Armand Vaquer
18618 Collins Street, #105
Tarzana, CA 91356
LOS ANGELES — The state budget shortfall in California has increased dramatically in the last six months, forcing state officials to assemble a series of new spending cuts that are likely to mean further reductions to schools, health care and other social programs already battered by nearly five years of budget retrenchment, state officials announced on Saturday.
Gov. Jerry Brown, disclosing the development in a video posted on YouTube, said that California’s shortfall was now projected to be $16 billion, up from $9.2 billion in January. Mr. Brown said that he would propose a revised budget on Monday to deal with it.
In addition to labeling conservatives and Republicans “anti-woman” (for opposing government-mandated free contraception), “anti-black” and “anti-Hispanic” (for advocating photo identification for voting), and “anti-science” (for skepticism regarding the belief that man-made carbon emissions will destroy much of the planet), Democrats now regularly label Republicans “anti-gay” (for opposing same-sex marriage).
All these charges are demagogic. But when it comes to the “anti-gay” charge, conservatives need to clarify to ourselves as much as to the general public where we stand.Prager goes on to make several points. One of which is:
Conservatives must object to values, not to individuals.
As it happens, there are far more gays who hold conservative values than many gay activists — or conservatives — realize. And we should embrace these people. Being gay does not automatically mean that one is on the left, and conservatives should not make that assumption. Otherwise, we risk pushing gay conservatives leftward.The election this November will probably be a close one. We needn't marginalize people who are conservatives, but have different personal lives. What someone does in the privacy of their bedroom does not concern me. It really shouldn't concern anyone else.
A gay person who believes in the American Trinity — Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum — and who believe in small government, in American exceptionalism, and in the need for America to be the strongest military and economic power in the world is one of us. And we should embrace him as such.
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| Above, a street view of Tokyo Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, Asakusa's Nakamise Street in springtime. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
I’ve recently been fascinated with missions impossible in marketing. Here’s one: getting tourists to visit Japan – a country that, little more than a year ago, has suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami, combined with the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Now factor in that this country has one of the strongest currencies out there, and you have something amounting to a perfect marketing storm.
How has US tourism to Japan fared since the Sendai earthquake, and what has the national tourism authority done to stimulate travel? To answer these questions, I recently spoke with Yuki Tanaka, the Executive Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization in the United States. When Tanaka assumed the directorship last June, she knew she was in for a baptism by fire. But the past ten months amount to an experience that is not only unusual, but also contains a big surprise.
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| Above, the Saikai Bridge near Sasebo City, Kyushu. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Tokyo, May 9 (Jiji Press)--The dollar eased below 80 yen in Tokyo trading Wednesday in line with euro selling as investors shunned political risks of debt-ridden Greece.
At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 79.79-81 yen, down from 79.91-93 yen at the same time Tuesday.
Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) lost a primary battle Tuesday to tea arty challenger and Indiana state treasurer Richard Mourdock for the seat he has held since 1977.
Lugar's defeat makes him the first and likely only senator to lose renomination this year.
After returns from the primary came in, Lugar conceded to Mourdock before a crowd of supporters. He says he wants to see a Republican in the White House and will support Mourdock in his race against Democrat Joe Donnelly for the Senate seat.
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| Above, the statue of Date Masamune at the site of Sendai Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Approximately 100 people participated in the Miyagi earthquake recovery and tourism seminar hosted by the Miyagi prefectural government and sponsored by the Nanka Miyagi Kenjinkai on April 22 at the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo. Five officials from Miyagi Prefecture gave the presentation.
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| Above, Matsushima Bay's waterfront with the Godaido Temple in the background. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Matsushima, said to be one of the three most scenic spots in Japan, suffered minimal damage as its 260 small and large islands in the bay helped decrease the power of the tsunami and preserve the beautiful scenery of this area. Even coastal regions that suffered the greatest damage have started recovering and welcoming visitors.
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| Above, one of the 260 tiny islands that dot Matsushima Bay that blunted the force of the tsunami. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The earthquake disaster recovery plan that Miyagi Prefecture developed last October proposes three stages to be implemented over the next 10 years: restoration (2011-2013), reconstruction (2014-2017), and development (2018-2020).A visit to Miyagi Prefecture is one I can heartily recommend. Besides the scenic beauty of Matsushima Bay (often compared to Carmel, California), you'd also be helping the local tourism industry with your tourist dollars.
