Can't help with photos, I'm affraid, but...

What were the Guishas about, actually? I never really understood why people were dressed up like that.

Well, I'm doing an interview with the people from this radical arts collective tomorrow, which will be published in a main feature article on Notts Indymedia.

 http://notts.indymedia.org.uk

The feature will be about why and how people think art is a way forward in changing the world (why dressing like Geisha's makes a difference). Check it out to find out more... the article will be published later on in the week.

Cheers,

Where are the

Manila + Nanking + Bataan + Manchuko
Never Again

signs?

Re "Remember Japanese War Crimes" comment - the "Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Never Again" signs were making a particular point about a particular war crime, that of the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction" (Atomic Bombs) against a civilian population. This, you would surely agree, was wrong. You could try and "balance" it with the war crimes committed by the Japanese Army in Nanking, Manilla, etc. - but what would be the point? Civilised people can't count the number of dead killed in war crimes committed BY a nation and "balance" it against the number of dead killed by war crimes committed AGAINST a nation and say (as the Yanks put it) "it's a wash" - it doesn't work that way.

The Japanese government has apologised for the atrocities committed by it's army in the second world war and has paid some reparations. You can say (and you'd be right) that the apology and reparation aren't enough - but the USA has never apologised or made reparation for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They view them as being morally right, a stance the Japanese government does not take over the war crimes commited by ITS armed forces. And THAT, as much as anything else, is why the signes read "Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Never Again"

all thes are unpublished but you can have them nottingham.

Half Japanese friend of mine found this use of the symbolism of Geishas at the G8 protests offensive, as it ignored the historical oppression intrinsic to Geishas, though of course the image has been changed by Hollywood etc for our consumption...