by B.RAMAN
Chinese netizens interested in strategic issues have been showing interest in India's reported decision to go for European jet fighters for its Air Force in preference to the aircaft offered by U.S. companies. They see this as a possible reflection of India's unhappiness over the continuing U.S. restrictive policies relating to the transfer of high technology to India. Another point being made is that the U.S. support for India's permanent membership of the UN Security Council was as a quid pro quo for the Indian selection of the U.S. aircaft. Now that India has rejected the U.S. aircraft, will the U.S. still support India's permanent membership of the UNSC?
2. Annexed are some comments carried in the People's Forum section of the party-owned "People's Daily" online on the subject on May 1,2011. It is not clear whether these comments are of the "People's Daily" readers or have been lifted from non-Chinese sources. Normally, when the comments are lifted from non-Chinese sources, the sources are identified. In this case, no source has been identified for the post as a whole. ( 1-5-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
ANNEXURE
(Text of a post in the "People's Forum" section of the "People's Daily" online carried on May 1,2011)
India arms contract spurns U.S. fighters
India has shortlisted European jet fighters, in preference to U.S. and Russian rivals, in a hotly contested $11bn competition to supply the Indian air force with advanced combat aircraft.
At stake is a deal to equip India with 126 multi-role fighter jets in one of the world’s largest military contracts. The winning bid is expected to shape India’s air power for the next three decades and serve as the bedrock of a strategic partnership.
After trials, India selected France’s Dassault Rafale and the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon – both currently operating over Libya – to compete in the next stage of the competition, according to India’s defence ministry. A spokesman told the Financial Times that a final decision would be taken within a year.
The move will be a blow to the U.S. Washington strongly lobbied India to buy its aircraft as payback for the landmark Indian-U.S. civil nuclear deal in 2008. The agreement – brokered by Manmohan Singh, Indian premier, and then-U.S. president George W. Bush – brought India’s nuclear programme out of decades of global isolation.
Timothy Roemer, U.S. ambassador to Delhi, said the U.S. was “deeply disappointed” by the decision not to select U.S. defence companies. Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Roemer, a personal friend of Barack Obama, U.S. president, announced his resignation.
While Mr. Roemer said he was leaving India for personal reasons, as ambassador he had heavily promoted the U.S. bids. He said he had “accomplished all of the strategic objectives set forth two years ago” when he took the job.
Top Indian officials and politicians had indicated that they wished to buy U.S. military hardware to improve a fast-warming relationship between the two democracies in the wake of the transformative nuclear deal.
Are U.S. export policies to blame?
Defense contractors and industry experts are trying to come to grips with India’s decision to exclude The Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. from its $11 billion competition for a new fighter jet.
"India's decision was very surprising", says Tom Captain, vice chairman of global and U.S. aerospace and defense leader at Deloitte LLP. If the selection was based on technical merits, "it is difficult to explain how those two very capable aircraft were eliminated."
In the absence of factual information about how the selection was made, speculation is growing that restrictive U.S. export policies may have played a significant role in India’s evaluation of fighter jet candidates.
India is projected to spend $80 billion on new weapons and space systems over the next five years. It’s only a small fraction of what the United States spends, but the industry still regards it as a promising region where, once you get a foot in the door, opportunities could blossom.
Defense industry analyst Byron Callan contends that “technology transfer was a major consideration in this competition.”
Larry Christensen, an export controls attorney at Miller & Chevalier, in Washington, D.C., believes the Indian decision will have lasting implications for U.S. industry, even though, he says, he has not seen any proof that India’s choice was influenced by ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations that restrict exports of sensitive U.S. technology.
"The fact that an emerging power such as India would snub U.S. advanced weaponry offers further evidence that the current export control system — which dates back to the Cold War — has outlived its effectiveness", Christensen says. “The U.S. government cannot repeal the laws of economics,” he says. As the United States denies access to some of its best technology, it leaves a market void that, sooner or later, another country will fill. “When that happens, the U.S. export control policy of denial, or policy of heavy restrictions, become ineffective” for the purposes of barring potential enemies access to advanced weaponry."
It's a surprise for many analysts that U.S. fighters didn't win out. In recently years, America has been trying to court India by asserting its supportive stance over India's aspiration for a permenant UNSC seat. America arms makers are one of beneficiaries in the improved bilateral ties. They even got deals from India with big number without competing with rivals in public bidding. Some defense experts said the embarrassing result indicates that India's wariness toward America...
------------------------------------
My comment: Too many strings attached; U.S. economic and political stability questioned.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Body of Lies
If POTUS antagonizes major media, what’s left? Who will be there to carry his water? POTUS is wavering. On one hand, his first impulse is to batten down the hatches and contain them completely. He forgets that he is entirely a media creation and that their fate is inextricably linked to his own. They will not abandon him. On the other, POTUS needs scapegoats. Republicans aren’t enough. POTUS’ need of scapegoats is insatiable. It is the mark of a tyrant.
POTUS will scapegoat friends. This is not something that’s lost on the media. They know they are skating on thin ice no matter which way they turn. POTUS knows the media won’t turn against him. The incident in question (San Francisco Fresh Juice guerilla theater) was covered playfully and in good humor. If anything, it made appear POTUS more human.
POTUS is thin-skinned. Others have remarked on it as well. This will be his undoing. And that too is a fact that can be taken to the bank.
The media will go down with POTUS. The illusion of media relevance is practically imperceptible. 2012 is set to tear open the curtain and expose all. The 44th presidency will be shown as a fraud. How we deal with it will expose the nation.
Reminds of a scene in the film ‘Body of Lies’ (2008) where Ferris is brought out into the desert in exchange for his girlfriend. He is immediately surrounded by a group of SUV’s which drive around him in a circle, kicking up so much dust, it becomes impossible for the ‘eye in the sky’ (Ferris bosses) to see. The vehicles all split up and drive off in different directions.
POTUS will have to orchestrate something big to distract from what is already known to be true. That is why I continue to predict a substantial diversion before we’ve even had a chance to vote in 2012.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Hu Jintao Is Awesome
In Japan, when people screw up, they resign – sometimes permanently - from everything. At the very least, they say, “I’m sorry” and ask what they can do to make amends. This would not work in the U.S., primarily because we have taken the concept of ‘failure’ off the table. We no longer know what ‘failure’ is. Nor do we know ‘success’.
We use these terms loosely as carrots and sticks, depending on whether or not we like any given person. ‘Liking’ or not becomes the ultimate criteria that dictates how we respond. If we like somebody and they do something bad, we either ignore it or shift the blame to someone whom we do not like. Similarly, if we hate a person, and this person then does something good, the credit for it gets shifted to someone we consider ‘good’ (even if he had nothing to do with it). In short, individual action – no matter what the result – will never be judged other than in light of one’s standing within the assumed hierarchy of liking or not liking.
That’s how we got to the point where anything a Democrat does is always good and anything a Republican does is always bad. The concept has now been expanded to include race, gender and religious affiliation. We have been told over and over again just who the bad guys are. Performance has very little to do with it, though we still use performance metrics as a club to enforce politically assigned assumptions.
We have since learned that a nation does not run itself; that competent leadership is essential. In fact, we have learned that things can always get worse. Bush wasn’t so great – or so we were told. ‘Anybody but Bush’ would do just fine. Many of us are still trying mightily to prove this theory right. After all, we’ve done exactly what we were told we should do. We’ve elected (good) Democrats to run the most important offices in the land. Things haven’t exactly worked out. We might even say that things have gotten worse. Now we are struggling with the notion that this is how things should actually be.
Katrina was easy. It was Bush’s fault all the way. Bush hated black people and wanted to give them their comeuppance. Now, with the tornados in the South, we can’t exactly blame Obama. He’s doing the best he can; besides, he has come out against ‘global warming’ which would presumably assure that nothing like this ever happens again. It’s only Republicans who continue to stand in the way of his ‘green power’ initiatives that’s keeping this president from solving our weather problem for good.
It’s pretty much the same thing with everything else. Life has become entirely too complicated for representative government to work. The leaders of China have a much easier time of it.
They can build dams, roads and cities at the snap of a finger. They can build high-speed rail and carrier battle groups. They can move populations. They can stifle opposition. No wonder President Obama thinks Hu Jintao is perfectly awesome.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Friday, April 29, 2011
Trump Drops the F-Bomb in Vegas
OMG, Trump swore in Vegas! That’s it! The man’s finished; toast; done.
Show me anybody who’s never dropped trou in Vegas. Yes, but… Trump wants to be President.
Think about it! Who would actually want to be President at this point? Do you really think The Donald needs this to embellish his resume? It’s become an emergency call; a mission of mercy: Saving the country and all. Haven’t you been reading the papers?
Frankly, Americans are feeling they’re under siege. They’re watching their savings diminish; their dollar crashing. They’re being asked to contribute more and more hard-won treasure to bolster the fortunes of their own firing squad.
“We’ll just club you to death if you don’t pay us,” the executioner’s union shouts gaily in unison.
Governors are crying out in fiscal pain. Industry is crying out. Ditto, taxpayers. They say that change must come from the inside. In Massachusetts, they recently voted to curb the unions. That is to say, Democrats voted to curb the unions – in the dead of night, no less. They too were afraid.
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re a Democrat country. If change is to come, it must come from within. We voted Democrat in 2008 – not this. This is not Democrat. This is tyranny; socialism – by whatever un-American name you want to call it
Republicans still don’t get it. They are not the answer. The nation as a whole has already rejected them and their ideologies. The tea parties consist of Republicans and Democrats. They are alarmed. Nothing like this has ever happened before. The Democrats in Washington are not Democrats. Trump is a Democrat. We can accept that. And he’s a real Democrat – not a socialist masquerading.
So, let’s be clear: The political fight in 2012 is not going to be between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have long since taken themselves out of the game. The fight will be between Democrats and Socialists. Socialists are the enemy of America – Democrats are not. Democrats do not support $6 gas. They do not support Hamas. They do not support a weak dollar; a weakened nation; inflation; wealth re-distribution; chaos; racism. They do not seek to take away our liberties and control every blessed aspect of our lives. It’s the Socialists who support all these un-American things. It is they who must be defeated.
Indeed, if we had true Democrats running the show, we’d be out of the woods by now.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Trump: Political Outsider
Predictably, the media is following Obama’s lead, now by attacking Trump. They’re doing it in a kind of back-handed way by painting him as a ridiculous cartoon-like character - in the same way they routinely report on the tea parties. They will not engage him on facts.
Anti-Trump elements are hard at work leaking Trump’s past sins. Curiously, they see their most potent card as the one that says Trump liked liberal Democrats – this, at the very same time they try to paint Obama as a centrist. It’s absurd, really, but it seems to have worked, at least with several prominent conservative commentators who have now come out full-bore against a possible Trump candidacy.
Callers to talk shows do not seem to be particularly impressed by the tactic. Trump still appears to score high among the unwashed despite what the media (right or left) say about him. Their argument is that the next election should not hinge on the issue of Democrat vs. Republicans; but rather on patriot vs. non-patriot (or anti-American). Trump scores high on being a patriot.
Additionally, Trump is helped by being a Washington outsider, i.e. he does not identify closely with either one of the parties. There is broad dissatisfaction among the voting public with the candidates both parties have put forth. Trump, so far, is the only candidate under consideration who transcends party affiliation. Hence, come election time, we may come to recognize that party loyalty or a sense of entitlement (for years spent in support of either party) is no longer an issue for voters.
Trump’s accomplishments are palpable. They lie outside the political realm. He is seen as a businessman whose success has hinged on his ability to roll with the rough-and-tumble of capitalism. Claims, that some of his ventures have failed, only serve to burnish his standing as an unabashed capitalist. Failure (right along with success), after all, is one of the hallmarks of capitalism.
