Ricky Kaminski13 comments

Yep, the price for these trips has gone up a lot. We had a two week study abroad program on offer at our institution for 65 man! Didn’t think anyone would sign up for that but was wrong. Parents/grandparents willing to pay it seems. With all the doom and gloom you hear about wages and the economy, households still have cash!

A ‘bad mood.’ A level of self awareness on par with his self expression skills.

One of the greatest festivals in the world. So cool.

There is no evidence that President Biden himself has committed any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Trump

Nice try guys. Nice journalism. Just make the short blanket statement quickly, then conjure the T man.

Unfortunately there’s a ton of evidence, whistle blowers, breaches, coverups, suspect situations , dealings, calls the works. I love how one section of the media are attempting to write off the whole investigation as if it was nothing and had somehow magically already finished. Nothing to see here folks, move along. Trump!

These top level career politicians are pros, they don’t deal in brown envelopes, they deal in winks , appearances and handshakes, influence, families and time! Its the nature of the sport by the looks. The ‘no evidence’ mantra though, is just low resolution partisan protection and once the whole story and facts come out it will be plain as day that something be rotten in state of Denmark!

You live by the sword democrats, you die by the sword. I know it’s a hard fact to face , being on the side of the ‘good ‘ an all, that moment you realize that your mob are just as corrupt and compromised as the other. Part of growing up is the realization that you have no right to preach to anyone. Life has got a funny way of writing the lessons on the wall!

Personally think America would be much healthier if both Trump and Biden had the grace to step aside, for the good of everyone. Neither has the self awareness to get their though. So democracy itself has to step up!

A picture tells ten thousand words. Some of the scenes coming out from China seem almost apocalyptic. Stories of mass confusion and central authorities incompetencey already leaking out. Some examples include community based rescue missions being delayed or told to stand down due to official seals ( the holy hanko ) gone missing or washed away. Can’t do a rescue without the proper documentation ! Govt. officials doing a runner when faced with angry and desperate constituents, damns chosen and deliberately opened; certain areas and villages sacrificed through an opaque bureaucracy in charge of water release systems. Massive sink holes appearing the works! The central govt. will end up spending much of its time covering its own butt and suppressing the worst cases of corruption, shoddy building and planning and will rush in to ‘look like’ they are in charge of the situation. Face is everything of course.

Have nothing but pity for anyone that has to live under what would be incredibly frustrating circumstances. Also makes you feel there’s not that much to worry about on the geopolitical stage. If China can’t build and manage their own cities, then all run about pointing fingers at each other when things go pear shaped, am not quite sure why they believe they have the right to dictate to the rest of the world frankly about anything.

Once again, not reveling in the misery, huge levels of pity for those caught up in the natural and man made disasters of our times, in any country. We should all be focusing on how to make better cities and communities that will be able to weather the coming storms. With the typhoon season upon us it should be a timely reminder of what the real priorities should be.

Japan should send a team of its own disaster experts to help out in Beijing. Friends in need could be a friend in deed. Grass roots soft power and regional bridge building! It may even take disasters like this to cool down the drums of war. Turn disaster into hope.

All the snarky comments are very telling. What the trilateral meeting to me means is that the two Asian cousin nations , that have had trouble communicating , cooperating or agree on pretty much anything are now deciding to throw their petty differences aside.

This comes at a time for humanity where all of the progress we have made since WW2, the ‘rule of law’, international standards of behavior and commerce, democracy is all under threat from a few rising, belligerent , entitled and revenge obsessed dark forces. A revenge itch that would see them sacrifice the lives of their own and others to attempt to scratch.

The ‘no more war’ ( another no brainer, cause no one wants war ) sloganeers need to have a deep think of how wars can actually be prevented, and what happens when good people do nothing in a bad situation. Taiwan being the biggest test that could kick the whole thing off. It will have to be a layered, cohesive, multinational and steadfast approach, one that’s compass is set by shared moral standards. If you are fine with letting corrupt communist authoritarians call the shots ( check out how they are dealing with their own cities inundated from the floods for reference ) from here on in then that’s where the conversation pretty much breaks down. Those that want to see the West fall but have little plan nor idea what lies in its place, our young lefty friends, the romantic revolutionaries, be careful what you wish for.

