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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TPOJ
To simply say that earned bonuses should not be paid because the financial institutions received taxpayer money does not look good even on paper--especially when there were no strings attached to the taxpayer money.
That's not even close to what I'm saying. I'd also like to point out that your "no strings attached" point is built on law, not right and wrong.
The context of my comments, which is missing in your assertion, is that these bonuses can not have possibly been "earned" through "performance" if the CEO in question is running a failed company.
If you perform...if the company you run makes money...you receive a bonus. If you don't perform...if the company you run fails so badly the government has to come along and bail you out...you don't receive a bonus.
Why do people insist on obfuscating this screamingly obvious point? I'm not decrying a 50 million dollar bonus for the CEO of a wildly successful company. I am...and sorry to repeat myself, but I want to make sure that nothing extra is read into my point...simply stating that if a bonus is attached to performance, and the company doesn't perform, then you don't get the bonus. That's what "attached to" means.
Posted in: Obama calls executive bonuses 'shameful'
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TPOJ
However, on an ongoing basis executives earn bonuses for performance and those bonus programs are often rather meticulously designed by big accounting firms or actuarial firms to incentivize productivity.
Which sounds logical, if it weren't for the current predicament. If people running failed companies receive bonuses, particularly ones of this size, then the programs couldn't have been THAT meticulous.
People are receiving bonuses...large ones...after failure. Your scenario looks good on paper, but in practice...well, we're still having this conversation.
Posted in: Obama calls executive bonuses 'shameful'
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TPOJ
People qualify for bonuses on the basis of performance. That performance is defined in their contracts and bonuses are often a trade-off for salary.
In the lower ranks, yes. But look closer. As the positions and salaries get more stratospheric, a different element emerges. In Hollywood, for example, everyone naturally wants a hit. But who gets the HUGE money? The people who handle it. A producer can have a chain of flops, but if he's comfortable wrangling budgets, his esteem increases (ask Richard Rush, director of "The Stunt Man," about how little success matters when put up against CEO mentality.)
Look up Carly Fiorina, former CEO for HP. She unambiguously ran that company in the ground, and after getting shown the door (WAY too late,) she was given an absurd severance package, then (unsurprisingly) found herself on McCain's campaign team. Hell, how many bankruptcies did Bush oversee before being elected President?
Your assessment of money=performance might be accurate in the lower depths, but as you get higher, power, connections and ego gain much more influence. And frankly, defending the "worth" of CEOs that are in the process of getting handouts due to the FAILURE of their companies makes your argument a bizarre one indeed.
Posted in: Obama calls executive bonuses 'shameful'
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TPOJ
So long as this is handled with a degree of dignity and smarts, it's a great idea.
In other words, it's going to fail incredibly.
Posted in: Gov't to encourage jobless to work the land
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TPOJ
Just because the Japanese have a word for it doesn't make it the "Japanese way."
Do people really believe in "Japanese efficiency?" They haven't spent much time here, have they?
Posted in: Ask why: American states seek efficiency via Japanese way
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TPOJ
Biden has no class.
Wait wait wait...Sarge? Disapprove of a Democrat? Let me mark my calendar.
At this point, there are some people who will simply never stop or give up. Although appropriate, I'm not talking about Bin Laden. I'm talking about the "old" "Republicans," the people like Sarge who are infinitely more concerned about maintaining their personal sense of superiority than anything that might legitimately benefit America.
Cheney not only knows this, he's playing it for everything its worth. He knows that no matter what he does, his supporters will always...ALWAYS...find something else to talk about, usually a Democrat. Hey, look, there's Biden!
Posted in: Cheney blames Congress for failing to help struggling automakers
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TPOJ
People who stop cold the second their feet are inside the train. Yeah, genius, there are people behind you. Same goes for people standing near the doors in a crowded train, and stand firm at the stop, so everyone has to worm their way around them to get out. I feel like body checking these people (gah.)
Halitosis. I get that everyone's hygiene varies, but when when I can tell what your breath smells like for a few seconds AFTER you walk past me in my seat, that's just plain absurd. Halitosis is the Japanese version of America's morbid obesity: how does anyone let themselves GO like that?
People that camp out in toilet stalls. Guys, you're supposed to go in, do your business, clean up, and get out. If that process takes more than a few minutes, go see a doctor. I was in Ueno station a while ago, and went into the men's restroom. There was a line waiting for the stalls. I waited, no lie, 20 minutes, and not one stall out of SIX freed up. I finally gave up, went inside the gates, used one of the restrooms in the station proper, then apologized to the guy at the ticket office and had him reset my Suica.