Trump is everything Obama is not. Obama is an ideologue and, worse, a politician. As such, he is beholden to what is seen as a corrupt system. Obama has been repeatedly promoted by affirmative action within a system that has failed to deliver broadly. He is the graduate who is rumored to be incapable of reading the words on his ceremonial sheepskin. His thesis (if any) likely consisted of writing the word ‘Marxism’ on the back of a cocktail napkin. He was the one chosen for his overall appeal to would-be donors at a school for the clinically retarded to trumpet the (special) curriculum’s successes. He consistently blames opponents for any shortcomings.
Trump does not blame; he confronts. He speaks distinctly and openly. He appears to shy away from making empty promises. Yet, he makes it clear that he seeks to fashion our nation’s policies on the basis of America’s self-interest.
One measure of Trump’s political standing among voters is the media’s stance toward him. They hate him. He reminds me a little bit of Reagan, who routinely brushed off mainstream reporters’ inane questions as one would brush off a flake or two of dandruff on a dark suit.
In a significant sense, our next election cycle will revolve around the overwhelming desire of the public to defeat major media. Politics (as usual) is likely to drop way down on the list of voters' primary concerns.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Cinderella's Bloody Glass Slipper
Since I had to carry a gun for my work, I needed to qualify every six months. Missing the target was not an option. It never is.
This morning I went downstairs for breakfast. I turned on the radio. And there it was: The obligatory jabs at both Trump and Palin – and all this by a New York local radio host who’s considered ‘conservative’. It seems we’ve all been down this road before. We just never learn. Back then, our fav piñata was Bush. What we wouldn’t give to have him back again!
Obama remains untouched. Every word of his is routinely afforded the gravitas it no longer deserves. We try so hard to fit this wicked stepsister’s foot into Cinderella’s glass slipper. It must be the slipper’s fault. And yet, midnight is fast approaching when everything turns to pumpkins.
The Left has no compunction in slicing off toes. In fact, they have the surgeons constantly standing at the ready. Never mind the spectacle of blood, smear and dishonesty which disgusts and, at the same time, fascinates. They work in tandem with the media, like a well oiled machine. Slice here and dice there, and the shoe is made to fit despite the corns.
There, on the front page of the WSJ, the headline reads, “Karzai Told to Dump U.S” – by Pakistan no less. Inside, there’s a story about the trial and conviction of ‘Big Fish’ Lee Farkas, former chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage. Only, it turns out, that Farkas wasn’t such a ‘Big Fish’ after all; that our government was behind it all (in the form of Fannie and Freddie Mac).
It’s just that the government has now assumed the status of ‘sacred cow’ and can never be touched. Instead we send up thousands to atone for the government’s sins. As Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. – author of “A Mortgage ‘Big Fish’ Disappoints” – laments, the whole thing “fails to confirm the media intuition that the housing boom and bust were brought on by the criminality by mortgage CEOs.”
Same with the spike in gas prices at the pump. It couldn’t possibly be due to Obama’s policies (even though he explicitly told us that he wants us to pay more for gas). It couldn’t possibly be due to the collapse of the dollar due to the government policy of printing images on paper and pretending it’s real money.
Overseas hangs the giant Libyan question mark – and Egypt, Iran, Syria and the entire Middle East. Then, there’s Russia and China; South America. What is it this president believes?
Bolton says there’s no rhyme or reason to Obama’s foreign policy. Really? Everywhere we look we lose. Sounds suspiciously like a plan.
At the very least, Kaddafi knows what he wants and he’s willing to go for it, even if it kills him. Anyone who can articulate what he wants, short of sh*t-canning their own nation has a leg up on Obama at this point. I’m not saying that Obama isn’t smart or doesn’t have goals. …and isn’t it remarkable how Obama just managed to get us to sh*t-can our own just by the ruse of releasing his birth certificate?
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
China Watch: CHINA STARTS DEMONISATION OF KIRTI MONASTERY MONKS
by B.RAMAN
The authorities of the Aba County in the Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of the Sichuan province where the Kirti monastery is located, have started a demonisation campaign against the monks of the monastery. They have been blamed for the death of a 16-year-old monk, who committed self-immolation on March 16,2011, in protest against the Chinese colonisation of Tibet and the monks living in the monastery have been accused of indulging in illegal activities, including visiting prostitutes. A copy of a statement on the developments in the monastery disseminated by the Government-owned Xinhua news agency on April 26,2011, is annexed below.
2.Reliable reports indicate that the Chinese authorities continue to use food as a weapon to force the monks protesting against the re-education classes to attend the classes. Only those attending the classes are given a full meal. Others are given only a partial meal. (27-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail:seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE
PRESS STATEMENT DISSEMINATED BY THE XINHUA NEWS AGENCY ON APRIL 26,2011
Lama's self-immolation carefully planned
Police in Aba County of southwest China's Sichuan Province said Friday that the self-immolation of a lama in Kirti Monastery last month was carefully planned and aimed at triggering disturbances.
Rigzin Phuntsog, a 16-year-old lama at the Kirti Monastery in Aba County, died on March 17, after setting himself on fire on March 16.
Police said the self-immolation was a carefully planned and implemented criminal case, which aimed at triggering disturbances.
Investigations showed that in the evening of March 15, Rigzin Phuntsog, accompanied by Lhadan, a monk in the monastery, bought three bottles of gasoline at a parking lot of Laolongzang Road, police said.
At around 9:00 am on March 16, Rigzin Phuntsog told Lhadan and other lamas that he was ready and would set fire on himself on the day.
In the afternoon, Rigzin Phuntsog set himself on fire after making sure that the lamas had finished reciting scriptures and many of them would be on street.
After police on patrol put out the fire, a group of monks from the Kirti Monastery forcibly took Rigzin Phuntsog away and held him for nearly 11 hours.
After hours of negotiation, the lamas agreed to allow Rigzin Phuntsog to be taken to hospital at around 3 am on March 17, but he died in hospital due to cardiorespiratory failure, according to the county government.
Soinam, head of the People's Hospital in Aba County, said Rigzin Phuntsog died from serious burns that caused heart and lung failures, and no gunshot wounds or injuries from blunt utensils or sharp tools were found on his body during treatment or post-mortem examination of body surface. If Rigzin Phuntsog had been sent to hospital timely, he could have been saved, Soinam said.
Local law experts said that the lamas, fully aware that Rigzin Phuntsog was seriously burned and might die without immediate medical treatment, refused to send him to hospital. As Rigzin Phuntsog died due to delayed treatment, those lamas were on suspicion of intentional homicide.
The local government of Aba County of Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture said in a circular issued early Friday that the government decided to give legal education in Kirti Monastery and the decision was made in light of the "problems" in the monastery as well as illegal activities committed by some of its lamas over the years.
The lamas would study the country's laws and regulations as well as religious disciplines and commandments, it said.
The county government said a small number of lamas in the monastery have, for a long time, repeatedly disrupted social order. Since 2008, some lamas in the monastery have been found possessing guns and ammunition, committing criminal activities involving beating, smashing property, looting and arson, and carrying out self-immolation.
According to the circular, some lamas in the monastery had repeatedly violated Buddhist disciplines and commandments and were found visiting prostitutes, getting drunk and kicking up rows, and being engaged in gambling. And some even disseminated pornographic videos.
Those activities "have corrupted social values and tarnished the image of Tibetan Buddhism," the circular reads. Xinhua
The authorities of the Aba County in the Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of the Sichuan province where the Kirti monastery is located, have started a demonisation campaign against the monks of the monastery. They have been blamed for the death of a 16-year-old monk, who committed self-immolation on March 16,2011, in protest against the Chinese colonisation of Tibet and the monks living in the monastery have been accused of indulging in illegal activities, including visiting prostitutes. A copy of a statement on the developments in the monastery disseminated by the Government-owned Xinhua news agency on April 26,2011, is annexed below.
2.Reliable reports indicate that the Chinese authorities continue to use food as a weapon to force the monks protesting against the re-education classes to attend the classes. Only those attending the classes are given a full meal. Others are given only a partial meal. (27-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail:seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE
PRESS STATEMENT DISSEMINATED BY THE XINHUA NEWS AGENCY ON APRIL 26,2011
Lama's self-immolation carefully planned
Police in Aba County of southwest China's Sichuan Province said Friday that the self-immolation of a lama in Kirti Monastery last month was carefully planned and aimed at triggering disturbances.
Rigzin Phuntsog, a 16-year-old lama at the Kirti Monastery in Aba County, died on March 17, after setting himself on fire on March 16.
Police said the self-immolation was a carefully planned and implemented criminal case, which aimed at triggering disturbances.
Investigations showed that in the evening of March 15, Rigzin Phuntsog, accompanied by Lhadan, a monk in the monastery, bought three bottles of gasoline at a parking lot of Laolongzang Road, police said.
At around 9:00 am on March 16, Rigzin Phuntsog told Lhadan and other lamas that he was ready and would set fire on himself on the day.
In the afternoon, Rigzin Phuntsog set himself on fire after making sure that the lamas had finished reciting scriptures and many of them would be on street.
After police on patrol put out the fire, a group of monks from the Kirti Monastery forcibly took Rigzin Phuntsog away and held him for nearly 11 hours.
After hours of negotiation, the lamas agreed to allow Rigzin Phuntsog to be taken to hospital at around 3 am on March 17, but he died in hospital due to cardiorespiratory failure, according to the county government.
Soinam, head of the People's Hospital in Aba County, said Rigzin Phuntsog died from serious burns that caused heart and lung failures, and no gunshot wounds or injuries from blunt utensils or sharp tools were found on his body during treatment or post-mortem examination of body surface. If Rigzin Phuntsog had been sent to hospital timely, he could have been saved, Soinam said.
Local law experts said that the lamas, fully aware that Rigzin Phuntsog was seriously burned and might die without immediate medical treatment, refused to send him to hospital. As Rigzin Phuntsog died due to delayed treatment, those lamas were on suspicion of intentional homicide.
The local government of Aba County of Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture said in a circular issued early Friday that the government decided to give legal education in Kirti Monastery and the decision was made in light of the "problems" in the monastery as well as illegal activities committed by some of its lamas over the years.
The lamas would study the country's laws and regulations as well as religious disciplines and commandments, it said.
The county government said a small number of lamas in the monastery have, for a long time, repeatedly disrupted social order. Since 2008, some lamas in the monastery have been found possessing guns and ammunition, committing criminal activities involving beating, smashing property, looting and arson, and carrying out self-immolation.
According to the circular, some lamas in the monastery had repeatedly violated Buddhist disciplines and commandments and were found visiting prostitutes, getting drunk and kicking up rows, and being engaged in gambling. And some even disseminated pornographic videos.
Those activities "have corrupted social values and tarnished the image of Tibetan Buddhism," the circular reads. Xinhua
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Kabuki Theater: The Birth Certificate
Peter Koelliker | April 27, 2011 11:23 AM | Reply
Judging from last night’s show, Larry Kudlow has finally jettisoned his phony optimism and declared Obama’s policies to be all wrong. He, like everybody else, is basing any residual optimism on the assumption that Obama will not be reelected in 2012. All the talking heads agree that this is now inevitable.
The picture that immediately comes to my mind is one of a thief having broken into the jewelry store and set off the alarm. He knows that the cops will arrive in just a matter of minutes and is desperately trying to grab all he can before he hears the sirens. Then he plans to make his escape out through the back door and jump into a waiting get-away car.
What if the cops never arrive? What if there has been some sort of diversion that sent the cops to some different place where they get all tied up? What if the thief has all the time in the world to clean out the place and saunter away? What if the thief gets away with all of it?
Obama does not act like he’s concerned about his reelection. What if he knows that something of such magnitude will happen that it would be impossible to hold elections? Or, what if he knows that the elections are rigged? Who is to question the result?
To say that Obama has been the most unorthodox commander-in-chief we’ve ever had would be an understatement. I’ve never fallen in with the crowd that says he’s stupid. If he’s not stupid, he is smart. Does anyone really think that he, as a smart man, hasn’t thought of everything?
