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Apple doesn't belong on a list of respect, they lock users in, dictate what you should…
Posted in: Apple dethrones Google as company with most respected image in eyes of consumers
...is eBooks and Project Guttenberg.
Posted in: My favorite English bookstores in Tokyo
While she always attracts loads of haters, I commend Jolie for tackling these nearly impossible stories…
Posted in: Jolie, showing directorial debut, says Afghanistan is next
Never knew there's verb use for the word moon, so I had to look it up,…
Have a keepie-uppie contest on the roof of Reactor No. 1 while you're at it!
Posted in: JFA plans to hold Under-20 Women's World Cup match in Fukushima
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thundercat
This is obviously based on your expert scientific findings! How do you (or anyone for that matter) know that it doesn't take half a million whales just to sustain the population? Just because there is a lot of them in the wild doesn't mean that they are breeding at a rate that can be sustained in the face of continued whaling. Maybe instead you can consider how many Sei whales there were before whaling compared to how many there are now to get a good idea of what the populations should be!
Posted in: Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune gets suspended prison term
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thundercat
Its pretty easy to understand why he pled guilty to 4 of the charges when you consider that pleading guilty got him a SUSPENDED SENTENCE! Had he tried to fight the charges he would have certainly gotten a much stiffer penalty. Sometimes pleading guilty to bogus charges makes a lot more sense than trying to fight them... expecially when the charges are so politically motivated. Them grapes must taste pretty sour right now, eh ossan?
Posted in: Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune gets suspended prison term
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thundercat
Heda, several times you stated that he could get 15 years in prison and that you hoped he got a severe sentence.
Posted in: Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune gets suspended prison term
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thundercat
You are right BurakuminDes, there were quite a few on here that were sure he would get at least 10 years. Ossan, HedaMadness and Molenir to name a few. I knew that reason would prevail though... (although I think he may have deserved slightly more than a suspended sentence)
Posted in: Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune gets suspended prison term
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thundercat
I never tried to put those words in your mouth. You said it didn't matter what the government spent our taxes on because we have no control over it. I said it does matter.
You said I had no right to complain because I wasn't Japanese (which I am) and that I should go back to where ever it was I came from if I had a problem about how my taxes were being spent. Sure sounds like a personal attack to me.
So, I provided the sources I was citing in my argument. Its your turn. Show me an article that proves that Japanese officials didn't bribe IWC delegates.
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
Nonews, I thought your original argument was that it didn't matter that the government wastes tax money buying prostitutes for IWC diplomats because there is nothing we can do about it... then it was personal attacks against me... and now its a denial that the event even took place...
As far as not knowing who exactly paid for the call girls... well, I'll guarantee that it wasn't just some freebie for patronizing the hotel. It doesn't really matter though does it? Unless you have video evidence in your hands you'll never believe a word of it... ignorance is bliss, eh?
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
If the story didn't have legs no other news publication would have picked it up. Almost every story ever worth reading is first published from one source.
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
Cash in envelopes and prostitutes... what kind of aid is that?
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
Similar stories were also reported by CBS news, Business Insider, ABC news just to name a few...
Delegate from Tanzania, Mr. Nanyaro, who was offered prostitutes comments:
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
I'm not figuratively talking about buying prostitutes for delegates... I'm talking about the fact that they actually sent "good girls" (actual words of the delegate) to his hotel room for massages. Just do a search of "Japan bribery iwc with prostitutes" if you want some links to articles on the issue.
No, I'm not ok with this... this is not some shoganai situation... we do have a say in this.
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
Huh?
I'm a naturalized citizen who has lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else. In fact, I've raised a family here.
Again, huh? And I'll state once again that I'm talking about buying prostitutes and giving cash to visiting IWC delegates. Quit trying to change the subject.
What? Bribery? I'm not going to waste my time finding links for you. If you don't think thats a crime here I'll let you keep living in your dream world. You'll be much happier...
Shoganai ne! I guess you'd be fine with however your taxes are spent then. Including prostitutes?
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
Nonews,
First of all, I don't have to give money to a charity but I do have to pay taxes so this comparison you are trying to flesh out makes no sense at all. If I decide to support a charity that spends my donations in ways I don't approve of I will stop giving them donations. Do you understand the difference between donations and taxes? One being voluntary and the other forced.
Secondly, I am Japanese and Japan is my home.
Third, bribes and incentives are totally different things. That you don't understand that point is mind boggling! You try to use the euphemism 'incentives' to hide the fact that bribes are being doled out. Bribes are illegal in Japan. That is an indisputable fact.
Fourth, an earlier article stated that prostitutes were used to convince officials to vote for Japan. Just check google. And while you are at it please show proof that they weren't ladies of the night (yeah, this stupid 'show me proof' game works both ways!)
Like you, I'm neither pro nor anti whaling... but I am dead set against my government using my taxes for totally nefarious purposes. Are you ok with your taxes being used to pay for bribes (if you even live in Japan to begin with)?
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
Oh, so I can freely decide to give money to the government (taxes) in the same way I can freely decide to give money to charity? Nah... if I don't pay my taxes I go to jail.
If pro-whalers feel so strongly about their cause then go ahead and start your own charitable organizations like WWF and feel free to use your own money to pay for prostitutes to get votes... don't steal from me to do it!
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
One of the worst analogies I've read in a long time... are you saying that getting a salary from a company is also bribery? Get real! These bribes are intended to sway opinion... to get someone to do something that they wouldn't otherwise do! Nothing like getting a bonus for working hard for your company!
And how exactly do prostitutes fit into your little analogy???
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
While tying foreign aid to voting in the IWC is certainly immoral (and lets not forget illegal in Japan) we aren't only talking about aid here... these bribes also went to paying for prostitutes!!!! and lining the pockets of delegates during all expenses paid tours of Japan!
Is there a single person out there who wouldn't be upset if their tax money went to paying for prostitutes in the form of bribes?? C'mon, lets see some raised hands...
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
That is absolute complete and utter BS! Bribery is a crime in Japan... both giving and receiving. It's also our tax money being used to bribe. THIS IS NEWS!
Why is it Ossan that you consistantly tout yourself as a law and order guy but think that certain crimes are ok???
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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thundercat
The 'rabid anti-whaling crowd' as you put it are a vast minority of the people opposed to whaling. Similarly, the rabid pro-whaling crowd is a vast minority of the people involved in this debate. You are doing yourself absolutely no favours by lumping all people opposed to whaling into the SS camp. I fully support Japan's right to whaling but am quite opposed to sending ships all the way to the southern hemisphere... From what I have been reading on the topic there are quite a few people who share a similar position as me.
You see everything in black and white but are blind to shades of grey... The whaling debate is much more complex then simply anti-whaling vs. pro-whaling.
The sooner you realize that the sooner you'll stop marginalizing your own position.
Posted in: Japan may quit whaling commission if ban stays put
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thundercat
They also aren't chugging half-way around the world to hunt whales in contested waters. If Japan did the right thing and hunted within their EEZ or even in the same hemisphere things would be a lot different...
Posted in: Japan may quit whaling commission if ban stays put
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thundercat
These countries also get their ministers briefly on the phone?
Posted in: Japan bribed small nations with cash, call girls to get whaling vote: Sunday Times
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thundercat
I understand your point about the language thing as English isn't even my first language... Is it yours? Even though English isn't my first language I know that I should say what I mean... I also know that earlier you were saying the opposite of what you are saying now. There is no possible way that you can think "its no big deal" and "someone should be punished"... that just doesn't make sense! (even to a 2 year old ;) )
Posted in: Japan bribed small nations with cash, call girls to get whaling vote: Sunday Times