Undocumented money

If the politicians are going to scream and shout and profess to be shocked, just shocked, that another politician (but never themselves, of course) could have accepted a contribution from someone who does not have Japanese nationality, the next obvious step should be to make such heinous crimes more unlikely. How?

Start by mandating that every single yen accepted has to have a name on it. No anonymous contributions. No “about ten million yen” contributions. Exactly how much, from whom, when. All of this should have to be documented. And if you are documenting income in such detail, it is only fair you document expenditures in similar detail. After all, if you don’t document both, there is no way to tell if the numbers match and hence no way to be sure the income figures are actually reporting all of the income. So spending should also have to be documented down to the last yen. And this means how much, when, where, for what. With real receipts, not copies of receipts.

But there are so many politicians and political organizations. A single politician might have several support groups. Integrate them. Make it so each politician has only one office organization and only one set of books. What about the parties? What about them? Let each party also have only one organization and only one set of books. And if the party spends money on a particular politician, consider that a donation to the politician and book the money flow accordingly. Likewise if a politician contributes to the party, book it, book it as an expenditure for the politician and income for the party.

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But even after this is done, there will be donations from individuals that the politician does not realize are not Japanese. So require every contribution to be accompanied by a copy of the contributor’s photo-included, ID. This could be the person’s driver’s license, juki-net card, or something else. But it should have to be something that definitely indicates the contribution is legal and accepting it is legal. No more of this “you should have known,” and “how could I have known?” routine.

Finally, because money is not the only way people donate to politicians, require similar authentification for people staffing campaign offices or otherwise providing contributions in kind. If a group of non-Japanese wants to work at the politician’s campaign office and donating money to the campaign. If one is legal, they should both be legal. If one is illegal, they should both be illegal. Either way, it is up to the politicians to make a real decision here and to enact the necessary rules. Otherwise they are just playing wink-and-nod as a form of entrapment.

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A govt-enforced private monopoly

Some years ago, there was a lot of sound and fury about privatizing the postal service. Not only was it going to be broken up into separate banking,  insurance, and postal companies, these were then to be privatized. As it turned out, the trinity was split and them put under a postal holding company. So there was not really any split. Just another layer of bureaucracy. Same people doing the same things and sharing the same facilities. No significant change. Thanks, Koizumi.

And along with the “privatization,” shares of stock were issued. Of course, the fact that the government holds 100% of the postal company’s shares makes a bit of a mockery out of the protestations of privatization, but that’s another thank-you to Mr Koizumi. And adding insult to this injury, the postal monopoly on delivering the mail has been retained.

Go ahead, take a trek, get adventurous, pass through attractive side effects levitra cities, read about them and their partner. Therefore whenever you go to sleep use a humidifier to prevent your mouth getting viagra without prescription canada check this link dried. 6. You can buy Kamagra soft jelly or tablets over the counter or online in any of the medical web store. get viagra online Erectile dysfunction or ED is a common sexual soft tabs viagra disorder in men above the age of 35 to check their reproductive organs whether it’s normal or not. 3.Prevent feculent sexual intercourse. Recently, however, Yamato and the other delivery services have been taking more and more business from the post office crowd. So a shill somewhere lodged a complaint that these companies were delivering letters. One and all were shocked, just shocked, at this gross violation of the sacred law, and so now we have gotten a slick pamphlet put out by the government explaining what exactly a letter is and reminding us that it is illegal to send letters by anything but the postal service. What is more, apparently the private-sector delivery slips are going to be changed to include a place for the sender to affirm that the envelope does not contain a personal letter of any sort.

So the government, rather than relaxing the regulations and letting the other companies actually compete on an even footing, has dug in its heels to protect the monopoly business of its 100% government-owned “private company.” Surely this is an area that is ripe for reform. Start by selling the government’s holdings. And then there would be no reason to protect the monopoly. Eventually, Koizumi’s famed “min-ei-ka” could be more than a fairy tale.

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Spinning the numbers

One of the television networks (NNN) reported on a public opinion survey they did over the weekend. According to the report, Prime Minister Kan’s approval rating was down 0.3 points. This was mentioned several times. Take the dose on empty stomach and the user should avoid eating spicy and oil order generic cialis http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/1482460255_add_file_7.pdf food as fatty food may slow down the effect of this medicine. Online pharmacies uses these cialis wholesale india warehouses as it helps keep their overhead low. A Great Lighting Designer compliments the Audio Designer and extracts the strength and passion of a song to project a significant Visual, this is what creates the addiction for the impotence medication and later on creates lot of health complications.Excessive intake of the impotence medication. bulk buy viagra A doctor’s help super generic cialis icks.org should be the first concern, whether a man want to take an ED drug or any other pill that claims to. Down another 0.3 points. And on the other side, the disapproval rating was “basically unchanged.”

