Tag Archive for Interpreting an English Text

原子カ or 原子力

もうご存じの人も多いと思いますが、東京電力は不都合なデータやアナウンスをネット検索で回避するために意図的な言葉の入れ替えをしていました。例えば原子や電の「力(ちから:漢字)」を「カ(か:カタカナ」に入れ替えたり、ストロンチウムやプラニウムの「ト(と:カタカナ)」を「卜(ぼく:漢字)」に入れ替え「ロ(ろ:かたかな)」を「口(くち:漢字)」に入れ替えたりしていたのです。巧みと言えば巧みですが、国のエネルギーを独占的に供給する公共機関としてはあまりに幼稚、そして道徳的に汚いやり方です。「間違った」なんて絶対にありえない意図的な検索回避です。当然組織上部の指示がなければありえないことです。

もう東京電力は解体しかないと思います。

この前たまたまテレビを見たら、銚子の観光施設が極めて深刻な経営状態に陥っていると報じていました。しかしその理由が「津波」なんですね。レポーターや町民の話では「海の近くはどうしても『津波』を連想されてしまうから...」とのことでした。そうじゃないでしょ。「放射能」でしょ。結局その番組内では放射能という言葉は一度も使われませんでした。観光客は放射能を恐れて近寄らないんですよ。新潟や金沢の海ならいくらでも行きますって。多分町の人も「放射能」という言葉を発したはずですが、意図的に取材側がその言葉を使わないように頼んだかカットされたかなのでしょう。銚子市の人はマスメディアの言いなりにならないで声を大にして東京電力への損害賠償請求をしなきゃでしょ。だって「津波」じゃない、「放射能」なんですって。。。

マスメディア、東京電力そして政府その他権力サイドの人間にいかに大衆は馬鹿にされ舐められているかということです。


それからこれは最近分かった東京電力の金と権力を使った汚いやり口の一端です。

Tepco gifted ¥120 million to university course run by NRA nominee: The Japan Times

JUN 7, 2014
ARTICLE HISTORY

Tokyo Electric Power Co. donated \120 million in the four years through fiscal 2011 to a nuclear fuel cycle course taught at the University of Tokyo by a professor who the government has now nominated as a Nuclear Regulation Authority commissioner, it was learned Saturday.

Satoru Tanaka’s nomination was submitted to the Diet by the government late last month.

The University of Tokyo’s department of nuclear engineering and management launched the course in fiscal 2008 to promote studies on the nuclear fuel cycle and train personnel able to work for programs to recycle spent fuel at nuclear plants.

According to records the university provided to Jiji Press and other sources following a disclosure request, Tepco initially offered to donate a total of \150 million to the course over five years through fiscal 2012. The university decided to accept \30 million per year, and Tanaka and other faculty members discussed how to use the funds.

The course, however, was terminated in September 2011 after Tepco proposed ending the donations in the aftermath of the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.

Of the \120 million that had been donated by the utility up to that point, the university that November returned \20.36 million it had not used.

A Tepco official explained that the company made the donations in order to support the development of talented people. Tanaka, who has also served as president of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan and as chairman of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, did not reply to a request for an interview.


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Japan’s Dangerous Anachronism

The New York Times 2013/12/16: Japan's Dangerous Anachronism

外国の大部数発行メディア"mass-circulation media"が他国政府の批判をするというのは一種の内政干渉に成りうるので、そうそうあることではありません。単なる一記者の意見として書かせるのではなくこれは社説"editorial"として書かれていますから。原発再稼働のときもあまりこんな記事はありませんでした。世界の目では、安倍晋三はただ恥ずかしい男なだけではなくキム・ジョンウンと同様に危険人物でもあるようです。当の日本国民が分かっていないだけで世界の知識ある人達は自民党が相当右に傾いた党だと知っていますから。。。黄色マーカー部分が批判をよく表しているくだりです。

Japan’s Dangerous Anachronism
Published: December 16, 2013

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this month rammed through Parliament a state secrecy law that signals a fundamental alteration of the Japanese understanding of democracy. The law is vaguely worded and very broad, and it will allow government to make secret anything that it finds politically inconvenient. Government officials who leak secrets can be jailed for up to 10 years, and journalists who obtain information in an “inappropriate” manner or even seek information that they do not know is classified can be jailed for up to five years. The law covers national security issues, and it includes espionage and terrorism.

Just before the passage of the law, the secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, Shigeru Ishiba, likened those legally demonstrating against the state secrecy law to terrorists in his blog on Nov. 29. This callous disregard of freedom of speech greatly raised suspicion of what the Abe government really has in mind. The Japanese public clearly seems to fear that the law will infringe on press freedom and personal liberties. In a public opinion poll conducted by the Kyodo News Agency, 82 percent of respondents said that the law should be repealed or revised.