Does anyone really think that what he’s done so far is due to stupidity? He has declared from the start that he means to transform America. We should by now know what he meant. He’s been entirely consistent. Every move he has made has had the effect of diminishing the power and influence of America and pushing her towards chaos. At the same time, he has increased his own standing (the opposition is hopelessly fractured).
I maintain that none of this is accident. We’re all sitting through the slow-moving initial part of a kabuki play, wishing desperately for it to be over. Then, just before the end – before the election – we are suddenly jolted awake. The music grows louder. Trap doors slam open and shut. Actors appear and disappear. How acrobatic and agile they all are! …and then it’s over. We see Obama taking a bow. Time to gather our coats and go home. But there’s no longer a home to go back to. Obama is still president.
Whom can we turn to? Dazed and confused, we walk the streets. All the signs have been changed. America is transformed.
All the while, we’ve watched as the fuses were being lit. Economic collapse. Fuel and food shortages. Civil unrest. War. All the while we’ve sloughed it off. All the while we thought it can’t happen here. All the while we’ve watched the right hand while ignoring what the left was doing.
Obama knows exactly what he’s doing. Unless it rains, his pyrotechnics will catch us off guard. It’s timed to happen before election night 2012. (2008 was just a dry run.) This promises to be the big deal.
I’m telling you, the man won’t just simply go away. He’s following the playbook to the letter. It’s the playbook of revolution. The rest of the world knows it. That’s why they’re all heading for the tall grass. Only we, dullards, sit here. Bored beyond endurance, we still hope to be entertained, even while the furniture is slowly being moved around to accommodate the fancies of our dear leader.
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Today, Obama released his long-form birth certificate. He merely did something that he people have long been entitled to. Good for him. Fake or not, this should put the issue to rest. Still not resolved is just who exactly our president is. Given his track record, we cannot be sure. In his statement after releasing his birth certificate, the president couldn’t help but take a swipe at all those who raised the question. “Birther” is once again a dirty word, used to smear and discredit (Trump), when it is he (Obama) who instigated the whole controversy in the first place.
Of note perhaps is the timing. What else is happening today that the president does not necessarily want us to examine too closely? “Watch the flourishes of my right hand and miss what my left is doing.”
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Watching The Detectives
I’ll never believe that there’s not a human mind behind the bots. Bots are but tools, and tools can never exceed their function. Granted, this human mind behind it all may be fallible. It might be benign or outright evil. The information gathering on American citizens that is taking place as we speak is unprecedented. The soon-to-be required disclosures of moneys contributed to political candidates by anyone in one's employ before one can be considered for a government contract is just one such example. Another is the proposed questionnaire for people who are applying for a passport. (Who, but the very young, can possibly remember every job one has ever held and one's boss’s name and telephone#; the addresses of every place one might ever have lived; details about family members; people present at one’s birth, etc.?)
If you can’t fill it out, you might be denied a passport. If you fill it out wrong, you can go to jail. It’s all at the bot’s discretion (or so they’d have you believe). What is the purpose of all this information gathering? For one thing, it may make you aware that you yourself aren’t all that sure about your own birth. How then can you be so sure about the birth of another? So let’s just declare everybody that’s already here ‘legal’, and the immigration problem is solved, even without having to resort to using bad-ass words like ‘amnesty’. It also conjures up visions of 'Berlin' walls (to keep people in).
I have nothing but contempt for our present leadership. Republicans don’t have a clue of what they’re up against – or they’re complicit.
There are bots at work on Facebook too. I find, any comment I try to post using the names ‘Obama’ or ‘Soros’ is immediately scrubbed from the site. The bots know their job very well. But there’s someone behind it all who tells them what to do.
‘After the next great war, the picture of Obama’s swearing in (as U.S. president) will be the second one – not the first – the one that does not include the Bible’. – censored by FB.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
View from India: 700 Shades of Brown
by Parvathi
M looked at herself in the mirror. All she saw was her dark skin. She did not see the enormous eyes and winged eyebrows. She wanted to be fair like the others in the family---"Why am I so dark?" she agonized looking at her darkness thrown up in relief by the light blue cotton dress. She tore at the sleeve in a rage and then froze thinking of the explanations she would have to offer. Anger welled up in the small chest and she planted a few punches on the window grill, her mouth open in a silent scream.
Everyone remarked on the color of her skin--- just everyone! Even the house helps: "What a pity this one is dark," they clucked in sympathy, chucking her under her chin. "How are we going to find you a husband, little one?" they would ask as she tagged along behind them for want of company.
She was the youngest, and she was dreadfully lonely. Her nieces and nephews were almost her age. They were all very light skinned---M saw only that. Oh the unfairness of it all! Once her niece tripped up to her in a black dress with butterfies printedon it. M loved that dress1 "What a lovely dress,P!" she said feeling the silky texture with her fingers, "where did you buy it?"
"My father's present when he came back from his tour!" sang P skipping around M. "Do you want to borrow it?"
M was in heaven. "Can I?" she asked thrilled. "Of course!" said P and promptly peeled off the dress standing there in her slip. M ran behind the mango tree and tried on the dress.
"How does it look on me P?" she asked excitedly. P burst into peals of laughter and ran around her pointing her finger at M.
"Look at M! Look at M!" she said loudly in her high pitched voice. People came out of the house and were aghast at what they saw: M standing there wearing P's dress, all askew, and P hysterically dancing around her.
"She wanted to wear my dress! Look how it looks against her dark skin! She looks like the maid's daughter!" P's cheeks were flushed pink and she ran up to M and stood with her rosy cheeks against M's nut brown one. "Don't I look better than her?" she asked with the cruel vanity of a child.
M's eyes filled with tears," I hate you!" she hurled at P and pushed her down, and ran sobbing inside tugging and tearing at the dress.
What a fuss they made over P! "Why did you allow M to take your nice new dress?" "Against her dark skin, why she looked clownish!"
"Come little one, let me wash you and get you another dress to wear."
M sat huddled under the cot in her room and sobbed miserably. Her mother came looking for her. "M! where are you, child?" she heard the tiny sob come from under the cot. she bent down and saw the little form all bunched up, sobbing her heart out,wearing that dress with the butterfly print. "Come my little one," her mother said gathering her in her arms, "It will all pass. Everything will be alright."
"Never!" said M choking on her words. "No one will ever love me because I am so dark!"
"Hush", said mother. "That is nonsense. You will know that in time."
But M , looking past her mother 's shoulder with teary eyes, saw nothing but shame and sadness.
"No one will ever love me!" she repeated to herself.
In India, I read somewhere, they recognize seven hundred shades of brown ----in skin color.
M looked at herself in the mirror. All she saw was her dark skin. She did not see the enormous eyes and winged eyebrows. She wanted to be fair like the others in the family---"Why am I so dark?" she agonized looking at her darkness thrown up in relief by the light blue cotton dress. She tore at the sleeve in a rage and then froze thinking of the explanations she would have to offer. Anger welled up in the small chest and she planted a few punches on the window grill, her mouth open in a silent scream.
Everyone remarked on the color of her skin--- just everyone! Even the house helps: "What a pity this one is dark," they clucked in sympathy, chucking her under her chin. "How are we going to find you a husband, little one?" they would ask as she tagged along behind them for want of company.
She was the youngest, and she was dreadfully lonely. Her nieces and nephews were almost her age. They were all very light skinned---M saw only that. Oh the unfairness of it all! Once her niece tripped up to her in a black dress with butterfies printedon it. M loved that dress1 "What a lovely dress,P!" she said feeling the silky texture with her fingers, "where did you buy it?"
"My father's present when he came back from his tour!" sang P skipping around M. "Do you want to borrow it?"
M was in heaven. "Can I?" she asked thrilled. "Of course!" said P and promptly peeled off the dress standing there in her slip. M ran behind the mango tree and tried on the dress.
"How does it look on me P?" she asked excitedly. P burst into peals of laughter and ran around her pointing her finger at M.
"Look at M! Look at M!" she said loudly in her high pitched voice. People came out of the house and were aghast at what they saw: M standing there wearing P's dress, all askew, and P hysterically dancing around her.
"She wanted to wear my dress! Look how it looks against her dark skin! She looks like the maid's daughter!" P's cheeks were flushed pink and she ran up to M and stood with her rosy cheeks against M's nut brown one. "Don't I look better than her?" she asked with the cruel vanity of a child.
M's eyes filled with tears," I hate you!" she hurled at P and pushed her down, and ran sobbing inside tugging and tearing at the dress.
What a fuss they made over P! "Why did you allow M to take your nice new dress?" "Against her dark skin, why she looked clownish!"
"Come little one, let me wash you and get you another dress to wear."
M sat huddled under the cot in her room and sobbed miserably. Her mother came looking for her. "M! where are you, child?" she heard the tiny sob come from under the cot. she bent down and saw the little form all bunched up, sobbing her heart out,wearing that dress with the butterfly print. "Come my little one," her mother said gathering her in her arms, "It will all pass. Everything will be alright."
"Never!" said M choking on her words. "No one will ever love me because I am so dark!"
"Hush", said mother. "That is nonsense. You will know that in time."
But M , looking past her mother 's shoulder with teary eyes, saw nothing but shame and sadness.
"No one will ever love me!" she repeated to herself.
In India, I read somewhere, they recognize seven hundred shades of brown ----in skin color.
Monday, April 25, 2011
China Watch: SUPPRESSION OF MONKS IN SICHUAN
by B.RAMAN
Reports received from the Sichuan province of China speak of the arrest of about 300 Buddhist monks belonging to the Kirti monastery in the Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of the province for protesting against forcible re-education classes organized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, China ’s internal intelligence agency, for the monks in the monastery.
2. The re-education classes were organized by the Ministry of Public Security following the self-immolation of a monk on March 17,2001, to protest against the Chinese colonization of the Tibetan areas. Before committing self-immolation, the monk reportedly shouted slogans in praise of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and called for the return of His Holiness to Tibet .
3. Thereafter, Chinese police and para-military forces occupied the monastery, seized and destroyed any literature praising His Holiness and pictures of His Holiness. They also forced the inmates of the monastery to attend re-education classes during which they were asked to shout slogans condemning His Holiness and praising the Communist Party of China.
4. On April 21,2011, the Ministry of Public Security officials arrested about 300 protesting monks and forcibly removed them in police vehicles to camps set up in the nearby counties of Wenchuan,Mao and LI which the Tibetans call Lunggu, Maowun and Tashiling respectively. When the local residents heard of the arrest and removal of the monks to detention camps, some of them protested and tried to prevent their forcible removal. Two elderly local residents were reportedly killed when the police and para-military forces used force to disperse them.
5. The Chinese also arrested 200 local residents for trying to prevent the arrest and removal of the monks and shifted them to a military camp. Many of them have since been released, but the younger elements have been detained. The Chinese seem to be worried about the likely reaction of the Tibetan youth to the developments and they are being kept under close watch.
6. Meanwhile, in a letter dated April 14,2001, addressed to the UN Secretary-General, Mr.Ban Ki-Moon, Tibet ’s exile parliament has drawn the attention of the UN to “the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet .” The letter said: “The security, dignity and human rights of over 2,500 monks of Kirti monastery, one of Tibet ’s most important monasteries, stand critically threatened.” The U.S. State Department has said that it had raised the issue of the Kirti developments with Chinese officials. Mark Toner, a spokesman of the Department, said: “ China ’s actions are inconsistent with internationally recognized principles of religious freedom and human rights We continue to monitor the situation closely and are obviously concerned by it.”
7.The monastery normally has about 2500 monks. About 300 of them, who are looked upon by the Chinese as the ringleaders of the protest movement, have been forcibly removed by the Chinese to detention camps. About 200 are reported to have escaped from the monastery and taken shelter in the adjoining villages of Tibetan herdsmen. About 2000 monks are reported to be still in the monastery. Reliable source reports say that they are facing acute food shortage since the Chinese have curtailed the supply of food articles to the monastery in an attempt to force the monks still in the monastery to attend re-education classes and condemn His Holiness.