Just hope uncle Joe can at least get the script right this time, cause you do it badly and can actually serve to embolden the foes! Sorry for the long winded!

Kaaarn Aussie! All the way!

Only to stir up trouble with China, not a good start for dialog China and the rest of the concerned Asian nations.

The day after another example of Chinas behavior on the South China Sea, China firing water canons at a Philippine coast guard supply ship. Now is the time to not flinch to Chinese aggression, so well done Asosan! Bring your brand of swagger to the story! Whatever people think of you, attracticring attention is definitely an Aso forte!

Blinken let the free world down, doesn’t mean Japan has to follow suit. This could very well be their historical moment to be on the right side of history this time, despite the naysayers and cynics.

“This aggression will not stand man.” The Dude

The art of making a madman believe that he is an expert in everything he touches. Cringeworthy and sad. You may even get to see it play out on smaller scales in your own life, but North Korea is the banner version on steroids for us all to see. The dregs and dark depths of collective human psychology when played out to its end game in the most disastrous of settings. A stark warning to us all.

The level of sophistication and understanding of the complex, nuanced and layered challenges we face with our energy mix here is about equivalent to an 11-year-old elementary student. According to your average Japanese university student, all we have to (and can do personally ) for the environment is to turn off the occasional light to an empty room. Work to be done there is. Conversations need to be had! The bar is way too low.

You simply don't get any worse public relations disasters than that. This will hit the brand 7/11 real hard.

University students rebelling, taking risks and experimenting. The sky will fall.

Why is there little to no attention, buzz or coverage. I thought Japan loved their Nadeshikos! What gives?

Deliberate omission of the lovely other half? Are we to just guess?

“ Not that there’s anything wrong with that! “ Seinfeld

Wind is gunna need to bribe their way into the new green deal by the sounds, not exactly the silver bullet for global warming it’s been sold as by more than a few accounts.

LDP corruption just means LDPs special sauce brand of polibusiness.

Scandals however, are a real political bomb for J politics, so expect fallout and fireworks, shuffling and much noise!

The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind.

Captain Obvious.

Bingo. Riveting stuff isn't it? If he had gone on to talk about Japan needing to move away from the obsession with fudging the numbers to conceal engrained expediency, lackluster performances and mediocrity he may have got the thinking world nodding or questioning his line of thought, but why risk it ay?

Just state the obvious and say nothing of substance. It's worked fine until now. ( sort of #nervoussideglance )

Like a carbon tax was floated as an idea to begin to cut emissions, the same should be done for this massive ( get it ? ) global youth health problem. Refined sugar tax, trans fat tax, potassium bromate, propylene glycol, TBHQ, calcium sulfate, propyl gallate, phthalates, fluorine the list goes on of the toxic garbage we throw down ourselves and our children. Chuck in a sedentary lifestyle or parents too focused on their own happiness and comfort to raise healthy and well balanced offspring and you have the perfect storm described above. Remember mental and physical health are two ides of the same coin.

The progress we have made in eliminating hunger over the past decades has been momentous , but now it’s time to tip the scales back to our natural, healthy and active potential selves. We done got too comfortable! Obese children is a crime. Don’t mess your kids up for life before they even started it!

Most people in the world would now scoff at another vaccine to have, but in unquestioning Japan, sleeves will be rolled up and the greatest non thinkers in the world will just march in line to the beat. Hey, do the kids while you are it guys. Might as well ay?

Big pharma has done a number on us in collusion and in bed with the must unlikely of bedfellows. Wont be trusting the 'govt', the 'science' nor the 'experts' for some time soon now. What an absolute shemozzle in hindsight.

Now that right there, is a lucrative business. These social misfit voyeurs would be easy pickings for any street level thugs. The ‘feel good’ story of the day.

The natural next step to the surveillance state, make every dirty little opportunist an informant. Someone should tell China Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning not a guide book. Dark times ahead for the Middle Kingdom.

Side jobs. wink wink

Would prefer them to be able to do their day job better, but I think I get what this guy is saying. Real world exposure right, instead of sleeping within the ranks of the enclosed and insular systems of the bureaucracy.

