Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 1:25 am Post subject:
tabana wrote:
Wow. A nice workout though to climb 26 story to get to work.
Yeah i'm sure the top officials take the stairs everyday....yeah right...with all the falsified construction plans and seismic inadequeacies that are coming to light in japanese buildings throughout the country...i wanna take the stairs so i can take as long as possible to get out the building...
who the hell gonna take the stairs in tokyo during the summer when it's hotter than a sumo wrestler's ass.
Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 9573 Location: �o�J�i�_ Country:
Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 1:38 am Post subject:
I don't know... People must smell really great. They sweat like crazy in the trains and after they have to climb all those stairs... I wonder when they say "saving energy", if they really mean: an excuse to look under the women's skirts while climbing the stairs.
If I had to climb 26 stories to go to work, I would bring my lunch, so I wouldn't have to climb them 2 times a day. Possibly bring a oxygen tank or two and set up a base camp on the 15th floor. _________________
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 1:40 am Post subject:
tabana wrote:
I don't know... People must smell really great. They sweat like crazy in the trains and after they have to climb all those stairs... I wonder when they say "saving energy", if they really mean: an excuse to look under the women's skirts while climbing the stairs.
If I had to climb 26 stories to go to work, I would bring my lunch, so I wouldn't have to climb them 2 times a day. Possibly bring a oxygen tank or two and set up a base camp on the 15th floor.
hahah...base camp.
i would just bring a mylar sleeping back and order delivery....let those muthaf...walk the stairs.
i'm sure OL's wearing heels love to walk 10 flights of stairs....
Last edited by Tu_triky on Tue May 02, 2006 2:01 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 9573 Location: �o�J�i�_ Country:
Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 1:51 am Post subject:
Yeah...
I almost get dizzy climbing down stairs after a while. I don't know why and it's not because I'm exausted. Could be going around in circles... _________________
Saddam Hussein novel hits stores in Japan
By Takanori Isshiki
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese readers looking for a slightly different tale can now curl up with "Get Out of Here, Curse You" -- a novel by former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.
The book, believed to have been written on the eve of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and titled "Devil's Dance" in its Japanese translation, hit stores around the nation Friday.
Jordan banned the book on the grounds it could damage ties with Iraq, but pirated copies of the tale of an Arab tribesman who defeats foreign invaders became a bestseller in Amman.
The original manuscript was smuggled out of Iraq by one of Saddam Hussein's daughters, Raghad, and a copy given to Japanese journalist and translator Itsuko Hirata.
"The novel is dated to the times of ancient tribal society but the tribal warfare depicted in the novel is strikingly similar to what happened and is happening in the Iraqi war -- totally," Hirata told Reuters before the book's release.
"He (Saddam) knew he was heading into a war he couldn't win, so I think with this book he was trying to make his position clear and send a message to the Iraqi people."
Among the chapters are those titled "The Foreigner Who Sold the Tribes," "Retaliatory Tactics" and "The Burning of the Twin Towers," although Hirata said this did not specifically refer to the World Trade Center buildings attacked on September 11, 2001.
Saddam, now on trial for war crimes, was credited with writing several other novels but Iraqi writers and intellectuals said after his overthrow the books were written by a committee.
Hirata believes the current novel, issued in a cover patterned with violets, was written by Saddam and has a melodic clarity to it that suggests it could be adapted to the stage.
"I really think this book should be made into a musical," she said. "And once this is done, it should play in the heart of his enemy's country, on Broadway."
Koichi Chikaraishi, editor-in-chief at publisher Tokuma Shoten, said they decided to issue the book because it was a historical curiosity.
"People here don't think Saddam is totally bad, as they do in places like America, so there are people who will be interested in hearing his side of the story," he said, adding that he wasn't sure how it would sell.
The book faces formidable competition.
The translation of the latest Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," was also released this week.
Asimov's First Law Of Robotics: Japan Sets Rules for Robots
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is working on a new set of safety guidelines for next-generation robots. This set of regulations would constitute a first attempt at a formal version of the first of Asimov's science-fictional Laws of Robotics, or at least the portion that states that humans shall not be harmed by robots.
The first law of robotics, as set forth in 1940 by writer Isaac Asimov, states:
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Japan's ministry guidelines will require manufacturers to install a sufficient number of sensors to keep robots from running into people. Lighter or softer materials will be preferred, to further prevent injury.
