JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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TheQuestion
Never travel with your home computer. It's possible I have a lot of pirated movies and music on my computer that could get me flagged so I only take my work/travel laptop with me. Always know the laws of the nation you're entering.
I'm not even going to wade into the manga debate, it's all been said before. I concern myself with the laws the protect actual children, while I don't like it but the images that are the topic of this artical aren't actual people and we have no idea what the intent of his possession was.
Posted in: How Japanese manga can land international travelers in jail
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TheQuestion
It's still private property. If I let you sleep on my lawn you can come up with all the committees you like, I still reserve the right to make sure you're not leaving dead spots on my grass. I think It's only reasonable to allow the ower of the location to check his property. They only want the protesters out for 12 hours, that seems like a fairly reasonable request.
Posted in: Park owner cracks down on NY demo as protests spread
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TheQuestion
Technically the Persians got chess from India and modern chess was largely developed in Europe. Considering they've gotten themselves neck deep in sanctions I don't think strategy is one of their stronger qualities. Plus all the easily identifiable Iranian weapons that keep ending up in Gaza. At least the CIA covers their tracks a little better.
Posted in: Obama blames Iran for plot to kill Saudi diplomat
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TheQuestion
Then you haven't witnessed many protests then. The collective refuse of several hundred people eating, sleeping, and generally living in an area generates a lot of waste. The park owner will likley need to have the grabage cans cleaned out, the railings checked (I recall seeing some of the protesters using them for lean-tos), and a number of other maintenance and landscaping activities that have probably been pushed aside for weeks.
The fact the owner has indicated he intends to allow them back should be sufficient, respect the owner and give them a chance to attend their property. It's only polite considering you're essentially squatting.
Posted in: Park owner cracks down on NY demo as protests spread
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TheQuestion
Just to clarify: By 'so close to the plant disaster' I meant time wise, not geographically.
Posted in: Radiation likely came from radium in bottles beneath floor of empty house
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TheQuestion
Lots of old stuff used to have radioactive materials, if someone were to collect them it stands to reason that radiation could start to seep into the surrounding area. I have some antique medical equipment as a curiosity, several can't be transported because they contain hazardous materials.
If this wasn't found so close to the plant disaster it would have been written off as a curiosity.
Posted in: Radiation likely came from radium in bottles beneath floor of empty house
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TheQuestion
I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
Posted in: Scientist unveils 'thinking' robot in a world first
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TheQuestion
Ah, very nice. Since sitting in one place and gaining media attention wasn't enough they felt the desire to make a show of themselves in front of other people's homes. Just goes to show if you break no laws, succeed in your life, and make a name for yourself there will always be someone at your door telling you how they need it more.
Because it's working so well in Europe. I'll take the republican form of government any day, I actually take issue with the 17th amendment, it stripped much of the sense from the senate. Centralized power is the bane of all societies, that includes the mob. Split it between the people, the states, and the Electoral College. Government action should be slow, logical, and not overly subject to the fleeting fancies of the masses.
Posted in: Protesters in New York march on billionaires' homes
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TheQuestion
To be fair pretty much everybody from that period was ripping off Tesla in one way or another.
Posted in: Can the achievements of Steve Jobs be compared to those of Thomas Edison?
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TheQuestion
They can defiantly be compared. Though, while Steve Jobs was a better businessman I think that Edison was a more prolific innovator.
Posted in: Can the achievements of Steve Jobs be compared to those of Thomas Edison?
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TheQuestion
The occupy people are a little more unfocused so I might have to reach. I'd like to focus on how the Fed and my dear friends at Fannie May and Freddie Mac made all this lovely turmoil possible but I'm willing to work with the crowd. It's Lansing so I'm going to assume there will be something about the recent union legislation.
Difference is I actually feel that the occupiers' anger is justified, I just feel it's placed in the wrong areas of the economy and that their solutions would lead to even more problems than we already have. I'm even willing to entertain the idea of a tax rate revamp despite my long standing preferences. I don't expect them to engage or even listen, but maybe they will. Won't know until I go.
Posted in: Protests against Wall Street spread across U.S.
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TheQuestion
Kind of figured. I used to go to afscme rallies when I was a janitor at my college and argue with my own co-workers over policies that I thought made sense, I'm no stranger to group aggression. Ah well, only thing there is to do is grab what sources you can, enter the fray, and try to meet anger with placidity. Then we can argue about whose side was more offensive in the end.
Posted in: Protests against Wall Street spread across U.S.
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TheQuestion
And it's unnecessary both ways. I think I've been fairly civil, less a few time when I've posted on the bottle.
