we love the japanese and the japanese love us, both countries have intergrated their culture into each other with full open arms, i dont see either of us going to war with each other ever again....hot japanese chick in school girl outfit :drool ..not givin that up !! :roll

I don't know about you guys, but if we look at all the wars that happened in the last 50 years alone, most of them are for the sake of democracy. It's like we're experiencing some sort of democratic crusades right now - whoever doesn't believe in democracy or worship it as a god or the only truth or something, the US would go over there and kill everybody there. Look at the Koreas (and America's cultural contribution of 1 million landmines to that country), Vietnam, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, and most recently, Iraq. And these are the wars started by US alone in the name of democracy.

 

The whole issue with China and Taiwan is an internal one - it's pretty similar to the Quebec/Canada separation thing up here. I don't see why the US should be involved, IMHO. Oh wait, they're doing it in the name of DEMOCRACY!!!!

 

Then again, I've noticed there's a lot of hatred focused on China lately. Maybe it's because they've been getting TFs before anybody else in the world since they're made there.

Then again, I've noticed there's a lot of hatred focused on China lately. Maybe it's because they've been getting TFs before anybody else in the world since they're made there.

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Ahh....... the true underlying cause of world politics :tflaugh

The whole issue with China and Taiwan is an internal one - it's pretty similar to the Quebec/Canada separation thing up here. I don't see why the US should be involved, IMHO. Oh wait, they're doing it in the name of DEMOCRACY!!!!

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Does the name Chiang Kai Shek mean anything to you? The fact is that we have given Taiwan/Formosa so much technology that we don't want to fall into the hands of the Chinese that we're pretty much committed to defend them no matter what. This is almost nothing like the situation in Quebec, which was resolved, at least temporarily, by a vote. Kai Shek was the leader of China during WWII, and he  took over Taiwan to maintain his position as he was forced from China by Mao Tse Tung and his "agrarian reformers", (Kai Shek was so eager to prevent anyone from knowing the foothold the Communists were gaining in the Country that he refused to call them Communists) and because he was ostensibly out ally, we went to his defense, equipped his followers, and basically allowed him to take control of Taiwan. The bad decisions made then (and man, did the US mess up badly in southeast Asia in the 50s. . . if you don't believe me, read William J. Lederer's "Nation of Sheep") make defending Taiwan a strategic necessity. . . and it didn't really have to be that way.

 

Sorry for ranting, but how we handled the Communist takeover of China ranks as one of our all time bonehead foreign policy decisions, and smoothing things out with China (to some extent, anyway) ranks as one of the things Nixon did right.

Look at the Koreas (and America's cultural contribution of 1 million landmines to that country), Vietnam, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, and most recently, Iraq. And these are the wars started by US alone in the name of democracy.

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The US didn't start the Viet nam or Korean wars.  The French started the vietnam war and asked the US to help.

The US invaded Vietnam and forced my parents and I to flee the country. We came to Canada (god bless you canucks). I've been back several times. I and my relatives hold no animosity towards the US. Most Vietnamese, especially the younger generation hold no ill will. Even though (some) US soldiers did commit atrocities. Stuff you aren't taught in history class. Not an attack on anyone's beliefs. Just the fact that war does bring out the worst in people for both sides.

 

History is a funny thing. Some can let go. Some can't. Others are doomed to repeat.

The US invaded Vietnam and forced my parents and I to flee the country. We came to Canada (god bless you canucks). I've been back several times. I and my relatives hold no animosity towards the US. Most Vietnamese, especially the younger generation hold no ill will. Even though (some) US soldiers did commit atrocities. Stuff you aren't taught in history class. Not an attack on anyone's beliefs. Just the fact that war does bring out the worst in people for both sides.

 

History is a funny thing. Some can let go. Some can't. Others are doomed to repeat.

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That's a good attitude to have. In most international situations there's about 100-200 people you can blame, and the rest are just victims (or opportunists) of history. Something not likely to change anytime soon.

The Japanese, prior to WWII had a "conquer or be conquered" attitude.  They figured, if Asia is going to be conquered, it should at least be done by Asians.

The Japanese, prior to WWII had a "conquer or be conquered" attitude.  They figured, if Asia is going to be conquered, it should at least be done by Asians.

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The Germans had the same attitude, too. Go figure.

 

I agree with Tokytostormwarning about the number of people involved. In the case with the Nazis, only the top were responsible for the war crimes. Most of the Nazis beneath them were just following orders.

The Japanese, prior to WWII had a "conquer or be conquered" attitude.  They figured, if Asia is going to be conquered, it should at least be done by Asians.

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The Germans had the same attitude, too. Go figure.

 

I agree with Tokytostormwarning about the number of people involved. In the case with the Nazis, only the top were responsible for the war crimes. Most of the Nazis beneath them were just following orders.

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Well, that one's a little tricky. The sheer number of Brownshirts that joined the movement prior to the Nazis' fancy bureaucratic manuvering resulting in the takeover of the Reichstag proved that more than enough Germans were willing to come down on whoever they could blame. On the other hand, they probably wouldn't have been quite so angry if the treaty of Versailles and the Weimar Republic hadn't left Germany with absolutely nothing except a chip on its' shoulder.  By the time anyone realized what the Nazis had in mind, chances are any dissent would result in you getting a bullet to the back of the head, if you were lucky. And enough people, put in the position of being the screwer or the screwee, will do anything to screw others. A lot of the German people (including the current Pope) made the decision for survival, and it's hard to condemn them for wanting to live when it seems like there was nothing to be done from within the Country, considering none of us have had to make that choice. It's asinine to armchair quarterback history based on what could have been from a position of safety.

 

But we shouldn't forget the fact that the first people to fight the Nazis were other Germans, as Philip K. Dick was quick to remind us in Lies, Inc. . .