Emergency shut-off buttons will also be required. Science fiction heroes in stories and movies have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find the shut-off button for various out-of-control machines, so I hope that these buttons will be prominently placed for easy access by concerned humans.
People in Japan are particularly concerned about this problem, due to the accelerating efforts to create robots that will address the coming labor shortage in Japan's elder care industry.
Follow these links to read about some of the proposed healthcare and home use robots that could take advantage of the new guidelines:
You may say that Japan is looking ahead of time, but it's better to be prepared than to experience the same thing that happend in the movie, Matrix _________________
With all that sweat, they should bring extra clothes . And their office should have showers and locker rooms too
some bigger companies do have their own gym, i am sure....they are lucky, most others resort to going to a fitness club, but during after work hrs, it can get crowded, but lots of hot chix too...
Virus spreads data, scandal over Winny
By CARL FREIRE, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 12, 2:29 PM ET
TOKYO - A computer virus that targets the popular file-sharing program Winny isn't the most destructive bug or even the most widespread. But it's the most talked about in Japan as it generates headline after headline, month after month.
The malware, called Antinny, finds random files on Winny users' PCs and makes them available on the file-sharing network. So far, the data leaked have been varied and plentiful: passwords for restricted areas at airports, police investigations, customer information, sales reports, staff lists.
The constantly updated virus seems to have spared no one — airlines, local police forces, mobile phone companies, the National Defense Agency. Even an antivirus software manufacturer has suffered.
"The virus has been quite effective in getting information off a user's computer and onto the Internet. The data is supposed to be secret, so people are quite sensitive about it," said Tsukuba University computer scientist Kazuhiko Kato.
Compared to attacks on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software, the scope of the Antinny outbreak is narrow. But the Winny mess has caused an enormous brouhaha in Japan.
Antinny also may have the dubious distinction of being the first virus to exploit the nature of file-sharing itself — in Japan, if not in the world, said Mamoru Saito of Telecom Information Sharing and Analysis Center Japan. Other viruses and spyware are often found on such networks, though none appears to take advantage of the underlying technology to spread personal data.
And while Antinny's writers seem to be limiting themselves to Japanese file-sharing software for now, he said, the code theoretically could be modified to attack other file-sharing networks such as Gnutella and BitTorrent.
The outbreak has triggered a broad damage-control effort by government and businesses. They have banned Winny from in-house computers and fired employees who use it on them. They've also demanded that staff not take work home and delete Winny from any home PCs used for work.
"The most secure way to prevent the leakage of information is not to use Winny on your computer," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the government's top spokesman, told reporters.
But the outbreak shows little sign of abating.
"The problem has shown that many people just don't know how to use the Internet safely," said Takeshi Sato of the government's National Information Security Center.
File-sharing programs like Winny are used to find and get files — from music to video to documents — from the computers of other people also using the software. The PC owner typically has control over what is made available by limiting sharing to a specific folder.
The virus takes advantage of this culture to propagate itself by playing a "social" trick on users, said Telecom ISAC Japan's Saito.
When the virus is activated on a computer, it first chooses a new name for itself by taking the names of other files users are likely to be searching for — usually photos or music. The resulting new name becomes so long that, under normal Windows' settings, the three-letter file extension that indicates the type of file disappears from view, he said.
Careless users who download the file will see only the name and think it is something they wanted — say, a photo of a favorite movie star. They don't see that they are actually trying to open an application, not a picture.
When they do, the virus then looks on the computer for the Winny application, grabs random files off the hard drive and uses Winny to make those files — and itself — available for download on the network.
And so the cycle repeats.
New strains of Antinny appear all the time. Software maker Trend Micro listed 46 variations of the virus in its database as of mid-May. Trend itself lost sales data due to a Winny leak in 2005.
"Just keeping your antivirus software up to date isn't enough, because the updates can't keep up with all the new strains of the virus," the government's Sato said.
The government's concerns about Winny go beyond viruses. It's often used to share files — and that often means illegally exchanging copyrighted materials.
Winny was already on the government's radar screen in November 2004, when its creator — then an instructor at the prestigious University of Tokyo — was handed a three-year suspended sentence on charges of violating copyright laws.
But now it is confidential data rather than hit songs that have Winny back in the spotlight.
