We're Number 2! We're Number 2!

(Click on image to enlarge and then kindly drag your backside back.)

David Horsey's May 30 column has been sitting on the back burner of my brain pan because I just wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  I mean, is he implying that we've shifted our national focus on a "cold war" from Russia to China?  Or is he simply asserting that because our government has become so dysfunctional we've lost our leadership role?  Or both?  Because it's such a short column, I am quoting it in its entirety, contrary to the rules of fair use.  Hopefully he and the Los Angeles Times will forgive me.

Despite prognostications otherwise, it is not inevitable that the United States will cede its place as the world’s leading nation to China. But if the American political system remains as dysfunctional as it is today, China may rise above us by default.

While China invests in infrastructure, our federal government allows the nation’s highways, bridges and power grid to deteriorate. While China puts a premium on education and research, our national politicians refuse to provide the resources needed to educate a new, diverse generation of young Americans to a level necessary to compete with the world or to keep American laboratories and experimental enterprises functioning at full power.

China is burdened by a stifling one-party political system. Still, decisions get made, action is taken, stuff gets built, things get done.

The United States has a two-party system that is so gummed up by unscrupulous political warfare, unending campaigns and ideological idiocy that it may as well be a no-party system. No party can get anything accomplished because few political leaders have a vision of a common national interest that rises in importance above partisan advantage.

If China wins the future, it will happen because American leaders failed to stay in the game.   [Emphasis added]

It's pretty hard to disagree with any of Horsey's assertions, but I think he has oversimplified things just a tad.

Yes, China has become an economic powerhouse, and, yes, that huge nation has locked in energy and mineral contracts with Iraq, Iran, and Latin America.  But that hasn't been cost-free.  Right now, China is suffering from some huge pollution problems, problems that affect the entire world, not just China.

China is a major exporter to the world, but in most parts of the world, governments have opted for austerity programs to kick-start their economies, programs which, of course, have had the opposite effect.  What happens when other countries can't afford to buy Chinese goods?  Will buying companies in other countries make up for that?  That remains to be seen.

Finally, China has become a creditor nation, especially for the US.  We fought two wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) off-budget under George W. Bush by borrowing huge sums from China.  Unless our economic picture brightens, those loans will remain unpaid.  Then what?

Horsey is right that China is rapidly becoming the number one power in the world, if it isn't already, but our dysfunctional government is only one part of the problem.  And China will be facing its own challenges in both the short and the long term.

Short American Century

Back on April 5, I posted about my concerns with the erratic behavior of Kim Jon Un.  Like David Horsey, I doubted that he could actually blow up Los Angeles, but he certainly could make a mess of that part of the world.  His behavior hasn't moderated since then, but I think there's still some danger.  It's just that my opinion has moderated a little.  Here's David Horsey's updated column on the issue.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems like a fictional character out of a satirical doomsday movie -- maybe a sequel to “Dr. Strangelove.” That fact that this immature brat and his gaggle of grim, aging generals actually rule a country and have the capacity to disturb the international order seems absurd in an era of global interdependence.

In the 21stcentury, humankind should have moved beyond this, but apparently we need a few more centuries of progress before all countries are led by comparatively rational, democratically elected leaders -– or at least by boring, one-party bureaucrats whose main goal is to preserve stability and promote economic growth.

Kim is a throwback to medieval times when young, cocky princes claimed a divine right to lord it over defenseless peasants. The only reason those princes could claim that power, in truth, was because they were surrounded by troops of big guys with swords, armor and horses with a license to kill any peasant who complained too loudly. It really had nothing to do with God’s blessing and everything to do with which family was ruthless enough to take from the poor and make themselves rich. ...

Little Kim’s belligerent threat to start a thermonuclear war that would consume South Korea, Japan and various outposts of the United States is the tough talk of a tyrant in the ancient mold. But Kim is all bluff. He does not have the bombs or the missiles to carry out his threats. His country is a geopolitical pipsqueak and an economic charity case. If the real world powers, China and the United States, chose to make it happen, his regime could be snuffed out.   [Emphasis added]

In my earlier post, I suggested that the US would have to work with the UN to rein Bratty L'il Kim in.  I still believe it will take diplomacy, but not necessarily though the UN.  We will have to partner with China.  Kim Jon Un is part of that country's sphere of influence.  And that is where my thoughts moved to.

