Eric Schneider comments

I have to agree. A president who can't even get his agenda through congress when his own party controls congress has such a lack of leadership that it boggles the mind. The economic policies focus far too much on government control and not enough on freeing small businesses. Obamacare adds even more burden on small business, but they are the ones who will pull the economy up by the bootstraps. Obama believes in government handing people things. Americans would, I think, like to be responsible for their own futures. If Obama used the government to reign in the bankers and other people who are getting rich on the backs of others ala Teddy Roosevelt then that would work for me. But this idea that government is the solution is just wrong.

two mature countries are calling names and throwing stones...

Sorry, China is not a mature country. They are trying to catch up after shooting themselves in the foot for years and think that they can bully the neighbors. It's like a 14 year old who wants the keys to the Porsche. Unless the Chinese government starts to behave to international norms and behave like a mature government then this horse hooey will continue. China was able to negotiate the return of HK but now they just act like spoiled brats and think everybody should kowtow to their "ascendency." The reality is that China is corrupt, polluted, the rule of law rarely applies and the citizens are run roughshod over by the government and their lackeys. The only way the government fat cats can hold onto their wealth is to keep growth going as stronly as possible and whip up nationalism whenever things aren't going well. The Chinese government is on thin ice with their own economy slowing down. Expect to see more of this.

Yeah, she might be faster without but maybe he's fast too? Good picture and good for her for going out for it.

yeah, like that's going to happen. Losing some credibility there, eh?

@kwatt - yeah, I like that idea. The Chinese have no reason to complain after their own behaviour.

when in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout....

When you think about the proabability of actually being involved in such an incident as opposed to being killed in a traffic accident then you suddenly realize that driving lessons might be a better investment.

I'm in. Never got to Hiroshima or the inland sea.

Just wait until inflation takes off in the USA. They can't print money forever....

Yep, that was a good job. I'm not sure I could have done that even when I was swimming in high school.

I'm glad he made it. I've been following his adventures in the sailing rags for years now. Glad to see he hasn't given up.

Ishihara's comments are becoming more extreme with age. Yeah, he was elected before. That doesn't mean he will be elected again. If he keeps this up I think he'll write himself off.

There is a middle ground between being a client state of the US and being a facist dictatorship. But it's nice to get a lot of military protection for a lower cost (sorry to the Okinawans but that's part of the cost). With China on the rise and becoming more aggressive there is going to be a balancing act necessary. Unfortunately Ishihara seems to be a little unbalanced....

The tent is so that rainwater will not leach more radioactive material into the soil or runoff into the sea. Of course the rainy season will be over soon, so maybe it's too little too late. But if any of you have a better idea I'm sure the engineers would be happy to hear it.

I don't think that security at Narita is going to ease any in spite of the protestors being gone. I wish US airports were as good at security as Narita....

The Chinese may have their own economic and political issues but that doesn't make this commentary of theirs wrong. The US politicians are playing a cynical game that will do damage to both the US citizens and Chinese investments in US bonds. If I were the Chinese I'd be unhappy too. But since I'm just an American I'll say a pox on both the republicans and democrats. Then again, it's a democracy. We get what we deserve.

Guys have to feed their egos and prove how bright they are by yacking too much. There are times when it is better to keep silence. Glad to know how safe my data is though. Probably time to get rid of the facebook login to JT....speaking of wearing a motorcycle helmet...

Here we go again. I wonder if the Chinese fishing captains are told to go into Japanese waters by the Chinese government? Or are they just lost or don't care. Either way, this coming just after the Chinese make mention of the Japanese defensive buildup just makes you wonder where diplomacy and poking about in places you ought not be come together.

Of course the Russians have taught the Japanese how to deal with fishing boats in places where they ought not be.

Guess we'll have to see what happens next.

