China's Future Estrogen Shortage

If you get a moment, take a look at this story making the rounds right now.

China’s “one couple, one child” family planning policy could leave more than 24 million men unable to find a bride by the end of the decade, a report says.

The country’s leading think-tank describes the gender imbalance among newborns as the most serious demographic problem facing China. The surplus of bachelors — known as “bare branches” — in the rural areas has been described by senior officials as a problem that could lead to a surge in crime and social instability, the ruling Communist Party’s greatest fear.

When this policy was announced many years ago, it became immediately apparent to me that people would abort (and in some cases kill) baby girls as a result of this policy. I told people what I thought.

Some people just nodded and shuttled their kids into SUVs to get them to their baseball practice. Others smiled and said I was a deep thinker prone to troubleshooting world problems with common sense solutions. They would then asked to be excused.... because they had a meeting to go to and they were running late. Some just rolled their eyes and said nothing.

As the reality looms on the horizon, some are beginning to recognize what was so apparent to me back then.

Mark my words again today.

There will come a time when a surge in crime and social instability within the borders of China will be the least of the problems on the Asian continent. It will not only be a Chinese internal problem but will affect other nations, as well.

When the Chinese nation cannot appease those men who are without spouses, the time will come to send them off to war with their neighbors. Taiwan, Laos, Thailand, Korea, Japan, any or all will feel the full strength of a large and frustrated military force.The Chinese will occupy those nations, make slaves out of the men, and steal the women for themselves.

By that time, the U.S. will be so weak that nothing can be done. This current government in Washington will have this nation so far into China's pocket book, they will be calling all of the the shots. We will be the puppets and we will only be able to sit and watch.

Maybe, just maybe, we will be able to appease them. But it may require sending our daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, and nieces to marry them.

Roll your eyes if you want. I hope I am wrong. But still mark it down, because time waits for no one. If we don't fire those who are facilitating this massive debt to the Chinese, we will be trading our future sovereignty. I may be dead and gone by that time, but the time will still come.

Hillary And China: Back Scratching For Dollars

From Bloomberg comes this report:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to continue buying U.S. Treasury bonds to help finance President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, saying “we are truly going to rise or fall together.”

“Our economies are so intertwined,” Clinton said in an interview today in Beijing with Shanghai-based Dragon Television. “It would not be in China’s interest” if the U.S. were unable to finance deficit spending to stimulate its stalled economy.

Amazing that it would come to this. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State having an economic dialogue with China to keep our deficit spending going. This is like going to the bank while behind on your mortgage, car payment, several credit cards, and having the audacity to ask for more money.

She is right in one sense. It would be in their best interests to sink more money into us, because most of the things we get now come from China. When we stop buying, they stop making.

But the biggest problem I have with this entire conversation has nothing to do with any of the common sense talk about fiscal responsibility or debt. I just cannot help but wonder what state secrets she was willing to share with China, this time around.

Los Alamos was a long time ago. Most of that technology has been realized and developed, time to catch them up to speed again. They need it and we need to finance another Democratic spending spree. This is called back scratching for dollars.

The Art Of Foreign Policy Manipulation

From Reuters comes this story, about Russia urging Israel to halt its offensive against the terrorist organization Hamas.

Russia urged Israel on Sunday to end military attacks that had killed nearly 300 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian supplies into the territory, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

I can see where the tone of the Russian government is somewhat subdued here. Russia just completed an armed invasion of Georgia for much less than the reason Israel is preparing to re-take control of Gaza. I don't remember Georgia firing missiles across the Russian border, but still they came anyway.

Maybe, the Russians feel the need to make a customary statement. Historically, they have worded their critiques of Israeli military actions harshly, and if they say nothing, they will look like they are weakening. But at the same time, they know too harsh of a reaction will look openly hypocritical. What to do, what to do?

China's response is a bit more direct, but not much.

China is deeply concerned at the current situation in Gaza,and hopes parties involved could immediately halt the armed conflict, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said here on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Chinese op-ed press is taking potshots at America again.

The United States has been acting as the world's only superpower in 2008, but the financial turmoil, which broke out in Wall Street in September, showed its vulnerability.

In addition, the country is still deep in trouble with its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has undermined its international image.

Some analysts attributed the waning U.S. strength to its policy of unilateralism and expansionism on international issues, and its practice of a laissez-faire free market economy at home. It remains to be seen what consequences of these policies will have on U.S. national strength.

By contrast, Russia's flexing of strong muscles in the international political arena in the outgoing year indicated a marked recovery of its strength.

It's true that an economic crisis will weaken any country, but America is not the only country affected by the recent financial woes. And Russia is not in too great of a position right now, due to the downturn on the prices of oil and natural gas. So China's propaganda machine is not very convincing to those that have a basic understanding of reality.

