JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Corporate Business English Trainers
- ACT Systems, Inc.（株式会社アクト・システムズ）, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥269,500 ~ ¥280,000 / Month
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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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tigermoth
Can there perhaps be a different moniker thought up rather than 'teabaggers'? I'm sure the joke was intended, but the mental image I get from a group of nasty old guys doing this is just too disturbing to my senses. Thanks.
Posted in: Climate summit opens with boost from U.S.
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tigermoth
And I'm ashamed that you are an American. You obviously have no concept of what it means to be one, nor any grasp of factual history. I hope that you don't have a grandfather that fought for the U.S. in the Second World War becuase he just rolled over in his grave.
As for the comment 'I don't like Americans' - well, what nationality are you my friend because I just bet we can find a great deal that your wonderful country has done that is not so great over the span of its history. An ignorant comment to make - why would you dislike a people becuase you don't like the policies of their government. That's the whole reason that conflicts happen in the first place.
Posted in: Pearl Harbor attack remembered 68 years later
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tigermoth
Molenir, you speak too much sense. It's pointless in this crowd.
I don't think most people are denying climate change. Rather it's your type's use of the term. Of course there is climate change - there has been since time began. And I think many of us don't even dispute that humankind has definitely had an impact - and not for the better - on the environment. I'm all for saying this should be lessened and that we need a more harmonic relationship with our planet. But to come out and say that we must take severe action immediately or the world is going to end in a decade or so, or at least be immensely less inhabitable(and yes, I've heard many loonies predicting such a time frame).
But the caveat is that not all scientists agree that there is even much of an issue (and I'm talking reputable scientists and not just kooks). The views expressed in the scientific community are as varied as day and night.
The point: How many times have we been hit with predictions of disaster of epic proportions? In the 70's the Africanized 'killer' bees were supposed to make most of the southern half of the U.S. uninhabitable by the early to mid 1980's - and they were 'unstoppable'. In 1999 billions of dollars were spent because all of the computer scientists - 'experts' in their fields - predicted that when the clocks changed to the year 2000 all hell was going to break loose and society as we know it would end. Massive freaking out and as the clock struck - nothing happened. Present day - notable scientists and good ole Al Gore say the world is ending because of our pollution. So now we're supposed to take it all as gospel, spend trillions to effectively fight windmills and still good old mother nature is going to do what she was going to do anyway.
I agree with going green. Let's try to make our footprint as light as possible. Let's find a great, sustainable source of energy to replace oil and tell the ME to go @#$% itself. I recycle and grow food in a community garden. But don't feed me the whole chicken little thing and expect me to buy it all. Science can prove anything if you bend it that way becuase you think that's what will/should happen.
Posted in: Climate summit opens with boost from U.S.
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tigermoth
The 'old hippies' were more endearing? Hardly. It's the signature of the youth protest movement, particularly in the States. No use in polluting their brains with a lot of facts, research and reading the tiresome book or two. Read an Internet article or two and off you go. Most of them likely couldn't find Copenhagen on a map so Japan seemed close enough.
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tigermoth
then there is no reason to freak out like so many do. Patterns of warming and cooling have been going on since history recorded such things. You can find serious creditable scientists who will tell you this, as well as the ones who join Al Gore's camp and tell us we'll all be dead in a few decades.
Posted in: Icebergs head from Antarctica toward New Zealand
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tigermoth
I’ll begin my posting by saying that when it comes to the military and our troops, I definitely lean to the right and support them in total. But I’m surprise at the number of posting here stating what needs to be done if we are to ‘win’ the war in Afghanistan. Even the staunchest supporters and the most right wing of individuals must surely realize by now that such a war is unwinnable, even if the President were to put in three times as many troops.