8. Following the attempt of some local residents to prevent the arrest and removal of 300 monks, the Chinese have also started re-education classes for the local residents, most of whom are herdsmen. (25-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi , and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
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My comment: We, here in America, too are running re-education camps under the guise of ‘education’ (our schools and universities). Only Marxist ideology is approved of and validated by academe. As reprehensible as all this is, there is one key difference between what we and the PLA are doing. In the case of China, they are doing it to shore up their defenses against the upheavals that can be expected in the wake of America's ultimate undoing - which to many now seems certain - while we are effectively applauding our own demise.
Reports received from the Sichuan province of China speak of the arrest of about 300 Buddhist monks belonging to the Kirti monastery in the Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of the province for protesting against forcible re-education classes organized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, China ’s internal intelligence agency, for the monks in the monastery.
2. The re-education classes were organized by the Ministry of Public Security following the self-immolation of a monk on March 17,2001, to protest against the Chinese colonization of the Tibetan areas. Before committing self-immolation, the monk reportedly shouted slogans in praise of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and called for the return of His Holiness to Tibet .
3. Thereafter, Chinese police and para-military forces occupied the monastery, seized and destroyed any literature praising His Holiness and pictures of His Holiness. They also forced the inmates of the monastery to attend re-education classes during which they were asked to shout slogans condemning His Holiness and praising the Communist Party of China.
4. On April 21,2011, the Ministry of Public Security officials arrested about 300 protesting monks and forcibly removed them in police vehicles to camps set up in the nearby counties of Wenchuan,Mao and LI which the Tibetans call Lunggu, Maowun and Tashiling respectively. When the local residents heard of the arrest and removal of the monks to detention camps, some of them protested and tried to prevent their forcible removal. Two elderly local residents were reportedly killed when the police and para-military forces used force to disperse them.
5. The Chinese also arrested 200 local residents for trying to prevent the arrest and removal of the monks and shifted them to a military camp. Many of them have since been released, but the younger elements have been detained. The Chinese seem to be worried about the likely reaction of the Tibetan youth to the developments and they are being kept under close watch.
6. Meanwhile, in a letter dated April 14,2001, addressed to the UN Secretary-General, Mr.Ban Ki-Moon, Tibet ’s exile parliament has drawn the attention of the UN to “the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet .” The letter said: “The security, dignity and human rights of over 2,500 monks of Kirti monastery, one of Tibet ’s most important monasteries, stand critically threatened.” The U.S. State Department has said that it had raised the issue of the Kirti developments with Chinese officials. Mark Toner, a spokesman of the Department, said: “ China ’s actions are inconsistent with internationally recognized principles of religious freedom and human rights We continue to monitor the situation closely and are obviously concerned by it.”
7.The monastery normally has about 2500 monks. About 300 of them, who are looked upon by the Chinese as the ringleaders of the protest movement, have been forcibly removed by the Chinese to detention camps. About 200 are reported to have escaped from the monastery and taken shelter in the adjoining villages of Tibetan herdsmen. About 2000 monks are reported to be still in the monastery. Reliable source reports say that they are facing acute food shortage since the Chinese have curtailed the supply of food articles to the monastery in an attempt to force the monks still in the monastery to attend re-education classes and condemn His Holiness.
8. Following the attempt of some local residents to prevent the arrest and removal of 300 monks, the Chinese have also started re-education classes for the local residents, most of whom are herdsmen. (25-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi , and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
-------------------------------------------------
My comment: We, here in America, too are running re-education camps under the guise of ‘education’ (our schools and universities). Only Marxist ideology is approved of and validated by academe. As reprehensible as all this is, there is one key difference between what we and the PLA are doing. In the case of China, they are doing it to shore up their defenses against the upheavals that can be expected in the wake of America's ultimate undoing - which to many now seems certain - while we are effectively applauding our own demise.
Cornered Dogs Bite
Every human thought leaves an imprint. When I look across my front lawn in the morning after a freshly fallen snow, I see it crisscrossed with animal spoors. Each one is different. It is not the difference in the appearance of the tracks that is significant; rather, it is the fact that there was movement: each animal wanted to get from one place to another. It is doubtful that two or more animals ever met because each track was likely made in its own time. If there had been some threat, all the tracks would show the animals running in one direction – away from the danger. In the absence of a threat, the pattern is quite random.
Reading this morning’s headlines, we find that the stampede against the U.S. dollar continues, now with the IMF chiming in. We read that long-standing alliances are rupturing with nations fleeing U.S. entanglements and influence, seeking something more stable, more predictable. They do not make a value judgment as to what’s right, wrong or fair. They simply look to attach themselves to what they perceive as power that would serve to protect them.
The USS America is sinking – whether by benign neglect, sabotage or by deliberate design – and the whole world is running away from the disaster that has become rap America. The pattern in the snow is now discernible. Argentina is now embracing the Venezuelan model. Venezuela has adopted the Tehran model (as have Turkey, Syria, Egypt, etc.) Israel remains undecided. She finds herself cornered. What Israel is likely to do remains a mystery. India too is at a loss to know which way to turn. China faces internal problems. She is keeping her powder dry, knowing that chaos will arrive at her doorstep soon enough. She is doing her best to shore up her defenses (while the West views it as aggression). Japan has her own problems.
We can sit here and evaluate each turn of the screw within its own frame. Every happenstance is quite worthy of a tome or two – even an entire library of tomes. We can go back in history and learn what has happened before, how it developed and the ultimate result - all of it, simply to keep the blogs pumping out words like the ash from a volcano that obscures its source.
The source is America’s continuing disintegration. It’s not true, as some would proclaim that America’s sinking would leave nary a ripple. It has and will produce wave after wave and the result is all but certain: chaos, dislocation and bloodshed. Cornered dogs have been known to bite. We all will be tempted to bite in a last-ditch effort as we dig deeper and deeper down into our emptying pockets to appease those with tyrannical intent - the ones with the biggest clubs and the willingness to use them. Thoughts of freedom and liberty – even dignity - will become subservient to our will to survive.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Rolling Stones (cover)
Boogie-woogie cover, written by Don Raye, performed with gusto by Mick Jagger and the gang.
View from India: US-PAKISTAN: A STRATEGIC PERMANENCE
by B.RAMAN
There has been an unwarranted satisfaction and even glee among sections of our analysts over recent indications of difficulties in the relations between the US and Pakistani Armed Forces and between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
2.The articulation of US dissatisfaction and concern over Pakistan's half-hearted action against terrorists operating from North Waziristan, over its continued support to the Jallaudin Haqqani faction of the Afghan Taliban, which was previously operating from North Waziristan, but now operates from Kurram, over the collusion of Pakistani military and intelligence officers with the Afghan Taliban and over the difficulties created by it in allowing Raymond Davis, a member of the technical and administrative staff of the US Consulate-General in Lahore, allegedly involved in the murder of two Pakistanis, to go back to the US have created perceptions of serious difficulties in the US relations with Pakistan.
3. Speculative stories and negative public comments about Pakistan emanating from US officials and sources during the recent visits of Lt.Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the Director-General of the ISI, and Salman Bashir, the Pakistani Foreign Secretary, to the US and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Pakistan have strengthened these perceptions.
4. Periodic emergence of difficulties in the relations between the two countries has been there ever since the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1988. One saw such spells of difficulties after then President George Bush Sr invoked the Pressler Amendment against Pakistan post-1988 and imposed economic sanctions because of Pakistan's clandestine acquisition of a military nuclear capability, when then President Bill Clinton placed Pakistan on a list of suspected State-sponsors of international terrorism for six months in 1993 and forced Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Minister, to sack Lt-Gen.Javed Nasir, the then DG of the ISI, and some of his senior colleagues for allegedly not co-operating in the re-purchase of the unused Stinger missiles from the Afghan Mujahideen, when Clinton imposed additional economic sanctions after Gen.Pervez Musharraf seized power in 1999 and publicly snubbed him during a visit to Pakistan next year, and when then President George Bush forced Musharraf to remove Lt.Gen. Mahmood Ahmed, then DG of the ISI, from his post and transfer Lt.Gen.Mohammad Aziz, the then Chief of the General Staff, from the GHQ to Lahore because of their suspected links with the Afghan Taliban before the US started its military operations against the Taliban in October,2001, and when Bush repeatedly turned down a Pakistani request for signing a civil nuclear co-operation agreement with it similar to the agreement signed with India.
5. The US did not allow such difficulties to affect a certain strategic permanence in its relations with Pakistan arising from its strategic location, the long years of military-military and intelligence-intelligence relations between the countries which have served to some extent the national interests of the two countries and the important role which Pakistan could play in maintaining stability in Afghanistan. This permanence has been further strengthened by the US realisation that co-operation from Pakistan is essential for maintaining homeland security.
6. The enhanced Drone (pilotless plane) strikes against terrorist hide-outs in the two Waziristans since Barack Obama came to office in January 2009, have highlighted two ground realities. Firstly, the US has the capability to achieve significant success in its counter-terrorism operations on its own even without the co-operation of the Pakistani Army and the ISI. Secondly, despite this, it cannot achieve complete success without the effective co-operation of Pakistan.
7. The US has always followed a policy of carrot and stick for making Pakistan co-operate. While it does not hesitate to use the stick when it considers it necessary in its interests, it takes care to ensure that the use of the stick does not seriously damage the strategic permanence in its relations with Pakistan. The US will maintain this strategic permanence whatever be the temporary tactical difficulties in the relationship. ( 24-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
------------------------------------------------
My comment: If I were a foreign power, I would be very careful about just how much I could rely on the word and faith of present U.S. leadership. U.S. foreign policy, in my view, is at the moment indecipherable.
There has been an unwarranted satisfaction and even glee among sections of our analysts over recent indications of difficulties in the relations between the US and Pakistani Armed Forces and between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
2.The articulation of US dissatisfaction and concern over Pakistan's half-hearted action against terrorists operating from North Waziristan, over its continued support to the Jallaudin Haqqani faction of the Afghan Taliban, which was previously operating from North Waziristan, but now operates from Kurram, over the collusion of Pakistani military and intelligence officers with the Afghan Taliban and over the difficulties created by it in allowing Raymond Davis, a member of the technical and administrative staff of the US Consulate-General in Lahore, allegedly involved in the murder of two Pakistanis, to go back to the US have created perceptions of serious difficulties in the US relations with Pakistan.
3. Speculative stories and negative public comments about Pakistan emanating from US officials and sources during the recent visits of Lt.Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the Director-General of the ISI, and Salman Bashir, the Pakistani Foreign Secretary, to the US and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Pakistan have strengthened these perceptions.
4. Periodic emergence of difficulties in the relations between the two countries has been there ever since the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1988. One saw such spells of difficulties after then President George Bush Sr invoked the Pressler Amendment against Pakistan post-1988 and imposed economic sanctions because of Pakistan's clandestine acquisition of a military nuclear capability, when then President Bill Clinton placed Pakistan on a list of suspected State-sponsors of international terrorism for six months in 1993 and forced Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Minister, to sack Lt-Gen.Javed Nasir, the then DG of the ISI, and some of his senior colleagues for allegedly not co-operating in the re-purchase of the unused Stinger missiles from the Afghan Mujahideen, when Clinton imposed additional economic sanctions after Gen.Pervez Musharraf seized power in 1999 and publicly snubbed him during a visit to Pakistan next year, and when then President George Bush forced Musharraf to remove Lt.Gen. Mahmood Ahmed, then DG of the ISI, from his post and transfer Lt.Gen.Mohammad Aziz, the then Chief of the General Staff, from the GHQ to Lahore because of their suspected links with the Afghan Taliban before the US started its military operations against the Taliban in October,2001, and when Bush repeatedly turned down a Pakistani request for signing a civil nuclear co-operation agreement with it similar to the agreement signed with India.
