World News Thread

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It sounds like it is escalating. Very scary!

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[Voronwë the Faithful]

Meanwhile in Israel:

Benjamin Netanyahu to be indicted on corruption charges, pending hearing

[Inanna]

It sounds like it is escalating. Very scary!

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And has thankfully de-escalated by the Pak PM releasing the captured Indian Air Force pilot.

If this was a pre-election ploy by Modi, it has backfired (or so I think). Hopefully nothing new will happen in the remaining two months.

Which is not to say that Pakistan sponsored terrorism is not a perennial problem.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I hope it stays de-escalated, and doesn't re-escalate. Though without a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem acceptable to both sides (which itself seems unlikely) it probably will flare up again before too long.

[River]

Which is not to say that Pakistan sponsored terrorism is not a perennial problem.

They were talking about this on NPR this afternoon. Apparently a lot of Western powers have been telling Pakistan to just effing stop.

[Frelga]

Well. It looks like Ukraine took the logical step of making a professional comedian the next president, given that they were going to be a laughingstock anyway.
https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politi ... ident.html

[RoseMorninStar]

Frelga, I was aware of the interesting opposing candidates and who won, but I haven't really followed their specifics or platforms. What is your opinion?

[Frelga]

It's complicated in ways Americans don't like. You can't point to a guy and say, there, that's the good guy. There are some players that are demonstrably bad guys, and Zelensky isn't one of those. But the best you can ask for is sort of a benevolent corruption.

Mind, that's true in other places. It's just in Ukraine, people mostly have given up pretending it isn't.

[elengil]

Over 200 dead in Sri Lanka from Easter church and hotel bombings
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48001720

[RoseMorninStar]

Sri Lanka, what to say. What awfulness people carry in their minds & hearts toward their fellow human beings. And not only Sri Lanka. Unrest all over. *sigh*

Frelga, well said.
We watched 'The Godfather' last night. Vito Corleone (The Godfather) had hoped his son Michael would become a politician so that he would have someone 'in his pocket'. Mob boss/politician what's the difference, hey? Another *sigh*

[Túrin Turambar]

As someone with a long-standing interest in Japan, I’ve been following the events around the Emperor’s abdication, which comes into effect at midnight tonight.

From the BBC

A few observations:

There is enormous significance in the regnal name the Emperor takes. The current Emperor, Akihito, took the name ‘Heisei’ when he ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989. ‘Heisei’ means ‘achieved peace’, symbolising Japan’s recovery from the devastation of the Second World War and its rejection of the militaristic policies of its wartime government. The incoming Emperor, Naruhito, will take the name ‘Reiwa’, meaning ‘order and harmony’. We’ll see what he says about it in his enthronement address.

By tradition Emperors are referred to by their regnal name after their death, i.e. the current Emperor is ‘His Majesty the Emperor’ and his predecessors are the Heisei Emperor, the Showa Emperor (Hirohito), the Taisho Emperor (Yoshihito), etc. During the War the western media commonly referred to Hirohito by his name as a means of pulling him down a few pegs, and so this is how he’s generally known outside Japan. However, we still generally refer to his predecessors by the Japanese system. E.g. his grandfather is known as the Meiji Emperor rather than by his name, Mutsuhito.

There’s a photo showing people presenting the Emperor with what look like presents. These I assume are the Imperial Regalia – a sword, a mirror and a jewel. It’s hard to overstate their importance. All have origins going back into mythological times, and all have been used in every enthronement ceremony since 690 AD (although the original sword may have been lost in 1185 and subsequently replaced). Between them, they provide proof of the Imperial line’s descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu. One of the reasons that Hirohito opted to surrender in August 1945 was fear that American forces would land in Japan near the Ise Shrine and capture the regalia – this actually seemed to concern him more than the atomic bombs. Funnily enough, no-one knows what the regalia look like as only the very highest Shinto priests and the Emperor himself are allowed to look at them. Or, for that matter, if they even exist.

You can see Japan’s interesting fusion of east and west in the ceremonies around the abdication and enthronement. In the morning, the Emperor donned the robes of a Shinto priest to report his decision to abdicate to his ancestors. He then changed into western morning dress for the rest of the ceremony.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Just in case people are not aware, this is the first abdication in over two centuries.

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[elengil]

Just in case people are not aware, this is the first abdication in over two centuries.

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Oh, I actually thought I read somewhere that there had never been an abdication before. Still, that's... an impressive record, either way!

[River]

This is also, IIRC, the longest ruling dynasty in human history.

[RoseMorninStar]

Fascinating.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Just in case people are not aware, this is the first abdication in over two centuries.

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Oh, I actually thought I read somewhere that there had never been an abdication before. Still, that's... an impressive record, either way!

The last emperor to abdicate was Emperor Kōkaku, who abdicated in favor of his son, Emperor Ninkō, in 1817. Before that it was common for emperors to abdicate if they did not die young. Kōkaku is the founder of the dynastic imperial branch which currently sits on the throne. He is the lineal ancestor of all the succeeding Emperors up to the now current Emperor, Naruhito. However, that is likely to change with the next emperor, because Naruhito only has a daughter, and Japan's law of imperial succession still bans women from becoming the head of state. The current next in line for the throne is Fumihito, Prince Akishino, who is Naruhito's younger brother, and next in line after that is Fumihito's son, Hisahito, who is only 13 (and has two sisters who are considerably older then he is, in there mid-20's.

This is also, IIRC, the longest ruling dynasty in human history.

The first emperor was Emperor Jimmu, who is supposed to have reigned from 660–585 BC and claimed descent from the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Modern historians agree that the Emperors before the possible late 3rd century AD ruler known traditionally as Emperor Ōjin are legendary. Emperor Ankō of the 5th century AD, traditionally the 20th emperor, is the earliest generally agreed upon historical ruler of all or a part of Japan. The reign of Emperor Kinmei (c. 509 – 571 AD), the 29th emperor, is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates.

[Túrin Turambar]

Prior to the Meiji restoration in 1868, Emperors had very little power, so it was quite common for them to abdicate just to get out of the strictly-regulated and highly-ceremonial lifestyle the role entailed. I know of at least one who left the throne because he preferred yakisoba noodles over the white rice cakes he needed to eat as part of various Shinto rituals.

ETA: The ever-helpful Wikipedia has a remarkable genealogy of the House of Yamato going back to the Shinto gods Izanagi and Izanami. It's fascinating to speculate at what point before Emperor Ankō actual history gives way to mythology.

[Maria]

In my crowd sourced family tree, it goes back to deities two different cultures, and Adam & Eve in another.

That's why I quit on it. People just get silly about that kind of thing

[RoseMorninStar]

Aren't we all descended from gods, really? Whatever one considers creation/their god to be?

[elengil]

Aren't we all descended from gods, really? Whatever one considers creation/their god to be?

I actually find it quite fascinating how many cultures trace lineages back to gods. I don't go in for full-blown conspiracy theories but I have to confess to having a soft spot for the ancient alien stories about our past 'divine' encounters. Not that I believe them, but I am wildly fascinated by them and appreciate the lengths some people go to to try to make aliens appear in our past.

Yah, that includes wonky-haired guy on the History Channel.