Wednesday February 15, 2012

tkoind2's past comments

  • 5

    tkoind2

    Great idea. High taxes for businesses, endless obstructions to conducting business in Japan and now higher utility bills. Well done Japan!! Way to raise the bar on self destruction.

    I mean what competing nation or enemy is needed when Japan is so brilliantly adept at causing her own downfall.

    Isn't it enough that businesses are fleeing Japan because of the high cost of conducting business here? And we are not only talking about foreign companies. Many Japanese companies are reallizing they can be more profitable abroad. Sadly taking full time employment jobs with then and harming working class and middle class people in the process.

    So what does the peanut gallery running this sinking island do? The propose all kinds of new ways to drive even more jobs out of the country. Brilliant!

    Posted in: TEPCO to raise electricity rates for corporate users by 17% from April 1

  • 6

    tkoind2

    tmarie. Good point, I stand corrected on family.

    I am convinced that there is this "Gambarro Culture" that is deeply rooted in Japan. A culture that almost worships and longs for hardship and adversity. A culture where he/she who suffers is good. And where collective suffering is almost desirable and admirable.

    It is almost as if suffering is so socially and culturally desirable that everyone is eager to suffer and to be seen as suffering. In doing so they are validating their selfworth and social standing.

    Because of this thinking, I believe that people fail to work harder than they do for positive change, choosing instead to endure hardship and reap the social acceptance that "Gambarro Culture" promises.

    Perhaps that is why political, social, labor and economic problems are not prioritized and addressed to the degree they could be. And why Japan consistently wants to be seen as both victim and victim in the midst of hardship and endurance.

    Posted in: 'Kizuna' takes many forms in post-disaster Japan, including marriage and infidelity

  • 4

    tkoind2

    "Am I the only one who feels this way???"

    No Tokyokawasaki you are not the only one. But sadly the only people I have me who are outraged enough to wish to take action are foreingers. Oddly enough the people with the most ability to just walk away from this are the ones who would be willing to go out on a personal limb to fight for change.

    Meanwhile my Japanese friends are equally burdened, disillusioned and outraged. Yet I have not heard a single person raise even the slightest possibility or suggestion that the are prepared to do anything about it other than carry on gripeing.

    Isn't that just the most sad and pathetic circumstance you can imagine?

    Posted in: Gov't to probe radioactive apartment block

  • 0

    tkoind2

    "Noda sacrificed his eye to win this fight. What have you sacrificed?"

    a. my tax money lost to the abyss of LDP and then DPJ incompetence. b. my patience, watching the nation sink while these incompetent oyaji serve themselves. c. my tolerance for a society that knows they are being robbed and misled but do nothing. e. my compassion, for workers who suffer under this system but lack the courage and insight to fight back. f. my hope, that Japan can reverse her decline.

    By comparrision a little black eye seems like little sacrifice at all.

    Posted in: Let's fight!

  • -3

    tkoind2

    This is sadly one more example where Japan's trends fling it in some direction with reckless abandon and no more foresight than sneezing.

    I agree with TMarie. Japan is not suffering as a whole here. At least not from 311. The people in the north are suffering and largel on their own. Meanwhile the rest of the nation, lacking any real direction at present, is looking for some sense of meaning and have found it in this latest craze.

    What Japan really needs to be doing, to really take care of family and home, is to gain an interest in the greater political and economic well being of the nation. The government is doing nothing and people sit silently by. New taxes proposed seriously threaten already poor families and those struggling with no promise that the new money will be spent in any useful manner. And yet silence prevails.

    I wish Japan would remember her recent history when family was core to people working to overcome the post WWII challenges, but at the same time, people had the vision and insight to demand changes to better care for the nation and their communities. This is what Japan really needs today, not some catch phrase and trend.

    Posted in: 'Kizuna' takes many forms in post-disaster Japan, including marriage and infidelity

  • 1

    tkoind2

    Given the behavior of the government, of companies and individuals, how could anyone in Japan feel a sense of relief about radiation? Whether we like it or not, the simple fact is that people in positions of making decisions about the impact of radiation on the general population have proven that they fall into three primary categories.

