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Post by strat-0 on Dec 22, 2005 20:11:13 GMT -5
There was most definitely a pervasive racial prejudice involved in attitudes towards the Japanese in WWII, (which was mutual, by the way. I don't mean on the part of Japanese Americans who were interned, but the Japanese, and they extended it also to Koreans, Chinese, and anybody else who wasn't Japanese). Actually, with the way the Japanese treated Chinese and Korean civilians, not to mention any and all POWs, including US and UK, it's amazing the restraint shown by US GIs and officers toward the Japanese during and after the war - almost Christ-like. (Not to mention the sneak attack at Pearl, as Shin noted.) One reason there was such bigotry shown (by the internment of the Japanese Americans) that you don't find toward German Americans is not only racial, but also due to the huge cultural differences at the time. Believe me, they were also checking out German immigrants, groups, etc.
I think the remarkable treatment afforded to the Japanese, especially after the war (A-bomb notwithstanding) is one of the reasons for the collective post war guilt felt, and the dramatic turnaround for that island nation.
As far as FDR - I think he was a great president and right for the times, but his attempt to pack the Supreme Court, and then to try to rework it when that didn't work is one of his most onerous actions.
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Post by limitdeditionlayla on Dec 22, 2005 21:00:01 GMT -5
SKVOR - you're a bit of a dick, aren't you?
I think some ibuprofen would clear that right up.
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Post by Nepenthe on Dec 22, 2005 21:26:10 GMT -5
I have a newspaper I got from my parents that was saved because the entire front page is the obituary and funeral article for my Dad's great uncle from 1938. There are some very interesting articles inside it, but it is pretty hard to imagine seeing a headline like this one in a newspaper of today. "Jap Pledges Accepted" an article about the Pannay outrage.
other interesting articles from it
"30,000 Lose Their Jobs General Motors Reduces it's Workforce"
"President May Ask for Additional Warships"
There is a picture of a Japanese liner the Tatsuta Maru which was raided by customs agents just before it sailed from San Francisco to the Far East. It says the agents garnered a sheaf of letters, supposedly connected with operations at the Bremerton navy yard on Puget Sound.
"Ireland Now "Erie" "
About the Irish Free State going out of existence with the ushering in of the New Constitution
An article about the 36 men from the Progressive Miners of America sentenced to 4 years in jail and a $20,000 fine for bombing trains and mines.
"William Dodd (ambassador) Leaves Berlin"
because of strained relations with Germany
"Monopolists Blamed for the Economy and High Prices"
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Post by shin on Dec 23, 2005 12:02:45 GMT -5
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Post by shin on Dec 23, 2005 12:04:09 GMT -5
It's gotten to the point where that man could say "the day after Monday is Tuesday" and I'd have to check my calendar just to make sure.
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Post by rockysigman on Dec 23, 2005 12:47:41 GMT -5
Ah yeah, I saw that clip on the news(!) the other day. That should come back to bite him in the ass. I sure hope it does. I get the sense that some people will excuse it anyway, but that's just the usual. The whole thing is pretty ridiculous anyway. There isn't really anything that prevents our intelligence agencies from acting quickly on anything anyway. But, if a problem does exist such that the system would get in the way of acting effectively, then the President should have gone to Congress, explained the problem, and had them change the law to adjust for whatever problems they were encountering. But rather than try to fix whatever problems supposedly exist, he acted as if he were above the law and probably figured no one would ever know. |
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Post by skvorisdeadsorta on Dec 27, 2005 11:26:32 GMT -5
Wow, Layla, great contribution to the topic, you tart. Yes, I'm a bit of a dick. As you can see it doesn't really bother me and you pointing it out isn't going to give me a change of heart. Whoooooohoooooo.
Yes, the article that Shin posted will hopefully get that Nixonian nut job out.
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Post by RocDoc on Dec 27, 2005 18:49:03 GMT -5
"Ireland Now "Erie" "
That would actually have to be 'Eire', by all the spellings I've seen using that word to refer to Ireland...bumper stickers even. FWIW.
Good points made there, Strat, especially the point that Germans were most definitely being scrutinized during WWII...lots of ethnic Germans in Chicago went so far as to 'Americanize' their names...even members of OTHER nationalities whose names were a bit too germanic changed (lots of blending of nationalities in mid-to-eastern Europe...shit, it was like someone from Indiana marrying and then moving to Tennessee in terms of distances) them so as to blend in...
Oh, AND the point about the collective post-war guilt actually HELPING Japan's incredible recovery...what is it that 'they' say?
