Posted on 04/07/2013 6:59:27 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
Japan's Defense Minister issued the official military order within the hour or so. It has been stated in news commentary that the North's Musudan intermediate ballistic missile which is an extreme threat to Japan and had been suddenly moved to North Korea's east coast just two days ago for possible launch without warning, without any kind of statement to international space or aviation bodies for a "test launch" of a missile, means that North Korea could launch a sneak missile launch without any warning to the world. So Japan's Defense Minister ordered Japan Self Defense Forces (SDF) into readiness with PAC-3 anti missile batteries to be activated along Japan's West Coast facing North Korea in the event any missile or portions of missile head toward Japanese territory. It will be shot down if a) called for and b) possible. Link to Japanese story. (They are not going to sit around and wait until a surprise launch on Wednesday next week aimed in the area of Japan).
“I can’t help but think that all this chest-thumping by N. Korea is covering something bigger. I don’t trust China.”
Don’t look at what Iran is doing in Syria or elsewhere. Just keep your attention on the loud mouth in the East, until the rest of the socialist brothers make facts on the ground.
What a story and I believe every word of it. There were many within the Japanese Imperial Army down to the regular private, who were incredibly cruel, particularly POW camp guards. Real sadism at times, they had disdain for the captured because they chose to become prisoners rather than “end their lives honorably” when there was no hope to resist, which was the Japanese Bushido/Samurai moral template at the time—the preferable way out, an anathema to Western Christian thinking. Thankfully many of these monsters were tried under international tribunal after WWII and convicted and were given the “long rope” after the end of the war for war crimes in Sugamo Prison or elsewhere. I know of other Japanese, young draftees from the countryside who went when their country called and were raised with good morals, who hated to see the mistreatment of Western prisoners or conquered people (Chinese in Nanjiing (Nanking) for example) but were in no position to speak up. Many became Buddhist priests (or even Christian pastors or Catholic priests) in quiet settings all over Japan until their deaths to pray incessantly for the souls of the Allies and others whom were taken by their comrades through cruel methods which they personally despised. So many others had a conscience, witnessed but did not partake themselves, but could not stand up to the horrid fascist system taking a hold of Japan at that time until we could liberate them. There were all kinds of Japanese, good, terribly ugly, indifferent, you name it. Those were horrid days back then. Some local Japanese citizens would bring out sweets and green tea to Allied prisoners coming in from the fields after 14 hours of backbreaking work, and offer them these things. The Kempeitai (guards and secret police) did not like it and would shoosh them away from the Allied prisoners. True stories. Fujisawa Allied POW Camp near Yokohama was one of them, where there were Japanese with a conscience who tried in their small way to reach out and help these American, Brit and other prisoners. We cannot condemn all Japanese for the action of some officers and regular troops (sadistic), as there were believe it or not good, average people who had no stomach for war as much as the next guy (even as the scared, young US kid adversarily across the battlefield from them), who—on both sides—more than anything else just wanted things to end and to return back to his countryside home in Kansas or Nagano, girlfriend, mama and papa, honest job in the field, and peace. This is the idiocy of war, what it turns average people into.
That's comparable to the Muslim Arab system of slavery. Slaves were worked to death because it was cheaper to acquire new slaves via slave raids than to feed one's existing slaves adequately. Say what you will about antebellum chattel slavery, but there's a reason why blacks are a significant part of the US population and almost non-existent in Arabia, despite the tens of millions who were enslaved by Arab raiders.
The Japanese decimated rebellious areas and conducted a number of post-battle atrocities. I'd say that's quite different from the Nazi policy of systematically seeking out Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other disfavored groups for extermination. Life under Japanese rule was pretty simple - in any area that did not offer resistance, life went on as usual, subject to the privations of a war economy. This was why the civilian body count under Japanese rule was far lower than that under Nazi rule. The reason Japanese atrocities keep coming up in the news is because of the squeaky wheel principle - contrary to the stereotype, Europeans are stoic, whereas Asians are vocal. Japanese-style atrocities were pretty common among Asian armies. For instance, the massacre at Nanking was the third such city-wide massacre there - the first was in the 15th century during the Ming Emperor Yongle's usurpation of his nephew's throne and the second was in the 19th century during the Qing Emperor Xianfeng's recovery of the city near the end of Taiping Rebellion.
My father said the same regarding the Japanese during WWII. I would rather not repeat some of the tactics and cruelty. Makes water boarding seems like child play. He worked at the War Dept.
