Article in the Japan Times:

Hiroshima mayor rips U.S. on anniversary of A-bomb. I guess the Mayor of Hiroshima has more right than anyone to speak about nuclear weapons.

Article in the Chosun Times:
o Agenda for 6-Way Talks Widening (Chosun) - "The government will bring up issues other than the nuclear crisis at the coming six-way talks, such as the abduction of Japanese citizens and general inter-Korean relations. Tokyo also wants to challenge Pyongyang on the abduction issue."

I'm starting to feel that they're setting up this for disaster. It took us long enough and enough energy to convince NK to come to the table in a multi-lateral session. Their stated fear was that multi-lateral talks would just give the US an opportunity to use several nations to "bully" them (Although a realist would probably convincingly point out that NK wants bilateral talks because it cannot blackmail (using the WMD card) the US as easily). In any case, piling on other grievances just gives credence to NK's claims of bullying. True, we don't want to bend backwards for NK, we want to play hardball. But NK is like a scared rabid dog backed into a corner. There's a right way to subdue him, and a wrong way.

Now, if we wanted to talk about NK-SK relations, and the abduction issue as some kind of confidence building, leading up to more serious talks about WMD, then fine. But as it is, I can't see NK moving any ground in the upcoming talks, and worse, I can see them getting pissed off and doing something rash.

so I don´t really feel any impulse to write here these days. I guess working regularly 9-5 kinda dullens your day... or at least makes it such that there´s not that much to write about. But I should write - writing is good...

We really don´t write much these days. Back in the olden times, people would write letters regularly as a form of communication. When we went to Monticello last last weekend, we learned that Thomas Jefferson left behind something like 50,000 letters (pieces of correspondence, not scrabble pieces). There´s so much distraction these days and alternative uses of our time, people don´t really write much anymore. I wonder 80 years from now when somebody great from my generation passes away, will they show people his archived emails do document his greatness?

Blah.

Anyways, getting ready to move out, so I´ve been spending a lot of time posting up ads, but the apartment is really clean so that´s nice...

ohh, scrabble time