Mark Bossingham

Tokyo Construction Week 2

ON NUMEROUS trips to Honolulu I have had the opportunity to watch the pace of construction. Slow would be a kind way of describing it. Here they easily triple the pace of union workers in Honolulu. Of course, all is not perfect. To keep far too many construction workers working, our very high taxes here go to pay for public infrastructure projects no one wants or needs. But it is fun to watch buildings go up. You can see them just beginning the process of sinking steel cylinders that extend, as far as I can tell, to a depth somewhere near the center of the Earth. Once in place, cement will be poured into the forms. Forgive me if I have the nomenclature wrong. I am an observer, not an construction industry expert. I'll try to post a pic each Friday to document the progress.

Let's recycle Seattle

THE SEATTLE Mariners, the worst team in the MLB, has come up with a promotion that goes a long way to explaining the team's problems: "Mariners Reusable Grocery Bag Day." Next they'll request the commissioner let them hit off tees like 5 year olds. If Seattle isn't the worst sports city in America, what is? Just watched Brandon Morrow blow his second save in a row. That's OK Brandon, Seattle fans don't care as long as they get their rally (lol) fries. Suspect Johjima, Cairo and the rest of the sub-.200 "hitters" might do better if they stepped into the batter's box with one of those reusable bags on their heads.

What's next for Toyosu, Tokyo?

ONCE UPON a time this plot of land next door was a bowling alley. After two years cleaning up the toxins in the soil, looks like somebody is going to build something. God, only knows what, but I think we can assume it will be big. See all those tall buildings in the background? Only one of them was there when we moved in six years ago. My subway stop is a hop skip and a jump from home, dead center in the photo, about a five-minute walk. Add another five minutes and you come to the largest shopping center in all of Tokyo. And believe me, that's saying something. Incidentally, that parking lot you see is simply a Tokyo placeholder—a way for the land owner to pick up a few bucks as they get ready to build another whatever.

Better days

Last walk?

I JUST took Jiji for a walk. She couldn't do it. So maybe her final walk was last weekend. It goes without saying that she tried, but her legs won't cooperate. She's been down to three legs for quite a while and by compensating she has damaged her back and her other hind leg. She's also lost her middle upper front tooth. Kind of cute, actually. At 14 years 4 months, she's doing the best she can.

The Barack of Obama

SPIKE LEE'S comments on the coming of the Messiah via the reliably obsequious AP are hilarious.

(Spike) Lee predicted Obama would be elected in November.
"When that happens, it will change everything. ... You'll have to measure time by `Before Obama' and `After Obama,'" Lee said during the panel. "It's an exciting time to be alive now."
The presidency of the first African-American will ripple throughout arts, sports and more, said Lee, whose films include "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing."
"Everything's going to be affected by this seismic change in the universe," he said.

Deomocratic Congress clown show

IT COMES as no surprise that Americans see both houses of Congress as utter losers. The question remains: Do Americans understand that the Democratic Party controls both the House and the Senate? I am not so sure. Pollster Rasmussen says:

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

Obama the confused screw up

OBAMA IS in the process of adopting Bushlike policies on many issues. Gun control, capital punishment, faith-based initiatives, you name it, he is starting to sound like my kind of guy--a conservative. His latest, "what the hell am I gonna do now?" moment is on his signature Iraq policy. That his anti-war, Code Pink mishmash wouldn't stand up to the facts has long been a given. Now, he says he is going to have to "refine" position, and as his public relations firm the AP says, he's struggling. I get the feeling that by some twist of fate we have a high school student poised to become President.

FARGO, N.D. - Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

Photo of the year

SEE IT here.

For the record II--An economic update

I AM going to enjoy this. On Nov. 11, 2006, immediately after the Democratic Party took over both houses of Congress I predicted economic disaster for the United States. Let's see how I am doing so far. Here's what I said:

"... But for the record, the DJIA was at about 12,200 when the Dems took over; unemployment was at 4.4 percent, taxes low and the economy growing at a clip Europe will never see again. Let's see how those numbers hold up under the Democrats."

Today the DOW is at 11,350, down 850 points, and even worse, unemployment in May stood at 5.5 percent, a huge increase in the ranks of the jobless. God knows where these numbers are going to go if Obama is elected. I'll be back!