Just back from a much delayed and shortened trip out of Tokyo and found this:

The Japanese government has acknowledged for the first time that Allied prisoners during World War II were made to work at a coal mine owned by the family of Prime Minister Taro Aso, contradicting his longstanding denials. NYT

Poor Mr. Aso gets kicked yet again when he's down. After this stunning news flash, one wonders what will be next. Will Rush Limbaugh admit that there might possibly be some connection to human activities and global warming? I'll miss that however, unless it also makes the "news."

Then, after reading the above NYT article, I was pleased to learn at another site that although the US is up to its neck in debt to China, that debt gives China no political influence in Washington. You see, any sudden sell-off of that debt would hurt China as much or more than the US. Thank goodness, for that seems to be what the US, and a large part of the global economy is based on. Sorta of a 21st century Mutual Assured Destruction among the US, China, and Japan only this time based on mutual destruction of economies instead of destruction by nuclear war.

We certainly have no reason to ever consider that a country might see a need to do something considered illogical and suicidal. There could never be a situation in which that country may feel that the supposedly illogical and suicidal choice is its best or only alternative. Such a thing has never, ever happened in history. Besides, those folks watching over the financial system in the US and throughout the world know what they are doing.

Although that little tidbit was from an anonymous comment on an interesting post at Observing Japan, I doubt that it is a rarely held opinion. I have used such thoughts to reassure myself about the huge debt the US owes to China and Japan, but somehow, I still feel just a little worried.