ruthgottstein comments

I remember reading Alice when I was seven, since she was also seven. And yet--now that I am 93, I have read Alice out loud to the seniors where I live in a managed care facility. What has always puzzled me is how the political nature of the book is mainly ignored--or censored out of many editions.

Alice running with the Red Queen (who represents reactionary government) and who answers Alice's question about why they were running--and the Red Queen says, "In this country you have to run as fast as you can to stay in the same place." Or the psychedelic nibbling of the mushroom. or the cannabalizing hypocracy of the Walrus and the Carpenter--or the courtroom scene where stuffing a creature in a bag represents immediate suppression--every page of Alice is political.

"Alice" may very well be the most political of all timeless books.

Absolutely true. But be sure to buy pure, unadulterated olive oil--read label carefully.

It would be useful if some one would describe the occupation of Okinawa by Japan more than 200 years ago. Okinawa was the independent kingdom of Ryukyo, with its own language and culture...and then?

I look forward to Caroline Kennedy being an inspiration to many of the young women in Japan, just by virtue of her appointment.

I hope I can afford to go there when it opens--Okinawa is wonderful, beyond belief.

Yes, but to own a Toto in the U.S. is a mistake. I have one, and it is not hygenic. There is an inner seam on the toiet seat which can never be really cleaned.

How about a women's version that I could wear in California--same nice temperate climate.

Ir'a way beyond women in the workplace. What Japan needs is women moving into leadership...and they need to do this--badly.

All the Japanese women I have met over the years have the ability and the understanding to be leaders. They simply must assert their skills--and help save their country.

One simple reason to learn some English is to help tourists. The Japan Tourist Agency needs to be abolished, and the major new activity would be to insure that Japanese staff (for example, in major railroad stations), could help foreigners get to their destination. As in the case of the main station in Osaka, where no one in the ticket office spoke one word of English. Why English? Because that is the most common language most tourists in Japan will use, regardless of where they come from.

What is consistently overlooked in discussions on Okinawa is that it was occupied by Japan more than 200 years ago. It had been the independent kingdom of Ryukya, with its own language and culture. Okinawans have every right to demand back their own island.

If you really want to see Japan, get out of Tokyo, and visit rural areas--especially those located near the Inland Sea. See Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Take little ferries to the hundreds of western islands. And above all, don't spend more money in Tokyo!

First saw a rooftop garden in operation in Green Point, Brooklyn!

The 88 temples on the island of Shikoku, and other islands in the Sea of Japan. The whole of western Japan is almost unknown, with the exception of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Unfortunately, the Japan Tourist Agency seems to only cater to and emphasize Tokyo, Kyoto (see other hot spots mentioned by Iowan above).

After more than 200 years of occupancy, the independent kingdom of Ryukyo (called Okinawa today) has the right to take back its own country.

What is so puzzling is the absence of coverage of this issue in the U.S. press. The only story I have seen was in the Wall Street Journal. So the American people aren't aware that Okinawans don't want Futenma, have never wanted it, and apparently have no say.