tagged w/ Okinawa
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Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler, who subdued China but failed in two Attempts to conquer Japan
The wreck of a ship thought to have taken part in a failed Mongol invasion of Japan has-been found off the Japanese coast.
A team of Researchers uncovered a 12-meter (36ft) section of keel buried in deep sand off Nagasaki said prefecture.They it was the first time Such a large piece of hull HAD Been recovered from the Mongol Invasion Fleets.
The 13th Century Were attacks on Japan in rare setback for the Mongols at the height of Their powers.
Experts Expressed surprise That the wreck was so well preserved Centuries after so many on the Seabed.
The Okinawa-based Researchers from the University of the Ryukyus ultrasonic equipment used to detect the remains of the ship.
The wood was painted on the hull whitish gray and held together by nails. Bricks, weapons and other instruments were found on board.
The discovery is expected to shed light on the shipbuilding skills of the time and give Clues about the nature of the Mongol defeat. 'Divine Wind' The Japanese have always Attributed to Their victory storms That wrecked the Mongol invasions Fleets During Attempted Both in 1274 and 1281...... more on
http://www.thivesst.com/?page=29Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler, who subdued China but failed in two Attempts to conquer... more
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By John Feffer
The Washington Post recently featured a full-page ad supporting U.S. military presence in Japan and Okinawa. The ad, sponsored by the Association for the Protection of Okinawa’s Freedom and the Happiness Realization Party, made the following claims:
"There is a heated debate surrounding the relocation of the U.S. airbase in Okinawa. Some leftists are frantically attempting to expel the U.S. military from Japan. The Japanese media have been actively reporting on this campaign against the bases. This gives the impression that the majority of Japanese are opposed to these bases. This is not true."
This was a curious string of half-truths and misrepresentations. Only the first sentence is correct. There is indeed a heated debate. But it’s not about expelling the U.S. military from Japan. It’s very specifically about the building of a new U.S. base in Okinawa to replace the Futenma facility. The campaign focused very narrowly on preventing this new base – not on closing other U.S. bases on Okinawa much less U.S. bases elsewhere in Japan. The Japanese media has actively reported on this narrow campaign, not on the imaginary campaign to expel the U.S. military from Japan.
And how do the Japanese feel about the relocation of Futenma? Actually, a majority of Japanese are opposed to the new base: 52 percent compared to only 41 percent who support it. If you go to Okinawa, the opposition to the new base grows precipitously to 90 percent. Nearly 100,000 Okinawans – almost 10 percent of the population – gathered to protest the base back in April.
What do the ad sponsors offer as counter-evidence? The Association for the Protection of Okinawa’s Freedom brought together 300 people in Nago in Okinawa to demonstrate support for the new base. Not exactly a groundswell of support compared to the nearly 100,000 who voiced opposition to the new base.
And what about the other ad co-sponsor? The Happiness Realization Party is the political wing of a religious cult whose leader believes he is the incarnation of the Buddha. And what a strange incarnation he is, for he believes that Japan must renounce its peace constitution and rearm to the teeth. The wife of this reincarnated Buddha ran for office last year on a platform of attacking North Korea and preparing for an inevitable Chinese invasion.
Right-wing militarists and religious fanatics are not exactly the alliance partners the United States should be seeking out. And if these are the only political forces in Japan that can be mustered to support the Okinawa base relocation plan, Washington is facing a long, long battle to get its way.
http://www.fpif.org/blog/right-wing_loonies_support_okinawa_base_relocationBy John Feffer
The Washington Post recently featured a full-page ad supporting U.S.... more
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Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has announced his resignation after just eight months in office.
It comes after he broke an election pledge to move an unpopular US military base away from the island of Okinawa.
Mr Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is struggling to revive its chances in an election due in July.
He said he had also asked DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, who has been embroiled in a funding scandal, to step down to "revitalize" the party.
The centre-left DPJ's election landslide last year ended half a century of conservative rule in Japan.
Mr Hatoyama, 63, was Japan's fourth prime minister in four years. He will remain in office until a the DPJ meets on Friday to appoint a new leader who will almost certainly become prime minister.
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan, widely considered a potential winner, has already declared his intention to run for the post.
Broken promise
Until Tuesday night, Mr Hatoyama had insisted he would stay on while intermittently holding talks with key members of his party.
ANALYSIS
Few prime ministers have gone from landslide election victory to resignation within nine months. But that is the fate of Yukio Hatoyama, brought down by a campaign promise he discovered once in office it was impossible to fulfill.
For months he searched for an alternative location for the US base, before official confirmation last week that he would have to make a humiliating climbdown.
He pledged a more equal alliance with the US and to rein in the power of the bureaucracy, but the row over the base, and money scandals, soon undermined the promise of a new era of transparent politics.
Members of the DPJ feared if Mr Hatoyama remained in office they would be trounced in mid-term elections to the upper house of the Diet expected in July. The party is expected to choose a new leader and prime minister on Friday. Whoever wins will be Japan's fifth prime minister in four years.
