You have got to be kidding me!

AFP: Empire State Building turns red-yellow for China’s 60th Source: www.google.com NEW YORK — New York’s iconic Empire State Building will light up red and yellow Wednesday in honor of the 60th anniversary of communist China. That’s it. This is officially, undeniably over the top. Communism has permeated our government to the point of spilling over. I can’t believe this is even possible. How on earth can we be “honoring” the 60th anniversary of communist China. This is wrong on so many levels it’s ridiculous! What’s next? Ooh, I know… Let’s put a red arm band with a Nazi swastika on the Statue of Liberty in honor of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Let’s honor historically oppressive cultures around the world! That would be awesome! NOT! I want to drive to New York to protest. This is ludicrous.

Sichuan Cuisine - Hot Pot

Hot pot (know as huoguo in Chinese) is a non-lethal blend of pepper oils and spicy peppercorns and is the specialty meal of Sichuan province… the capital of which happens to be the location of the study abroad program to China this spring.

The meal is centered around a boiling pot of spicy deliciousness, as can be seen below. Before eating, a variety of raw meats and vegetables are carefully selected. Be sure to go with a Chinese-speaking friend as the last time I went with just an American friend we ended up ordering cow stomach, duck blood jelly and pig brains… more American-friendly orders include tofu, lettuce, cabbage, fish, shaved lamb, beef and pork, also a variety of mushrooms.

The server brings out the pot and sets it on the center of the table and turns on the fire. The pot has a ton of different things put in there; ginger, tomatoes, mushrooms and whole fish – all just to make the broth itself.

Then they bring out your meats and vegetables. You let them boil for a few minures until you pick out what you want then dip it in this peanut oil mixture. It sounds kinda gross, but you add cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. It’s so good. But honestly, very spicy. The only way to get rid of the hot, or at least to put it down for a while, is to drink soy milk. In my experience, hot pot isn’t necessarily a meal from which you’ll get full on. The purpose, as far as I can tell, is to spend time with family or friends. You eat slow and enjoy the conversation.

Get excited.

Here’s a video I took in Chengdu… the fish were alive before they went to their spicy doom…

Sheng ri kuai le!*

An estimated 3m people are right now heading to Beijing to celebrate the 60th birthday of the People’s Republic on 1st October. In contrast, Mr B and I are heading west to visit my homeland. It will be the first time in a year and a half I’ve been home and I can’t wait but we’re also aware we’ll be missing a historical milestone in our new home city.

The military hardware has practiced and re-practiced its routines and driven around the streets in the process (one of the more bizarre things Mr B and I have seen since arriving); the pensioner volunteers are out en masse, mostly gossiping with each other and occasionally giving directions but no doubt ready to spring into action should crisis present itself; the imposing black humvees with machine-gun toting swat cops have positioned themselves at major junctions in plain sight; flower arrangements along the parade route have been inspected by flashlight at midnight (another of the bizarre scenes we witnessed two Fridays ago); colourful banners and red lanterns have been dusted off;  subway line no 4 has opened right on schedule and uplifting celebratory posters have appeared everywhere.

There is no denying that the authorities are taking preparations very seriously when so much national pride is at stake. Last week, there were rumours abound on the internet that syringe attacks were planned on the city’s subway system. Explosions in two city restaurants last week were not reported in most of the city’s media.

To add to the building seige mentality, experienced expats are hoarding cash and food, knowing that nothing is going to get restocked over the next week, while expats living in the diplomatic compounds closest to the parade route are hunkering down for what amounts to a 24hr lock in.

Speaking today at the American Chamber of Commerce, veteran China watcher Sidney Rittenberg posed the ultimate question ahead of the 60th anniversary: when all other major civilisations (the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Maya, and those on the ancient Indian subcontinent) have come and gone, what have the Chinese done differently that has made their culture and language survive and thrive for 5,000 years?

Answers on a postcard please.

*happy birthday!

