Bear stops playing with baseball bat
A bear that drew visitors with his bat-twirling antics has mysteriously stopped playing with his bat, much to the dismay of zookeepers:
Cloud, who resides at the Asa Zoological Park in Asa-Kita Ward here, was last seen twirling on Sept. 27.
Nicknamed the Kung-fu Bear, Cloud started spinning poles in 2003. By March this year, he would spin about 15 times a day for up to 15 minutes at a time. But by September, he was spinning just once or twice a day.
Categories: Animal Videos
US House speaker to visit Hiroshima A-bomb memorial
AFP reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is about to become the ighest-ranking sitting US official to visit the atomic bomb memorial in Hiroshima:
No sitting US president or vice president has ever paid respects to the dead of the US nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a sore point for many survivors in Japan.
Pelosi will travel to Hiroshima for a meeting of parliament speakers from the Group of Eight major industrial nations. Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency, is a member of Barack Obama’s Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, Pelosi and the other speakers will lay flowers at a memorial in Hiroshima, hear testimony from a bomb survivor and hold discussions on disarmament, according to Japanese officials.
Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Politics
Today is the 63rd anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Below are a few relevant news stories and editorials:
- Meeting of old WWII foes helps heal wounds of Hiroshima – a former B-29 pilot meets with a former mayor of Hiroshima.
- Hiroshima reminds us of existing danger – an editorial about nuclear armageddon in the Age.
- Japanese man living in Hamburg translates A-bomb experiences into German – the new book is called “Hiroshima, atomic bombing hell.”
- Tinian welcomes 13 students from Hiroshima – a student exchange program on the island used as a base for American bombers.
- Children to mark Hiroshima anniversary – American children make origami cranes to commemorate the bombing.
- American in Hiroshima warns the world about nuclear weapons – a story about an American who changed his mind about the atomic bombs after living in Japan.
- The lies of Hiroshima live on, props in the war crimes of the 20th century – an opinion piece by documentary film maker John Pilger.
- Veterans remember Hiroshima – Americans remember the bombing, with a link to audio clips from veterans.
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