Sorry...

I've been slack. Since being unable to post photos I've not been too motivated to update my poor, little blog...even though it's not his fault. Sorry blog.

I've got a couple of good pics lined up...if I ever get the chance, I'll put 'em straight on. Actually, another part of my laziness is that there isn't much to report. Business as usual and same old same old.

Happy to say the weather's getting finer. Lovely blue skies, for the most part, and a bit of a breeze from time to time. Nice. May/June is one of the better times of year. However, soon to come is the rainy season, closely followed by terribly humid 30+ degree days and regularly cloudy skies (a period usually referred to as summer). Not so nice.

In brief...Japan and China still cross with each other. Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi picked up her bat and ball and went home the other day, cancelling an afternoon meeting with Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi who pouted and probably reflected on it. She said she had urgent Bird-Flu type matters to attend to, but then the Chinese Foreign Ministry 'fessed up and admitted it was pissed with Koizumi's insistance on visiting Yasukuni Shrine and Japan's portrayal of its occupation of China in the history books..

Japan took offence to the impromtu cancellation. One Japanese newspaper editorial sagely advised "A person who behaves rudely to another, for whatever reason, should apologise". Fair enough. However, on the issue of Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine (which enshrines Class-A war criminals) it states "A memorial service for fallen soldiers in any country is to be held in accordance with that nation's culture and tradition". That's sweet, but I say exorcise the shrine of it's troublesome tenants and be done with it. I'd pay homage to Japan's war dead as soon as I would any other country's...but I wouldn't put flowers on Adolf Hitler's grave and I certainly wouldn't describe him as one of Germany's 'fallen soldiers'. As an extension of that sentiment, I won't be going to Yasukuni Shrine to pay my respects anytime soon, much as I'd like to.

Post script...to be fair, the quote cited from the paper was followed by the statement "Admittedly, there are arguments among Japanese for and against prime ministerial visits to the shrine". At least acknowledgement was paid to the contentiousness of the issue.