feeling ignored, more like someone who is drunk and with a with a heightened sense of entitlement and determination to belittle the person she is speaking to.

You can tell by the photos that she seems to think this is all a bit of a laugh. If you believe their account of the incident then it's the taxi driver who would not only lose his taxi license, but face imprisonment for a serious crime of taking two women hostage. That sums up the footballers whole mentality. Not only playing the race card, but the unsafe women card, making it more difficult for women who really are unsafe to deal with their situation.

This is why I don't buy bitcoin - I might be walking around with a bag of them and some guy will just grab them. The ones I was offered weren't very heavy though and it made me wonder if they were genuine.

Of course I wish both Charles and Kate a full recovery and good health, but their treatment was the best and given speedily. For most people in the UK suffering from cancer it's very hard to get an early diagnosis and then there's a long wait for treatment to begin - that's why cancer outcomes here are so bad compared with other developed countries. You can be sure Kate didn't wait on a hospital trolley for 10 hours in a hospital corridor, or wait 6 weeks for an appointment for tests and then 6 weeks to get the results and then 3 months for treatment to begin. (Trust me, I know.)

I love Wallace and Gromit! Shaun the Sheep is brilliant, too!

Just because he's left China it doesn't mean the harassment won't continue. It won't be long before some thugs posing as 'ordinary members of the public' will start throwing their weight around and intimidate customers.

By the way, I would certainly buy books in a bookshop called 'Fatty Wangs'!

Apparently some of the chimps have agreed to appear in court as witnesses for the defence, so it's not so clear cut.

Any recording with the name 'Quincy Jones' attached was sure to be a work of quality, and this was true for so many different styles of music. His range was incredible and we were lucky to have him for so long.

This crime isn't so common in Europe. In fact the French don't even have a word for voyeur. (Thank you George Bush.)

Roosevelt in the 1930s adopted the song 'Happy Days are Here Again' for his campaign. The writer intended it as an ironic take on the most miserable time of the Great Depression and it was supposed to be sung jokingly as a dirge. However it was then taken up as a comment on the abolition of Prohibition and became the jaunty number we know and love.

Charles has recently stated that the Australian people should choose whether they want a monarchy or not. I'm guessing that those in favour would still win any referendum on the matter. However, the demographic makeup of Australian includes an increasing number of people whose origin is no longer white British, but other nations where there is no historical connection to the UK and monarchy.

As for reparations, it's not up to Charles whether they are paid or not, whatever his opinion. That's what a constitutional monarchy is - he's only there to sign off on what the elected government decides.

Strangely enough, I find that listening to rap makes my athlete's foot much worse, whereas enka seems to calm it down. Of course, that may be due to the fact that Japanese fungus may react more favourably to Japanese music. Hopefully the boffins will investigate this phenomenon in an international context.

iron man

Yes, I see your point. I often say the same thing myself.