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Timber Loftis · 10-11-2002, 01:12 PM

Ronn:

First, I think the acts of the two superpowers you mentioned during WWII convinced the whole world that the countries should be baby-sat for a bit. A bit more egregious that Sodamn Insanse's for sure. Second, though I don't have my international law books handy, I'm pretty sure international law governing this has changed much since them - which is exactly why Sodamn could not simply *occupy* Kuwait a decade ago.

Also, don't know if the changes are good or not, but Japanese contact with the west *changed* it drastically. It's culture, while still very different from the US, was certainly robbed of a lot because western influence - influnce at the point of a gun, mind you. Religion and forms of government and economy all basically forced on the country. Check out a bit of history, and tell me if it's fair - then tell me if we should support doing the same to others.

First contact with the West came in about 1542, when a Portuguese ship off course arrived in Japanese waters. Portuguese traders, Jesuit missionaries, and Spanish, Dutch, and English traders followed. Suspicious of Christianity and of Portuguese support of a local Japanese revolt, the shoguns of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) prohibited all trade with foreign countries; only a Dutch trading post at Nagasaki was permitted. Western attempts to renew trading relations failed until 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed an American fleet into Tokyo Bay. Trade with the West was forced upon Japan under terms less than favorable to the Japanese. Strife caused by these actions brought down the feudal world of the shoguns. In 1868, the emperor Meiji came to the throne, and the shogun system was abolished.
*****
Gen. Douglas MacArthur was appointed supreme commander of the U.S. occupation of postwar Japan (1945–52). In 1947, a new constitution took effect. The emperor became largely a symbolic head of state. The U.S. and Japan signed a security treaty in 1951, allowing for U.S. troops to be stationed in Japan. In 1952, Japan regained full sovereignty, and, in 1972, the U.S. returned to Japan the Ryuku Islands, including Okinawa.

Link: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107666.html

[ 10-11-2002, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]

10-11-2002, 01:12 PM	#10
Timber Loftis 40th Level Warrior Join Date: July 11, 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 11,916	Ronn: First, I think the acts of the two superpowers you mentioned during WWII convinced the whole world that the countries should be baby-sat for a bit. A bit more egregious that Sodamn Insanse's for sure. Second, though I don't have my international law books handy, I'm pretty sure international law governing this has changed much since them - which is exactly why Sodamn could not simply occupy Kuwait a decade ago. Also, don't know if the changes are good or not, but Japanese contact with the west changed it drastically. It's culture, while still very different from the US, was certainly robbed of a lot because western influence - influnce at the point of a gun, mind you. Religion and forms of government and economy all basically forced on the country. Check out a bit of history, and tell me if it's fair - then tell me if we should support doing the same to others. First contact with the West came in about 1542, when a Portuguese ship off course arrived in Japanese waters. Portuguese traders, Jesuit missionaries, and Spanish, Dutch, and English traders followed. Suspicious of Christianity and of Portuguese support of a local Japanese revolt, the shoguns of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) prohibited all trade with foreign countries; only a Dutch trading post at Nagasaki was permitted. Western attempts to renew trading relations failed until 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed an American fleet into Tokyo Bay. Trade with the West was forced upon Japan under terms less than favorable to the Japanese. Strife caused by these actions brought down the feudal world of the shoguns. In 1868, the emperor Meiji came to the throne, and the shogun system was abolished. ***** Gen. Douglas MacArthur was appointed supreme commander of the U.S. occupation of postwar Japan (1945–52). In 1947, a new constitution took effect. The emperor became largely a symbolic head of state. The U.S. and Japan signed a security treaty in 1951, allowing for U.S. troops to be stationed in Japan. In 1952, Japan regained full sovereignty, and, in 1972, the U.S. returned to Japan the Ryuku Islands, including Okinawa. Link: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107666.html [ 10-11-2002, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ] __________________