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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likeitis
And since you cannot really tell, particually given the fact that often the torturee does not know the answers anyway, we have the shorthand: IT DOESN'T WORK.
Posted in: Even if it works, U.S. shouldn't use torture
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likeitis
Why not? Lobbyists have a lot of power and financial backing. If avian flu was known as chicken flu, that name would have gotten changed quickly as well.
Anyway, anyone remember what they did with avian flu? They culled birds. But I think that was only AFTER one or more birds in the roost got it.
Also, I have to object to this dumbing down of things. Its too bad people are stupid, but pandering to their stupidity will only make them dumber in the long run. The term is swine flu. And if you have not gotten this far in life without knowing better than to assume and take drastic on things you guessed from a mere name, then you are doomed anyway.
Posted in: WHO to stop using term 'swine flu' to protect pigs
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likeitis
Consenting to waterboarding by people you trust and getting money at the end is a COMPLETELY different ball game to not knowing what the heck is going on and who the heck is waterboarding you or when they will stop or if you will be allowed to live. Its hard to put up the psychological barriers to endure. People consent to torture all the time. Pick up an S&M film. You will find out. But strangers grabbing people off the street and doing that changes the whole picture.
Anyway, torture does not work. So its moot. The only way to verify what is said under torture is by doing a proper investigation. If you did the investigation, you did not need to torture. If you torture to get information to conduct that investigation, then you are stupid, lazy, a sadist, or all three. In fact, if you are doing it because you are lazy, then you are also stupid, because you will chasing up a lot false and wild information a proper investigation never would have turned up. May as well rely on your dreams at night, because what is said under torture can be pure fantasy. Or it might be the truth. You won't know which is which. Its a waste of time, unless of course, you are a sadist.
But stupid, lazy and/or sadist people are not the people I want involved in my national security anyway.
Posted in: Even if it works, U.S. shouldn't use torture
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likeitis
A good vegetarian or vegan chef who cooks regularly for his girl could change her mind easy. It is hard to imagine what you have never known. Once you know, its easy to fall in love.
I hope such a guy picks up this challenge.
Posted in: Waka Inoue looking for carnivore partner
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likeitis
What a house of cards Sarge. Logic is not your strong point, in case you were wondering.
How did this terrorist who knows the other terrorists get into the picture? How could you possibly know he was involved, have him nabbed, and still NOT know enough to have other leads to pursue???
You keep having to come up with these insane Hollywood plots to justify torture. That really should tell you something. In case you did not know, Hollywood plots are generally full of holes.
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
Whatever you say about Obama it beats the attitudes, like yours, that brought us 9/11. The attitudes that help to make people hate America enough to fly not only a plane with our people in it, but even themselves, into buildings full of other Americans can go the way of the dinosaur. Americans who torture give us all a bad reputation and in the minds of some people, that justifies terrorism. FYI, stories of American torture and wrongdoing pre-date 9/11. Most Americans are good people. But the bad apples stain us all and they should not be supported.
Granted that not all of the hatred America receives is warranted. But some of it is. Please stop promoting reasons to hate us. The people who are our allies did not get to be that way for us doing the wrong thing. No one else will either.
And the way you and others talk make me think you gained friends by intimidation. Or is that why you don't have any?
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
Oh, another big problem with torture, maybe easier for some of you to get than a logical proof: You have to have somebody doing it, right? Well, just how conscientuous do you think that person is and will remain? With each baby step into darkness, the odds increase exponentially that the people doing it are just cruel sadistic people who really do not care about others except to enjoy their suffering. In other words, the very last people you want with such power over others trying to extract vital information for gulp, the sake of others. Its just a playground to them, and they will try to expand the playground for their fun, not for the sake of information or anything good. That is what the Spanish Inquisition was all about. You really think those people saved any souls? You think they did much good in the world?
And torture still does not work anyway.
