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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tkoind2
This is a token pre-election ploy. If it looks like we can draw down troops it is a win for the GOP during the election. But doubt it will last. The GOP are just playing politics with the 8,000. At least they get to come home for a short time. And I hope their removal does not put others in harms way.
Posted in: Bush to pull 8,000 U.S. troops from Iraq
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tkoind2
These all originate in US cities. Who in Japan will care about this offering?
Couldn't find any real news today?
Moderator: Since 70% of our readers live outside of Japan, it will certainly be of interest to them, as well as to anyone in Japan planning domestic trips within the U.S. So it is news.
Posted in: JetBlue auctions flights on web
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tkoind2
I don't think they are trying to look like Elvis. Didn't anyone here watch Happy Days or the movies "The Outsiders" or "American Graffiti"? Or every heard of the musical "Grease?"
This style is "Greaser Style" from the 1950s and early 1960s. It was the punk or hip hop of that era. Actors such as Marlon Brando, John Travolta and Matt Dillon have played greaser characters. It is a part of Americana in line with early motorcycle culture and very early rock that Elvis came to represent.
Elvis was just the most famous of this fashion. These guys and their girls in poodle skirts are reliving a piece of music and fashion history. And having a lot of fun doing it. I'm always happy to see them there and always feel encouraged by them to confidently follow my own dreams and interests.
Posted in: Elvis troupe
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tkoind2
Live and let live. They are not telling the pastel and kaki wearing golf crowd not to waste their time chasing tiny white balls around spaces that would be better used as public parks instead of haughty clubs. They are not telling hip hop fans not to dance hip hop style at clubs. Nor are they telling peaceful park goers that their frizbee and picnic blankets are a waste of time.
These guys love the music they listen to. They love to dance. They love the fasion they wear. And they love to perform on the street to bring a smile to a lot of people who enjoy seeing how happy these guys look dancing.
Isn't there enough grim beige life out there in the world? Don't we all spend far too much of our short lives doing things we really would rather not do in order to get by and pay the bills?
If a few people have found something that helps them feel happy then I say more power to them. Let them alone and respect them for having the courage to do what they like to do. Same goes for the gothics at Harajuku, the beige clad golf crowd, the high fashion OLs in Ginza and every other group out there who have something that makes them a little happy.
Posted in: Elvis troupe
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tkoind2
They are hiding her until they can train her to respond properly to the media. Because.
He bulldog on the attack act at the convention sold well with the faithful GOP members but fell flat with the rest of the country.
They know she's a back woods right winger and likely to say something that will worry the rest of the country enough to damage their chances at winning the election.
She told a lot of lies and half truths in her GOP Con speach and will have to explain a lot of that. I'm sure the press will call her to accounts on these points.
Her maverick record of decisions has been revealed to be all smoke as most of the items she claimed responsiblity for, such as the bridge, would have changed if she existed or not. So much for doing great work Palin.
Alaska represents the whole of America in the same way some remote part of Hokkaido represents the whole of Japan. Alaska is simply not in line with mainstream America and Palin's experience in that sparcely populated state and those relatively tiny cities just is not enough. Under observation, any press she gets now will harm their campaign.
Palin was a choice of desperation. McCain will be fighting to protect his VP all the way to the end. And she will be eaten alive by Biden in the debates. No prayer for her there either.
Posted in: ABC News' Gibson lands first Palin interview
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tkoind2
What a wacky country Japan is turning out to be.
Subtext of her letter.
Dear Metopolitain Police. I am lonely and crave attention so I have decided to write a foolish letter so that people will realize that I exist. XOXO
Posted in: 60-year-old woman arrested for threatening to kill all students at Tokyo school
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tkoind2
GOP fans will you please show some creativity and pick a new tag word. You toss around Liberal and the word just doesn't mean anything anymore.
Liberal media? You mean the same media owned by all the big greedy corporations that your GOP leaders hold so much investment in and listen to so carefully when making their decisions and casting their votes?
The same satanic evil liberal media that made such a fuss over Bush's dream to attack Iraq that every one of them had CG flags waving and spend 80% of their air time expressing all their support for the troops and war?
How does maintream, profit centered media turn into some kind of liberal conspiracy to undermine Palin? This argument is more GOP smoke and mirrors. More flack, less facts.
Palin will undo herself as more and more people find out what a right wing populist nutter she really is.
Posted in: Palin says Democrats spreading misinformation and lies
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tkoind2
More pointless xenophobic tripe. The total # of Chinese criminals is still almost unnoticable compared to domestic crime. And the 2,000 yen per month wages are pretty much a pointless consideration for all but those looking for something bad to point at.
