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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tkoind2
Some people are quick to judge and condemn others for what happens without mercy and without empathy.
Dad was working, mom ran out to pick something up. I think this happens a billion times a day world wide and once in a rare time something horrible happens. This is sad. And sure there are things that this family could have done better. But hindsight is 20/20 isn't it.
I feel sorry for the child. And for the wrecked lives of the rest of the family who will live with the loss and guilt.
Posted in: 2-year-old boy falls to death from 7th floor apartment in Osaka
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tkoind2
Can't believe the comments here. This is a 21 year old kid. Imagine if your life had ended at 21. Imagine the people it would have affected. Imagine their pain today.
Try a little humanity and empathy here. Ok. the kid did something foolish and paid with his life for it. It is sad. And it was unnecessary. But it is none the less very tragic for someone out there today.
Posted in: Motorcyclist dies in police chase in Osaka
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tkoind2
Doing something not-for-profit in Japan doesn't seem to set well with some people here. We run a group that does events for new artists. We spend a lot of our personal money putting it together and usually end up well into the red. When we do make money we pay it out to the performers. Yet people always say we should also pay staff and performers. Despite the fact that we are very clear about it being not-for-profit and volunteer based.
The bottom line is that if people want to pitch in on the Eco-Cafe they will. I would see it as a learning opportunity and as a chance to meet and spend time with like minded environmentally friendly people. But those who don't want to join, well... don't. And if you need payment to join, simple... don't join.
Some things are not profit driven. Some things are done for the benefit of others and should be a volunteer driven exercise. Why some people can't wrap their money blinded minds around this is beyond me. Again it is simple. If you believe in the cause, volunteer. If you don't or want to be paid, just don't join. No reason to give her a hard time.
Posted in: 'Eco-actress' Saya Takagi under attack
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tkoind2
Go get him Arnold.
I have to admit when Arny got elected I was worried we were seeing the creation of "Reagan 2 The Return." But he has been pretty surprising for a Republican on a lot of fronts. I am pleased that he has been at odds with our useless cowboy president over the environment. Like most other issues, including the "disaster on terrorims" Bush has show a staggering lack of intelligence and insight. Not to mention denial and deceit.
Arnold on the other hand has been pushing for environmental changes that far exceed those proposed internationally. I hope he keeps up the good work on this front. And keeps up the criticism of what is clearly the worst administration and least capable president in American history.
Posted in: Schwarzenegger slams Bush administration on global warming
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tkoind2
A nice Muscato. Low alcohol, fizzy but not too much, and a fantastic taste. Have a glass with friends along with some light fruit and forget about driving. Too much traffic and heat anway.
Posted in: What drink do you recommend to help cope with hot, humid days?
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tkoind2
Those who write history decide who is evil or not. Sadly this black and white perspective does not get at the truth of most conflicts. We as humans reduce our world to good and evil to make it easier to manage.
I do belive that Bush and his crowd are wrong about a lot. And I can card stack until the end of time evidence to back up this assertion. Is he evil? Well.. history will decide. But I expect it will not look kindly upon him. Especially if he invades Iran.
I will ask you this. Is it justifiable to kill over 130,000 people who had nothing to do with attacks on the US in response to our losing 3000 on 911? Is it justifiable to blow up a dozen weddings and all the people at them over the last several years because someone blew up our work places?
We need a little moral balance here. Are lives in Iraq any less valuable than in NYC? Are Afghanis any less loved by their families and friends that their deaths are not felt? Why do we think we can solve our problems with war when it clearly creates more for us? When 911 was a product of our own long standing poor policies in the MidEast combined with the narrow thinking of people just as blind to the moral good as we have been.
Bush and Rise are simply representative of a wave that swept our nation post 911. And yes I will call it an evil wave because it blinded us to what had happened and why. It made us become reactive and afraid. It encouraged us to give up our privacy, our civil liberties and rights. And it rationalized torture, murder and suffering for so many people.
And what did we accomplish with all this? Are we safe? Has terror been defeated and the perpatrators brought to justice? No. But it has killed a lot of innocent people who may now become the next generation of enemies willing to fly planes or carry bombs to our cities to destroy and kill us. And it has closed so many doors to peace that 911 flung open.
History will remember this time as the great lost American opporunity to become the leader nation it should have been. A champion of freedom and a creator of peace. What a lost opportunity. Let us just hope that history records it in a way that helps future generations avoid our mistakes.
Posted in: Rice warns U.S. will do what's necessary to defend Israel; Iran answers with more missiles
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tkoind2
Super Lib. My stance is not in conflict with itself if you look at it logically.
The US may be preparing to invade: It is very possible that a combination of airstrikes and groud strikes could take place. These would initiate a conflict under the belief that an effective attack would eliminate military key targets while avoiding an expanded conflict. This is a common US practice.
The US does not have the troops to invade. What I mean here is that we lack adequate troops to sustain an invasion or to escalate to a full war. This means that should a limited attack escalate, the US has inadequate forces to follow through or sustain a long term occupation without a draft. Again a sensible conclusion based on the status of the military today.
