[lbo-talk] alternation

[Carl Remick]

>From: Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com>
>
>--- Carl Remick <carlremick at hotmail.com> wrote:
>E.g., what's up with Scandinavians?  Just over a
>millennium ago, they
>were
>the avatars of terrorism; as the Anglo-Saxon prayer
>went, "May God
>protect
>us from the fury of the Northmen!"  Today,
>"Scandinavian" is synonymous
>with
>the rule of sweet reason and the welfare state.
>--
>
>What I don't get is the Japanese. How did this
>civilization with a rich, independent history -- a
>WARRIOR, IMPERIAL civilization no less -- become so
>subservient to the US? The Germans haven't done that.
>Why don't they boot the US off the goddam island and
>get their own military?

[Well, the armed forces the Japanese already have aren't exactly Sgt. 
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  As was recently posted to the list:]

Reuters.com

Japan's defence ministry seeks bigger FY06 budget

Wed Aug 31, 2005

By Teruaki Ueno

TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The defence ministry, keen for Japan to upgrade 
its military capabilities and play a bigger security role abroad, said on 
Wednesday it wants increased funds for a missile defence system and to set 
up a training unit for overseas missions.

The ministry unveiled a 4.88 trillion yen ($44 billion) budget request for 
the fiscal year beginning next April, a rise of 1.2 percent from this year.

Japan's defence spending fell in the current fiscal year for the third 
straight year, reflecting government attempts to trim overall spending as it 
grapples with massive state debt.

Japan's defence spending is the world's fourth-biggest after the United 
States, Russia and China. ...

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Carl