Deal with your own domestic crime Japan and Japan's "certian" newspapers. You are far more likely these days to be hit by falling office workers, stabbed by luntatics at the eki or robbed by cycle mounted bag snatchers than you are to be in any way impacted by the tiny number of Chinese committing crimes in Japan.
Deal with the real dangers and stop blaming everything on outsiders when you need to be taking a real hard look in the mirror.
Posted in: Cozy prisons coddle foreign inmates
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tkoind2
A thought about debates.
Obama is a stellar speaker and will wipe the floor with McCain who seems to need a lot of promting to keep his position and facts straight.
Joe Biden is respected on both sides of the isle as stellar public servant, intelligent legislator and bridge builder between parties to get things done. Palin is clearly a typical grass roots rightist populist with not even 1% of Biden's history or experience.
The VP debates will be like Palin jumping in front of the Biden express train. They will be pickup up pieces of her for months. And there will be no glueing that mess back together in any useful form. Massacre will have a new definition in the dictionary after those debates.
Posted in: Palin says Democrats spreading misinformation and lies
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tkoind2
Who cares what Palin has to say? And what credibility do her comments carry anyway?
Think about, how many people outside Alaska knew she existed before her nomination? How many people are there even in Alaska who know anything about her and support her? Doesn't take 50%+ of the population in Alaska to elect someone. Just take a majority of low percentage of people who bother to vote to elect her.
This lady has a track record or highly conservative ideas. She's go nothing to offer in the VP slot other than her gender for the Republicans. And that ploy hasn't really helped.
She's a right wing populist which is just about the last thing the US general population needs. Ok for the sparce communities in Alaska where people more or less just want to left alone, this works. But for heavily populated states with real problems on much more grand scales, this kind of down home thinking is outdated, ineffective and naive.
I could have had a lot more respect if McCain has choosen Romney, who is at least a respectable national figure with a track record of some consequence. But McCain's judgement in choosing Palin shows dimly upon his judgement and that of his party to provide good leadership.
The upside is that Palin is highly unlikable by anyone who isn't a right wing populist. So she will do the damage to McCain that no democratic statements will be able to make. The more we look at her closely, the less the majority of people out there are going to like what they see.
Sit back and especially watch women go from curious to cautious to hard core against her.
Posted in: Palin says Democrats spreading misinformation and lies
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tkoind2
A lot is at stake this time. And that puts people on edge.
I'm not a Democrat or a Republican. My politics are my own independent collection of beliefs. But I have very strong opinions about what our country needs and which of the realistic contenders have a chance at delivering some of those things. And that means getting into debates and talking with people to try to show them what I hope is good information and to help make sure that the wrong people don't end up in office.
Posted in: Why is the U.S. presidential campaign generating so many vitriolic comments from both sides?
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tkoind2
I'd like to see her win. Afterall a dead cat would be superior to Aso.
Posted in: Koike emerges as contender for prime minister
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tkoind2
McC72. They can't answer that. They don't know either. His views are too transient to grasp.
From what I can see he is promising to be strong agains perceived enemies. So potential war with Iran, possible cold war with Russia and more Iran and Afghanistan fiascos.
If we want safety, we need changes in how we deal with the world. And that meand dialogue, not guns.
Posted in: McCain says Palin's background was thoroughly checked
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tkoind2
Change has to start somewhere. If we keep voting for the same old plan then nothing will ever change. At least Obama is talking about change. And the people in the nation are equally inspired to pursue change.
Now the challenge will be to get congress to cooperate in making change happen.
Even if we just make progress on the economy and healthcare it is worth the risk of getting him in. I think a leap of faith is warranted over hiding behind the failed status quo.
Posted in: McCain says Palin's background was thoroughly checked
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tkoind2
JapanHusker. Neither party is innocent. I don't think anyone with a grasp of history knows that. Don't fool yourself into thinking that the Democrats and left leaning people writing here are any less aware of history. I'm not a democrat or a republican. My political views are not married to any party. I just believe that people have a right to decent lives and in all my years I have never seen the GOP do much for the normal working family. But I have seen them do an awful lot for the priviledged classes.
But the real question is not the past. The real question is who will do more to address the immediate needs of the American people. McCain seems to have trouble evening understanding what those problems are. He keeps coming back to protecting us and playing on our fears.
What Americans want now is relief from a bad economy, security for their jobs, health care, education, roads and bridges that don't fall in and their families home safe instead of off fighting some poorly led war.
McCain has nothing to offer for these needs. Obama and the Dems do.
Posted in: McCain says Palin's background was thoroughly checked
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tkoind2
Sarge and the rest of the GOP supporters. Change is coming and it does not include having McCain in office. I guarantee you that once it comes to discussions of policy and plans to correct the issues in our nation, John McCain will not be able to hold his ground.
