[Big Booger]

Certainly those islands belong to Korea considering the proximity... What kind of rationale is it to say you don't own islands because you haven't named them yet....

Horse shizit..

[Cubed]

Ahem ....

The Scene: "The Day Today" Newsroom with live satellite link to Australia and Hong Kong. The presenter is Chris Morris.

*snip*

MORRIS: I'm joined now by Martin Craste, the British minister with responsibility for the Commonwealth, and Gavin Hawtry, the Australian foreign secretary in Canberra. Gentlemen, this is pretty historic stuff, well done - a future of unbridled harmony then? Australia?

HAWTRY: Yeah, I think that Martin Craste and I can be pretty satisfied - it's a good day.

MORRIS [to Craste]: If, as in the past, Australia exceed their agreement, what will you do about it?

CRASTE: This is a pretty satisfactory treaty which I am sure will work well. Naturally, if the limits were exceeded this would be met with a firm line, but I can't see this being necessary.

MORRIS: Mr Hawtry - he's knocking a firm line in your direction. What are you going to do about that?

HAWTRY: Well, in that case we'd just reimpose sanctions as we did last year-

MORRIS: Sanctions! [To Craste] Hang on a second, they've only just swallowed their sanctions and now they're burping them back up in your face!

CRASTE: I think sanctions is rather premature talk. Certainly if sanctions were imposed we would have to retaliate with appropriate measures. But I can't-

MORRIS: I think 'appropriate measures' is a euphemism, Mr Hawtry - you know what it means, what are you going to do about that?

HAWTRY: Well, I'd just have to go back to Cabinet.

MORRIS: And ask them about what?

HAWTRY: I dunno, maybe it's a matter for the military-

MORRIS: The military!

CRASTE: I think a military reaction is inappropriate, and this is way, way over the top.

MORRIS [to Hawtry]: Sounds like you're being inappropriate! Are you?

HAWTRY: Course I'm not being inappropriate! Martin Craste knows that full well.

CRASTE: This is the sort of misunderstanding that I thought we'd laid to rest during our negotiating period!

MORRIS: Misunderstanding it certainly is, it's certainly not a treaty, is it? You're both at each others' throats, you're backing yourselves up with arms - what are you going to do about it? Mr Hawtry, let me give you a hint. Bang!

HAWTRY: What're you asking me to say?

MORRIS: You know damn well what I want you to say! You're putting yourself in a situation of armed conflict - what are you plunging yourself into?

HAWTRY: You want me to say it?

MORRIS: I want you to say it, yes!

HAWTRY: You want the word?

MORRIS: The word!

HAWTRY: I will not flinch...

MORRIS: I will not flinch *from*...?

HAWTRY: War.

MORRIS: War! [He's delighted] Gentlemen, I'll put you on hold - if fighting did break out, it would probably take place in Eastmantown in the Upper Cataracts on the Australio-Hong Kong border. Our reporter Donald Bethl'hem is there now - Donald, what's the atmosphere like?

*snip*

[Buraku]

some stuff from those crazy Korean kids have been floating around the net









drawings were done by students from Gyeyang middle school,
http://www.gyeyang.ms.kr/
announcement of the exhibit can be found on the site.

[djgizmoe]

Yeah, those Korean kids love Japan. I saw most of the same pics at:
http://uqmgp.hp.infoseek.co.jp/

[Buraku]

As 2005 draws to a close, Japan's relations with China and South Korea remain strained over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, textbooks that critics say whitewash Japanese history and a host of other historical and territorial issues.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051223f1.htm
Tensions with South Korea over which country should have sovereignty over a small group of rocks in the Sea of Japan, called Takeshima in Japan and Tok-do in Korean, flared up in March when Shimane Prefecture passed a resolution declaring every Feb. 22 "Takeshima Day." The islands are under South Korea's control.
For years, Japan's right wing, through magazines published by Fujisankei Communications Group, called Takeshima a "lost territory."
Freelance writers, academics and others penned essays in which they argued the historical record showed South Korea was illegally occupying the islands.
Such arguments were ignored by other mainstream media until the Shimane resolution raised the profile of the dispute.

[Buraku]

Dokdo, named Takeshima by Japanese, is a disputed small island located in the Sea of Japan called East Sea in South Korea.
Both countries claimed the island as their own territory.
http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=03/03/2006&qrTitle=S%E2%80%98%20Korean%20president%20challenges%20Japan&qrColumn=FOREIGN
"It is natural for South Korean people to be concerned whether Japan would justify its history of invasion and colonisation and take the path of hegemony once again," said Roh.

what does China say... ??
...Chinese stay silent....for now..


...China waits...

[AssKissinger]

If you post those fucking images again I'm gonna recommend your sorry ass for banning.

[Buraku]

[Hanakuso]

Is that the whole Dokdo in the image in that 3rd link... ? Is it full of gold or something... what am I missing here... why the fuss?

[homesweethome]

That's it! The 'Gibraltar' of Korea.

It Rocks

The South Korean statement called Japan's claim over the islets a ''clear manifestation'' of its ''whitewashing, distorting and glorifying'' of past history.

[Buraku]

Is that the whole Dokdo in the image in that 3rd link... ? Is it full of gold or something... what am I missing here... why the fuss?

Not full of gold but full of uyoku nationalism ( plus there could be a lot of oil under the rock )
Think of other claims to other rocks...were wars are suddenly fought

Yet British and Argentines never hated each other as much as Japan Vs Korea
but they killed each other during the Falklands war ( Malvinas is what Argentina calls it )

It's hard to forecast a winner here, I think the Koreans are much tougher than the Japanese and Koreans have more will power and ground strenght for their tiny size, but the Japanese military and J-ships might be far superior to the Korean ones.

[cstaylor]

I think the Koreans are much tougher than the Japanese and Koreans have more will power and ground strenght for their tiny size,

Unfortunately for the Koreans, tough talk != results. I still think PRIDE! should sponsor a televised fight to the death between Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean nationalists on the island. They could use it as an educational advertisement, like those "this is your brain on drugs" ads for American students in the 90's.

[homesweethome]

[Buraku]

South Korea Launches First Military Communications Satellite

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/South_Korea_Launches_First_Military_Communications_Satellite_999.html

[Greji]

South Korea Launches First Military Communications Satellite

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/South_Korea_Launches_First_Military_Communications_Satellite_999.html

I'm not sure what the Military Commo Sat has to do with the Takeshima/Dokto argument. But my take on this issue, is that Korea does not have a legal claim, otherwise they would have pressed it before this. Sure they can quote all the historical passages and provide great ranting media rage, but what do they have to go before the UN or world courts and say that legally "that turf belongs to us"! I don't think they have a leg to stand on, because knowing the Koreans, if they had it, they would have used it before now.

Further, I think Korea is afraid to press this issue with the US for fear that the US will further define their positions on territorial issues at the end of the occupation in the favor of Japan and that would undoubtably carry the weight to insure the territorial rights to Japan as that would link it to the post war treaties and for all its bluster, Korea does not want to get governmentally involved in that issue.
Just my two won/yen

[FG Lurker]

I had to make a short trip to Seoul recently, flew by Korean Air (fuck their luggage handling is horrible, and check-in in Seoul took an hour and a half!)

Anyway, on the way back they had the usual map up on the screens showing the plane's progress on its way back to Nippon. Displayed prominently on the map was the tiny island of Takeshima labeled in bold as Dokdo, and of course the Japan Sea was labeled only as the East Sea.

What a bunch of insecure and petty people. Entertaining to watch the whole country get their panties in a knot though.

Hmm, Korea....the France of Asia?