Prof. Boerner's Explorations

Edited by Gerald Boerner

Commentary:

Until the 1850s, Japan’s economy was closed to European and American products. The Japanese set up a buffer from western influences by a partnership with Portuguese and Catholic Church elements. One just needs to go back to the mini-series “Shogun” the came out years ago.

The forced entry into Tokyo Bay with a demand for a meeting with the ruling powers was asking for major opening of the Japanese markets to U.S. trade. Commodore Matthew Perry and his modern weaponry was too much for the Japonese and they signed the Convention of Kanagawa in1854.

So, off we go on another exploratory excursion…  GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3405 Words ]
    

Quotations Related to JAPAN:

“And also, I think Japan places great value on the lyrics.”
— Utada Hikaru

“By means of steam one can go from California to Japan in eighteen days.”
— Townsend Harris

“Clearly, Japan is a most important market for digital consumer products.”
— David Milne

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Edited by Gerald Boerner

    
Commentary

I sat in awe as I watched the Tsunami the hit Sendai, Japan, today. To see that thirty foot high wall of water rushing over the countryside taking houses, trains, cars and any other obstacle out as it progressed. Here in Southern California we live with earthquakes of 6.0 + range, but the quake that generated today’s tsunami was an 8.9, about a thousand times more powerful than the largest one that I remember (an 7.1).

The area that generated this tsunami was about 150 miles by 500 miles in size — larger than anything that I have ever thought of. I remember seeing History Channel programs about the Dam Buster raids in the Ruhr valley during World War II. I also remember seeing the sequence in the movie, “Force 10 from Navarone,” that used the force of water from a “blown” dam to destroy a bridge that could not be taken down by explosives. Such is the power of water!

The current post presents some basic facts about tsunamis for your understanding. I have included an excerpt from a Washington Post article as well as a short video of the event. Let us remember the victims and survivors of this tragedy in our prayers… GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3050 Words ]
    

Quotations Related to TSUNAMI:

“Being here, it is just impossible to imagine what that was like, when the tsunami hit.”
— Connie Sellecca

“Britain can be proud of its response to the tsunami appeal.”
— Gordon Brown

“What is perhaps more worthy of note than how many tsunami dead we’ve seen, however, is how many other recent dead we have not seen.”
— Bruce Jackson

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Edited by Gerald Boerner

Commentary

Today we follow-up yesterday’s exploration of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with a look at the Congressional Declaration of War that occurred on this day in 1941. Along the way, we will examine the international conventions define early in the 20th century to guide how hostilities are to be declared — the essential requirement is the Declaration to be made BEFORE hostilities commence. That requirement was NOT met in the attack on the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor on that fateful morning in 1941.

This would help explain how that one event turned an isolationist public attitude toward the war into a quest for vengeance. This fervor is comparable to the cries “Remember the Alamo” or “Remember the Maine” in previous conflicts. Our national resources were mobilized and it only took about six months during which the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and the defeat of the Japanese carriers at Midway to start turning the tables in the Pacific.

So let us proceed with our exploration of these declarations of war…  GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2010 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3258 Words ]

Quotations Related to DECLARATION

“The main American naval forces were shifted to the Pacific region and an American admiral made a strong declaration to the effect that if war were to break out between Japan and the United States, the Japanese navy could be sunk in a matter of weeks.”
— Hideki Tojo

“The other salient characteristic of the Declaration is its universality: it applies to all human beings without any discrimination whatever; it also applies to all territories, whatever their economic or political regime.”
— Rene Cassin

“The ultimate end is a nation that lies under the concept of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is such an extraordinary statement – it was designed by people skeptical of government, local or national, but in particular national.”
— Malcolm Wallop

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