April 18,2008
Elaine Meinel Supkis
England has never come to terms concerning their own criminal past as an imperial power. The propaganda fantasy that they were spreading 'civilization' as they destroyed and conquered great civilizations or destroyed tribes across the planet. So here comes Prime Minister Brown to pet our demented emperor. Meanwhile, the US and UK break up Iraqi cities into high-walled ghettos a la Israel. As we demand China break up, the Canadian Indian tribes demand the same rights the Tibetans want. A break up of the old British Empire. And we must talk about the game of 'Go' and the fall of US/UK power in Asia. Most commentators in the US/UK empire can't understand what is going on there.
British PM: Bush owed 'a huge debt of gratitude'
The president said he appreciates the contributions of British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain has nearly 8,000 forces around Basra, in southern Iraq."We're making progress," Bush said. "Failure in Iraq will send a message to Iran that the United States and its allies were not intent on making sure they stay within the borders of their country. ... It's worth it to succeed."
Brown added, "The world owes George Bush a huge debt of gratitude" for his efforts against terrorists.
Thank you, George, for showing the world that we are vicious nut cases. Thank you for sending the planet into a huge inflationary spiral. Thanks for turning Iraq into a charnel house. Thank you for millions and millions of refugees. Thanks for pictures of Americans torturing Muslims. Thank you for bankrupting the USA. There, Mr. Brown Nose! I did it. Now, if you both could please go to hell, I will be even more thankful.
The fact that Labour no longer recognizes fascism is yet another sign of the corruption at the heart of the British Empire. As I have pointed out in the past, WWI and WWII had absolutely nothing to do with 'spreading democracy' and a tremendous amount to do with 'imperialism.' After WWI, the only places that found themselves 'free' were all the ethnic groups within the German and Austro-Hungarian empires. Not only did the British not offer the same opportunity to leave an empire to its own subject nations and peoples, the British ran off to increase the size of their own empire. As calls to divest themselves of this military dictatorship abroad rose, the League of Nations basically told them all to jump in a lake. As the struggle against the French and British empires grew, the anti-democratic autocrats in Europe refused to let go. Instead, they spend a lot of money they didn't have, suppressing popular demands for democracy or conquering even more populations who had no desire to be ruled by a bunch of crazy Europeans.
After WWI, the Irish managed to wrest one half of their country out of the bloody hands of the British Empire. To this day, the British still won't let the Irish have an entire country. Grimly, the British hang onto their half. The British suffered through years of 'terrorism' while the Irish fought them tooth and nail. Finally, the captive Irish people caught in the maw of the British Lion won civil rights within their shattered nation and the terrorism stopped. But only because the natives expect to slowly drive out the British Royal authorities peacefully, in the long run. On the other hand, the British make no moves to show they are leaving.
WWII was even worse: the Brits and Americans poured on thick the mythology that they were fighting for democracy. Even as neither nation gave their own populations civil rights and any say in the government, they pretended we were fighting to extend voting rights to aliens we didn't control. After the war, all the victims of both empires which now merged, demanded these rights. Instead of granting them right off the bat, both the British and US empires point-blank refused. Instead, the imperial wars continued. We call this 'The Cold War' which was stupidly seen as freedom versus communism.
Instead, it was imperial exploitation by capitalists versus imperial economic exploitation by communists. As usual, most of the smaller, weaker countries were invaded or chopped up into ever-smaller units as both sided sought to exploit other nations. Even now, as the US and UK seek to destroy and chop apart into tiny units, the shattered remains of the Ottoman Empire, our rulers have to pretend they are doing something we should be thankful for? This is so demented.
Des Browne ‘misled MPs over seizure of British sailors in the Gulf’
The Defence Secretary has been accused of misleading Parliament over the capture of 15 British sailors and Marines in the Gulf last spring as it emerged that Iran has kept £1 million of seized military equipment.The Conservatives said that Des Browne was “less than frank” after The Times disclosed Ministry of Defence papers showing that the Britons were seized in disputed waters, not Iraqi territory.
*snip*
An internal MoD paper released to The Times blames the incident on the lack of an agreed border in the waters between Iraq and Iran.The seizure occurred, the top-level document states, because the US-led coalition created a notional sea boundary but omitted to tell the Iranians where it was. Revolutionary Guard patrol boats were crossing this line three times a week, the partially censored document shows.
