Hard to believe that Japan is still officialy denying thier actions in WW2.

[Pongo]

"The latest flare-up over history is a result of the Japanese government’s approval of a controversial new textbook for 13 to 15-year-old students. The book refuses to describe Japan’s occupation of Asian countries as an “invasion.”  The book also refers to the wartime Nanjing massacre-which killed more than a quarter million Chinese as merely an “incident,” and describes the disputed Senkaku islands as “sovereign territory.”

"
from MSNBC
Could you imagine if the Germans tried this?

[Fishu]

I can imagine the russians doing it.. well, I see them doing it.

[GRUNHERZ]

Originally posted by Pongo
"The latest flare-up over history is a result of the Japanese government’s approval of a controversial new textbook for 13 to 15-year-old students. The book refuses to describe Japan’s occupation of Asian countries as an “invasion.”  The book also refers to the wartime Nanjing massacre-which killed more than a quarter million Chinese as merely an “incident,” and describes the disputed Senkaku islands as “sovereign territory.”

"
from MSNBC
Could you imagine if the Germans tried this?

It's like Boroda's USSR posts on this BBS, only a whole country is doing it..

Go Go Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere!!!

[Staga]

Link ?

[Saintaw]

It was all over the news a couple of days ago... some big protest about this in China (Beijing I think)

[oboe]

It'll be interesting to see how US textbooks treat the Afghanistan/Iraq invasion and occupation when new classroom texts are published, in contrast to what the Euro texts will teach children about it.

[Fishu]

Originally posted by oboe
It'll be interesting to see how US textbooks treat the Afghanistan/Iraq invasion and occupation when new classroom texts are published, in contrast to what the Euro texts will teach children about it.

That'll be about the patriotic freedom war against evil WMD torturer saddam in the US books and the euro books talks about corrupt president who used the 911 as an excuse.

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Fishu
That'll be about the patriotic freedom war against evil WMD torturer saddam in the US books and the euro books talks about corrupt president who used the 911 as an excuse.

and the Euro books would be wrong.

 Not about the corrupt president. All polititions no matter the country they are from are corrupt to a certain extent.
Dont kid yourself into thinking otherwise

But 911 was never used as an excuse.

[Fishu]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK
and the Euro books would be wrong.

 Not about the corrupt president. All polititions no matter the country they are from are corrupt to a certain extent.
Dont kid yourself into thinking otherwise

But 911 was never used as an excuse.

Yeah well, at least majority of the western countries doesn't start wars with their corrupt politicians and try to lie to the rest of the world.... AND start a hate campaign against an another country (freedom fries anyone?).

But 911 was used as an excuse, no other reason for the americans to be in Iraq right now.
911 has been ever since used as a terrorist scare card, which was true when Bush told that Saddam had WMD and that he was an al qaida supporter etc. etc.
More than enough exagerrations/lies and all the time the 911 card was showed when someone doubted the stories of Saddam.

[Eagler]

lol

ya - the "whole freedom fries" thing was started in the White House

LOL

who cares what the euros teach their kids - half of it is crap anyways, just like what we teach ours...

true education doesn't start until you leave the "halls of Higher Learning" and get into the real world

[oboe]

Here's hoping all texts offer both sides of the issue.

I probably sholdn't have grouped all Europe into one class; odds are the British texts will differ in POV from the French.

[Pongo]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK

But 911 was never used as an excuse.

As much as I oppose the invasion of Iraq, comparing it to Japanese actions in China is just distasteful and wrong.
But Bush totally used the 9/11 attack to press for the invasion of Iraq. Americans right on this board have repeatedly revealed the propoganda effect and connected the two.

[Fishu]

Originally posted by Eagler
ya - the "whole freedom fries" thing was started in the White House

Sure, Bush didn't begin saying 'freedom fries', but he started the 'bash the french' -movement.
He openly mocked the french, even referred to their decisions with the word "silly", etc. etc.

The other monkeys just followed the bigger monkeys example.
But anyway, the point remains, he pretty much started the mess.


Besides generalizing the european history teaching into something as if everyone is having the same book in europe, is quite different than in the USA.
I don't have any idea what kind of history is taught in different euro countries, except that germans are taught too well to hate their nazi past (now they can't make a difference between the nazi swastika and the finnish insignia, causing many game publishers to censor all and everything which resembles swastika.. damn germans and their censorship laws, the whole europe must suffer).

With the international history, the finnish school books are rather unbiased.
Why would we need to teach propaganda to ourselves, when we're too small of a nation for that


However I have noticed more "propaganda" in the US school books.

[soda72]

Originally posted by Fishu
With the international history, the finnish school books are rather unbiased.

Unless your books are written by non-humans i doubt this statement is true...

[Flit]

Originally posted by Fishu
Yeah well, at least majority of the western countries doesn't start wars with their corrupt politicians and try to lie to the rest of the world.... AND start a hate campaign against an another country (freedom fries anyone?).

But 911 was used as an excuse, no other reason for the americans to be in Iraq right now.
911 has been ever since used as a terrorist scare card, which was true when Bush told that Saddam had WMD and that he was an al qaida supporter etc. etc.
More than enough exagerrations/lies and all the time the 911 card was showed when someone doubted the stories of Saddam.

ummm, I take it that the 12 +years of SH blatently lying about and curcumventing the UN mandates levied agianst him did'nt have anything to do with it ?
 And the fact that the French goverment helped SH buy weapons ( which were used agianst the US troops) and sell oil "under the table" had nothing to do with the average american being pissed off at the french,after we saved their butts TWICE in the past 80 years?
 The main thing to look at here is the wave of freedom that is sweeping the middle east.
 It is still too early to see it clearly, but it is happening, and Bush will go down in history as the man who started it all.