Ignatius comments

Posted in: Virginia becomes hotbed of diplomacy over Sea of Japan name See in context

Boy, the Koreans are really a bunch of insufferable whiners! If you removed the Japanese archipelago, then the body of water would simply be part of the Pacific Ocean, so the name "Sea of Japan" is more than fitting.

ALSO, Japan has more miles/kilometers of coastline bounding the ocean than Korea does, so again, the name fits.

I for one am SICK AND TIRED of Koreans complaining about how we view things Japanese in our schools, and putting up monuments to "Comfort Women" prostitutes. I was also raised that it is extremely impolite to drag other people into petty disagreements, and that it was also "girly" to do so.

The new Governor of Virginia should tell the Koreans that he and his state legislators ALONE will decide what it right for Virginia's students.

And for Peter Kim - Are you an American citizen now? If so, give America your FULL allegiance or pack you and your family up and go back to Korea. Don't bring your baggage with you and inject it into our political landscape because we neither want or need it.

His statement:

We are not politicians; we are citizens, we are moms and dads,Kim said. When I hear about the Japanese government trying to keep the name Sea of Japan only, it brings old memories back and we say: hey, maybe they are trying to extend their history of military expansionism.

And? What does Japanese Militarism have to do with Virginia schoolchildren?

His statement is disingenuous because he is DEFINITELY trying to play politician/lobbyist here to serve his own group's special interest. Last time I checked, you were pretty safe from Japanese militarism from your nice little neighborhood in the N. Virginia suburbs. The "old memories" you whine about should be left in Korea. Nobody invited you here, especially along with your baggage and anti-Japan (an American ally) hatred.

Japanese-Americans seem to integrate well because they have couth and manners. I can't say the same for the other group in this dispute.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Posted in: Abe tells world to stand up to China or face consequences See in context

Just because I use the word, aussie as part of my username, does that make me Australian?

If someone used Yank or Kiwi in their username, what do you think others would assume them to be?

I could assume your username suggested a past in the Catholic church.

You'd be wrong. I just have a love of reading. Your username suggests nationality, mine is simply a name.

For its part, Australia did not do the following: Forcibly recruit about 200,000 women to be sex slaves for its army. Keep prisoners of war in inhumane conditions, and work them to death or kill them.

If you take the arbitrary number posted in your statement as a baseline, (which is just an estimate, by the way) then I think that Australia has met or exceeded this cruelty/injustice during the "Black War'.

America and its allies were most certainly guilty of sexual crimes during Vietnam. The Hill 192 incident is but one of many that happened, and was so well documents that it was made into a movie starring Michael J Fox and Sean Penn. There were most certainly brothels around, but there wasn't much of a need if US/Aussie/Etc soldiers could just waltz into a primitive village, burn it down, kill the men, and KIDNAP and rape the women.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incident_on_Hill_192

America did fail to achieve it's objective in Vietnam and was forced to withdrawal, but never to make an unconditional surrender, so it (and its allies) was never called into account for the crimes committed there.

Many Germans were interred at the end of the war by Eisenhower in subhuman conditions, yet the US was never taken to task.

Most countries have done horrific things to others at some point in their history. So why is it that only German and Japanese people have to continually show contrition for the past?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe tells world to stand up to China or face consequences See in context

Thats the price you pay for waging a war of aggression on your neighbours. A shame Japan hasnt the good sense to follow Germany`s example

So in your esteemed opinion, how should Australian be called into account for helping the Americans to wage a war of aggression against the Vietnamese? Any political leaders from your country planning to visit the graves of villagers that were murdered, maimed, and raped? Has Australia set up a victims relief fund?

Seems like the only time you have to say you're sorry is when you're on the losing side.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Abe tells world to stand up to China or face consequences See in context

@Peacetrain

Do you mean like Germany did? That would be terrible wouldn't it. Just look at all their diplomatic problems.

Germany is blackmailed by every other country in the EU to bail them out, and when they don't the Nazi comparisons are pulled out of the closet and bantied about. It's a great way to wring concessions out of them. Can you tell me how many nuclear submarines Germany has provided Israel with free of charge?

Japan understands the blackmail motives very well, and has no intention of following suit by prostrating itself before its Asian neighbors ala Willy Brandt.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Singing or sinking? Justin Bieber hits new low See in context

I'm really sick of seeing him and other ill-behaved celebrities in the media on a daily basis. Funnily enough, if you shaved his hair down a bit in his mug shot, he could be twins with Miley Cyrus...separated at birth?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: U.S. Pacific forces chief concerned over Japan-China tension See in context

So how can the Americans bring the situation back to the preferred status? Dealing with China is a matter of bargains and deals. That takes time. Korea is American ally, but mostly in the context of North Korea. The Korean economy and technology have developed so fast in recent decades that the Koreans increasingly feel confident about themselves. So American pressure no longer work well.