This is so classic! At the time, I wrote that the whole fracas as completely stupid. Iran has a 100% right to patrol their borders. The US and UK are invaders who are obviously not exactly welcome within the nation they invaded and are now tearing to shreds. The UK sailors have no rights at all to be tooling about in the seas offshore from Iran. None! Even if a Quisling asks for them to do this, they have no right to come right up to the border of a nation they keep saying, they want to invade! I also said, there was no agreed boundary and if the US and UK empires want this, they know how to get an agreement.
Now that is the whole problem! The US and UK recognize NO sovereignty of ANY nation! We are the empire and we know no boundaries! We rule the EARTH! If any 'brown' or 'black' or 'yellow' people can't accept this brutal fact, we kill them. The US and UK beat the war drums at home over this 'capture'. But sensible people, worried about WWIII, questioned the story right off the bat, the two emperors retreated. Oh, I forgot, the British have an empress, not the PM. Anyway, this capture was an insufficient cause for open warfare. Other aquatic encounters whereby the tiny navy of Iran shadowed US ships. We don't patrol our own borders. But we patrol Iran's borders. The US navy lied about these encounters and pretended that these were horrifying attacks that frightened our sailors. Instead, it was small speed boats merrily sailing in the middle of our imperial fleets!
Britain and America bonded and took over the planet via WWI and WWII. It disgusts me to see our rulers thinking that if they launch WWIII, we will expand our rule. WWI and WWII nearly destroyed Britain. This was due to British overreach. Just like the Great Depression was caused by Britain being unable to pay for WWI except by rolling over their debts and then dropping the gold standard, turning their money into fiat paper. Just like many an analysis of our economic problems and the Great Depression ignores the global British empire going bankrupt after WWI as a cause, commentators refuse to connect the US empire to the dead British empire. We sucked in that empire as well as parts of the French empire and many of our woes today are very much caused by this attempt to ape and increase the British empire. The fact that all Brits who come here are delighted that we are trapped in endless wars in various colonies should alarm and annoy us. We shouldn't be the British empire. Note how Britain's queen keeps here private offshore pirate coves going as a means to drain our nation of our tax base and to allow financiers free reign under her own reign?
The British strut and fret across the globe using our military power as their imperial tool. And we amble behind them, overjoyed to meet the Queen who holds her nose while shaking our hands. I will note that our foolish Mrs. Reagan, upon meeting the Queen, actually curtsied! As if she were a maid in waiting and not the representative of a free nation! But then, our own President and VP are treated like servants by the Saudis.
Back to Iran: the refusal of the US and UK to negotiate an honest agreement on borders is criminal. And our joint criminal operations in the Middle East on behalf of the various despotic rulers there like the Saudi King, is imperialism, not 'spreading democracy'. Especially since Iran is a 'democracy'! But according to the Empire, only Israel, an ethnic-cleansing mini-kingdom, is a 'democracy'. Even though it is not. And when they had elections within the territories they conquered, they didn't like the results and divided tiny Palestine in two and are now bombing one half like crazy. As Carter went in to try negotiations, they upped their attacks and on an empty road, shot up and murdered an obvious Reuters reporter. Many reporters have been deliberately killed by the US and UK imperials, too. They don't like people poking their noses in suppressions.
As Carter talked, the Jewish invaders of the Gaza ghetto were killing. But the Palestinians managed to kill three Jewish soldiers [there are NO Muslim Israeli imperial troopers!]. This infuriated the Israelis who killed more children in Gaza. And this gets no mention in the US or the UK anymore. The 'reforms' at the BBC pretty much wiped out all the last vestiges of honest reportage about the imperial wars.
U.S. Begins Erecting Wall in Sadr City
Trying to stem the infiltration of militia fighters, American forces have begun to build a massive concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, the densely populated Shiite neighborhood in the Iraqi capital.The construction, which began Tuesday night, is intended to turn the southern quarter of Sadr City near the international Green Zone into a protected enclave, secured by Iraqi and American forces, where the Iraqi government can undertake reconstruction efforts.
