KFC to sue Hitler in Thailand.

[Jacob]

Japanese militarist stuff would probably not be well received in a lot of Asia.  Japan didn't really have the charismatic leadership thing going on, so a picture of say Tojo might not be enough.

The Japanese naval ensign might do the trick:

[Jacob]

I don't remember this, what was the problem with that?

Are you familiar with the Opium Wars? They are not remembered fondly in China.

[jimmy olsen]

I don't remember this, what was the problem with that?

Are you familiar with the Opium Wars? They are not remembered fondly in China.

Ah yeah, that makes sense. I didn't mentally connect poppies with opium when mentioned in context with politicians wearing them.

[grumbler]

The Japanese naval ensign might do the trick:

(snip)

Except that they were allied to Japan (until they backstabbed the Japanese in 1945), and so probably not much offended by Japanese naval ensigns.

[grumbler]

I don't remember this, what was the problem with that?

Are you familiar with the Opium Wars? They are not remembered fondly in China.

  The poppy worn by the Brits (et al) is not the opium poppy!

But, I guess, the Chinese look so hard for things to be offended by that they don't consider the differences between the corn poppy and the opium poppy to be worth averting a diplomatic row over.

[Jacob]

The Japanese naval ensign might do the trick:

(snip)

Except that they were allied to Japan (until they backstabbed the Japanese in 1945), and so probably not much offended by Japanese naval ensigns.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking Thailand and more Korea and China in response to Raz's more generic "Asia" comment.

[Barrister]

The Japanese naval ensign might do the trick:

(snip)

Except that they were allied to Japan (until they backstabbed the Japanese in 1945), and so probably not much offended by Japanese naval ensigns.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking Thailand and more Korea and China in response to Raz's more generic "Asia" comment.

As was I when mentioning Mao.

[Josquius]

Japanese militarist stuff would probably not be well received in a lot of Asia.  Japan didn't really have the charismatic leadership thing going on, so a picture of say Tojo might not be enough.

The Japanese naval ensign might do the trick:
-product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/w/j/wje23n_-00_japan-rising-sun-naval-ensign-2ft-x-3ft-nylon-flag.gif[/img]

Ugh, yeah, with Koreans especially. You often see reports about Koreans overseas acting stupid over the Japanese naval ensign, convincing equally stupid and refusing to do research westerners that its an old symbol equivalent to the Nazi swatzika.

[Jacob]

  The poppy worn by the Brits (et al) is not the opium poppy!

I didn't realize that. I was under the impression that you could make opium - or something pretty similar - from the common European poppy. I'm pretty sure assorted hippies, at least in Denmark, experimented with that kind of thing back in the 60s and 70s.

Is it entirely different plant altogether, or is it just that the wild strain is way less bred for its yield so it's not worth?

But, I guess, the Chinese look so hard for things to be offended by that they don't consider the differences between the corn poppy and the opium poppy to be worth averting a diplomatic row over.

Yeah

I expect it was eagerly sought by some, in fact... it fits nicely within a somewhat popular nationalist narrative: "The foreign imperialists fucked us over and humiliated us; now we are strong, and they can't get away with it!" Smacking Cameron with some incidental bit of symbolism and making him eat at least a little bit of diplomatic crow over it is probably seen as a good thing. The Opium Wars is still a pretty sore point in China to the point that, IMO, if you're looking for just one historical reference to provide context for Chinese actions it's a pretty solid contender.

[grumbler]

  The poppy worn by the Brits (et al) is not the opium poppy!

I didn't realize that. I was under the impression that you could make opium - or something pretty similar - from the common European poppy. I'm pretty sure assorted hippies, at least in Denmark, experimented with that kind of thing back in the 60s and 70s.

Is it entirely different plant altogether, or is it just that the wild strain is way less bred for its yield so it's not worth?