Profile: Yukio Hatoyama
But he announced his resignation at a special meeting of DPJ lawmakers on Wednesday, telling them the government's work had "not reflected the public's wishes".
"I apologize to all of you lawmakers here for causing enormous trouble," he said.
Announcing his decision to the country in an emotional televised address, he said he had "tried to change politics in which the people of Japan would be the main actors" but had not succeeded.
"That's mainly because of my failings," he said.
Mr Hatoyama also cited funding scandals involving government aides as a reason for his departure and for his request that Mr Ozawa step down.
Two of Mr Ozawa's aides have received suspended prison sentences for falsifying reports on political contributions while Mr Ozawa himself - known as the "Shadow Shogun" for his power behind the scenes - has also been questioned.
Mr Hatoyama said he had asked Mr Ozawa to resign to enable "a fresh and clean DPJ" to emerge.
"Our politics must break with money," said Mr Hatoyama. "We must become completely clean in order to revitalize our party."
Coalition splits
Mr Hatoyama had been under pressure to quit since last week when it was confirmed that the deeply unpopular Futenma US base would be staying on the southern island of Okinawa.
Okinawa is home to more than half of the 47,000 American troops based in Japan.
Continue reading the main story Futenma US Marines base, Okinawa, Japan Profile: Japan's Okinawa Okinawa voices: 'No more bases!'
Many islanders resent the high military presence and have been angered by incidents involving US troops stationed there, including the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl in 1995.
For months Mr Hatoyama had searched fruitlessly for an alternative location to fulfill a pledge to move the base off the island or even out of Japan altogether, our correspondent says.
When he failed his governing coalition split - a coalition member was fired from the cabinet for refusing to back the decision.
The DPJ's next leader will have to take the party into mid-term elections to the upper house of parliament expected next month.
As well as Mr Kan, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Transport Minister Seiji Maehara are also seen as contenders.
Okinawa is the focal point of the security treaty between the US and Japan which has balanced military power in north-east Asia since World War II.
Under the pact, Japan - which is prevented from maintaining a war-ready army by its constitution - subsidies the US military presence while the US guarantees Japan's security.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10211314.stmJapanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has announced his resignation after just eight... more
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More than 90,000 Okinawans rallied Sunday to oppose the relocation of an American air base on their island, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to resolve an issue that has divided Tokyo and Washington.
The demonstrators, in one of the largest protests on Okinawa in years, demanded that Mr. Hatoyama scrap a 2006 agreement with the United States to move the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to a different site on the island. Many of the protesters wore yellow to signal they were giving Mr. Hatoyama a warning for appearing to waver on election promises to move the busy base off Okinawa altogether.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/world/asia/26okinawa.html?hpMore than 90,000 Okinawans rallied Sunday to oppose the relocation of an American air... more
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Trust me there was plenty that happened this week that happened that was not MLB championship games or Sarah Palin's book. Here's a look at seven of those stories that fell through the news-cracks this week.
Seriously, how much angrier can we get at Goldman Sachs? Most of the country is still feeling the pinch as we head into what's being called a 'jobless' recovery but Goldman's employees have $16.7 billion in bonuses coming their way. And to top it off, this guy: Brian Griffiths, an adviser for the firm said, “We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all.” Yeah, I bet you're 'tolerating' it just fine on your pile of cash, buddy. From Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs’s Griffiths Says Inequality Helps All
America's bodyguards have too much on their plates. According to a Congressional report the Secret Service is very, very busy this year what with all the threats on the new President's life. The agency is also responsible for protecting past Presidents and Vice Presidents as well as fighting counterfeiting, but with the crazies out in force, it's been difficult to take care of everything this year. From The Boston Globe: Secret Service strained as leaders face more threats
In Tblisi, Georgia, Hollywood filmmakers are busy recreating the Georgian side of last year's brief war between Georgia and Russia. Andy Garcia is playing Mikhail Saakashvili. Thy say he sounds like he's reprising his role from Godfather III. From Wired's Danger Room: One Year Later, Hollywood Re-Fights Georgia-Russia War
Obama is supposed to go visit Japan's new government in a few weeks, but the new ministers want to seem independent from Washington's demands. They spent this week 'dithering' over the US military base on Okinawa, but at the end of the week Japan's foreign minister said they would keep it there. From the Washington Post: Japan FM: U.S. base should stay on Okinawa
Are you a state government running out of money? Maybe you should end the death penalty. That's what a new study released this week suggests, pointing out that many states are spending millions of dollars on what experts say is not even an effective deterrent. In California, which is desperately trying to save money every which way it can, the death penalty costs $137 million a year. From Mother Jones: The Death Penalty's Big Tab
Since things just can't get any worse in Iraq: thousands of schools have been closed in what some are calling panic over the swine flu. I loved this quote: "“It’s one of the side effects of democracy,” said Dr. Jaleel Al Shimari, general manager of the Baghdad Health Directorate for the Karkh section, who described most of the school closings as unauthorized." From the NY Times: Fear Over Swine Flu Closes Schools in Iraq
And because Ethiopia can never seem to catch a break: the African country is asking for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. It's been 25 years since Ethiopia's massive famine, but they're facing major food shortages in the coming months. From BBC News: Ethiopia asks for urgent food aid
Anything we missed this week? Let us know!
