JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Corporate Business English Trainers
- ACT Systems, Inc.（株式会社アクト・システムズ）, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥269,500 ~ ¥280,000 / Month
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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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TheQuestion
If only I could have gotten my 3 and 0 in the third...well thats a couple hundred I'm not getting back. Ah well, still won betting against the spread at least that softened the loss a little.
Posted in: Giants edge Patriots 21-17 for Super Bowl title
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TheQuestion
When the debates started my one wish was that Perry and Santorum would go away, and it half came true. Cain and Huntsman were doomed from the start despite Cains early appeal. At the time I figured Newt would just troll the primaries until he got bored and went to go do...whatever he does in his spare time I guess.
The only thing that stops me from wanting Newt to leave is the fact that he's just fun to watch in a debate. I certainly wouldn't want him as president but he knows exactly what will hurt the other candidates the most, he's like Romney's personal trainer for the general election.
If this were to go down to just Romney, Gingrich, and Paul I'd be happy. Romney's going to win the primary but I'll be casting my vote for Paul, thank God for Michigan open primaries. The greatest victory I can see coming out of this primary would be for Paul's message to really get pushed into the main stream, something most media outlets have been resisting at all cost, so that we can start electing officials that will work to enhance freedom, not curtail or corrupt it as has been the case for the past 12 years. I'll take freedom and opportunity over security and mock stability every single time.
Posted in: Romney: Tightening presidential race 'exciting'
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TheQuestion
Considering a large number of Americans (46%) pay no taxes after the personal exemptions and standard deduction I've always viewed this issue as a non-starter. Romney doesn't have earned income so it makes sense that he is taxed at capital gains.
If you want to increase capital gains you're effectively shooting everybody else in the foot too. Higher capital gains means you would have to pay even more taxes when selling your house, managing your stock account, or any number of other selling or trading events that fall under capital gains rates.
This whole idea of class tax warfare is ridiculous. Everybody wants the code and the rates to change but nobody wants to lose their deductions. Fact is that the ultra wealthy rarely make earned income, so messing with the tax brackets won't to jack, and if you mess with capital gains rate you screw everybody else over.
Posted in: Obama allies blast Romney over taxes
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TheQuestion
15 lbs of rocks. Or very small landing craft? Time will tell...
Posted in: Scientists confirm rocks fell from Mars
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TheQuestion
My atlas seems to support this assertion that the Soviet Union is no longer in existance. Doesn't stop the EU from wanting the best protection available. If there are US troops in your country and it gets attacked by another country, whether that means terrorists in country X or ultranationalists in territory Y it means you pretty much have automatic US backing and aid in the matter. In addition to the protection angle you also have a robust humanitarian aid component that Japan has certainly benefitted from, should a disaster of some sort befall Europe the US is already in place to lend aid.
There are no plans in place for any large scale withdrawl of troops, this seems like an efficiency issue rather than a troop volume issue. They want increased levels of rotation, the fact its only two brigades seems to support this.
Posted in: U.S. Army to withdraw 2 brigades from Europe
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TheQuestion
The problem is that nobody really wants that. The EU nations get the benefit of not needing to spend as much on national defense, the U.S has somewhere to put the troops, and everybody is buying guns and missiles from one another. Same with most other countries, the general deal is that if you host U.S troops you get the chance to buy U.S hardware.
Between US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf that would be a 3 front war that would work pretty much like the Iraq war. Even RT is under the impression that it would be one long bombing campaign with little or no actual troop involvement.
Posted in: U.S. Army to withdraw 2 brigades from Europe
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TheQuestion
All the cigarette companies that have been targeted by the packaging ban should take the opportunity to pub "The Australians Love Us." in subtitles on all their lines in other countries. I personally cant wait until the graphic image ones come out in the U.S, I bet some people are going to start buying them as part of a collectible set soon enough. I've still got a couple packs in my living room I picked up overseas, thinking about making a shadow box for them.
Posted in: Australia fumes over smoking kangaroos
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TheQuestion
Its illigal to deny lifesaving treatments in the U.S and private non-for-profit free care clinics are virtually everywhere. Doctors in most catholic hospitals are required to put in hours in hospital free clinics, you just need to make an appointment. There are more options for the ill in the U.S than anybody thinks about because they require a minimum level of work to apply for.