Korea has produced no "groundbreaking" technology to speak of, and has enjoyed success by copying either Japanese or US technology and then undercutting them in the production costs. Make no mistake that South Korea has only enjoyed this success due to unfettered access to US and NATO member country markets as payback to hosting US troops, and to provide stabilization on the peninsula. It is also useful to keep S. Korea engaged as it provides yet another check against Chinese expansion, and to keep their hatred of Japan contained. Since S. Korea has been cozying up to China again recently, they have aroused a lot of suspicion from the US and there are serious doubts about where their loyalties lie...with either the US or with China.

Also make no mistake that South Korea holds no significant portion of US debt, and the open access to US markets can be reversed in a heartbeat if the US feels that it's no longer in its interests if SK gets too close again with China.

The Korean economy and technology have little to do with their success. Access to US and Western European markets do. Korea isn't in a stellar position financially, on both government or consumer levels. What little success they have they can thank the US for opening markets to them, and the Japanese for providing technology and money to jump-start their economy. They have very little to crow about.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Man arrested for killing bedridden father See in context

They (bill collectors) couldn't take his dwelling or necessities could they?

Unless you reside in a "homestead" state, then they can absolutely gain a judgment against you for unpaid medical bills, and put a lien against your home.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Man arrested for killing bedridden father See in context

If you can't handle it anymore, just bring them to a hospital and leave them.

I hope you don't think it's a simple as that. A hospital simply doesn't "take them" and they would be shuffled back home or put into a private nursing home and the son sent a back-breaking bill for his care.

Caring for an elderly person can bring on major depression, especially if no one else in the family is willing to step up and help or, or if there is no money for even a part-time home helper.Trying to maintain a job, family, and caring for an elderly or infirm person will absolute you drive you insane and push you to your limits. I can only imagine if the elderly person is a live-in with the son, that the poor son got no reprieve from the care. He was on 24/7, and probably reached his breaking point. Forget any vestiges of a personal life, as care of the elderly person takes all that away.

I don't advocate his strangling his father to death, but I would advise you all not to be too judgmental until you've walked a mile in his shoes and cared for an elderly person (being their sole source of care) for a year or more. It probably wouldn't be such a black and white issue in your minds any more once you've provided that type of care.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: China memorial to Korean assassin sparks Japan feud See in context

The fact that the "memorial" was erected at the train station where the assassination took place, the Chinese are commemorating the act of murder itself (quantifiable, provable murder) rather than the idea of freedom.

Why Korea continues to hate Japan to this day, and still snuggles up to its old suzerain China might seem like a mystery to some but it's pretty simple at the core. China views Korea as a "little brother" because it essentially was a good little vassal and paid tribute to China accordingly. They seem very willing to cozy back up into that relationship and become subservient to China once again. Japan may have annexed Korea for some 35 years, Chinese intervention in the Korean War resulted in Korea being partitioned to THIS VERY DAY. How much have the Koreans lost in terms of development, GDP, and other quality of life issues due to the interference of the Chinese? North Korea is going on 65 years now, and unless math has changed since I learned it, 65 is greater than 35.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Posted in: China concerned at Japan's history textbook revisions See in context

@Markus L:

"Thus, Japan was allowed to preserve-- and resume under the Cold War sanction of the United States-- its presumption of superiority over other Asians. Also, Japan's racist wartime ideology, which had propelled atrocities against Asian soldiers and civilians alike, escaped scrutiny and condemnation"

So neither the Chinese nor the Koreans see themselves as superior?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: China concerned at Japan's history textbook revisions See in context

Perhaps Japanese textbooks should put the Nanking and Yangzhou massacres side by side in their textbook, so they can compare the alleged figures of 300,000 for Nanking and 800,000 for Yangzhou. The Yangzhou massacre was carried out by Qing troops against loyalists to the Southern Ming as punishment and to send a message that Qing wasn't to be resisted.

This is completely a Chinese on Chinese massacre, that you never hear the Chinese talking about or see them holding their heads in shame over.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: China concerned at Japan's history textbook revisions See in context

People seem to equate that because Mao was bad for his people and there was not enough condemnation, then Japan can also rewrite history. So did Japan invade Singapore and SEAsia? Did they kill hundreds of thousands of the innocent people or did these people just ran into their bayonets? Was Syonanto a figment of somebody's imagination? China must stand up to Japan's intentions if the other countries are too weak to confront Japan. In Singapore, our people are fed up with our very weak PM's weak response to the Yasukuni.

Did any other country invade Singapore or SE Asia? How did Singapore come to be, and why do the Malaysians hate Singapore? Has China or have Chinese set up ethnic Chinese enclaves around the world to outwit the local populace and effectively take control? Does Japan do the same?

I'm not saying that Japan should ignore its past deeds. Not at all. They address that they did bad things in the past and very rightfully educate their children that war and empire are not the ways that civilized nations should operate. There is no need to drill every sordid and horrifying detail of what happens during war or under imperialism. Understanding that it is wrong is enough, and China and SK constantly demanding that Japanese students be forced national humiliation just because their ancestors visited humiliation on other nations that also humiliated others themselves. To demand such is not only unfair and unbalanced, it is also hypocritical. Singapore also has a history of forced prostitution, secret societies (triads), and coolie labor exploitation, not so far in the distant past as well as ethnic tensions that exist even up to the present.

