Five o'clock follies - a day of remorse and reflection edition

I will be taking a day off to ponder and reflect upon the evils of e-mail.

However, before I go on my retreat...

The Communist Party "elect a real opposition party" campaign grates on the nerves. However, Shii & Company do have a point. I am stunned at the number of "LDP" or "DPJ" candidates have been swingers, with multiple spells in and out of the LDP. Four of the seven parties and all the expelled rebels contesting this election are really only different strands of the old LDP coalition.　Despite the high level of coverage of this election in the non-Japanese press, I cannot recall seeing a non-Japanese publication pointing out the common mongrel origins of the nominally "ruling" and "opposition" parties.

Perhaps I am reading the wrong non-Japanese publications.