Oh for the love of god….nice final gesture mum n dad. Kids gunna be scarred for life.

Their teachers and the Ministry of silly walks are 1000% to blame for this. J English has to be one of the biggest farcical industries in the world. If you can think of another that delivers such meek results please let me know. It's a proper s show.

Yup. And the accomplishments of Biden in this presidency stand on their own as a demonstration of competent leadership.

If making America the laughing stock of the world and the downfall of the West was your goal than, yes, bravo ole chap. Keep drinking that kool aid matey. Am sure it tastes good!

My lord, just watched the McConnell ‘moment’. That was just sad. It maybe an idea to keep some good and honest REAL friends around you as the golden years approach, especially if you are in a position of power, friends or family that will tell you “it’s time to hang up the boots mate, your done”, at the earliest signs that you are losing it. Either that or you make everyone suffer the sad parade that we saw here. The guy that stepped in for McConnel there did well.

Career politicians especially, please make a special effort NOT to surround yourself with YESmen/women/other or enablers who will feed off you for their own purposes well after your expiry date. Biden, do the American people and the world a favor, have the grace to know you are doing more damage than good at this stage, to your own cause. And democrats, how in gods name do you not cringe each time your leader stumbles to the podium to babble nonsense and make a mockery of your institutions ? Memes aside Biden makes us all quietly wonder if this is, in fact a simulation! It’s beyond a joke at this stage.

Research question

Have you actually taken the final plunge into the collectivist mindset, one that doesn’t believe you need competent leadership because the group itself is suffice, taken the final step and made individual competency and skill the enemy! You have to actually wonder sometimes!

This is a call to the next generation, help!

EastmanJuly 28  02:49 pm JST

good move.

Japan should do same.

no mercy to drug dealers

People always reveal their true natures. Hanging a lady by the neck until she be dead for just over an ounce of smack. Barbaric, unforgiving and intentional cruel. Singapore you are ok with this? This is your form of exceptionalism that you choose to showcase to the world?

Am under impressed. Beware who you pass judgement on.

It may well be that these two star studded parents where exactly the light this recurring unresolved ‘issue ’ needed for the actual conversations to begin. Until now Japan has managed to just shut down those conversations, or just not even have them in some archaic notion of protecting their sacred bloodlines. It’s well over due to move into the modern world though, especially as divorces are unfortunately a fairly common thing. The tragic plight of so many foreign nationals fell on deaf ears, maybe this will break through.

Luckily most Japanese have a favorable opinion of Taiwan so there is a real chance for progress. For the sake of the children get your acts together! It’ll be a win win if you finally work it out.

It’s what the self appointed ‘saviors’ want to do that worries me more than the heatwaves, who will only serve to add fuel to the fire. A sense of panic and doom puts us into a psychological state that doesn’t exactly encourage rational thinking nor cooperation. We will set on each other before the climate gets us. Dormant demons are being awoken. Keep your calm heads about you good people. Tread very carefully.

after a federal judge raised concerns about the terms of the agreement that has infuriated Republicans who believe the president’s son is getting preferential treatment.

The opening paragraph. I love the journalism that uses techniques of conjuring the ‘republican’ specter to cover up wrong doings of their own. It’s the perfect way to get polarized America to turn a blind eye and not have to think for themselves. If the republicans are saying it, it must be wrong. You probably think no one even notices.

The double standards and the mental gymnastics never cease to amaze this ( not republican ) Aussie spectator. Hunter Biden has been a very naughty boy, and should get the same treatment other naughty boys cashing in on their daddy’s get. Double standards and hypocrisy will always hurt you in the end, delegitimize your cause and expose you as a fraud. It’s plain as the light of day. This story is a banner case for everything that is broken about American politics. May we all learn from it and move on!

Every past and present JHS ALT is nodding their head in concurrence here. A shared but mighty foe! Hehe

Ideally though there’s a capable adult on hand with a stern word to deal with the individual ringleaders, but well, you know….. Japan. They either under-react or over-react.

No more happy meals for that school sounds like shooting yourself in the foot. Probably not the best business ( or life ) strategy to let children get the better of you! A litmus test for common sense.

Where’s Ronald when you need him ay?