Lao wai Blues

I have officially been living in China for a little over a month now, and the entire experience has been a roller-coaster of emotions. This is not my first time traveling to a foreign country, nor my first solo trip, however this is the first time I’ve lived in a foreign country on a semi-permanent basis (one-year assignment).
Before I left for Shanghai, I read an excellent article on Matador Network about the phases of culture-shock and how to combat them. Having lived in Paris solo last summer for four weeks, I wasn’t too concerned about home-sickness or any kind of cultural freak-out. And, while there hasn’t been a lowest of the low point yet during my time here, living in China is definitely proving to be more challenging emotionally than I had anticipated.
1. Say Goodbye to Anonymity
As I walk through the crowded streets of my Shanghai neighborhood, I am the only one with light hair and blue eyes. Plus, my extremely pale complexition starkly contrasts with the tan skin of those around me. Stares are coming from all sides at a mile a minute, some friendly and some not so much, but the common vein is that I can forget the idea of becoming invisible or losing myself in a crowd.
2. Why Can’t I Understand You?
I think one of the biggest contributors to culture shock is the lack of a shared language. Being in China, this is the first time I’ve been somewhere that I don’t have a very strong foundation in the local language. Though I have little difficulty getting by with my one year of college-level Mandarin, it is not enough to truly connect with people beyond the superficial or make Chinese-speaking friends. This causes one to never feel integrated into the culture, much less accepted.
3. I Miss American Things
Wow! I can’t believe I’m admitting to this, but it’s true! As much as I miss my family, friends, and TexMex, what I seem to miss the most are random American ways of thought or cultural values. Being from Texas, I think this is acutely felt. Hearing songs like “Country Road” have the effect of almost bringing me to tears. Here I have huge cravings to simply watch old re-runs, listen to country music, and eat a buttermilk biscuit. I guess I think this will bring me closer to the American values I am missing here.
4. Why Do You Call Me That?
In America there is a racial slur for most every ethnic group. These have evolved over time and are seen as politically incorrect and generally unacceptable. China is a little different. Though they have ethnic minorities that all fall into the category of Chinese, they do not have the overwhelming immigrant population that largely makes up the United States. Therefore, anytime they see someone who doesn’t look like them, they immediately know it is not an immigrant but a wai guo ren (literally outside the country person). The closest equivalent in English is foreigner. I am constantly called a wai guo ren in China. In fact, many people shout it as I walk past to alert others. It is not a derogatory or mean-spirited term, but simply indicates that I am not Chinese. However, the Chinese have another word they use to refer to foreigners: lao wai (literally old outside). Calling someone a lao wai might be similar to calling an American person a gringo/a in Mexico. However the term also carries the connotation that the person is stupid and generally inferior. Many may argue with me on this. In fact, the Chinese say that there is nothing negative meant by it, but it is just a cute or teasing term. Regardless, I despise this word. Since my arrival in China I’ve only been called lao wai twice (to my face), both times on the street. Once was by an older man and the other by a small child with his grandparents. The first time I started to cry and wanted to turn around and yell obstinacies at the man, and the second time my feelings were severely hurt, but I really just wanted to hide.
They talk about four stages of culture shock in the Matador article: wonder, frustration, depression, and acceptance. I think I battle with and totter between frustration and depression every day. However, there are many times when I travel outside of Shanghai or see something new that I am filled with absolute wonder. I believe I will likely continue to struggle against some form of culture shock throughout my trip. In fact, it’s only natural. However, I am hoping I will soon learn to accept my position here and be at peace with the four things that so far make it much more difficult to live here than I had initially thought.

See link to Matador’s: The Four Stages of Culture Shock (And How to Beat Them): http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2007/11/20/the-4-stages-of-culture-shock-and-how-to-beat-them/

A shocking video...

 Warning: This video contains violent and graphic images. Not suitable for people with even an infinitesimal  amount of humanity. 

So here’s the reason why I decided to start this blog. I couldn’t last for more than 30 seconds the first time I saw this video. Never in my 20 years of experience have I come across something that makes so sick to my stomach. This cruelty makes me question the true nature of humans.