Since the end of the Second World War America has labored under the delusion that every nation on earth craves American-style democracy and that all that needs to be done is to push out the bad elements and win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the remaining populace. This wasn’t an issue in liberating French villages – or even German ones – from the Nazis (although the latter was more problematic). But we haven’t really won a war since 1945 for this precise reason. It didn’t work in Vietnam; it didn’t work in Iraq and won’t work in Afghanistan. We’ve learned nothing from our own previous experiences, nothing from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and nothing from the history of the region and armed conflicts that have been going on there for decades prior to WWII. The Afghanis don’t wish to be ruled by us, and don’t want our American democracy. And not to belittle them by that fact, it’s just how it is. Just because we as Americans love it does not mean it’s suited for everyone everywhere, nor that they even want this. We are seen as foreign invaders, not great liberators. Add to that the fact that the region is traditionally full of factions, warlords and various internal entities all vying for control of a particular region. I think even the suggestion of a rain of nuclear weapons – despite all of the myriad of reasons why this would be a bad idea – would only have the nasty buggers crawling out of their caves and shooting at the first troops to step foot on ground.
I don’t envy the President. If he escalates troop numbers – which seems most likely – the result is more American and Afghani deaths for ultimately no reason and his liberal supporters cry foul. If he were to somehow find the where-with-all to say enough is enough and pull all troops out, he would effectively be sacrificing his further career (additional terms) and would be the whipping boy of the rabid right for the rest of his term – not to mention all of the fallout from allied support. It would take a person of immense internal fortitude and strength of spirit to do such a thing. Although part of me thinks there would be a great relief and world-wide sigh of relief to be done with it all and work on making things right again.
All fantasy and we’re pretty much screwed to lose many more troops and spend trillions we don’t have for a satisfactory end that will never come.
Posted in: Obama promises to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan
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tigermoth
Here in the States we make fun of everyone on an equal basis. One of my best friends is Jewish and he tells many great jokes knocking his religion. You have more of a chance of getting the crap kicked out of you in a bar for insulting someone's horrible mullet than you do getting in trouble for insulting anyone's religious beliefs. Normal humans have a sense of humor, those without are just scary and have psychological problems and inferiority complexes that need serious counseling. Lighten up. How can you have fun when you're worried about trying to follow the tenants of some outdated religion that is interpreted a thousand different ways? And why would you want to subject yourself to this torture? Just what if the after-life is a bunch of tosh and you spent your life in the torments of a burkha?
Posted in: Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban
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tigermoth
Belesarius:
Quite true, but see my earlier posting. I'm not sure about the arrogance part of atheists. But the 'I won't tell you what to believe and you don't tell me - cool?' part is, well, not cool and rubbish. I've never had an atheist come to my house and knock on the door, or approach me on the street to espouse their views. I have had Mormons, Jahovah's Witnesses and a handful of other christian religions try to talk to me or give me literature, knock on my door, etc. History of full of cases of religion being forced upon the common people, or their rights being stripped if they were non-believers. Ever heard of the inquisition? History is littered with wars, murders and misery all based on enforcing religious beliefs. Islam is much the same.
So your idea is great if those who choose to believe would practice it.
Posted in: Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban
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tigermoth
belief system - sorry, had better check my spelling so as not to be categorized!
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Ah, Yabits my friend you crack me up. So now anyone who is a Republican without financial means up to your level is stupid. Is that the mindset of most of the liberal faux intelligensia these days? Reminds me of one of my university suitemates. Great guy; became fiercely liberal, smoked a lot of weed and then started smoking a pipe and talking about how much he adored 'fine wine'. He's a social worker now; noble in his own way - but smart? That would be a great stretch. My point? I have friends that are liberal that are brilliant, and friends that are liberal that are morons. Conversely, I have friends that are conservative that are brilliant, and others that are indeed your knuckle dragging morons. Same with the independents/in-betweeners. I just don't buy into the 'we're brighter that you' nonsense. It's self-serving and hypocritical of the liberal mob - not to mention contrary to your basic believe system I should think - to assume any air of superiority. A great portion of the democratic party is poor - does that make them stupid as well? Or do you suppose that somehow the indigent masses are more intelligent based upon a lever they flick in an election booth? Don't answer - I already know your reply.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Personally I think there is a clash, but that it's more of a temporary thing that has been built up by the mass media to an almost hysteria, much as the spread of Communism was in the post-WWII era. The extreme right wing wackos that see 'terrorists' behind every rock and brand Muslims as some type of plague waiting to kill us in our sleep are, as usual, playing on baseless fear and are nothing more than modern day Joseph McCarthys. Add to that the 'war on terror' which simply amplifies the violent aspect of things and throws it into everyone's living room each night on the news.
