JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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DS
The law is ridiculous because you can avoid responsibility simply by not getting in the car. Maybe your friend is drunk and is going to drive, but as long as you stay out of the car yourself, you stay out of trouble.
I agree that this is a social responsibility- we should all guard against driving while intoxicated. However, social responsibility does NOT equal legal culpability. Sorry, but the general public isnt trained in matters of law, such as determining level of intoxication. This is lazy policing.
Posted in: Passenger arrested for riding in car with drunk driver in hit-and-run case
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DS
Wow. What a terrible law. Making someone responsible for the behavior of others...... talk about the nanny state in overdrive. Drunk driving is terrible and the driver needs to be punished severely. But drunk riding?!? Ridiculous.
Posted in: Passenger arrested for riding in car with drunk driver in hit-and-run case
0
DS
For those who say that Japanese wont buy American cars: if that is the case, then the trade and tariff barriers aren't necessary. Eliminate them immediately.
OTOH, if you don't really believe that, then it's safe to keep them in place.
Posted in: U.S. senator criticizes Japan on auto trade barriers
2
DS
The ROK needs to strap this guy into a parachute and drop him into North Korea. Imagine the chaos he would cause to li'l Kim and the rest of the thugs in Pyongyang? If he'd cut off his finger over a few rocks in the ocean, I wonder what he would cut off to protest the Norks kidnapping and murdering hundreds of South Korean citizens?
Posted in: S Korean severs part of his finger and mails it to Japanese embassy
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DS
This should have been done weeks ago. Nobody wants gangs of stinky hippies and druggies infesting public spaces at the expense of those who may want to use them.
I think many Canadians do support the general aims of the protestors, but are getting fed up with the protest itself. In Toronto, public sector unions and violent native groups are starting to appear and try to hijack the protest. Plus, to be honest, Canadians don't have much to complain about. The economy is good, unemployment is low, and the government plans to eliimnate the federal budget deficit within 3 years.
Posted in: Canada shuts down Occupy protests
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DS
"What's wrong with Angola?"
Nothing, as long as you don't count various human rights abuses, torture, 30 plus years of rule by the same autocrat...
You want HIM to get your money? Or Nigeria? Or, god forbid, Saudi Arabia? Or Castro junior in Caracas? Forget it. Far better to have secure sources of energy at or close to home. Depending on tinpot dictators and despots half a world away for a vital commodity such as oil is foolish when there are valid alternatives.
Posted in: Obama to expand drilling off Alaska, in Gulf
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DS
Nothing wrong with exploiting natural resources. Cuttign a deal with Libya isnt possible- Europe has most available Libyan oil sewn up. For the US, the choices are Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Mexico, Angola, Venezuela, or Iraq. You want any of those countries (with the possible exception of Mexico) getting more money?
Posted in: Obama to expand drilling off Alaska, in Gulf
1
DS
14 years old means he was probably in 3rd year of JHS, preparing for his high school entrance tests. Huge pressure, and if he wasn't getting results, or didnt think he could get into a good high school........ well, that may have been a factor.
I have a son nearly the same age (15), and I vowed long ago to never subject him to the juku/test nonsense that so many succumb to. He goes to a private jhs/shs (not international school), loves his studies, participates in activities he likes, and has weekends free to socialize and make plans with his friends.
Posted in: Boy struck by train dies in apparent suicide
0
DS
It's funny Warner, I used to wonder the same thing during the Bush years- why did Democrats hate Bush so much? I could never figure it out. If you dislike and disagree with his policies, fine. But the constant personal attacks and disparaging comments.... disgusting. I would say the same to anyone that attacks Obama on a personal level. He's not an idiot or terrorist or commie, he's an intelligent man who is doing what he thinks is best for his country. I and others disagree with him, but that doesn't mean his intentions are bad.
I find it ironic that the few things that Obama have done well are retreads of GOP/Bush ideas- keeping Gitmo open, having a "surge" in Afghanistan, keeping and expanding the use of drones to kill enemies outside the US, and now expanding oil drilling.
Posted in: Obama to expand drilling off Alaska, in Gulf
0
DS
It's really a very simple choice: either buy oil from murderous thugs and terrorists (Middle East, Venezuela), or expand production at home. There are no other viable options at the moment. Of course, alternate and new technology are desirable, but they don't have the capacity to produce enough power. When those options ARE viable, then they should be used.
Of course, it's important to remember that Canada is now the number one exporter of oil to the US, which is good. The technology to extract oil from the oil sands areas is getting better and cleaner all the time. A win/win situation for both countries. The US gets a secure source of oil from a friendly and peaceful neighbour, and Canada gets the cash.
