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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donkusai
For goodness sakes, people, this story is about EGYPT! I'm amazed how pretty much every single post on this site almost instantly turns into a whinge about American politics. Time for some people - left, right or incoherent - to get a life!
Posted in: Muslim Brotherhood to hold talks with Egyptian government
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donkusai
This whole issue certainly got me interested in looking up a few things about the debt.
Prior to Nixon, presidents from both sides managed to reduce debt (% of GDP). Under Nixon (R): Down about 4% when viewed as a percentage of GDP. Under Ford (R): Up about 2%. Under Carter (D): Down about 5%. Under Reagan (R): Up abut 20%. Under Bush Snr (R): Up about 15%. Under Clinton (D): Down about 11%. Under Bush Jnr (R): Up about 25%. Under Obama (D): Up about 10% (so far).
From the figures above, it seems that if you want to reduce debt, then you should be traditionally supporting the Democrats. Obama is the odd one out, though. The debt under him is rising at exactly the same level set by Bush Jnr. in the last few years of his presidency, so we can safely say that Obama is equally as bad as Bush Jnr. at reducing debt under the continuing circumstances. So is Obama ineffective? Quite possibly so.
An interesting thing about the graph I was looking at, debt was falling consistently from the end of world war 2 to 1980. As soon as Reagan took control, it immediately started climbing sharply and successive both Bushs have continued the trend. I think Palin is a bit mixed up. Debt seems to be Reagan's biggest legacy.
Posted in: Palin: America out of step with Reagan's values
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donkusai
Not only that, but America's values are out of step with America's values! A fine mess we've made for ourselves.
Posted in: Palin: America out of step with Reagan's values
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donkusai
Wow, I wonder where this was cut-and-pasted from? I hardly think these results reflect the will of the people, considering the main "opposition" party didn't even partake in the elections due to the fact that they won the last fair elections held back in 1990 and were blocked by the military who refused to give up power. Propaganda from the military junta of Myanmar will not change the facts.
Posted in: Military junta ex-general named Myanmar president
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donkusai
That's funny. We should make a long list of these wrongs and I agree it wouldn't be difficult. But taking the left/right glasses off for a moment, there are just too many weird things about this case that certainly raise the issue of it being an attempt to destroy Assange, though it looks to be more related to his sleeping around / cheating than anything more political.
Posted in: Assange's Swedish sex crimes file is leaked online
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donkusai
Agreed that he should be able to write whatever he wants, but I don't agree with the question. Everyone has the right to a FAIR trial. Ichihashi does, and so do the Hawker family who want justice for Lindsay. By publishing the book before the trial, it opens up the door to unduly influencing a jury, and thus potentially having the jury make their decision on something other than facts as proven in a court of law.
Ichihashi can write whatever he wants in his book with no requirement that it be either true or accurate. And yes, while he doesn't talk about the murder itself, he talks about things related to the case, including his time on the run. This is not a case of violating his right of speech by delaying the publishing until after the trial, but of violating the Hawker family's right to a fair trial by not delaying the publishing.
As for the "he hasn't been found guilty of anything yet" argument, then do those of you who hold to this think it is okay for people on trial to pay for a billboard to be posted outside a courthouse with false information and lies to try to influence the jury as they enter the courthouse? There's not real difference between this and what Ichihashi has done by publishing this book. It is a far better solution to delay the publishing of the book than to potentially remove the right of a fair trial from the Hawker family.
Posted in: Do you think Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the killing of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, should have been allowed to write a book for publication before his trial?
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donkusai
Like all leaders, a mix of good and bad. I never did like how he took a lead role in changing attitudes toward the poor from people needing help to blood sucking parasites. It made the world a little darker as a place to live.
Posted in: Reagan's legacy weighed amid 100th birthday events
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donkusai
Definitely "no".
I'm not completely sure what the laws are in Japan, but in my country, there are laws against publishing information about a case that may unduly influence the legal process once someone is set for trial. Who knows what he's said and how the media may run with and potentially affect the case. Let the case be determined first in court using the facts, then he can publish it after the trial is over, but not until then.
Posted in: Do you think Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the killing of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, should have been allowed to write a book for publication before his trial?
