And what about...

[Caustic Saint]

...the fact that at one point 40% of Americans believed Sadaam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks?

TRUST THE MEDIA. THE MEDIA IS YOUR FRIEND. IT IS KIND AND GOOD AND ALWAYS TELLS THE TRUTH.

Or maybe "plain folks" are just too clueless?

(must. leave. america. soon. free. thought. slipping. away.)

[Andocrates]

I dont think anyone but the media really cares. Do you? Iraq, Iran and Palistine need to be dealth with.

[GomiGirl]

Err there are a heap of people that care.. so should you!!

[Andocrates]

I do care, I just care about different things. Hitler could have been stopped, but no one wanted to intervene in another countries affairs. 8 million dead people later . . .

The middle east is out of control, with massive leaps in technology these days it's just a matter of time until an irresponsible party gets there hands on something really really dangerous. Iraq is better off without Sadam, and Afghanistan today is a better place to live then it was 2 years ago.

To everything there is a time and a season, a time for peace and a time for war.

[hanabi]

It's all in Dubya's rhetoric. He has stopped using the term "weapons of mass destruction" completely in favor of "weapons." So, while they've reporting finding "weapons" that are nowhere near powerful enough to qualify as WMD, the public is not being reminded that there's a huge difference.

Andocrates, it's not that no one wanted to intervene. There's a system in place for working through this. The problem with the U.S. is that they ignored it completely, jumping into action on the basis of false evidence.

[katakori]

I do care, I just care about different things. Hitler could have been stopped, but no one wanted to intervene in another countries affairs. 8 million dead people later . . .

you just pinpointed the problem. hitler was democratically elected. by people who didn't have a clue and did believe that the jews, the freemasons, and the communists (and so on) were the cause of the economic crisis in germany at the time. the fact that so many people do believe iraq did use weapons of mass destruction and was directly involved in september 11th events is not about if there should have been a war in iraq or not. it's about the legitimity of the US to have ignored the UN, and european governments. this war might be a good war, if there is such a thing (many people may be arguing about this for a long time). but this is not the point. the point is democracy given to a people of dis-informed citizens. this has created war and genocide throughout history. and this is dangerous. probably more than any tyran in the middle east...

[Andocrates]

Well Katakori I agree with your logic 100%. I was against the war with Iraq and didn't vote last term because I counld't vote the repulican ticket (I am kinda' a repulican) I do not agree with Bush I was simply pointing out that after 9/11 the stakes were raised to a point something had to be done.

Up until Bush, America was a paper dragon, now (in the words of China) we are a real dragon. Terrorists were sniping at us at will and without danger of retribution. I say that 9/11 was so sinister and so effective that it started this war. Did Iraq do 9/11? No, but no doubt some money, training or moral support came from Iraq.

[kotatsuneko]

i wonder if there was public outcry when the poor bloody phonecians got "ethnically cleansed" or maybe back then genocide wasnt seen as such a bad old thing? like when the french tried it , and almost succeeded with that religious group with the funny name , began with h i think but forget...

shame the ppl here dont overthrow the govt.. maybe take away the oyaji tachi's whisky and cheap beer and see what happens.. koizumi or rather whoever is in charge of him is a right bloody wanker and has done more harm since i've been here than good, its unreal... is there freedom in the press here? whatever happens it seems its always been a monetarily elected govt, i like it here, but it seems its more corrupt than even back home, not just the govt but the country as a whole, it reeks..

but hey sapporo is a nice place, shame about the fookin sokka gakkai elected governer, shame that dude who went to fuji tv didnt take him out.. they even have their own party dont they? komeito or something...

even better if fat bastad flew a few of his missiles into the diet..

[cstaylor]

even better if fat bastard flew a few of his missiles into the diet..

No it wouldn't. Even with its warts, life under the Jimento is infinitely better than life as a "loyal" subject to Dear Leader.

[cstaylor]

you just pinpointed the problem. hitler was democratically elected. by people who didn't have a clue and did believe that the jews, the freemasons, and the communists (and so on)

Weimar was teetering at that point in German history anyways... if it wasn't the Nazi's, it would have been the Communists (and we all know how Stalin treated his satellites) seizing control of the government. From what I've read about the German view of the world at that time, the Nazi path looks like a no-brainer (fealty to a group espousing the ideals of German superiority, or turning control of your destiny to a group of foreign Slavs running the Comintern). It would have been nice if the businessmen posing as British Prime Ministers (Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain) had spent some time reading about Adolf Hitler before trying to negotiate peace with him... there's some great material about the run-up to the British entry into the second world war in William Manchester's "The Last Lion" 2-part series about Winston Churchill... for example, if the British and French had stood their ground early, instead of meekly allowing the breakup of the Czechoslovak Republic at Munich, things may have turned out differently.

[Neo-Rio]

even better if fat bastard flew a few of his missiles into the diet..

No it wouldn't. Even with its warts, life under the Jimento is infinitely better than life as a "loyal" subject to Dear Leader.

And what the hell is it with North Korean news broadcasts anyway? All the newsreaders sound like they have something wedged up their assholes that's causing them to speak like they're very pissed off about it.

ho yoa gul tou! yo to ho yo.... ni sumnida!