Posted in: Obama to expand drilling off Alaska, in Gulf
1
DS
I really don't care what people say, but say SOMETHING!! Arigato, san-kyuu, domo sumimasen, (guttural grunt), (raised eyebrow), (ducked head and brief twitch of the neck), anything.....
As for spontaneous generosity, it is rare. I do remember the whole "Tiger Mask" thing last year- anonymous donations to orphanages of cash/school bags/ supplies. It was touching and sincere and stopped after a month or so. No surprise that Japan ranks #119 of all nations in regards to charitable activity (the World Giving Index). Personal charity is a rare act, outside of throwing a few coins in the box for the latest disaster.
Posted in: A culture shock – generosity isn’t free
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DS
I dont think most people are intentionally rude, but they ARE totally clueless as to what is going on around them. They probably think the door magically opened just for them, or it never occurred to them that anything else would happen. That would require being aware of your surroundings, acknowledging that other people are also occupying the same space.... not strong points of the Japanese.
Posted in: A culture shock – generosity isn’t free
5
DS
I could never figure out the lack of decent graphics on most shows. They have people holding up cardboard sheets with sticky paper covering the important bits of information. The news person pulls off the paper to reveal the key phrase. I wonder what happens to the little bits of paper? The studios must be knee deep in rectangular bits of blank blue paper.
Posted in: Japanese viewers tuning out, turning off their TVs
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DS
Puss;
It's hard to employ people who are sitting on their collective butts, doing drugs and causing a public nuisance. Not too many jobs to be had in a park full of reprobates.
Posted in: Woman dies at Occupy Vancouver site
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DS
Chalk another one up for the Big Stinky Hippie movement. They've had their fun, now it's time for them to go back to their normal lives........ oh wait. I forgot- they don't HAVE normal lives. Or jobs.
It's an interesting social study to see how these various encampments deal with issues like crime, drug use, communal facilities, etc. I read that in New York, the volunteer cooks went on strike because they were tired of feeding the homeless who came by for the gourmet fare on offer- chicken and spinach salads, etc. The protesters were given a 24 hour diet of sandwiches and water. I guess they want to share, as long as they don't have to share with anyone else.....
Posted in: Woman dies at Occupy Vancouver site
5
DS
It's hard to sift through the TV shows and find anything of interest to watch. The news shows are padded with 'special interest' reports and are largely absent of actual news- particularly international events. Shows which may be interesting are invariably packed with large panels of 10-15 simpering idiots (the amusingly named 'talento') and waste more than half their time watching them react or comment on what is being shown. Trim the talento and you could trim the budget by half, as well as the air time.
The rest of the time consists of the constant repetition of the following words;
eeeeeeeeeeeh? Sugoi! oishii! haaaaaaaaaaaaa? (with a rising intonation)
God bless SkyPerfect and the HDD.
Posted in: Japanese viewers tuning out, turning off their TVs
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DS
The problem is when certain things get more respect than others, when certain belief systems such as religion are granted special protection.
A previous poster wrote that offensive words are like violence, so dont be surprised if they provoke a reaction. What nonsense. Words are just that- words. I see/hear things every day that offend me, but they do not give me free licence to be violent. Rather, I can use MY words back, or ignore it, or boycott the company that offended me, or socially shun whoever offended me.
Violence is the last resort of the ignorant and primitive.
Posted in: French satirical paper firebombed after publishing Mohammad cartoon
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DS
My experience has been that Japanese lack "spontaneous" generosity, as they lack spontenaiety in so many areas of life. Given a cause and some organization, they pull together magnificently, as can be seen in the reaction to various disasters. However, simple daily courtesies are often not performed or received well. This is particularly true among strangers- social constraints and communication difficulties make it almost impossible to strike up casual conversations and perform small acts of random kindness.
Posted in: A culture shock – generosity isn’t free
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DS
Watching Perry try to enunciate a clear sentence in Engilsh is like watching a chimpanzee play with a locked suitcase. And I say that as a libertarian leaning conservative. Mitt Romney would eviscerate Obama, as would Newt Gingrich. But Perry? Sorry. He shoulda stayed down on the farm.
As for the tax issue, the problem isnt with revenue, it's with spending. Too much of the latter- it's increased by more than 80% in the last decade. A simplified system with less loopholes would benefit everyone, except for lobbyists and accountants.
Posted in: Perry to GOP: I could handle Obama in debate
1
DS
If Hamas laid down their arms, there would be immediate peace.
If Israel laid down THEIR arms, there would be no Israel.
It is an unfortuanate consequence of living next door to people who want to exterminate your entire nation, and don't even acknowledge its existence.
Posted in: Israel, militants continue attacks for second day