    1. People who are not competent to be trusted.
    2. People who cannot be trusted.
    3. People who can be trusted but are not because of the obvious worries over people in categories 1 and 2.

    Net result... no rational person can feel certainty over this situation. Thus we must all weigh in our own thoughts and continue to live in doubt over the situation. It is unecessary since only a little open candor would have made people trust in and believe their leaders. But that bridge is long burned.

    Posted in: Gov't to probe radioactive apartment block

  • -2

    tkoind2

    The guy on the right looks like he may have lost control of some body functions. Meanwhile the 2nd from the left reminds me of the Python's Holy Grail "and there was much rejoicing....yea......"

    Posted in: Let's fight!

  • 1

    tkoind2

    I would have advised he go with a Hello Kitty patch instead. May as well take kawaii to new levels. At least he would be remembered for something after they toss him out in a couple months.

    Posted in: Noda appears in eye patch for tax fight

  • 2

    tkoind2

    thepersoniamnow. There is some validity to the serving size even for slender people like me. My healthy Thai stirfry in Seattle costs $11 or about 880 yen now. The exact same dish at the "cheap" Thai place in Tokyo costs JPY1,1000 but is less than 1/2 the size.

    Now in Seattle that stirfry can easily be shared fro two. In Tokyo people usually share dishes too, which often amounts to a couple forks full before it is gone.

    You can rationalize this all you like. But the ingredience are all locally available. The cost of prime retail space in Seattle is not that dramatically different from the site on the Chuo line of this place. And the service is about the same. So where is the dramatic cost per gram disparity coming from? Better still, why?

    Posted in: Six things that foreigners feel are overpriced in Japan

  • 1

    tkoind2

    JeremiahW. And just what presidents in either country could you imagine handling the current crisis in a way that would have prevented this? It is as if you are standing with your nose on one political tree while missing the endless forest of political trees that define this issue.

    It isn't one or another president that could make or break this. It is the entirety of the political and economic status of these countries and the global environment that are at work here.

    When you try to break this down to some kind of "this guy/party" vs "that guy/party" you miss the forest for the tree mate. The real issues here are bigger than any party or individual politician. And they all spell the requirement to rethink our political and economic realities.

    Posted in: Sarkozy vows reform after France downgrade

  • 6

    tkoind2

    And one more note. I don't know what others define as pizza. But the cardboard like pizzas offered by most delivery chains in Japan are not up to cheap frozen pizza quality in the US. Not even close.

    Posted in: Six things that foreigners feel are overpriced in Japan

  • 1

    tkoind2

    "Usually that extra money you pay is for some extra service or better quality. You many necessarily want it though."

    Nonsense. Japan's fit in one box only service is inflexible and limited. I would also call service here "managed" it rarely amounts to hospitality as it does in other countries I have spent time in.

    Finally, what extra service is there in ordinary retail shopping? Does the run down old rack of wine in my supermarket offer any add on service that the new well stocked and well organized rack in the Seattle supermarket is missing? Certainly not. And the wine guy in Seattle can recommend, very well I may add, a wine for every discerning customer and all for a range of $14-$30 for a regular wine. By contrast the novelty wine shop in Kokubunji has to ask nearly everyone in the shop before picking the most predictable bottle. So again, where is the extra service and quality?

    Japan I am very sad and sorry to inform you, but you are being ripped off fo so much here. I can understand import cost add ons, but domestically produced stuff like pizza should only be slightly more expensive to cover higher wages and costs. Not double or tripple the price and a quarter of the size of foreign competitors in other countries.

    Posted in: Six things that foreigners feel are overpriced in Japan

  • -6

    tkoind2

    Yes Heda everyone is a terrorist. Everyone.

    Posted in: Activists hurl stink bombs, paint at Japanese whalers

  • 0

    tkoind2

    Ossan. I know what cultural imperialism means. But you are making a bold assumption that research whaling is part of Japan's "culture". It isn't.

