Japan gets weirder...

[Daistallia 2104]

I wrote to the Japanese Diet once, saying "Take away that 1 child or whatever law, there's not enough women there, and on a side note, your economy will collapse if you don't keep having babies to replace the old peoples ". True story

That's just hilariously sad.

[Daistallia 2104]

Pfft. The summer air is humid, unfortunately, which has been on my nerves for weeks now.

Tell me about it! 34 C and 60% humidity here in Sakai today.

OTOH, I don't see you in NSG so much, so it may help to remember that some pretty distasteful things are fairly common here.

'Kawaii'=cute. That's one thing I never understood about the transferral of Japanese culture to the West.

Tell me about that too. Strange, ne.

BTW, you might appreciate this article: http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/july/wi ... er-grow-up

[Daistallia 2104]

There is a clear-cut difference between the daylight bombing of civillian facilities, and the death of a military serviceman. Although both are tragedies, and certainly things that we would have been better off by avoiding, one side has acknowledged that he may die, whilst the other refuses to fight. The problem abou bombing civillian populations is that regardless of their beliefs, views or positions, they will all be killed. At least in military operations both sides are trying to kill each other; they are both justidfiably fighting for their lives.

Civilian facilities such as the 2nd General Army Headquarters, from which Field Marshal Shunroku Hata would have commanded the defense of all of southern Japan come fall?

Anyways, considering the state of Japanese morale at the time, I doubt he would have been killed.

This is something that many people who haven't looked at the history well and don't know Japan and the Japanese well often overlook.

[Daistallia 2104]

Every other engagement in the war suggests otherwise.

Not dropping the bomb would have meant millions of Americans dead or wounded.

That's a gross exageration of an already gross exageration.

The first wave was expected to suffer almost total losses. The Japanese losses would have been tens of millions. The civilian population that did resist would have committed suicide, or forced to.

Edit: oops, in the reply frenzy, forgot this one.

Another over exageration. (And I'm having a hard time resisting the temptation to have fun with the mangling of the English there. )

By the end ofthe war, most of the population was disillusioned by the whole affair.

To a large degree. And the massive famine that would have occured had the US invaded would have hurried that right along. (The only reason there were not massive civilain famine deaths in 1946-7 was US food aid.)

ANyways, there was no such thing as the IJA by that point; it'd been all but wiped out.

Unfortunately not quite. There were quite substantial forces remaining.

At the very least, you could have used the atomic bomb in a Show of Force near Tokyo, instead of dropping it on a major city.

Edit: Egads, another one...

This was decided against for several reasons, primarily as it was seen as being much more easily dismissed by Japanese leadership.

Nagasaki was a major port, so it's partly justifiable. But Hiroshima? I mean, exactly what purpose did that serve?

As I mentioned above, it did have major military functions. In addition to the aforementioned HQ, it was also the home of, IIRC, the HQ for at least one division, a supply and logistics center, a military communications center, and an assembly area and military transport hub.

Furthermore, as you should well know, even today it's rather difficult to sort out the civilian and military facilities in Japanese urban areas, and was even worse 64 years ago.

[Daistallia 2104]

But at what cost? The problem is that each side will sympathize with their own, a perfectly reasonable thing. Every life lost in that war was a loss. It's not a matter of which side they were on; they were, at the end, all people. Either way, there would have been losses. It's just that the USA did what was best for their people, and I cannot hold anything against that.

I'm not saying that their main reason wasn't saving American lives, I'm saying that by dropping the bomb, they saved plenty of American and Japanese lives, civilian and otherwise.

I've got to agree with CM here. The combined combat and non-combat fatalities among Japanese would have far exceeded those at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

And just on a side note, I'm actually pretty happy this came up, for an odd reason. Every year I tell my self I should get off my butt and get down there for the Aug. 6 memorial. I haven't yet, usually because the date creeps up on me and I forget. This was good timing.

[Anemos Major]

BTW, you might appreciate this article: http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/july/wi ... er-grow-up

It's quite true, actually. There is this growing sense that the 'new' generation is attempted to become more independent.