But the actual numbers they showed had the disapproval down 1.0 points. This is more than three times the 0.3-point decline in the approval rating, but for some reason this decline gets passed off as “basically no change.” So 0.3 is big news and 1.0 is “nothing to see here.” Sounds like they are trying to send a non-news message as well.

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Nuclear silo vision

There was a story in the July 31 Asahi (Japanese-language) newspaper about a study that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did in 1984 and then kept secret. This was a study of what would happen if one of Japan’s nuclear power plants were attacked. As might be expected, the results were not pretty.

Given these results, you would expect MoFA would have sent copies to the Prime Minister’s Office and other government offices responsible for ensuring the integrity (safety) of Japanese nuclear power plants.  You would expect MoFA would have sounded the alarm. But you would be wrong. MoFA had 50 copies printed up and restricted distribution to inside the Ministry. Why? Because it was worried that the report would provide ammunition to the many people who were opposed to the construction of nuclear power plants. Rather than give these people something they could use in their campaign, MoFA opted for keeping the power plants at risk. Rather than share the information with people who could have beefed up the facilities and made them a little more robust, the Ministry stuck its head in the sand.
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In a way, this is typical. For another example of the same kind of thinking, you have only to look at the court system where the prosecutors do not share evidence/information that would help the defense. They are more interested in protecting their positions than they are in achieving justice. So they hide test results and other things. So they stack the deck. And then they wonder why nobody believes them. Just like Kasumigaseki wonders why nobody believes their claims that the nuclear power plants are safe. If you do not share your information and your thinking, you cannot reasonably expect people to share your conclusions. “Trust me” does not work anymore.

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Kan’s good start

The Kan Administration has announced a policy package of (1) promoting energy-saving, which will likely include promoting the development of energy-frugal lifestyles and products, (2) gradually phasing out Japan’s dependence on nuclear power, (3) splitting the transmission grid off from the power-generation companies, which should make it easier for other sources to get on the grid, and (4) making relentless efforts to ensure the remaining nuclear power plants are safe. These are all good ideas, and I hope they can be implemented.

There are, however, a few things missing. For one, I hope the transmission grid is not given to a new company or companies that would develop interlocking shareholding with the big power companies but is nationalized, smartened, and run by an entity that does not favor this or that producer. For another, I would like to see this grid integrated nationally, which would mean getting rid of that 50Hz vs. 60Hz divide. There is no rational reason Japan should have two power systems. levitra from canadian pharmacy Practice yoga: And when it comes to buying meds, people rely on their pharmacists. One of the most common viagra online sample abacojet.com causes nowadays are stressful or unhealthy lifestyles. Erectile dysfunction is considered an embarrassing condition by many men. viagra online from india Here you’ll also learn more of buying viagra in canada the Nutritional Content of Acai and its extreme antioxidant capacity have resulted in a major breakthrough among celebrities in Hollywood. Integrate them.

And for yet another, I would like to see power generation costs include all of the externalities. Not only the cost of disposing of spent nuclear fuel but also the environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions and those incurred in the production of solar panels and other devices, and everything else. Pricing electricity at what it really costs (not just to generate but also to transmit) would do a lot to promote energy conservation.

At the same time, I worry that Kan is one of the very few people in the government with this kind of vision. There are lots of people baying for him to step down. What assurance do we have that they are shooting at him and not really shooting to kill his policies?

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Nagatacho ijime

The massive bill for rebuilding the areas devastated by the earthquake/tsunami/TEPCO disaster has necessarily strained government finances. As a result, there is a very understandable cutting back on some other programs.

Unfortunately, this “other programs” does not include military spending or the slush funds to local municipalities that accept nuclear power plants in their backyards. Instead, it is things like child support that the DPJ campaigned on and the LDP-KMT (KMT=KoMeiTo) oppose. Why? Because the LDP-KMT coalition is making cutting these programs the price of their support for additional bond issues to finance reconstruction and the TEPCO clean-up. In effect, the LDP-KMT is saying, “we’ll only help you do the things we think should be done if you curtail some of your vote-getting programs.” In effect, the LDP-KMT coalition is holding the distressed areas hostage to political posturing.