“You can’t really repair anything that is broken until you establish security,” said Lt. Col. Dan Barnett, commander of the First Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment. “A wall that isolates those who would continue to attack the Iraqi Army and coalition forces can create security conditions that they can go in and rebuild.”
All empires do this: divide and conquer. The US has been busy building ghetto walls all over the place. This obnoxious activity is done in the name of stopping ethnic violence created by the US/UK invasions. On the other hand, when Tibetans have ethnic/religious cleansing style riots, the US and UK demand that China RETREAT! China is supposed to NOT stop this but to remove themselves. China can't build ghettos to pen in ethnic groups that annoy their own empire! They aren't even supposed to suppress riots. In the US, when we had ghetto riots, the military moved in and shot up the local minority populations, killing them. This is now ignored here at home.
Instead, we see a black man running for President, being tormented for being an 'elitist' because he isn't a good-ole white boy!
Now on to Asia: the UK lost power there between WWI and WWII. They didn't notice this because China was fighting a civil war and was broken up into many small pieces. But Japan was a rising power there. When Japan moved against the rotted British empire, they steamrollered right over it. In a matter of just months, they rolled back the entire British empire in Asia and were bearing down on India. India was not girding to fight off the Japanese due to the fact that they were anxious to see the British empire collapse! Who would have thought? The desperate British put Gandhi in prison for not supporting their brutal empire. The Japanese were even more brutal than the Europeans and this caused the Asians to side with the US, not Britain.
After the war, the US merrily handed over the entire empire back to the British and French! To the horror and disgust of nearly everyone. India did manage to eject the Brits but not until after the Brits, in classic fashion, split apart India, triggering many wars over borders and millions died because of this. Another great moment in the history of 'democracy'. I will note that the British based this on ethnic/religious cleansing principals. On the other hand, they would NOT do this for Ireland. Again, it is always someone else's empire that must be shattered along ethnic/religious lines. The fact that the US now endorses this madness infuriates me. We are the 'melting pot'?
Chinese Geopolitics and the Significance of Tibet
China has few countermoves to this pressure over Tibet. There is always talk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That is not going to happen — not because China doesn’t want to, but because it does not have the naval capability of seizing control of the Taiwan Straits or seizing air superiority, certainly not if the United States doesn’t want it (and we note that the United States has two carrier battle groups in the Taiwan region at the moment). Beijing thus could bombard Taiwan, but not without enormous cost to itself and its own defensive capabilities. It does not have the capability to surge forces across the strait, much less to sustain operations there in anything short of a completely permissive threat environment. The Chinese could fire missiles at Taiwan, but that risks counterstrikes from American missiles. And, of course, Beijing could go nuclear, but that is not likely given the stakes. The most likely Chinese counter here would be trying to isolate Taiwan from shipping by firing missiles. But that again assumes the United States would not respond — something Beijing can’t count on.While China thus lacks politico-military options to counter the Tibet pressure, it also lacks economic options. It is highly dependent for its economic well-being on exports to the United States and other countries; drawing money out of U.S. financial markets would require Beijing to put it somewhere else. If the Chinese invested in Europe, European interest rates would go down and U.S. rates would go up, and European money would pour into the United States. The long-held fear of the Chinese withdrawing their money from U.S. markets is therefore illusory: The Chinese are trapped economically. Far more than the United States, they can’t afford a confrontation.
It is nearly impossible for commentators talking about Asian politics to understand how stupid they sound. This long article in the Stratfor magazine is a classic example. First of all, there is NOT 'always talk about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan'. The Chinese do protect themselves from Taiwan since Taiwan is like a knife at China's belly! It is very much like Cuba. The US doesn't hesitate to hammer Cuba and isolate this tiny country using the eternal excuse, 'They are not a democracy'. Even as the US prevented blacks from voting in 1963, we were using the excuse, 'Cuba isn't a democracy' for our imperialist actions there.
Anyone who imagines that China is not using diplomacy and the various arts of economic and social contact to embrace Taiwan is a commentator living on the wrong planet. I have chronicled this long story of gradual pulling together by the Chinese in China and Taiwan. Just this week, the panda diplomacy resumed and Taiwan will get their panda. Air flights between China and Taiwan which were impossible until my father flew directly between the two places in 1980, are not increasingly common place. My father's flight was so controversial, it had to be made secretly! Now, it is normal. A huge change in status. George Friedman clearly is viewed by Stratfor Strategic Forecasting as some sort of geo-political wizard. I would suggest, he is a fool.
