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It's funny how war is always glorious from the point of view of the aggressor and always sad from the point of view of the aggressed (sp?), even when they're th

by Hondor 10y ago

It's funny how war is always glorious from the point of view of the aggressor and always sad from the point of view of the aggressed (sp?), even when they're the same person! How we feel depends on who's story we're reading at the time. "She had not had an easy time. Her husband, Isawa, had gone into the Army just after Myeko was born, and she had heard nothing from or of him for a long time, until, on March 5, 1942, she received a seven-word telegram: “Isawa died an honorable death at Singapore.” " In case you don't know what her husband would have contributed to in Singapore - "between 25,000 and 50,000 ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Malaya ... were rounded up and taken to deserted spots around the island and killed systematically." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapo...

studentrob 10y ago
Yes Japan was awful during WW II. That's why the US dropped the bomb. The thing to remember is, (1) how devastating nuclear weapons can be (2) how close the world came to a much larger nuclear holocaust during the cold war period (3) that it's possible for us to forget the past and re-enter such a period (4) that today's nuclear weapons are 1,000x more powerful than the ones that leveled two Japanese cities [1] (5) only nine countries have these weapons, and (6) that it only takes one bad actor to start a worldwide nuclear war [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_yield#Examples_of_nuclear_weapon_yields https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_yield#Examples_...
kristopolous 10y ago
This reminds me of Amy Goodman and Allan Nairn's story when they were doing journalism in East Timor: "Allan suggested we walk to the front of the crowd between the soldiers and the Timorese, because although we knew that the army had committed many massacres, we hoped that we, as foreign journalists, could serve as a shield for the Timorese. Standing with headphones on and microphone and camera out in full view, we went and stood in the middle of the road, looking straight at the approaching troops. Behind us, the crowd was hushed as some Timorese tried to turn away, but they were hemmed in by cemetery walls. The soldiers marched straight up to us. They never broke their stride. We were enveloped by the troops, and when they got a few yards past us, within a dozen yards of the Timorese, they raised their rifles to their shoulders all at once, and they opened fire. The Timorese, in an instant, were down, just torn apart by the bullets. The street was covered with bodies, covered with blood. And the soldiers just kept on coming. They poured in, one rank after another. They leaped over the bodies of those who were down. They were aiming and shooting people in the back. I could see their limbs being torn, their bodies exploding. There was blood spurting out into the air. The pop of the bullets, everywhere. And it was very organized, very systematic. The soldiers did not stop. They just kept on shooting until no one was left standing. A group of soldiers grabbed my microphone and threw me to the ground, kicking and punching me. At that point, Allan threw himself on top of me, protecting me from further injury. The soldiers then used their rifle butts like baseball bats, beating Allan until they fractured his skull. As we sat on the ground, Allan, covered in blood, a group of soldiers lined up and pointed their M-16s at our heads. They had stripped us of all of our equipment. We just kept shouting, "We’re from America!" In the end, they decided not to execute us." Excerpted from http://www.democracynow.org/2006/11/13/amy_goodman_recounts_the_east_timor http://www.democracynow.org/2006/11/13/amy_goodman_recounts_...
- studentrob 10y ago
  That's terrible, for sure. The parent comment is talking about one person who could be viewed as a hero and a victim, depending on the story teller. I don't see why the East Timor story serves as a reminder, except that it's another example of an atrocity in war. No war is nicer than any other and you can find many, many examples of atrocities like this throughout history across the world.
- rangibaby 10y ago
  It wouldn't have been the first time the Indonesians killed journalists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five
mkoryak 10y ago
on a side note, that article has been vandalized. "Allied commando unit known as Z Force led by Major Pidar McBlyat" His name is made up of 2 common russian swear words

by Hondor 10y ago

studentrob 10y ago

Yes Japan was awful during WW II. That's why the US dropped the bomb. The thing to remember is, (1) how devastating nuclear weapons can be (2) how close the world came to a much larger nuclear holocaust during the cold war period (3) that it's possible for us to forget the past and re-enter such a period (4) that today's nuclear weapons are 1,000x more powerful than the ones that leveled two Japanese cities [1] (5) only nine countries have these weapons, and (6) that it only takes one bad actor to start a worldwide nuclear war [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_yield#Examples_of_nuclear_weapon_yields https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_yield#Examples_...

kristopolous 10y ago

This reminds me of Amy Goodman and Allan Nairn's story when they were doing journalism in East Timor: "Allan suggested we walk to the front of the crowd between the soldiers and the Timorese, because although we knew that the army had committed many massacres, we hoped that we, as foreign journalists, could serve as a shield for the Timorese. Standing with headphones on and microphone and camera out in full view, we went and stood in the middle of the road, looking straight at the approaching troops. Behind us, the crowd was hushed as some Timorese tried to turn away, but they were hemmed in by cemetery walls. The soldiers marched straight up to us. They never broke their stride. We were enveloped by the troops, and when they got a few yards past us, within a dozen yards of the Timorese, they raised their rifles to their shoulders all at once, and they opened fire. The Timorese, in an instant, were down, just torn apart by the bullets. The street was covered with bodies, covered with blood. And the soldiers just kept on coming. They poured in, one rank after another. They leaped over the bodies of those who were down. They were aiming and shooting people in the back. I could see their limbs being torn, their bodies exploding. There was blood spurting out into the air. The pop of the bullets, everywhere. And it was very organized, very systematic. The soldiers did not stop. They just kept on shooting until no one was left standing. A group of soldiers grabbed my microphone and threw me to the ground, kicking and punching me. At that point, Allan threw himself on top of me, protecting me from further injury. The soldiers then used their rifle butts like baseball bats, beating Allan until they fractured his skull. As we sat on the ground, Allan, covered in blood, a group of soldiers lined up and pointed their M-16s at our heads. They had stripped us of all of our equipment. We just kept shouting, "We’re from America!" In the end, they decided not to execute us." Excerpted from http://www.democracynow.org/2006/11/13/amy_goodman_recounts_the_east_timor http://www.democracynow.org/2006/11/13/amy_goodman_recounts_...

studentrob 10y ago
That's terrible, for sure. The parent comment is talking about one person who could be viewed as a hero and a victim, depending on the story teller. I don't see why the East Timor story serves as a reminder, except that it's another example of an atrocity in war. No war is nicer than any other and you can find many, many examples of atrocities like this throughout history across the world.
rangibaby 10y ago
It wouldn't have been the first time the Indonesians killed journalists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five

mkoryak 10y ago

on a side note, that article has been vandalized. "Allied commando unit known as Z Force led by Major Pidar McBlyat" His name is made up of 2 common russian swear words