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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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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sailwind
You mean like Germany?
June 7th 2010
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been given the backing of her coalition cabinet for a fiscal austerity programme.Berlin will cut the budget deficit by a record 80bn euros ($96bn; £66bn) by 2014. The plan would cut the deficit by about 3% of GDP. The total deficit in 2009 was 3.1%, but is projected to grow to more than 5% this year.
"Germany has an outstanding chance to set a good example," said Mrs Merkel.
Germany is reluctantly providing the biggest national share of the euro rescue package and the bailout for Greece.
To Jan 11th 2012???
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Germany's gross domestic product grew by 3% in 2011, with most of the expansion occurring in the first half of the year, the federal statistics office, Destatis, reported Wednesday. The full-year growth estimate for the euro zone's largest economy was in line with forecasts. Growth slowed from a record 3.7% expansion seen in 2010 as the economy began to bounce back from the country's steepest postwar recession, which saw the German economy contract 5.1% in 2009. Domestic demand was the main pillar of 2011 economic growth, with household consumption growing 1.5%. The economy also saw strong upward momentum in capital formation while foreign trade added 0.8 percentage points to 2011 growth.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-economy-expanded-3-in-2011-2012-01-11
Posted in: Obama's budget goes to Congress
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sailwind
Nessie,
I have a young lady in my household that is on the threshold of becoming of age where I'm going to have a very important discussion with her and provide what I consider the best guidance and advice that I can based on my life experiences in regards to all of this. Despite your opinion, I will refuse to force her to have access to contraception. I wish to encourage in her good choices in her life decisions not to encourage or facilitate bad ones.
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
Nessie,
I give individuals much more credit than you do. If they don't want children even if their religion does not condone contraceptives they are going to have sex regardless and work around the tenets of their religious peer group or beliefs and use them no matter the case that is reality.
This is not about what human beings will do, this is what Government forces as the law and disregards things that are most sacred.......Faith, Family and how they work things out among themselves when it comes to sex, healthcare and their values. Some parents wish not to condone sex before their children are able to accept the responsibility and it helps them and their parenting if their spiritual faith supports that view. This intrusion undermines that if you get my drift.
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
In my opinion he needs to get tricky with these numbers instead if he actually thinks the youth and young women vote are going to flock to him this time around.
Nonetheless, since 2010, the share of young adults ages 18 to 24 currently employed (54%) has been its lowest since the government began collecting these data in 1948. And the gap in employment between the young and all working-age adults—roughly 15 percentage points—is the widest in recorded history.1 In addition, young adults employed full time have experienced a greater drop in weekly earnings (down 6%) than any other age group over the past four years.
One-in-four (24%) say they have moved back in with their parents after living on their own.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/02/09/young-underemployed-and-optimistic/
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
I believe it was the Catholic church that made it their focus and I hardly call the Catholic Church the rabid right. This crisis du jour is part of that famous Nancy Pelosi quote in regards to Obama's health care law when she said "We Have to Pass the Bill So That You Can Find Out What Is In It"......So far Catholics are the first one to find out what is in it and I don't think they were to pleased. The rest of us will just have to wait our turn to find out what other "goodies" awaits us.
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
Laguna,
You left out this part out of your TPM (Talking Points Memo) article.
Federal employee health plans requirements are, of course, a different animal than mandates for religiously affiliated entities
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
Concern: A matter that relates to or affects one.
Issue: An important topic or problem for debate or discussion
American's number one concern is Big Government ever increasing intrusion into their daily lives.
American's number one issue that they are debating and discussing is the economy and jobs.
There is a difference Sushi.
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
Yes, deftly out-maneuvered him by ensuring America's number concern was put on the "back-burner" by putting this Government intrusion in peoples lifes front and center.
Americans’ fear of big government - partly fueled by a sharp spike among Democrats since President Barack Obama took office - almost reached a record high this year and is far greater than people’s concerns about big business and big labor, a new Gallup poll Monday shows.
An overwhelming 64 percent of people surveyed said big government was the biggest threat to the country, compared to just 26 percent who said big business is their gravest concern and 8 percent who picked big labor.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70318.html#ixzz1mDuZYNh9
Posted in: Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
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sailwind
One more unintended consequence of Obama's health care reform law. It's been killing job creation.
Small businesses make up 99.7% of all employer firms and employ more than half of private sector workers in this country, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which describes a small business as having fewer than 500 employees.
While 53% of small business owners are optimistic about the state of the economy and the health of their business, one must not forget roughly the same amount of are just as pessimistic. Alter says most of SurePayroll customers describe themselves as "cautiously optimistic" and that sentiment rests heavily upon what happens in Washington.