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donkusai
Am I wrong in thinking this story is about Egypt? What on earth does this have to do with Obama/Bush/Biden/Reagan? Seriously, people, the various obsessions/hatreds about whatever branch of U.S. politics you believe in is becoming unhealthy for some. This story is not about U.S. politics nor is U.S. politics a significant factor in it. Is it becoming too difficult to focus our minds on the issue here..?
Posted in: As unrest sweeps Egypt, president refuses to quit
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donkusai
Until recently, Australia was not even eligible to play. What a strange comment.
Posted in: Australians putting hopes on Asian Cup
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donkusai
While I agree with most sentiments here about it being good that the people of Egypt are protesting against corruption, I just can't stop the nagging doubt in the back of my mind that this may all end badly and we may just end up with a far more extreme Islamic government. I guess all we can do is support the will of the people and work with whoever is left in charge when its all over.
Posted in: As unrest sweeps Egypt, president refuses to quit
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donkusai
It's good that Australia have joined the Asian group. Australia, Japan and South Korea are all pretty evenly matched and they should be able to push each other forward in skill. I think the Aussies will be fired up for the final, as I think it would be their biggest tournament win if they pull it off, so Japan will really need to be on their game. Should be a great match.
Posted in: Japan beats South Korea to set up Asian Cup final clash with Australia
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donkusai
Pot, meet kettle.
Innocent until proven guilty, though with all the witnesses, the proving is little more than a formality.
Posted in: Arizona shooting suspect pleads not guilty
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donkusai
Actually, murder rates in the US have halved over the last 20 years, despite how it might seem in the media. It dropped under Clinton's watch, and remained at current low levels throughout George W's tenure. The rates were quite high in the 70's, 80's and early 90's but have now dropped to rate comparable with the mid to late 60's.
Of course, if you believe SolidariTea's little rant, you'd think it was the other way around.
These incidents are becoming rarer, and I for one am happy to hear it.
Posted in: Walmart shooting leaves 2 dead, 2 deputies hurt in Washington state
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donkusai
So true. We could always try to defend ourselves with our cutting wit, or perhaps with our sharp sense of humor.
Posted in: Arizona shooting once again ignites gun control debate
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donkusai
Very true. The Democrats come into power, disillusionment rises. When the Republicans move back into power, the disillusionment rises again. Neither really has the best interests of the people at heart. Reducing the cost of running for office would be a good start down, but that's not in the interest of either political party.
Posted in: Tea partiers keeping an eye on those they backed
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donkusai
Do you have any proof that there are any conservative racist/bigots/homophobes? Everyone knows every single conservative is wise, pure of heart and only has the best intentions, while liberals all have hearts as black as the darkest night. I think that was the basis of Badsey's claim that all "Libs like this should not be gun owners".
It's all OK to have a bit of fun and put-down the "other side", but what is a little scary is that some people might actually start believing what they say here. An interesting fact I recently found while doing some research on another topic: the number of murders (as a % of population) in the U.S. just about halved during the 90's and has remained steady for the ten years since. What does this mean? The U.S. is a much safer place than it was 20 years ago. Before we all weep and wail about the world falling apart, we should ponder this fact.
Posted in: Arizona shooting victim arrested after threat to tea party leader
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donkusai
If he owns guns, I hope they take them off him even if the psych test doesn't show a problem (he did make a threat to kill someone). If they'd done the same to the guy who killed the original 6 after he was kicked out of college with "issues", then perhaps all this could have been avoided. The last thing we want is mentally unstable people with guns.
Posted in: Arizona shooting victim arrested after threat to tea party leader
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donkusai
No crocodiles that far south. Snakes everywhere though, and many of those are poisonous.
Posted in: Q'ld flood death toll reaches 22 as Brisbane gets hammered
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donkusai
I think it has to do with the unprecedented nature of the flooding. They were prepared for floods, but not a wall of water ripping through the town centre, which has no precedence in the town's history. They only had minutes warning of that coming.
It's been raining virtually without stop since November, so we are very much stepping into the unknown here. The dam above Brisbane is now full and there are worries it will simply overflow (lets hope it doesn't bust). The areas expected to be affected is changing by the hour. It's a little different to the typhoon situation as typhoons are regular events. This would be more in line with a once a lifetime event.
Posted in: Australian flood crisis worsens as Brisbane threatened