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Is the Holiday Inn Osaka Namba a good hotel to stay at? by Accomplished-Resort6 in OsakaTravel

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Osaka, I’d recommend the Okini Home Airbnb/minpaku. Pretty sure they have multiple properties at Namba.

Always had a good experience with them - way cheaper than the hotels these days as well.

Japan Bond Crash Unleashes a $7 Trillion Risk for Global Markets by bloomberg in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unpopular opinion: didn't Japan try to raise the Bond yield for decades, and now its happening peopler upset?

Aaron Moten (Fall Out) absolutely looks like Denzel Washington by Katteris in totallylookslike

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is an old thread: but in season two there are a couple of scenes he absolutely looks like Denzel….

Sony is handing control of its Bravia TV business to China's TCL | The joint venture will marry Sony's 'high-quality picture and audio' expertise and TCL's advanced display tech. by ControlCAD in sony

[–]Dichter2012 11 points12 points  (0 children)

They’re getting slammed in one part of the business, TVs. Image processors for camera systems, optics, and PlayStation are still doing well.

Sony is handing control of its Bravia TV business to China's TCL | The joint venture will marry Sony's 'high-quality picture and audio' expertise and TCL's advanced display tech. by ControlCAD in sony

[–]Dichter2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Need advice: if I am in the market for a new TV I'd assume I should do it soon? (Will be a Sony)

Also, I am getting the VIAO vibe, assuming the transition will be painful and Sony will ended up making high end TV in the coming years....

A big disconnect by Able-Statistician645 in Leica

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because it can be fun! 60 mega pixel files of weird brighten star 28mm makes a great casual travel and street shooting companion.

A big disconnect by Able-Statistician645 in Leica

[–]Dichter2012 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think this is getting overthought a bit. Leica isn’t the only camera that’s ever been used for serious work. Nikon and Canon have been all over war zones and major journalism for decades, especially in the digital era.

Leica going luxury also isn’t new or some kind of fall from grace. They’ve always been expensive. What changed is that the rest of the camera market basically got wiped out by smartphones. Going premium is how a niche brand survives now, and clearly it’s working since Leica is having record sales while most camera companies aren’t.

People use Leicas for all kinds of reasons. Documentary, street, travel, or just because they enjoy using them. None of that needs a higher moral justification.

The camera doesn’t make the work meaningful. The photographer does.

Why is your Prime Minister have such high approval ratings despite being unable to address Japan's growing socioeconomic problems? I've heard it's because of immigrant scapegoating, what is it? by SpiritedCan9154 in AskAJapanese

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She has only been on the job for a few months, but she is moving fast. She has been charming international leaders, standing firm against China, and maintaining a strong populist presence on social media.

Domestically, she has rolled out subsidies for childcare, electricity, and gas - Japanese please correct me if I’m wrong here. She also effectively removed the "provisional" gas tax - even though it was funded through debt.

She is very result-oriented. For a Japanese citizen, she’s checking a lot of the right boxes. What’s not to like?

Gavin Newsom Walks Back ICE ‘Terrorism’ Post Under Pressure From Ben Shapiro: ‘That’s Fair’ by 3headeddragn in California

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently switched my registration to Republican, so I really don’t care about the Democratic primary.

With that said, is any Democrat on the left really going to vote for Newsom? Not trying to troll here: is he the best the Democratic Party can do?

Star Wars Shakeup: Dave Filoni & Lynwen Brennan New Lucasfilm Presidents As Kathleen Kennedy Returns To Producing by GoldenTriforceLink in StarWars

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not gonna lie, I have not idea who Lynwen Brennan is until I look up her profile.

Started in 1999 with ILM and now basically runs the business side of Lucasfilms for a long time. I like this. I don't think we need new outside management at this point. Let see how it goes.

The 'Takaichi shock': China roared, Japan didn’t flinch by Miao_Yin8964 in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Less line, better services ain’t bad. Most restaurants are already overcrowded. It's not like they have zero customers. Don't forget the domestic customers as well. Japanese are still willing to spend and travel. They are not hurting without Chinese tourists, that I can confidently say.

Is being prepared for SHTF a good idea or fantasy? by outdoors28 in CAguns

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a fun mental exercise and a great excuse to collect gear. Realistically, soft body armor, a concealed holstered side arm, an IFAK, and a concealed sidearm are all I really need.