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
But did he have you indefinitetly locked in a secluded room? Was he in total control of everything you did for years? Was he threating to break that arm? Did you think you might not make it home that day?
Well, it was torture. It was administered by people you knew and trusted, and that is why you dismiss it, but both were mild forms of torture. But hey, some people consent to spanking and worse. But then, they consented, and that makes a BIG difference.
Now imagine of some guys in sunglasses came in unmarked black vans and whisked you away to a dark room and dunked you while swearing to God they would drown you. I am really curious what you are going to tell them to make them stop. Do you figure they will believe 1) I did not do anything. or 2) After all this torture and questions about bin Laden, the story you concoct about being in a sleeper cell. After all, the longer you are talking the longer you are breathing, and "I did not do anything" just does not take up a lot of "air" time.
I am not sure if you are aiming that anger at Obama, Hispanics, or just the situation. I just want to say clearly that I do not care about the racial make-up of his admin one jot. All I want is for him to chose the best people for the jobs, and if there are no Hispanics this time around, oh well. Imagine how P.O.ed some people are that they do not have a pure white president! Their pain has got be enormous comfort. In fact, a pure black president would have been a lot better even for someone like David Duke. Obama being a mix gives us the pain of both the race hater and the race separatists. I love it!
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
Bingo! As soon as we withdraw our military forces from around the globe, indeed, we will no longer have such an obligation to assuage troubled foreign psyches! At that stage, good diplomats and a moderately armed self-defense force would be quite enough to accomplish the task! But, that would take not only a sane world, but a sane American government too.
Gratitude has limits and an expiration date, as well it should.
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
Pure fantasy. If you had any idea that 1,000 innocent people were going to die the next day, you would have to be a complete imbecile to 1) NOT be able to get more information through all the established and legit means of doing so that already garnered you that information and 2) to think you are going to somehow know the point at which you finally tortured out the correct information without employing 1 in the first place.
Face it, if you knew of this impending doom, you would already know a buttload. And if you got the information from a guy who casually said "1000 people are going to die tomorrow" BEFORE YOU EVEN TORTURED HIM, then I would question your sanity for deeming it necessary to torture him to get more information because 1) he is probably just a lying nut, and 2) all the aforementioned problems made even more complicated by the very high possibility that he is a lying nut. (Note: if you tortured him before he gave you any indication that the people were going to die, then you are a sadist, as well as an imbecile.
Torture is just one big fat logical fallacy. Which is why we have gotten by just fine without it, and nothing has changed positively for doing it. (And don't try to tell me that we don't know that. If it had, we would know. And I already knew by all the reasons that torture does not work before I even had to apply the "if they got something they would tell us just to brush up their own dirty image" postulate.
Torture only works and is necessary in works of fiction.
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
Bingo! (except for the flawed grammar.) Its not perfect, but is close enough that many are satisfied. Obama's way is ONE HECK of a lot better than you-know-who's way for many of us.
I think the lukewarm support also has something to do with not really knowing and therefore not really supporting Obama all that strongly. Another point you are starting to absorb.
I can tell you that I did not grow up with the man. Have not even met him in fact. All I know is what other people tell me, and it is really hard to declare a man perfect like that. Therefore, I am cautious. I simply cannot throw all my weight behind him.
On the other hand, even if a man IS perfect and everybody bad-mouths him, he is still a problem isn't he? Therefore, we do not hesitate to criticize the shrub. However, if even half of what we were told about the shrub is true, he is without a doubt very very FAR from perfect.
But would you rather we were not cautious? Do you think it would be smarter to just give Obama a free rein and carte blanche and pat him on the back no matter what? Doesn't matter. Some of us are not going to do that. Some of us are NOT cheerleaders. That is a more popularly conservative style error whose flaws have been made oh so clear the last 8 years.
We are seeing that more sure. But I think it is mostly just a reaction to last 8 years. But I think most will snap out of it.
Anyway, that post reminds me of old times Super. It was constructive.