I don't anyone believes that GWB just wants to go kill people. But I do elieve that he and those who share his views have an agenda for the region that an invasion would help facilitate, if successful. There are also strong political motivations for the domestic front to maintain an enemy to be in conflict with.
Do I think Bush is evil. Sure. Do I think that is enough reason to fear an attack on Iran? No! There are plenty of rational issues that my other posts have raised that support the view that this administration and their supporters are a threat to peace. You need only look at Iraq to validate this. Look at all the misdirection and lies that led us down that path.
You may fear my leading Japan by lunch time, but I fear your inability to see the clear and present danger another war would bring. And I fear your inability to separate the difference between people who understand the regional polictical situation enough to know that the American position on this issue is wrong. And that the consequences of getting this wrong, as we clearly did with Iraq, are dire for both the US and the world.
Posted in: Rice warns U.S. will do what's necessary to defend Israel; Iran answers with more missiles
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tkoind2
Skipthesong.
Re:Isreal. This is not a nation of absolute purity. Their policies in the MidEast are not helping. How would you like to be Palestinian? Have your land taken, homes torn down, jobs cut off, country fenced in and all your political representation labled as terrorist groups.
Keep in mind that Palestine supported the Allies in WWII and their people did so in WWI. These were friends and allies that we betrayed by giving over their land to better armed immigrants claiming it as Zion. How would you like it if someone claimed a US state as Zion and marginalized and pushed out the locals by force?
The UN, UK and US created this mess out of bad thinking and poor long term diplomatic thinking. A mutual state may have worked from the start with protections for both Jews and Arabs. But that opportunity was lost. Now most of the conflict between the Arab world and the West is rooted in this self inflicted conflict.
I am not anti-semitic, before you accuse me of it. I know many Jews who share an anti-Zionistic view of the Israeli situation. I support a shared state of Israel and Palestine that would empower both communities. Sadly this is unlikely to happen. So I support Israel but they must support and help create a viable Palestine. We all must.
Posted in: Rice warns U.S. will do what's necessary to defend Israel; Iran answers with more missiles
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tkoind2
Skipthesong.
All through history countries have blown hot air about this or that platform or ideology. With repressive regimes most of that is intended for local consumption anyway. To stay in power they need to maintain control. And what controls people better than fear of some enemy?
I don't like the President of Iran any more than I like dear Dr.Rice and the reactionaries she supports. To me they are two different voices of unreason shouting on the same street corner. Both fortelling the doom of peace because of the other.
Iran is sandwiched between the US and Afghanistan and the US in Iraq. From their point of view they are surrounded. And they are hoping to gain the support of the Islamic world by playing the cards they are. Including their stance against Israel and their refusal to give up their nuclear research.
But if you look deeply here, Iran is not looking for war. At home they have a population that is eager to join the rest of the world. The government knows this and has been clamping down. A war would end that for them either by force or by internal revolution.
If you really want to change Iran and elminate this problem, engage with them. Get them onboard with some ideas about improvements and economic aid. Help them become a real player in the region and it will help encourage the population to demand more change. This WILL WORK. But it means taking a new point of view and working to make diplomacy not force the primary means of change.
As for Dr.Rice. My disdain does not end with her. It is for the entire administration and government that squandered global sympathy on 912 in favor of some archaic war mongering approach to solving problems. They have ravaged the economy, been responsible for the deaths of well over 130,000 people in Iraq, no one knows how many in Afghanistan and that is before you count all the Americans who have died.
And this is before we even start talking about how they have manipulated our own people with fear and the tragedy of 911 to forward their own repressive agenda against personal liberty and privacy.
When we prosecuted the Nazis and Japanese for war crimes post WWII we laid blame on all the government officials who mad those crimes possible. With Rendition, Guantanimo, Abu Graeb, torture and the murder of so many people the Bush administration and Rice along with them are war criminals and criminals for their lies and misinformation that led to the Iraq war. It is just a shame that it will take 50 years or more for history to look at this with a clear perspective and to lable this administration as the worst for American interests in our history.
Posted in: Rice warns U.S. will do what's necessary to defend Israel; Iran answers with more missiles
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tkoind2
Rice. I swear to God or Buddha or whoever is out there that I am counting the days until I don't need to hear your voice, see your uptight face or read about you and that president you serve ever again.
Enough with the posturing. We can no more invade Iran today than I can take over leadership of Japan by lunch time. You don't have the available troops and you know as well as I do that you will need a draft to sustain a fight there. And that will mean long term dark ages for the Republican party that will seem like an iceage before you win another presidency. So attack is not really on the table is it? IS IT?
You also know that Iran has no intention of going to war with us or anyone else. They may saber rattle too, but they are not stupid. They are posturing and that is it. And understandably given the hostile situation. And you know this to be true, your intelligence community reported it to you last week.
Intelligent leaders would see these facts and make diplomatic solutions work. And that is in the best interests of both nations. So make it work! We just no longer buy your campaign of FEAR, MORE FEAR and MORE FEAR. We know that the terrorists under the bed are not our worst fear, you and what you may get us into is.
Hurry up and clear the global stage for someone with a plan to address these problems intelligently.