Mr. Abe is, however, arrogantly dismissive of the public’s concerns. “The law does not threaten ordinary life,” he said after the law’s passage. Showing an alarming ignorance of democracy, Gen Nakatani, a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party, stated that “the affairs of government are distinct from the affairs of the people.”

The law is an integral part of Mr. Abe’s crusade to remake Japan into a “beautiful country,” which envisions expanded government power over the people and reduced protection for individual rights — a strong state supported by a patriotic people. His stated goal is to rewrite the nation’s Constitution, which was imposed by the United States Army during occupation seven decades ago.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s draft constitution, made public in April last year, deletes the existing article on the guarantee of fundamental human rights. It adds that the people must respect the national flag and national anthem. It states, “The people shall be aware that duties and obligations accompany freedoms and rights and shall never violate the public order and public interest.” It also says that the prime minister will have the power to declare a state of emergency and suspend ordinary law.

Mr. Abe’s aim is to “cast off the postwar regime.” Critics in Japan warn that he is seeking to resurrect the pre-1945 state. It is a vision both anachronistic and dangerous.


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LDP secretary-general: Demonstration is terrorism

Japan Times 2013/12/01
河北新報社 2013/12/04
G.R.L. Tokyo (YouTube)

石破という男、どれだけ無知なのでしょう。

demonstration:名詞(デモ、表明)
democracy:名詞(民主主義)
democratic:形容詞(民主的な)
democrat:名詞(民主党支持者)

demo-の語源はギリシャ語の「人々」です。アクセントがそれぞれ違うので注意して下さい。デモンストレーションは民主主義の大切な意志表現手法です。デモが出来ない世界、自由に個人の意見を発言できない世界は恐怖政治の世界です。保守系・原理主義系はいつも影でコソコソするのを好みますね。実際はそれをテロというのですけど...。私が前に言った通り(「原発反対運動をするとテロの予備軍として逮捕されてしまうのでしょうか?」)、デモをすること自体をテロだと言う、人類の思想哲学体系を知らない無知な自民党員が案の定現れてきましたね。彼らの知識って実感や経験を伴わないものなんですよ。要するに受験のための鵜呑み勉強です。民主主義がどんなものか?それを得るために人類が何をしてきたとか?体制の中でぬくぬく育った自民党のおぼっちゃま議員に、それを理解しろというほうが無理なのかもしれません。

Secrecy law protests ‘act of terrorism’: LDP secretary-general
BY AYAKO MIE DEC 1, 2013

Citizens demonstrating against the controversial state secrets bill are committing “an act terrorism,” according to Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba.

In a blog post Friday, he wrote: “If you want to realize your ideas and principles, you should follow the democratic principles, by gaining as much support as you can. I think the strategy of merely shouting one’s opinions at the top of one’s lungs is not so fundamentally different from an act of terrorism.”

In a speech Sunday in Toyama Prefecture, Ishiba maintained his criticism of the rallies being held outside the prime minister’s office. More than 1,000 people gathered there last Tuesday when the ruling coalition rammed the state secrets bill through the Lower House.

“It is doubtful if it is in line with democracy to appeal in a threatening manner that ‘We will never accept it,’ ” Ishiba said in his speech.

But he backtracked on likening the demonstrations to terrorism.

“I retract that part as the demonstration does not fulfill all of the conditions necessary to constitute terrorism,” Ishiba told reporters after the speech. “I see the loud noise as a problem. . . . Demonstrations in general should be welcomed as long as they follow democratic rules, regardless of how many people they draw.”

With the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set to pass the bill into law by Friday, when the extraordinary Diet is scheduled to close, the demonstrations outside the prime minister’s office have continued and similar rallies are being held around the country.

Because the bill stipulates that coercing information out of someone with knowledge of state secrets is punishable by up to five years in prison, activists worry it could be used to prosecute people seeking public disclosure of sensitive information. The government has repeatedly denied this is the case and that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, including public demonstrations.

Ishiba’s comments appear to contradict the government’s stance and have given ammunition to the opposition camp, which has already been critical of the various interpretations of the bill expressed by Cabinet ministers.

Akihiro Ohata, secretary-general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, said Sunday during a street speech in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, “It is guaranteed under the Constitution to stage demonstrations,” urging Ishiba “to change his mindset.”

Tadayoshi Ichida, head of the Japanese Communist Party secretariat, told reporters, “It is an unacceptable remark as it declares the people’s voice as terrorism.”

Mizuho Fukushima, deputy chief of the Social Democratic Party, said, “I cannot trust the ruling party, whose member makes such a comment, even if it says it will respect the right to know.”