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| Above, some of the Matsushima seagulls being fed by passeners aboard a Matsushima Bay tour boat. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Every once in a while, life imitates art and fiction becomes reality. Outlandish plots of yesteryear suddenly seem prophetic in retrospect. We’re not suggesting that TV writers are ever going to be confused with Nostradamus, mind you, but for some classic TV shows, there is just that sort of prescient aura surrounding the scripts.
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| Above, Ken Satsuma and Armand. |
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| Above, Ken Satsuma with Showa Godzilla Haruo Nakajima. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, Yuu Asakura with "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan." Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Armand Vaquer
18618 Collins Street, #105
Tarzana, CA 91356
Former Power Ranger actor Masaru Shishido is opening a "tokusatsu bar" in Tokyo where clichéd memorabilia and alcohol will unite under one roof, according to Kotaku. The literal translation for the term "tokusatsu" is "special filming," and this usually refers to television shows or movies featuring superheroes and monsters. The tokusatsu-themed bar will do more than simply pay homage to the Power Rangers series; it will highlight the entire superhero-oriented genre.
Shishido played the role of OhRed, the leader of Chouriki Sentai Ohranger. For those English-speaking Power Ranger fans, this means he played the equivalent of the Red Ranger in the Japanese version, which was known as "Super Sentai." Footage from this series was localized in the "Power Rangers Zeo" series that aired in the U.S. in 1996.
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| Above, Armand at the Godzilla Statue at Toho Studios in December 2010. |
Daily news and features on Japan from the most widely read English-language newspaper in Japan.
In addition to economic, political, sports and hard news, other information includes commentaries from opinion leaders in various fields, editorials that reflect Japanese public opinion, regional features on everyday life and articles on culture and entertainment. Ever aware that readers of The Japan Times are from many nations and have diverse interests, viewpoints and cultural backgrounds, we take great care to produce a responsible newspaper that is impartial and balanced. Through our tieups with overseas news agencies and newspapers, our readers have access to stories that enable them to not only know what is going on in the world but also to gain insight into what people of other countries are thinking and, at the same time, to rediscover Japan itself.Once the article is published, I'll post a blog on it, along with a link.
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| Above, sunset in Malibu. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
You can expect to see the state government (run by you-know-who) demand that people in California conserve water (which is only common sense). But, at the same time, they jack up water prices.
- Statewide in California, snowpack water content is only 40 percent of normal for the date, and was only 55 percent of normal the first of April, the time of year when it is historically at its peak.
- The winter snowpack – often called California’s “frozen reservoir” – normally provides about a third of the state's water supply.
The Obama campaign released its new campaign slogan Monday in a 7-minute video. The title card has simply the word "Forward" with the "O" having the familiar Obama logo from 2008. It will be played at rallies this weekend that mark the Obama re-election campaign's official beginning.
There have been at least two radical-left publications named "Vorwaerts" (the German word for "Forward"). One was the daily newspaper of the Social Democratic Party of Germany whose writers included Friedrich Engels and Leon Trotsky. It still publishes as the organ of Germany's SDP, though that party has changed considerably since World War II. Another was the 1844 biweekly reader of the Communist League. Karl Marx, Engels and Mikhail Bakunin are among the names associated with that publication .
East Germany named its Army soccer club ASK Vorwaerts Berlin (later FC Vorwaerts Frankfort). Vladimir Lenin founded the publication "Vpered" (the Russian word for "forward") in 1905.
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| Above, the Obama Campaign's "Forward." |
Friend,
This coming Saturday, Barack Obama will be holding his "first" official campaign event. President Obama isn't fooling anyone -- he's been running for reelection for months now.
In fact, the Obama Administration has spent the last year courting young voters at close to 130 universities and schools across the country -- on your dime! And nearly one-third of those "official" visits were in swing states.
The Obama billion-dollar political machine has a huge head start -- now it's time to catch up.
Donate $5 today to help ensure Mitt has the resources to defeat President Obama.
While he might have failed at fixing our broken economy, President Obama is pretty good at fundraising for his own reelection. He's racked up 128 fundraisers already. Clearly he's been less concerned about your job than saving his own.
Donate $5 today and send Barack Obama a message: four years was four too many.
https://www.mittromney.com/donate
Thanks,
Gail Gitch, Director of Communications
Breaking: U.S. private sector added 119,000 jobs in April, less than the 175,000 expected.The rate of job growth in the U.S. was described as "anemic." No wonder Obama is trying to divert attention from his record.
Breaking: More from the ADP report: March data were revised downward to show an advance of 201,000 from 209,000.Source: Wall Street Journal.
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| Above, the Hario Towers in 2007. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, Shibuya 109 in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