The fact that the Chinese government would even comment on a Japanese defense buildup, especially when the Japanese buildup is compared with the Chinese buildup (which is much larger), will lead some to think that the Chinese buildup is, in fact, an offensive capability meant to back up their claims on territory with force.

Then you start looking at the Chinese cyber attacks and you start to wonder if their intentions are peaceful or if their "China first" policy will eventually lead to confrontation.

If this is the case once the Chinese have enough confidence that they could win a local war then they might just try it. Better that the neighbors keep their defenses up to date.

OK, I'll make the obligatory "keystone cops" reference here. If it was bribery at least immigration won't look like complete bunglers....that's the only upside. If they got out then they can get back in. And the probably don't have any skills to fill a legal job, except maybe at McD's.

The really sad part of all the discussion of where the blame lies is that both sides are up to their ears in it. The republicans back things like counting absence as a "no" vote and corporate welfare for the oil companies and ethanol production. The democrats back things like ballots where the voter's name is published with their vote and government spending on things like Obamacare - which does nothing to reign in the insurance companies price rises. Then congress exempts themselves from laws and give themselves huge retirement perks, etc, etc. Obama may have strengthened the TSA's ability to search but Bush got that ball rolling. Both support Gitmo. What's the difference? Who gets the govenment handouts.

So the government is an actual drain on the economy. Economists call government intervention in the economy "the dead hand of government." The fact of the matter is that, left to themselves, people, including the rich, and companies, would spend their money and get the economy going - except for all the uncertainty that the government is creating. The government is the problem, not the solution. And both sides are to blame.

How do you fix that? Remember, it's a democracy. We get what we deserve.

There's not much the government can do to get the economy moving now. Until people think their jobs are secure they aren't going to spend. The people out of work aren't going to spend. The people who owe more on their houses aren't going to spend and can't move to find a new job. Since consumer spending amounts to 2/3 of the US economic activity it is going to take a long time for the economy to rebound.

Not a thing that the politicians can do to solve that one. They might claim to have a cure but I would doubt it.

Nissan's indignation is simply their way to get some more free publicity and push the issue of the government installing rechargers at car parks. Top Gear gets some noteriety as well. I'll bet that they were both in on it together.

First off, I'm not sure that Japanese are a seperate race from Chinese or Koreans, so I would call it nationalism, not racism. It does seem to be a tempest in a teapot. If the ferry operator wants to protest then let's just all boycott the tool. Not that I'm taking a ferry anytime soon, but you get the point. The Japanese government should just ignore the whole thing. No point stooping to that level of behaviour. And yeah, I've been asked to not enter certain Japanese establishments because I'm gaijin. Bigotry knows no bounds. But I've never had to go without a beer because of one bigot. His loss, not mine.

I agree that, if the material isn't mobile, it isn't a new threat. But I am curious why this was just found. I too have images of TEPCO with duct tape running through my mind. They've got a bad situation but they seem to be making it worse. I don't think we've turned the corner on this one yet.

I guess if you want the paycheck you do what you're asked to do. If you don't like it you can find a job somewhere else.

The frat brothers are at it again? Wait, this is Japan. Neat prank though.

It would seem that Norway didn't learn anything from it's neighbors about rapid response to crimes in progress. Maybe they were just lulled into a false sense that "this kind of thing can't happen in Norway." I'm sorry to see that they've had to learn such a lesson.

It happens way too often everywhere. People are very good at proving themselves selfish idiots.

If you burn anything with radioactive particles in it doesn't that just make radioactive smoke that drifts around and settles where ever? I must be missing something.

Nice picture. I hope the festival was a great success.

Ah, but that's the problem, confusion. The police have recordings of the woman discussing getting a payout with a convict - that will cause confusion. Changes in testimony about what she was doing after the attack will cause confusion and will allow a defense team to question her reliability. The DA knows this. So, what was consensual, what wasn't? When it turns into a "he said / she said" the case rapidly comes unraveled. Maybe it was forced, but how would a prosecutor prove that now?