Next year one of the biggest factors to impact the decisions made by small businesses is the Supreme Court's ruling over the constitutionality of Obama's health care law, according to SurePayroll's November scorecard. By a ratio of 2 to 1, the small business owners surveyed are hopeful the Supreme Court finds the health care legislation unconstitutional. If that were to happen, hiring and wages would likely see a boost, says Alter.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/small-business-optimism-outlook-hinges-scotus-ruling-obamacare-133434122.html
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
Half correct, it is what the Republicans and the majority of American's are afraid of, doubt if they are ever going to like it though.
Straight from the main architect of Obama's bill........Jonathan Gruber
Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber, who also devised former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s statewide health care reforms, is backtracking on an analysis he provided the White House in support of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, informing officials in three states that the price of insurance premiums will dramatically increase under the reforms.
In an email to The Daily Caller, Gruber framed this new reality in terms of the same human self-interest that some conservatives had warned in 2010 would ultimately rule the marketplace.
“The market was so discriminatory,” Gruber told TheDC, “that only the healthy bought non-group insurance and the sick just stayed [uninsured].”
In 2011, officials in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado ordered reports from Gruber which offer a drastically different portrait in 2012 from the one Obama painted just 17 months ago.
“As a consequence of the Affordable Care Act,” the president said in September 2010, ”premiums are going to be lower than they would be otherwise; health care costs overall are going to be lower than they would be otherwise.”
Gruber’s new reports are in direct contrast Obama’s words — and with claims Gruber himself made in 2009. Then, the economics professor said that based on figures provided by the independent Congressional Budget Office, “[health care] reform will significantly reduce, not increase, non-group premiums.”
“After the application of tax subsidies, 59 percent of the individual market will experience an average premium increase of 31 percent,” Gruber reported.
The reason for this is that an estimated 40 percent of Wisconsin residents who are covered by individual market insurance don’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s minimum coverage requirements. Under the Affordable Care Act, they will be required to purchase more expensive plans.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/11/obamacare-architect-expect-steep-increase-in-health-care-premiums/#ixzz1m6avxxDk
31 percent INCREASE.........Talk about Govt getting it so wrong and making a problem so much worse for American families.
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
You meant public option but I understood it. Also you forgot to mention under Obama's healthcare law the public will have to buy health insurance or face penalties. So not only do they get to "gouge" they get free customers that have to buy their product to boot because its mandated. Saves a ton on marketing and competing for customers with the best price and plan options.
Talk about a sweet deal for the insurance companies all around brought to you by President Obama.
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
Laguna,
A link to Talking points memo???
I might as well post links to Rush Limbaugh for a counter. Both are as partisan as you can get.
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
Well let's hope American's sorta overlook a few things first such as his past promises before they re-elect Obama. He should start with workers at the Flora Venture flower shop, seems they have some pretty good memories on what he promised and are reeling from what he has actually delivered.
Jake Tapper
By Jake Tapper @jaketapper Find on FacebookFollow on Twitter Sep 29, 2011 1:46pm New Study Underlines Unfulfilled Promises of Health Care Bill Email 86 Smaller Font Text Larger Text | Print gty health insurance ll 110609 main New Study Underlines Unfulfilled Promises of Health Care Bill
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A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation underlines that many of the promises surrounding President Obama’s health care legislation remain unfulfilled, though the White House argues that change is coming.
Workers at the Flora Venture flower shop in Newmarket, NH, remember when presidential candidate named Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., promised that their health care costs would go down if they elected him and his health care plan was enacted.
On May 3, 2008, the president told voters that he had “a health care plan that would save the average family$2,500 on their premiums.”
Last year workers at the flower shop saw their insurance premiums shoot up 41 percent.
“I basically work for the health care payments,” says manager Pat Cowhig, whose husband has medical issues.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/new-study-underlines-unfulfilled-promises-of-health-care-bill/
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
Sushi, Looks like and this guy have much in common after all.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Wednesday that his sixth campaign visit to Iowa is intended to help local Republican candidates in the upcoming election and to test the waters for his own potential 2012 presidential bid, and asserted that President Bush let the country down when he signed off on a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.
"George Bush let the country down because he didn't know enough when he made that decision," Santorum said. "He blew it on that one."
When asked by an audience member how he would have handled the bailout of General Motors and Ford, Santorum said he was greatly opposed to all of the bailouts over the last year including the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the bailout of Bear Stearns and coming to the aid of the two ailing motor vehicle companies.