Posted in: What bad manners annoy you the most in public places?
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TPOJ
Why ridiculous? Reading literature is important part of his job. Write papers is important part of his job. Train students to be able scientists is important part of this job. And he cannot even read a written speech in English, it seriously question how he was able to do his job so far.
Er..so did he get the NOBEL PRIZE because the committee wanted to be nice to him?
You seem to think his inability to read or speak in English is an indicator of his quality as a scientist. OK. Are there any other elements that could attest to his ability? Like WINNING A NOBEL PRIZE?
I understand that bilingual abilities can be useful in a field. But if you think it's a necessity to excel, well...how do you think this guy won? It's a bit bizarre to see people saying things like this about a guy who has just gotten definitive proof of his excellence as a scientist.
Posted in: Physics requires the ability to think creatively using mathematical formulas, so English isn't essential to pursue theoretical physics in Japan.
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TPOJ
So the guy wins a Nobel Prize, and he gets yelled at for only speaking in his mother tongue.
I get that he limits his chances in some ways, but come on. This is ludicrous.
Posted in: Physics requires the ability to think creatively using mathematical formulas, so English isn't essential to pursue theoretical physics in Japan.
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TPOJ
As derisive as everyone is being, I hope all will be equally as conciliatory if Chuck is proven correct.
Well, I won't. He may be right. He's still jumping the gun in a petulant, childish manner.
(In response to my post) Why does everyone on the left scream that as loud as they can?
GAAAAHHHH! I am SO SICK of people assuming I'm on the left just because I'm not a jingoistic idiot. If my post made you think I'm a Dem just because I didn't agree with an attack on Obama, I truly pity you.
"Change takes time?" What happened to "Yes, we can"?? Why are you lowering expectations?
Are they lowering expectations? Or did you completely, totally, and utterly misread what was meant by the word "change," and are now blaming them for your mistake...much like you did with my post? If your understanding of "yes we can" was that poor, I can't help you.
Let me see how far I can dumb this down: I am not a Democrat. I am a lifelong conservative. I am also a realist. If we get our panties in a bunch at every opportunity, we're going to completely squander all our political capital before the guy even takes office.
He WILL screw up, and we need to keep him in line. How do you propose we do that if, every time we talk, we prove (as you did with your post) that we're just as bitter and sopolistic as our opponents say we are?
"Traffic is bad today. I thought we voted for CHANGE?" It was snowing yesterday, and it's snowing even harder today. What happened to CHANGE?"
Please. I implore you. Stop it.
Posted in: Where is Obama's change we can believe in?
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TPOJ
I'm old enough to remember when it was the left who were hand wringing drama queens.
Look, "change" doesn't mean "uproot every damned thing in the country and make up totally new stuff." It means stop being satisfied with the status quo. Try harder. Don't simply look over your shoulder, say "we're still ahead, why bother trying anything difficult" then assume everyone will love you because you "deserve" it (I'm thinking of, among other things, the moral relativity brought up by torture advocates, who say our enemy would treat us worse. As if America wasn't about trying to be the best. Apparently, America is about trying just hard enough to not be as bad as insane people.)
I'm sick of the left, I'm sick of the right, but essentially, I'm sick of whiners. Complaining about a lack of "change" from someone who (1) doesn't seem to grasp what the word "change" realistically involves in the real world, and (2) gets their panties in a bunch over a guy WHO HASN'T EVEN TAKEN OFFICE YET is a textbook case of whining.
Chuck Baldwin, and those like him, I implore you. STOP. CRYING. WOLF. You're spending opposition credibility as if it were a bottomless pit. We need some of that political capital to keep Obama in line when he, y'know, ACTUALLY TAKES OFFICE.
Posted in: Where is Obama's change we can believe in?
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TPOJ
Oh, that's just great. Just what we need, more paranoia, and more opportunities to accuse. It's not like Japan has a poor record with "innocent until proven guilty" or anything :P
Posted in: We'll change our conventional attitude, which has been to act only after crimes are committed, and will instead adopt a more proactive stance toward cutting crime and eliminating the factors that cause fear in society.
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TPOJ
Umm...Isn't not having a sufficient volume of business a "proper reason"?