This stupid article is also filled with imperial pride. China can't suppress Tibet? Of course they can! We suppress any popular uprising here! Just this week, a religious enclave in Texas was invaded and broken up. I see absolutely NO difference between that enclave and the Tibetan religious enclaves! Both are very strange and have an autocratic system that places worship of the religious leader above patriotism. Both want to be isolated from outside influences. Both exploit their followers for sexual purposes. And yes, both enslave women. The Tibet my parents saw when they came in, back in 1955, was a desperate, despotic feudal state. Not a democracy.
By the way, in the US media, the fact that MAOISTS have won a real election...in Nepal! It is totally ignored! HAHAHA. I am not surprised. Within Nepal is the Tibetan religious rulers who are now irritating the government of Nepal which is NOT Buddhist but is a collection of religions and ethnic tribal groups. The collapse of religious feeling there is obvious since Maoists are winning elections. They will probably eject the Tibetan refugees who have been causing increasing problems. Nepal is worried that the US/UK empire, using these people, will cause trouble for Nepal.
The second thing that irritates me always and which Mr. Friedman is guilty of, is the idea that the Chinese are TRAPPED by our debts. The Chinese were taken for fools and fell into the trap of funding our empire, HAHAHA, and we will cheat them if they try to stop us. This idiotic, childish idea may comfort us as we storm about the planet, making ourselves unwelcome. But the truth is the exact opposite: the Chinese 50 year plan is to become our creditors and then CUT US OFF. They consider the loss of trillions of dollars to be a cheap price to pay if this destroys our empire and builds their empire! They came up with this idea way back in the mid-1980s. They understood the US needed endless funds for our imperial adventures. They could see how Russia went too deep into imperial overreach. We discussed this a lot. Russia was not bankrupt back then but the signs were growing. The fact that Russia began a series of financial arrangements with West Germany so they could pull out of East Germany and still cling to the rest of they dying empire was proof of this back then.
When Russia went bankrupt, their empire collapsed internally as well as externally. The Chinese watched this process very closely. They also now can see that Russia is rapidly rebuilding. Every time the US and UK attack Iran or Iraq, Russia gets stronger. This process is destroying our empire and rebuilding the Russian empire. China doesn't want a strong Russia, they want a balanced Russia. They will OK the European empire rebuilding under the tutelage of Germany and France so long as they don't menace China. When the G7 did menace China, I will note that China threw down the economic gauntlet and the entire banking system in the West shot off the cliff and is still falling!
This massive retaliation is not recognized by the West because of hubris. The idea that China has ALREADY begun their economic moves to kill the US/UK empire just doesn't enter dimwitted minds. But they have done this and note that China's boom is no longer booming! Their own stock markets are down and I predicted this because they didn't want it to get out of control, anyway. I knew the Central Committee would squelch it because they didn't want a huge bubble nor did they want a new economic power base they can't control!
Note also how global inflation is now destabilizing ALL countries. Not just China. The huge flood of red ink that was created via the Japanese carry trade and wild US Federal Reserve lending policies is now causing global inflation. And the Chinese will turn this weapon on us. We created it, they will use it. Since the US is enabling social agitations and murderous riots within China, China will now deliver us the same and more. They have NO CHOICE. We have made it crystal clear, we do not want Taiwan to merge with China and we intend to enable the shattering of China's sovereignty using religious leaders to egg on ethnic cleansing.
First Nations eye 2010 Olympics as protest target
Canada’s top native chief says the Vancouver Olympics are a potential target for First Nations protest much like Beijing has been a flash point for Tibet supporters.Phil Fontaine said today that native leaders will use whatever chance they can, including the 2010 Winter Games, to focus governments on aboriginal poverty.
Thousands of Canadians who’ve marched in support of a free Tibet should be “outraged” by abysmal native conditions in their own country, he said today.
“We’ll take whatever opportunity is presented to us to state our case, to set the record straight, to tell Canadians the true story about our situation. They have to stand up and demand immediate action on the part of their government to fix this.