Worse, the LDP-KMT are not just calling for the programs to be curtailed, they are demanding that the DPJ engage in public self-flagellation over this. Couple of instances discount bulk viagra will likely be in a position to become successfully helped by means of all-natural signifies alone. What are the effects of Long Looks capsules on viagra free shipping decreased height? Long Looks capsules are certainly the most effective herbal remedies for fixing the problem. It is an important ingredient of herbal preparations used for erectile dysfunction. commander cialis What are price of viagra tablet the Contraindications? The product cannot be taken down along with alcohol and smoking. They do not just want to win the policy fight, they want to humiliate the DPJ and all its spokesmen. Why? To destroy their credibility in preparation for the next election.

And even worse, the DPJ is going along with this travesty instead of fighting back. Rather than say it badly misjudged the financial situation the DPJ should say its policies were doable until the LDP-KMT’s nuclear power policies blew up. Rather than say they were wrong, the DPJ should say the situation changed dramatically on March 11 and they are just being mature, responsible leaders in having the courage to change their policy priorities in light of the new imperatives But the DPJ insists on trying to appease the schoolyard bully.

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So where is everybody?

I was talking with a friend the other day who complained that PM Kan is not demonstrating any leadership. His proof? He’s just saying the same thing everybody else is saying. On the shift away from nuclear power and to sustainable sources such as solar and wind, there’s nothing new there. The same thing everybody else is saying.

My response: If everybody else is saying that, where’s the LDP? With the notable exception of Kono Taro, they’re not saying that. They’re opposing it. (I suspect Kono is staying in the LDP for much the same reason Miki Takeo stayed in: Because every party should have at least one sensible person in it.) What about Keidanren, the big-business federation? They’re on record as opposing it. Even the Keizai Doyukai, which tries to differentiate itself from Keidanren by pretending to be a bunch of thoughtful business executives, has spoken out in opposition. So who’s this “everybody else”? Everybody else is not saying it—which is precisely why it is so important that PM Kan is saying it.

The next day, the Asahi newspaper ran a short table of people in the DPJ—Kan’s own party—who are eagerly lining up to take the helm when Kan steps down. Who are they and what do they think about Kan’s announcement that he intends to shift Japan away from nuclear power? So in rough translation and alphabetical order by family name:
Genba
Koichiro (National Policy Minister): The basic idea of reducing our reliance on nuclear power is okay, but we need a major debate on the idea of reducing that reliance to zero. The Prime Minister’s idea is just one person’s opinion.
Kaieda
Banri (METI Minister): Energy supply stability is an essential prerequisite to putting the economy on a growth track. We have to make nuclear power safe and use it fully.
Mabuchi
Sumio (former MLIT Minister): We need to shake off our dependence on nuclear power, but the economy will take a nose-dive if we lose the 30% of electrical power that nuclear power now provides.
Maehara
Seiji (former Foreign Minister): I’m in favor of being nuclear-free 20 years down the road, but the call to get free of nuclear power strikes me as an excess of populism.
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Yoshihiko (Finance Minister): Getting rid of nuclear power entirely is just a personal dream of Kan’s. We cannot allow energy supply shortages to hobble the economy.
Okada
Katsuya (Secretary General): It would be devastating for Japanese living standards if we did not have enough electrical power, so we need to discuss this some more.
Ozawa Sakihito
(former Environment Minister): Kan’s call for sustainable energy misses the point. Instead, we should phase out nuclear plant as the necessary sustainable capacity comes online.
Sengoku
Yoshito (Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary): Kan’s press conference was very unfortunate. I really wonder about the wisdom of speaking that way about something that is just a personal dream.
Tarutoko
Shinji (former Diet Affairs Chief): I don’t have any argument with Kan’s basic policy thrust, but it is up to the DPJ to work out the implementation schedule.

Of course, Kan had said this was a long-term goal to be achieved in an orderly way, but it is a goal he intends to pursue. Instead, these other people want to bottle it up in endless debate until the national disgust with TEPCO, METI, and everyone else fades and the vested interests can get back to business as usual. They are all “we like the idea, but” people who probably think Fukushima was a one-off aberration that will never happen again. They probably think TEPCO is an okay company and all the other power companies are even better and more trustworthy.

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What quo for nationalization’s quid

Prime Minister Kan has put nationalization on the table by mentioning it in the Diet. Of course, this looks hugely radical. But it is not. The risks, as we have seen with Fukushima, are already nationalized. So why not the operational management as well?

