Sounds all too familiar, huh?

Looks like a dire situation in Japan and other so-called 1st world countries, with the aging population dwindling the number of young people that can support the elderly. So the political machine in Japan is recommending raising the number of immigrants to their country. This is not something that the Japanese take lightly. Most have actively fought again immigration reform for years.

I wish our government would get serious about our health care, instead of just supporting the drug companies that make their fortunes by giving us little pills once we've already done the damage.

Maybe they ought to just cancel this years coming Olympics ;) This has become such a mess.

Japan has always had a very strong policy concerning people coming in to the country, but it looks like they're cracking down even harder.

Things just aren't what they used to be. Weren't the summer games always a cause for celebration in the past. Those days are over.

I guess this is the price that we need to pay to stay alive in this crazy post-911 world. Won't be long before all governments will be adopting similar measures.

Probably slow the entry line down a bit :-|

What century are we in now? You'd think that this sort of thing would've been stopped a couple of hundred years ago.

This is clearly just the start of this sort of statement. I heard a US official yesterday saying that it wasn't right to stop emerging countries from doing all the things that the so-called 1st world countries did in the past. There's a huge hole in this logic and I hope people wake up to it before it's too late. When we were developing (and polluting), there were so few car in America, Japan & Europe compared to what is coming on-line (on the roads) with China and India starting their motors. Also, we weren't nearly as aware of the dire consequences of our actions. Of course, all of us wish we would have developed a gas alternative sooner, but we ALL have to start now. This planet will not withstand the onslaught of a doubling or tripling of the exhaust fumes that we currently emit.

STOP THIS CRAZY CYCLE!

Guess the US doesn't have a lock on this sort of thing, just seems worse here.

Seems this sort of thing is happening everywhere now, not just China. I guess when our leaders become self-serving megalomaniacs and loose any trace of decency, the public can't be far behind.

I guess they just don't get it. Sad!

The good fight continues. Everywhere. Even in the face of his own death, this crusader doesn't stop. He has more than a right to protest. As a bomb survivor, it's his life.

Emptiness again? Is anyone really surprised. I'd be surprised if Mr. Bush ends up accomplishing anything worth while during his two terms as President. But now, if he can just quit dragging the image of America through the mud for 2 more years, maybe our next leader can salvage something of our long held reputation.

US forces deployed a mobile missile-tracking station in Japan for the first time Friday, officials said, as part of efforts to defend against a potential attack from North Korea.

Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that 50-year-old photographer Kenji Nagai was shot dead in Yangon. Pictures smuggled out of the country showed him taking photos with a small camera even as he lay dying on a street near Sule Pagoda, a focus of the protests in the capital.

What photographers will do to get a good photo, huh?

For anyone that thought he was acting.

Keeping you posted as to the situation in Japan with the upcoming elections.

Whether you liked him or not, and I realize that many Japanese are strongly divided on him, it's sad that he's going out this way. You have to believe that it was, at least partly due, to the pressures of the office he's held. Not an easy job.

Japan race pits dove against hawk

This is going to be interesting to watch. And it could get a little heated. The world will find out with this election which way the Japanese people are planing to move forward politically.

I'll keep you posted.