If you look at things on a more global level, and avoid the post 9-11 freakout in the U.S., things aren't really so different than they always have been.
I generally don't like a lot of Michael Moore's stuff, but what he shows in 'Bowling for Columbine' and his other films about the media freak out to scare the masses is very true. Today we have the 'evil Muslim extremists', global warming - which according to some will mean our ultimate demise in a decade or so, dooms-day weather, end of the Myan calendar. Is it any different than the 'evil communist hordes', so-called killer bees, Y2K and all of the other freakouts that have panicked people for generations? Just like the current economic crisis. You have people going nuts - and yes it's bad. My parents and grandparents made it through the Great Depression; I don't think we need to run screaming into the streets quite yet.
There will always be clashes when religious fervor meets common sense and freedom of thought. There will likely be more.
As some point out on here, western interference with matters in the region has often been an issue. I would say that once scientists finally figure out a way to power everything that no longer involves the use of oil, we can grant the wish that the 'great satan' will leave their lives forever. The fact that there is very little else to sustain the economy in most of these nations (even Dubai's tourism industry and great building projects seem to be turning to sand) means that they will return to their nomadic ways and be of little threat. Fine for all I should think. although once we're gone - and with it our money - they'll likely accuse us of abandonment and start the whole mess over again.
Posted in: Do you see a clash of civilizations coming between the Islamic and Western worlds?
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tigermoth
jamydodge I think your point seems to be that whether you agree with Islam and it's teaching, or whether they agree with the rest of the world, why try to force these values on each other? Live and let live so to speak. But clearly you can see that Islam is not content with this. While it is unfortunate that the non-muslim world confuses the actions of the extremists with mainstream Islam if you will, the overwhelming violence and inability of these extremists to co-exist with anyone else precludes this living in peace. And the lines between extremist and 'mainstream' are still murky in the eyes of most.
Posted in: Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban
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tigermoth
i still thing that people should have the right to believe in whatever they want to for as long as they keep it to themselves.
And therein lies the problem. People have the right to believe whatever they wish, as long as they keep it to themselves - which they don't! The believers are encouraged to 'spread the word' and so I get approached each morning at the bus stop by the Jehovah's, once a month or so the Mormons pedal by, the Catholics and the Pope are always issuing some nonesense.
Well, you see Prof the problem is that, at least in the last century or so, when the Jehovah's, Catholics or snake handlers approach me, they don't usually have AK-47's or twenty sticks of dynamite strapped to their torso. The old ways of 'convert them or kill them' that now seem to be the mantra of much of the islamic world have in the west gone the way of dungeons and beheadings. Unfortunately the lines between extremists and your run-of-the-mill muslim seem to be somewhat muddy.
I've often quoted this, but it was Napoleon who said that religion was invented by the rich to keep the poor from killing them. Think about it. Religion was always the way for a very few to control the many. Kings and Emperors would use the belief in religion, and the fear of it, to keep their subject in line and extort money from them. One just has to look at the Catholic church today to see this practice still in existance. And thousands of years later we still don't get the joke. We laugh at the ancient Greeks and Romans for their belief in multiple gods and goddesses, but yet think nothing of going to church/temple/mosque and doing the exact same thing that we laugh about. And the collection plate comes round, doesn't it? Our fear of the finality of death and the need for something of hope to cling to in life keeps us hopelessly shackled to ancient beliefs born of an earlier age when the world was more of a mystery.
If the President signs such a thing it would be pandering to this hocus pocus. Are they really going to lock up some cartoonist in Ohio for drawing a disparaging cartoon of Allah?
Posted in: Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban
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tigermoth
Have to comment on the Alaska/oil drilling thing only because it reminds me of another humorous incident involving what I coined earlier as the 'liberal hippy wannabees'. When Stevens was governor of Alaska there was a big call to begin drilling there and truckloads of 'environmentalists' - our heroes the liberal hippy wannabees - were trucked in to protest any such effort. At one point the issue was some road they were going to build that would cut through the wilderness. The humorous part was that one of them was going on to a reporter about how the drilling would utterly ruin the serenity of the area and ruin the lifestyles of the locals (keep in mind - none of the protestors were from Alaska). Then this reporter talked to the locals. Every one of them was for the road. As one put it (paraphrased) 'right now we can't get to stores or a hospital without driving a rough and dangerous route - this road would give us much better access to the neccesities of civilization'.
