Japan:Threat To Tokyo as Mount Asamo Volcano erupts

Mount Asamo has erupted near Tokyo, Japan covering parts of the Japanese capital with ash. So far there have been no reports of casualties. There is no sound on some of this video. Mount Asama lies about 90 miles northwest of Tokyo. Japan lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

A major earthquake or volcanic eruption could destroy the financial district of Tokyo and wreck the world's financial system.

Somali fighters threaten to impose Islamic rule on the US,Russia and Japan

Al Jazeera carries a blood curdling threat from Somali Islamic fighters to carry the fight to the US,Russia and Japan and to impose Islamic rule on these countries once they have defeated their enemies in Somalia. This threat from Al-Shabab must be a cause of grave concern not alone to Western intelligence services but also to Russsia which has got 20 million Moslems living within its boundaries. The US has designated al-Shabab as a foreign terrorist organization. It is believed to have close links to al Qaeda. A number of senior officials in this group have trained with al Qaeda.

An armed group battling Ethiopian forces in Somalia has told Al Jazeera it will take its fight beyond the country once it defeats its rivals....In Marka, just 90km from the capital Mogadishu, Ibrahim Almaqdis, one of the fighters, told Al Jazeera: "We wish to tell Bush and our opponents our real intentions.

"We will establish Islamic rule from Alaska and Chile to South Africa, Japan, Russia, the Solomon Islands and all the way to Iceland, be warned, we are coming."Abu Mansoor said that al-Shabab's ranks had been bolstered by foreign fighters and urged others to join, saying that a core principle of the group was that all Muslims are citizens of Somalia."Many have already died fighting our cause and many others are here with us," he said.
"We shall welcome any Muslim from any part of the world who wants to join us. We will allow him to wed our daughters and share our farms.........."

ABBA Agnetha Fältskog I'm Still Alive (Japan Live Concert 1980)

RTE report exposes timber trade between Burma and China

RTÉ News carried a special report Foreign Editor Margaret Ward on the timber trade between China and Burma. Ostensibly China banned imports of timbers from Burma. However Margaret Ward’s report proves conclusively that the trade between Burma and China continues unabated.

Ward posed as a purchaser and found that there was no difficulty in sourcing timber at the right price. The Burmese junta benefits enormously from this trade. According to the report Burmese timber is also finding its way to Korea, Japan and Europe. Kudos to Ward and the RTE team for such a penetrating report which is just one of many coming from China.

Unfortunately China consistently refuses to play by the rules in Burma, Tibet and Sudan. China has provided support for the Butchers of Rangoon on a consistent basis. This enabled the junta to crush the 2007 uprising using tactics perfected by China.

The Ward Diaries are a fountain of information on China.

On his first visit to China, British foreign secretary David Miliband rejected calls for an Olympic boycott. The Beijing Olympics provided an excellent opportunity to leverage concession from China but unfortunately the international community is prepared to overlook human rights violations by China in the interests of trade.

Bush Imposes New Sanctions on Burma

According to VOA President Bush is imposing additional sanctions against Burma's government and wants China and India must do more to pressure Burma's military rulers......................
Mr. Bush sanctioned most of the top military commanders in Burma last month after at least ten people were killed when security forces opened fire on the largest demonstrations in decades.
The new measures freeze U.S. assets of another eleven members of the military government, tighten export controls to Burma, and allow the U.S. Treasury Department greater authority to sanction those responsible for human rights abuses and public corruption.
"Business as usual is unacceptable," said President Bush. "So I applaud the efforts of the European Union and nations like Australia that have announced targeted sanctions on the Burmese regime."
"I commend nations such as Japan that have curtailed their assistance in response to the atrocities. I appreciate nations such as Singapore, and the Philippines, and Indonesia who have spoken out against the atrocities," he added.
The European Union this week decided to impose an import embargo on timber, gems and precious metals from Burma..............................
Comment: President Bush who has shipped heavy criticism on the Iraq issue has certainly laid down a marker on Burma. For this he deserves much credit. Similarly pressure from the EU Japan and Australia is most welcome.

Unfortunately the irresponsible attitude of China, India and Russia undermines efforts to remove the junta. China has neutered the UN Security Council on this issue through a cynical use of the veto. It is time to reform the Security Council and remove China from permanent membership. After all he who pays the piper calls the tune. The largest contributors to the UN are the US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy in that order. The US contributes $423 million, Japan contributes $332 million but China only contributes $35 million. This miserable $35 million contribution is sufficient to render The UN powerless on Burma. No wonder the junta leaders are impervious to realism. Japan should replace China on the Security Council. It is time for the UN to ignore China.

Strangely there is a reluctance to threaten a boycott of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It is now or never.