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Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

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Human Rights in Ireland
A Blog About Human Rights

offsite link UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights

offsite link 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights

offsite link Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights

offsite link Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights

offsite link Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Climate Change is ?Slowing the Earth?s Rotation? Fri Mar 29, 2024 13:00 | Sallust
If you weren?t already gibbering in your boots at the prospect of devastating climate change, it's time to think again. Apparently, the movement of water from the 'melting icecaps' is slowing the rotation of the Earth.
The post Climate Change is “Slowing the Earth’s Rotation” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Hancock Fails to Have Bridgen Libel Case Thrown Out Paving Way for Full Trial Fri Mar 29, 2024 11:00 | Sally Beck
Matt Hancock, the ex-Health Secretary, has failed in his bid to have Andrew Bridgen's libel case thrown out after Hancock branded him antisemitic, paving the way for a full trial.
The post Hancock Fails to Have Bridgen Libel Case Thrown Out Paving Way for Full Trial appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link DEI Wokery is Swallowing Small Businesses Too Fri Mar 29, 2024 09:00 | C.J. Strachan
It's not only large corporations with hyperactive HR departments that are succumbing to efficiency-sapping wokery, says C.J. Strachan. Small and medium-sized enterprises are being swallowed up by DEI as well.
The post DEI Wokery is Swallowing Small Businesses Too appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Are We Being Gaslit Over the Cause of the Princess of Wales?s Cancer? Fri Mar 29, 2024 07:00 | Melissa Kite
First Charles and then Kate ? it's hard to ignore the soaring cancer rate when two members of the Royal Family are diagnosed within weeks. But are we being gaslit about what's behind the surge, asks Melissa Kite.
The post Are We Being Gaslit Over the Cause of the Princess of Wales’s Cancer? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Mar 29, 2024 00:04 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Moscow attack reminds us of the links between Islamists and Kiev's fundamentalis... Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:57 | en

offsite link Failure to assist a people in danger of genocide, by Hassan Hamadé Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:32 | en

offsite link Yugoslavia March 24, 1999 The Founding War of the New Nato, by Manlio Dinucci Sun Mar 24, 2024 05:15 | en

offsite link France opposes Russian Korean-style peace project in Ukraine Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:11 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N°79 Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:40 | en

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Japan’s Embrace of a Phoney War on Terror

category international | anti-war / imperialism | other press author Sunday May 31, 2009 15:05author by Maidhc Ó Cathail Report this post to the editors

A recent book by Gavan McCormack documents how Japan has become a "client state" of the United States, an indispensable ally through its uncritical support of the global American empire. However, a closer examination of the forces driving recent US wars in the Middle East suggests that America may in fact be serving the interests of one tiny country in the region.

Japan may be “in the American Embrace,” as Gavan McCormack’s Client State cogently argues, but in whose embrace is America?

In Client State: Japan in the American Embrace, Gavan McCormack demonstrates how Japan’s apparent nationalist turn owes much to the need to conceal the country’s increasing subordination to American imperial designs. However, a closer examination of the driving forces behind the US Empire in the 21st century suggests that both countries may be serving a quite different agenda.

Rightly described as a “masterful” analysis by fellow Japan expert Chalmers Johnson, McCormack’s 2007 book expertly documents how Japan’s postwar “peace constitution” has been steadily attenuated to the point of meaninglessness, as Tokyo has consistently bowed to pressure from Washington to become more active in its support of US hegemony, culminating in a “merger” of their military forces in the wake of 9/11.

Maidhc Ó Cathail is a freelance writer living in Japan who writes a monthly political column for Kansai Time Out magazine, in which this article was originally published. He also contributes a monthly column to the Irish language internet magazine Beo!

Article continued at-
http://maidhc.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/embracing-a-phoney-war/

Related Link: http://maidhc.wordpress.com/
author by Eanna Dowlingpublication date Mon Jun 01, 2009 01:45author address author phone Report this post to the editors

There I was on a balcony in the western suburbs of Tokyo, taking in the scene. Immaculatley planned, all of the residents of the many 14 storey appartment complexes live within 15 minutes walk of a train station, shopping centre, primary, secondary and third level schools. Overhead, a steady stream of helicopters interrupted the everyday noises of everyday people.

I asked my host about the choppers. "Americans, flying to Yokohama," I was told. Later that night over a few beers at a Yakitori restaurant downtown, I learned more. There has been a permanent US military presence in Japan since the Second World War. Warships in US designated harbours. US Air Force bases. Military bases. Nuclear weapons on submarines operating out of US bases on Japanese land. Approximately 40,000 US troops are stationed there, though ex President Bush reduced the numbers during the invasion of Iraq. The Japanese taxpayer foots the bill, part of the post war treaty that gave the US responsibility for "protecting" Japan.

It is little wonder that Japan supports US policy. The two nations are the leaders in corporate globalisation. US culture exerts the strongest foreign influence on Japanese life, much like in Ireland. And a permanent US army occupies the country. While the two nations retain separate identities, they have many common interests. Despite past conflict, citizens and business people from both countries have sought and discovered common ground, and successfully sustained peace and commerce.

 
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