On that note, personally I don't think finding more oil is the answer. Developing a science to power hybrid cars in a clean and efficient way is the future. I think the global warming panic and a lot of the crap spewed by Al Gore and company is just so much panic bunk. Normal climate cyles and changes are more in effect than some mega-disasterous ecological melt-down - and many scientists agree with that - just depends which ones those with an agenda wish to ask. But like it or not, oil is a depletable source. And my main motivation would be to end dependence on foreign oil and tell them all to get stuffed. If part of the anger in the region is western interference, let them return to being nomadic herders and we can move forward.
Sorry, tying that in to Palin - the source of this thread - is tough. She's certainly not the answer to America's woes. I always think you can gauge a politician's intelligence and thoughtfulness in the first few minutes of listening to them speak. Look at the great ones; Lincoln, Churchill, FDR to a large degree, Jack Kennedy - even though he's a tad over-rated by longevity alone. When I first heard George Bush II speak it was instantly apparent that he didn't have it. Same with Palin. Love her, hate her, think she's kind of cool, hot - whatever; she's not presidential material. It's a shame that in this age of speechwriters and teleprompters it's more difficult to tell. Read some of Lincoln's papers and correspondence and you can see that he was a man of great intelligence, compassion, insight and depth. I have to admit that Palin's book is not, and will not be, on my 'to read' list. But I'm betting there isn't much of that in her book.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Check it, but I never said that Palin supporters were smart, rather that the Republican party, or conservatives as a whole are not as stupid as liberals hypocritically claim them to be. Admittedly in this thread you have confined your denunciations to her supporters, but in general here, and in the past, the pronouncement has been much more all ecompassing.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Thanks usaexpat. It's a lonely place and nice to have the company. It seems as though all have left as I suppose the issue of Palin and her book is becoming tiresome. I cringe when she does her 'hockey mom and apple pie' thing. Not that I think there is anything wrong with what I hate to term as 'good old American values' as it's difficult to define what that means today. The religious right nuts like to go on about god and morality while the left denounces it as passe and somehow a bad thing. It seems that crowd want us to feel ashamed to be either proud of our country or who we are. I find that rather sad. While I too hate the arrogance of Americans at times, barring certain events we should be proud of what has been achieved here. That self-hate started in the 1960's with that lot of unwashed bozos. While getting high and listening to the Stones might be fun, it most certainly wasn't 'revolutionary'. Humankind was contemplating morality and the human condition long before the 1960's. To me that era is certainly where the liberals and conservatives really made the big split. And somehow as that generation of libersals grew up they deemed themeselves the 'new intelligensia' and fooled themselves into thinking they're somehow better and smarter than everyone else. It's akin to the Beatles going to see the Maharishi during that time and claiming him to be the end all in spiritual enlightenment. I've recently heard an interview with Sir Paul who now says it was all a load of garbage. The whole era was a load of garbage.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
So let us focus on your great truth that the U.S., in 2000, was responsible for putting a real dolt in office. And re-electing the dolt in 2004. How does this happen without the willing support of millions of stupid people? I give you the rise of Sarah Palin, on her little book tour.
This goes FAR beyond simple disagreement of the issues. This is about the hiring of a complete dolt to run the country. Just because the nuclear engineer Jimmy Carter disappointed you personally does not mean we should be seeking out leaders who are stupid as well as unqualified. The stakes here go far beyond what someone thinks of as proper decorum.
I think much of the 'stupidity' here involves the same ignorance of actual brain usage that makes so many on here support one person over the other by nature of their political party. Republicans voted GB in mostly because he was a republican. Much as you hate all republicans and think they are 'stupid' - they hate all liberals and think your stupid. It's a never ending circle of stupidity in which you happily play along.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Where? Who? Where do you live? I'll give you an example. I'm in NY but not so long ago worked in Vermont. Vermont is the liberal capital of the world. If you've never been there - trust me. They decided to have a protest because some local stores in Burlington were carrying a brand of apparel made by what had been charged as child/slave labor in some third world country. Out come all the university kids protesting; many hundreds (if not the 'thousand' as in Palin supporters!) of mostly young, liberal, hippy wannabee university students. They interviewed one kid who seemed to be a spokesman. As he was boldly denouncing the clothing manufacturer using this child/slave labor, the interviewer - with some amusement - pointed out that he was wearing a parka made by said company.
