don't know much about what japan is doing....but i can kind of see their point. i often wonder why we shovel so much money out to countries that stomp on us every chance they get. withdraw of aid might sound cruel. to me it makes good sense. japan dishes out a lot of aid. if that is their bargaining chip, so be it. to bad we don't do the same.
Mick, think about how many countries in the world are financially able, and have the moral fortitude to protect, feed, and generally take care of the rest of the world. there aren't many. your country, ours, Canada, england, japan. not that others don't pitch in, but in reality, we (the collective 'Borg' we) carry the majority of the load.
the UN is a joke. why do we waste money there? the countries we support would destroy or weaken us if they could. no one gives a darn, they just have their hands out. why are we doing this? i'd like to see a 5 year experiment where the US brought ALL troops home, withdrew all aid, withdrew all State Department personnel, and just sat back and watched what happened. it would be an interesting experiment.
kind of got off track....:-) the Japanese should be able to do what the Japanese do. this idea of some international body dictating to all countries what they should and shouldn't do is bull. doesn't matter whether it's Kyoto or whales.
oh ya....i'd withdraw from all treaties for awhile too.