Information from Kyodo added


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Back to the future: Shinto’s growing influence in politics

Japan Times: Back to the future: Shinto’s growing influence in politics

以前のキム・ジョンウン写真と同様にこの写真もあまりに浅ましくて或いは、さもしくて私のブログには載せたくありません。何なのでしょう、このおじさん、おばさん達。しかもこの下村博文とかいう人、文部科学大臣らしいのですが、まったく教育を分かっていません 👿 。言ってる内容だけで赤面です。教育の場がまたダメにされる。或いはもうジ・エンドかも。言っている事があまりに非論理的で人間の心理を知らない。教育を知らない。議員になる前に学習塾をしていたというのですが、かなり如何わしいです。交友関係を探ればボロボロとあちら側(ダークサイド)の世界との繋がりが出てきそうです。高橋史朗の「親学」の崇拝者らしいのですが(安倍総理も)、この高橋史朗がさらに怪しいですよ。生長の家の信徒らしいです。というかもろ右翼の人です。教育がこんな偏った人間に支配されていいのでしょうか?安倍晋三は統一だし。日本ってどんな国?そしてその連中(自民党)を知識の無さゆえに信じ込んでいる地方のおじさん、おばさん達。武士道を子供たちに教えると日本は良くなる、皇室を敬えば日本は良くなる。。。なのだそうですよ。

日本の高校生が自信を持てないのはきれい事の文科省の方針に支配されているからですよ。日本の高校生がどれだけ必要のない無駄な勉強をしなければいけないか、ご存知でしょうか?「アベレージ」を目指す教育を無理やり頭の中に押し込まれて、それで群れの中の一匹のはたらき蟻が作られていく。自民党は彼らの意図通り、「自尊心の無い」自らを国(群れ)の犠牲にできる人間達を作り出しているのだから大満足なのではないでしょうか?

Back to the future: Shinto’s growing influence in politics
A small organization, little known to the public, has helped restore much of Japan’s controversial past — and it is only getting started  BY DAVID MCNEILL NOV 23, 2013

Immaculate and ramrod straight in a crisp, black suit, Japan’s education minister, Hakubun Shimomura, speaks like a schoolteacher — slowly and deliberately. His brow creases with concern when he talks about Japan’s diminished place in the world, its years of anemic economic growth and poorly competing universities. Mostly, though, he appears to be worried about the moral and spiritual decline of the nation’s youth.

“The biggest problem with Japanese education is the tremendous self-deprecation of our high school children,” he says in an interview at his Tokyo office. He cites an international survey in which children are asked: “Are there times when you feel worthless?” Eighty-four percent of Japanese kids say yes — double the figure in the United States, South Korea and China, he laments. “Without changing that, Japan has no future.”

以下略


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US remembers Kennedy 50 years after assassination

BBC: US remembers Kennedy 50 years after assassination
Inaugural Address (全文)
Inaugural Address (日本語訳)

J.F.ケネディが暗殺されたのは1963年11月22日。今から50年前だそうです。日本ではタイムリーな事に彼の娘キャロライン・ケネディがアメリカ大使として就任しました。彼女は強硬なリベラル派だそうです。same sex間のmarriageも女性のabortionの権利も強く支持しているそうです。多分日本の政治家達と接したら唖然な事連続だろうと思います :mrgreen: 。で今回は50年前のJ.F.ケネディのinaugural address(就任演説)を取り上げてみたいと思います。オバマ大統領の就任演説に比べると遥かに難しいように感じます。当時は有権者としての底辺大衆はあまり意識されていなかったという感じなのでしょうか?引用として載せたテキストは歴史的に有名な後半残り3分部分です。「国があなたに何をするかではなく、あなたが国に何をできるかを尋ねるべきだ...」というやつです。国家という前提はどうか?と思いますが、民主主義の普遍的考え方を言っているわけです。日本の自民党政権の「国が全てをしてやっているんだ...まず始めに国家ありき...」という考えとは相当違うと思います。さらにはその後「アメリカが何をあなた達にするかではなく...」という世界に呼びかける姿勢、日本の総理大臣には絶対にあり得ないセリフですね。

 

Now the trumpet summons us again--not1 as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not1 as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but1 a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His2 blessing and His2 help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

  1. ここは"not...but..."「~でなく~だ」の構文が使われています。ただし、このようにnotが二つあったり、butが離れていると気付きにくいので注意しましょう。
  2. このHisは文の途中にもかかわらず大文字で書かれています。何の事か想像できますね。そうです、キリスト(神)の事になります。

summon 招集する、奮い立たせる
bear 耐える、担う、持つ
year in and year out 何年も ※day in day out = day after day
tribulation 苦悩
forge 鋳造する、築く、偽造する
alliance 同盟
shrink 縮む、ひるむ
devotion 献身的愛情、信仰心
fellow 同朋、仲間、特別研究員
ask of ~に要求する


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