“We find the Tibetan situation compelling,” Fontaine said when asked if the 2010 Olympics could be disrupted by the sort of protest that has dogged Chinese planners.
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said he has heard such talk but finds it “a little odd.”
HAHAHA. The US, EU and UK do NOT want this sort of ethnic enclave stuff over here. I knew this would happen. The Indians in America are next. They realize that they should be talking not about reservations but KINGDOMS. And I expect them to demand the US recognize them as a kingdom on par with the Tibetan kingdom. Always, the empires are pro-ethnic shattering abroad and anti-ethnic shattering at home. It is pure hypocrisy here at home.
Shanghai Six regional group considers Iran in expansion plans
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's decision on whether to admit Iran will depend on general plans for expansion that could see other states join, the head of the group said on Tuesday.Tehran, which currently holds observer status in the alliance, has long sought to become a full member of the SCO, a security alliance which comprises Russia, China and four Central Asian states and is seen as a counterbalance to U.S. and NATO influence in Asia.
"The consideration of the bid [by Iran] will depend on a political decision on whether to expand our organization," Secretary General Bolat Nurgaliyev said during a Moscow-Beijing video conference hosted by RIA Novosti.
He said Iran's request has already been addressed to Tajikistan, which currently presides over the organization. The other three Central Asian members are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Nurgaliyev said several other countries are also considering joining the organization. "We see this as positive evidence that our organization is needed and participation in its activities is useful."
We cannot attack Iran. Iran is going to become part of the Chinese/Russian counter-empire. The strategic errors that led to this disaster was obvious to me for at least 10 years. Instead of making friends with the Iranians after they had the last two elections, we did the exact opposite. When we made it very clear, we will support the fracturing of Iran by supporting ethnic dissatisfactions, the nation had no choice but to crack down on these factions and seek better allies. Their defiance of the US and European powers is, to my mind, a rousing thing. I know that anyone who dreams of resisting the empires are very moved by the Iranians who have fought tenaciously to stop the world's mightiest military powers. Just as Cuba is slowly eroding US power across the planet simply by defying us, Iran is even a stronger case of defiance leading to power. Even as the US tightens the screws on Iran, Iran tightens the noose around our own necks!
I sense something has turned over here. The huge hikes in oil prices are now causing true alarm over here. Thanks to our noxious and evil media owners, the US public cannot understand that our attempts at strangling Iran is killing us. I note that people are suddenly thinking, they will be bankrupt by next year if this keeps up. Since our own dictators refuse to track the inflation caused by food and energy prices, we can pretend there is no inflation if we don't eat or use energy!
But everyone does these things. And since the inflation isn't being fixed via cost of living advances, people here are going under. This process is now accelerating. Our media spent their energy on debating whether Obama was using diplomatic language when he pointed out that people being stranded by economic changes as the US deindustrializes and China builds up, the 'bitter' commentary is more important than discussions about how we can pull out of this economic tail spin.
This is caused by high oil prices which are caused by US/UK/EU attempts at isolating Iran. Recently, Switzerland was accused of being anti-semites because they want to buy energy from Iran. Now, Iran is being embraced by China and Russia and is now formulating a triangular power structure that will destroy US power. Now, let's visit this week's equally stupid New Yorker article. The NYer used to be a smart magazine. But Tina Brown was driven out and replaced by open Zionists. The dumbing down of that once-fine magazine so appalls me, I cancelled my subscription. For the last half a year, they keep sending me the magazine anyway. So I hope this bankrupts them.
Is the West being overtaken by the rest?
by Ian Buruma
Every so often, a grand thesis captures the world’s imagination, at least until it is swept away by events or by a newer, more plausible thesis. The latest one to do so, in policy think tanks, universities, foreign ministries, corporate boardrooms, editorial offices, and international conference centers, is that America’s time of global dominance is finished, and that new powers, such as China, India, and Russia, are poised to take over. It’s an idea that has had as much currency within the United States as elsewhere.All great empires set too much store by predictions of their imminent demise. Perhaps, as the Greek poet Constantine Cavafy suggested in his poem “Waiting for the Barbarians,” empires need the sense of peril to give them a reason to go on. Why spend so much money and effort if not to keep the barbarians at bay?