Those UK-type folk I mean...
The term 'Spot on', would fit here, wouldn't it?
<late edit for clarity>
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Post by shin on Jan 6, 2006 20:02:02 GMT -5
Yep, you need to read it all. James Moore
01.04.2006
Branded
There are times in which it is easy to be suspicious. We can get to that feeling fairly quickly if we even pay slight attention. I've been trying to get over this odd emotion for at least a year. I can't find any rationale for letting it go, though I want desperately not to have these thoughts.
This week last year I was preparing for a trip to Ohio to conduct interviews and research for a new book I was writing. My airline tickets had been purchased on line and the morning of departure I went to the Internet to print out my boarding pass. I got a message that said, "Not Allowed." Several subsequent tries failed. Surely, I thought, it's just a glitch within the airline's servers or software.
I made it a point to arrive very early at the airport. My reservation was confirmed before I left home. I went to the electronic kiosk and punched in my confirmation number to print out my boarding pass and luggage tags. Another error message appeared, "Please see agent."
I did. She took my Texas driver's license and punched in the relevant information to her computer system.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said. "There seems to be a problem. You've been placed on the No Fly Watch List."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm afraid there isn't much more that I can tell you," she explained. "It's just the list that's maintained by TSA to check for people who might have terrorist connections."
"You're serious?"
"I'm afraid so, sir. Here's an 800 number in Washington. You need to call them before I can clear you for the flight."
Exasperated, I dialed the number from my cell, determined to clear up what I was sure was a clerical error. The woman who answered offered me no more information than the ticket agent.
"Mam, I'd like to know how I got on the No Fly Watch List."
"I'm not really authorized to tell you that, sir," she explained after taking down my social security and Texas driver's license numbers.
"What can you tell me?"
"All I can tell you is that there is something in your background that in some way is similar to someone they are looking for."
"Well, let me get this straight then," I said. "Our government is looking for a guy who may have a mundane Anglo name, who pays tens of thousands of dollars every year in taxes, has never been arrested or even late on a credit card payment, is more uninteresting than a Tupperware party, and cries after the first two notes of the national anthem? We need to find this guy. He sounds dangerous to me."
"I'm sorry, sir, I've already told you everything I can."
"Oh, wait," I said. "One last thing: this guy they are looking for? Did he write books critical of the Bush administration, too?"
I have been on the No Fly Watch List for a year. I will never be told the official reason. No one ever is. You cannot sue to get the information. Nothing I have done has moved me any closer to getting off the list. There were 35,000 Americans in that database last year. According to a European government that screens hundreds of thousands of American travelers every year, the list they have been given to work from has since grown to 80,000.
My friends tell me it is just more government incompetence. A tech buddy said there's no one in government smart enough to write a search algorithm that will find actual terrorists, so they end up with authors of books criticizing the Bush White House. I have no idea what's going on.
I suppose I should think of it as a minor sacrifice to help keep my country safe. Not being able to print out boarding passes in advance and having to get to the airport three hours early for every flight is hardly an imposition compared to what Americans are enduring in Iraq. I can force myself to get used to all that extra attention from the guy with the wand whenever I walk through the electronic arches. I'm just doing my patriotic duty.
Of course, there's always the chance that the No Fly Watch List is one of many enemies lists maintained by the Bush White House. If that's the case, I am happy to be on that list. I am in good company with people who expect more out of their president and their government.
Hell, maybe I'll start thinking of it as an honor roll.www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/branded_b_13272.html |
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Post by phil on Jan 6, 2006 20:42:48 GMT -5
They probably mistook that poor guy for Michael Moore ... !!
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Post by Nepenthe on Jan 6, 2006 23:37:48 GMT -5
"Ireland Now "Erie" "
That would actually have to be 'Eire', by all the spellings I've seen using that word to refer to Ireland...bumper stickers even. FWIW. No its Eire. That is the Gaelic spelling. You can either run a search for it or go here and look under the part titled Government and Country Name. www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ei.htmlEdit: sorry my misspelling typo, just noticed that. ;D |
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Post by shin on Jan 7, 2006 13:17:27 GMT -5
We don't care.
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Post by shin on Jan 9, 2006 17:59:56 GMT -5
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Post by skvorisdeadsorta on Jan 9, 2006 18:05:30 GMT -5
Yikes. Yikes. I feel all of a sudden Jack Nicholson peering over my shouldar and then screaming, "You can't handle the truth"!
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Post by Galactus on Jan 10, 2006 11:46:22 GMT -5
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