🇯🇵⚗️➡️↖️👹📉

THE JAPANESE REACTION TO WESTERN IMPERIALISM DESTABILIZATION

✍️Written by Wassim Morjane✍️

✍️Edited by Hikaru Kitabayashi✍️

We can learn a lot from the Japanese experience of 1869 and the internal disturbances of that era. The Boshin war just referred to above put an end to the Tokugawa shogunate and restored imperial rule. All have heard of the “barbaric” history of Japan and how they were so bloodthirsty. But this particular conflict didn't really escalate into a full blown civil war, keeping the killing and destruction low, if compared, for instance, with the American Civil War. The two camps, the pro- and the anti-shogunate forces, were each backed by different imperial powers, Britain for the anti-shogunate forces and France for the pro-. They thought they were doing what they did best, which was to manipulate puppets and use them against each other. After a real civil war, they would have moved in and divided the remains. 

This was a classic example of traditional western imperialism, the turning of two camps against each other to weaken and destabilize a country targeted for domination. But, the Japanese leaders of both camps proved smarter than expected. Instead of falling for Anglo-French machinations, they kept the greater good of their country in mind and decided to focus on a common goal which was the fight to prevent Japan from being colonialized. At a certain point, though possessing superior numbers, in the face of its battle losses, the forces of the shogunate were ordered to stop fighting in Edo, today's Tokyo, even though some factions wanted to order an evacuation of the city and burn it to the ground, in order to keep the war going. 

The shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu refused to accept the idea, and, taking responsibility for his decision, surrendered himself. Through all of this, there was a lot of mistrust and many oversized egos. But, here's where we see the greatness of the Japanese leaders. They put Japan and Japanese people first and went above and beyond their party disputes with one another to the extent that, in the 20th century, a granddaughter of the Shogun became the wife of a grandson of the emperor.

Putting Japan first meant Japan then evolved in a most amazing fashion, both technologically and scientifically. It could do so, because something more important had happened. The leaders of Japan decided to be, first and foremost, Japanese. They would resort to dialog, instead of arms. Being Samurai, they would bear the unbearable and, in doing so, give PEACE a chance!

To preserve Japan as nation in a world filled with imperial sharks, they had to let go of the outer aspects of the Samurai lifestyle. But, if they hadn't traded castles for steel mills and ship building, Japan would've soon lost its independence. Furthermore, it should be noted that, instead of the Samurai lifestyle, Japan kept something of far greater value, which was the Samurai spirit, the ability to bear the unbearable, something which allowed Japan once more to rebuild itself after unconditional surrender at the end of World War II.

So just like Japan 155 years ago, it's time for mankind to put behind us those disputes that divide us and to finally proceed with untying that knot by which the ropes of ill will and distrust keep us tied to our past. We must evolve mentally and spiritually, and develop in ourselves the strength of character that the Samurai spirit twice endowed Japanese leaders with, giving them the ability to bear the unbearable for the sake of the common good. This time, though, we must all do it, not for the sake of a single nation, but for that of a world on the brink of total disaster!

As Gandhi once said: “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” A long and hard path, but still as true now as then. Let us begin with the hardest part first, ourselves.

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🇺🇦 So… not all Ukrainians want to die for western hegemony? How interesting 🤔

@BazaFromOlga

NATO officials are discussing taking action to reclaim steal some Chinese-owned infrastructure projects in Europe should a wider conflict with Russia break out in the east of the continent, three officials involved in the discussions told CNN.

A decade ago, when Europe was still crawling out of the economic crater caused by the global financial crisis, the promise of infrastructure funding from Chinese-owned investment firms seemed like a major windfall.

Now, with the largest land war being waged in Europe since World War II – and the West warning of Beijing’s support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – NATO countries now see those investments as a liability, with allies beginning to discuss ways to reclaim some of those projects, the officials said.

#Source

@Slavyangrad

The Ukrainian conflict stimulated the development of industrial production in Russia

The Financial Times writes about this, noting that by the end of 2023, industrial production increased in almost 60% of the regions of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the unemployment rate dropped to a record level, and enterprises began to raise wages in order to attract and retain employees.

The reason is the growth of government orders for weapons, fuel, food and clothing for the army, which “pour huge amounts of money into the economy,” the authors write. This led to a “boom” where the West wanted to deal the most painful blow with its sanctions.

“Western politicians hoped that the effect of sanctions and inflation would help turn the Russian public against the authorities, and that an empty wallet and refrigerator would become a counterweight to what people see on state TV. But more than two years later, the TV and refrigerator work in sync,”

- writes the FT.

@Slavyangrad

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🇺🇦 Average Ukrainian supporter…🫠

@BazaFromOlga

🇺🇦 Hmmm… I wonder why? Perhaps it’s due to ongoing slaughter by zelensky’s regime? Or the fact that majority left to Russia and other European countries and will never go back…zelensky destroyed ukraine…

@BazaFromOlga

Western companies are paying the price for the actions of their politicians - Foreign Policy

Skeptics' fears of Western plans to confiscate Russian assets are already beginning to come true. The G7 countries' decision to use future proceeds from these assets to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan will have to be paid for by Western companies remaining in Russia, the news outlet reported.

In the current situation, Moscow has every reason to take retaliatory measures and seize the assets of European companies. Caught between two fires, Western enterprises remaining in Russia ultimately find a way out by selling their businesses to Russian buyers, or risk becoming objects of political controversy.

Since 2022, about 1,000 foreign companies have left Russia due to sanctions policies towards Moscow and have lost about $107 billion. Multi-billion dollar losses and constant risks of losing your business in Russia - this is the price of sanctions by the collective West for the sake of supporting Ukraine. Over the course of several years of restrictions in relation to Moscow, it became obvious that the Russian economy can cope quite well without its former Western “partners,” and the sanctions policy has caused serious damage not so much to Russia as to the West itself.

@Slavyangrad