America, like England, is running on fumes and debt. When England tried this after WWI, it limped along for a while and then, when Japan turned towards eliminating English power in Asia, it took less than 3 years to accomplish. The British returned only thanks 100% to the rising US power. Now, the US, its economic back broken by 60 years of imperial wars, is limping along. Our proud navy sails the Seven Seas but it is fueled by red ink. The red ink is tremendous. The nations in the world that are in debt the most to foreigners is the US and the UK both! The US overdraft is bankrolled by China and Japan as well as the oil pumping kings. This is total insanity. And deliberate, on the part of the Chinese. They told me many years ago, their plans were to 'be bank' to the US and then dump us into the ash heap of history! It is not accidental nor is it to balance their trade finances. It is their long range plans!
As for great empires crashing: always, it comes at the PEAK of military spending! At the PEAK of power! They go bankrupt. It is that simple. History is crystal clear about this. Empires that can't control their spending always do this.
The New Yorker:
Zakaria sees the future in less belligerent terms. His is the voice of what might be called the Davos consensus, after the Swiss resort where, under the auspices of the World Economic Forum, financial and political élites gather each year for convivial networking. What’s striking about that consensus, though, is how swiftly it can change. The first time I visited this august assemblage, around the turn of the century, the received opinion was that the United States was so far ahead of the rest of the world that no one could ever catch up. This year in Davos, America’s fall was on everyone’s lips.
Zakaria, who is judicious, reasonable, smooth, intelligent, and a little glib, predicts nothing so rash. He points out that, aside from some pockets of backwardness, the whole world has been getting much richer. Global capitalism has been a huge success. Far from menacing local cultures, as some fear, globalization has, by his accounting, been good for cultural diversity. France and South Korea, “long dominated by American movies, now have large film industries of their own,” he writes, omitting to mention that France had one before Hollywood threatened to wipe it out, and that its revival in France, as in South Korea, has been due more to state subsidies than to global capitalism. Still, even though the economic scene looks gloomier now than it did when he finished his book, Zakaria is correct to insist that many people everywhere have benefitted from the global boom.The problem, Zakaria writes, is that “as economic fortunes rise, so does nationalism.” This is apparent in Russia, of course, but it is equally so in China, where he talked to a young businessman, and felt as if he “were in Berlin in 1910.” Actually, the prickly nationalism of many Chinese may have less to do with their newfound prosperity than with China’s fraught combination of political autocracy and economic liberalism: nationalism and economic boosterism are all the autocrats have at their disposal to try to legitimatize their continuing monopoly on power. In any case, Zakaria is inclined to think that rational calculation will ultimately prevail. He maintains that the Chinese are by nature a pragmatic people, who will surely realize that it is in their interest to be embedded in the liberal global order. “The veneration of an abstract idea,” he explains, “is somewhat alien to China’s practical mind-set.”
The Chinese are very practical. They also know history. They know that the effort to deindustrialize the US/UK empire is working. They know that money is flowing to China and that China is the world's biggest CREDITOR nation, not debtor nation. They know that the power of money is flowing towards them and away from the US and UK. They know their most dangerous neighbor is Japan. But they also know that Japan is withering on the vine. It is literally dying. They know that Time is on China's side, not Japan's side. They also know that if Japan doesn't change course soon and show some consideration towards the Japanese peasants and workers, they will eventually be crushed by Chinese power. People are power!
I notice the yelling about Chinese population controls has collapsed in the West! HAHAHA. Now, we hope they practice birth control. The main thing is, the Chinese people will expand because they are dynamic and filled with a sense of hope and purpose. This energy is internal and very powerful and I am amazed by it. But again and again, I read commentators who cannot understand that the present global 'boom' that ends with the US sopping up most of the world's resources is ending...FOR US. The present dynamics are being destroyed by food and fuel inflation. The US will not be the destination for all world trade when the Chinese decide to no longer fund us and the Japanese are forced to deal more closely with China. Right now, there is already more Chinese/Japanese trade going on than US/Japanese trade. The Japanese PROFITS are still strictly in the US. But only so long as the US can take on more debt.
