Looking at Japan's society ,,,[ 1354 ]

Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Learning to accept yourself

        Rika Kayama

(Mainichi Japan) June 27, 2010

 More people than I can count visit my office saying the same thing: "I don't have self-confidence."
While I listen to what their lives are like now, or how they were leading up to now, I have always said basically the same thing, "Hmm, I think you have every right to have quite a lot of self-confidence."
Recently, however, a patient who visited asked me something. "Do we have to have self-confidence? Is it impossible to just get by as we are?"

Those words gave me a start. It was actually just as that patient said. I had always wanted to say to my patients, "You are fine as you are," but instead, I would always end up saying, "All right, let's have more self-confidence" and put an unreasonable demands on them.

Thinking about it, these patients being "fine as they are" would naturally mean "fine without self-confidence." There, in front of the patient who made me realize this, I spoke quietly to myself.
"That's right, we're fine without self-confidence."

Still, without confidence, getting by everyday is not easy. We feel inferior to others and become depressed from the smallest criticism. Some people even end up feeling they're worthless, practically losing their will to live.

That doesn't mean however, that anything will change from chanting, "Have confidence, have confidence!" and trying to drum up courage. When we get depressed, we can recognize that, and accept that it's a part of us, while remembering that in time we will return to our normal, happier selves. If we don't begin by accepting ourselves this way, it may be that change will never come.

Looking at Japan, it is full of people and companies looking to politicians to bring them back their lost self-confidence. It would be nice if society did indeed improve and lead to everyone's recovery. If we fall, however, under the illusion that politicians promising everything will make us better, as if through magic, we will only be disappointed.

Though we may lack confidence, first we should focus on clearing the challenges in front of us, one by one. We shouldn't pressure ourselves into feeling we need to be more confident. It is this way of living that I believe is needed now, both by individuals and our society. (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)

Click here for the original Japanese story

Tropical Storm Alex and the Gulf BP Oil spill ... [ 1353 ]

Tropical Storm Alex makes landfall in Belize

Gerardo Garcia

CHETUMAL

(Reuters) Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:39am EDT

Palm trees move in the wind as a man walks on the shore in Chetumal June 26, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Gerardo Garcia

CHETUMAL Mexico (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alex weakened slightly after it made landfall in Belize, but the storm continued to produce gusting winds and heavy rain, the National Hurricane Center said on Sunday.

The storm was not an imminent threat to oil-siphoning efforts at BP Plc's blown-out Macondo well in the Gulf, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Current forecasts project Alex will emerge in the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday and make landfall again as a minimal hurricane later in the week between Brownsville, Texas, and Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cano, Mexico, sparing BP spill collection efforts.

Alex, the first named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, had sustained winds of near 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour) and was located about 55 miles southwest of Chetumal, Mexico.
The storm was expected to ease its pace as it moved over Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula overnight, the Miami-based center said at 2 a.m. EDT/0600 GMT.

In Chetumal, the capital of the state of Quintana Roo across the border with Belize, streets emptied in anticipation of the heavy rains and strong winds expected on Sunday.
On Saturday, Quintana Roo state authorities evacuated 200 people from fishing villages across the Chinchorro reef, near Belize, and Xcalak, famous for its diving spots.

Some rain fell over Cancun, a major seaside resort that draws U.S. and European visitors, but there was no threat to some 35,000 tourists in the area, civil protection said.
Alex was moving west-northwest at 12 mph but its speed should decrease as it moves over land.
"Strengthening is forecast on Sunday night and Monday after Alex moves over the southern Gulf of Mexico," the center said.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the coast of Belize and the east coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Cancun. The hurricane center said the warning would likely be lifted later on Sunday.
But tropical storm-force winds were still occurring off the east coast of Belize from near Belize City northeast to Ambergris Cay and Cayo Norte, Mexico, according to the center.
Alex was expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain to the Yucatan Peninsula, southern Mexico, northern Guatemala, Honduras and Belize through Monday morning. Isolated amounts of up to 15 inches were possible over mountainous areas.
"These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," according to the center.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and meteorologists predict this year will be a very active one. Hurricanes feed on warm water and the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are higher than usual this year.

In the Pacific, hurricanes Darby and Celia weakened to tropical storms as they continued to dissipate.

