JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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1
Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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2
U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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3
Confrontation
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4
California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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5
Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi
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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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yabits
Pure fantasy.
Posted in: Iranian judge sentences American to death for spying
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yabits
If you're going to try to connect events like this, then the assassinations of private Iranian citizens within their own country by agents acting on behalf of the U.S. and a few of its "allies" more than balances things out.
Posted in: Iranian judge sentences American to death for spying
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yabits
Ah, even through the sarcasm you begrudgingly admit that, unlike others, Iran actually has some goods on this guy. You appear to be saying that Iran has to tolerate and accept espionage that leaves their citizens dead.
Nobody but you has put forth the claim that Iran is "always" in the right. Dishonest as always. Moving on.
Posted in: Iranian judge sentences American to death for spying
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yabits
And how will we ordinary folks be able to distinguish something "vicious" hurled at a Republican by the Democrats from the richly-deserved, God's-honest truth?
Posted in: Republican rivals target Romney before primary
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yabits
Most readers will understand and see the lie behind "protecting Iran from criticism."
The truth is that Iran should not be unequivocally condemned for taking strong measures against espionage. Especially when the lies and condemnations are coming from those who defend espionage and assassination themselves, but only when it is being conducted in their name.
The "deed" that was done was to send in an agent whom Iranian sources identified as being seen at a US base in Afghanistan prior to his entry to Iran. (Sending him in was not Iran's doing.) No mention is made of the "deeds" that include assassinating nearly a half-dozen Iranians over the past two years, so as to cover those tracks. Unlike Hekmati, however, none of those Iranians received any form of due process before their executions were carried out on the streets of their own country.
Posted in: Iranian judge sentences American to death for spying
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yabits
It's a fair question. A better question would be what would the USA think of Iranian-based agents in the US targeting and assassinating US citizens. How many scientists in Iran allegedly associated with Iran's nuclear program have been assassinated by anti-Iranian operatives in recent months?
It is a fact that the Central Intelligence Agency helped overthrow a democratically elected government of Iran in the 1950s and assisted Iran's intelligence agency (SAVAK) in the torture and deaths of thousands of innocent Iranians over nearly three decades. Well, innocent except for the fact they opposed the brutal and corrupt regime of the Shah. We can't expect a culture with a 2000+ year history to forget such things so fast.
A corpse does not make a very good chip. If he's going to be a bargaining chip, that will be borne out soon enough. My instincts tell me that he'll be put to death just as quickly as any other Iranian in their system as an example. If not, then you are right.
Gee, and here the Americans thought that they could pull one over on "dumb" and unsuspecting Iranians. Hundreds of Americans of Iranian descent visit Iran each year without any difficulty. Just don't give them any reason to suspect you are involved in espionage. But it's not like the Iranians are kidnapping people off the streets in foreign countries and subjecting them to extraordinary rendition. Only the "advanced" countries can expect to do that and get away with it -- just like they can expect to get away with assassinating citizens within their own country.
Posted in: Iranian judge sentences American to death for spying
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yabits
Best and truest line uttered in a Republican campaign since I don't know when.
Posted in: Republicans mount final New Hampshire blitz
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yabits
Iowa: The Tea Party's slow, steady destruction of the Republican Party continues apace.
Posted in: Romney wins Iowa contest by eight votes
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yabits
Yes, but the Republican party could easily make the showing of a photo ID a requirement for their caucus. A voter in Iowa is not legally required to to register for any party. But those Iowans who might consider themselves conservatives, and who refuse or neglect to register as Republicans, are not allowed to vote in the Republican caucus, even though they are eligible voters in all other respects.
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa
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yabits
In Japan, I really love having a Mos Burger because there's nothing quite like them anywhere else.
In the US? The bison burgers at Ted's Montana Grills are nothing short of incredible.
Posted in: What's your favorite hamburger chain?
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yabits
It's very simple: For general elections, a change to the rules has to be agreed upon by a plurality of the legislators who represent all the electorate and not just one party.
But the Iowa Republican caucus is not a general election. No non-Republicans take part in the Iowa Republican caucuses. The party, therefore, has extremely wide leeway to set its own rules for participation. The Republicans want to make VoterID laws binding on Democratic voters, but they won't employ them for themselves when they've got every opportunity to do so.
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa
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yabits
The people who know anything about privacy laws know that they don't apply in cases of being asked to show a photoID for various situations, which would include purchasing alcohol, getting a prescription filled, boarding an aircraft, and civic functions such as jury duty.
Your claim/implication that the Republican Party would be in violation of privacy laws if they required voters at a Republican caucus to furnish a photoID is totally wrong.
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa
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yabits
Helped save the banking/financial system from collapse, helped save the U.S. auto industry, kept America safe, etc., etc. etc.
