Immediately following the ruling by the Osaka District Court on the Okinawa Mass Suicides Suit (March 28, 2008), I was being interviewed by a correspondent from a foreign newspaper, while the plaintiffs were already engaged in the appeals process. Almost by way of greeting, I was asked by the correspondent, “What has this trial meant to your life?” I replied by saying, … [Read more...] about Kenzaburo Oe: Misreading, Espionage and “Beautiful Martyrdom”: On Hearing the Okinawa ‘Mass Suicides’ Suit Court Verdict
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The US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement and Okinawan Anger
FROM JAPAN FOCUSThis article, and the subsequent exchange with Major Nathan C. Hurst, originated in a symposium on the US global military posture that appeared at Mother Jones. As the article was being posted, we learned that on the night of October 24 another US plane, this time a small Cessna 172 had crashed in Okinawa after clipping high-voltage wires, and burst into flames. … [Read more...] about The US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement and Okinawan Anger
Asia and the War With Iraq
By Andre VltchekIn February, the people of Asia stood shoulder to shoulder, protesting in front of their US embassies against the forthcoming war against Iraq. They marched through rain, snow and tropical heat, their numbers varying from several hundreds to hundreds of thousands. But their message was unanimous: "We are not irrelevant. We, the people of the largest and the … [Read more...] about Asia and the War With Iraq
-Civil Disobedience
by David Edwards"The killed will be covered with earth and lime, and once more all the crowd of deluded men will be led on and on till those who have devised the project weary of it, or till those who thought to find it profitable receive their spoil. And so once more men will be made savage, fierce and brutal, and love will wane in the world... And so once more the men who … [Read more...] about -Civil Disobedience
Anti-War Interviews From The Guardian
We Proceed In Iraq As Hypocrites Zadie SmithThe utterly fallacious idea at the heart of the pro-war argument is that it is the duty of the anti-war argument to provide an alternative to war. The onus is on them to explain just cause. The case against is clear. To begin war on Iraq would be to launch a pre-emptive strike on a country we fear will attack us on a future … [Read more...] about Anti-War Interviews From The Guardian