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2005-12-07 China-Japan-Koreas

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Posted by Steve 2005-12-07 10:20|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I don't really see what's in it for the Uighurs. They're up to their asses in alligators with the Chinese authorities. I don't see them cooperating with Al Qaeda to go after Americans unless they're getting money and/or weapons. Note that the Chinese applauded 9/11 and have no really problem with large numbers of Americans getting killed. But do it on their soil, and they will skin captured terrorists alive if they have to, to find and track down their accomplices. There's no political correctness about the morality or the effectiveness of torture in China.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-12-07 11:04|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-12-07 11:04|| Front Page Top

#2 They'll have a hard time getting out of Xinjiang and into the rest of China. Moslem people look funny, and they stand out. I saw one the other day, and the fact that I remember it should say something.

Posted by gromky">gromky 2005-12-07 11:09|| http://communistposters.com/]">[http://communistposters.com/] 2005-12-07 11:09|| Front Page Top

#3 gromky: Moslem people look funny, and they stand out.

That's because they're Caucasian, more or less. Physically, they're more like Afghans than Han Chinese.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-12-07 11:36|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-12-07 11:36|| Front Page Top

#4 Welcome back, Mr. Zhang Fei, glad to see one of the regulars back.

Posted by anonymous5089 2005-12-07 12:14|| 2005-12-07 12:14|| Front Page Top

#5 It will be supremely interesting to see whether or not al Qaeda can operate at all in communist China. If ever a country had all of the anti-terrorist safeguards in place, it would be China. Restricted movement, gun control, intense communications monitoring, heavy police presence, to name a few. Add to this (as Zhang Fei mentioned [welcome back!]) the communists' tendency to rip all internal dissent five new ones, and al Qaeda's future in China sort of loses its showroom shine. Personally, I'd love to see these Islamist loons throw a huge portion of their resources into making life miserable for the communist Chinese. Unfortunately, I'm fairly confident it will be the other way around.

Posted by Zenster 2005-12-07 12:41|| 2005-12-07 12:41|| Front Page Top

#6 Thanks for the kind words, all.

Zenster: Restricted movement, gun control, intense communications monitoring, heavy police presence, to name a few.

Only one out of the four exists - gun control. First, movement in China isn't restricted - people move across the country at will - in many cases emigrating illegally to other provinces. The cops can check their papers at will, but China is very lightly-policed, relative to the size of the population - per 100,000 population, they may have 1/10 of NYC's cops.

Second, intense communications monitoring is only with regard to the internet. It's impossible to monitor phone conversations - there are simply too many phone lines to listen to in real time, and audio recordings aren't really searchable in the same way as internet e-mails and text messages. Internet monitoring only helps with suppressing political dissent.

Third, as I mentioned earlier, China doesn't spend the kind of money it used to on its secret police - much of that budget is now being diverted to building infrastructure, office and residential space, among other things. The police presence is basically non-existent. Non-homicide-related crime is probably lower than European levels, but higher than American levels.

What is the Chinese secret? Intense punishment of suspected criminals, ranging from long jail sentences to relatively low thresholds for the death penalty. Expedited trial, sentencing and appeals process. The torture of suspected criminals. A lot of innocents are probably caught up in the net, but the guilty ones definitely get what was coming to them and then some. Terrorists who are captured alive would expect to get the third degree - which is why they would probably stay away from attacks in China. The truth is that suppression by brute force doesn't build dissent - it builds fear and submission - even on the part of supposedly hardened terrorists.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-12-07 13:07|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-12-07 13:07|| Front Page Top

#7 I'd wager there is still a significant remnant of "self-reporting" of suspicious activity by citizens in order to gain favor with officials or thwart opponents (regardless of criminal intent). This alone could be contributing to the continued functionality of a police state, even if there is no longer such a heavy official presence in public.

As in Soviet Russia, the once widespread monitoring of civilian communication still lingers today in a reticence to speak about sensitive issues aloud in public, if at all. While I was in Armenia, any discussion regarding the murder of Pogos Pogosyan was intensely discouraged, even in a moving car. My hosts, at first, tried to pretend they had never even heard of the man.

Given these concepts, I would tend to think that there is a lot of residual behavior modification still lingering in place that tends to benefit the communist government with respect to combating terrorism.

Posted by Zenster 2005-12-07 13:51|| 2005-12-07 13:51|| Front Page Top

#8 So.......................given all of the **ahem** harsh methods of interrogation, punishment, etc. of the ChiComs, I would think *heh* that the LLL would be jumping all over the Chicoms about their denying of fundamental human rights to alledged criminals and terrorists.

Since I only hear crickets chirping, I hear opportunity knocking. We need to contract our interrogation work on terrorists with the Chicoms. Surely the MSM cannot object to that. If the EUniks want to sell weapons to the Chicoms, surely they cannot object to our little commercial venture.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2005-12-07 13:54|| 2005-12-07 13:54|| Front Page Top

#9 I've always wondered why the Morton's sent that kid out in a storm with what looks like a 20 lb. keg of salt. Was it some sort of cheap publicity stunt? Poorly clothed for what looks like a gale, she has only a golf umbrella for protection.

Posted by Shipman 2005-12-07 16:56|| 2005-12-07 16:56|| Front Page Top

#10 The logo is a pictoral demonstration of the company's logo:

When it rains, it pours

This slogan refers to the manufacturer's (then revolutionary) addition of anti-caking agents which permitted their product to remain free-flowing even during wet weather.

Posted by Zenster 2005-12-07 17:02|| 2005-12-07 17:02|| Front Page Top

#11 Shipman, you're so young. I'll bet you don't have to put rice in your aslt seller either.

Posted by Snemble Elmairt3619 2005-12-07 17:21|| 2005-12-07 17:21|| Front Page Top

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