5. The US did not allow such difficulties to affect a certain strategic permanence in its relations with Pakistan arising from its strategic location, the long years of military-military and intelligence-intelligence relations between the countries which have served to some extent the national interests of the two countries and the important role which Pakistan could play in maintaining stability in Afghanistan. This permanence has been further strengthened by the US realisation that co-operation from Pakistan is essential for maintaining homeland security.
6. The enhanced Drone (pilotless plane) strikes against terrorist hide-outs in the two Waziristans since Barack Obama came to office in January 2009, have highlighted two ground realities. Firstly, the US has the capability to achieve significant success in its counter-terrorism operations on its own even without the co-operation of the Pakistani Army and the ISI. Secondly, despite this, it cannot achieve complete success without the effective co-operation of Pakistan.
7. The US has always followed a policy of carrot and stick for making Pakistan co-operate. While it does not hesitate to use the stick when it considers it necessary in its interests, it takes care to ensure that the use of the stick does not seriously damage the strategic permanence in its relations with Pakistan. The US will maintain this strategic permanence whatever be the temporary tactical difficulties in the relationship. ( 24-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
------------------------------------------------
My comment: If I were a foreign power, I would be very careful about just how much I could rely on the word and faith of present U.S. leadership. U.S. foreign policy, in my view, is at the moment indecipherable.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Where Is The Birth Certificate?
What explains Jerome Corsi’s book, “Where’s the Birth Certificate?, shooting up to # 1 on Amazon where it has remained ever since? Apparently, people are not convinced that it means nothing, no matter how loudly members of both political parties, in conjunction with the media, proclaim the idiocy of even asking the question. While Americans have always taken political talk with a grain of salt, their wholesale distrust of the media (even so-called right-wing media) is relatively new.
The issue of Obama’s birth certificate has become the central question being asked everywhere – in barber shops, in the supermarket – “Just who the hell is this guy?”
While Obama’s policies plainly expose him as a Marxist, it is not necessarily this that irks the public. In America, isms alone have seldom held the power to inspire. We tend to operate on a far more basic level. We have difficulty in grasping abstractions. We ask for drivers licenses, proof of insurance and registration after car accidents. We do not ask if you are a Christian, Hindu, Marxist or whatever. It seems incredible to us that while witnessing this train wreck of an administration that no one is demanding a priori proof of legitimacy. The fact that it is even an issue being fought out in the courts is astounding to us.
Ironically, if we were to find out that Obama is indeed native born, it would be even worse for us. It would signal that his aggressive ideology is entirely domestic and now apparently mainstream. Many of us would be unable to recall when exactly the change took place, and ask ourselves, “How could we have missed it?”
We didn’t miss it. It’s happening now. And now is the time to get to the bottom of it.
In large part, we are still a nation of laws. We grumble, but we pay our taxes. It is entirely understandable that the authorities on every level are concerned. If it were to come out that Obama is indeed a fraud, all bets are off. Nobody in their right mind could accept that lying down. We either insist on immediate retribution or we cross over into lawlessness.
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One can only see others; one cannot know them. The fallacy in Buddhism is the notion that one can divorce oneself from certain things and remain aloof. This is only true up to a point: one may come to know the depth of self and find it empty. (Interesting to note that the depth of self is something one cannot see.)
As this might relate to me specifically, I feel comfortable writing words on my laptop. My laptop is my Peepal tree. I am blessed by its leaves that give me shade.
I do not claim to know more than what I write, and vice versa. I am blessed by the leaves of the Peepal tree that sometimes alight on my head. As for knowing – only God knows.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
WORSENING VIOLENCE IN SYRIA
by B.RAMAN
"Good Friday" on April 22,2011, saw violent protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad all over Syria . For the first time since the protest movement started in the southern city of Daraa bordering Jordan five weeks ago, simultaneous, partly spontaneous and partly well-orchestrated protest rallies were held in all major towns such as Damascus, Daraa, Douma, Hama, Jabla, Kamishli and 14 others. The 44-year-old President has been in power for 11 years.
2.Barring the ruling Alawite minority, members of all ethnic, religious and sectarian groups in the country ---the Sunnis, who are in a majority, Christians , Kurds, Ismailis, Duruz and Palestinian and Iraqi refugees (one million each)--- participated in the "Good Friday" protest rallies. Muslims of different sects gave shelter to injured Christians in their mosques and Christians of Daraa gave shelter to injured Muslims in their churches. At the end of the day of protests, seventy-two people were reported to have been killed due to firing by the security forces on the protest rallies.
3. " God , Syria and Freedom" and "Daraa is Syria " were among the slogans shouted in the protest rallies. The protesters were keen to counter the propaganda by the security agencies, which sought to project the protest movement, which has been continuing relentlessly for over a month, as an armed insurrection by pro-Al Qaeda Salafis and other Islamic extremists. They, therefore, avoided shouting slogans of an Islamist kind.
4. The reference to Daraa in the slogans was to highlight the role played by the people of Daraa--- many of them reportedly Christians----- in igniting the protest movement. Daraa is now described as the epi-centre of the anti-Assad movement. Whereas in Egypt , the protest movement started in Cairo and radiated to the other provinces, in Syria , it started in the bordering region of Daraa and from there moved towards Damascus . Protest rallies were reported from some suburbs of Damascus on Good Friday.
5. According to a post in Wikipedia, Daraa is a city in southwestern Syria , near the border with Jordan , with a population of approximately 75,000. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region. The city is located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Damascus on the Damascus-Amman highway, and is used as a stopping station for travelers.
6. The protest movement in Daraa did not start as a pro-democracy movement. It started as a movement to express the anger of the residents of the area over the perceived failure of the local administration to deal with acute water scarcity in the region. The mishandling of the protests and the use of repressive measures against the protesters by the security agencies led to a purely local phenomenon assuming a pan-Syrian dimension, with demands for the end of emergency laws, the release of political prisoners and reforms.
7. During the first protest rally in Daraa on March 15, the residents accused the then Governor Faysal Kalthum of postponing the acquisition of property rights and preventing farmers from drilling water wells for irrigation. Yussef Abu Rumiyeh, the Member of Parliament from the area, accused the security forces of opening fire "without mercy" on the protesters and criticised the President for not offering condolences to the families of those killed. Bashar sacked Faysal Kalthum on March 23 and appointed Khaled al-Hannus as the new Governor. This did not pacify the people and the protest movement spread to the port city of Latakia . A spokesman of the protesters was quoted by the “Guardian” of the UK as saying: "The residents of Daraa want more than a switch in Governor -- they want the security services to stop oppressing them, the emergency law lifted, property rights respected, the detained freed and freedom of expression guaranteed."
8. President Bashar, who showed signs of being confident till about a fortnight ago of his ability to bring the situation under control, is no longer so. The more the concessions he makes, the more the protests gather momentum. His action in repealing the hated emergency laws --- a major demand---has not pacified the protesters. It is becoming evident that the protesters now want no less than his exit from power and the end of the ruling Alawite minority regime.
9. President Bashar co-operated with the USA 's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its anti-Al Qaeda operations. As a result of this co-operation, Syria allegedly became a favourite rendition centre of the CIA where Al Qaeda suspects were brought for interrogation by Syrian interrogators who had no qualms over the use of torture.
10.The US is now trying to mark its distance from the regime. In a statement after the Good Friday protests, President Barack Obama called for a halt to the "outrageous" violence. He said : "This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now."
11. According to the BBC, in their first joint statement since the protests broke out, activists co-ordinating the mass demonstrations have demanded the establishment of a democratic political system. The demands issued by "Syrian local organising committees" include:
* An end to torture, killings, arrests and violence against demonstrators
* Three days of state-sanctioned mourning for deaths so far
* An independent investigation into the deaths of protesters and judicial proceedings in the light of evidence revealed
* Release of all political prisoners
* Reform of Syria's constitution, including a two-term presidential limit
12.The protest movements, which started in Tunisia in January, and then spread to Egypt , Libya , Yemen and Bahrain , show no signs of abating. In Egypt , the movement has been re-kindled by anger over the ruling military junta’s perceived reluctance to act against the remnants of the Hosni Mubarak regime. The re-ignited movement does not have the secular unity of the earlier movement. The Muslims and the Christians seem to have come to a parting of the ways. The protests against the military junta have been accompanied by protests against the appointments of some Christians as Governors of interior provinces.
13. Apart from proforma statements of support and instigation, Al Qaeda has been adopting a cautious line avoiding any statements or action that could be exploited by the security agencies of the affected countries to demonise the pro-reform/democracy movements as Al Qaeda-directed and crush them. (23-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India , New Delhi , and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
"Good Friday" on April 22,2011, saw violent protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad all over Syria . For the first time since the protest movement started in the southern city of Daraa bordering Jordan five weeks ago, simultaneous, partly spontaneous and partly well-orchestrated protest rallies were held in all major towns such as Damascus, Daraa, Douma, Hama, Jabla, Kamishli and 14 others. The 44-year-old President has been in power for 11 years.
2.Barring the ruling Alawite minority, members of all ethnic, religious and sectarian groups in the country ---the Sunnis, who are in a majority, Christians , Kurds, Ismailis, Duruz and Palestinian and Iraqi refugees (one million each)--- participated in the "Good Friday" protest rallies. Muslims of different sects gave shelter to injured Christians in their mosques and Christians of Daraa gave shelter to injured Muslims in their churches. At the end of the day of protests, seventy-two people were reported to have been killed due to firing by the security forces on the protest rallies.
3. " God , Syria and Freedom" and "Daraa is Syria " were among the slogans shouted in the protest rallies. The protesters were keen to counter the propaganda by the security agencies, which sought to project the protest movement, which has been continuing relentlessly for over a month, as an armed insurrection by pro-Al Qaeda Salafis and other Islamic extremists. They, therefore, avoided shouting slogans of an Islamist kind.
4. The reference to Daraa in the slogans was to highlight the role played by the people of Daraa--- many of them reportedly Christians----- in igniting the protest movement. Daraa is now described as the epi-centre of the anti-Assad movement. Whereas in Egypt , the protest movement started in Cairo and radiated to the other provinces, in Syria , it started in the bordering region of Daraa and from there moved towards Damascus . Protest rallies were reported from some suburbs of Damascus on Good Friday.
5. According to a post in Wikipedia, Daraa is a city in southwestern Syria , near the border with Jordan , with a population of approximately 75,000. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region. The city is located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Damascus on the Damascus-Amman highway, and is used as a stopping station for travelers.
6. The protest movement in Daraa did not start as a pro-democracy movement. It started as a movement to express the anger of the residents of the area over the perceived failure of the local administration to deal with acute water scarcity in the region. The mishandling of the protests and the use of repressive measures against the protesters by the security agencies led to a purely local phenomenon assuming a pan-Syrian dimension, with demands for the end of emergency laws, the release of political prisoners and reforms.
7. During the first protest rally in Daraa on March 15, the residents accused the then Governor Faysal Kalthum of postponing the acquisition of property rights and preventing farmers from drilling water wells for irrigation. Yussef Abu Rumiyeh, the Member of Parliament from the area, accused the security forces of opening fire "without mercy" on the protesters and criticised the President for not offering condolences to the families of those killed. Bashar sacked Faysal Kalthum on March 23 and appointed Khaled al-Hannus as the new Governor. This did not pacify the people and the protest movement spread to the port city of Latakia . A spokesman of the protesters was quoted by the “Guardian” of the UK as saying: "The residents of Daraa want more than a switch in Governor -- they want the security services to stop oppressing them, the emergency law lifted, property rights respected, the detained freed and freedom of expression guaranteed."
8. President Bashar, who showed signs of being confident till about a fortnight ago of his ability to bring the situation under control, is no longer so. The more the concessions he makes, the more the protests gather momentum. His action in repealing the hated emergency laws --- a major demand---has not pacified the protesters. It is becoming evident that the protesters now want no less than his exit from power and the end of the ruling Alawite minority regime.
9. President Bashar co-operated with the USA 's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its anti-Al Qaeda operations. As a result of this co-operation, Syria allegedly became a favourite rendition centre of the CIA where Al Qaeda suspects were brought for interrogation by Syrian interrogators who had no qualms over the use of torture.