Maura didn't say she was supporting Republicans. Give her 30 minutes with some of these moronic conservatives with a sixth-grader's mentality and she'll come around quick. Har, indeed.
Posted in: White House Republican hopefuls make last Iowa push
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yabits
A Happy New Year to all!
Posted in: Happy New Year
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yabits
Oh, no it's not. When a person actually shows up at a caucus there may be a name that matches theirs on the list of eligible voters, but the very Republicans pushing for VoterID laws claim that the person who actually is showing up may be an impostor.
You really don't get it, do you? Yes, there is a specific method, but the Republicans who are pushing for VoterID laws claim that the method is inadequate to root out impostors. A method that requires a a photo ID, they claim, will better ensure the integrity of the process.
I never claimed that the Republicans were not following Iowa law, only that they are not practicing, via their intra-party processes, what they are preaching to others. ("Do as we say, not as we do," is their message, loud and clear.) It is your claim that a Republican party board that wants to enact rules for its own intra-party elections that included the requirement of a photoID as being in violation of Iowa law that is totally wrong. The party can certainly enact steps and rules it deems necessary to better ensure the validity of the electoral process for its own internal elections.
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa
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yabits
Maura is leaving the door open and is willing to be convinced. Unlike a majority of Republicans, she sympathizes with the serious problems thrust upon President Obama by the previous debacle of an administration.
Posted in: White House Republican hopefuls make last Iowa push
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yabits
What is sad is how wrong those statements are. Such are the falsehoods that conservatives have to use as their foundation. It's why I had to reject the modern Republican Party entirely. (There's no honor there at all.)
For Iowa Republican caucus-attendees to be required to show proper ID would not be in violation of any Iowa state law. In fact, Iowa state law requires that the party chairperson and secretary certify the eligibility of each caucus voter -- but does not specify the method for doing so. The method for certifying voters in a party caucus is left completely up to the party leadership. Therefore local party officials could have easily adopted the requirement that each Republican caucus attendee show photo ID -- and so demonstrated their loyalty to principle.
As a great man once pointed out: There are two types of people who never amount to much: Those who can not do what the law requires and those who can do nothing else. Those who excuse, apologize for, and raise false issues in order to defend the Republicans' lack of acting according to principle fall into the latter category.
Which raises the question: If it's not against Iowa state law, and it could (for sake of argument) ensure the integrity of the voting system, why won't Republicans adopt the requirement for a proper ID for their intra-party activities, as they are so dead-set on forcing it on the general population?
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa
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yabits
In other words, Cain exhibited all of Bill Clinton's worst qualities with absolutely none of his redeeming ones.
Posted in: White House Republican hopefuls make last Iowa push
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yabits
I understand. I think anyone who supported that unqualified idiot has every right to feel bitter and sarcastic.
Your use of him as a token does prove something. How otherwise to explain why Republicans anywhere bowed down to the "Media" and ceased their support for Cain?
But you can't address the point about Republican hypocrisy in Iowa for not requiring any form of voter ID for their own party caucus. At least, you can't address it without bringing up something completely unrelated and irrelevant like Cain, or totally false and off-the-wall like the ACLU. I get it: Republicans should not be leading by example, or adhering to rules they would push on other people.
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa
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yabits
Let's break that down, so as not to confuse readers.
The vast majority of Iowans are white. That is true. Next: I would suspect that close to 100% of those Iowa voters who identify with the Republican party would, if they had to pick between two labels, would consider themselves "conservative" as opposed to "liberal."
And so we are dealing only with the subset of Iowans who actively support conservative goals and the Republican Party. "Active" in the sense that they are motivated to attend the upcoming Republican caucus.
Being associated with liberals and Democrats over the decades, I have come to know that if we think a law, rule, or principle is good for the entire country, we also naturally feel it is good for us and will practice it immediately, if for no other reason than to set the example. If the predominantly white supporters of the Republican Party in Iowa were either smart enough or principled enough to hold themselves to the same rules as they want to foist on the rest of the nation, it would go a long way towards dispelling the notion that VoterID laws are primarily targeted at black Americans and other minorities -- nothing but a fundamentally discriminatory ploy (like a poll tax) to disenfranchise those voting groups who don't support Republicans.
The fact that Republicans in a predominantly white state like Iowa don't really care about the integrity of voting in their state (enough to require showing an ID) sends the message that "If you're white, you must be alright." After all, when Iowa conservatives like a Steve King get on their high horses and preach to others about the integrity of the electoral process and don't care to follow it themselves, it does reveal their complete and utter hypocrisy. (In other words, their sheets are showing.)
Posted in: Romney makes big push in Iowa