"In His Own Words"

Barack Obama wrote a book called "In His Own Words."

After his plagiarism troubles, there's a joke in there somewhere.

News - Goodnight For Japan's PM

Shinzo Abe, Japan's youngest postwar prime minister (he's 52,) announced his resignation on Wednesday.
The move apparently surprised not only party members but members of his own Cabinet, "by deciding to resign only days after he pledged to stake his government on the success of legislation to extend Japan's naval mission in the Indian Ocean."

In a televised conference he stated, "I find myself unable to keep my promises — I myself have become an obstacle to fulfilling those promises."

Election defeat, resistance from an opposition leader, and unclarified health problems were all listed as contributing factors in his decision.

Abe's administration has been plagued with scandals and even suicide, after which support for the leader dropped to 30%.

"...Abe's unpopular government had become a liability for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party..."

We were surprised to find out (although we shouldn't have been) that Japan too is beset with imperialistic families who find multiple members of the same immediate family in the Prime Minister's seat generation after generation. In Abe's case, his grandfather was Prime Minister and his father was a foreign minister.

We were either naive or ignorant enough to think that it was just the US' problem.

PS. This just in; he has been hospitalized for exhaustion.

Anne Rice Finds Jesus

Goth queen and vampire novelist, Anne Rice, has become a born-again Christian. Her newly found religiosity takes the form of political support for Hilary Rodham-Clinton.

When we find Jesus, we're going to spearhead Bono's campaign.

Red Hill Voting Town 2008!

(Maybe "I Still Haven't Found Who I'm Voting For" would have been better. Sue us.)

New Zealand MPs Have No Sense of Humor

This story broke in late July, but we think it's important enough to report on now anyway.

Members of Parliament in New Zealand have made it a contempt to use any video of parliament for satire or ridicule by the media, etc. etc. etc.

The move has invoked nothing less than outrage around the world and is considered a major overstepping of the freedoms of the media and individuals of New Zealand. Frankly, we're a more than a little creeped out by it ourselves.

I guess they don't want people around the world watching a Kiwi version of this. But we can watch the Taiwanese one and imagine it happening in New Zealand. Oh, yes. We can and we will.

Muah ha ha!