[hanabi]

Up until Bush, America was a paper dragon, now (in the words of China) we are a real dragon. Terrorists were sniping at us at will and without danger of retribution. I say that 9/11 was so sinister and so effective that it started this war. Did Iraq do 9/11? No, but no doubt some money, training or moral support came from Iraq.

I don't think a country should be attacked for lending moral support. What are we? Five years old? There was no proof that Saddam was behind 9/11; that's why Bush had to use WMDs as his excuse. And the majority of Americans rallied behind him because they were taught to think with anything but their heads. Emotions took over, enemies were blurred and all people wanted to see was blood. International laws be damned.

"When you ignore the laws, you sow the seeds of terrorism."--one of the people sentenced after the Waco attack, a few years before Timothy McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City. (Waco was cited as one of the reasons for his actions.)

So what do you think of the claims that the U.S.'s attack on Iraq will just make the problem worse by creating more terrorists? Especially now that the whole world hates us more than they did before?

I am *so* moving my ass over to Svalbard.

[cstaylor]

I am *so* moving my ass over to Svalbard.

I thought you were in Japan?

[hanabi]

I am. But it's America's bitch, isn't it?

[cstaylor]

I am. But it's America's bitch, isn't it?

Hardly. The Japanese are siding with the biggest player (and trading partner). If North Korea falls apart and reunites with the South, I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing the Marines leaving Okinawa at the government's request, with their bases turned over to a reinvigorated Japanese Armed Forces (the groundwork is already laid to remove the "defense" from the name).

[hanabi]

What makes you think the U.S. isn't going to create a new hobgoblin to keep Japan on the leash?

[Pizzicatoblue]

I am. But it's America's bitch, isn't it?

I thought it was israel.

[Big Booger]

I am sure the chinese would like to mix their greedy little paws all over the Japanese for retribution for the Nanking, Manchuria etc.. events that happened in the past.. so the good ol' nationalists, might want to think twice about removing that military base...
what they should be aiming for is more of a ban of military in the civilian areas.. as it seems quite a few incidents occur with soldiers wanting to rape civilians..

A curfew for military personel might prevent some of that from happening.

[groovewonder]

A curfew for military personel might prevent some of that from happening.

Actually, a curfew is what happens everytime somebody is raped over here. It never solves anything. What is needed is harsher punishment. Not just for the military but for ANYBODY who rapes another human being. Like castration. Slowly. With a salty knife.

Anyway, punishing the WHOLE military community will solve nothing. I think the only way this will ever stop is if those who commit these serious crimes face punishment that would scare them shitless.

We've got a great aquarium on Okinawa with a nice shark tank. We ought to start organizing "dip the criminal" parties. I'm sure the Japanese would pay Y5000 to watch rapists and murderers scream for mercy at the hands (or fins) of a great white shark.

[Iambobo]

Harsh punishments were used by the romans as a way to stop crime. It didn't work then, and it will not work now. Most serious crimes are not pre-meditated, thus they happen without being planned or expected by either attacker or victim.

Harsh punishmets would not stop things like rape in it's tracks...it will only ecourage the attacker to go deeper underground, making him/her harder to find. There is no solution for stopping crime....but it does suck that everyone is punished as a result of one persons actions. I suppose the idea behind it is to ecourage anyone with information about the crime to come forward.

[groovewonder]

Yeah, you're right, rape doesn't deserve a harsh punishment...... not! Though it may not stop all rape instances from happening, I'd bet it'd certainly help. Shit, I still remember that kid who got beat in Singapore for vandalism. Don't think I'll be spray-painting any cars next time I visit that place! I doubt I'd ever smoke pot in Saudi (or Japan for that matter). Harsh punishment is effective, but it is not a 100% solution. Anyway, rapists skate in most instances. What's the maximum jail sentance anyone has ever gotton for raping another person?

[groovewonder]

Harsh punishmets would not stop things like rape in it's tracks...it will only ecourage the attacker to go deeper underground, making him/her harder to find.

This is a very valid point though...

[Iambobo]

Dam...I forgot to log in. Oh well. That guest avatar is kind of cool.

[groovewonder]

I myself think that a long prison term is much more fitting a punishment to rapists then the above...but then again, that's a matter of perspective.

A long term prison term is close enough to "drastic" for me. But most of these guys get off with a few years, MAX.

[GuyJean]

A long term prison term is close enough to "drastic" for me. But most of these guys get off with a few years, MAX.

(what happened to the story to back up your point? I found it profound.. Anyway, it's cool.)

[Iambobo]

Anyway...back to the point of the thread....this reminds me of the servey taken in the states during the war in Afganistan. the question was, "could you point out Afganistan on a world map."

I can't remember the exact results, but only around 40% managed to pin point the exact location of Afganistan. 40% thought Afganistan was Iraq and the remaining 20% thought Afganistan was closer to North Korea, Vietnam or China. I found this to be as funny as hell...but it does worry me at times that the bulk of the population of the worlds main super power is so under-educated when it comes to world politics and geography.

[wreddock]

I found this to be as funny as hell...but it does worry me at times that the bulk of the population of the worlds main super power is so under-educated when it comes to world politics and geography.

and spelling...

servey = survey
Afganistan = Afghanistan

[Andocrates]

Grammer police.

[Iambobo]

and spelling...

servey = survey
Afganistan = Afghanistan

Ah, Toshiya. More talk less sleep make Iambobo silly mistake boy. :P