From the government level, I think there is very little genuine sympathy for the victims. This is all about national positioning and political grandstanding. Even a re-militarized Japan poses little, if any threat to its neighbors. Asia is not the Asia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries where weaker nations were ripe for the pickings. Japan could not martial that sort of military power, nor could it support its own economy or weather criticism domestically or internationally if it were to attack one of its neighbors. So this "scenario" that the Chinese are trying to paint a picture of "recurring" simply isn't going to happen.

With that being said, Japan has every right and would be well advised to strengthen its military as much as possible to make itself an undesirable and hugely expensive conquest prospect to China.

Mao was responsible for a massive number of civilian deaths, as was Tojo. Why is it right to honor one but not the other? Either each nation is free to domestically honor their fallen soldiers and leaders, regardless of the political ideology behind them, or they are not. Many of the soldiers that fought for Imperial Japan didn't have much say in the matter, and they deserve to be remembered just as much as any country's soldiers do.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Posted in: China concerned at Japan's history textbook revisions See in context

I hope the revised textbook devotes a chapter to what the Chinese did at Tsushima, Iki and Hakata in 1274 and 1281.

Again, that was an invasion led by a Mongol dynasty, (with Chinese and Korean conscripts) No Mongol leadership = no invasion.

So when it suits the Chinese, they are part of a Chinese dynasty, and when it doesn't they aren't? The modern Japanese also (rightly) say that the crimes of WWII were committed on the part of a military dictatorship that no longer exists. Why do you allow this logic for China, but not for Japan?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: India expels U.S. diplomat as feud deepens See in context

While I support the cause of worker rights wholeheartedly, this was a supremely stupid move by the US government which did little if anything to advance the plight of domestic worker abuse. Given the recent provocations by China, the US needs to be on good terms with India and this petty little tit-for-tat is counterproductive. From the stories I've heard from a friend who worked in an Indian embassy, the caste system is alive and well, even if not under the same name. Upper-class Indians have no qualms about mistreating those that they feel below them with a haughtiness that would make even an old-money blue blood blush.

That being said, since the US has some 30 million "undocumented" foreign workers floating about the country and being paid under the table (presumably for less that the minimum wage) comprising a huge underclass, we come off as hypocrites for choosing to make an example out of this Indian diplomat. She should have never been arrested as it breaks the commonly accepted protocol for diplomatic immunity. While I think that the Indian government has taken things a few steps too far and resorted to childish retaliations (as they feel snubbed by American high-handedness) that are a bit extreme and numerous, a diplomat shouldn't have had to endure the humiliation of a strip-search for legally (albeit under false pretenses) trying to bring a domestic worker into the country. Are we going to arrest and strip-search ALL of the business owners in the US that now or have ever hired illegals?

A better solution that would have allowed the Indian diplomat to save face and also allow the US to show at least the pretense of upholding the law and standing its ground, would be to have taken the worker into custody and removed her from the employ of the diplomat. In that event, she should be treated as decently and humanely as possible, while being put up at the diplomat's expense in a reasonable accommodation until she received ALL of her promised pay (at the documented rate on the immigration documents), and at that point quietly repatriated to India. During this time, the privilege of hiring domestic workers would not be afforded to said diplomat.

Rather than go about things quietly and cleverly, the US chose to make a stand that wasn't worth it from a diplomatic or geopolitical standpoint. Rather than creating a diplomatic standoff, we could have quietly shown that the abuse would no longer be tolerated, without putting anyone personally on the spot or causing them to lose face. Hopefully, the incident will die down with a bit of time.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Posted in: Chinese cook rescued after hot-air balloon crashes near disputed isles See in context

Curious to know if the Japanese confiscated the balloon. It would be interesting to know if any of the equipment or gps could be military or government supplied? I have my doubts that he could have made this journey unsupported.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Camera makers face shakeout as smartphones shatter mirrorless hopes See in context

A Canon digital SLR camera would definitely win out over an iphone. The iphone takes great and convenient pictures, but it can only do so much. Amazing editing features on-board though.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: 9-year-old boy set on fire by his estranged father a week ago dies See in context

This has nothing to do with custody laws.

I'm not trying to justify it in any way, but to say custody has nothing to do with it is a little naive, don't you think?

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Posted in: 9-year-old boy set on fire by his estranged father a week ago dies See in context

Rest in peace, little guy. Custody laws in Japan suck for the father, but the notion of children as property to go along with you in death is just absurd.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Japan to supply ammo to South Korean troops in South Sudan See in context

I have my doubts that this trifling amount of ammunition is actually about providing security via Korean peacekeepers in the region. More likely it is to set a military precedent for Japan to be able to deal more confidently with manufacture of weapons and munitions, and to establish military cooperation (even if low-level and circuitous at this point) between it and it's neighbor S. Korea.

If Japan can solve it's diplomatic problem with S. Korea, it can create a formidable bloc in the east to counter China's ambitions (or at least make them think twice before acting) and the work it's doing with the other ASEAN nations can create a thorn in the underbelly of China to it's south. China would be well advised to take notice of this small exchange.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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