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LONG OVERDUE APOLOGIES.

 
 
msolga
 
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 06:34 pm
And about time, too. Smile Now will they revise those school history books that cause so much offence?

Japan apologises for wartime atrocities:

..."In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggressiveness, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly those of Asian nations," Mr Koizumi said through an interpreter.

"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility and with feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind." Japan has issued a similar apology before, notably on the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, but rarely has it made such a public mea culpa.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Japan-apologises-for-wartime-atrocities/2005/04/22/1114152323190.html?oneclick=true
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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 3,558 • Replies: 34
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msolga
 
  2  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 06:36 pm
Any other timely apologies that you can suggest?
0 Replies
 
Lash
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 06:42 pm
What is it with them and 'face'?

Amazing it took so long.

PS. Good for Japan. They have gone from gutting themselves with swords to humble apology in two generations. Quite an evolution.
0 Replies
 
Slappy Doo Hoo
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 06:49 pm
msolga wrote:
Any other timely apologies that you can suggest?


I'm waiting, msolga.
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 06:54 pm
Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:
msolga wrote:
Any other timely apologies that you can suggest?


I'm waiting, msolga.


Um, sorry, slappy? Confused
0 Replies
 
Slappy Doo Hoo
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 06:56 pm
For mine. I want an apology.
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:03 pm
I'm feeling very obliging this morning, slappy. So, despite the fact that I have absolutely no idea of how/why/when/where I've deeply offended you, here you are: I'm so sorry, Slappy. Please, please accept my hear-felt apology! I promise never to do it again.



How's that? :wink:
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:09 pm
Thank you for your gracious acceptance! :wink:
0 Replies
 
cjhsa
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:11 pm
Slappy's remembering that one night in Melbourne, and a horrible case of blue balls.
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:14 pm
Oh.

Right.
0 Replies
 
cjhsa
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:15 pm
Wink
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:36 pm
OK


Back to topic: The Australian prime minister, John Howard, is famous (?) for refusing to say "sorry" for anything! And, believe me, there are many things he SHOUld say sorry for! (Where to start? Rolling Eyes )
The saddest & most reprehensible instance of this stubbornness was his refusal to say sorry to the "stolen generation" of Australian aborigines.

http://pals.dia.wa.gov.au/stolenGeneration.aspx
0 Replies
 
Slappy Doo Hoo
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 07:41 pm
Apology accepted.
0 Replies
 
dlowan
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 08:30 pm
msolga wrote:
Any other timely apologies that you can suggest?


You know I can, don't you?
0 Replies
 
dlowan
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 08:32 pm
And here it is:


APOLOGY MADE BY JOHN HOWARD ON THE 3RD OF JULY ON NATIONAL TV

Any other John Howard who wishes to make this announcement should apply for copyright permission here, which will be granted immediately.

Good evening. My name is John Howard and I'm speaking to you from Sydney, Australia, host city of the year 2000 Olympic Games.

At this important time, and in an atmosphere of international goodwill and national pride, we here in Australia - all of us - would like to make a statement before all nations. Australia, like many countries in the new world, is intensely proud of what it has achieved in the past 200 years.

We are a vibrant and resourceful people. We share a freedom born in the abundance of nature, the richness of the earth, the bounty of the sea. We are the world's biggest island. We have the world's longest coastline. We have more animal species than any other country. Two thirds of the world's birds are native to Australia. We are one of the few countries on earth with our own sky. We are a fabric woven of many colours and it is this that gives us our strength.

However, these achievements have come at great cost. We have been here for 200 years but before that, there was a people living here. For 40,000 years they lived in a perfect balance with the land. There were many Aboriginal nations, just as there were many Indian nations in North America and across Canada, as there were many Maori tribes in New Zealand and Incan and Mayan peoples in South America. These indigenous Australians lived in areas as different from one another as Scotland is from Ethiopia. They lived in an area the size of Western Europe. They did not even have a common language. Yet they had their own laws, their own beliefs, their own ways of understanding.

