#3
in a related story, the Pakistan ISI gave the ChiComs access to the crashed Black Hawk from the Bin Laden raid; here's the link:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/14/us-pakistan-china-usa-idUSTRE77D2BT20110814
Up the traditional invasion NY routes to seize Montreal-Quebec line --- while a second assault is mounted on Hull-Toronto.... there's something in there about BC but I'm not familiar with it.
Posted by: S ||
08/14/2011 18:02 Comments ||
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#6
China and the US have been planning for war with each other since the 1980s. However, the Chinese lack "deep water sensibilities", which the US has lived and breathed since its founding. This has given the USN any number of strategic advantages that it has carefully exploited.
And in their effort to challenge the US for the Pacific, the Indians decided that China was a major sea threat to them as well. And they, as inheritors of the British naval sensibility, has made them effective warship builders. And with their top notch engineering and mathematical skills, formidable weapons designers.
This has put China in the unenviable position of having to consider fighting two major sea powers at once, or at best, fighting India before India can become #2 to America in sea power, leaving China as #3.
And China as also initiated its gradualism strategy to muscle and threaten everyone else in the region, which has achieved nothing, except to make them a lot of enemies.
The end result of all this PPPP is that China might get scorched badly enough for it to give up the whole blue water game and go back to being only brown.
China has 485 million internet users. Largest in the world. They have had many government cyber/hacker/virus attacks from US and India. The address is not important because it may not be actual IP address. China had 45000 government cyber/hacker/virus attacks last year. Then who knows N Korea may have interests "make them a lot of enemies"(Annoymoose).
India's got the heart for a blue-water Navy but not the numbers of modern Warships = Mil Assets to achieve such + engage in high-profile International NAVEX+ "Show the Flag", etc. missions while also simul deterring or fighting post-Mumbai/26-11 PAK Bad Boyz + now looming Somali, Indonesian Pirate threats.
* SAME > INDIANS WARN OF INVASION. Pro-BJP Tamil Nadu Protestors to attempt to reclaim + set up Indian flag on Sri Lankan island of KACHCHATHEEVU.
Lets call it ISLAND "K" for convenience.
DOIN' A "SPRATLY" [Nansha], PARACEL [Xisha], "DAOYU" [Senkaku], DOKKDO, or SOUTH KURILS???
#24
Ask the Torontans about coming down to shop in Buffalo, Shakey Steve, and drinking in bars where Canadian money is still accepted at par in thanks for sheltering our people in Iran back in '79, and where the locals know all the words to 'O Canada' at the hockey games, eh?
China's own declaration that the ship is 'obsolete' and 'for training purposes' is probably fairly accurate.
What else would you expect from a refurbished ex-Soviet vessel?
In truth, the PLA's most successful modernisation programmes haven't been conventional platforms like warships so much as asymmetric weapons -- systems that aim to subvert the enemy's strengths rather than counter them with like-for-like solutions.
So how do you asymmetrically counter asymmetric weapons?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
08/14/2011 11:10 ||
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#1
I was just discussing this issue with a family friend yesterday my conclusion was that its mainly meant as a message to the smaller players in the neighborhood. I also think that if China ever decides its time to take America down, they wont need to use direct military means to do so. As I said to our friend, Chinas Yamamoto will be sitting in a Shanghai boardroom wearing a $3,000 Savile Row suit, and their Minoru Genda will be parked in front of a computer keyboard tinkering with high-frequency-trading algorithms.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
08/14/2011 13:50 Comments ||
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The most obvious answer is that it is simply agreeing with Standard & Poor's, which in its Aug. 5 decision to downgrade U.S. government debt from a AAA rating to AA+ decried Washington's "political brinksmanship" and said that the recent debt deal "falls short" of what is needed to bring U.S. finances under control. Yup, yup. Pretty obvious to me. Me too but neither of us is elite enough to write for WaPo...
Look at the bond market, which is twice the size of the stock market and was, after all, the main audience for S&P's analysis. If market participants were truly concerned about the inability of the U.S. government to deal with its budget, we should have seen a spike in interest rates as bond investors became more nervous about the continued flood of government debt and the heightened risk that they may not get their money back. But the Chinese want austerity! And they own 10% of our debt!
But instead, interest rates fell by a significant amount.
An alternative view, most prominently expressed by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, is that the markets have concluded, given the struggling economy, that budget cuts are precisely the wrong medicine for what ails us. Spend, baby, spend!
The government should take advantage of the fact that it can essentially borrow for free to finance badly needed infrastructure investments. After all, our airports, roads and bridges are in need of urgent repair, and the extra investment would provide job opportunities and inject money into the economy. Like a teeny, tiny portion of the Stimulus did.
The reason this argument is falling on deaf ears is that, over the past two years, we've experienced a true citizen's revolt in America against public spending and government debt, embodied most visibly by the tea party movement. Aha! The usual suspect!
We are thus hamstrung in our ability to deal with the slowing U.S. economy, not because of some deeply flawed strategy, but because public support for a plan based on vigorous government spending has evaporated. Indeed, since last year's midterm elections, we have been contending with a strong and politically influential movement to shrink the size of government. Shrinking the gubamint can still happen...
Nearly three years after the financial crisis began, a third of residential mortgages in America remain underwater. Since then, about 1 million homes have been foreclosed on every year, and by one estimate, an additional 11 million households -- one out of every five -- could lose their homes unless something is done. A large-scale government program to restructure residential mortgages and help households refinance underwater mortgages would reduce the debt overhang and support consumer demand. Most important, by channeling public money to help individual families, rather than Wall Street, this initiative could alter the political dynamics that currently doom any government efforts to jump-start the economy. Yea! Some of us underwater didn't borrow ourselves into the hole, we got caught by a crash instead of a dip.
