JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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Antonios_M
Indeed, corruption in Greece dates backs to Ottoman occupation when the so called "rousfeti" ("Rusvet" in Turkish) was used in order to achieve a goal or take a position. Things became even worse during the 1980s when the Socialist government of Pasok and the Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou (father of the current Prime Minister George Papandreou) gave benefits and higher salaries to Public Employers in order to ensure their votes for the elections. It was the time when the thriving Greek economy, (just check for the "Greek economic miracle of '50s - '70s" and you will see a TOTALLY different Greece), slowed down and a Soviet style economy was implemented with terrible consequences.
However, if the Greek government had made a referendum back in the late '90s about the adoption or not of the Euro currency i am sure that at least the 90% of the population would have been AGAINST the adoption of Euro. It was something that we Greeks were never asked if we want or not; and now the Greeks and the Euro zone pay the consequences.
In my view, you can not have economic unity without having achieved a political one. This is a must in order to create a common currency for countries with so different economies and different political and social characteristics. As for Greece, it is a shame for a country that few years ago hosted successfully the Olympic games to end up begging for money. However, some of the criticism is unfair and completely ignoring the true facts. I have heard and read things like: Greeks retire at 50, Greeks are lazy, Greeks produce nothing etc. Well, Greece has not only the tourist industry, but also the largest merchant fleet in the world. Its GDP in 2010 was the 32nd highest in the world surpassing countries such as Finland, UAE, Chech Republic, Singapore, Israel, etc. What Greece lacks significantly is global influence. It is definitely not a weak country economically and i believe that it deserves to be assisted by the fellow member states, following of course the implementation of the necessary austerity measures in the public and private sector as well as the imposition of bold reforms in order to make the country more competitive. If Europe fails to do so, it means that it is unable to protect its member states. And then, it will be only a matter of time before the Euro currency collapses.
Posted in: Japan calls on eurozone to swiftly implement Greece aid plan
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Antonios_M
I think they should make a No2 version adding safety seats and a minimum amount of space for bottles of water. I believe that even though this thing might survive the impact with the waves, the spinning of the people inside might cause lethal injuries to them.
Somehow, it reminds me of those people who fell to Niagara Falls inside a barrel.
Posted in: Japan's answer to next tsunami: a mini-Noah's Ark
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Antonios_M
Here we go again...
Posted in: Rare flu-like virus on rise, with most cases in Japan
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Antonios_M
It was during my solo trip to Japan few years ago when i met my girl. Its wonderful to travel alone, but please, be careful and avoid dangerous places.
Posted in: Single females mean big bucks to Japan tourism
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Antonios_M
Unfortunately, i have to agree with this one. Especially Japanese females seem to lack common sense when traveling abroad. Somehow, they feel free from the stress they have in Japan and act in the worst possible way ignoring all dangers and thinking that any place around the world is 100% safe. Well, its not! Many of them are influenced entirely by Japanese traveling documentaries that present gaikoku as a place similar to paradise with kind people, tasty food, etc.
On the other hand though, we should not forget that the one to blame here is the taxi driver and not the poor girl. I hope he gets the right punishment.
Posted in: Female Japanese tourist murdered in Myanmar
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Antonios_M
I have heard that JAL has more experienced pilots than ANA despite its financial problems. Whether its true or not i don't know, but it is definitely scary if any co-pilot mistakes the door button with a "turn-130-degrees-and-dive-1,900m" button.
Posted in: Co-pilot error almost caused ANA plane to turn upside down
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Antonios_M
@weedkila
Sorry, but you can not compare the default of Iceland's economy with the default of the Eurozone and its member states. The difference in the economic scale is enormous and the consequences of the latter will bring chaos to the economic stability of the planet.
This economic theory is seriously outdated and it has been proved to be part of a utopianism.
Posted in: Japan may buy more European bonds, finance minister says
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Antonios_M
Gaijinfo - Very well said!!!
Posted in: What we expect of our politicians
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Antonios_M
Exactly! Euro was some kind of experiment which failed miserably. You can't have common currency without having political and economical unity. E.E seems to have a problem of identity. It attempted to copy/imitate the U.S.A in the worst possible way. They created a common currency without predicting the possibility of an economic crisis in the weaker member states. Big mistake which becomes even bigger when you have states that are unwilling to give their taxpayers money for a bailout.