Yes, that was Tom Baker as the 4th regeneration of the Doctor. Watch the new series and see what you think.
Waterboarding is child's play in terms of pain inflicted. If McCain had merely been waterboarded, he might not have spilled his guts to his Vietnamese captors.
The BM25 aka Musudan is on mobile launchers I believe vs a silo yet it is liquid fueled. Same sort, or a close recipe, of hydrogen tetroxide and red fuming acidic oyxidizer used by our old Titan Mssiles that were stationed in KS, AR and AZ ....
They mess up that refueling it will be a BFRC event for the norks.... Aka big friggin red cloud.
Fueling indicators are not part of the readiness levels as the Missle can stay fueled for a long time.
Just what I recollect with titans and sino soviet / ChiCom ordnance ....
Archy may have more ...
The Titan flew on UDMH (unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine) and nitrogen tetroxide.
Tricky stuff.
Dats it ...old age data loss on my part.... Accidents at Rock KS and other minor BFRC’s were a mess....
Just saw this headline...
North Korea seen readying for fourth nuclear test: report
http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-seen-readying-fourth-nuclear-test-report-005435693.html
I guess the Japaneses are not interested in anther Hiroshima.
I had not even really thought about Japan. Japan is as likely as any target.
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) —North Korea is showing signs it could be preparing to carry out a new ‘nuclear test’, South Korea’s Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said Monday, according to the semi-official South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Yes, I just saw this and checked other sources...all are saying movement around the nuclear sites.....
This will esculate at least til Wed. when the leadership apparently has set the date for..”something”? And who knows really what that will be ..if anything.
As has been said...China’s now started to speak up...but someones going to show Un where the line is before long..
They (South Korea) just now in the last hour or so, kind of jumped the gun on that report, and are now backtracking and walking it back in. They say there are “no signs” of imminent underground nuke test. But the missile launch possibility is very real, there is plenty of evidence of that through movements and prep.
In the US after the war, my dad was asked to speak at various civic groups, but that ended pretty quickly when they realized what he had to say. While they were very curious and respectful, domestic audiences mostly spared from direct contact with war were not really ready to hear details of man's cruelty to man in Japanese POW camps.
Early on in their Asian work crews, the prisoners--he was part of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army--learned there was no easy escape, despite what we would think of as rather minimal security. There were generally few situations with Hogan's Heroes-style huts in neat rows. Most often, there were not even any fences. One was told the limits of their movements: "Don't go past that road, not beyond that stream, not beyond that berm." Those that did were shot. The lessons were learned quickly and the prisoners were resigned to their captors' deadliness. Escape to where? There were no friendlies that would risk hiding them. Even if they got through the initial line, a 500-miles in any direction was all understood to be Japanese controlled.
Later, on Japan itself, Fukuoka #17 (pictures, testimonials, etc. findable via Google) was made up of rows of sleeping quarters. Most prisoners worked in nearby mines.
A bright spot was working within distance of fishable waters. As it saved on rations, the Japanese would sometimes let prisoners fish, though most often not for personal gain, but to be shared. Boy, did my dad love to fish!
After not mentioning it for decades, Dad admitted that after the presumed "big ammo dump" at Nagasaki went fooooom, the guards became disoriented and many deserted their posts. Though they might have gotten often a few rounds, the guards that lingered were taken apart by prisoners, limb from limb, sinew from bone. Such were the suppressed visceral responses as they finally found expression.
The prisoners took over the camp and formed details that forayed into the countryside. Ultimately, they met up with Americans on the ground not far from Nagasaki, and made arrangements for prisoner evacuation to Manilla, the Phillipines.
A friend mentioned just this morning how, in his opinion, those that survived really tough situations like a POW camp were really hardy souls that often lived to be 80-90 years old or more. My dad only made it to 68, and though he was tough, I think the radiation exposure from Nagasaki made his health in his last six years miserable.
HF
Incredible story, thank you so much for sharing it with us.
The Kims have built up a mythical cult around themselves, but Lil Kim doesn’t have any mythical accomplishments. Grandpa could claim he beat back the Japanese and the US, Pops could claim he built the nuclear bomb, so what’s left for sonny boy to claim?
Maybe that he fired the bomb... we’ll see.
“Remember, Japan is still the only nation to have thousands of citizens squashed.”
While it wasn’t noticed much amongst the typical daily devastation I do recall that Godzilla tore up New York City back in 1998 or so. Not that anyone really noticed.
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