What we have here is posturing for the coming Obama Administration. China is using negative statements to cast aspersions on the US.

Why?

To create an image of American weakness in order to manipulate the new President. Their goal is to make Obama think the world doesn't like us, so they can use the old "do what we want and we'll like you again" ploy, as a foreign policy strategy. They want to play on our innate need for acceptance and approval.

The big question is, will Obama fall for it? I think it is likely that he will, because his campaign centered around "restoring America's position in the world". So if the world wants a weaker America so it can be liked again, it is highly likely that is what it will get.

More Random Thoughts

I am trying to get some posts together to share. But until I can finish them, I want to recommend something for my readers to read, and if you desire, comment on. It's located at Mustang's Social Sense and I have left my comment there, so as not to hijack his thread.

The subject is China and it contains some things we all should be thinking about, when formulating some semblance of a policy.


******************************


Another thing I'd like to bring up is a question he and I have been discussing offline, via telecommunication devices:

The subject arose during the campaign. It involved McCain's class standing at the Naval Academy. It seems he ranked on the low end of the totem pole and the question becomes the efficacy of a person in a vital profession, whereby the margin of error can be costly to human life.

Military leaders, medical personnel, public safety people all must meet standards that have been set by a collaborative effort of a given profession's leaders (and in some cases government) just to qualify to study the science of such. I'd like to believe that out of the many people that apply for appointments to the academies, medical and nursing schools, and others that rank high in the public interest, the ones that were chosen were the cream of the crop.

My contention is simple. Despite the fact someone graduated last in his or her class, it should have no bearing on their ability to effectively performing their job, according to acceptable standards set by society's reasonable expectations. They may have been last, but they made it. In all classes, there are those who didn't. In addition, there are those that do well in the theory portion of the curriculum, do not always translate to a competent...whatever.

So, what do you think?

Thoughts On Beijing's Opening Ceremonies

I have to say that the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics were an impressive, spectacular display of art, circumstance, and pomp. The skill and precision of the performers were of the highest quality, and they performed there acts almost flawlessly. But the component that really stands out goes way beyond the human contribution and come from a knowledge of the innovative minds the Chinese minds seem to cultivate, especially in the world of technology.

Without sounding too cynical, when I think about the high caliber performances with an analytical mind, there is something that stands out that makes me a little uneasy. As I so subtlety implied, the talent pool (and execution of that talent) is a testament within itself. And yet despite this, I cannot help but think about the situation from a couple of different angles.

Why is this?

Much of the synchronization and uniformity gave me some negative feelings. In some ways, it reminded me much of the 1936 Olympics whereby Nazi Germany tried to paint an international image of might, power, and overwhelming discipline. The goal was intimidation, Hitler wanted to paint the German nation in a light that was not accurate. He wanted to be noticed.

And from what I saw, there wasn't a lot difference in tonight's display.

Minus the overt military component, Beijing did precisely what I expected them to do. They showed overwhelming presence and control. But they also showed an overly embellished portrayal of Chinese culture. I say this because, just twenty miles from the Chinese capital city and in other countless cities and towns scattered throughout, there is as much poverty and suffering as there is in any third world nation.

But even more importantly, I have to ask myself something else in my ponderings: If the Chinese can develop, coordinate, and so efficiently perform this kind of a feat, are they capable of developing and manning high tech weaponry that can outperform any like it in the world?

It is true, much of the defense research has been conducted in the Sichuan Province, where the recent devastating earthquake was centered. And no one knows how far back this has set the Chinese Military R&D department But to keep it relative to us, we'd have to know how far they were and frankly, this is not a luxury most of us have right now.

One thing is for sure, maybe two things: It won't take them long to relocate and re-institute it with the revenues raked in from the money brought in by the Olympics. Another thing we can be sure of, as far as the Opening Ceremonies are concerned, London has a high bar to reach in 2012.

Black Eye On Beijing

Despite efforts to curtail air pollution in China's capital ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, it's still there.

Less than two weeks before the Olympics, Beijing's skies are so murky and polluted that the authorities are considering emergency measures during the Games beyond the traffic restrictions and factory shutdowns that, so far, have failed to clear the air, state media reported on Monday.

For the past five days, Beijing has been a soupy cauldron of humid, gray skies. Local pollution ratings have exceeded the national standard for acceptable air since last Thursday, despite a temporary air pollution control plan that began on July 20.

Looking at the picture on the other end of the link, tells more of the story than any words can.

The thing that stands out to me is a pretty morbid detail that we need to watch out for: The people with titles, offices, desks, and pens that have been charged with cleaning the air up will probably be executed when the crowds go home.

On the chance that I am wrong here - it could be that the Chinese government is more concerned with security, than air quality. But even at that, there are those that think the Chinese are playing up the terror threats to justify themselves for the heavy police presence that is actually more concerned with dissidents to the regime than jihadists.