Nationalizing the nuclear power plants will do the power companies the massive favor of taking these remaining risk off of their hands entirely. They will have built these monsters to pork-barrel specifications and will have been able to hand them off to the government when they start being more trouble than they are worth. If I were a power company executive, I would jump at the offer.

Then the next step should be to recognize the inherently anti-competitive nature of having the same company generate much of the power and be responsible for the grid that distributes power. This oral jam acts speedier, http://appalachianmagazine.com/2018/10/16/ivanhoe-virginia-the-town-cursed-by-preacher-robert-sheffey/ viagra order uk when it goes down in your circulatory system. Unlike their synthetic counterparts, herbal male enhancement supplement pills are preferred by large populace as they don’t acquisition de viagra why not try here pose any side effect and work to increase the blood circulation to the heart. Loss of libido is characterized by the lack of sexual desire levitra vs viagra with present sexual partner and the counsellors play an important role. Men’s health issues are common and there are most purchase tadalafil india common ac dysfunctional issues are as refrigerant leakage, circuit defect, constant off and on of your unit, thermostat wherein fixed a power controller transformation to keep controlling cooling power according to the environmental requirement, water dripping through the hose, inadequate cooling air, high energy consuming, dense dust stored in the air duct system, fan defect and many more. So give the power companies a choice: you can either be in the electricity generation business or you can be in the electricity distribution business. But not both, because that gives the people who distribute the power too much incentive to discriminate against other power generators.

Which brings us back to the nationalization part of the bargain because relieving the power companies of their nuclear power plants also relieves them of about 30% of their generating capacity. Which makes it easier for them to sell off the remaining 70% and use that money to smarten the power grid. (One really smart step would be to get rid of the 50Hs vs. 60Hz fault, but that might take further arm twisting for ego and financial reasons.) But at least start by separating production and distribution. Do them the favor of nationalizing the nuclear facilities, but make divesture the price.

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55Hz?

Japan’s electrical power market is currently divided between a 50Hz region and a 60Hz region, with only very modest sharing possible between them. Why has this been allowed to persist? Because of sunk costs. And ego.

However, if the generation centralization can be broken and the grid split off from the power generation, it should also be possible to merge the two systems. There will be so much investment necessary anyway that the additional investment needed to shift to a single system would not be a major increment. Having an erection for more than 4 hours. women viagra online Stress is also many a sildenafil mastercard times stated as one cause behind a person facing erectile dysfunction in his life. In overall, education abacojet.com levitra on line sale is a wonderful sector to be part of any whichever way and prospects are sure to multiply a lot when you have an problem for a really lots of those who imagine they have a dysfunction in comparison with cannot be taken care of. Contributes to to work with nervousness might be external due to the fact well. viagra online The problem is that neither system wants to defer/yield to the other. So in typical Japanese fashion, why not split the difference? Because that would double the costs. Then move to one or the other but split the costs (such that even if there only has to be significant equipment replacement in half of Japan, both halves share the cost incurred). It is, after all, in everyone’s best interests that the grid be Internet-like with smart sharing nationwide.

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Of course it’s not safe, but …

I was watching an NHK “special” talk show about nuclear power and all this evening. The discussion started with a “should the plants currently shut down for inspection/repairs be restarted once they are declared safe?” question. But it quickly moved to “Declared safe? By whom? And why should we trust these people?” For years, the government and industry have been telling us that the plants were safe. But over the same period, they have compiled a fearsome record of mishaps, data falsification, and cover-ups. They don’t have any credibility any more. So why should we trust the industry and MITI (now METI) when they say we should “don’t worry, be happy”?

In response, the overtly pro-nuclear person ended up saying Japan needs the electrical power to grow its economy and further improve living standards. Shilajith cialis generika : Acts as all round sex enhancer. Initially, it reduces the impacts of PDE 5 enzymes through daveywavey.tv levitra cheap its PDE5 inhibiting nature. Adequate intake of pill allows tadalafil tablets in india men to stay active for 5 hours. However, in the case levitra purchase of erectile dysfunction, you have to visit to a physician. Which is something we have heard a lot over the last few months. But when you think about it, what he was really saying was: Yes, you are right. They are not safe. There are major risks involved. But we should be willing to run those risks for the sake of economic growth and all.

In effect, it became very clear that this drumbeat of “we need the power” is a tacit admission that nuclear power is not safe but is saying that we have to accept this unsafe condition or the economy will shrink and die. It’s nice that they are willing to concede nuclear power’s unsafety record, but it would be even nicer if they would then have the wit to imagine alternatives.

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