We can help

(Revised and reposted.)

Apologies to Billy Swan. (Oh well...soundtrack has been removed....)

I hate blogger

Why do I have to edit html to get the post to look like the preview? And why can't blogger spellchecker spell? And why can't I edit a post from the blog on Firefox like I used to be able to do instead of having to go through the dashboard to do it? And why do post labels disappear when I do? And why does it work on Safari? And why am I starting every sentence with "and"?

Can't wait to get my non-Japan made* MS OS Netbook so I can spend more time in the computer. (Plus I'll be able to do it on a Microsoft OS instead of a Mac. Maybe it will---unlike my Mac---connect to wireless and just work.)

Ahahaha. Just joking about Mac. I love my Mac. No truck bombs through my house by MacNuts please. Hahaha. Just joking about truck bombs CIA, FBI, Japan's finest. I have no connection to Kunio Hatoyama.

And why am I posting this? End of stupid, childish, time-wasting whine.

*Why pay a premium for a Japan-made PC with last year's specs and of no higher quality than one made elsewhere?

Hatoyama, the hero

Who would have ever thought that Kunio Hatoyama would have become so famous, so quickly, not for making a bigger fool of himself, but for making Aso look like a fool? A quick glance at the morning TV news programs showed a number of stations poking fun at Aso and the LDP using by using Hatoyama. Hatoyama came off looking pretty good and Aso as the Aso who couldn't read kanji of a few months back.

What if the Hatoyama resignation/firing is the final push that knocks the LDP out of power? Kunio Hatoyama.

Or maybe not...Bobbsey Twins in the DPJ's future

The rumor of the LDP's K. Hatoyama and the DPJ's Y. Hatoyama joining together in the DPJ continue:

..."If the DPJ secures a majority in the election, Kunio would have a good chance of getting a key post"...

...Signaling their increasing closeness, the Hatoyama brothers formed a political school last year called Hatoyama Yuai Juku (Hatoyama Fraternity School) to promote a philosophy of fraternity as advocated by their grandfather, with the aim of creating a society based on love and happiness...Japan Times.

Kumbaya. The future is bright. Kunio is here to stay. I wonder if his stand on the Japan Post Holdings mess was due to principles or something less noble?

(Kunio) Hatoyama just fades away

What a lovely Friday. So nice that although I am brokenhearted over Kunio's goodbye, I have been unable to shed any tears. I still hear that he may resign the LDP and so I should worry that there could be some truth to the rumor that he might join his brother's DPJ. I have been assured, however, that this could never happen, since the two "hate" each other.

Even if K. Hatoyama does resign the LDP, he should have plenty of contacts with more exciting options for the future than the DPJ could ever offer.

Of course, this is said to damage the LDP's election prospects too. Just another thing to weep over when I get the time.

Ministry in cover up to protect corporate interests over citizens'

The farm ministry uncovered 879 cases of mislabeled food products last year but only disclosed 110 of them in order to protect the companies responsible, according to documents obtained from the ministry Saturday. Japan Times full article.

The penalties for the companies involved were warnings and guidance and the fraud was covered up to prevent "a big social blow" to the crooked companies involved? I am sure none of that will ever happen again as they have no doubt learned their lesson.

Didn't the friend-of-a-friend-of-terrorists, Kunio Hatoyama,who is now head of the Ministry of Communications, just recently issue a warning to one of the TV stations (Fuji?) for reporting something that "wasn't true"? Who will lecture and warn the bureaucrats?

Enjoy your next meal, whatever substance it is and wherever it came from.

Justice delayed, justice denied

A man wrongly imprisoned for murdering a 4-year old has been released from prison. As is commonly the case, he had "voluntarily"confessed to the crime, but later withdrew the confession. Since the criminal justice system had locked up the wrong guy, they have so far missed out on searching for the real killer whom we might assume is still running around free. Since there is a statute of limitations even for murder in Japan, the 17 years that have passed may be very significant if they are counted towards the 25 year limit.