10.The US is now trying to mark its distance from the regime. In a statement after the Good Friday protests, President Barack Obama called for a halt to the "outrageous" violence. He said : "This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now."
11. According to the BBC, in their first joint statement since the protests broke out, activists co-ordinating the mass demonstrations have demanded the establishment of a democratic political system. The demands issued by "Syrian local organising committees" include:
* An end to torture, killings, arrests and violence against demonstrators
* Three days of state-sanctioned mourning for deaths so far
* An independent investigation into the deaths of protesters and judicial proceedings in the light of evidence revealed
* Release of all political prisoners
* Reform of Syria's constitution, including a two-term presidential limit
12.The protest movements, which started in Tunisia in January, and then spread to Egypt , Libya , Yemen and Bahrain , show no signs of abating. In Egypt , the movement has been re-kindled by anger over the ruling military junta’s perceived reluctance to act against the remnants of the Hosni Mubarak regime. The re-ignited movement does not have the secular unity of the earlier movement. The Muslims and the Christians seem to have come to a parting of the ways. The protests against the military junta have been accompanied by protests against the appointments of some Christians as Governors of interior provinces.
13. Apart from proforma statements of support and instigation, Al Qaeda has been adopting a cautious line avoiding any statements or action that could be exploited by the security agencies of the affected countries to demonise the pro-reform/democracy movements as Al Qaeda-directed and crush them. (23-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India , New Delhi , and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Bird Has Flown
POTUS has shown over and over again that he has no respect for the law or convention. As far as he is concerned, he is the law by virtue of having been elected president. He can follow the law, or just as easily ignore it. He can even impose new law and make it retroactive. This is pure madness.
In an ordinary environment, Obama would not be able to get away with it. It is a servile press that enables Obama’s madness, serving as a mere extension of his will. It never challenges; it glosses over any contradictions that might arise, often evidenced by raised eyebrows. The only interest the media has is in proclaiming that POTUS wins.
“The wild worship of lawlessness and the materialist worship of law (both) end in the same void. Nietzsche scales staggering mountains, but he turns up ultimately in Tibet. He sits down beside Tolstoy in the land of nothing and Nirvana. They both are helpless—one because he must not grasp anything and the other because he must not let go of anything. The Tolstoyan’s will is frozen by a Buddhist instinct that all deliberate actions are evil. But the Nietzscheite’s will is quite equally frozen by his view that all deliberate actions are good; for if all deliberate actions are good, none of them are deliberate. They stand at the crossroads, and one hates all the roads and the other likes all the roads. The result is—well, some things are not hard to calculate.” - G. K. Chesterton.
Where does that leave us? We must submit and recognize that we have been conquered. Or, we must revolt. Clearly, the way it now stands, ours is no longer the American way. We may in fact no longer be living in what has been historically known as ‘America’.
The landmass still exists and will continue to exist as it has existed for thousands of years. And for some, this is comfort enough. But, there is no doubt that America’s spirit has flown elsewhere, seeking to find a more robust mate.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Piggy's Broken Glasses
While it’s entertaining to indulge in clever segue; delicious irony; add to it a dash of cynicism, perhaps; and execute astounding word pirouettes - the time has come when we long for a voice, saying clearly and distinctly, “Look, the house is on fire; get hold of some buckets; and some of you go out and find these bastard pyros before the whole town burns down to the ground. And make sure you catch at least one of them alive so we can waterboard him and find out who the hell’s behind it.”
If every world leader friendly to America were brought down by some sin, what would it prove? That the wages of sin only work one way? That the sinners on the other side are automatically absolved forever? The point is that Berlusconi is about to be brought down – to be replaced by whom? Anarchists? Leftists? America haters?
Our instincts have been right all along: close the borders before starting to consider amnesty; plug the leak in the bottom of the boat before we start arguing about who does the bailing - and how.
We all admit that our economy is broken. Obviously, the track we’ve taken of appointing those who broke it in the first place to fix it hasn’t worked. It’s time to regroup and try something else.
In the same way that finding bin Laden would have meant eternal salvation for George W. Bush; in the same way as unmasking Obama would give Trump the American presidency; in the same way Obama envisions handing Israel over to the Islamists would secure for him a luxury apartment in downtown Mecca - the only plan right now must involve stopping the hemorrhaging.
We’re bleeding trust, confidence, talent, savings, jobs, respect… Take a look at the video that’s up on Drudge right now. Is this not an apt metaphor for where we now find ourselves? Union thugs. Tea parties. ACLU. ACORN. “Lord of the Flies”: “The chief led them, trotting steadily, exulting his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled (not the conch, but) Piggy’s broken glasses.”
Time for some adults to step into the ring. We’ve already - long back - agreed to put cops in our schools. Better start hiring more. People will soon be demanding protection in every fast food joint on the planet. And there are a lot more of them around than there are schools.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Guest Contributer: Tom From NJ: WHO?
With every passing day, Obama's hopey-changey smiley-mask slips to reveal the stone-cold Third World socialist dictator-wannabe we always knew was lurking under there. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn where The Bamster was born. All I know -- thanks to "Dreams From My Father" -- is that he grew up in a toxic milieu of Third World "anti-colonialism" and dime-store Marxism so that he has long desired to undermine and destroy the Anglo-American system of democratic politics and free-market economics that Third World radicals like his Daddy have always blamed for poverty and "inequality" in the world. Later on, the Community Organizer Obama, all grown-up, then found the same sort of hard-left toxic milieu to wallow in when he landed in Chicago to team up with Rev. Wright, Fr. Fleger, and Dr. and Mrs. Bill Ayers.
So, the destruction of the Anglo-American system is exactly what the Anointed One is attempting right now and has been up to all along during his otherwise incomprehensible presidency (remember his tossing that bust of Churchill out the door of the WH on Day One?). With that strange track record to defend -- or, more likely to fudge, with MSM help as usual -- POTUS is already campaigning for re-election with a brutal, brass-knuckle vengeance, arrogance, and disregard for truth that must have Hugo Chavez grinning and nodding with familiarity and approval.
Some of the latest Obama outrages are: (1) Lying like hell to demonize Paul Ryan's budget plan while offering no plan of his own except even more demented spending (More cowbell, more cowbell! for you veteran SNL fans); (2) Trying to direct the critically important energy debate, especially in regard to soaring gasoline prices, away from The Bamster's own anti-US energy policies to focus on the same old flyblown, demagogic charges of "price gouging" by the oil companies and unidentified "speculators," an open-ended witch-hunt to be led by The Bamster's personal stooge and unprincipled get-whitey goon, Eric Holder; (3) Waging endless and unfocussed war in the sand-traps of Libya and the rock-piles of Afghanistan to prove that POTUS - our National Egghead - is in reality a Chicago tough-guy, which amounts to the most cynical and foredoomed wastage of our human and material military resources imaginable, especially since Obama rarely before registered any positive opinions, interest in, or knowledge about our fabulous armed forces, the very instrument of America's alleged crimes against the sainted Third World.
The point is that the 2012 campaign -- already on -- is no time for business-as-usual politics because Barack Obama must -- MUST -- be denied a second term if America is to survive in a form even remotely resembling her historic, exceptional greatness. In short, failure cannot be an option. So who should the GOP field to challenge POTUS? Still too early to say, but some criterion standards might be emerging, because time is starting to run short. So who is directly engaging Obama right now, and doing so without fear? Who has the name ID and financial resources to be taken seriously? Who has credibiity with the Tea Party, the real driving force of the GOP today? Who can realistically claim expertise/experience in one or more of the most significant issues currently confronting our nation?
Based on these criteria -- not an exhaustive list -- I have to say that the GOP ought to be able to cobble together a strong campaign from among Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, and Sarah Palin; even if the latter provides speechifin' support rather than running herself. Don't like these names too much? OK, fair enough. But what are the alternatives? If I'm wrong, and we can't answer that last question together, Obama will win again, and America loses.
So, the destruction of the Anglo-American system is exactly what the Anointed One is attempting right now and has been up to all along during his otherwise incomprehensible presidency (remember his tossing that bust of Churchill out the door of the WH on Day One?). With that strange track record to defend -- or, more likely to fudge, with MSM help as usual -- POTUS is already campaigning for re-election with a brutal, brass-knuckle vengeance, arrogance, and disregard for truth that must have Hugo Chavez grinning and nodding with familiarity and approval.
Some of the latest Obama outrages are: (1) Lying like hell to demonize Paul Ryan's budget plan while offering no plan of his own except even more demented spending (More cowbell, more cowbell! for you veteran SNL fans); (2) Trying to direct the critically important energy debate, especially in regard to soaring gasoline prices, away from The Bamster's own anti-US energy policies to focus on the same old flyblown, demagogic charges of "price gouging" by the oil companies and unidentified "speculators," an open-ended witch-hunt to be led by The Bamster's personal stooge and unprincipled get-whitey goon, Eric Holder; (3) Waging endless and unfocussed war in the sand-traps of Libya and the rock-piles of Afghanistan to prove that POTUS - our National Egghead - is in reality a Chicago tough-guy, which amounts to the most cynical and foredoomed wastage of our human and material military resources imaginable, especially since Obama rarely before registered any positive opinions, interest in, or knowledge about our fabulous armed forces, the very instrument of America's alleged crimes against the sainted Third World.
The point is that the 2012 campaign -- already on -- is no time for business-as-usual politics because Barack Obama must -- MUST -- be denied a second term if America is to survive in a form even remotely resembling her historic, exceptional greatness. In short, failure cannot be an option. So who should the GOP field to challenge POTUS? Still too early to say, but some criterion standards might be emerging, because time is starting to run short. So who is directly engaging Obama right now, and doing so without fear? Who has the name ID and financial resources to be taken seriously? Who has credibiity with the Tea Party, the real driving force of the GOP today? Who can realistically claim expertise/experience in one or more of the most significant issues currently confronting our nation?
Based on these criteria -- not an exhaustive list -- I have to say that the GOP ought to be able to cobble together a strong campaign from among Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, and Sarah Palin; even if the latter provides speechifin' support rather than running herself. Don't like these names too much? OK, fair enough. But what are the alternatives? If I'm wrong, and we can't answer that last question together, Obama will win again, and America loses.
China Watch: CHINA USES ITS BLOGGERS AGAIN TO ANNOUNCE STEALTH PROGRESS
by B.RAMAN
China has once again used its bloggers ----possibly belonging to the People's Liberation Army (PLA)--- to indicate to the world in general and to the US in particular that it successfully carried out the second test flight of its J-20 Stealth aircraft---still under development--- on April 17,2011, from the Chengdu military airport in the Sichuan province.
2. The Chinese authorities, who have not yet made an official announcement of the successful flight, used the same procedure as they did during its maiden flight in January to let the world know of their success---- they apparently alerted a group of bloggers around the Chengdu military airport about the impending flight and encouraged them to cover the flight through postings of their visual observations in their blogs.
3. A detailed report carried by the Party-controlled "Global Times" on April 19,2011, on the flight is annexed. According to the bloggers, who had timed the two flights of J-20, whereas the first flight in January lasted only 20 minutes, the second flight on April 17 lasted about 85 minutes. It took off at 4-25 PM and landed at 5-50 PM.
4. Why do the Chinese use the bloggers for announcing the flights instead of doing so officially? A convincing answer to this question is not available. One reason could be to maintain the deniability of any possible failures, but that is not a convincing answer. If they don't encourage any leaks of impending flights the deniability of failures would be even stronger.
5. Are the bloggers making the postings simultaneously with the flights or after the flights have successfully ended? Since in the latest case, the flight lasted about 85 minutes it should have been possible for Western intelligence agencies, which monitor Chinese blogs, to simultaneously track the flights or to determine whether the blog postings are being made after the flights are successfully over.