Do you remember 13 years ago when Dick Cheney and his Merry Band of NeoConservatives took office?  Their philosophy was that since the fall of the Soviet Union, the US was the only world power and could do whatever it wanted to.  That philosophy was detailed in their Program for the New American Century ("PNAC").  And with that theoretical framework, they justified wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, paid for off-budget by loans from China.  All they needed was a "Pearl Harbor" event, which they got on 9/11, and they were off.

At the same time, our corporate behemoths began shifting jobs and increasing business ties with our largest creditor until now we are no longer the "only world power."  Shortest damned century on record!

So now we have to rely on the other world power to rein in Kim so that there is no conflagration involving South Korea.  I'm not too comfortable with that notion.

Refusal to Submit to Authoritarian Orders

For the first time ever I really wish I were a Nobel Laureate. Of course I deserve it for my brilliant writing, but actually I want to be one of the group that canceled its meeting rather than go on without the Dalai Lama when he was denied a visa.

Thank you, Nobel people who will not be party to the government cowardice that had to be instrumental in making this vile gesture. The Dalai Lama is offensive to no one and no country except to China, and to China only because he symbolizes a country that just won't be supine before their demands. Thanks, Nobel Laureates, for refusing to join this oppression.

A peace conference for Nobel laureates in South Africa has been postponed indefinitely after Pretoria refused the Dalai Lama a visa, organisers say.

This week's meeting in Johannesburg was linked to the 2010 Football World Cup, which the country is hosting.

A storm of controversy erupted over the ban, with the government being accused of bowing to Chinese pressure.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former South African President FW de Klerk pulled out of the meeting in protest.

Despite the controversy surrounding the decision, government spokesman Thabo Masebe confirmed that no visa would be issued "between now and the World Cup".

Saying the move did not amount to a ban, he told the BBC that no other government had forced the decision on South Africa.

The visa had been declined because the Dalai Lama's presence "would not be in the best interests of South Africa at this time", he said.

The government spokesman told Reuters news agency that the presence of the Dalai Lama risked distracting attention from the World Cup.

'Spirit of peace'

The conference, scheduled for Friday, was intended to discuss football's role in fighting racism and xenophobia.

But the chairman of the South Africa 2010 Organising Committee said the conference was being postponed indefinitely.

"The convenors have... decided in the spirit of peace to postpone the South African peace conference to ensure it is held under conducive conditions," Irvin Khoza was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
(snip)
Archbishop Tutu has branded the government's decision as "disgraceful" and accused the government of "shamelessly succumbing to Chinese pressure", a sentiment echoed in the local media.

Chinese officials in Pretoria said Beijing had warned against allowing the Dalai Lama into the country, saying it would harm bilateral relations.

There may be room in international affairs for kowtowing to the Chinese in some areas, but to let that repressive regime taint their own country's record is a huge error on the part of South Africa. A statement that says that China is offended by exercise of another country's freedoms is offensive, and should be treated that way.

Any peace conference that would let its government dictate certain peace organizations are making trouble - by a refusal to be cowed into accepting repression - would not be a peace conference worthy of the movement's heritage.

You have earned the respect of the world. I am hoping the U.S. can join you, Nobel laureates, in earning that respect by leaving the company of violators of the Geneva conventions very soon.

(Call anytime.)

An Interesting Sign

It's the weekend, so I made my weekly trek over to Watching America. Lots of international discussion about the global economy with lots of pointed fingers, many in our direction, but that may just be the site's bias this week.

One article that wasn't about the global meltdown came from China View, an English language newspaper published in China and carried by Xinhua for the internet. The tag at the top of the page is interesting "China View: Publicize China, Report the World." That certainly does give a clear notice of the paper's intent.

The article I was interested in had to do with a possible partnership between the US and China on combating climate change and is an interview with an American professor.

Although the U.S.-China relationship has made much progress in the past 30 years, mutual mistrust over each other's long-term intentions remains deep, said Professor Kenneth Lieberthal from the University of Michigan.