Mobility and choice. When my family fled Cuba most of us went to Miami but a fair number went to Spain and Portugal and at least two went to other countries and they're working the exact same jobs they did when they got there. They cant get out of their positions and they're stuck in the refugee ghettos. Meanwhile my parents went into early retirement and I'm looking to do the same in about 8 years to do some consulting.
Its fairly simple actually. To much power in any one groups hands is a generally bad thing, that includes the mob. They've done a horrific job in picking congressional representatives and and equally horrible job in picking senators. People vote for the loudest person that promises the most stuff and that normally ends up being the person with the deepest pockets and the best connections. Back when states chose senators they sent professionals. House for the people, Senate for the states, President by electoral college, SCOTUS by appointment and approval. That way power is not concentrated in any one group. Similarly duties of governance are supposed to be split between federal, state, and local more evenly. The centralization of power in the federal government has been fairly disasterous both economically and in terms of personal liberty.
Considering the even marginal levels of government provided healthcare has lead to an astronomical increase in healthcare costs I'm a little disinclined to think that more governmental care is the solution. If everybody took care of their own healthcare costs and comparison shopped prices would be drastically lower, as it is the goverment just rubberstamps most bills without regard to the cost which is driving up industry costs. Ever wonder why the heathcare act was essentially drafted by healthcare and pharma companies?
I got a back surgery last year, all of my meds, and my monthly doctor visists for less than I paid in FICA taxes because I comparison shop and I play an active roll in my health. People being to lazy to look for alternatives is not my responcibility.
Posted in: Social tensions increasing in U.S. between rich,poor
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TheQuestion
I thought that Putin was just instantly made president the moment the the term limit went up. They are really dedicated to the whole illusion of a fair election, its almost as extravagant as the one we've got in the U.S. Though ours has better snacks by far.
Actually current statistics indicate that the internet is only 12% porn. Lets not got making things up.
Posted in: Putin vows to end police repression in Russia
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TheQuestion
Ya see, now its stuff like that that causes problems. Urinating on a corpse is gross but all this talk of jihad and the like is still a tiny bit concerning.
The new training program would cost millions with no clear goals and no means by which to measure it...you sir would make a fine senator.
Posted in: U.S. condemns abuse video but Taliban talks survive
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TheQuestion
Germany also doesn't have 50 seperate state constitutions with smaller semi-autonomous districts within them. I do not feel that the U.S Federal government is a realiable or efficient forum in which to make sweeping decisons regarding personal lifestyle choices that are better handled on the local level. Their time would be better served focusing on national security and improving the federal criminal justice system. Additionally economics should be prevented from mixing with politics whenever possible. The less sway they have on each other the better off we'd all be.
Its the fairly simple concept that a person does not have the rights to the property or services of another. This also differs radically from state to state. I am happy to live in a state without a mandate, Michigan used to have a rather robust saftey net that has since been robbed blind by leeches in Detroit, generations of professional pan handlers have made many of the states programs untenable.
On one hand you state that the U.S is a "monolithic corporation" and on the other you chide it for lacking cohesion. I have always maintained that the decentralization of power within the republic is one of the most attractive features of the U.S system. Life would be so much easier if the government would just do as it was supposed to do, instead I've got to deal with progressives from states I've never even been to trying to force me to buy healthcare I don't want and social conservatives from other ones trying to tell me my friends sexual orientation is a form of insanity. It's just one big headache. Courts and the military, thats all.
Actually I think the reverse. I think the population has a little to much control over congress. The Senate really should not be assembled by popular vote. It was meant to be the house for state interests and to be less affected by the constantly changing opinions of the public. I think we would have far more reasonable discourse if that were the case, but voters love their blood and thunder so we're stuck with bickering partisans as a result.
Posted in: Social tensions increasing in U.S. between rich,poor
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TheQuestion
European nations generally have inflated immigration numbers because they hop between countries. I have a number of friends and coworkers that have, over the course of their lives, been citizens in 3-4 different nations. The scope and demographics are also massively different. The vast majority of immigrants to Germany are of similar ethnic descent, coming from primarily eastern europe with a sizeable number of Turks as well. By comparison the U.S gets immigrants from everywhere from places that share very little with the U.S in terms of cultural identity.
Subtle is the key word. Behavior of americans varies radically from state to state. My point is that because a set standard of care and aid cannot be reasonably determined on a national level it should not be provided at that level at all. That is why states were ment to have a certain level of autonomy and why the most recent healthcare act is being challanged, modified, and torn apart in the courts.