Well, graduating seniors stop looking for jobs when they find one. There's a specific window of time that is best for graduating seniors to go job hunting. So, basically, if the company takes it all back, these people have wasted their prime employment window for nothing.
I don't think anyone's forcing these companies to hire people they can't afford. I think they're simply saying the company can't promise these people something, then simply turn around and say "nah, changed our minds" after the people in question essentially gave them their prime hunting time. The prospective employees got screwed. That happens, yeah, but think about what corporate "responsibility" is like here. I get the feeling they just yanked the rug with no explanation.
Posted in: We'll notify companies that revoking employment offers to graduating students without proper reasons is illegal.
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TPOJ
Remember all of that stuff about change? Well forget about it. I guess Obama agrees with Bush's war strategy after all - why else would he keep his Secretary of Defense.
Because changing the secretary of defense during a change in main leadership would be asking for trouble?
Look, "change" doesn't mean he was going to hire random people on the street. Change comes from above. Do you think he makes no decisions? He just delegates, and that's that? He's keeping people on who know what's happening, and the change, if he actually follows through, will come from him, not his surroundings. You ARE aware that, as the commander in chief, that Gates answers to Obama, right? That Gates can't simply do whatever the Hell he wants? You SURE you understand that?
Just because YOU failed to grasp the nuts and bolts of his promises doesn't mean he's gone back on them.
Now, he WILL at some point. I guarantee it. Save your criticism for when that actually happens. All this crying "wolf" is just going to give him more credibility when he does screw up.
Posted in: Obama asks Gates to stay at Pentagon
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TPOJ
Good.
Not much more to say.
Posted in: They told me that Japanese people were not used to volunteering and that nobody would call, as Japanese do not discuss their problems. Both assumptions were completely wrong.
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TPOJ
Obviously, this is a cultural thing and this guy needs to chill. Seriously, why do people act like they HAVE to watch TV? I don't even own a TV, and I seem to be surviving :P
That said, I do feel an involuntary spasm of contempt when I do happen to see some of this stuff. There's some intangible goofiness to it that isn't cute, funny, or amusing in any way. I can't really justify it, so I generally keep it to myself, but to be honest, my gut reaction is to start slapping people.
The sheer UNIFORMITY gets to me as well:
I am also aware I can change the channel. Problem: I’m going to see the same thing on the next channel. Isn’t there anything else in this country that’s considered important?
Again, it's clearly a cultural thing, and the problem is with me, not them. But...it genuinely seems dehumanizing in some unidentifiable way.
Posted in: Japanese cooking shows and the loss of sanity
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TPOJ
There are organized groups selling drugs at US universities? What does he mean by "organized groups?"
It's been a while since I was in college, but I don't remember anything like that :P
Posted in: If the situation goes unchecked, our university may end up becoming a place where illicit drug deals are conducted by organized groups, as at U.S. universities.
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TPOJ
However, his work is also a part of the society he is criticizing. I can't remember the last time I saw a child reading a book.
Not to be an apologist, but Miyazaki's films pull from much, much older traditions of storytelling that typically involve higher levels of intellectual stimulation.
The things he is mentioning are very simple, and don't really do much in the way of getting the grey matter flowing. They also attempt to act as a substitute for reality. It's a difficult point, but a valid one nonetheless: there is a difference between escapism and presenting a virtual reality with the trappings of "real" reality. When you text someone, you're interacting with a phone, not a person. When you watch TV news, you're seeing a packaged version of the real world, not the real world itself. This DOES have an effect.
Which leads to...
I think what he means is that these devices are anti-social, and I tend to agree with him.
While I can't disagree in a technical sense, I honestly wouldn't put him in the same category as those other, vastly more intellectually passive, forms. I should also probably point out that the subject of his first sentence of "today's society," not "virtual reality." This would mean that the problem is that society is full of this stuff, not that these things are inherently bad.
Posted in: Today's society is full of virtual reality: television, video games, email, mobile phones and manga that saps children of their strength.
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TPOJ
Would you let your airline pilot smoke pot before piloting your airplane for takeoff and landing ?
Nope. Wouldn't let him drink, take legally prescribed opiates, or stay up for three days beforehand, either.
Do you HAVE a point?
Posted in: Is smoking pot harmless?
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TPOJ
100 cops? Why didn't her sister just call Totoro? :D
Posted in: Girl, 10, turns up at grandfather's house after kidnap fear