    Cultural imperialism implies that there is an attempt at replacing or erasing Japan's culture. But my example of Native Americans in the NW proves that adaptation to change is possible with the preservation of culture.

    Like all other global cultures, things change and we must evolve. When something is no longer tenable, we find other ways to retain our cultural integrity. Your view ignores this obvious fact.

    Now, if you can prove that research whaling is indeed a deeply entrenched Japanese cultural icon, then please do so. But if just whaling for culture is the case here, then why is it carried out in a fashion not supported by historical cutlure dating back any farther than a couple hundred years or less?

    You and your whaling friends cannot define this as culture. And you cannot defend retention of this as a cultural activity.

    Posted in: Activists hurl stink bombs, paint at Japanese whalers

  • -4

    tkoind2

    Mabo. Iran is hardly stone age. It has one of the richest artistic, literature and musical cultures in the world.

    Posted in: What can be done to ease tensions between Iran and Western nations?

  • -2

    tkoind2

    Mobo. Is your world really so black and white that the only two options you can weigh are unbridled capitalism and communism? There are many other alternative solutions that work to allow people to excel and yet are socially responsible. Do broaden your horizons.

    Posted in: Japan says U.S. reforms could force its banks out of Wall Street

  • -1

    tkoind2

    Iran was a democracy before the Sha was imposed upon them. The same can be said of outside influences over Afghanistan in the early years of the cold war.

    There are consequences for our policies. Ones we do need to better understand.

    Sure Iran is not innocent in this, I think my post was pretty clear on that point. I think it was also clear that there have been many opportunties for political change from within Iran that were either not supported by the west or offset by other actions taken by the west. Again we need to acknowledge these.

    No political situation is black and white. We are on the brink of war because of the decisions and policies of both the west and Iran. Like it or not the truth is sometimes very ugly. But only the truth can help us find a way around and away from war.

    Posted in: Iran leader says CIA, Mossad behind scientist's murder

  • 0

    tkoind2

    The global political and economic picture is very worrying. Like the 1930's it seems conflict is on the horizon. And at the very least more economic hardship ahead.

    But with Iran, I feel there is a particular leaning towards conflict and not away from it on both sides. This may hasten a new war if all are not extremely careful.

    Posted in: What can be done to ease tensions between Iran and Western nations?

  • 0

    tkoind2

    Fadamor. "....you're not an "innocent working-class" person." If we apply your logic, then who is an innocent worker? Every corporation, most institutions are self serving and profit driven. With this definition, no working person in a capitalist environment is innocent.

    An IT or Reception person at a bank has no more power over that institution than they do over the moon. A clerk at Walmart has the same problem.

    You should not be blaming working people. Everyone needs to work, feed and care for the family. Failing to do so means death or dependence upon the state. So what other choices do working people in capitalist systems have but to work for companies who are part of the problem?

    If you want to blame someone, blame the people who are in power. The beneficiaries of greed and those who make the decisions that cause harm.

    I am sure if we look at your world, the bank you support with your deposits, the government you pay taxes to, we could implicate you with dirty hands too. But that would be wrong. The problem is the system and it's benefactors.

    Posted in: Japan says U.S. reforms could force its banks out of Wall Street

  • -2

    tkoind2

    ".....attempts at cultural imperialism."

    Yes and we have all seen the ancient Japanese cave drawings of long distance whaling fleets headed off to the Antarctic to carry out "research". I think Mifune must of made at least a dozen movies about the Samurai who also took ships to the Antactic for research. And let's not forget the Tokogawa government's commitment to whale research.

    Give me a break.

    In Washington State there are tribes who can show thousands of years of whale hunting culture. And yet, these communities have intelligently agreed to limit their huts to either ritual re-enactments or to one whale a year. Now why can't Japan do something like that.

    Further the "culture" argument does not hold water anyway. Cultures evolve and rituals replace no longer tenable actions. It is time for Japan to join the 21st century and do what they already do for thousands of other cultural activities, celebrate and respect them while doing no harm.

    Posted in: Activists hurl stink bombs, paint at Japanese whalers

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