JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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To be healthy, live in the big city
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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3
Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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From carnivores to herbivores: how men are defined in Japan
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
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Laguna
unreconstructed, I'd advise you to be careful with labels - first, with "hated": none of the three figures you mentioned would likely be met with much more than disdain amongst the American left. "Hate" is generally reserved for Bush.
Conservatives is what conservatives do, and that varies by country, so your rubric above is false. Sarkozy, for example, would be quite liberal in the American political environment.
But to answer your question: Most American liberals would see government as a social tool which should be wielded to correct social ills; the military as a necessary evil, to which funds should be appropriated with caution; the bounty of America's national resources as a common resource that should be shared equitably between the present and future generations; capitalism as an efficient but flawed system in need of oversight; and that religion should be as private as the bedroom.
American conservatives feel quite differently about the above - at least, as long as NIMBY is not involved - then, they tend to become quite liberal.
Posted in: Surging Romney aims to knock Gingrich out of race in Florida
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Laguna
Tokyo is not safe; Tokyo is most likely next. Ironically, the destruction of the central government in a Tokai quake will probably have little effect on the country's ultimate response.
Posted in: Ex-U.S. diplomat Maher pulls no punches on Japan
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Laguna
Actor Jon Voight apparently endorsed Mitt Romney, saying:
Not sure how much that will help Mitt, but at least we know who Angelina Jolie won't be voting for.
Posted in: Surging Romney aims to knock Gingrich out of race in Florida
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Laguna
Romney has never been a venture capitalist. He was a purveyor of private equity. There is a big difference.
For some Republicans, appeasement begins at the point just short of invasion. Romney is too intelligent to believe what he says; if elected, his instincts would be to act in a fashion almost identical to Obama, as far as foreign policy goes - though he'd be under pressure from his party to halt Obama's Pentagon spending freeze. It is his economic policies that are disturbing.
Gingrich will never win the nomination now that the Republican establishment has rejected him. Whether he stays in the race through the end, as he's promised, remains to be seen. Romney and the establishment would be most annoyed by that, but if it helps Newt sell books, he's got no incentive to quit.
Posted in: Surging Romney aims to knock Gingrich out of race in Florida
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Laguna
The Blues Brothers knew how to deal with neo-Nazis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTT1qUswYL0
Posted in: Some slam Nazis; others gather for right-wing ball in Vienna
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Laguna
Both are idiots. They WILL be caught, and the embarrassed police will not treat them well.
Posted in: Fatal hit-and-run suspect escapes from hospital in Wakayama
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Laguna
Doesn't hold a candle to where his money has been: the Caribbean, Ireland, Switzerland.... It is nice to see him giving his cash the opportunities he never had.
Posted in: Romney, Gingrich square off in key Florida debate
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Laguna
The military budget lives in a parallel universe: in no other budget would a 9% increase be described as a "cut."
Posted in: U.S. military to cut troop numbers, invest in future
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Laguna
Good first step. Now, if they'd just go ahead and block ALL tweets, they'd be where I am now: tweet free and lovin' it!
Posted in: Twitter able to now selectively block tweets
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Laguna
And now for something completely different.
Posted in: Monty Python members to re-unite for new film
5
Laguna
The stuff is all over the US, commonly known there as "Spice." It's a sort of synthetic marijuana purported to be used as incense but really to be smoked. Completely unregulated, containing God knows what and manufactured who knows where with no over-site at all, the stuff is very, very unpredictable and thus to be avoided.
http://www.google.co.jp/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=synthetic+marijuana+incense
Legalize marijuana and those who need to get there kicks could at least do so safely.
Posted in: Shibuya herb vendor raided after 3 teenagers fall ill
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Laguna
Romney said, continuing, "Obama caused job losses, raised taxes on corporations, and has traveled the world apologizing for America."
Posted in: Romney, Gingrich square off in key Florida debate
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Laguna
Romney's suggestion seems the most humanitarian to me, ironically. The onus for following employment laws is overwhelmingly on employers - for example, for determining proper age or qualifications. The same should be true for determining the legal right to work.
"Grandma Sanchez" most likely doesn't work anyway, so she'll be able to enjoy her sunset years without worry of deportation; those currently in the workforce might think about heading home; and those not yet in the States would be discouraged from coming. It's not a perfect solution, but it beats forced deportation.
Gingrich's idea is quite a bit crazier: he would have "citizen committees" composed of (who? white?) Americans vouch for the character of those undocumented who would like permission to stay. Imagine the witch hunts and outright bribery that this would engender! It would open up a Pandora's box of passions, that is for sure.
Posted in: Gingrich: Romney self-deportation plan a fantasy
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Laguna
Nice boar(d), dude! Cowabunga!
Posted in: Hitching a ride
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Laguna
Serrano - hah! My subconscious awakens me by garbage day type: Monday - plastic; Tuesday - nama; Wednesday - paper (maybe find some cool old books); Thursday: confusing, PET or glass and cans, gotta check the gomi calendar or take a walk by the spot, not a good day to wake up to; Friday: nama again.
Kinda reminds me of that excellent Aquabats song, "Pizza Day." < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuacNr3fJcs>
Posted in: How foreigners’ daily lives change when they live in Japan
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Laguna
Too true. Also sadly true is that such a figure could not be nominated in today's Republican Party. He surely thought this through thoroughly - his name was bandied about broadly as a candidate before he wisely demurred, no doubt with this in mind: Any Republican candidate in this atmosphere must declare that east is west and up is down and black is ... well, foreign. Any candidate who truly spoke his mind, who truthfully offered considered prescriptions for the ills facing America, would be hissed off the stage well before Iowa.
I'm glad he's keeping his powder dry, though. Someone will need to reconstruct the wreckage of the GOP come next winter.
Posted in: Jobs, energy, values top issues in Obama's State of the Union address
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Laguna
johninnaha, that would be news to Tibetans living in west Sichuan and virtually all of Qinghai, living there as their ancestors did. They did not move; borders were changed. Some of the Tibetan's most sacred locations such as the Kumbum Monastery are no longer "in" Tibet.
China is a cauldron, with volatile fuel supplied from multiple sides, and its political structure aggravates the situation by allowing no outlet for grievances and no satisfactory, permanent solutions. Zhongnanhai must change or it will be changed. The former can be guided; the latter would be revolution. They are running out of time.
Posted in: Deadly unrest spreads in Tibetan areas of China
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Laguna
Then there are the rebuttals!
Gingrich was as clear and concise as ever:
Translation: he's not an American, and even if he were, he's a RADICAL American who espouses something you don't understand but sounds scary.
Rick?
Much clearer: he's not an American, period.
Mitt?
Mitt at least offers some solid criticism - too bad it came in the form of a "prebuttal." Nothing like critiquing something you have not yet heard! Good thing Mitt favors the opposite, and balancing the budget and increasing military spending and, quite possibly, Christmas every day. Every day! Imagine that!
Posted in: Jobs, energy, values top issues in Obama's State of the Union address
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Laguna
Yes - but why?
Obama approval rating 47%
Congress approval rating 11%
Obama's approval rating is absent those Democrats who would like to see him act more aggressively. Look for it to rise from here into the 50s - and remember, a president with an approval rating in the 50s has never lost an election.
Posted in: Jobs, energy, values top issues in Obama's State of the Union address
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Laguna
Ideas like this are precisely why certain conservatives have been relegated to the political wilderness. Pack a bag and be prepared to be lonely:Ron Paul's popularity is due to his isolationism, which barely helps counterbalance antagonism towards his economic policies. You'll be alone and friendless for a long, long time.
Posted in: Romney's mountain of wealth gives ammo to opponents