JeffLee's past comments

  • 2

    JeffLee

    @bass4funk

    That link is 14 years old. Um, nice try. How many bombs have the Taliban put on airliners since then? The answer: zero. The Taliban don't even care about the West. Their activities are confined to Afghanistan and the surrounding region, which has NO strategic importance to the US. "You walk away from Afghanistan, you walk away with nothing," an analyst once said.

    Who were they funded by? Mainly wealthy Saudis and other members of the Al-Qeada, generally oil money, and a few Muslims in the West.

    We did No you didn't. Al-Queda has been most strongly concentrated in Saudi Arabia and on that peninsula. So please, tell us all about the US military invasion of Saudi Arabia, then.

    I agree the Taliban are a nasty, nasty bunch. But how do its policies on girl's education in rural Afghanistan, etc. pose a threat to the West, exactly?

    Posted in: U.S., Taliban to start talks on ending Afghan war

  • 4

    JeffLee

    The Taliban were never a threat to the West. George Junior's war has been a horrid waste of lives and taxpayers money.

    The 9.11 bombers were wealthy Saudis. 7.7 bomber were middle-class British Muslims. Wage your "war on terror" on them, the real terrorists, not a bunch of tribesmen who couldnt find NY or London a map anyway.

    Posted in: U.S., Taliban to start talks on ending Afghan war

  • 0

    JeffLee

    Well, Dog, true, there are serious structural issues, but in macroeconomic terms, Japan's economy has fared pretty well over the last decade. I would refer you to this article from the Economist,

    "A Grossly Distorted Picture" http://www.economist.com/node/10852462

    Posted in: Stocks close 2.73% higher

  • 2

    JeffLee

    Take 2 countries with the same standard living, say, Germany and Austria. Germany's GDP would be maybe 4 times bigger than Austria's, but only because its population is 4 times the size. The difference is not due to Germany having a superior economy. The difference reflects the different sizes of the 2 economies. And the size of the economies is based on the size of the populations, or the number of working people.

    Japan's population is getting smaller in size, with fewer working people. So even if it maintains zero growth in GDP, it can still attain positive growth per capita, which is a common measure of living standards.

    Posted in: Stocks close 2.73% higher

  • 1

    JeffLee

    GDP, in aggregate terms, doesn't need to grow, as Japan has a shrinking population, a key fact the pundits conveniently leave out.

    Interesting to note that countries that suffered "demographic crises" - China in the 1980s and Russia in the 1990s, have since seen skyrocketing growth in personal income.

    Posted in: Stocks close 2.73% higher

  • 0

    JeffLee

    Not sure how knowledgeable the writer is, but it seems she's not making a good distinction between long-term interest rates and short term rates.

    I would see the rise in LT rates as a good thing, since they reflect economic outlook, and can indicate growth, more private investment, optimism.

    As for the ST rates, these can be easily controlled by the BOJ and are directly linked to the rates on loans and mortgages,

    Further, the reason for the rise in JGB rates, apparently, is because more of the institutions are switching out of bonds and into the stock market....and that indeed is a good thing, given the markets' sluggish performance throughout the post-bubble. I daresay you need capital investment to support any future growth.

    Posted in: Abe's true test: rising government bond yields

  • 2

    JeffLee

    **this whole house of cards will come crashing down **

    I'll be holding you to that, so stick around this board. I've been hearing the "japan is unsustainable" worldview for years now. Just one problem: none of the predictions have actually panned out.

    Posted in: Stocks close 2.73% higher

  • 0

    JeffLee

    It's a flawed argument. Japan doesn't need tax revenue to service its debt. It issues its own currency and can just credit institutions to pay down its fiscal debt in that currency.

    Healthcare costs? In many Western countries, the average immigrant sponsors around four family members, most of whom don't work full time.

    Posted in: Swelling numbers of working immigrants would also help expand Japan’s tax rolls—which the country desperately needs to address its unsustainable debt load. Social security and healthcare spending would fall relative to GDP. And the tax burden would spread out over more workers, boosting consumption.