[Anemos Major]

And just on a side note, I'm actually pretty happy this came up, for an odd reason. Every year I tell my self I should get off my butt and get down there for the Aug. 6 memorial. I haven't yet, usually because the date creeps up on me and I forget. This was good timing.

I think I should be in Hiroshima around then. I certainly will go to the memorial.

The funny thing is, if my great-grandparents hadn't decided to move just a bit before the bomb was dropped, I wouldn't exist.

[Daistallia 2104]

BTW, you might appreciate this article: http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/july/wi ... er-grow-up

It's quite true, actually. There is this growing sense that the 'new' generation is attempted to become more independent.

BTW, have you read Alex Kerr's Dogs and Demons? He really dig's into the kawaii culture and it's part the destruction of Japan's cultural self-destruction.

[Megaloria]

Sad lonely fat man
No hope for love, he sees her
Full of soft feathers

[Anemos Major]

BTW, you might appreciate this article: http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/july/wi ... er-grow-up

It's quite true, actually. There is this growing sense that the 'new' generation is attempted to become more independent.

BTW, have you read Alex Kerr's Dogs and Demons? He really dig's into the kawaii culture and it's part the destruction of Japan's cultural self-destruction.

No, unfortunately not. I'll get on it, of course.

[Anemos Major]

Sad lonely fat man
No hope for love, he sees her
Full of soft feathers

So true...

[Daistallia 2104]

I think I should be in Hiroshima around then. I certainly will go to the memorial.

The funny thing is, if my great-grandparents hadn't decided to move just a bit before the bomb was dropped, I wouldn't exist.

Ooohh man. Right now I trying to figure out if I can afford it. Overnight bus is looking maybe...

[L3 Communications]

You know, a thought occurred to me, does he do Ventriloquism in order to give the pillow a voice?

When he's sexing it up, he talks in a girly voice to make it seem like the pillow is enjoying it. >_>

[Wilgrove]

You know, a thought occurred to me, does he do Ventriloquism in order to give the pillow a voice?

When he's sexing it up, he talks in a girly voice to make it seem like the pillow is enjoying it. >_>

Well now I won't be able to sleep....Thanks...

[Daistallia 2104]

No, unfortunately not. I'll get on it, of course.

http://www.alex-kerr.com/html/dogs___de ... lish_.html

[Ralkovia]

Really? Pillow love?

Hey what is this word coming to when a man can't love his pillow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Allbeama]

Since there is so much talk about how bad it was that americans used atomic bombs against japan lets bring up the fact that the Japanese did not have clean hands in WW2... the Bhaatan Death March ring a bell anyone?

[Grave_n_idle]

Since there is so much talk about how bad it was that americans used atomic bombs against japan lets bring up the fact that the Japanese did not have clean hands in WW2... the Bhaatan Death March ring a bell anyone?

You remember when they nuked two major US cities?

No - because that's never fucking happened.

[Anemos Major]

Since there is so much talk about how bad it was that americans used atomic bombs against japan lets bring up the fact that the Japanese did not have clean hands in WW2... the Bhaatan Death March ring a bell anyone?

Are you telling me that the USA is completely innocent, even with the exclusion of the atomic weapons?

[Non Aligned States]

Keep it on topic people, or you might give the impression that instead of pillows, history books detailing atrocities are your girlfriends.

[Megaloria]

Thread of pillow sex
Now is about atom bombs
Mission accomplished

[Conserative Morality]

Keep it on topic people, or you might give the impression that instead of pillows, history books detailing atrocities are your girlfriends.

Is... Is there anything wrong with that?

[NERVUN]

Pfft. The summer air is humid, unfortunately, which has been on my nerves for weeks now.

Tell me about it! 34 C and 60% humidity here in Sakai today.

Don't get me started. The fricken rainy season was supposed to have ended by now!

[Anemos Major]

Keep it on topic people, or you might give the impression that instead of pillows, history books detailing atrocities are your girlfriends.

Is there anything wrong with being attracted to three-hundred page books with red covers!?

[NERVUN]

Keep it on topic people, or you might give the impression that instead of pillows, history books detailing atrocities are your girlfriends.

NAS... I think you just described over half of NSG...