Other stories from the Current News Blog this week:
- Rage Against Guantanamo - Rage Against the Machine, REM, Pearl Jam and more call for Gitmo closure
- US police make massive Mexican drug cartel bust
- Defining 'dithering' - Dick Cheney accuses President Obama of wasting time
- North American Union conspiracy hits the big time
- Captured by Somali pirates - A journalist's first hand story
- Meet the Uighurs - Laura Ling's interview with China's western dissidents
- Rio's drug violence: How Brazil's 2016 Olympics presage troubles for megacities
- Taliban trying to addict US soldiers to heroin?Trust me there was plenty that happened this week that happened that was not MLB... more
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“Kuroshio Sea” is an amazingly peaceful five-minute short film from the acclaimed filmmaker Jon Rawlinson, accompanied by soothing music (“Please Don’t Go” by Barcelona). This film has been chosen by Vimeo as one of its 25 favorite videos of 2009. “Kuroshio Sea” was filmed at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan; the main tank, called The Kuroshio Sea, holds 1,981,290 gallons of water and features the world’s second largest acrylic glass panel. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank. The film is presented here in HD and it’s best watched in full-screen mode. You’ll feel like you’re right there!!
This piece presents colorful pictures, as well as the wonderfully peaceful short film.
Please visit my website to view this marvelous film:
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/for-a-peaceful-new-year-the-kuroshio-sea/“Kuroshio Sea” is an amazingly peaceful five-minute short film from the... more
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A webcam link-up allows soldiers at Camp Virginia, Kuwait, and airmen at the Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, USO building to see each other Saturday as they play "Call of Duty: World at War" together online.A webcam link-up allows soldiers at Camp Virginia, Kuwait, and airmen at the Kadena... more
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James Knott and three friends bike across the state of NY from Buffalo to Albany along the Erie Canalway Trail. It's a good opportunity to learn about the history and culture along the canal and to visit the wonderful towns and cities along the way.James Knott and three friends bike across the state of NY from Buffalo to Albany along... more
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel videos. James Knott reflects on his favorite moments in Okinawa.Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel videos. James Knott reflects on... more
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel videos. The Battle of Okinawa in WW2 devasted the island. Over 100,000 Okinawan civilians were killed in the fighting. Today a very fitting peace memorial sits in southern Okinawa. Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel videos. The Battle of Okinawa in... more
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more travel adventure videos. Okinawa World is a theme park that celebrates Okinawan culture. It's main attraction is the longest Cave in Okinawa - Gyokusendo Cave. Go spelunking with James Knott in another fun video highlighting Okinawan culture and travel.Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more travel adventure videos. Okinawa World is a... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com - a travel adventure web site.
Sefa Utaki is considered to be one of the most sacred religious sites on the island of Okinawa. It was used for religious ceremonies by kings and priestesses in the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom.Visit http://StrayCompass.com - a travel adventure web site.
Sefa Utaki is... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great videos about Okinawa and beyond.
Tamaudun is a mausoleum built for the Ryukyu royal family who ruled the Okinawan Islands for centuries.Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great videos about Okinawa and beyond.... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more videos about Okinawa and beyond.
Shikinaen is the largest second residence of the Ryukyu royal family. Come stroll the grounds with James Knott as he explores the history and architecture of this World Heritage site.Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more videos about Okinawa and beyond.
Shikinaen... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more travel adventure videos.
Shuri Castle - or Shuri-jo - is the largest castle in Okinawa and has been reconstructed to it's original grandeur. Catch a glimpse inside the castle walls and learn about the history of this great monument. Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more travel adventure videos.
Shuri Castle - or... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more videos about Okinawa and beyond.
Tsuboya Pottery District is the home of Okinawa's pottery makers. Learn about the history of this district and the significance of it's most popular item - the Shisa Dog.Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more videos about Okinawa and beyond.
Tsuboya... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel adventures.
Shopping on Heiwa-Dori is a great way to take in Okinawan life. The tastes of the people is revealed with what is on sale in this maze of small shops. Get lost in the culture and pick up a few authentic souveniors with James Knott as he wanders through this asian shopping mecca.Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel adventures.
Shopping on... more
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AgileH
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Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more videos and articles about Okinawa and beyond.
The Naha Tsunahiki is the world's largest annual Tug-Of-War. Every October, the residents of Naha pit the eastern half of the city versus the western half. It is quite a spectacle. Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more videos and articles about Okinawa and beyond.... more
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