6. According to Western experts, the J-20 has a height of 5 metres ( 5.08 in the case of the US F-22 Raptor), weight 17600 kgs ( 19700), cruising speed 2100 kph (2500 plus) and estimated unit cost US $ 110 million ( US $ 130 million ). Some US experts suspect that the Chinese were able to develop the stealth technology from parts of an American F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in 1999 and parts of which they allegedly managed to acquire from the locals.
7.Is the J-20 still at the concept demonstration stage or is it a prototype moving towards production?Many believe after studying the two tests that the Chinese are past the concept demonstration stage and are now gradually moving towards production. ( 22-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presenhtly, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE
("Global Times" report of April 19,2011)
Mystery jet 'flies' again
An alleged J-20 prototype prepares to take off from the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute's airfield in Sichuan Province on Sunday.
By Xu Tianran and Huang Jingjing
Photos of China's J-20 stealth fighter prototype are all the rage on online military forums, after word emerged that another test flight was completed Sunday when officials in Beijing celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China's aviation industry.
Some of the online footage showed scores of military enthusiasts yelling when an aircraft flew over the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute's airfield in Sichuan Province, but it was unclear whether the plane was the J-20 prototype.
"The J-20 made several passes and waggled its wings (rolling the plane first to one side then to the other) to salute the crowd near the airfield," a witness told the Global Times on condition of anonymity, adding that the plane took off at around 4:25 pm and landed at about 5:50 pm.
As of press time, Chinese authorities had not commented on the issue, but the Xinhua News Agency posted another clip of the flight uploaded by Internet users.
The J-20 prototype made its 18-minute debut flight in Chengdu on January 11, when US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Beijing. Since then, it has been touted as a potential challenger to the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor, the world's only fifth-generation fighter jet.
Xu Yongling, one of China's top test pilots, said that if Sunday's test flight proved true, it would be more or less the same as the first test, but Xu noted that every test is one step closer to mass production.
"The first 10 to 20 tests are meant to calibrate the entire aircraft, including its stability, handling qualities and performance. All of them are short in time, but the entire process will take years to complete," Xu told the Global Times on Monday.
The alleged test flight coincided with a celebration in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday that marked the 60th anniversary of China's aviation industry.
Lin Zuoming, general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), pledged at the ceremony to push forward the development of next-generation aircraft and to make breakthroughs in propulsion systems.
"By 2015, the research and design of all key models will be completed," Lin said, adding that inferior engine design has been a "bottleneck" for the advancement of China's aviation industry.
According to him, AVIC will invest 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) in engine development, which is equivalent to its net profit from 2010.
However, this amount of investment is unimpressive when compared with other major engine projects.
According to a press release from Pratt & Whitney, the company was awarded a contract valued at more than $4 billion in 2001 to develop its F135 engine for the US air force's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
Lin also urged speedup in transferring technology to civil aviation, saying China's aviation industry cannot rely solely on the military.
Wang Zhilin, general manager of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, told CCTV on Sunday that, by 2020, China's C919 passenger jet will be equipped with engines designed by AVIC.
"By 2021, the Chinese aviation industry will be at the same level as major players in the world and have become the outstanding supplier of air defense equipment," Lin added.
Separately, another rumor circulated on the Internet recently involving the alleged J-18, China's first warplane with vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilities.
Earlier this month, citing a report by Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Phoenix Television said the J-18 had completed a test flight at a field base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The report said the wings of the jet, similar to Russia's Su-33, a carrier-based multi-role fighter, could be folded, and suspected that it would be installed on China's future aircraft carrier.
The report came at the same time as foreign media speculated that China's first aircraft carrier, a modification of the Varyag bought from Ukraine, would take to the oceans in July. The Chinese military has denied such reports.
Ding Zhiyong, a spokesperson at the AVIC, told the Global Times on Monday that the Japanese report of the alleged J-18 was pure speculation and that the corporation had no information to reveal.
Li Daguang, a professor specializing in military strategy at the National Defense University, told the Global Times earlier that even if the rumored carrier were true, the vessel would only be used for training.
Liu Linlin contributed to this story.
China has once again used its bloggers ----possibly belonging to the People's Liberation Army (PLA)--- to indicate to the world in general and to the US in particular that it successfully carried out the second test flight of its J-20 Stealth aircraft---still under development--- on April 17,2011, from the Chengdu military airport in the Sichuan province.
2. The Chinese authorities, who have not yet made an official announcement of the successful flight, used the same procedure as they did during its maiden flight in January to let the world know of their success---- they apparently alerted a group of bloggers around the Chengdu military airport about the impending flight and encouraged them to cover the flight through postings of their visual observations in their blogs.
3. A detailed report carried by the Party-controlled "Global Times" on April 19,2011, on the flight is annexed. According to the bloggers, who had timed the two flights of J-20, whereas the first flight in January lasted only 20 minutes, the second flight on April 17 lasted about 85 minutes. It took off at 4-25 PM and landed at 5-50 PM.
4. Why do the Chinese use the bloggers for announcing the flights instead of doing so officially? A convincing answer to this question is not available. One reason could be to maintain the deniability of any possible failures, but that is not a convincing answer. If they don't encourage any leaks of impending flights the deniability of failures would be even stronger.
5. Are the bloggers making the postings simultaneously with the flights or after the flights have successfully ended? Since in the latest case, the flight lasted about 85 minutes it should have been possible for Western intelligence agencies, which monitor Chinese blogs, to simultaneously track the flights or to determine whether the blog postings are being made after the flights are successfully over.
6. According to Western experts, the J-20 has a height of 5 metres ( 5.08 in the case of the US F-22 Raptor), weight 17600 kgs ( 19700), cruising speed 2100 kph (2500 plus) and estimated unit cost US $ 110 million ( US $ 130 million ). Some US experts suspect that the Chinese were able to develop the stealth technology from parts of an American F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in 1999 and parts of which they allegedly managed to acquire from the locals.
7.Is the J-20 still at the concept demonstration stage or is it a prototype moving towards production?Many believe after studying the two tests that the Chinese are past the concept demonstration stage and are now gradually moving towards production. ( 22-4-11)
(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presenhtly, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE
("Global Times" report of April 19,2011)
Mystery jet 'flies' again
An alleged J-20 prototype prepares to take off from the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute's airfield in Sichuan Province on Sunday.
By Xu Tianran and Huang Jingjing
Photos of China's J-20 stealth fighter prototype are all the rage on online military forums, after word emerged that another test flight was completed Sunday when officials in Beijing celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China's aviation industry.
Some of the online footage showed scores of military enthusiasts yelling when an aircraft flew over the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute's airfield in Sichuan Province, but it was unclear whether the plane was the J-20 prototype.
"The J-20 made several passes and waggled its wings (rolling the plane first to one side then to the other) to salute the crowd near the airfield," a witness told the Global Times on condition of anonymity, adding that the plane took off at around 4:25 pm and landed at about 5:50 pm.
As of press time, Chinese authorities had not commented on the issue, but the Xinhua News Agency posted another clip of the flight uploaded by Internet users.
The J-20 prototype made its 18-minute debut flight in Chengdu on January 11, when US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Beijing. Since then, it has been touted as a potential challenger to the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor, the world's only fifth-generation fighter jet.
Xu Yongling, one of China's top test pilots, said that if Sunday's test flight proved true, it would be more or less the same as the first test, but Xu noted that every test is one step closer to mass production.
"The first 10 to 20 tests are meant to calibrate the entire aircraft, including its stability, handling qualities and performance. All of them are short in time, but the entire process will take years to complete," Xu told the Global Times on Monday.
The alleged test flight coincided with a celebration in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday that marked the 60th anniversary of China's aviation industry.
Lin Zuoming, general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), pledged at the ceremony to push forward the development of next-generation aircraft and to make breakthroughs in propulsion systems.
"By 2015, the research and design of all key models will be completed," Lin said, adding that inferior engine design has been a "bottleneck" for the advancement of China's aviation industry.
According to him, AVIC will invest 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) in engine development, which is equivalent to its net profit from 2010.
However, this amount of investment is unimpressive when compared with other major engine projects.
According to a press release from Pratt & Whitney, the company was awarded a contract valued at more than $4 billion in 2001 to develop its F135 engine for the US air force's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
Lin also urged speedup in transferring technology to civil aviation, saying China's aviation industry cannot rely solely on the military.
Wang Zhilin, general manager of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, told CCTV on Sunday that, by 2020, China's C919 passenger jet will be equipped with engines designed by AVIC.
"By 2021, the Chinese aviation industry will be at the same level as major players in the world and have become the outstanding supplier of air defense equipment," Lin added.
Separately, another rumor circulated on the Internet recently involving the alleged J-18, China's first warplane with vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilities.
Earlier this month, citing a report by Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Phoenix Television said the J-18 had completed a test flight at a field base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The report said the wings of the jet, similar to Russia's Su-33, a carrier-based multi-role fighter, could be folded, and suspected that it would be installed on China's future aircraft carrier.
The report came at the same time as foreign media speculated that China's first aircraft carrier, a modification of the Varyag bought from Ukraine, would take to the oceans in July. The Chinese military has denied such reports.
Ding Zhiyong, a spokesperson at the AVIC, told the Global Times on Monday that the Japanese report of the alleged J-18 was pure speculation and that the corporation had no information to reveal.
Li Daguang, a professor specializing in military strategy at the National Defense University, told the Global Times earlier that even if the rumored carrier were true, the vessel would only be used for training.
Liu Linlin contributed to this story.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
J'Accuse
What’s there not to like? Obama now goes around and openly says all this Marxist stuff. And we just sit around applauding – like the monkey pull-toy clapper I had when I was three. It’s we who see but refuse to listen. All this ‘eat the rich’ garbage the administration constantly spews is nothing to cheer about. First, they come for the rich; then they come for the smart… Then everything grinds to a halt.
You might say, ‘But I’m neither rich nor smart.’ But don’t you see? It just keeps going like that until they also come for the stupid. You think the stupid are immune? Eventually, they’ll come for everybody. And you’re somewhere in there as well. If they’re allowed to come for one, they’ll come for all. You’re not separate from the rich, even if you’re poor. We’re all in this together. That’s why I don’t understand why we’re so willing to sacrifice even one while we’re all standing in line.
What the hell does ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ even mean these days? We’re all playing with the same Monopoly money. They’ve practically squeezed the life out of it.
I've never understood the Jews standing so quietly in line for the showers. They must have seen that no one ever came out. What did they think? That God would intervene? God intervened alright and gathered them up to His bosom. They were such a damn spiritual lot! Maybe that’s all they really wanted. I understand the guards first wore them down – made them work till they could barely eat anymore. Not that the food they gave them was so great.
God, I hate what’s happening to our country! I won’t go quietly. Even if they’ve already rigged it, I’ll tell them till my last breath that I know. And, if any of them still have a conscience, I’ll make them feel ashamed.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Bring Lawyers, Thugs, and Money
We are bombarded daily with bad news. Alarms are ringing practically everywhere. More and more people are chiming in. What do most Americans do? They shoot the messenger and return to their bocce games in the park. Meanwhile the soothing strains of CNN saturate all public spaces. “Don’t upset yourself. Here, take another pill.”
A woman (or man) in a burka is seen running across the park. She suddenly detonates. “Will you have a look at that?” A cup of fair market coffee now costs $8. “Sure we can afford it - now that we no longer drive, it’s the Ecuadorian Shoe Repair on the corner that’s become the bastard: Imagine, changing $65 to re-sole my $150 shoes!
“It’s now been the third time I’ve had to have it done – now that I no longer drive – and each time the price goes up by 20 bucks. He only accepts cash. I doubt he even pays taxes. But even he’s hit hard times, I think. The last time I was in there, besides selling shoe polish and laces, he also sold cigarettes, at $3 less than the 7/11. He says he has all brands. He keeps them in the back, where he has his workshop.
“I might have gone out and bought a new pair, but none of the new shoes fit anymore – not in my price range anyway. So, I’m stuck.”
