General Tsao's Cold War

[romad1]

The bots are out in force for Biden for declaring that we would defend Taiwan from invasion.   And the WH isn't helping him by reasserting the One China policy. 

[Jim Cowan]

Good for Biden for taking an unusual stand, people in Taiwan will appreciate it.  It does beg the question "what happens if China invades in 2025?"

[romad1]

Noticed this while reading the recent NATO 2022 Doctrine document that just came out...

Quote

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies
challenge our interests, security and values. The PRC employs a broad range of
political, economic and military tools to increase its global footprint and project
power, while remaining opaque about its strategy, intentions and military build-up.
The PRC’s malicious hybrid and cyber operations and its confrontational rhetoric and
disinformation target Allies and harm Alliance security. The PRC seeks to control key
technological and industrial sectors, critical infrastructure, and strategic materials
and supply chains. It uses its economic leverage to create strategic dependencies
and enhance its influence. It strives to subvert the rules-based international order,
including in the space, cyber and maritime domains. The deepening strategic
partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation and
their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order
run counter to our values and interests.
14. We remain open to constructive engagement with the PRC, including to build
reciprocal transparency, with a view to safeguarding the Alliance’s security interests.
We will work together responsibly, as Allies, to address the systemic challenges posed
by the PRC to Euro-Atlantic security and ensure NATO’s enduring ability to guarantee
the defence and security of Allies. We will boost our shared awareness, enhance
our resilience and preparedness, and protect against the PRC’s coercive tactics and
efforts to divide the Alliance. We will stand up for our shared values and the rules-
based international order, including freedom of navigation.

Its significant that NATO addresses the PRC issue

Edited July 4, 2022 by romad1

[smr-nj]

… and their statement links Russi with them. Interesting.

[romad1]

Abe was a very important figure in the creation of the US, Japan, Australia, India Quad.   I see this morning that Indian politicians are sending many condolence tweets.  

Way too early to draw any conclusion about his death as related to that.  However, he was of singular importance in this nascent alliance.

[romad1]

Nothing scares me more than this

China's nationalism and a growing sense of power and isolation

[romad1]

This giant economy with nuclear weapons and a stranglehold over our supply chain is scary because we know a lot but we don't know enough

 

[romad1]

1 minute ago, romad1 said:

This giant economy with nuclear weapons and a stranglehold over our supply chain is scary because we know a lot but we don't know enough

 

One of the comedic devices this guy employs is a Steven Seagal ref.  I have stories...that guy is nuts.

[Tigeraholic1]

I remember reading in the covid thread how China "Cared more about its people because how they handled Covid crackdown".

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Tigeraholic1

[gehringer_2]

35 minutes ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

I remember reading in the covid thread how China "Cared more about its people because how they handled Covid crackdown".

 

I don’t know what specific posts you are referencing, but there is certainly a difference between noting that it is a Chinese *claim* that their COVID responses prove they care more for their people than we do, which was certainly done here-at least in my own case, and is certainly true, and agreeing with that claim. 

In any case it still a a weak argument to say that the Chinese leadership’s intents toward their own people are as corrupt as say- Putin’s are toward his. It’s easy to argue China’s Covid policies have been wrong headed and mediated by typical totalitarian tendency, but it’s also pretty clear that it would have been a lot easier to do nothing if the point wasn’t that they are trying to save people’s lives. Xi wants to do better by his people to justify his tactics. He fails because his tactics are bad, not because the base objective is flawed.

Xi of course also is a fascist wannabe, so like Trump, he can’t even try to do ‘right’ without injecting a lot of ‘wrong’ into any situation. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by gehringer_2

[Tigeraholic1]

45 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

I don’t know what specific posts you are referencing, but there is certainly a difference between noting that it is a Chinese *claim* that their COVID responses prove they care more for their people than we do, which was certainly done here-at least in my own case, and is certainly true, and agreeing with that claim. 

In any case it still a a weak argument to say that the Chinese leadership’s intents toward their own people are as corrupt as say- Putin’s are toward his. It’s easy to argue China’s Covid policies have been wrong headed and mediated by typical totalitarian tendency, but it’s also pretty clear that it would have been a lot easier to do nothing if the point wasn’t that they are trying to save people’s lives. Xi wants to do better by his people to justify his tactics. He fails because his tactics are bad, not because the base objective is flawed.

Xi of course also is a fascist wannabe, so like Trump, he can’t even try to do ‘right’ without injecting a lot of ‘wrong’ into any situation. 

