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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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 Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject: Let�s Get Even With Japan |
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A classy piece from the KT:
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It should be treated as nothing less than a declaration of war against the rest of the world. The choice of weapon in this war started by Japan is not guns, missiles or atomic bombs, but a collective sense of determination emulating that of Jewish hunters pursuing those responsible for the Holocaust.
Let's start with a fact check.
Flaunting repeated calls for moderation, Japan on Monday said that it would include its official claim of Dokdo, Korea's easternmost islets, in new teaching manuals for primary and secondary school students.
Why so big a fuss?
Well, by putting this latest Japanese provocation into historical context the answer becomes apparent.
In the run-up to and during the Second World War, the imperial Japanese army invaded and conquered much of Asia as part of an effort to create a Japanese utopia in which they were the chosen people, and everyone else was subservient to them, a hierarchical society ruled by their emperor.
There were many rapes of Nanking not only in China but also Korea, as well as the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and a systematic exploitation of the region.
Many young Asian men were drafted into the imperial army and decimated on battlefields as part of a war that was not theirs. Young girls were kidnapped and forced to work as sex slaves in military brothels. Recently, some of those young girls, now grandmothers, have emerged from years of living in shame to confront Japan about its past misdeeds.
However, the Japanese government has ignored demands that it take responsibility, saying that the issue was settled through a payment made to the Korean government in the 1960s.
For westerners, it is worth recalling that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and gave Americans what FDR aptly called the ``day of infamy.'' In the ensuing Pacific War, more GI's were killed than that of the Iraq campaign and 9/11 terror attack combined.
However hard it may be to say or even think, I agree with historians who claim that the two atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nakasaki probably saved many lives by bringing the conflict to a quick end, albeit in such a tragic way.
Even with this still fresh in the minds of many Japanese, a look at modern Japan is disappointing. There is no sense of shame in the collective mind of the Japanese, something evident in the German psyche. Is it because Germans lost two wars, while Japan only lost one? Or maybe because Japan was nursed back to health under American intensive care rather than slapped with the Treaty of Versaille. Or does Japan's pacifist constitution make many believe that the feral beast in Japan has been domesticated forever?
History is important because it serves as a reminder of past mistakes and helps prevent similar ones being made. In this sense, the latest Japanese claim to Dokdo may be looked at in years to come as the seed that led to new generations of Japanese having an inaccurate sense of history, perhaps encouraging them to repeat the actions of their forefathers without worrying about the ramifications. Therefore, this might not be an isolated issue that only affects Korea but one that could tie up the rest of the world into an even bigger knot.
With Japan the aggressor in this war of history, a two-pronged campaign to defeat it is needed.
First, at the first point of contact, Korea should take a stand. Its first mission is to get itself ready for a long war of attrition, meaning that it should refrain from reacting to every action and comment made by Tokyo. Secondly, politicians must not assume that Japan will change and behave.
For the rest of the world, it should be kept in mind that Korea is the first line of defense and offense, and that if it crumbles, it would soon be the turn of other countries.
For starters, let's try to derail Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. |
A bit over the top.
Mad cow is over, now back to Mad Dokdo, and then probably Mad Shafted at the Olympics. |
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Jandar
Joined: 11 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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U.S. Library of Congress to File Dokdo Under 'Sea of Japan'
The U.S. Library of Congress is making changes to the subject heading for Korea�s Dokdo Islands amid renewed attempts by Japan to establish the territory as disputed in the eyes of the international community. Now filed under "Tok Island (Korea)," the library is moving to change the entry to an old international moniker, "Liancourt Rocks," and is also trying to add �Islands of the Sea of Japan� -- the body of water Korea calls the East Sea -- for the higher classification of the islets.
The name Liancourt Rocks originated from Le Liancourt, the French whaling ship whose crew were the first Europeans to encounter and chart the islets in 1849.
The ostensible reason is to incorporate the decisions of the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the Board on Geographic Names (BGN), two agencies that call Dokdo Liancourt Rocks. The change to the subject heading is to come in a meeting on Wednesday.
With the decision, major libraries and organizations in North America as well as around the world are expected to follow suit. And Japan is likely to take advantage of this in its efforts to stir up a dispute over Dokdo.
Read More Here |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Its first mission is to get itself ready for a long war of attrition, meaning that it should refrain from reacting to every action and comment made by Tokyo. |
That's not bad advice. It's too bad the author didn't take his own advice and not write this article. |
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Temporary
Joined: 13 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:18 pm Post subject: |
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If Japan gets aggressive again.. Maeguks can just nuke them again  |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:55 am Post subject: |
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They'd be foolish to side with Korea over Japan.
Japan is a lot better ally to America than Korea is.
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| If Japan gets aggressive again.. Maeguks can just nuke them again |
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Bryan
Joined: 29 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| Temporary wrote: |
| If Japan gets aggressive again.. Maeguks can just nuke them again |
Japan is a great ally and a free country. Personally I think they should have nukes and a military to counter communist China's hegemony in Asia. I would rather have a free country extending its influence of power than a slave-state that brutalizes its people. |
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