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| | | | | China Jumble Tumble Bumble | | | | | found on Wordpress
written by mycena, edited by Humberto (Plastic) [ read unedited ]
posted Mon 8 Feb 7:21pm | | | | |
 | What's up with all the non-news coming from, or about, China these days?
First it was the Google being hacked. Then it was the row about US military deliveries towards Taiwan. And now it is that peaceful Dalai Lama visiting the US. So what gives: have the highest CCP rulers eaten some bad chicken noodle soup or something?
First, Taiwan. My [dum dum] Chinese contacts [dum dum] tell me this is not to be taken seriously, political play: those contracts were signed & sealed during Bush's period, and Obama simply choose not to block them: some CCP ritual protest had to follow. Anyway, whatever military help the US sends to Taiwan, short of nukes, doesn't really count: check out the Second Artillery Corps with some 2000+ conventional missiles trained on the island — only thing left after that is to send in half a million army. And check out I did: noting that their latest toy, the CJ-10, is allegedly inspired on some Tomahawk missiles fired in a failed 1999 attack on the Taliban.
I highly doubt that: just look at the map. Taiwan is 295 times Disneyland: given all the rhetoric about the rise of China, would it be so odd if that nation's gov't decided to play save, and pass any military US equipment it could get its hands on to the Motherland, discreetly?
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| | | | Winning The Fight Against Higher Taxes | | | | | found on Denver Post
written by Dr Sin, edited by Humberto (Plastic) [ read unedited ]
posted Sat 6 Feb 8:52pm | | | | |
 | The city of Colorado Springs has taken dramatic cost cutting measures after the community voted no to an increase in property taxes. The city is not only cutting jobs from police and fire departments, they are also selling their police helicopters on the internet. Other harsh cutbacks include closing rec centers, museums, swimming pools, turning off a third of the streetlights and practically abandoning city parks. The parks department has removed trashcans, replacing them with signs urging users to remove their own litter. Neighbors are also encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers, not that that will do any good because the lawns will not be watered anyway.
Colorado Springs has a reputation as a bastion of conservative viewpoints. It is home to several military bases, (Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, Fort Carson, Norad). Many churches and religious groups are headquartered there, including the famous Focus on the Family.
Are the economic troubles of this community a harbinger of where conservative anti tax politics will take our entire nation, or merely an isolated community problem? Could this be viewed as a success in the struggle against socialism, or do conservatives appreciate having parks, community centers and streetlights provided by their government?
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| | | | Vengeance, CIA-Style | | | | | found on Independent
written by novy, edited by Humberto (Plastic) [ read unedited ]
posted Fri 5 Feb 2:47am | | | | |
 | When terrorist lunatics blow themselves up in shopping centres or movie theatres on orders from "militant leaders", relatives of bereaved victims can wail for justice but otherwise remain essentially powerless to respond. However, when one particularly well-placed terrorist lunatic blows himself up and kills CIA operatives in Khost on orders from Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, America's intelligence agency has ways of taking its revenge not typically available to other victims of terrorism. It has Predator drones, Reapers, and other unmanned missile-firing aircraft and Barack Obama's blank cheque, and Pakistan's acquiescence, to use them to kill "militants" and anyone else that happens to be near them. Within one day after that Khost attack, drone attacks went from one per week to one every two days.
"For the C.I.A., there is certainly an element of wanting to show that they can hit back..."
At least 90 "militants" and their friends or family members have died since then, probably including Baitullah Mehsud himself, not to mention anyone else at his father-in-law's house when missiles struck. Picking Mehsud's replacement has not gone smoothly, with reports indicating that two likely contenders, Hakimullah and Waliur Rehman, have been killed or wounded so far. Pakistan has dropped restrictions on drone activities it requested last fall as public opposition has ebbed and rank-and-file militants appear to be panicking.
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