Posted in: Rice warns U.S. will do what's necessary to defend Israel; Iran answers with more missiles
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tkoind2
Members or our team in Asia regularly work 60-80 hours of OT a month. I've done so a few months as well. And you can feel the damage to your health.
Japan, let's solve sevearal problems with one solution. Ok?
Solution: Improve and enforce labor standards and incentivise companies to close their doors and turn off the lights at an earlier hour each day.
Rules: 1. Standard working hours should be enforces at 8hrs per day. Any time worked over and beyond must be paid as overtime at a 1.5 x rate. Enforce this.
Workers must have the defendable right to refuse overtime over 10hrs per week. Companies should pay a bonus rate for any hours over 10hrs per week at a rate of 2.5 x hourly rate.
Temps and Full time both must benefit from this model.
Companies should be given a tax break for implementing green policies that require offices to shut down most floors at 8pm to conserve power.
This will: 1. Improve work life balance and employee health. 2. Incourage full employment as companies will save money and risk by hiring staff rather than overpaying OT payments. 3. Positive Green impact by saving late night power consumption. 4. May help the birthrate in Japan if people have more home time.
Give it a try! The most productive nations in the world have 37.5 average work hours and greater domestic full employment. This does work.
Posted in: Labor bureau rules that Toyota engineer died from overwork
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tkoind2
p.s. Sarge. Do be sure to check the closet for terrorists before going to bed at night. They are everywhere you know.
Does anyone really believe this any more? This piece of legislation shows that the only terrorists we really need to be deeply fearful of are the ones rendering our constitution obsolete with their Patriot Acts and Monitoring policies.
Posted in: Senate bows to Bush and approves surveillance bill
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tkoind2
911 was the best present the right wing community could ever have prayed for. It frightened Americans into a long dark age of willingness to go along with whatever the government imposed in the interest of saftey and security.
A responsible government would have stood by our standards of human rights and civil liberties as a defense of what our country stood for. Instead a band of opportunistic petti-fascists have leveraged this tragedy to invade our privacy, tap our commuications and more all in the name of security.
I have just one question. Who is protecting us from our own government and their assault of out constitutional liberties?
We had better start fighting back before Orwell's predictions become even more true than they are already fighteningly so.
Posted in: Senate bows to Bush and approves surveillance bill
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tkoind2
Even tiny unknown stations in the middle of nowhere are crawling with police. If something really happens, the 20,000 police spread around the area will have a hard time coming together in their usual 20 cop packs to check bicycle accidents. They are pretty much useless anyway.
Posted in: Forgetful janitor triggers Toyko subway terrorism scare
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tkoind2
Good luck to Mr.Glover and his new film. We need more quality film with meaning and purpose.
Posted in: Glover examines prejudices in new film set in Japan
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tkoind2
Again why did they choose a rustic location if they are not prepared to deal with the local situation. Why not Tokyo or Sapporo who could offer "western" hotels?
People are sleeping on stone roads that these guys should be helping and are not. Maybe we should have held this in Bangladesh and set up some flooded farmland for them to sleep in so they could feel the problems they are tasked with addressing.
How can anyone defend these people?
Posted in: Tatami rooms don't agree with G-8 visitors
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tkoind2
One other note. Never is a REALLY long time. And look at how much power shifting has taken place since 1908.
Posted in: The Post-American World
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tkoind2
Empires rise and fall. Anyone who thinks a dynasty will last forever was sleeping in history class. Do you think ancient Egyptians or Romans imagined their empires as archiological sites? Or the Han Chinese considering what China has become today? Or the Soviets imagining the fall of Soviet Russia?
Things change for better or worst. China may rise next. Or maybe India. The US may reign another hundred years. But sooner or later things will change. Add in climate change, global oil scarcity and the related conflicts and the maps may be VERY different 100 years from today.
Posted in: The Post-American World
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tkoind2
Betting. I have a hard time feeling sorry for these people. They are afterall reaping the benefits of their position and did choose their career path as any of us have.
Further, the hard work they are doing will benefit companies and the priviledged world wide far more than it will the mass majority of people they supposedly represent. They will continue to exploit labor, trade with oppressive states, fail to offer real long term solutions and funding for those solutions where they are most needed. And they will never take the hard steps necessary to reverse global warming, increasing food prices or growing poverty.
They will talk at these topics and offer band aids here and there that will help sooth symptoms today and maybe tomorrow. But what we, and the billions of poor and underclass people globally need, are real solutions and a willingness to sacrifice and pay for them.
So if they cannot sleep on nice comfy beds instead of equally comfy futons in lovely ryokan's in Hokkaido while failing to truly think of most of the living breathing people on this planet who would kill for a week in such a place, then too bad. Let them suffer, in such extreme comfort.
Posted in: Tatami rooms don't agree with G-8 visitors
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tkoind2
"Starbucks is like disney land. They sell the experience, not the product"
But just about every other chain mimics Starbucks so much that it may as well be starbucks. Not to mention it is just a very corporate atmosphere anyway. And there are many much cooler cafes with better ambiance in Tokyo that are private shops.
Posted in: Starbucks Japan to raise coffee prices