But now there is an opportunity for the two countries to increase mutual trust through the cooperation on climate change, Lieberthal said in a recent interview with Xinhua. ...

Such cooperation would yield several important results, including making it easier for both governments to be more effective in promoting climate change measures domestically, he said.

Secondly, "the effective cooperation will focus on the broader issue of clean energy," he said. "Finally, I think there will have a very good effect on the global negotiations in helping to bridge the differences between the industrialized world and the developing world as a whole."

"So I think there are a lot of very serious benefits to the U.S.-China cooperation on climate change," said Lieberthal.

Through full and effective cooperation on clean energy and related climate change issues, "we can build the kind of long-term trust," he said.

This is essentially the position suggested by Secretary of State Clinton during her recent tour of Asia, so it's clear that the interview of Professor Lieberthal was timely. What is so interesting is that the interview actually took place and that Xinhua is plumping it through several Chinese outlets, including an English language one.

Xinhua is part of the carefully managed media that the government keeps a fairly tight grip on so it is entirely possible that China's leaders are willing to work with the US on this global issue in a way that could have a tremendous impact on the problem.

If that's the case, it's good news. Damned good news.

Crimes That Really, Really Don't Pay

Here is an object lesson for all you out there raising kids who want a good example of why you don't tell lies. It's what the occupied White House has been doing. While profiting from our history as maintaining the Rule of Law, the worst administration ever to occupy this government kept telling investors that their money was safe because it was taking care of it.

Hint: deregulation is just a way of saying lawlessness. Your money was not being taken care of. No one's money was.

That lesson has come home to that country of China that we were borrowing from. Their money isn't safe when laws are disregarded by our executive branch and their BFF the financial community.

The head of China's sovereign wealth fund said Wednesday he had lost confidence in western financial institutions during the global economic crisis and would not be investing in them, a report said.

Lou Jiwei, the chairman and chief executive of China Investment Corp (CIC), said the fund would now avoid investing in banks and other groups because of "uncertain" foreign government policies, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The fund has been a major investor in such groups since it was formed last September.

"We don't know when these institutions will be invested in by their governments," Lou said during a panel discussion in Hong Kong, part of a conference hosted by former US President Bill Clinton, the Journal said.

"We have to wait for a time when there won't be massive collapses of financial institutions."

Lou added he had "lost confidence from the lack of consistent government policies concerning support for Western banks. There is really no protection on my investment," the report said.

This is a really bad result from really bad behavior. We can hope that when 47 days, the last ones, of the criminal element are over the Rule of Law will be reinstated, quickly. It is past due. The lawless executive branch has proved that they are not trustworthy, and the world has learned the lesson along with us. It will take a lot of remedial good behavior to earn trust back for investments in this country.

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In other good words, a delegation of military leaders who are as sickened by the U.S. descending to torture met with President-elect Obama's staff yesterday to push for the end of our disgrace.

A dozen retired generals met with President-elect Barack Obama's top legal advisers Wednesday, pressing their case to overturn some of the Bush administration's terrorism-fighting policies.

Obama has criticized practices that he says amount to torturing detainees during interrogations and has promised to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Among those who met with Obama's advisers were Gen. Charles Krulak, a former Marine Corps commandant, and retired Marine Gen. Joseph Hoar, former chief of the Central Command.

The generals would like to see authority rescinded for the CIA to use harsh interrogation methods that go beyond those approved for use by the military; an end to the secret transfer of prisoners to other governments that have a history of torture; and the closing of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

If you haven't let your opinion on this subject be known yet, a call or email would be helpful. We are all shamed by the betrayal of our principles that the worst administration ever has committed.

Not Watching Games

For those who missed it, I was appalled when China executed suspected potential disrupters of the Olympics, and I am not watching the games. I have seen reports from the beginning, though, that have made me thankful I made that choice early on. The steps that China has taken to make for what is considered by them to be advantageous to that country are sad.

The denial of the privilege of going to the Olympics to a medalist because of his views about a country that is a business partner make a deep impression, for sure. There you have a total disrespect for the athletic side of the games, and total dedication to the political side.

