Simon_Foston said...

Simon_Foston at 04:35 PM JST - 25th August

I really can't understand why the LDP doesn't have aides or teleprompters to tell Aso what to say. Is he under the same delusion that Bush was? Shooting from the hip during a Q & A session with the press never ends well.

Shooting from the hip is one thing,…

Posted in Aso advises poor young people not to marry at 04:35 PM JST - 25th August
Simon_Foston at 04:25 PM JST - 25th August

Comments like this tell me that senior LDP members have pretty much given up on winning the election. This is Kaoru Yosano, who seems like he might actually be an LDP man with his head screwed on the right way, and one of the very top men in the government,…

Posted in Yosano concerned at prospect of DPJ landslide victory at 04:25 PM JST - 25th August
Simon_Foston at 09:33 AM JST - 25th August

Are you saying that someone without any pay (unemployed) can be seen as an object of respect worthy of a partner?

I don't personally have a great amount of respect for people who are able to work but not willing to, and I can understand why they might have trouble…

Posted in Aso advises poor young people not to marry at 09:33 AM JST - 25th August
Simon_Foston at 12:27 AM JST - 25th August

I do believe that being told not to jump blindly into financial responsibilities which one can not shoulder is hardly insensitive and for many young people it sure the hell is needed.

Agreed. I think Aso might benefit from being told that himself, as the leader of a party that…

Posted in Aso advises poor young people not to marry at 12:27 AM JST - 25th August
Simon_Foston at 11:51 PM JST - 24th August

How is that a verbal gaffe? He's actually right for once, what is the point of marrying if you haven't got a pot to p*ss in or a window to throw it out of?

That's as maybe. But he was being asked whether people were marrying late because of limited…

Posted in Aso advises poor young people not to marry at 11:51 PM JST - 24th August
Simon_Foston at 10:18 PM JST - 24th August

Whether he's right or not, he'd have been better off just answering the question that was actually asked, i.e. are more people marrying later because they're worried about money. A simple "yes I think so" or "no I don't think so" would have sufficed. Instead he blundered in with his…

Posted in Aso advises poor young people not to marry at 10:18 PM JST - 24th August
Simon_Foston at 12:37 PM JST - 24th August

You do realize that virtually everyone in the DPJ is a former LDP politician?

Actually, no they aren't. Certainly, a lot of the senior members are ex-LDP people as they have been with the DPJ since it was founded in 1998, but about half of the current Diet members have…

Posted in Aso brushes aside polls indicating landslide DPJ victory at 12:37 PM JST - 24th August
Simon_Foston at 12:35 PM JST - 24th August

Lte's hope DPJ can deliver change for Japan!

Quite right. But I take comfort from knowing that the people who start revolutions often don't actually want to change very much. The very fact that the DPJ have, at the very least, a strong chance of winning, is a big enough…

Posted in Voters angry and looking for change at 12:35 PM JST - 24th August
Simon_Foston at 12:27 PM JST - 24th August

‘‘Everyone’s living has been greatly affected by the competitive principles based on market mechanisms that the LDP introduced. We must sincerely reflect on it and overhaul our policies,’’ Aso said in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture.

In other words, "we screwed up big time, but vote for us anyway." The LDP are…

Posted in Party leaders appeal to voters on last weekend before election at 12:27 PM JST - 24th August
Simon_Foston at 07:31 AM JST - 24th August

Jiminto's commercials are better than Minshuto's.

I don't really see how that's related to the topic. I certainly don't think it's cause for Aso to hope the situation could come around any time soon.

Posted in Aso brushes aside polls indicating landslide DPJ victory at 07:31 AM JST - 24th August