  • -2

    JeffLee

    Do I sense a paradox here? the status cites "protection," "preservation," blah, blah, But in Japan that status invariably means vast hordes of tourists, turning a once-natural spot into Shinjuku Station at rushhour.

    In Shiretoko, Hokkaido, the trail was backed up several kilometers of "hikers" just like the Tomei Expressway at U-turn time. The scene was farcical when I saw it on the TV news. Cheek-to-jowl hikers moving...nowhere.

    Posted in: UNESCO to formally add Mt Fuji as World Heritage site this week

  • 1

    JeffLee

    Olympus redux here? Gaijin (The Wall St. Journal) broke the Seibu sleaze story, forcing Japanese investigators to investigate. They found corporate records falsified by a megalomaniac. Don't think he went to jail, wasn't his sentence suspended? And fined....wait for it....5 million yen!!!!

    Cerebus may not be angels, but hopefully they can bring some transparency to Japan Inc. style corporate sleaze.

    Non-core lines? Maybe those spur lines that run out to the amusement facilities, etc.?

    Posted in: Cerberus questions Seibu management ahead of annual meeting

  • 0

    JeffLee

    A cool idea, but you really need separated speakers for the stereo effect. Might be good for a camper van.

    Posted in: Space-saving compact audio system

  • -1

    JeffLee

    Japan has that resources.

    What resources? Japan has the highest fiscal debt per GDP than any industrialized country in the world, with a pension and healthcare system facing financial crisis due to its demographics.

    Do you think the govt should cut our pension and healthcare to pay for this 8 billion dollar tunnel? Or stop reconstruction in Tohoku?

    Posted in: Japan mulls hosting global collider project

  • -3

    JeffLee

    It's a Keynesian stimulus measure. Billions of dollars of public money for jobs and national prestige.

    I read that some of the funds for Tohoku reconstruction would be diverted for its construction.

    Posted in: Japan mulls hosting global collider project

  • -3

    JeffLee

    Global investors now see US stimulus measures that are becoming more of a problem than a solution.

    I think you've got it the wrong way around. The fear of the end of stimulus is what largely triggered the big declines on the TSE. The investors want the stimulus to continue.

    The gain shows overseas investors are still buying U.S. debt

    Which means the foreigners continue to have plenty of confidence in the US economy.

    Posted in: Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury debt drop in April

  • 3

    JeffLee

    He's apologizing for creating "confusion"? No, he should apologize for lying and staging a cover-up.

    To whit: "NPB previously denied this year’s increase in home runs had anything to do with changes to the baseball."

    Posted in: Japan baseball boss apologizes for ball switch

  • 1

    JeffLee

    Ozawa calling for cooperation and unity is like Mussolini calling for compassion and tolerance.

    Posted in: Opposition parties need to join forces so that a viable alternative to the LDP can be created.

  • -2

    JeffLee

    Fantastic!. Those things are perfect for harassing the noisy Bosuzoku or campaigning politicians in your neighborhood.

    Posted in: Toy ride

  • -1

    JeffLee

    I was thinking of the Viz comic character, Johnny Fartpants. His favorite dinner was egg curry and cabbage water. Why not make it cabbage wine, eh?

    Posted in: Get your daily dose of vegetables with cabbage wine from Yamanashi

  • -1

    JeffLee

    Cabbage wine, eh? Would go well with egg curry. I could then sell my emissions for a profit as a renewable energy.

    Posted in: Get your daily dose of vegetables with cabbage wine from Yamanashi

  • -3

    JeffLee

    The Abenomics cynics dismissed the Nikkei when it was climbing, calling it hot air. Now that it's crashing, they're pointing to it as solid proof they were right. Hello?

    The real economy is still holding up. 3.5 percent growth ain't bad.

    Posted in: Nikkei enters bear market as stocks dive 6.35%

View all