Posted in: Japan may buy more European bonds, finance minister says
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Antonios_M
My Japanese girlfriend always buys products from Fukushima and we fight a lot about that... I really can't understand this "shoganai" mentality and the need to support Fukushima. I mean ok, its obvious that the prefecture needs economic support, but buying contaminated food sends the wrong message out there...
I love this country and i love my girl with all my heart but there are some aspects of the Japanese people that i will never understand. Still i admire them though...
Posted in: Radiation found in rice from Fukushima Pref; more tests planned
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Antonios_M
Oh, yes they do!
Posted in: Typhoon strands several thousand commuters in Tokyo
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Antonios_M
Indeed, this was a terrible year. By the way, why during every typhoon there is ALWAYS someone who will try to fix the roof or the drain ignoring the terrible weather conditions? Is it so difficult to understand that "roof" PLUS "winds of 150 km/h" PLUS "heavy rain" equals DANGER???
Posted in: 1 dead, 2 missing, over 1 million urged to evacuate as typhoon nears
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Antonios_M
Thats a very good idea!
Posted in: Japan to consider backup capital city for emergencies
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Antonios_M
I remember these people distributing brochures in the Keisei Narita Station. On the one hand, i feel pity for them, but on the other hand, their demands seem irrational.
Posted in: Last bastion of Narita airport opponents demolished
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Antonios_M
And yes, Saitama stabbing cases are back on the news. I wonder how many similar cases occurred over there during the last 10 years.
We must not forget though that, statistically speaking, it is still much safer than many areas around the world.
Posted in: Hostess bar worker stabbed to death outside Saitama workplace
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Antonios_M
Many rushed to claim that 2008 crisis is over and the time of recovery has come. Well, apparently this is not the case... World economy is still very fragile and is very sensitive to fears, speculations, etc, as tkoind2 wisely said... Moreover, even though the E.U and IMF were willing to bail out Greece, Portugal and Ireland, i doubt that they will be equally happy to deal with the Spanish and Italian debt. And that's where things will get scary...
Posted in: Dealers expect volatility in Japanese stock market this week
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Antonios_M
I like the uniform of the guy holding the cow...............
Posted in: Cosplaying around
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Antonios_M
Somehow i feel that we are going back to the beginning of the 20th century. It's a different thing to love your country, and another to become obsessed with feelings of superiority, discrimination, etc.
This decision is totally nonsense and will only bring more issues between the two countries.
Posted in: S Korean ferry operator bans Japanese passengers: Yonhap
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Antonios_M
World War II as a whole was a triumph for Realism. The atrocities and massacres committed during this war however, became an important lesson for what to avoid in a future conflict. Indeed, the planet avoided an unnecessary and probably massively catastrophic atomic war between U.S and the Soviet Union during the period of Cold War. If the U.S didn't drop the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, i am sure that the nuclear war wouldn't have been avoided since none of the two sides (U.S or the Soviets) would have been fully aware of the catastrophic scale of the bombs. This does not justify the dropping of the bombs however. 2 facts: 1) Japan was losing. 2) The Soviets were coming. Once again, a triumph for Realism led to one of the worlds greatest atrocities ever committed together with the Nanking Massacre and the Holocaust.
History may be debatable, but the facts that led to the attack on Pearl Harbor are well known. U.S. imposed an oil embargo on Japan. Indeed, the Japanese went too far with their Asian campaign and the West was not willing to give the whole territory of Eastern Asia to the Japanese. Thus, the Japanese had no other choice but to attack the Pearl Harbor and hope that they would make such a damage that they would force the Americans to sign a treaty beneficial for them. They didn't expect that the attack would just awake a sleeping giant.
Posted in: Do you consider the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be war crimes?
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Antonios_M
Totally agree, Southsakai. Japan needs more tolerance and respect towards foreigners but NOT the adoption of Multiculturalism.
Posted in: Norway killer's manifesto praises Japan for not adopting multiculturalism