Monthly Archives: December 2013

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Happy New Year!

Still a little early (about 4.5hrs left to go here in Tokyo), but since I'll be away from a computer, I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year now 🙂

I've been away from G+ for a bit again, too much other stuff to work on, but I've enjoyed all the images I've seen here over the year, and am grateful for all the friendships and interactions I've made.  

I wish you all the best for 2014!  
(and have a safe and enjoyable/restful/happy new year's eve)

See you in 2014!  🙂

#newyear   #newyearseve   #newyear2014   #Tokyo   #Japan   #Odaiba   #fireworks   #happynewyear  ?

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Lights, camera, illuminations!

Got to join the last Drink and Click gathering of the year (where has the time gone??) a couple of days ago, and had a blast.  We were supposed to be shooting around a theme of "celebrations", but…. I had too much fun playing around with the illuminations and strobe (^^;

It was a very pleasant (if somewhat windy and chilly) evening – big thanks as always to +holger feroudj for organizing these get-togethers – looking forward to more next year!  🙂

#drinkandclicktyo   #tokyo   #japan  ?

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What exactly is the benefit of this bill?  I understand that any nation has secrets…

What exactly is the benefit of this bill?  I understand that any nation has secrets it needs to keep in the interest of security, but there does not seem to be a clear definition of what constitutes a "secret".  And it's the government that will form this "third party" to determine the interpretation of a secret?  Conflict of interest much?

Or can anyone explain why this is a good thing??

One of the most controversial points of the bill is that it allows bureaucrats and elected officials to arbitrarily widen their interpretations of what they deem to be state secrets. And it has no definite mechanism for an independent panel to verify whether these designations are appropriate, although the government has announced plans to form a "third-party" body to oversee this process.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201312060089?

Abe’s LDP fast-tracks state secrets bill in waning Diet – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun