"Hunt starts for massive bell in Myanmar river" Associated Press August 15, 2014
YANGON, Myanmar — Divers attached to safety ropes have plunged into waters south of Myanmar’s old capital as part of renewed efforts to retrieve a bronze bell that has been lying for centuries at the confluence of three rivers.
The 270-ton bell, believed to be one of the largest ever cast, was made on the order of King Dhammazedi in 1476 and donated to the revered Shwedagon pagoda. In the early 1600s, it was stolen by Portuguese despot Philip de Brito, but his rickety vessel sank where the Yangon and Bago rivers meet the Pazundaung creek.
Private and foreign groups have for years been trying to retrieve the historic treasure. Believed to be buried deep beneath heavy silt, they have been deterred in part by murky waters and torrential currents.
A salvage team of about 70 people including 10 divers from the country’s Myeik archipelago, famous for their ability to dive deep without external breathing equipment, were taking part in the latest mission, said Win Myint, 52, the expedition organizer.
They have made exploratory dives over the last several days, but because of heavy silt and mud on the riverbed have not been able to locate the bell, and were set to dive again on Thursday, Win Myint said.
He said he has always dreamed of salvaging the Dhammazedi Bell and returning it to the Shwedagon pagoda.
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Related: With Kerry Comes Conflict
Ah, the bells of WAR!
"No solution in sight on sea row after Myanmar meet" Associated Press August 12, 2014
MANILA — Despite US and Asian calls for self-restraint and new impetus for the resolution of territorial disputes involving China, a high-profile Asian security summit ended over the weekend with no solution of the rifts in sight.
China dismissed a new US proposal for a freeze on hostile actions that could heighten tensions in the disputed South China Sea, leaving Washington unable to overturn an impression that it can do little to back up allies at odds with Beijing over the contested waters and islands. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, remains divided and is similarly unable to pressure China to back down.
ASEAN generally has backed American calls for an easing of tensions. But China has resisted, and progress on the code has been slow.
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I just want to register for the record how sick I am of my agenda-pushing, war-promoting piece of crap casting about to create enemies and more wars.
"US military chief visits Vietnam, 1st since 1971" Associated Press August 15, 2014
HANOI — US General Martin Dempsey on Thursday became the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to visit Vietnam since 1971, seeking to boost military ties between the former foes at a time when Hanoi is embroiled in territorial disputes with China.
The trip comes amid anger in Vietnam over China’s recent decision to deploy an oil rig in a disputed section of the South China Sea.
The boom-boom-boom you hear are the damn war drums.
The United States shares Hanoi’s concerns over Beijing’s assertiveness, and has indicated it may partially lift a ban on weapons sales to its former enemy, possibly as early as next month.
They are the only one that has them. The whole region has chilled out, Koreans are coming together, there is reconciliation in the Philippines, and the Chinese are more concerned about celebrities on drugs and corporate corruption (a-ha!). That's the price you pay for fraud, I gue$$.
Speaking to his Vietnamese counterpart, Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, before the closed-door talks, Dempsey described his four-day visit as ‘‘one of the highlights’’ of his military career.
The two sides will work to boost military cooperation, with a focus on maritime security, training, and overcoming the legacy of the war, a Vietnamese Ministry of Defense statement said.
How can "we" do that after what we did to them over a damnable lie? AmeriKa committed war crimes against them and murdered millions, and has never apologized.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the visits by Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel later this year were ‘‘concrete steps to promote and implement the comprehensive partnership’’ established in last July during President Truong Tan Sang’s trip to the United States.
Bilateral trade and investments have grown quickly since the normalization of relations in 1995, making the United States one of Vietnam’s top trading partners and investors.
So we.... won.... the war?
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"US military takes 1st step in relocation in Japan" by Yuri Kageyama | Associated Press August 15, 2014
TOKYO — Buoys were being floated off the southernmost island of Okinawa on Thursday in one of the first steps in the long-planned but highly contentious relocation of an American military base.
The buoys define the area where preparations for construction will begin on a facility in coastal Henoko that will house the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which will be relocated from a crowded residential area of Okinawa.
Okinawa houses the majority of US troops in Japan. Protests against the bases have been going on for decades. Aircraft noise, crashes, and crime are among the frequent complaints.
The Japanese Defense Ministry confirmed the placing of buoys began Thursday but declined to give details, citing security concerns. Public broadcaster NHK showed protesters on boats being blocked by patrol boats, and others were holding up signs outside the US base saying ‘‘No new base.’’
Opponents say most people are opposed to the construction, which some say would endanger the coral reef, tropical fish, and other ocean life.
See: ‘Street view’ goes undersea to map reefs, wonders
Land reclamation is needed for an airstrip to be built over the water from Camp Schwab, a US military base. The buoys mark the location where boring of the seabed will take place for a government study to prepare for construction.
Japanese media reports said the drilling could start as early as this weekend. The Defense Ministry declined comment. The US military also had no immediate comment on the activities Thursday.
Many Okinawans want the US off the island entirely, but public opinion is divided, with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima backing the plan.
The Marines’ relocation to Henoko is part of a broader plan to consolidate and reduce the US military presence in Okinawa. Previous efforts to implement the move have stalled. The US and Japan agreed on the plan in 1996.
When are we leaving? Been there 70 years.
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly said the plan is important for the crucial alliance with the US amid territorial disputes with China and the nuclear threat from North Korea.
But Susumu Inamine, the mayor of Nago, where Henoko is located, noted his reelection earlier this year underlines the people’s opposition to the plan.
‘‘Pushing forward with this tramples on the human rights of the people and the rich diverse natural life of this region,’’ Inamine said in a statement.
That rings a bell when it comes to my government!
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Like a fool I'm looking for articles on Fukushima.
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
"With Eye on China, Abe Skips Visit to War Shrine" New York Times August 16, 2014
TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, hoping to appease conservative supporters without closing the door on a hoped-for summit meeting with China’s leader, refrained from visiting a controversial war shrine in Tokyo on Friday, the 69th anniversary of the end of World War II, sending a cash offering instead.
Thus confirming my analysis above. No one but the U.S. wants war, and in Asia it is because of the yuan.
Some 80 Japanese politicians, including three members of Abe’s Cabinet, did visit Yasukuni, the large shrine in central Tokyo that honors the nation’s war dead, including convicted war criminals.
Hey, every country does that. It's how governments organize a society.
However, in an apparent attempt to avoid angering China as well as South Korea, Abe did not join them, despite calls from right-wing supporters for him to pay respects by doing so.
Instead, Abe sent an aide with the donation, which Abe signed as president of the Liberal Democratic Party and not in his public capacity as prime minister. The offering continues a pattern of sending gifts to the shrine instead of paying actual visits that Abe has largely followed since taking office in December 2012.
The one time Abe did visit Yasukuni, in December, brought strong reactions from China and South Korea, two victims of Japan’s early 20th-century empire building, and also from the United States, Japan’s postwar protector.
Empires never last long, notice that? Especially ones engaged in active wars across the planet.
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