Paul Somebody’s Comments

• Jun 2nd, 2016 @ 9:02am

  Aussies all look alike

  on DailyDirt: Dressing For Success...
  Is that the same newscaster who told the Dalai Lama and the pizza shop joke?
  
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003695/Dalai-Lama-joke-Australian-TV-anchor-Karl-Stefa novic-bombs.html
  
  It's hard to tell; Aussies all look the same to me.
• Nov 13th, 2014 @ 8:38am

  Another perspective.

  on DailyDirt: Healthcare Nightmares
  I'm an American living in Tokyo.
  
  I have a certain health issue which requires regular doctor visits. My daughter was born here three years ago with several complications.
  
  So I have some experience with the US and Japanese systems. Here are some of the differences:
  
  All ambulance rides are free of charge.
  All hospital fees are set each year by a government panel. So when I need my yearly MRI it costs $150 no matter what hospital I go to.
  The co-pay is 1/3 of the bill. So my MRI is $50 to me.
  There are caps on what hospital can charge for extended stays. My wife had to stay in the hospital for a month, C section, then my daughter needed surgery and she was in the hospital for 3 months. When the bill came I was surprised that we only had to pay $600. After you stay in the hospital over a certain number of days, they can't charge for additional days.
  Healthcare is basically free for children under 15.
  My individual insurance costs me about $60/month.
  And, somehow, amazingly, the healthcare is excellent.
  
  
  The only reason it is so expensive, so convoluted and exasperating in the US is because it has been politicized.
• Apr 5th, 2014 @ 3:19am

  The more things change...

  on If Your Cable Company Were Honest, This Is What Its Commercial Would Look Like
  I first saw this Lilly Tomlin SNL skit almost 40 years ago and it still rings true I guess.
  
  http://rutube.ru/video/fd2be09caaf7b0aaa396f23e9ac7
  
  Now I live in Japan. I have a fiber to the home connection with synchronous 100mbit speeds for $40 a month. Too bad Japanese TV is so bad though.
• Jan 31st, 2014 @ 2:19am

  The problem

  on One Of Six Omaha Cops Fired For Excessive Force, Illegal Search And Seizure Is Already Back In Uniform
  It seems to me the root of the problem is
  
  "we protect our own."
  
  I see at least one video like this every few days.
  
  Planting evidence (drugs, drugs and drugs)
  Excessive force
  Aggravating a situation instead of calming things down.
  
  The way police are being trained and the illegal activities accepted from them, it is an us and them situation.