Supporters of China's Olympic bid hoped that this month's events would showcase how much the country has changed. Let's stipulate many of the things they regularly assert: China is more prosperous and, in important senses, more free than it has been for generations. It is in the world's interest, and in America's interest, to deal peacefully with China and to acknowledge its growing power. We have business to do with China, in the most basic sense of that word, on global warming and also on many diplomatic questions. And, yes, China's economic growth has been staggering.

But a dictatorship is still a dictatorship, a fact that so many who highlight China's achievements try to discuss only in the most guarded tones because there is such fear of antagonizing the Chinese government. Yet the Chinese government seems to have no compunction about antagonizing those for whom liberty and human rights take priority over sports and making money.

Barring Cheek, a gold-medal-winning speedskater, was an utterly gratuitous act demonstrating that no matter what the Chinese leaders promised in order to host the Olympics, they will not put up with athletes who have the nerve to challenge their policies. (Emphasis added.)

There is not a greater indicator of how little value is attached to the underlying purpose of the games, a celebration of athletic spirit. Originally, in the Greek games in theie beginnings, promoting a national interest was consciously subordinated, to promote physical excellence. That is so far from its guiding spirit now that it's tragic.

The farce of Chinese actuality that has dominated in the games gives pause in other frames of reference. This circus is pure delusion, and denies truths we need to see more clearly.

Weirdly, some nations would rather fool each other – even at the risk of war – than acknowledge a humbler, less impressive truth. To his peril, Saddam Hussein fooled the West into thinking he had weapons of mass destruction. Iran recently chose to digitally fake images of four long-range missiles, launching simultaneously, when only three were actually fired.

It's getting to the point where you can no longer look into a leader's eyes and get a true sense of his soul. Vladimir Putin's eyes said "trust me." Then he invaded Georgia.

For the Cold War era, Ronald Reagan had the right idea by counseling, "trust, but verify," as the Soviets talked about disarmament. But in the digitally dubious 21st century, perhaps President Bush best captured the proper sentiment when he stated in a 2002 speech: "Fool me once, shame on ... shame on you. Fool me – You can't get fooled again."

Whatever.

Good source of comments about delusion, there, some experts in its use.

If we can begin to refuse the delusion - starting with our media - we can do much better in all our choices. Choosing the reality and dealing with that is a good beginning. It would be especially good if these lessons were applied to the field of national affairs. After that we can better choose what will get us out of the disasters that lies have made for us.

Curtains for these Olympics is my choice. China isn't fooling anyone but itself. I recommend liberal use of that Off button.

That Off button would be very welcome in several other matters of state, such as belligerent statements to other nations, star wars weaponry and threats, rogue states getting economic support. We have a lot of reality to begin dealing with.

Beijing Says You're Hallucinating The Smog

Anyone looking at reports from Beijing is noticing what I call AMV, 'Air Made Visible', which even in Dallas causes unhealthy air quality ratings, a Red Alert. In China I guess Red Alert is a daily thing. Oh forgive me, I forgot that we need a big loan so Red is no longer the PC word about China. By the standards of the news out of the worst administration ever, day is night anyway.

Athletes are being criticized for wearing protective masks, although their breath is vital in practicing their sports. I am just sick that the bicyclists are apologizing for wearing air masks when arriving in Beijing. Those lungs are vital equipment, and saying the air is just fine, when it is obviously not, is a lie. Even by occupied White House standards, denying that viewers can see what the Chinese government is saying isn't there, is offensive to reason, and to health.

A day before the Games, a BBC reading suggested Beijing's air quality was far below World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

It put levels of particulate matter (PM10) at 191 micrograms per cubic metre. This far exceeds the WHO target of 50 micrograms/cubic metre, and also exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre.

But Mr Rogge insisted there was no threat to Olympic competitors.

"Of course we prefer clear skies, but the most important thing is that the health of the athletes is protected," Mr Rogge(IOC President) said in the news conference.

He said there was "absolutely no danger" to the health of athletes taking part in events that last less than one hour. But he said if the pollution was bad, events which lasted more than that could be shifted or postponed.