The debates will be very telling. And the momentary balance shows that the jury is still out as voters wait to hear tangible solutions to their very real problems.
You wont be able to play the fear card this time through. McCain had better have some real viable answers to the problems facing the working classes. So far he can't seem to even acknowledge that there are problems.
Your VP selection is quite pathetic overall. A failed ploy to get the female vote. But she's stock full of issues that under attack will render her very undesirable as a potential president.
Get used to it. Change is coming. And you can join in, get out of the way or be run down by it. Choice is yours. But Americans want change. And McCain does not represent change.
Posted in: McCain says Palin's background was thoroughly checked
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tkoind2
Wolfpack. The word Liberal may have had a very negative impact upon Ducacus. But I don't think anyone buys that as something dangerous any more. Just more doublespeak from a party afraid of change.
The issue with Palin is very simple. Is she suitable to take on the presidency if McCain expires before his term. Does he have the experience? Does she represent the views of mainstream America? Is she the right choice?
The bottom line is that even your party followers are not sure who she is, what she has done and what she is capable of. We all know very little about her. And her role in Alaska is hardly comforting with policies like Abstinance training when proper sex ed is clearly necessary to protect children from pregnancy and disease.
Americans need leadership that can take on and address very real problems in very realistic and sensible ways. We're tired of rhetoric, morality based pseudo-religious non-sense and poor leadership and decision making.
What we need is inspired leadership with a firm grasp on 21st century reality and the intelligence to represent a much broader spectrum of Americans. Someone who knows that uninformed teens will have sex despite the religious admonitions and that in doing so they will risk unwanted pregnancy or exposure to life threatening disease.
Palin's daughter is not an issue for me. Palin's view on sex education is. Her daughter, sadly is just an example of what results we will see from dim minded solutions like abstinance training. Kids will exprience temptation and opportunity for sex. How the approach that will depend upon many factors. When that happens, what kids really will need is good solid and to be armed with information rather than moral mysticism to make their choices. Because like it or not, they will make those choices on their own regardless of whose kids they are or what upbringing they have.
Posted in: McCain says Palin's background was thoroughly checked
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tkoind2
Sarge. Alaska hardly represents the rest of the nation. Even most Alaskan's I know admit that they are a unique state with a culture that is very different than the lower 48. So who cares how popular she is in Alaska?
She's was a badly thought through ploy to snag some of Hilary's followers. One that was clearly not thought through enough as Palin's whole abstinance stance is very out of sync with Hilary's more modern and progressive stances.
She has not helped bolster McCain's stance and it is likely that in the long run her anonymity for most of us will work against her. Unlike Biden who will, without doubt, bolster Obama thanks to his stellar experience and bi-partisan appeal.
McCain represents more of the same. The only way he will win is if he can successfully play the "Fear Card". Thanks to our old rival Russia, this may be McCain's greatest hope. But once we get into the debates and once McCain's flip flopping Bush-ish stances come to brighter light, the numbers are going to shift away from him.
He has to pray for a war with Iran, escalation of a new cold war with Russia or a major reversal in Afghanistan to gain any edge to win.
Even then there is hope that Americans have learned the hard way that the Republicans are good at starting wars but very bad at ending them properly or taking care of the domestic issues at the same time.
Posted in: McCain says Palin's background was thoroughly checked
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tkoind2
McCain should take all of this as a sign. First Gustav arrives near the anniversary of one of the party's most grand failures, the response to Katrina. Then the new, and nearly entirely unknown VP who was clearly selected as a ploy to gain the femine vote, turns out to have an unwed teenage pregnant daughter.
Now I think this makes here very mainstream for the US. Afterall teens get in trouble now and then. But this will most certainly put restrictions on the GOP's usual "we are the moral party" rhetoric and keep the holier than thou nonsense a little more under control.
For me it does not change the fact that I think the new VP is not qualified to be president should McCain expire before his term. Nor does it change that I think McCain would herald another four years of misguided and dangerous policies. But I guarantee you that this will change the thinking of the "moral" right wing who will be shocked, upset and outraged by the potential VP's daughter.
The real sad point here is just how much the poor daughter's life will be wrecked by this. I hope she can escape to a happy life.
Posted in: GOP convention opens amid talk of Palin's unmarried daughter being pregnant
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tkoind2
GOPs you can run from this but you can't hide. The world expected the US national response to an epic disaster to be exemplary. It wasn't. They expected powerful national leadership in the face of a crisis. It wasn't there.
Sure responsibility was shared from all levels including the governor and mayor. But face it, the black eye really belongs to the Federal government who completely failed to respond in any kind of reasonable manner post storm.
Posted in: Nearly 1.9 million flee coastal Louisiana