New Yorker:
The one nation whose presence still guarantees a measure of stability in Asia is the very one whose influence commentators are so quick to write off: the United States of America. The Chinese may not like the fact that the United States has so many bases in Japan and South Korea, but they still prefer it to a nuclear-armed Japan. Cases of American G.I.s molesting local girls enrage the populations of South Korea and Japan, but they still feel safer with a U.S. military presence than without it. Aside from the disaster in Vietnam, the United States has been a reasonably good Asian cop. But how long can it continue to play that role? The longer this postwar arrangement goes on, the longer it will take the East Asian powers to manage their own security responsibly. The same can be said of the Europeans, as became painfully clear in the Balkan conflicts.
This paragraph clearly shows how bizarre US thinkers are. Japan will have nukes just like Iran will have nukes. For self-protection. Japan has about 5 minutes time to pray to the gods before dying in WWIII. They have ZERO chance of surviving. And they know this and all their animators have illustrated this harsh fact over and over again. They are VERY leery of any nuclear war. China can take direct hits and still hit back hard due to sheer size. Only the US, Russia, Brazil and China can easily survive WWIII. Few other nations can do this. Maybe India and Australia. But that is one very short list.
And the Chinese and Russians know this! They aren't stupid. The US has NOT been 'a good cop' in Asia at all, by the way. Ask the Vietnamese. I note the deranged author mentioned them. Heh. But he didn't bother mentioning Cambodia or Laos, of course. Or Indonesia. Or half of Korea. Or a lot of other people.
Europe is content to have the US patrol their empire for free. They also run a trade surplus with us. Ditto, England. Ditto in spades, Japan. We are NOT benefitting China with our hostile patrols, our spy planes invading Chinese airspace, our bombings of Chinese embassies, our harassment of Chinese trade deals, our meddling in Chinese internal affairs. We are openly hostile and China won't let us pretend otherwise. So they yank our chain.
This is why they had military get togethers where they entertained our military chiefs and then turned around and kicked our ships out of Hong Kong! This is how they display our impotence to their neighbors who all sat up and listened. Particularly the Japanese. The Japanese are bankrupting us. They know this and enjoy doing this. But this means, they lose our military powers. So they want to prop us up but they can't help but destroy us at the same time. It behooves the US to prevent them from doing this. But we can't. We want to be an empire and will try this until totally bankrupt. Even if it means, begging China for more money.
While spitting in China's face. And how will this end? History is crystal clear. Spain certainly does not order around America. Nor does Germany. Dead empires can't order anyone around. A quick review of other diplomatic news as Russia and China build their massive diplomatic empires:
S. Korean President Proposes Permanent Diplomatic Channel With Pyongyang
North Korea has hurled a series of what Lee calls "belligerent and bellicose" statements about Lee since he took office 50 days ago."Both North and South Korea must change their ways," Lee said. "It is not sufficient for North Korea to resort to their old ways."
To that end, he said, he wanted to establish a permanent channel so the two countries could have a regular dialogue, rather than intermittent contacts elicited by crises. He said that offices should be headed by officials with direct access to the leaders of each country.
Every time South Korea decides to go rely on US power, North Korea kicks up the dust. Here is is, again. Eventually, they will reunite. Under the Chinese umbrella. But first, the US must go bankrupt. This is in our futures.
Russia cancels Libya's $4.5 bln debt in exchange for contracts
TRIPOLI, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow wrote off on Thursday Libya's $4.5 billion debt in exchange for multi-billion dollar contracts for Russian companies.The cancelation of the debt, accrued on Soviet arms supplies, was one of over a dozen intergovernmental trade and cooperation agreements signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
After the signing ceremony, the outgoing Russian leader told reporters: "We are satisfied with the way we have resolved this problem. I am absolutely convinced that the scheme we have arrived at will benefit both the Russian and the Libyan economies, as well as the Russian and the Libyan people."
Russia is slowly rebuilding OPEC. Piece by piece, to the horror of Europe. The US ignores this only because we are so totally unable to influence this process at all. Thus, the US media demonization of Putin. Putin will go down in history as a political genius and Father of the Nation of Russia, by the way. Just as Bush will go down as the destroyer of America.
By the way, I often compare US/UK strategic thinking to playing mental games. In Asia, they play Go and in the West, we play chess. The rulers of Russia and China play Go and Chess for fun and to hone the mental skills which are used for diplomacy and war. The US doesn't do either. Our rulers can barely play 'Old Maid'. For anyone who wants to learn more about Go, here is some links and I also suggest watching the anime called 'Hikaru No Go'.