Mr Rogge urged reporters to distinguish between fog and pollution - a point, correspondents say, often made by Chinese authorities.

"The fog, you see, is based on the basis of humidity and heat. It does not mean that this fog is the same as pollution," he said.

And he praised China's efforts to clean up the air around Beijing - efforts, he said, which would "continue and have a lasting influence on the climate of Beijing".

Separately, Mr Rogge said athletes would be prevented from making any political statement or protest in official venues - in accordance with Rule 51 of the Olympic charter, which forbids athletes from making political, religious, commercial or racial propaganda.

But he said they were free to do this in protest areas provided by Chinese authorities, and that "common sense" would be used to judge violations. (Emphasis added.)

Common sense is exactly what rejects the Chinese line, in so many matters. This is not an instance of good international standards of any sort being set, truth least of all. Sadly, it would appear that the world's propagandists have accepted a view of the American public that the occupied White House projects, that they are idiots who will swallow any line thrown at them. That is the 20% that the war criminals consider their 'base', but White House operatives have convinced the Chinese that this is who forms the public in the U.S.

Athletes depend on their health. It is shameful that they should be subjected to unbearable conditions. The IOC needs to be shaken up thoroughly, and concerned protectors of the world's athletes given a deciding voice in its reviews for further locations of Olympic Games. Air should be breathed, not swum in.

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A little venture into speculation about T. Boone Pickens' motives in promoting wind power begins:

Railing against the "club" of Big Oil and promising to shake up "management entrenchment," T. Boone Pickens once turned his epic takeover battles with oil companies into a national effort to make public companies more accountable to shareholders.

He modeled his effort on a political campaign – complete with lobbyists, grass-roots supporters and his own money.



The article makes a good exposition of his career but I was disappointed that it left out Pickens' claim that he was going to put in the transmission lines needed to run wind power from W.TX. to the areas where it is needed.

I am ambivalent about the Pickens move, but on the whole supportive. After all, I detest MicroSoft, but Bill Gates is doing good things with the insupportable profits.

Olympic Torture

Sometimes we have friends that help us out. Sometimes we have friends who embarrass us. This time we have friends that are rivaling the occupied White House in barbarity.

China is getting ready for the games. It can't guarantee clean air, but it's giving new meaning to the adage that 'heads will roll'. A plot to disrupt the Olympics is supposed to have been detected, so it executed some of the purported plotters.

CHINA has reverted to public executions on the eve of the Olympics as part of a massive security operation mounted to protect the Beijing Games from what Communist Party authorities describe as an urgent threat of violence and anti-government protest.

The Washington Post reported at the weekend that three young men were shot shortly after dawn in the city of Yengishahar in Xinjiang - the mainly Muslim region of northwestern China.

"The local government bused several thousand students and office workers into a public square and lined them up in front of a vocational school," the Post reported. "As the spectators watched, witnesses said, three prisoners were brought out.

"Then an execution squad fired rifles at the three point-blank, killing them on the spot."

The men were among 17 people convicted in nearby Kashgar of being members of the outlawed East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

The cretin in chief will fit right in at those opening ceremonies. Next we'll be hearing of rendition as the new event, perhaps, a propos memos from Prof. Yoo and trials to be held at Gitmo. The Torture Olympics it is.

I expect the White House will have No Comment on these preparatory events as it plows new depths in conduct of foreign affairs as well as in conduct, generally.

The Unsafe Food We Are Buying

The continuing efforts of this administration to subvert protections of the public for the furtherance of purely business interest never ceases to appall. As we watch the breakdown of the economy that has been promoted under the auspices of deregulation, a lot of the small stuff has faded away from public attention.

Maybe because I love seafood, this one struck me right in the gut. Can I start growing my own fish and shrimp?

In March, inspectors checking Chinese seafood arriving at U.S. ports made some unsettling discoveries: fish infected with salmonella in Baltimore and Seattle and shrimp with banned veterinary drugs in Florida.

Meanwhile, a shipment intercepted in Los Angeles March 19 labeled "channel catfish" wasn't catfish at all, though records don't say what it was.