Stuck indeed! We bought Obama and now have to wait at least another four years for a chance to put him back on the shelf. Not that a Republican would have been much better. Republicans have for far too long settled for the consolation prize. They haven’t really done much by way of opposition.
We should have figured it out when we found Congressman William J. Jefferson co-opting military resources in the aftermath of Katrina to bring him to his house in New Orleans, so he could check on money he kept in his freezer. It took a natural disaster to bring Jefferson’s crime to light. Just imagine all the disasters it would take to flush out all the other Washington criminals. There wouldn’t be a tree left standing on this sad continent.
Why would anybody in their rational mind spend millions – now billions – to get themselves elected to any public office? Think about it! And why does the cost just keep going up and up? It’s got to be for a chance at the public trough.
Now look at Wisconsin. They’re not as slick as those in DC, but the nature of the game is the same. Never say die. Once you’re in, you’re in.
They hold an election and elect a governor. They give him a mandate. As soon as he tries to do anything, the opposition leaves the state and hides. The governor hangs tough. Good for him. He is a man with old-fashioned principles. Maybe he doesn’t quite understand how things are done. But we’re not yet finished. Bring in lawyers, thugs and money from outside. Then go the judicial route. They hoped to overturn the will of the people by voting in a liberal judge. But they screw this up as well - but only barely. Now they orchestrate recall elections for every legislator who might have voted the ‘wrong’ way. Eventually attrition prevails and they’ll get their way. And even the brightest among us dissolve into laughter or fold like cheap cameras, hoping to make it home in time for one more night of undisturbed sleep.
Such is the face of representative governance in America today.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Respect
For those who would be tempted to view our times within the context of the American Civil War, the BP Gulf oil spill would represent Fort Sumter. We currently find ourselves somewhere between Fort Sumter and Gettysburg. The oil spill was the first clear shot across the bow of America. It gave our president his first opportunity to clamp down on America’s jugular. Since then, the Left has managed to rack up an impressive string of victories. Even counting a significant number of electoral setbacks (during midterms), this seems to have had zero effect on the Left’s forward momentum. The economy is still in trouble and our position globally has become increasingly tenuous. It is clear that the American Left is hard at work toward seeing that America slips to second or third rung status among nations. So far, they are succeeding.
I have long predicted that something will happen that will forestall the 2012 elections and that Obama would remain in office. If this is correct, it would suggest the timeframe within which to expect Gettysburg. Gettysburg could be anything, foreign or domestic. Too many fuses are already lit; too much ordinance likely to detonate. When it does, there will either be chaos or the system will collapse into a shadow structure (already built and in place).
No one is willing to fully accept that any of this can happen – not in America. Those raising alarms are systematically silenced, crushed by ignorance, and by a general unwillingness to connect the dots and follow trend lines to their logical conclusion. Others, only semi-aware, place their hopes on 2012, our next chance to replace the leadership in Washington. They do not consider the possibility that we might never get there.
How to prepare? First off, know what you stand for. If you stand for liberty and the spirit of America, say so outright and without hesitation. Your worst move is to succumb to the bullying tactics of the Left, or to retaliate in kind. If you happen to be on the left, come out of hiding and state your intent plainly. Stealth will no longer serve you. Everybody must have a voice in determining where we want to end up. For the exercise to succeed, all cards must be put face-up on the table. Winner takes all.
Recognize too that your money is gone. It is being used as a weapon against you - to get you to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily consider doing. Write it off; start fresh. Hunger is another matter. But even hunger can be used as a weapon for a righteous cause. Anna Hazare moved the world recently by going on a hunger strike – so did Gandhi.
Know where you stand and adjust to doing without creature comforts. Obama’s threat to raise a billion dollars for his reelection campaign is meaningless. The money he intends on using has no value – and he knows it. It is a bluff to fend off adversaries. Doing without money will be easier than it seems. For one thing, you can no longer be bribed or corrupted by it. You will be free to pursue what’s right and true. And your reward will be far greater than anything money can ever hope to buy, among these: self-respect.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Guest Contributer: Tom From NJ: Anybody But Obama
Last night I was happy to hear Kudlow and Fund endorse my only candidate so far -- Mr./Ms. ABO. Who Candidate ABO actually is, I have no clear idea at this point, but I can suggest who does not qualify as ABO. Take Mitt Romney -- please. Due largely to RomneyCare, he's toast already, although neither he nor the Establishment GOP leadership seem to realize it yet. He should get out of the race now before he embarrasses himself; if he does so, he would make a dandy Secretary of Commerce under President ABO. Another prominent non-ABO is Newt Gingrich, who has so much baggage he needs to hire whole shifts of redcaps to help him carry it. Of course, Newt could then become a valuable advisor to President ABO; indeed, what power on earth could stop him?
Another non-ABO, sad to say, is Sarah Palin. I hate what the MSM, and even some elitist conservative snobs, have done to her, but there she is before us, all Tina Fey-ed out, already wounded and bleeding. Sarah is a smart young woman so she should bide her time and continue to do what she is successfully doing -- supporting conservative candidates for office with grassroots fundraising and effective stemwinder speeches. One of those candidates should be Candidate ABO, whereupon Sarah should get herself named Secretary of Energy. Then Sarah Barracuda could return healed and refreshed and go for the brass ring herself in due time, although her many enemies will continue to slander her as a nut-slut as long as she lives.
OK, so who will be Candidate ABO? It might turn out to be Donald Trump, who right now reminds me of General George S. Patton -- a great one in battle who is really taking it to the enemy (Obama), but who is perhaps too erratic and egotistical for his own good. To extend the analogy, Patton would surely have screwed up as overall SHAEF commander, a position that instead required the temperament, track-record, and skill-set of an Eisenhower. Similarly, being President might not in the end be a good fit for Trump's personal temperament, track-record, and skill-set. But right now who knows?
Another possible ABO is Paul Ryan, who, like Trump but in a different way, is already directly engaging POTUS in battle. Some of our blog colleagues have suggested that Ryan might be overly intellectual in his approach, but that might be because he is trying to actually give actual details on a very complex topic, i.e., the Federal budget and the deficit. That said, Ryan does get off some good lines -- not that the MSM will ever let anyone know -- so let's consider this GOP ticket for 2012: Trump-Ryan. Just sayin', but sounds very interesting right now. As for me in this April of 2011, I continue my steadfast support of Candidate ABO.
Another non-ABO, sad to say, is Sarah Palin. I hate what the MSM, and even some elitist conservative snobs, have done to her, but there she is before us, all Tina Fey-ed out, already wounded and bleeding. Sarah is a smart young woman so she should bide her time and continue to do what she is successfully doing -- supporting conservative candidates for office with grassroots fundraising and effective stemwinder speeches. One of those candidates should be Candidate ABO, whereupon Sarah should get herself named Secretary of Energy. Then Sarah Barracuda could return healed and refreshed and go for the brass ring herself in due time, although her many enemies will continue to slander her as a nut-slut as long as she lives.
OK, so who will be Candidate ABO? It might turn out to be Donald Trump, who right now reminds me of General George S. Patton -- a great one in battle who is really taking it to the enemy (Obama), but who is perhaps too erratic and egotistical for his own good. To extend the analogy, Patton would surely have screwed up as overall SHAEF commander, a position that instead required the temperament, track-record, and skill-set of an Eisenhower. Similarly, being President might not in the end be a good fit for Trump's personal temperament, track-record, and skill-set. But right now who knows?
Another possible ABO is Paul Ryan, who, like Trump but in a different way, is already directly engaging POTUS in battle. Some of our blog colleagues have suggested that Ryan might be overly intellectual in his approach, but that might be because he is trying to actually give actual details on a very complex topic, i.e., the Federal budget and the deficit. That said, Ryan does get off some good lines -- not that the MSM will ever let anyone know -- so let's consider this GOP ticket for 2012: Trump-Ryan. Just sayin', but sounds very interesting right now. As for me in this April of 2011, I continue my steadfast support of Candidate ABO.
New York, DC
John Batchelor is right. In normal times, this would be a race between Democrats and incompetent Republicans. The press is largely at fault for this state of affairs – the inability of Republicans to get their message out, thus always giving Democrats the edge.
But these aren’t normal times. After our electoral mud fest is over, it won’t be ‘anybody but Obama’ anymore (and there’s no reason to believe that it won’t be Obama), it’ll be ‘anybody but Washington’; both parties will have discredited themselves to the point of absolute irrelevance.
The field will have expanded to include outsiders. And Trump, so far, is the only one who fits the bill. Even as a Republican (in name), Trump will have broken the Washington template. He has shown that he’s prepared to go up against not only the Democrat opposition, but also the press - and the people will be out of their minds, cheering.
For the nation to survive, Washington must be entombed in concrete and the capital moved back up to New York. That’s why I endorsed Trump, hoping he runs.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Facebook Lynching
In today’s America, every idea openly expressed that does not strictly conform to a government-approved template opens a cut that bleeds. I guess we still have it better than the people in some countries where they come after you in the dead of night with handcuffs, knives and guns.
In America, they de-friend you on Facebook. Make no mistake, this is our version of jihadists slitting throats – and, in some ways, even more hurtful. (Drew, Steven, Dawn, Tom, Jim, Linda - you know who you are.) You might say that those who would do this were never real friends in the first place. And you might be right. I still see any number of people from my high school and college days who never managed to shed their ‘hippy’ mindset, though most have since washed and upgraded their wardrobes. Most are competent in their professions, conservative in the management of their assets, and responsible toward their children and/or clients. When it comes to politics, however, we are apt to disagree.
I know I’ve changed my stance. And I’m not ashamed to admit it. I feel I’ve grown. At the same time, I do not hold it against anyone who might still be wed to the Leary trope. I’ve even been known to play along should anyone launch into his/her obligatory anti-Bush rant. It would never occur to me to leave feeling insulted, much less with the burden of murderous intent.
Since Obama’s election, we’ve become more divided than ever. This is a fact. I see it in my own life. As the popularity of my blog increases and the news of it reaches into various corners of the web, the defriending has begun. Some have even gone so far as to change their e-mail addresses. This points – not so much to what I am saying, but – to a growing insecurity on the part of the offended. I won’t go so far as proclaiming them ‘revolutionaries’. I know of no one who is. Most live respectable lives. They mean well. It’s just that they can’t seem to let go of something they obviously hold as sacred; that, at one time, may have defined their youth. It’s precious to them as an old, faded image on a photograph might be.
The realization that the world has changed, threatens the sacred nostalgia of the sixties and seventies. Even more ominous is the suspicion that it hasn’t exactly worked out. They might even be finding themselves without a job with no good prospects in sight. But they are likely to blame themselves – or Republicans. I find it telling that Charles Manson has finally broken his silence after 20 years, just to speak in support of our president’s 'global warming' initiatives. By doing so, he closes ranks with the likes of bin Laden, Castro, Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Mugabe - all of whom say essentially the same thing. One might have though all these silent years had produced a rarified wisdom beyond contrition; which just goes to show that a common monastic discipline is no guarantee of acumen. It’s illuminating to see just who all belongs to the active sponsorship of this baseless farce.
It’s never easy to fess up and say we’ve been wrong. It feels much more heroic to double down, even if it means going down with the ship. Many of the people I’ve known are quite willing – now, in the autumn of life – to take it all down with them. It fits in well with the label that’s come to be attached to us: the ‘me generation’. Narcissism is a tough nut to crack and I don’t really blame anyone who is unable to do it. (By the way, did you happen to hear that the author of “Three Cups of Tea” neglected to label his bestselling book as ‘fiction’? These people have become so desperate, even to the point of being dangerous – especially to themselves, I tell you.)
The other day, I saw something new at our local Whole Foods Market. They were selling emu eggs. These are large, dark-green spheres, each one said to be capable of making a six or seven egg omelet. They cost about $30 a piece. I was warned that it is quite difficult to crack them. I immediately thought of the baby emus whose first task in life is to manage their escape. I’m quite sure not all of them make it.
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
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