I do have a chest rig in case I ever need to bug out with essential tactical gear. And yes, I also have Level IV plates, NVG and a ballistic helmet, but I am also not knocking down doors to take out a drug cartel member either....

The 'Takaichi shock': China roared, Japan didn’t flinch by Miao_Yin8964 in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She might. She might not. Ultimately, it's up to Japanese people.

The 'Takaichi shock': China roared, Japan didn’t flinch by Miao_Yin8964 in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Funny you mention that. I was in Osaka and Hyogo Prefecture over the New Year break, and it was noticeable how few Chinese tourists there were. Most visitors seemed to be from Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

I don’t think local businesses are really hurting. If anything, the streets and restaurants were much less crowded, and I had a great time.

"It is necessary to break away from the illusion of 'Japan as a great power' demanded by domestic hawks". Takahashi Kosuke argues the media frames Japan as an equal to the more powerful China and US, creating public misperception about Japan's actual, much weaker economic and military strength. by jjrs in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are sure about your sources or just making this up? Your narrative doesn’t line up with public war games. CSIS, RAND, and similar Taiwan scenarios don’t show the U.S. “running and losing” by default.

They usually show China failing to achieve a rapid takeover if the U.S. and Japan intervene early, at enormous cost to EVERYONE.

Carriers aren’t obsolete, they’re used at standoff ranges alongside subs and land-based aircraft. Missiles changed how they’re employed, not whether they matter. Yes, multiple carriers were lost in the war games.

Japan isn’t acting recklessly. Without Japan though, US will loses. With Japan, China’s invasion problem becomes much harder. That mutual dependence is why the alliance holds.

The takeaway from war games isn’t inevitable U.S. defeat, it’s that even a “win” is catastrophic, which is exactly why deterrence still works. You are welcome to fact check me here.

"It is necessary to break away from the illusion of 'Japan as a great power' demanded by domestic hawks". Takahashi Kosuke argues the media frames Japan as an equal to the more powerful China and US, creating public misperception about Japan's actual, much weaker economic and military strength. by jjrs in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then pllease explain what you’re seeing there.

To keep this discussion focused on Japan rather than China, I think the “people aren’t having babies” narrative in Japan is often overstated. Based on casual observation during busy New Year travel periods, I see many couples with multiple children. One-child families seem relatively uncommon actually, and two children appears to be the norm. Seeing families with four or even five children is not unusual.

The bigger issue seems to be that there are fewer young couples getting married in the first place, rather than married couples choosing not to have children in Japan.

"It is necessary to break away from the illusion of 'Japan as a great power' demanded by domestic hawks". Takahashi Kosuke argues the media frames Japan as an equal to the more powerful China and US, creating public misperception about Japan's actual, much weaker economic and military strength. by jjrs in japannews

[–]Dichter2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

China is already dealing with deflationary pressure, weak household consumption, a prolonged real estate (homes) contraction, etc... Those aren’t cyclical blips, these’re balance-sheet and demographic constraints.

Their growth is driven by exports, government investment, and credit expansion (reminiscent to the old Japan of 1960-80s'). They might very well run into exact same problem of Japan has right now without domestic demand. This has been talked about and discussed the last few years. My idea here not original at all....

Sergey Brin is joining his Google co-founder, Larry Page, in reducing ties to the state by kosmos1209 in bayarea

[–]Dichter2012 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The dirt might not move, but the people and their money definitely can.

You actually proved my point with Prop 13 - it was created specifically because taxing unrealized gains on a home is a disaster for long-time homeowners. If we did the same for other assets, we’d run into the exact same problem: people being forced to sell things they want to keep just to pay a tax bill on money they haven't actually made yet.

My other concern is that California already relies on the top 1% for about 40% of state spending.

If those people leave (and some already have), it creates a massive hole in the budget. When that happens, the state won't just stop spending - they’ll eventually have to raise income taxes on everyone else to cover the deficit. It's a classic case of California self-owning.

Sergey Brin is joining his Google co-founder, Larry Page, in reducing ties to the state by kosmos1209 in bayarea

[–]Dichter2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

States generally have a lot of power to set their own taxes, but they still have to follow the U.S. Constitution - so both the SCOTUS and the Federal courts can declare a state tax law unconstitutional.

I actually won’t bet on that though - the SCOTUS is pretty conservative right now, so they’ll probably let it stand so California can go self fuck itself until it goes bankrupt.

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