"A lot of those products coming in from overseas, you have no clue as to what is in them," said Paul Hitchens, an aquaculture specialist in southern Illinois, where cut-rate Chinese catfish are threatening the livelihood of fish farmers.
(snip)
FDA officials are requesting new authority, including the ability to license private companies to assist with inspections. But the Bush administration has signaled opposition to key provisions that would require regular inspections in foreign lands and limit ports where food can arrive to docks with FDA labs.

Former FDA officials argue that change is urgently needed.

William Hubbard, formerly the FDA's associate commissioner, noted in an interview that the FDA's inspection system was designed early last century when the big challenge was finding bugs or mold in arriving barrels of commodities like flour or molasses. Now, the U.S. gets millions of shipments of foreign food each year from around the world.

Hubbard, who retired in 2005, recalled inspectors reporting particularly disturbing methods of Chinese aquaculture: raising chickens in cages kept above fish-ponds _ a potential source of the salmonella in seafood, he said.

"Increasingly, the world is moving in a better direction in food safety and we're falling behind. As our system becomes more antiquated and more ineffective, the world is sending us their junk," said Hubbard. (Emphasis added.)

The increasing incidence of food poisoning is directly due to this administration. When the war criminal at its head took the oath of office, that evidently was the kickoff of the war against America.

We cannot believe in those FDA approved labels, because the FDA has been gutted. Our inspection process, set up over many years to protect the public, was turned around to protect business interests.

As for ameliorating the international trade agreements many Americans believe have been detrimental, forget about it. In straight power terms, America, now the world's largest debtor nation, cannot raise tariffs to bar creditor nations' merchandise. A person does not order around those to whom he owes money and from whom he is borrowing more.

We are in debt to China, ergo, we have to meet its demands. It is impossible to conduct a war on loans to China if we don't bow to its need to foist off unsafe products on the American consumer.

Put down the fish and back away slowly.

Of Pots And Shiny New Kettles

Violence is once again flaring in Lhasa as Tibetans struggle against the Chinese occupation of their country. According to this NY Times article, at least 10 people have been killed as the Chinese clamp down on this tiny nation as part of the run-up to the Beijing Olympics this summer. It is unlikely that the US will do more than register a mild protest of the Chinese action, primarily because the most recent State Department Report on Human Rights dropped China from the list of the top ten worst human rights abusers.

Don't think the rest of the world didn't notice the omission or the irony of the timing of the State Department report. Germany's Die Tageszeitung published an editorial on March 12,2008 on the issue.

We get two news items from the US on the same day concerning human rights. The first report: China is no longer on the list of the top ten human rights abusers in the report issued by the US State Department on human rights. Report number two: the Democrats in the House of Representatives failed in their effort to forbid the practice of waterboarding. President George W. Bush vetoed the bill and thereby allowed the CIA to torture with impunity.

Together the two reports underscore the contradictory nature of the US government with respect to human rights. The US State Department has been issuing its report on human rights abuses throughout the world since 1977. Now the US considers the marginal gains in China, such as the review of death sentences by the Supreme Court, so significant that they outweigh the continued repression, censorship, torture, reeducation camps and forced labor. This assessment sends the wrong signal at the wrong time. With this report the US is playing into the hands of the Chinese government, which is trying to burnish its image ahead of the Olympic Games in the summer without making any substantive changes in its policies. It certainly was not necessary for Washington to remove an important tool for keeping up the pressure on China until the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

While it is the height of chutzpah for a nation which admits to engaging in "intensive interrogation techniques," that damnable euphemism for torture, and "rendition," another damnable euphemism for kidnapping, and runs prison camps in other nations so it doesn't have to abide by its own Constitution and laws, to issue anything like a "Human Rights Report," the US continues to do so annually. This year, the Bush Administration quite cynically dropped all pretense to the report's original purpose, that of pressuring countries to stop the horrific abuses of their own people. Instead, it used the report for a bargaining chip with a nation it wants support from at the UN and in the rest of the world.

So China will get a free pass for its brutality in Tibet. It will have its lovely Olympics and an official US delegation will appear at the glorious opening of that event. And the death toll in Lhasa will rise.

311 days.