"I'll never forgive the real culprit, even if the statute of limitations expires," Toshikazu Sugaya, 62, told reporters in Chiba after his release. "From now on, I will work to support people who have also been (wrongfully) convicted."

...Manabu Sasamori, a lawyer in Sugaya's defense team, slammed the prosecutors, saying: "It is only natural that he be released. Actually, this step came too late."...The prosecutors will probably admit they forced a confession out of Sugaya once his retrial begins, Sasamori added. [His conviction is expected to be overturned in retrial] Japan Times

Perhaps this sort of thing might be prevented or at least reduced if recording of police/suspect interviews was required. But no, according to confessed terrorist contact Kunio Hatoyama*'s "Justice" Ministry successor, considering that "would be difficult."**

Serving 17 years in prison for nothing is probably just a bit difficult too, but since politicians and bureaucrats very, very rarely ever serve that kind of time none of them are gonna worry too much. And besides, we've often heard those guys who run the system with kobans---I refuse to call them professional law enforcement officers---say that to record those interviews would damage the "trust" that suspects and Japan's finest develop. I wonder what Mr. Sugaya would say about that trust? Imagine just how stupid they must think the public is to even make that kind of statement. (Or perhaps how apathetic/passive the public is?)

Speaking of the boys in blue, in Okayama a 29-year old officer in charge of theft investigations was apprehended by two high school boys after he snatched a purse from an old lady. No word on whether or not he has apologized yet.**

Were I a religious person, I'd be praying for a DPJ victory. However, there is a horribly frightening rumor going around that the friend of a friend of terrorists, Kunio Hatoyama, may be considering going to the DPJ!

* This fellow is still a government minister. Why?

**Both shown on the 6PM news.

Flu Panic Spreads as North Korea sets off nuke

THE TIMES OF NEW YORK

Unmasked residents, eyes pixelated in fear,

flee across the street after an uncovered sneeze
was reported in a local eyeglass shop.

TOKYO--Panic spread out of control in Japan today as it was announced that the unpredictable leader of North Korea had set off a nuke just days after Iran got in the headlines by testing a new missile. To add to the nuke fears, a shortage of masks in Tokyo and as far away as Nagano prefecture has caused many to flee in hysteria at the slightest hint of a cough or sneeze. Government officials have been in meetings since the detonation to determine if these combined panics are necessary or not. Reports that the WHO is considering revising its pandemic alert levels to eliminate Level 6 "Pandemic" and go straight to a Level 7 "Kiss your ass goodbye" are adding to the chaos.

Many Monday commuters were seen holding their breath to avoid being infected by either Swine flu virus or radioactive fallout from the North Korean blast. Due to the shortage of anti-Swine flu masks, only one person in Tokyo was spotted wearing the life-saving item.

Millions flee a station exit
gasping for air in a blind panic
after holding their breath for the
duration of their commute.


By noon Monday, the outspoken but harmless nationalist, Governor Shintaro Ishihara was seen mounting a tank in preparation to lead a preemptive strike against dangerous, criminally-inclined, rioting non-Japanese and little old ladies.

UPDATE: Tokyo--Prime Minister Aso announced that the elections scheduled for later this summer were to be postponed indefinitely. "We cannot afford to play politics as long as there are nuclear weapons and viruses on the planet," Mr. Aso reluctantly stated.

In a separate and entirely unrelated development, the Tokyo prosecutor's office announced an investigation into the DPJ's new leader Yukio Hatoyama over past claims that Hatoyama had contacts in terrorist organizations. Prosecutors vigorously denied any political motives when it was pointed out that it was the LDP's Kunio Hatoyama who had made those claims about himself while Justice Minister, not Yukio Hatoyama. A spokesman said that the charges were very serious and that Yukio Hatoyama had to be impartially, but thoroughly investigated to make sure that he was not Kunio Hatoyama.

Visiting Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said that the Bush administration was responsible for all these problems.

Ima Loony, head of the NPO "Ethics in Eikaiwa Chain Schools" and Oi Bakero of "Reporters with No Standards" contributed to this article from under a blue tarp along the Tama River.