JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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To be healthy, live in the big city
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Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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4
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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inkjet
i wonder if they day will come when liberals will deny defending the ayatollah too?
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
this is a trip down memory lane. it brings me back to the good days when liberals would bend over backwards trying to defend the soviet union.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
sezwho2,
you said the question was begging to be asked. ok what do you think the appropriate response would be if people felt the election was stolen?
i'll post this again from wikipedia so you can keep it in mind while framing your answer. by the way i'm still waiting for smithinjapan or yabits to put me "in my place" by offering some link to refute this article.
"The (*unelected) Leader appoints the heads of many powerful posts - the commanders of the armed forces, the director of the national radio and television network, the heads of the major religious foundations, the prayer leaders in city mosques, and the members of national security councils dealing with defence and foreign affairs. He also appoints the chief judge, the chief prosecutor, special tribunals and, with the help of the chief judge, half of the 12 jurists of the Guardian Council – the powerful body that decides both what bills may become law and who may run for president or parliament.[9]"
*added for the benefit of those who might try to find a way to ignore the obvious.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
look the bottom line is iranians don't have genuine elections. they have no way to change their laws. the media is controlled by the ayatollah. the candidates are hand picked by the ayatollah. how would you suggest the people get their voices heard? the ayatollah doesn't even stand for election. dictator for life. get it?
i grant you i misspoke when i said if there was democracy there would be no need to protest. i really should have said when you have democracy the people have more options than simply protesting. if a democratically elected government tries to shut the people down they can be voted out of office. what can the iranians do?
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
this may be getting off topic but i think it's important to have a clear understanding of people's rights and responsibilities.
let me propose a scenario for argument's sake. it has no direct bearing here. i just want establish a principal.
your country is being invaded by an aggressor and this oppressive invader is indiscriminately slaughtering your fellow citizens. your leader asks you to defend yourself and your brothers. in this defense you are killed.
is your leader responsible for your death because he asked you to defend yourself and your brothers? reading your definition i'd say you would hold him responsible. i would not. i would hold the invaders solely responsible.
i'm trying to say not all things or actions are equal. protesting is the proper response to oppression. killing is not the proper response to protesting.
if the 'organizers' of this rally believed their fundamental rights were being denied by the government isn't it reasonable they take proper, appropriate action against that? if they were promoting violence then i would agree with you. but they were not. you expect them to do nothing? simply obey the dictates of the government they are protesting? that only serves the oppressors. nothing will change if they just go along.
if the iranians were give the freedom to really choose their leaders in open, fair and monitored elections there would be no need or justification to protest.
it's true we don't know all the facts. but that is because the government has kept the world and their people locked out of it.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
so you are suggesting if you stand up to oppression you become an abettor of sorts? you are enabling them to crush you.
gee this is really twisted liberal thinking.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
this line sums it up.
"Over the years, his skin became lighter and his nose narrower."
will they be putting that one his tombstone?
he became the butt of many jokes. he caused himself and others a lot of grief. he was hounded and twisted, loved and hated. he was used and abused and he used and abused.
but he made some great music and he was something else.
Posted in: Michael Jackson dies of reported cardiac arrest at 50
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inkjet
well we certainly have a very different opinion about free elections then.
they don't 'directly' choose the grand exalted mystic poohbah? how do they choose him then? i'm curious do you think fidel's and saddam's farces were free and fair elections as well?
of course they have 'free' elections in iran. you just can't vote on the grand exalted mystic poohbah. considering he essentially hand picks the rest of the candidates you still consider that fair and free? please don't compare that to the US balloting system. having regulations is not the same as the government hand picking the candidates. it's an insult to the people dying in the streets.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
no i'm still here. i'm just trying to decide if you guys are for real. you have to be putting me on right?
ok i'll bite. first of all it should be pretty obvious i'm talking about the current regime. they have been in power since 1979. isn't that obvious? not obvious enough i guess.
since the revolution there have been two supreme leaders of iran, neither was elected. since the revolution iranians have not been able to vote for their supreme leader.