It wouldn't be cheap. But it would be less expensive than another deep recession.
Untangling what the financial markets are saying is rarely easy or straightforward. If the Dow and other major indices continue to zigzag their way down, there is a very real danger that politicians will draw the wrong conclusions -- and begin to push for policies that would only make things worse.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/14/2011 13:43 ||
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Most important, by channeling public money to help individual families, rather than Wall Street, this initiative could alter the political dynamics that currently doom any government efforts to jump-start the economy.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu BabalooI ||
08/14/2011 14:25 Comments ||
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#2
there is a very real danger that politicians will ... push for policies that would only make things worse.
This describes the current situation, what Obama & the Dems are doing will only make things worse. What the GOP wants will ALSO MAKE THINGS WORSE. However, that is not the only result of GOP policies, which will allow for things to get better once the price is paid for past economic and financial stupidity.
The price must be paid. There is no conceivable political policy that WILL NOT MAKE THINGS WORSE.
#3
Instead of channeling money extorted from workers to reward feckless reproduction, why not help the economy by giving workers a pay rise by cutting taxes?
#6
The market is saying sit tight and don't get your undies in a wad. Pay your mortgage once a month and enjoy your house, go to work and save a few bucks, don't buy a car-of-stupidity, your children don't need data plans, likely neither do you, your CRT television is just fine. The market is saying get a life outside of crap.
Posted by: S ||
08/14/2011 18:12 Comments ||
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#7
The market is saying get a life outside of crap.
Which is rather at odds with the objective of re-igniting the consumer as the engine of the economy...
#8
S: You have hit on this situation. As has been pointed out elsewhere, severe inflation and even hyperinflation often first begin with a loss of investment confidence. That is, everybody hoards cash, because risk is too great for about anything else.
As a response to this, governments then start pushing more and more cash into the market, to increase liquidity, and fend off deflation, which happens when nobody buys.
And then a panic happens. In truth, the market has become over-liquid, and when whatever crisis happens, suddenly there is a buying binge, starting with commodities. Too much money after too few goods.
Then strong and fast inflation sets in, unless speculators quickly buy up big parts of the commodities pipeline, that is physical possession of commodities that were intended for retail. This causes real hyperinflation.
That is, too much money at the same time of artificial shortages equals hyperinflation.
And invariably, government redoubles its liquidity efforts, pumping still more money into the system already overfull with money.
#9
Meanwhile back at the farm "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits of around 8,000 American banks, said three entities -- The First National Bank of Olathe, Bank of Whitman and Bank of Shorewood -- were closed down in August". That's 277 million FDIC gotta cover for those three alone. Yes I checked.
#7
Point of information: this isn't a staff editorial, but rather written by outside experts, just as the Wall Street Journal has published opinion pieces by the honourable Senator John F. Kerry and the even more honourable President Obama.
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/14/2011 18:11 Comments ||
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#9
The headline does seem to imply that it is the opinion of the JPost staff. Though it's still shocking to read such an opinion in a major Israeli paper - I guess it shouldn't be, modern Western civilization being what it is today - TW makes a point that should be noted.
Thank you, ryuge. Barbara, I strongly agree that it's stupid even to openly discuss the idea of surrendering to that bullying Turkish Islamist, just because President Obama wants them to be friends.
Ha'aretz has been pushing the idea hard for a while now...but they really do pride themselves on being called the New York Times of Israel
Plenty of food for thought, as we expect from Barry Rubin.
Moved to Opinion: Old Tyme Religion. Posters, please check your categories in the drop-down menus at the top fo the page when you submit articles. Thanking you kindly for the Management,
Your obed't servant,
trailing wife at 10:28 a.m. EDT
#1
"Make no mistake. Both Islamist blocs hate the West and want to expel its influence from the Middle East and expand their own power by overthrowing additional regimes. Both Islamist blocs hate Israel and want to wipe it off the map. Neither group will be moderate in any way. "
As a non-Muslim, 6000 miles away, I would treat both Sunni and Shia equally, and I would whack both with a baseball bat with equal force...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/14/2011 9:03 Comments ||
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#2
I'm not so sure that the Shi'a hate equally as the Sunnis. There's quite a group of more moderate Shi'a -- the 'Najaf school' -- compared to the hardline 'Qom school'. Let the former gain dominance and the Shi'a might, for the most part, behave themselves and work to modernize their countries' economics.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2011 13:31 Comments ||
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#3
BHARAT RAKSHAK > SAUDIS [covertly]FUND ISLAMIC TERROR IN INDIA, ee both Direct + Indirect
$$$ routes + networks, from PAK-BASED/SUPPOR GROUPS TO NON-PAK, INDIA-BASED LOCAL MUSLIM = JIHADI ORGS, MADRASSAS + CHARITIES.
ARTIC = IIUC, the KSA argues they have an ISLAM-BASED MORAL-ETHICAL RIGHT TO $$$ SUPPORT ANY + ALL MUSLIM GROUPS + INTERESTS IRREGARDLESS OF ANY DOMESTIC SUPPORT FOR TERROR.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The most obvious answer is that it is simply agreeing with Standard & Poor's, which in its Aug. 5 decision to downgrade U.S. government debt from a AAA rating to AA+ decried Washington's "political brinksmanship" and said that the recent debt deal "falls short" of what is needed to bring U.S. finances under control.
By Oded Eran and Gallia Lindenstrauss 
