zam_ho wrote:If you have that kind of view of Japan, what the heck are you doing here?
I'm here because I'm old enough and smart enough and realistic enough not to completely buy into one side or the other of any given issue. Unlike you.
On Japan, I enjoy certain aspects of their pop culture, I appreciate that they're trying to move on from their past, and I thank them for being our strongest and most faithful ally in the region. But I also know that their lack of resources, crushing demographics, deep-rooted xenophobia, and often mindless cultural rituals have made them practically schizophrenic about how to continue to be a modern and prosperous nation. They are desperate to maintain their national identity, and in that desperation they have done and continue to do many despicable things.
On Burma, I applaud them for finally making a real effort to achieve peace on all sides and to reform their political and economic institutions, and I understand that much of their troubles come from irreconcilable ethnic and territorial disputes. A permanent ceasefire may be the best they can ever hope for, just as in many other parts of that region. But I also know that sixty years of civil war is still SIXTY FUCKING YEARS OF CIVIL WAR, and all your "don't believe that Western propaganda" hand-waving does not change the fact that it took intense international pressure to cause even a hiccup in the decades of fighting, slavery, and repression.
And to show that I'm an equal-opportunity guy…
On the United States, I believe we are still the greatest single force for good in the world, we spend an absurd amount of our own resources to take care of those who either cannot or will not take care of themselves, and we do it all not because we want to conquer but simply because we want everyone to join the party and have fun. Work hard, play hard. But I also know that those beliefs have made us infuriatingly paternalistic toward our own citizens and even imperialistic toward other nations, that we've become spoiled by our riches and power, that we acquired much of our riches and power through simply being in the right places at the right times, that our lack of a real national identity ("the Great American Melting Pot" isn't that great after all) has allowed crass commercialism to become our identity, and that we do a lot of what we do now simply to keep the party going as long as possible because we know we're overdue to crash and burn.
zam_ho wrote:You and your country have not been the target of this group of people so you don't understand how it hurts when someone calls your country a "war-torn" country when its not the whole truth. Get off you high-horse Celedam.
Right back at ya, pal. Yes, I remember that you're the same chucklehead who dismissed the entire gun control debate here in the U.S. as "big boys play[ing] cowboy with real guns." It's stunning that you consider that to be a well-informed and thoroughly reasonable opinion, but that somehow my position on Burma is propaganda-fueled bigotry.
randompasserby wrote:While I agree that there are definitely a lot of human rights issues and what passed as a government seems pretty fucked up over there, war-torn country isn't exactly how I'd describe it and that's the only issue that I see zam was having a problem with. There aren't any armed militia in open war with the military on ruined cities or anything (i'm picturing black hawk down here when i see the term war torn country
) at least from all the news I've seen of the country.
Then you're not really paying attention.
zam_ho wrote:Finally someone understands what I was trying to point out.
You do a lousy job of expressing yourself. And you're still wrong.
zam_ho wrote:We all have something we don't agree with, I'm with you on their politics only.
Then you're not really paying attention, either.
zam_ho wrote:But what Celedam is stating is their WW2 agenda. I HATE it when people just can't let go of the WW2 era and brings it up as an argument piece. The Japanese people have denounce war so many times. What more do they need to do to convince people like Celedam?
The agenda has not changed, because the needs underlying the agenda have not changed. The only thing that's changed is how they go about achieving the agenda.
zam_ho wrote:And if he was trying to make an argument about Japan setting up factories outside Japan, thats just ridiculous. Nearly every big company, even those from the US are setting up companies in 3rd world countries.
That statement is so broad and unthinking as to be effectively nonsense. Which goes for pretty much everything you say.
zam_ho wrote:Just as a reminder that this is not the first time Berryz will be visiting a country which was not as peaceful as you would want it to be. [...]
Again, so what? Why do you keep making these false equivalencies? No one is saying Berryz shouldn't go, and if there's an audience for them in Burma (probably spill-over from Thailand) and they'll be reasonably safe while they're there, then they absolutely should go. But that doesn't change the reality that Burma is just now emerging from SIXTY FUCKING YEARS OF CIVIL WAR.
You may be entitled to your own opinions (as worthless as they are), but you're certainly not entitled to your own facts.