Japan Airlines, for example, discovered last December that an Antinny-infected computer owned by one of its co-pilots leaked passwords for restricted areas at 16 airports around Japan as well as Guam's international airport. The airline was forced to alert the airports to have passwords changed as a precaution.
In early March, Japan's National Defense Agency said it lost "confidential information" due to a Winny leak, again from an employee's home computer. While defense officials refused to say what data had been lost, a news report said it included reports on training exercises conducted in Okinawa with U.S. troops in 2005.
In the aftermath of the leaks, the agency ordered employees not to use Winny on any computers used for work. It also announced plans to purchase 56,000 computers so employees would no longer have to use their own equipment for work.
Schools, Internet providers and electric companies are among the others who can tell of similar losses. Making matters worse, reports began surfacing in May that the virus was now attacking another Japanese file-sharing application called Share (pronounced "shah-ray"), opening the door to yet more embarrassing leaks.
The excitement being generated is all the more remarkable when one considers the outbreak's scale.
Because Antinny needs Winny to spread, both the virus and the files it picks up are limited to a small section of Internet users — anywhere from 300,000 to 600,000 people, based on government and industry estimates.
Government statistics show Antinny was responsible for a minuscule fraction of the 24,155 virus outbreaks reported between November 2005 and April 2006.
"Reports of the leaks make for good drama," Tsukuba's Kato said. "Still, they show that people need to be careful if they connect their computers to the Internet."
The government and businesses are trying to help, with everything from educational pamphlets and Web sites to free software that can remove Antinny, Winny or both. But there are limits to what they can do.
"The industry is providing information about how to deal with the problem," said Telecom ISAC-Japan's Saito. "The question is whether or not the users do anything about it."
Japan pulling its 600 troops from Iraq
By JOSEPH COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - Japan ordered the withdrawal of its ground troops from Iraq on Tuesday, declaring the humanitarian mission a success and ending a groundbreaking dispatch that tested the limits of its pacifist postwar constitution.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the 600 non-combat troops — deployed in early 2004 — had helped rebuild infrastructure in the area where they were based, and he pledged further aid to Iraqi reconstruction.
"Today we have decided to withdraw Ground Self-Defense Forces from the Samawah region in Iraq," Koizumi said in a nationally televised news conference. "The humanitarian dispatch ... has achieved its mission."
The withdrawal was decided in consultation with the United States and other allies, Koizumi said. Defense chief Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters earlier in the day that the pullout would take "several dozen days."
Koizumi has been a vocal supporter of U.S. policy in Iraq, arguing that the deployment was needed to aid reconstruction, secure oil supplies and bolster ties with Washington. He travels to Washington for a summit with President Bush later this month.
Japan, which hosts 50,000 U.S. troops under a security treaty, will continue to stand with Washington, said Koizumi, who steps down in September.
"Japan's policy to cooperate with the United States based on the importance of the Japan-US alliance has never changed and will not change," he said.
The operation constituted Japan's largest and most dangerous overseas military mission since the end of World War II. While concerns for the troops' safety were high, the region they were based in was relatively peaceful. As security deteriorated, they were largely confined to their base.
Tokyo will now consider expanding air operations in Iraq to include transport of medical supplies and U.N. personnel, following a request from U.N. General-Secretary Kofi Annan, said Takenori Kanzaki, head of the ruling party's coalition partner, the New Komei Party.
"Even after the withdrawal from Iraq, we must continue the efforts to support Iraq," Kanzaki told reporters.
The troops' top tasks were purifying water and repairing schools, but he soldiers also patched roads and strengthened medical services. Koizumi said their work created jobs for the local economy.
Although the mission is strictly non-combat and humanitarian, the deployment broke new ground as a symbol of Tokyo's more assertive military policy.
The move to withdraw followed the announcement on Monday that Britain and Australia would hand over responsibility for security to Iraqi forces in southern Muthana province, where the Japanese troops are based.
That apparently was the signal to Tokyo that is was time to go. Japan has been concerned that its troops could be drawn into the fighting in Iraq.
Nukaga ordered the withdrawal to begin later Tuesday. The Yomiuri newspaper reported the target for completing the pullout was the end of July.
Polls showed half or more of the Japanese public opposed the mission, and many were concerned about the safety of troops in Iraq and the possibility that the dispatch would make Japan a target of terrorists.
Critics also said the dispatch violated the U.S.-drafted 1947 constitution, which foreswears the use of force to settle international disputes. The Iraq mission followed a dispatch of Japanese ships to offer logistical support for military action in Afghanistan.