The corn poppy (the common European weed) doesn't produce much (any?) morphine (which is the "active ingredient" in opium and is what is refined into heroin).  The opium poppy has been cultivated in Europe and the Middle East since prehistory, though, so there may be some crosses that produce more morphine in what may just look like a corn poppy.

I expect it was eagerly sought by some, in fact... it fits nicely within a somewhat popular nationalist narrative: "The foreign imperialists fucked us over and humiliated us; now we are strong, and they can't get away with it!" Smacking Cameron with some incidental bit of symbolism and making him eat at least a little bit of diplomatic crow over it is probably seen as a good thing. The Opium Wars is still a pretty sore point in China to the point that, IMO, if you're looking for just one historical reference to provide context for Chinese actions it's a pretty solid contender.

Yes, I teach Chinese exchange students, so I know how thoroughly the Opium War story has been exploited to justify pretty much every shitty thing the Chinese government has ever done.

They don't learn much about Chinese imperialism in Vietnam, Tibet, Sinkiang, or Korea, though.  Wonder why not?

[Caliga]

At my house in Mass. the previous owners had a poppy bed and as an experiment once I tried making opium from the poppies.  I got as far as extracting the opium tar/gum shit from the poppies and while I have no way of knowing if it was going to be as potent as 'real' opium, FWIW the tar completely numbed my mouth/tongue when I chewed it.

[Razgovory]

  The poppy worn by the Brits (et al) is not the opium poppy!

I didn't realize that. I was under the impression that you could make opium - or something pretty similar - from the common European poppy. I'm pretty sure assorted hippies, at least in Denmark, experimented with that kind of thing back in the 60s and 70s.

Is it entirely different plant altogether, or is it just that the wild strain is way less bred for its yield so it's not worth?

The corn poppy (the common European weed) doesn't produce much (any?) morphine (which is the "active ingredient" in opium and is what is refined into heroin).  The opium poppy has been cultivated in Europe and the Middle East since prehistory, though, so there may be some crosses that produce more morphine in what may just look like a corn poppy.

I expect it was eagerly sought by some, in fact... it fits nicely within a somewhat popular nationalist narrative: "The foreign imperialists fucked us over and humiliated us; now we are strong, and they can't get away with it!" Smacking Cameron with some incidental bit of symbolism and making him eat at least a little bit of diplomatic crow over it is probably seen as a good thing. The Opium Wars is still a pretty sore point in China to the point that, IMO, if you're looking for just one historical reference to provide context for Chinese actions it's a pretty solid contender.

Yes, I teach Chinese exchange students, so I know how thoroughly the Opium War story has been exploited to justify pretty much every shitty thing the Chinese government has ever done.

They don't learn much about Chinese imperialism in Vietnam, Tibet, Sinkiang, or Korea, though.  Wonder why not?

People make shit up to get mad about, news at 11.

[Razgovory]

At my house in Mass. the previous owners had a poppy bed and as an experiment once I tried making opium from the poppies.  I got as far as extracting the opium tar/gum shit from the poppies and while I have no way of knowing if it was going to be as potent as 'real' opium, FWIW the tar completely numbed my mouth/tongue when I chewed it.

I think corn poppies are poisonous.

[jimmy olsen]

I expect it was eagerly sought by some, in fact... it fits nicely within a somewhat popular nationalist narrative: "The foreign imperialists fucked us over and humiliated us; now we are strong, and they can't get away with it!" Smacking Cameron with some incidental bit of symbolism and making him eat at least a little bit of diplomatic crow over it is probably seen as a good thing. The Opium Wars is still a pretty sore point in China to the point that, IMO, if you're looking for just one historical reference to provide context for Chinese actions it's a pretty solid contender.

Did he eat crow? After looking up this incident, the articles I found indicate he and his ministers refused to back down and wore them.

[CountDeMoney]

I would argue that empathy for out-groups is an alien concept in most of Asia.

No joke.  Hell, they're not known for their empathy for other Asians, so you can forget the Jew concept.