American School In Japan And Cluster Bombs

[Mulboyne]

When I saw the news about the recent talks which resolved to ban cluster bombs, I remembered the controversy at the American School in Japan when it was offered a donation from old boy Jin Roy Ryu who runs Poongsang Corporation which is a manufacturer of such munitions. There was a campaign against his donation (here and here) but, if the Wiki entry is to be believed, it seems the school took the donation which has meant that "A number of alumni have since refused to donate to the school." It was a dilemma for the school because Ryu is a well-connected oldboy. He's a trustee of both the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the Little League Baseball Foundation and was also responsible for the translation and publication of the Korean edition of General Colin Powell's autobiography.

[Greji]

When I saw the news about the recent talks which resolved to ban cluster bombs, I remembered the controversy at the American School in Japan when it was offered a donation from old boy Jin Roy Ryu who runs Poongsang Corporation which is a manufacturer of such munitions. There was a campaign against his donation (here and here) but, if the Wiki entry is to be believed, it seems the school took the donation which has meant that "A number of alumni have since refused to donate to the school." It was a dilemma for the school because Ryu is a well-connected oldboy. He's a trustee of both the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the Little League Baseball Foundation and was also responsible for the translation and publication of the Korean edition of General Colin Powell's autobiography.

This seems to be headed by an Alumni named Michael Yong. His postings are viewable in Muly's second cite. I believe if I was in charge of running any type of center of education and received correspondence with that language and attitude that Yong displayed, it would hit the circular file next to my desk about the time I finished the second, or third sentence.

Granted cluster munitions can be nasty things, but on the other hand what right do the opposition groups have to attack a school because of a former Alumni. Are we now advocating that we should attack all educational systems that have almini, connections, or do anything with people that we don't like. Sounds a bit like intimidation to me, or are they hurting and grasping straws in their anti-cluster movement.

[Mulboyne]

Don't know what happened at the school but here's some recent news:

Mainichi: Banks cut investments in firms manufacturing cluster munitions

Twenty-seven banks in 11 countries have scaled back investments in companies manufacturing cluster munitions, says Belgian non-governmental organization Network Vlaanderen. Fourteen of those in countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway have cut investment completely. All 11 countries are signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty banning the use of cluster weapons. While the treaty does not expressly forbid investment in manufacturers of the devices, it does prohibit "cooperation" with manufacturers prior to coming into effect. However, a survey has found that over the past two years, 138 financial institutions -- including 70 in the U.S., 16 in South Korea and five in Japan -- have invested in eight U.S. and South Korean cluster arm manufacturers. Those in Japan include the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and the Mizuho Financial Group. All three have refused to comment.