the rest of the story is self evident.
you'll have to forgive the weak reference from wikipedia. why not give us a better source. here's your chance to shine and really put me "in my place"
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
no i just quoted his last comment to keep the continuity going.
is this the best come back you have?
read the wikipedia clip and tell me iran has had free elections for decades. don't play silly games.
i'm having trouble responding to this with out being insulting.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
so you choose to ignore all these obvious signs of a dictatorship? you still want to insist iran has had free elections for decades?
is this what it means to be a liberal? sad.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
from wikipedia:
on the power of the grand exalted mystic ruler
"The Leader appoints the heads of many powerful posts - the commanders of the armed forces, the director of the national radio and television network, the heads of the major religious foundations, the prayer leaders in city mosques, and the members of national security councils dealing with defence and foreign affairs. He also appoints the chief judge, the chief prosecutor, special tribunals and, with the help of the chief judge, half of the 12 jurists of the Guardian Council – the powerful body that decides both what bills may become law and who may run for president or parliament.[9]"
do you still think it's "ludicrous!" yabiits?
and the liberals think george bush stole the election!
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
to even run in iran don't you need the grand poohbah's permission?
anyway they don't elect the grand poohbah and he's the real leader.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
seriously if i was home i could argue this stuff with my friends over a beer. since i'm way out in the wilderness here i don't have many options.
i suppose i could discuss it with my neighbor, if i only knew how to get past konichiwa.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
how long does this post last before the mods ax it? don't question the premise.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
i meant the the sentiment is small minded. i still do. i think if you looked at the larger picture you might see there are positive and negative things in every situation.
this is not the right thread to go into bush and the war in iraq. it's about the elections in iran.
all other consideration aside i believe the iranians may be inspired by the free elections next door. that is a good thing.
the rest of your argument is besides the point for me in this thread.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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inkjet
i did a little poking around about the elections in iraq.
the UN monitors had this to say.
"During the election the largest problem the monitors witnessed were displaced Iraqis not being able to vote. One voting center was told to open two stations for the displaced immediately before the balloting. Those two eventually ran out of ballots. More importantly, over 100 displaced were not allowed to vote because they did not have their documents in order. As reported before, similar incidents were reported across the country.
Otherwise the monitors said the elections went well. Security was tight around the voting centers. Most of the voting materials were used appropriately with only minor problems. They did receive complaints about political parties attempting to manipulate voters, but none of those stories could be checked. The greatest issue was the disenfranchisement of internal refugees. It seems as if the Election Commission did not do a good enough job informing the displaced about how and where they were to register. They could either vote in their home provinces, or in their current residencies, but either way they had to sign up with the Commission. This did not get through and an unknown amount of refugees were not allowed to participate in the provincial election as a result."
here's the link:
http://thegroundtruth.blogspot.com/2009/02/election-monitoring-report-from-ninewa.html
it really is sickening to me to see people try to minimize what has happened here because they hate bush so much. it's perverse.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
can you supply evidence they were not?
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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inkjet
wow. this is a very surprising sentiment. so small minded.
of course i agree in an ideal world there would be no double standard. but you can't reject good results because of this double standard. we need to build toward a better world step by step where and when we can.
simply dismissing the accomplishment of bring elections to iraq and afghanistan is really insulting to the thousands who died trying to reach that goal.
will you hold obama to the same ridiculous standard? if so, you may as well start condemning him right now as he clearly supports the suadi king. so nothing he says or does to promote democracy or fairness will be worth defending, right? if you want to be consistent. 100% or nothing. is that it?
consider the possibility that what is happening in iran could be a result of the elections in iraq and afghanistan. perhaps the iranians are asking themselves if they can have fair elections why can't we?
i know you hate bush. but try to consider it is just possible what happened in iraq and afghanistan could represent a new future for the muslim world. it is possible.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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inkjet
is it possible seeing free elections in iraq and afghanistan has inspired the iranians to demand the same?
this was the hope wasn't it? that planting the seeds of democracy in the muslim world would produce fruit.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence