Japan: A Colony of the US

At the end of WW2, Japan lay in ruins. Cities destroyed, industry gone and millions dead. Japan paid the ultimate price of their imperialism and fascism. Fast forward to present day Japan, and much has changed. Japan is now a constitutionally mandated pacifist country. They do not have a military, only a self defense force. They swore in their new constitution that Japan would forever renounce the right to attack any other country. I applaud this. Japan is a beautiful place, with a rich heritage and great people, many of whom want to put the dark years behind them, and move on into a better, more peaceful future.

Centuries later, and what is the greatest threat to Japan’s status as a peaceful and progressive nation?  I’ll tell you what it is. It is their unending subservience to the fascist demands of the US.

In a news story from Reuters, they announce that Japan will be cutting oil imports from Iran by 11% as the result of negotiations with the US government. They admit that this could prove harmful to the Japanese economy, in a time when they are struggling.

This is just another example of why Japan needs to throw off their subservience to the blood thirsty dogs in Washington. They have pulled Japan into supporting their morally bankrupt wars, hosting thousands of US troops at the expense of the Japanese people, and made the Japanese government forget who they really should be working for, the people of Japan.

Japan: Kick out all US troops now, close all foreign bases. End trade agreements with the US, and develop trade and relations with Asia. It is time for Japan, and the world to throw of the parasite of US hegemony and imperialism. Do not be attached to fascists and imperialists, you went down that road once, and you don’t want to go down it again.

Edit: Here is the link to the Reuters story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/21/us-japan-usa-sanctions-idUSTRE81J1FK20120221?feedType=RSS&feedName=wtMostRead&utm_source=Greg+Stanski&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FMostRead+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Most+Read+Articles%29

Priorities

Second post in one night? You readers sure are lucky.

I had to after reading a story originally published in the Washington Post, and republished on the Japan Times news website. Former Secretary of the Navy Gordon England whines that we are making the same mistake we made in the early 2000s. He says that the military was underfunded due to the peace dividends of the Clinton years, and that military members were underpaid, bases in disrepair, and worst of all submarines went out to sea without cruise missiles. Hold on one second while I wipe away a tear. *sniffle* OK. I’m back. 

Military spending went through the roof during the Bush years, as we invaded countries and overthrew their governments; for their own good of course. Hundreds of thousands of civilians died as we handed Iran their mortal enemy Saddam on a silver platter. Afghanistan was ravaged by war, many civilians dying in a war they didn’t understand against an enemy they had no chance of beating. Wars of aggression, military expansionism, have long reigned supreme in the US. No politician dare speak out against our militarism and imperialism, lest they anger the gods of death and the military industrial complex. 

While the American infrastructure fell into disrepair, as the US became one of the highest rates of economic inequality in the OEC. As our economy struggled to keep from stagnating, military contractors were making bank like nobody’s business. Millions of Americans have fallen into poverty, millions more going on the dole because of recession, while we just kept expanding our empire.

And we’re still expanding, building bases in Australia and threatening Syria and Iran. Ever increasing, the militarist beast just can’t get enough to sate its blood-thirsty and infinite appetite. Let me give you a little bit of perspective:

And that’s just the map the DoD provides. There are an estimated 750+ military bases in at least 150 countries worldwide. Maybe we don’t have enough money for our military because our military is too large. It is quite telling that conservatives have no problem throwing trillions of dollars at dropping bombs on poor brown people, but just can’t stand giving money towards education or the poor. Our ridiculous obsession and worship of the military is going to kill us as a nation. Imperialism is destructive, not only to the victims of aggression, but also the aggressor country as well. Just look at Japan, it spent decades invading and attacking its neighbors, thinking it was invincible. It raised a culture of militarism and imperialism. How did that end for the Japanese? It ended with starvation, death and destruction, not only for countries like Korea and China, but also for Japan. The Japanese people suffered greatly for the hubris and excesses of its leaders. You think America’s fate will be any different? 

Priorities. Close the overseas bases, end imperialist expansion, take that money saved, invest in education and infrastructure. If we remember history we may avoid making the same mistakes again, but I won’t hold my breath.