Joe and Barbara, who would've guessed (US)

CBS radio has reported that Barbara Boxer is going to support Joe Liberman formally for his new Senate term. Obviously many are "shocked and awed" by this. He was my Senator when I lived in CT for over 4 years.

Will this help or hurt Liberman is the question. CT is very liberal and are fed up with Liberman so they might not vote for him anyway. Barbara Boxer may alienate his conservative supporters.

As for what this will mean for Boxer, who knows.

The Emperor's new wardrobe (Japan)

Brief History:
To the Japanese people, Emperor Akihito is a figurehead, probably a fun diversion alot like celebrity's here. Judging by the celebration at his birthday and the fanfare about weather his wife will have a son or will a woman ascend the thone, this man is still held with importance. This is simmular to England.

Outside of Japan, the Emperor probably conjures up memories of his dad, Emperor Hirohito who waged war, formed alliances with the Nazis, tortured and killed innocent Chinese, and fought American GI's to the death. Hirohito was still alive during my liftime, passing away when I was 4 years old.



Emperor Akihito sent notice that he doesn't like the Prime Minister visiting the Yaskasuni Shrine which honors the war dead convicted of war crimes. I don't like it either, but it is interesting that the Emperor himself would come out against it. PM Koizumi seems to do it to get under peoples skin, especially in other parts of Asia and it works.

Maybe if Hirohitos son can say that visits to a shrine that honors Japanese war criminals is wrong, maybe theres a little bit of hope. Maybe

Korean Missle Crisis

My hope is that North Korea can come back to the six party talks, a system of talks between N. Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, S. Korea, and Japan.

Despite being most likely furious about this, Chief Cabinet Offical of Japan Abe Shinzo (A good chance of being the next PM in September) put the best possible face on this and said he wanted them to come back to the Six Party Talks as well. (NHK)

Becuase of a depleted millitary coupled with a very strong N. Korean millitary, the White House seems to be making vague refrences as to what these threats mean.

I guess the Six Party Talks is again the best bet, but even if they come back to it, and they may not, can the other 5 parties trust the N. Korean contingent, when what they'll want to do is jump over the table (a literal table they talk at) and smack the N. Korean contingent with a newspaper.