Path: ccsf.homeunix.org!ccsf.homeunix.org!news1.wakwak.com!nf1.xephion.ne.jp!onion.ish.org!news.daionet.gr.jp!news.yamada.gr.jp!newsfeed.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!yahoobb218120102026.bbtec.NET!not-for-mail From: Eric Takabayashi Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan Subject: Re: Nothing happened in Japan today? Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2004 16:45:48 +0900 Lines: 66 Message-ID: <4080E0AC.4232FDB0@yahoo.co.jp> References: <2Iwfc.536$G14.367@news1.dion.ne.jp> <407F3193.6090404@yahoo.com> Reply-To: etakajp@yahoo.co.jp NNTP-Posting-Host: yahoobb218120102026.bbtec.net (218.120.102.26) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-2022-jp; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: news.uni-berlin.de 1082187977 5062645 I 218.120.102.26 ([138107]) X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.79 (Macintosh; U; PPC) X-Accept-Language: ja,en Xref: ccsf.homeunix.org fj.life.in-japan:13392 Dave Fossett wrote: > "John W." wrote: > > > Has any attention been given by the major news agencies to the > > conspiracy theories? Some Japanese friends in the US said they've read > > some stuff that indicated at least one (and possibly all three) of the > > victims might have deliberately put himself in harms way. I did not read through one weekly magazine article, and the photos of printouts were hard to see, but it seems that the woman made some interesting comments in e-mails. > Up until the three were released, all the media reports seemed to avoid > making any negative comments, but it looks like they might get harsher > treatment from the Japanese media now - especially if they refuse to return > to Japan. > I was struck by the way that withdrawal of the Japanese SDF seemed to be the > number one priority of the relatives back home. They are the type to appease kidnappers or terrorists, which is what I would expect of most people in this country. I am very surprised the government did not give in to the kidnappers' bluff to kill them or burn them alive, but I would not put it past them to have paid the militants off for the release, as some allege. Note Koizumi no longer calls the abductors terrorists, despite fitting the definition. > They even demanded that no attempt be made to rescue the hostages. Since at least two are stupid enough to say they want to go back to continue their so called work, such as "photographing Iraqi children", they should be allowed to go back and be ignored by the government, though I would like to learn of their fate. I like the way this has made Japanese media and people in general completely forget North Korea and those abductees, like so many other so called issues which dominated news even recently. So Hitomi Soga "misses" her family in North Korea because she has not seen them in 18 months. Oooooh. Deep. Perhaps they should have taken North Korea up on their offer to be allowed to pick up their relatives. -- If Gibson decides to make his next film about Rasputin or that Utah hiker who had to cut off his arm after it got trapped under a boulder, it might be time for him to seek professional help. - Jon Niccum, Entertainment Editor http://www.mercycorps.org/ http://www.mercycorps.org/items/1398/ http://www.mercycorps.org/mercykits.php Mercy Corps' goal in Iraq is to work with conflict-affected communities to meet their urgent needs while also providing a firm foundation for the future development of economic opportunities and civil society. Efficiency Over 92% of our resources go directly to humanitarian programs. Excellence Worth Magazine named Mercy Corps one of America's best charities. High-Value Every dollar you give helps us secure $12.71 in donated food and other supplies.