October 15, 2004
BOUGHT OR COERCED?:
Eyebrows, hackles raised as Koizumi backs Bush (Japan Times, 10/16/04)
The top government spokesman on Friday rushed to play down a suggestion by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that he was backing U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of the Nov. 2 election.The eyebrow-raising remark was made Thursday evening, when reporters asked the prime minister about media polls showing Democratic candidate John Kerry coming out on top after the last televised debate.
"I don't want to interfere in an election in a foreign country, but I'd like President Bush to hang in there because he's a close friend," said Koizumi, who is known as a staunch Bush ally.
So John Kerry has the support of all those steadfast allies like France, Germany, North Korea, Malaysia, etc., and all George Bush can muster is John Howard, Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin, Ayad Alawi, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Junichiro Koizumi, Hamid Karzai.... Posted by Orrin Judd at October 15, 2004 9:25 PM
Now would be a great time for Kerry to reveal what world leaders he was speaking of months back.
Whatever happened to the rumor that Tony Blair secretly favored Kerry over Bush?
Posted by: H. Ratliff at October 15, 2004 9:54 PMKoizumi is in the line of fire - why would he say anything else?
Kerry receives the support of the supine and the rapine - not a good sign.
Posted by: jim hamlen at October 15, 2004 10:29 PMIf the Japanese had a Presidential election, Koizumi would win in a walk. If Kerry's butt-buddies, Chirac and Schroeder, were up for election today, neither would win a majority in their households, let alone their nations.
Posted by: Bart at October 16, 2004 6:54 AMWhat is a hackle, exactly? I've never understood that term. I know what an eyebrow is. Is it unusual for both eyebrows and hackles to be raised at the same time? Usually it is just one or the other. We obviously have more than one hackle, otherwise they would say "hackle and eyebrows raised". And obviously hackles must be something on the outside of the body, like eyebrows, otherwise the reporter would not be able to tell that they were raised unless someone told him "This is really raising my hackles! I can feel them going up!"
Posted by: Robert Duquette at October 16, 2004 9:13 AMA hackle is the hair on the back of your neck. At least that's the way I've always defined it.
Posted by: Governor Breck at October 16, 2004 9:30 AMA dwarf cabbie
Posted by: oj at October 16, 2004 9:36 AMThe Guv is correct:
Main Entry: hack·le
Pronunciation: 'ha-k&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English hakell; akin to Old High German hAko hook -- more at HOOK
1 a : one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird b : the neck plumage of the domestic fowl
2 : a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute
3 plural a : erectile hairs along the neck and back especially of a dog b : TEMPER, DANDER
4 a : an artificial fishing fly made chiefly of the filaments of a cock's neck feathers b : filaments of cock feather projecting from the head of an artificial fly
Dogs automatically 'raise their hackles' when in a potential conflict situation to appear larger and therefore more intimidating to their potential advisary. Same way cats arch their backs and fluff out their fur.
Posted by: bbb at October 17, 2004 1:25 AM