Arresting people who refuse to get Covid tests and denying access to their money seems pretty bad. But what do I know, I’m just a dumb mouth breather at the end of the day. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Tigeraholic1

[gehringer_2]

14 minutes ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

Arresting people who refuse to get Covid tests and denying access to their money seems pretty bad. But what do I know, I’m just a dumb mouth breather at the end of the day. 

But that's the thing, you don't have to think it's not bad to still believe the Chinese (or at least Xi and his team) at some level believe they are doing the 'right' thing in their approach to COVID. The Chinese are actually doing pretty much the strategy that everyone started out with - their problem is that Xi has been too rigid and his policy hasn't evolved as the understanding of the virus evolved. Originally it was hoped that CV-19 would be like SARS since they were so closely related. So if you clamped down hard you might be able to completely eradicate it. That would have been a great outcome. But reality has left that idea in the dust. CV19 isn't enough like SARS for that to have happened, instead it's going to become part of the background of ordinary circulating diseases for at least as long as anyone can predict. But Xi put all his prestige behind an eradication approach he can't back away from, (but which also almost certainly can't work) and in a close to one man rule system there is no check on him, so now what the Chinese are doing looks pretty bad - and is. But even with all that is wrong with where China is, it's still unfair to accuse Xi of not trying to save lives in China. He's a dangerous, dictatorial character, but not because he wants to stomp COVID.

American's tend to only exist on two poles when it comes to international affairs. One the one side it's the God vs the Devil paradigm and every one else out there is pure evil all the time, or you get the Noam Chomsky "it doesn't matter what mayhem anyone else is responsible for, we are worse and it's all our fault" routine. Countries around the world can be evil and be right, they can be benevolent and still be wrong, and everything in between - and usually all at the same time.

[Screwball]

5 hours ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

I remember reading in the covid thread how China "Cared more about its people because how they handled Covid crackdown".

 

 

I don't know what's going on over there, and I don't know why, or how COVID has to do with banks, or not, or what to believe about anything.

But it looks to me like some sort of a bank run.  That's never good.

[gehringer_2]

58 minutes ago, Screwball said:

I don't know what's going on over there, and I don't know why, or how COVID has to do with banks, or not, or what to believe about anything.

But it looks to me like some sort of a bank run.  That's never good.

The part that seems strange to me or that I just don't follow correctly is that apparently in China you take out the construction mortgage for the developer. From what I gather the people protesting are people paying on loans for housing that has not been delivered because the developers are in trouble - so people are stopping payments on the mortgages for housing they've never gotten, which then cascades into problems for the banks. You can certainly take a construction mortgage when you build a house in the US if you are doing or supervising the building yourself, but of course it's more common for builders to take out loans and sell houses on spec so that in the US, usually an individual is not holding a note at least until they have the property to live in.

Like you I don't know what the direct COVID connection is either other than maybe developers can't do the work on the housing because of gov ordered lockdowns. From what you read there are enough problems with real estate development/over-development in China that they could be in a mess even without COVID.

Edited July 21, 2022 by gehringer_2

[romad1]

 

hmmmm

[romad1]

China really doesn't like Pelosi travelling to Taiwan.  the bots are all out in force.  

[antrat]

So, should I start work on that bomb shelter?

Or is China full of dog crap. As usual.

[romad1]

1 hour ago, antrat said:

So, should I start work on that bomb shelter?

Or is China full of dog crap. As usual.

Do the Bots carry nuclear weapons?  If so, yes.    I think this just a tantrum.  

[romad1]

Dual posting to the cleanup thread

 

[romad1]

Good.  Now blend this with an offer of lifting tariffs 

[romad1]

Meanwhile…the fallout of NATO expansion is China can’t fafo in Europe anymore.

 

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, romad1 said:

Good.  Now blend this with an offer of lifting tariffs 

You have to give China credit for their embarrassment free ability to pivot.

China: PELOSI CAN'T GO TO TAIPEI. WE ARE GOING TO HOLD OUR BREATH TILL WE TURN BLUE AND THE WORLD ENDS.

... the world goes on, till somewhat later:

China: Another Congressional visit? Oh well.

 

[romad1]

The weird #chinacoup rumors going around.... all driven by Indian accounts. 

[romad1]

Got to love the mockery

[romad1]

Hey China.  Screw you...look what we can do with our technology in Ukraine and in outerspace.  We can hit a bullet with a bullet 7 million miles away.