Click here to see all the Hikaru No Go Japanese TV episodes.
Click here to learn how to play Go, one of the more difficult games around:
TerritoryTerritory is called'ji'in Japanese. Diagram 2 shows some examples. The continuous lines formed by the black stones form the limits of the territories. The size of territory is expressed in terms of the number of open intersections within it. The unit is called a point,'moku'in Japanese. The territories marked A, B and C are all of the same size..12 points for the black player. Incidentally, it is obvious here that to form territory, it is most efficient to make use of the edge lines as in the case of Pattern A. Pattern B, which makes use of one edge line is not as economical as A, but more economical than C, which must be entirely bounded by lines of stones.
Contiguity of StonesThe unit for the number of stones is also called 'moku' the same as in the case of territory. All stones are of equal power, but like soldiers in a battle, the stones in a good configuration are more powerful than those in a poor pattern, in which the stones cannot function as effectively and economically. Stones of the same color form a firm line when they are placed contiguously along a straight line as in (A) in Diagram 3. Remember an isolated stone means less power for the contestant who has such a stone.
Life of a Stone
A stone has life and it may be killed. This is crucial element that makes'Go'an interesting game.
The trick here is to exploit empty spaces, not fill them. The lesson here is, it doesn't do much good if an empire has many military outposts if these are costing too much. And the costs of defending distant areas can endanger the main body. Just watching Go games can be a good exercise for understanding strategy and power politics.
Some of the basic strategic and tactical concepts in Go are often hard to grasp for beginners:
- Sacrifice of unimportant stones e.g. stones played to force an unfavourable opponent move.
- Keeping a constant check of how a move affects the whole board and the actual and potential territory of each player (territory is sometimes called cash, by the way. Moves are said to give profit)
-Trading territory for influence and using the influence effectively. This is hard, because influence gives nothing tangible. A solid wall of stones does not capture territory as such, but it is dangerous to play near it, so it's a support tool for future attack.
-Aji: Japanese term , meaning flavour. Refers to potential embedded in a situation. As the game evolves, an apparently harmless group of (sometimes already captured) stones can affect the evolving surroundings. Leaving loose ends for the sake of rapid expansion (bad aji) or having flexible, light shapes, as opposed to rigid ones .
-Efficiency: not playing too close to your own strength, avoiding over concentration; using stones with multiple purposes, attack, defend, gain territory, and so on.
-Gradual, patient accumulation of small advantage. A game of Go can be won by .5 point, is still a win. Total destruction of opponent is possible against a mush weaker player, but otherwise too risky. One must realise that the opponent is entitled to territory. Envy leads to premature, dangerous invasions and attacks.
-Stay connected. Disconnect you opponent.
Go is a game of balance.
From Strategic Fundamentals in Go by Guo TiSheng:
"...many conflicting situations that are frequently encountered when playing go. Sente (free to move) allows a player to maintain the initiative, but it gives his opponent an opportunity to counterattack; gote (forced move) on the other hand, forsakes the initiative, but it builds a solid foundation for future attacks. Light moves are flexible, yet they sometimes form loose shapes; heavy moves are inflexible, but they are solid. Thickness leads to profit, but there is a danger of forming overdeveloped shapes; thinness is weak, but more flexible. Making life is safe, yet one loses sente; leaving a precarious group unattended is dangerous, but one gets sente. Thus, the key issues of initiative, profit, safety, and the life and death of groups must all be harmonized within one global, strategic framework. When separated from this global framework, these issues lose their meaning, and the game loses direction."
Posted by: B.A. | April 19, 2008 at 08:45 AM
Yes, BA, a wonderful synopsis. I watch a lot of Go. Watching the 9 dan players is very difficult because they are so subtle. I learn the most from watching the dans lower than 5 because they are more obvious.
The game has one main feature that is difficult for the West to understand: emptiness is power. The one who dominates the empty spaces is more powerful than the one who goes bankrupt sticking stones all over the borders of Russia and China, for example. Heh.
Posted by: Elaine Meinel Supkis | April 27, 2008 at 11:44 AM