In fact, although Santorum said he respects President George W. Bush a great deal, he said Bush let the country down by listening to individuals like Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson the head of the Treasury Department when they advised him to sign off on a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street toward the end of his presidential term.
Santorum said he personally would never support another bailout, as it was part of the underlying philosophy that is moving the country in the wrong direction. He said this included a culture fostered by the current government in Washington D.C. that is interested in getting the general population hooked on entitlements that the country can no longer afford.
"We have made promises to generations of Americans that we have absolutely now way of financing," Santorum said.
http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=214519
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
No Taxpayer is.
Washington -The U.S. Treasury Department boosted its estimate of government losses in the $85 billion auto bailout by $170 million.
In the government's latest report to Congress this month, the Treasury upped its estimate to $23.77 billion, up from $23.6 billion.
Last fall, the government dramatically boosted its forecast of losses on the rescues of General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC and their finance units from $14 billion to $23.6 billion.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120130/AUTO01/201300393/1148/AUTO01/Treasury-ups-auto-bailout-loss-estimate
But at least they saved the American Industry just ask Sergio Marchionne their new FIAT CEO (he's into big gas guzzling SUV's by the way)
A new Maserati vehicle in the sport luxury SUV segment will represent a natural direction for Maserati to enlarge its product range and strengthen its presence in the sport luxury market, Marchionne said.
The idea of a sport luxury SUV is naturally not totally new to Maserati.
Maserati had unveiled a Kubang concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2003.
At a time in which few other brands were going in the direction of a sport luxury SUV, Maserati was already thinking to build one but it lacked the engineering platform on which to build the vehicle until Fiat bought Chrysler out of bankruptcy in 2009.
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/09/15/business/doc4e721aac6147c103059114.txt
Posted in: Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
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sailwind
Sushi,
All Catholics aren't Conservatives just for your information, since this is really an issue with them and their faith.
Posted in: Obama compromises on birth control policy
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sailwind
Apologies in advance for the multiple copy and paste.
Link to the whole article is here.
A Real Health-Care Fix Would Save You $7,100
http://www.smartmoney.com/invest/markets/how-much-could-health-care-reform-save-you/
Posted in: Obama compromises on birth control policy
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sailwind
Disagree, most people are "over-covered". Mainly paying for unnecessary tests in order to prevent lawsuits or outrageous settlement claims. Which causes massive bloat in our healthcare system, and you are correct Private insurance companies do employee large amounts of people to protect themselves from the lawyers.
It all comes with a cool 400 billion plus a year price tag.
A better group to do the math is the non-partisan National Academy of Sciences. Its Institute of Medicine ran the numbers in September. It found $210 billion waiting to be saved from unnecessary services, like branded drugs used where generics would do. It also found $85 billion in overspending on doctors and hospitals that are overpriced relative to benchmarks. And there was $195 billion in unnecessary insurance administration costs. National Academy of Sciences. Its Institute of Medicine ran the numbers in September. It found $210 billion waiting to be saved from unnecessary services, like branded drugs used where generics would do. It also found $85 billion in overspending on doctors and hospitals that are overpriced relative to benchmarks. And there was $195 billion in unnecessary insurance administration costs.
National Academy of Sciences. Its Institute of Medicine ran the numbers in September. It found $210 billion waiting to be saved from unnecessary services, like branded drugs used where generics would do. It also found $85 billion in overspending on doctors and hospitals that are overpriced relative to benchmarks. And there was $195 billion in unnecessary insurance administration costs.
Posted in: Obama compromises on birth control policy
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sailwind
If an insurance company can't determine for itself what coverage it will provide based on its customers expectations with what they want covered and not covered why even be in business in the first place? One size does not fit all. Which brings up another side effect with Obama's healthcare reform. It's called market forces and competition which is the only real way to bring healthcare costs down, not Government mandates and interference
Posted in: Obama compromises on birth control policy
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sailwind
A citizen may opt out of participating in certain social activities but not from paying for what society through its elective representatives has determined is best for the country.
Laguna,
A citizen may not opt out of participating in an insurance plan that has coverage for things he or she may find objectionable and go insurance company that they determined is best for them in their belief system and has a plan that does not include that portion of coverage. We are talking private market not Government interference in that market with forced mandates, not what the Constitution requires as legitimate functions of the U.S Government.
This part to put it bluntly, sucks. He can order insurance companies to do it. Again where does this stop? This is not the direction or power that I want any President ever right or left to start using and the sooner his health care reform bill is repealed the better so this kind of power is not granted to him anymore or to the next President.
Posted in: Obama compromises on birth control policy