Koizumi: Bush ties built upon candor

Candor = Ass Kissing

When it comes to keeping a secret, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he gets high marks from U.S. President George W. Bush.

The Koizumi-Bush relationship has flourished, Koizumi said, because he and Bush are able to speak frankly, knowing that what they say will go no further.

(snip)

Koizumi said he was concerned whether a U.S. president should be so frank, even on such matters as personalities, but he did not elaborate.

(snip)

``(Bush) speaks frankly because he knows I don't tell others,'' Koizumi said. ``Our mutual respect for confidentiality is the basis of our relationship.''

Koizumi said he enjoys a similarly close relationship with Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair. He said he once told Blair, ``You are criticized as Bush's poodle, but I am called his lap dog, wagging its tail shamelessly in front of the U.S. president. Critics say anything they like.''

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http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2003081200285.html

= "ass-kissing" That pretty much sums it up.

Yappari, Busshu wa Koizumi-chan no kainushi da.

Japanese speak in a very indirect way, and the more uncomforable they are the more indirect.

that Bu$$$h is a rude imbecile, but from what I've heard, his actions are directed by Washington. And his party, the LDP, is becoming increasingly right-wing.

the Liberal Democrats' origins were those of an intel-org black op. Absent outsiders intervening, Japanese voters would've sought a pro-Red ruling party postwar. E Asia: big chessboard; a lovely, fat franchise exclusive to mooncult, bonesmen, mobs. Faith-based foreign affairs, in a nutshell.

and anyway, I don't want to die in a plane crash."

I think it lost something in the translation...

Hai. So desu.

P;

Showing utter disregard for an endangered species, President Bush today enraged conservationists when he removed the belt from around his waist and attached it to a struggling condor, caught some moments previously by an unidentified member of the Secret Service.

I wouldn't put anything past him.

Sorry, I'm having an odd day....

saying that he had been threatened and did the best he could for Japan in the circumstances (whether he did or not) and that he knows what the world is saying about him, and he wanted the world to hear what he said. He doesn't sound like a bushgang member.

but, we'll see....

The was a very telling picture of Bu$h and Koizumi in the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper when Bu$$$h came to visit Japan in February last year. In the picture, the two are taking their places at podiums at Koizumi's residence. Although Bu$h is ostensibly a guest, he is shown hovering over Koizumi, pointing him toward the other podium, like the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come. And Koizumi certainly seems to be taken aback.

Unfortunately, Koizumi has been reallly pounding the militarization drum as of late. I heard him in the Diet (Parliment) debate when he was really pushing the "weapons of mass destruction" angle as justification for invading Iraq. He has also been pushing to send Japanese Self-Defense Forces to places where they shouldn't be sent, that is, anywhere outside Japan. His party is also pushing hard for a Constitutional amendment that would allow Japanese troops to be sent to combat situations in foreign countries.

fear factor or payoff or both?

if he had willingly joined the gang, wouldn't there be some swagger?

I was just discussing this with a colleague yesterday. The perception is that Koizumi is getting a little big for his britches and is becoming openly haughty. According to the Asahi Shimbun, his approval rating is currently hovering somewhere around 42%.

A disturbing development is that Koizumi's biggest critic, Kiyomi Tsujino, who was ousted from the Diet last year, was arrested recently for "fraud".

the swagger is a telltale then. guess he has crossed the line into the dark side.