This just in from the mayor’s office.
The mayor will be holding a very special photo op tomorrow morning RIGHT NOW! Here’s the details:
WHAT:
A flag raising ceremony to honor the Emperor of Japan’s birthday and to celebrate Portland’s relationship with Japan.WHEN
Dec. 23, 2009
9:00 a.m.WHERE
Outside Portland City Hall’s main entrance entrance (1221 SW Fourth Avenue)
It’s the Emperor of Japan’s birthday! The mayor of a liberal American city must celebrate his divine rule! Mercury Art Director Scrappers rounded up this birthday card for his highness:
- America loves you Emperor of Japan!
okay, so here’s the “WHY” from the mayor’s office on why we celebrate the Emperor’s birthday:
WHY
In existence for more than 100 years, the Consulate General of Japan is the oldest Japanese Consulate on the West Coast and a tremendous resource and cultural asset for Portland. For the first time, Portland will be raising the Japanese flag next to the American flag, an honor accorded only to countries with full diplomatic missions in Portland. We are carefully following international protocol on flags and are happy to join other cities, like San Francisco, in acknowledging that the Japanese National Day marks the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
I’m confused. Is Sarah Mirk a journalist or a blogger? Because you can’t be both. A real journalist maintains objectivity at all times while a blogger has none whatsoever. Ms. Mirk loses all credibility by spouting her juvenile opinion every chance she gets. She probably has a bright future at Fox “News.”
@caroll – The Mercury has said before that their editorial stance is against any illusion of objectivity. She may be a journalist, but she’s also a citizen of Portland just like we are, and the things she writes about really do effect her. Any allusion to objectivity could therefore only be a misleading, dishonest facade.
@Smirk – don’t we have a “sister city” in Japan? I think the park in front of City Hall has some kind of monument to our “sisters.” All I know for sure is they never write or call…
Sarah Mirk is a journalist who happens to post on a blog now and again. Did you notice the giant banner at the top of the screen that says BLOGTOWN? pretty good indicator that you will now be reading a blog. Lighten up.
isn’t Tokyo our last remaining international non-stop flight?
That might have something to do with this gesture, although I’m sure United would prefer a city subsidy larger than the one they already receive.
Sarah Mirk is also a journalist who’s getting her dates wrong – this appears to be happening RIGHT NOW, not tomorrow morning.
Our sister city in Japan is Sapporo, home of a rather tasty Japanese beer. Not sure about strip joints there, though. Raise a big bottle of Sapporo for the Emperor.
Yipes! Thanks SGP! Fixed.
@Demondog: I’ve been to Sapporo. I don’t remember seeing any strip clubs, but they could have been there. I couldn’t read the signs. I did receive some Tissue Packs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissue-pack_m…) that had pictures of cute girls on them, but who knows what they were really selling.
They were selling semen-cleaners. To bring this back to strip clubs.
@Demondog: Sapporo has a notorious red-light district, Susukino, home to over 250 brothels, soap parlors, etc. They also have a Benson bubbler.
@smirk: The Emperor of Japan is no longer divine, by American declaration in 1947. He is still the head of the Shinto religion, but no longer purports to be a god.
@bongoboy: I didn’t realize I was staying in the red-light district in Sapporo. I was just happy to eat takoyaki and play arcade games at 3am. But I was also there with a married couple and my at-the-time girlfriend. Not really much of a chance to pay for some strange.