Eric Schneider comments

kids?

Doping for 7 tour wins and nobody ever caught on? Even the IOC does better than that. Or - maybe this is a lot of sour grapes and people wanting to tear somebody down to make themselves look good. McCarthyism? I guess we'll never really know.

That was pretty cool.

Just drop a couple of nukes on them and there won't be any islands to claim. What then? But really, if the US and Japan are going to talk about it may as well just do it and be done with it. China is going to react badly no matter what. Or is that what is desired?

I didn't realize that the Glitter Ball was an outdoor event this year. Since it probalby isn't who let the freaks out?

I don't think it's the issue itself, it's the problem that Biden can't agree with Clinton who can't agree with Obama. I think I've seen this before though, titled Who's on First by Abbot & Costello.

I think the joke is on them?

Yeah, the communist government is really doing a good job of making fools of themselves lately. They've been taking lessons from Ishihara, no doubt.

Well, that took long enough. Seppuku, anybody. Who wants to be first?

I don't have a favorable opinion of the quality of Chinese products to begin with, so this is no surprise. But how do you avoid it? It's almost impossible to avoid Chinese products.

Japan is safe but I do think the creeps are creepier. There is some really sick stuff going on here that is normally in the movies, not the newspapers.

There isn't any particularly good news if more people have stopped looking for work. Apparently there are a lot more people on social security disability as well. That's not job creation. Of course the only jobs the government can create are government jobs or wars or subsidies. All rely on $$$ from the government, not because a good or service was created that people would buy. A very shallow recovery indeed.

The Japanese aren't protesting because they have nothing to protest, they aren't rioting because this isn't acceptable behaviour in any society and, if nothing else, the Japanese try to be polite. So what do the journalists expect to behave like - Chinese?

Yeah, Mexico would be OK. But any place where the government doesn't stuff people's heads with hatred would be a good start.

and his name is way too long to even try to type it out..

Ahmadimmabulb. Simple.

This is the kind of statements that make Israelis worry. It's one thing to negotiate, but Ahmadimmabulb keeps up this rhetoric. Does he want to be attacked? Can he be trusted with nukes? When will the Iranians be rid of this fool?

I wonder what the range is?

That's the problem with nukes and mass destruction, both sides are wiped out. The Iranians don't seem to understand that yet.

Well, I guess we better pull out the movie Shall We Dance and go for lessons. Not that I get out dancing much anyway. Strange law, I wonder what motivated it.

China can't even find their vice president at the moment. Let's see if they postpone the party congress next.

OK, so the Israelis have quieted down a bit the Iranians have to stir the pot a bit

yea, another fatwa. boring.

Funny, since China started the whole thing aren't they the ones who have spoilt the fun?

I wouldn't ride a bicycle in Tokyo anyway but I don't see how any of this is going to help anybody unless it's the Tokyo government's bank account.

Yeah, the Arab spring is just proving how nuts Islam, or the strict interpretation of it, is. I note there are no riots in Indonesia or even Malaysia. What is this middle eastern madness?

I remember the first time I was in Japan, I mentioned that Fuji-san was extinct. I was corrected by Hattori-san, "not extinct, dormant." Every time I see Fuji-san now I wonder what would happen if it erupted. I wouldn't want to be in Odawara.

that's the problem with playing with matches....

The Japanese are going to be polite, it's part of the culture. Even the right-wingers will be polite and curse silently. The Chinese and Korean governments are whipping up the public to use nationalism to dodge the failures of the respective governments. That's where the danger comes in. Better to negotiate than fight, but it's tough to rally public support for negotiations.

Yeah, score one for freedom of speech. Obama caves to the militants; no surprise there.

That's the problem with being rich and famous, isn't it: you live in a fishbowl. Then again, I wouldn't turn it down...

How do you tackle?

I think Roppongi has changed quite a bit in the last 15 years but it's no worse than NYC so if you keep your head together it shouldn't be a problem. I certainly hope the rapes aren't as big a problem as implied here but I've never been in Roppongi much past midnight.