My liberal hippy wannabee definition: A liberal who will jump on the bandwagon of some issue, protest at the drop of the hat, is anti-war without ever understanding what the actual conflict is about, is more often 'anti-establishment' without really knowing or understanging what said 'establishment' is. Is all for social welfare programs - without any thought to where the money might come from, or the demographics of those being taxed to pay for said programs. Thinks any form of patriotism is corny and not in touch with our 'global society'. The 'think green man' crowd who don't realize that many of the very 'green' programs instituted are worse in the long run (example - my office - printers set to print on both sides of the page to 'save trees' and waste. The printer must run almost three times longer to print in this manner, so the electronic signature of the fan and printer running is more harmful than saving a bit of a tree). The hollywood types that hypocritically pretend to be so liberal, but live in million dollar mansions and likely do little to help their 'brothers' in need. I could go on and on. I perhaps use the term hippy a bit too loosely, but it's a metaphor I suppose for those who in the 1960's thought they were bringing about great social change by doing drugs, 'tuning in and dropping out man'. Great social change?? The greatest generation got us through a world war in the 1940's - their children were a huge disappointment. Today's liberals come from the generation of the 1960's that thought they had the answers to all, when they in fact had the answers to nothing. Is that clear enough man?
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Good question 5Speed and I'm not sure. According to some loons the earth will end and we'll all be dead by 2012, so who knows? Amazing that a bunch of Mayan Indians could frighten all hell out of a whole slew of 'civilized' people by simply ending their calendar.
I'm one of the likely growing numbers of Americans who simply are tired of politics - and politicians - in general. Two party systems, checks and balances. Great. It means most of the time they're deadlocked and nothing gets accomplished. Well-meaning bills get crammed full of tag ons that spell their doom. Idealists and those with real vision get shot down or corrupted. Rosey picture? No. Right wing religious wackos with no cluse, left wing hippy wannabees that are unrealistically out of touch. I'm seen as middle class, but actually live quite hand-to-mouth so they want to tax me more when I barely make ends meet so that those 'less fortunate' can survive. Hey, I'm barely surviving.
We've taken a good, workable at least semi-democratic experiment and turned it into something of a nightmare. Doesn't anyone see issue when Wall Street would panic and the Dow would fluctuate wildly if there was a storm in the gulf or Prime Minister of Pickledash split his trousers and threatened armed conflict?
I'm not all gloom; we can repair it all and make something work. The President's wild spending - while at least he's trying something and I understand why he did it - is not effective and is going to be a nightmare for later generations (my opinion - but not an economist and not arrogant enough to claim that I know any better). On the other side we have Palin. Okay - that's a joke. And that's the problem, there are few to no strong leaders in either camp. I don't root for either 'team'; I think that when someone becomes our President we have to give them our hope and support. I had genuinely hoped President Obama might be in the mold of FDR and help drag us out of this mess. I haven't seen it yet. He's young, the adminsitration is young. While unfair conclusions seem to be the American way, time will tell.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour
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tigermoth
Fair enough Yabits - and given that the last dolt was indeed just that. But the dems have had their share as well. As much as you guys love to slobber over Jimmy Carter - and I don't care if he gets a bloody sainthood for hammering together some plywood homes - he is still rated as one of the worst presidents ever, and deservedly so. And I'm not making that up - check it out. Examples abound of idiocy and bad decisions on both sides. But calling each other idiots seems rather childish and something relegated to the playground. I suppose if that's your style, so be it. I personally don't think arrogance and a superiority complex are traits to be proud of, nor deserved. I've yet to see any person without fault. With the risk of over-exaggerating the reasoning, thinking 'your side' is superior to 'their side' is the stuff and stomping jackboots and twisted crosses. Certainly not what your party is about, so why practice such unpleasantness?
"I don't agree with you, so your stupid" just seems an unhealthy and non-productive line of reasoning.
Posted in: More than 1,000 cheer Palin in Michigan for book tour