I hope the people that call our government a bunch of fascists for their efforts against terrorism will take note. What they will see during these games will be real fascism, not politically perceived.

PYY Sunday Reader

Here are a few articles that may be worth a look, when you get a moment:


Tsar Putin's Move Toward Fascism?

This one is from the Daily Mail. Comparisons and contrasts are found in this article about Putin's reign as President of Russia and his future role of Prime Minister. A bit lengthy and well-written, this one definitely contains some things to consider.


Jean Sarkozy, A President's Son Is Active.

With France being anything but a monolithic society, I am not sure all French will agree with the contents of this London Times piece. This article describes Nicolas Sarkozy's politically active son and the ambitions he may or may not have.


The China Challenge

Despite the recent tragedy that has killed many people in the heart of China, this WSJ article raises some cause for concern. My heart certainly goes out to the individuals that have suffered great loss, but like the author of this piece, I too am very skeptical of the Chinese government.
(HT: Amerloque)


VDH's Latest Essay

This one deals with a war of words over the war in Iraq. In any conflict or endeavor of any kind, there are bound to be unintended consequences. Unfortunately, we live in a finger pointing and blame placing world that must assign full responsibility to honest mistakes made by fallible human beings. Someone must take the fall for negative outcomes and in the process, some defensive blame projections do occur. This article Mr. Hanson outlines his views on the mistakes made in the Iraq War and why we are being confronted with the excuses well-before the final outcome is known.

News In Brief (And The Usual Opinionated Commentary)

The news shows have been saturated with Obama and Hillary destroying each other (and the Democratic Party), while John McCain has been traveling the world (looking Presidential, staying out of the crossfire). As a result, there hasn't been much else to focus on.

But here are a couple of things that have less to do with the race for the White House, and more to do with the issues that the candidates will likely face should they get there:



Scientists Question Use Of Biofuels

Gordon Brown is preparing for a battle with the European Union over biofuels after one of the government's leading scientists warned they could exacerbate climate change rather than combat it.

In an outspoken attack on a policy which comes into force next week, Professor Bob Watson, the chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said it would be wrong to introduce compulsory quotas for the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel before their effects had been properly assessed.

"If one started to use biofuels ... and in reality that policy led to an increase in greenhouse gases rather than a decrease, that would obviously be insane," Watson said. "It would certainly be a perverse outcome."

Slowly, information about the earth cooling has been coming out and yet, I find it quite ironic that this story comes out under the pretense that warming is still a consensus. During the advancement of this junk science theory, we have found the push for biofuels, especially in areas which produce the crops that go into the making of these fuels. Indiana has led the push, because Indiana farmers stand to make a fortune off of them.

Very little attention has been given to the fact that this transition toward biofuels is not a good idea (for so many reasons). Now we have scientists that are rethinking this strategy, albeit for the wrong reasons. Never mind the sound reasoning that people like John Stossel, Mustang, and myself have put forth, these guys are backtracking because they believe that it will increase warming (despite the fact that this is still not a proven theory).

Whatever the rationales put forth by Professor Watson, the fact remains that the production of ethanol is leading to a rise in food prices across the board. Not only is there less corn for you and I to eat, there is less for livestock. Not only is the price of corn itself going up, the price of beef and pork is going up. If this (alone) is not enough for the junk scientists, maybe a faulty theory about a faulty theory will dissuade the world from jumping on this bandwagon.



China Continues Crackdown On Tibet Protests

Paramilitary police opened fire on hundreds of monks, nuns and Tibetans who tried to march on a local government office in western China yesterday to demand the return of the Dalai Lama.

Residents of Luhuo said that a monk and a farmer appeared to have been killed and about a dozen people wounded in the latest violence in Tibetan areas of China. Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, said that one officer was killed when police confronted a “lawless mob” in Luhuo.

With China on the world stage through the hosting of the Olympics in Beijing this year, the movement for Tibetan independence has flared up. And from the looks of their response, China doesn't intend to allow them the opportunity to share a part of that stage. But China may be shooting themselves in the foot, as the EU is already debating a boycott of the opening ceremony.

If China continues on this bloody path, it may be that the idea of an all-out boycott will be brought up and implemented soon. If this ends up being the case, China could be left holding the bill, for which they will not be able to recover.

As The Blogosphere Goes....

Here are a few interesting things to note in the blogosphere this fine Sunday morning:


Clinton Supporters Boycott Daily Kos

Obama wants a civil discourse within the Democratic party and the nation. But as we have seen from his supporters, there is anything but going on. It is now common knowledge that Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a man of hate and and hostile rhetoric. Now, we are seeing the blogs that support Obama, like the Daily Kos, alienating more people.


Wright Leaves Obama Campaign

Obama's racist minister has left the African American Religious Leadership Committee in the campaign. Wright's presence is one thing. But I wonder, how many past candidates have utilized such a committee?


