The Michael Brown Okinawa assault incident arose from an attempted indecent assault by U.S. Marine Corps Major Michael Brown on a Filipina bartender, Victoria Nakamine, in Okinawa, Japan on November 2, 2002. The case received extensive attention in the Japanese media, especially on Okinawa, and the crime sparked a public debate over the U.S. military presence in Japan, the fairness of the Japanese legal system, and the practices of the Japanese police. The case involved the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States. On July 8, 2004, after a 19-month trial, Brown was convicted by a Japanese court of attempted indecent assault and destruction of private property and received a one-year suspended prison sentence. Based on this incident and others involving crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Japan, both countries entered into negotiations aimed at modifying the SOFA in July 2003; however, no changes were made.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1769:
Dartmouth College in present-day Hanover, New Hampshire, USA was established by a Royal Charter from British King George III and became the last university founded in the Thirteen Colonies before the American Revolution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_College
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside suffered severe casualties against entrenched Confederate defenders at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Fredericksburg, Virginia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fredericksburg
1937:
Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces captured Nanjing in China and then began to commit numerous atrocities over the next several weeks, such as looting, rape and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nanking
1981:
Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, suspended Solidarity and imprisoned many union leaders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojciech_Jaruzelski
2003:
Post-invasion Iraq: During Operation Red Dawn, American forces found former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole and captured him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Dawn
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
tussock (n): A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tussock
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mark this well, you proud men of action: You are nothing but the unwitting agents of the men of thought who often, in quiet self-effacement, mark out most exactly all your doings in advance. --Heinrich Heine http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heinrich_Heine