(Additional reporting by Jose Cortazar in Cancun and Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City)

California : seizure of 20 tns drug... [ 1352 ]

Authorities seize $45 million of narcotics in California drug bust

By the CNN Wire Staff

June 26, 2010 4:05 a.m. EDT

An "overwhelming odor" led authorities to 20 tons of narcotics in the back of a tractor-trailer in California.

(CNN) -- Authorities in southern California said the strong smell of marijuana helped them discover $45 million worth of drugs in the back of a tractor-trailer they had pulled over for a traffic violation.
Deputies stopped the truck Wednesday morning, then opened the trailer after finding problems with the paperwork for the load, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said Friday.

An "overwhelming odor" led investigators to about 20 tons of narcotics stashed in pallets in the back of the truck, including about 38,000 pounds of marijuana, 2,700 pounds of cocaine and 67 pounds of methamphetamine, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Sheriff Rod Hoops said Friday night the seizure was one of the largest in the county's history.

The truck's driver, Fernando Luevano, 32, was arrested and charged with possession, transportation and sale of narcotics, authorities said.

The "Varyag" missile cruiser leaves San Francisco,..[ 1351 ]

Russian missile cruiser completes visit to U.S., leaves San Francisco

"As the visit was completed on Saturday, the Pacific Fleet task force left San Francisco and headed back to Vladivostok"

04:48 26/06/2010

© RIA Novosti. Vitaliy Ankov

VLADIVOSTOK, June 26 (RIA Novosti)
A task force from the Russian Pacific Fleet led by the Varyag missile cruiser completed its a friendly visit to the United States and left San Francisco, a Pacific Fleet spokesman said on Saturday.
The visit, which began on June 21, was dedicated to the first official visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the United States, held between June 22 and 24. The Russian leader visited Varyag on Wednesday.
The naval group also includes the Fotiy Krylov salvage tug and the Boris Butoma tanker.
"As the visit was completed on Saturday, the Pacific Fleet task force left San Francisco and headed back to Vladivostok. The visit was held in welcoming and warmly atmosphere, an extensive cultural program was prepared for Russian sailors," Capt. 1st Rank Roman Martov said.
During the visit, hundreds of Californians lined up to see and visit the missile cruiser, docked in the San Francisco Bay, near the city center.
"The military delegation of the Pacific Fleet visited San Francisco mayor's office, the sailors got acquainted with the city and its history, visited museums and landmark sites and held sporting and informal events with their U.S. colleagues," the source said.

The Varyag is a Slava class missile cruiser, designed as a surface strike ship with some anti-air and ASW capability. The sixteen SS-N-12 Sandbox nuclear-capable supersonic anti-ship missiles are mounted in four pairs on either side of the superstructure, giving the ship a distinctive appearance.
NATO experts had dubbed Russian combat ships of this class "the killer of aircraft carriers," as they can launch 1,000 kg of high-explosives or a tactical nuclear warhead to a range of 300 nautical miles.

In April 2009, the Varyag led a group of 21 foreign naval vessels participating in a parade to mark the 60th anniversary of China's Navy off the coast of the eastern city of Qingdao.
Russia announced in 2007 that it was building up its naval presence across the world. Foreign port calls by Russian warships have become more frequent.

The Stalin's statue ..adventures...[ 1350 ]

 Stalin Statue Removed In Georgian Hometown

June 25, 2010

Authorities in Georgia have removed a towering statue of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin from the central square of his hometown of Gori.

The 6-meter-high statue was removed in the dead of the night in an unannounced operation. Georgian media said police tried to prevent journalists from filming the process, beating some of them.

Local officials said the statue is to be moved to the courtyard of a museum dedicated to Stalin and replaced on the main square by a monument to victims of Georgia's 2008 war with Russia.

Click for     Video: Stalin's legacy in Gori

Outward signs of Stalin's personality cult were removed after his death in 1953 across Georgia and the rest of the Soviet Union, but many is his hometown remain proud of him.

The Gori statue, which was erected one year before his death, was one of the few monuments to Stalin still standing anywhere.

Gori was the hardest-hit Georgian city in the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, with bombs hitting the main square near the statue.

compiled from agency reports