Posted in: On 100th day in office, Obama denounces waterboarding
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likeitis
A FOUR LANE road and she is crossing with no crosswalk? I have to wonder how many lanes she crossed before getting nailed. The sympathy for the driver starts high enough, but increases with each lane she crossed, because it only gets more and more difficult to notice a pedestrian that simply should not be there.
People fly down four lane roads. I can't blame them. To cross without a crosswalk PLUS without being absolutely sure you can make it to the other side would be positively Darwinian if not for the fact she was post-menopausal.
Posted in: 82-year-old woman dies after being hit by bus in Yokohama
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likeitis
Us non-conservatives tend to worry more about billions. Its too bad the billions wasted under conservatives cannot be paid by conservatives who did not complain about them, while the tens and hundreds of thousands get paid by liberals (and independents) since conservatives are now whining about those.
Is your problem one of priorities or math?
Posted in: Obama orders review of New York City flyover
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likeitis
It seems some of you were actually looking at the dress!
It took me a while to even realize she was wearing one for thinking I was seeing through it.
She is cute.
I got guy friends for that.
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likeitis
What? No one going to come on here and say we should get tough on N.K.? Oh, maybe because that is how we got this threat, and yeah, its more like a real threat this time. Great show.
I am with noborito. I don't think their 2006 test was successful either.
Now they have this excuse to test again, even if it is ridiculous.
Well, I would say those who were flipping out about the launch, particularly those acting like it was going to be a first strike, should at least admit they over-reacted. Those types would not apologive even if you put a gun to their head, so its too much to expect that.
But I think N.K. will either do it or not, and it won't really have anything to do with our actions. But further pestering of N.K. and we will lose the image war. If we do that, then if an actual war hits, we will be fishing in odd places for support. It will be a replay of the Coalition of the Willing, with a few countries shouldering near all of the burden.
Posted in: N Korea threatens nuclear, missile tests
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likeitis
No, but nobody wanted to take the risk of many of those from the Admin Bush led continuing under another Republican leader. Face it, even if Bush himself were not eligible, his stink was still quite active.
Moderator: All readers, back on topic please. The subject is Arlen Specter.
Posted in: Pennsylvania's Specter switches parties, bolstering Senate Democrats
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likeitis
SiouxGirl: I think the races should live apart. Some have to try it so they can realize that it doesn't solve ANY problems. You can find plenty of reasons to hate someone other than race. The peace will be short-lived - fleeting, even.
Good post. Lately I just wish we could put the stupid people back pulling plows so that I do not have to read their crap here. Stupid people come in all races by the way and are a core problem with the world.
Posted in: Ex-Louisiana KKK chief David Duke arrested in Prague
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likeitis
I almost thought you finally had a good point. No. Its a fair one. The CO2 emissions there do not amount to a hill of beans compared to all the smokestacks across the country, but its not a good message. But keep playing with your scattergun of slime. Something might stick eventually. Heaven forbid you actually think before posting.
Posted in: Obama orders review of New York City flyover
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likeitis
If a pic from the government is necessary to instill patriotism in them, we do not need their patriotism.
This is the core problem as I hinted at earlier, but certainly not the only problem in my opinion.
Posted in: Jet flyover for photo ops in lower Manhattan sets off panic
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likeitis
Maybe you missed the fact that neither plane crashed into a building??? Perhaps also the fact that none were piloted by terrorists??? By the way, nobody died.
The only way I can see to blame Obama here is for appointing the person that approved this mission. He probably did not appoint the genius that actually came up with the idea. But lacking details of those, its hard to get too upset at the person who approved it (and did not notify Obama incidently). It almost sounds like this was a fairly routine thing done every ten years or so. The "approval" might have been just signing a piece of paper that an aide assured was routine. Further, officials, the ones who take care of the details, WERE notified. The problem is that those officials DID NOT notify the public. And we still do not know why.
Posted in: Jet flyover for photo ops in lower Manhattan sets off panic