Obama Attempts To Distance Himself From Wright

Nice try, but is it a little too late for mainstream America?

From Obama's statement comes this area worth some scrutiny:

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation.

Sounds good, if you are naive or a hypocritical spinster. But that's not exactly true. In fact, let's take a look at what Rich Lowry has found from Obama's book.


China Crushing Tibetan Protests

China should walk gingerly here. If they crack down with brutal force, there may be a huge boycott of the Olympics, a la the 1980 Moscow games. It would be a shame to waste all that money and have rich nations that can boost an economy, stay home.

China Wants Answers

After the U.S. has successfully shot down a falling satellite, China has demanded some answers. As a public service to those that do not speak Chinese, I will attempt to translate the Chinese government's official responses:

"China is continuing to closely follow the possible harm caused by the US action to outer space security and relevant countries," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said when asked for a reaction to the shootdown.

Translation: China is continuing to closely follow the harm to China's developing missile program, as is evidenced by the U.S. demonstrated ability to shoot down any object that is fired at the North American continent.

"China further requests that the US fulfil its international obligations in earnest and promptly provide to the international community the necessary information and relevant data... so that relevant countries can take precautions."

Translation: China further requests that all U.S. defense missile design plans and locations of said defense missiles be provided to the Chinese government for future use in the ongoing revival of the Cold War.

Note-I sincerely hope this helps clear up any misunderstandings caused by this language barrier.

China On Global Warming: It's The West's Responsibility

China, doing what they do best, is blaming the West and the U.S. in particular for global warming.

China insisted Friday the U.S. and other wealthy nations should bear the burden of curbing global warming, saying the problem was created by their lavish way of life. It rejected mandatory emission cuts for its own developing industries.

Environmental activists, meanwhile, labeled the United States and Saudi Arabia the worst "climate sinners," accusing them of having inadequate polices for climate problems while letting greenhouse gas emissions rise. But the activists also said no country is doing enough.

Nothing new here, it's fashionable to blame America these days.

Su Wei, a top climate expert for China's government attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference, said the job belongs to the wealthy. He said it was unfair to ask developing nations to accept binding emissions cuts and other restrictions being pushed for already industrialized states.

Because they are developing, China believes they deserve a pass. How misguided are they? Take a look at this. Then come back and tell us all how it's the West's responsibility to curb emissions. If this doesn't convince you take a look at this report from the BBC:




Los Angeles in it's smog heyday couldn't compete with this scene.

Keeping Up With The Joneses, Chinese-Style

It's no big secret that China wants to challenge the U.S. in a variety of areas. Their goal is to catch up to us in just about everything (except for political reforms that will ensure basic freedoms). It is well known that they seek a military build-up, and they are defending it as peaceful. It is also well-known that they are funding it by their economic build-up, their economy has grown exponentially over the last three decades.

But, those are just two areas that China has sought to keep up with (or outdo) the imperialistic United States of America. Here are two more areas that you may not have considered:

We have a bridge collapse.

They have a bridge collapse.

We have a mining accident.

They have a mining accident.

And judging from the casualty totals in these disasters, it looks like they are winning.

But seriously, they have built an economy on stealing copyrights and patents. In many cases, they have companies that have used sub-standard ingredients and/or parts to use in products that are being sold in the American market. And we are buying them up, putting more money in their pockets.

But here's something to think about in the midst of all this: I bet they don't use substandard parts and ingredients, when building their tanks, ships, subs, weapons, and ammo.

Chinese Move Highlights Nostalgic Irony

Back during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, when one side expelled spies, a similar move was made on the other side. No worries, it's just the way business was done. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and soon others were sent in to take their place.

But now that the Cold War is over, the "Trade War" is on. And this time it's with China.

From the IHT:

Raisins and health supplements imported from the United States failed to meet Chinese safety standards and have been returned or destroyed, the country's food safety agency said Friday.

The move comes as China itself faces international criticism, especially in the United States, over a series of scandals that have plagued Chinese food, drugs and other products from poisoned cough syrup to tainted toothpaste and pet food.

Inspectors in the ports of Ningbo and Shenzhen found bacteria and sulfur dioxide in products shipped by three American companies, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

"The products failed to meet the sanitary standards of China," the agency said in a brief notice posted on its Web site...

Of course, there is no information given on how many people in China got sick on American products. But the one part that gives this away as a farce can be found in this sentence from the article:

...No details were given on when or how the inspections were conducted.

If I am making an educated guess, I would say, this was already decided before the ships hit the port. But hey, that's just me.

Interesting Article

I had a great but busy weekend, so no time to post anything of any real value.

Here is a lengthy, yet very interesting article on China, I think most will find it worth a look.

Check it out, when you get a chance.