National News
Fish On Tips
 Over
550 people took part in an event hosted by "the Society to
Preserve the Tradition of Whale Eating" to promote this traditional
food in Tokyo, on Feb.17.
Japan continues Whaling expeditions organized
by a government-affiliated Japanese research institute which bring
back hundreds of minke whales and other species every year as part
of research programs. Visitors flock around a table together to
pick ar fried whale meat during whale tasting sessions.
Mad cows, sick chickens —and ostriches
 Do
you have your head in the sand over mad cow disease and avian flu?
There is an alternative to beef and chicken: ostrich. Ostrich ranchers
in Japan and restaurateurs already serving the meat are pushing
ostrich as safe and healthy and unaffected by livestock disease.
A small number of off-beat bistros already serve
the meat. In northern Yamagata prefe-cture ostrich meat comes in
school lunches. The meat from the thigh and back is red and low
in fat and carbohydrate and ideal for people on a diet. It is also
very tasty but so far has been confined to the status of delicacy.
The champions of ostrich meat are still thwarted
by prices. Wholesale, ostrich goes for about 4,000 yen per kilogram,
compared with 98 yen per kilogram for chicken thigh and 187 yen
per kilogram for boneless beef cuts. Increased demand will bring
prices down.
There are plenty of suppliers on hand. Japan is
a country that imports 60 percent of its food, but last year alone,
dozens of Japanese ostrich farmers raised and sold 10,000 of the
birds.
Nara peace March
Saturday March 20 is a day of global action to
protest US and coalition actions in Iraq. Peace activists in Nara
will be joining in. The inter-national action, under the banner
"Bring the troops home now! End Colonial Occupation from Iraq
to Palestine, Everywhere" is organised by US-based ANSWER (internationalanswer.org).
There will be events in most major US cities and other locations
around the world.
The Nara event begins at 10am at Nara Kencho (Nara
prefectural municipal office) on Nobori-oji boulevard and after
speeches and performances, marchers will make their way
to Nara park. In the afternoon there will be cultural events and
a flea market for fund raising.
The Nara event is titled "No to the Occupation
of Iraq and Deployment of Self Defence Force Troops".
Organisers are expecting a turnout of around 3000. As a prelude
to this event activists convened in Nara on Feb.15th and marched
from Nara Kintetsu to JR Nara stations. Around 70 people attended.
International News
IT'S FOR FREE, IF IT FITS YOU!
Shoe manufacturers in Marikina (east of Manila)
banded together to construct a giant shoe — said to be the
world's largest — measuring 5.5 metres, in length to promote
the local shoe industry. The giant shoes took two months to finish.
MP3 Player wrist watch
 This
month, Austrian Watch Company Laks will release a Wrist Watch with
MP3 Player. The Laks Memory Music comes in 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB
versions. It supports MP3, WMA and ADPCM music formats.Music is
uploaded through a USB 1.1 interface. The Watch has a built-in microphone
for voice-recording, and dial has little led indicators that indicate
Equalizer settings and other MP3 functions. Priced at US$110 (for
the 32MB0 version and US$350 for 256MB.
Bullet-Man
Bulgarian Kolyo, Botev shot himself in an accident 60 years ago,
and since then has lived with the bullet in his head. The now 77-year-old
man hopes to find a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the
man who has lived the longest period with a bullet in the head.
The current record is held by a Japanese man whose bullet dates
from 1943, one year after Botev got his.
If you know of any newsworthy events in the Kansai
or Japan, if you are about to dive naked into a vat of hungry piranhas
for a bet, be sure to let us know. mailbox@kansaiscene.com
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