We destroyed this world. We often did not mean to do it. Our forebears, fighting to establish themselves in what they saw as a harsh environment, were creating a national economy. But the Aboriginal world was decimated. A pattern of disease and dispossession was established. Alcohol was introduced. Social and racial differences were allowed to become fault-lines. Aboriginal families were broken up. Sadly, Aboriginal health and education are responsibilities we have still yet to address successfully.

I speak for all Australians in expressing a profound sorrow to the Aboriginal people. I am sorry. We are sorry. Let the world know and understand, that it is with this sorrow, that we as a nation will grow and seek a better, a fairer and a wiser future. Thank you.

John Howard, July 3, 2000


http://www.abc.net.au/thegames/howard.htm
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 08:33 pm
Yes, I'm sure you can, Deb. (I take it you're referring to the deeds & words of Little Johnny?)
0 Replies
 
dyslexia
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 08:35 pm
I'm waiting for Barbara Bush to apologize for using the rhythm method of birth control.
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Apr, 2005 08:46 pm
Well, I guess it's better than nothing! Sad But that is not John Howard, the Oz PM! Evil or Very Mad It's John Howard, the actor. A very nice & decent man, from all accounts! Very Happy


dlowan wrote:
And here it is:


APOLOGY MADE BY JOHN HOWARD ON THE 3RD OF JULY ON NATIONAL TV

Any other John Howard who wishes to make this announcement should apply for copyright permission here, which will be granted immediately.

Good evening. My name is John Howard and I'm speaking to you from Sydney, Australia, host city of the year 2000 Olympic Games.

At this important time, and in an atmosphere of international goodwill and national pride, we here in Australia - all of us - would like to make a statement before all nations. Australia, like many countries in the new world, is intensely proud of what it has achieved in the past 200 years.

We are a vibrant and resourceful people. We share a freedom born in the abundance of nature, the richness of the earth, the bounty of the sea. We are the world's biggest island. We have the world's longest coastline. We have more animal species than any other country. Two thirds of the world's birds are native to Australia. We are one of the few countries on earth with our own sky. We are a fabric woven of many colours and it is this that gives us our strength.

However, these achievements have come at great cost. We have been here for 200 years but before that, there was a people living here. For 40,000 years they lived in a perfect balance with the land. There were many Aboriginal nations, just as there were many Indian nations in North America and across Canada, as there were many Maori tribes in New Zealand and Incan and Mayan peoples in South America. These indigenous Australians lived in areas as different from one another as Scotland is from Ethiopia. They lived in an area the size of Western Europe. They did not even have a common language. Yet they had their own laws, their own beliefs, their own ways of understanding.

We destroyed this world. We often did not mean to do it. Our forebears, fighting to establish themselves in what they saw as a harsh environment, were creating a national economy. But the Aboriginal world was decimated. A pattern of disease and dispossession was established. Alcohol was introduced. Social and racial differences were allowed to become fault-lines. Aboriginal families were broken up. Sadly, Aboriginal health and education are responsibilities we have still yet to address successfully.

I speak for all Australians in expressing a profound sorrow to the Aboriginal people. I am sorry. We are sorry. Let the world know and understand, that it is with this sorrow, that we as a nation will grow and seek a better, a fairer and a wiser future. Thank you.

John Howard, July 3, 2000


http://www.abc.net.au/thegames/howard.htm
0 Replies
 
dlowan
 
  1  
Reply Sat 23 Apr, 2005 02:44 am
Lol! It was good - and funny too!


"We are one of the few countries on earth with our own sky"

Heehee
0 Replies
 
Setanta
 
  1  
Reply Sat 23 Apr, 2005 03:58 am
It was with a good deal of scepticism that i read Howard's encomium to the unique character of the Ozzian island. The scepticism regards his personal dedication to good stewardship. Any comments from Oz?
0 Replies
 
 

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