More Tokyo pics

From today’s trip to Akihabara and Shibuya, added to the same album as before… yesterday’s trip to the Mikasa will be in its own album but will have to wait, maybe later tonight more likely when I get back to the US unless the internet connections in Thailand have gotten better than I remember them.

From Tokyo 2008

Also trying to upload a video of the Shibuya crossing, but no luck so far – the Youtube upload link keeps timing out.

What a change from the old days!

The following statement can be found here

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations
136 East 67th Street
New York, NY 10065

STATEMENT

20 October 2008

ON FUNDRAISING LETTER FROM JOHN MCCAIN ELECTION CAMPAIGN

We have received a letter from Senator John McCain requesting financial contribution to his Presidential campaign.

In this connection we would like to reiterate that Russian officials, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations or the Russian Government do not finance political activity in foreign countries.

via Flyertalk, although you may need to be signed in there to see it.

Travel Photos, Tokyo day 1

From Tokyo 2008

Or view the full album; this was the “Cityrama Morning Tour” with shots from the Meiji Shrine, Imperial Gardens West, and the Asakusa Kannon Temple plus a few of my room and a few of the area nearby in Shibuya.

Nothing edited yet; Picasa is pretty cool for posting RAW shots to the web quickly.

Off to see the Memorial Ship Mikasa tomorrow, and will probably have photos of that for you tomorrow night. Not sure what else I’ll be up to in my remaining pair of days her, but for now jetlag is about to overwhelm me.

Krugman on the candidates’ health care policies.

Krugman on McCain’s healthcare plan vs. Obama’s:
Health Care Destruction
Skipping to the punchline:

I agree: the McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking. And I’m terrified.

Jumping back:

Barack Obama offers incremental reform: regulation of insurers to prevent discrimination against the less healthy, subsidies to help lower-income families buy insurance, and public insurance plans that compete with the private sector. His plan falls short of universal coverage, but it would sharply reduce the number of uninsured.

Better than nothing.

via Atrios.

Hitchin’ a ride.

Crab videotaped riding giant jellyfish

Exactly what it says. Requires a video player plugin, not sure which but one I had in any event. Animals are weird…

It’s a good day for random weird stuff:
Missing in Mexico: Truck with 5,000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and a giant inflatable prophylactic

MEXICO CITY (AP) _ Missing in Mexico: One truck carrying 5,000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and a 23-foot (7 meter) inflatable prophylactic.

The coordinator of an HIV/AIDS awareness tour, Polo Gomez, said Wednesday that the “Condomovil” was parked in front of a friend’s house in Mexico City when it disappeared Sunday evening. He believes the truck was stolen, but he doesn’t know why. Police are still investigating.

The truck should be easy to spot. It features painted images of a peeled banana, the exposed part shaped like a condom, and a shirtless man saying: “I protect myself. Do you?”

“A little off the top,” it wasn’t.

Something doesn’t smell right if this took from last Oct to today for the lawsuit to be filed, but…
(via Flyertalk)
Doctor accused of amputating man’s genitals against wishes

A lawsuit accuses a Frankfort doctor of amputating a man’s penis without his consent, according to a newspaper.

Too close to the truth

from AmericaBlog:
CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL
(and with both apologies and compliments, reproduced in its entirety below, as this is too funny and too sad…)

Dear Mr. American,

Good day and compliments.

I am HENRI PAULSON, the Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America, and the personal financial adviser to GEORGE W. BUSH (the eldest son of the former dictator of America, GENERAL GEORGE HUSSEIN WALKER BUSH).

This letter will definitely come to you as a huge surprise, but I implore you to take the time to go through it carefully as the decision you make will go off a long way to determine the future and continued existence of the entire members of my country.
Continue reading “Too close to the truth”