Otherwise I should be in the state when one of these occupation things are going on in Lansing Michigan, maybe I can try out my little experiment there. Should be fun.
Posted in: Protests against Wall Street spread across U.S.
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TheQuestion
Oh no, the inability of text based forum posts to convey a sarcastic or joking tone, my one weakness. Unless this is sarcasm in response to sarcasm, I guess we'll never know.
Actually that sounds like fun. Maybe we'd be able to clarify our positions to promote reasonable discourse, maybe this time I can get a few minutes in before being called a fear monger or a bigot for no particular reason. I certainly don't think my positions are all that unreasonable. If I'm ever in an area with a group of them maybe I'll stop on by.
Posted in: Protests against Wall Street spread across U.S.
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TheQuestion
Still laughing about that list of demands. Saw a few pictures of these protesters with Mac books, I can't even afford one of those things. Maybe I should join these guys, its fun asking for stuff you haven't earned.
And these new protesters are totally different. They most certainly don't heavily lean towards one party over the other.
Why? I haven't voted for either major political party in the presidential election in all my years of voting. I've voted for libertarians and constitutionalists and a few write-ins. It's like saying 'I'll settle for one of the two huge piles of crap that smells less' and then you keep wondering why everything reeks.
Posted in: Protests against Wall Street spread across U.S.
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TheQuestion
These people suffer from the same problem that afflicts the tea party. They only look at half the picture. All of today's worst problems can be traced to a single commonality, the centralization of power.
The tea party is correct in that the Government has become an overbearing force in the lives of the American public and needs to reduce that influence while relearning how to balance a budget and live within its means. They go wrong on how to solve the issue.
These protestors have another bit, there is a definite over concentration of power in certain areas of the economy. They missed where it's location and cause though. The Federal Reserve has been playing games since it's inception and rarely to anybody's benefit. Then go after Fannie and Freddie. These three pseudo-governmental entities have done more to wreck the global economy than anything investment bankers could ever come up with.
Those three broke the world. Look at its history and you'll find Wall Street is many things, but suicidal it is not. They based much of their dealings on the, at that time, very stable investment of property. The Fed, Fannie, and Freddie through interest rate manipulation, terrible housing practices, and blatant mismanagement of the mortgage industry destroyed the foundation of the economy.
So yes, there is a problem with the economy. And there are people to hold responsible. But neither the tea party nor these squatters seem to be able to see the forest through the trees.
Posted in: Protests against Wall Street spread across U.S.
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TheQuestion
It's so easy to demand things when you're not the one paying for it. Ah well, I needed a good laugh.
Posted in: Anti-Wall Street protests spread nationwide
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TheQuestion
The problem is there isn't much to invest in. Anything worth putting money into is either owned by the state or a company under close state supervision. After the gas...well...I guess the tourism is in alright.
Plus many still remember when the ruble fell off the face of the earth. Investors just don't trust them and honestly, I can see Putin throwing bond holders under the bus if it ever came down to it.
Posted in: Putin proposes setting up 'Eurasian Union'
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TheQuestion
Heck, I'll liquidate all of my assets just for the occasion. Go big or go home.
Ah, but profits are just another short term gain. I recall a time not so long ago when it was perfectly acceptable to sacrifice a little bit of profit for favorable market placement, long term investment payoffs, and good brand image. Right now companies are in survival mode and are planning year by year instead of thinking long term and this kind of low-growth high-unemployment environment is the result.
By entitlements, I mean restructuring aid programs to a point where they are sustainable on current funding that pace economic growth. That would mean raising requirements, eliminating waste, and reducing fraud potential through longer look back periods and incentive programs aimed at making people want to get off security net programs. Everybody wants more money but people aren't stupid, they factor in food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, and a slew of other programs when making career decisions.
Tax credits generally exist to promote behavior that the government deems 'good'. Most of these credits make a certain degree of sense, I'll argue about the rates all day but I've always felt the tax code itself is a fairly solid device. There are some credits that need not be there such as the alcohol fuel credit which sounds alright for corn producing states but it has been driving up food costs for years now. If it were a better fuel source it should be able to stand on it's own, same goes for several other classes of alt energy sources. Then there's the credit for construction of low income housing the U.S does not suffer due to a lack of housing, there's unoccupied buildings everywhere, and the construction of more is just driving down an already crippled housing market. Theres more but I think I've made my point on the tax part for now.
Posted in: Anti-Wall Street protests spread nationwide
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TheQuestion
Though if I am 'right' I won't expect the prize to be in literature.
Posted in: Anti-Wall Street protests spread nationwide