It is impossible to set individual standards on a national level in the U.S as they do in other countries. The size, demographics, and regional lifestyle differences make it extremely inefficient.
I only bring this up because the constant comparison people make between other nations and the U.S are often ridiculous because of how different the U.S really is from other nations. If the U.S was run like any other nation on the planet it would dissolve virtually overnight.
Posted in: Social tensions increasing in U.S. between rich,poor
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TheQuestion
That kind of lax stance is exactly how a number of atrocities have happened in other nations. It would be a great big joke in the eyes of faculty and other students right up to the moment they started shooting and then we'd all be here on JT wondering why nobody called the police.
Posted in: Texas police kill 8th-grader carrying pellet gun
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TheQuestion
I think the problem is more of poor people being angry about being poor than being angry at rich people. People have been dragging their heels waiting for Washington to do something when they should have been doing it themselves.
I also think the perceived conflict is way overblown. The occupy protests were an exception to the general rule that so long as you dont directly impede anybody nobody cares how much you have or how you got it. Drops in violent crime, theft, and property crime seem to support that. I think the people polled are confusing directional anger with general unease.
Nobody likes uncertainty and nobody in Washington is capable of promoting or sustaining a stable economic atmosphere for growth to occur in. We need to define who actually needs assistance and set firm limits as to what those limits are. Increase SS and medicare age, impose guidelines as to who is eligible for poverty assistance and establish requirements for continued assistance, and a slew of other measures to reflect the economic conditions. Then we need to stick to our limits and commitments.
They are also largely homogenous and lack the inherant complexity of a nation with 50 state constitutions and hundreds of different ethnic groups with different, sometimes conflicting, values. Geographic and cultural obstacles make any attempt at standardization of services incredibly difficult at best. As a Detroiter I work, shop, travel, and live far differently from somebody in Miami or LA. Having programs that treat us the same is ridiculous.
Posted in: Social tensions increasing in U.S. between rich,poor
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TheQuestion
Article should read "Highschooler shot after failing to lower suspected weapon"
I don't think the location should matter. If there is even a remote possibility that the threat is credible then it should be taken seriously.
Posted in: Texas police kill 8th-grader carrying pellet gun
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TheQuestion
But is it the good eating habits that cause acuity or is it the fact that smarter people generally make better choices? At that age genetics play a pretty heavy role. Some people have a disposition towards degraded mental capabilities.
Posted in: Elderly who eat better stay mentally sharp: study
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TheQuestion
Just use poison. I'm all for gun rights but there are way simpler solutions. If the wild boar just 'happens' to come across some food soaked in antifreeze it's no skin off my nose. A firearm would be a cleaner, quicker death but when you can't get a scalpel you use a hammer...though I suppose if you were feeling particularly brutish you could just go after it with a heavy gardening tool. My brother and I had to kill boar that had decided to nest in the scrap yard that he owns, all you need is a plan, a shovel, and some upper body strength. To many houses around, couldn't risk a shot. The liberal application of brute force will solve most problems.
Posted in: Police oppose proposals to liberalize Japan's gun laws
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TheQuestion
Why? GE and companies around the world are already throwing billions into R&D on this stuff and most of it still isn't commercially viable without absurd amounts of government subsidy, and even that isn't enough in many cases. I maintain the opinion that all alternative fuel sources should be developed as normal, companies aren't suicidal and most major oil companies are already heavily invested in the alt energy market. Most current sources are just terrible at producing energy.
I'd say that a lot of the CO2 emissions would be cut if we were to get back into building newer nuclear reactors but hey, that only makes sense in the long term. Solar power has natural limitations and with climbing populations wind farms take up a lot of space, neither is consistent with the needs of an expanding global population. If we don't consider ALL alternatives we're sunk.
Posted in: Half of greenhouse gases emitted by five nations, including Japan
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TheQuestion
The list is incomplete, other just isn't enough to describe some of the truely great bands.
That said,
Queen has always occupied a special place in my heart. To date, Freddie Mercury is the only celebrity death I ever shed a tear for...well...him and Milton Berle but thats another story.
Posted in: Who gets your vote for the greatest rock band of all time?
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TheQuestion
Isn't it always?
Posted in: Setback for $100 bil aid fund at climate talks