Koizumi defended the deployment on Tuesday.
"I believe we made the right decision," he said.
While no Japanese soldiers suffered casualties, other citizens in Iraq were targeted by militants demanding a Japanese withdrawal. Seven Japanese have been kidnapped in Iraq since the deployment, and two of them were killed.
Japanese backpacker Shosei Koda, 24, was kidnapped and decapitated in Iraq in October 2004. Militants claimed to have abducted Akihito Saito, 44, a Japanese security manager employed by the British company Hart GMSSCO. A later statement said he died of wounds suffered in an ambush.
Throughout, Koizumi was steadfast in his insistence on continuing the dispatch, despite polls that showed most Japanese were against it.
The harshest test of the policy came in April 2004, when three Japanese aid workers were kidnapped and threatened with death unless Tokyo withdrew. Koizumi refused, and all three were later released unharmed.
Still, opposition to the dispatch was strong. A poll published in the national Asahi newspaper late last year showed 69 percent of respondents opposed to continuing the mission. Nevertheless, Japan's government in December extended the dispatch for another year.
Japan urged to improve Internet access
Wed Jul 5, 2:54 PM ET
TOKYO - Japan needs to improve Internet access and other mobile network systems to boost efficiency, creativity and productivity and overcome challenges posed by the aging and shrinking of its population, a government report said.
The Information and Communications White Paper, approved in a Cabinet meeting, called for further efforts to build a "ubiquitous" network society and make good on earlier announced plans to make Japan the world's most advanced networking society by 2010.
The number of Internet users through cell phones and other mobile terminals reached 69 million, surpassing the 66 million accessing through computer terminals at the end of 2005, the report said. Some 49 million use both.
The report, issued Tuesday, said further development of networks could create more flexibility in working environment, with workers using video conferences or working from home. It could also create new jobs for specialists in management and outsourcing.
The report noted, however, that there is a digital divide. Although Internet use last year surpassed 90 percent in Japanese between the ages of 13 through 49, it was less than 50 percent among people aged 65 or older.
That is a major concern here. Roughly one in four Japanese will be 65 or older in 2015, and about one in three by 2050. That has already caused a labor shortage and revenue crunch because of the shrinking tax base.
The government said the ongoing fusion between the communications and broadcasting industries will help support Japan's economic growth. Information and communication technology industries contributed to 40 percent of Japan's growth in 2004.
Yeah i'm sure the top officials take the stairs everyday....yeah right...with all the falsified construction plans and seismic inadequeacies that are coming to light in japanese buildings throughout the country...i wanna take the stairs so i can take as long as possible to get out the building...
who the hell gonna take the stairs in tokyo during the summer when it's hotter than a sumo wrestler's ass.
lol.....hotter than two sumo's asses.....they got no AC in some of those old buildings....
Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 9573 Location: �o�J�i�_ Country:
Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 11:50 pm Post subject:
[quote="Saito_Hajime"]
Quote:
Japan urged to improve Internet access
Wed Jul 5, 2:54 PM ET
TOKYO - Japan needs to improve Internet access and other mobile network systems to boost efficiency, creativity and productivity and overcome challenges posed by the aging and shrinking of its population, a government report said. .../quote]
Improve Internet access!?! I thought you could have a 100mbits up/down for 6000 yens a month... I don't even have 10mbits for 45$ a month.
I don't think being able to donwload p0rn faster will help the shrinking of its population. _________________
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 11:59 pm Post subject:
[quote="tabana"]
Saito_Hajime wrote:
Quote:
Japan urged to improve Internet access
Wed Jul 5, 2:54 PM ET
TOKYO - Japan needs to improve Internet access and other mobile network systems to boost efficiency, creativity and productivity and overcome challenges posed by the aging and shrinking of its population, a government report said. .../quote]
Improve Internet access!?! I thought you could have a 100mbits up/down for 6000 yens a month... I don't even have 10mbits for 45$ a month.
I don't think being able to donwload p0rn faster will help the shrinking of its population.
my friend is interning at Deutsche Bank this summer in London as a MBA student....
you know how much he pays for internet access over there? 120 US dollars A MONTH!
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I wonder when they say "saving energy", if they really mean: an excuse to look under the women's skirts while climbing the stairs. 
. And their office should have showers and locker rooms too 