I won’t say much. I don’t really have to. This video speaks a million words. Sign the pledge on Fur is Dead.

Zoo in Japan and from Japan

“ It became the first city in history assaulted by nuclear armament when theUnited States of America dropped an atomic bomb on it on August 6, 1945, near the culmination of World War II…

On September 17, 1945, Hiroshima was struck by the Makurazaki Typhoon(Typhoon Ida), one of the largest typhoons of the Shōwa period”-  Who knows what is it?

New Prime Minister of Japan

Yukio Hatoyama- translated as -you a falsificat and illusionist for that you have  pit. He was born 11.02. as my own son. His wife have interesting name too, more- she is actress.  There’s child has education in Moscow as engineer – it means fig tree for oil and gas as for Taro Aso.

“Hatoyama comes from a prominent Japanese political family which has been called the “Kennedy family of Japan.”  Kennedy was only information picture of my own father- they killed family with the help of there Belarus agent because they think by there pure mind – my own father must  seat down at throne of the USA by himself.

That  Mr. Pit can not be from the” Kennedy” family not as information picture , not as with own relations with us. Surname  Kennedy have translation as – to NN I am going.

As in Russia Naina Elcina presented the ruling to her native daughter Tatiana with the new name Ludmila Putina, in Japan rulling in my own inheritance  Mechrencev-Kozuchov- Lopatinskiy- Lobov- Nazarbayev family give to each other the place of Prime Minister of Japan. With connections with appropriating my own inheritance in Middle East  ( as Saudi Arabia and etc.- Al Waleed bin Talal, new made king Abdullah- translated as – swindlered ah)

The same situation in Italy.

As Bush family, as Clinton, as Barrack Obama- translated as – barrack have both and boss from Russian special  and prostitute service mixed with Negro, Mongolian, Kazachian’s and etc. which appropriated under the names Primakov, Ginko–Surkov, Lobov, Breznev, Lopatinskiy,Chrushev, Dzerzinskiy my own inheritance in Russia and USA.

In Japan rulling  from my adopting family new baked mr. Mikasa-translated as – we are bank cash ans mr. Akihito- translated as – AK hi hit that- all of them lost not only oil and gas industrial places but steel and weapons too.

Now in Greece the same situation. Armenian- Georgian- Russian’s freaks from Stalin-Lopatinskiy, Cruchev -Ezov- Vorochilov’s family present the role of the head of the country to each other.

The Destruction of the First Amendment

The Constitution. The highest law in America.
First Amendment: Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

“I declare this to be an unlawful assembly. I order all those assembled to disperse.”

Can someone please tell me what law is overriding the Constitution that is not allowing these people to peacefully assemble?

This really disgusts me. I wish they would have just stood their ground and got arrested and taken it to court on Constitutional law grounds.

Thoughts on India's Nuclear Deterrent

Cartoon courtesy The Hindu

Of course, the cartoon above is somewhat fallacious in a scientific context, but has significance in the political context and exposes how organizations like the DRDO, scientific leaders and erstwhile governments have been in cahoots over India’s nuclear capability and how we project ourselves as a nuclear state. I have been following the recent controversy on India’s 1998 nuclear tests and the question of our nuclear deterrence with great interest. Not only does nuclear “game theory” – and this probably shouldn’t be in quotes – make for interesting coffee table discussions (assuming, of course, that we are at peace with our neighbours and not at war), but it also makes for questions of degree of destruction rather than the type of destruction to come up. When nuclear weapons are discussed, they are generally considered weapons of mass destruction. The reasoning applied here is that since nuclear weapons are capable of wiping our entire cities, they can win a possible war quite decisively. Until recently, I was of the opinion that the deterrent which we use to justify diplomacy and strategy with neighbours like Pakistan is based on a viable nuclear deterrent which can cause annihilation of entire cities if need be. Of course, I intend to discuss this from the perspectives of the governments using such nuclear weapons, because common people on both sides of a potential nuclear conflict don’t want to face the consequences of decisions taken by their nuclear-armed leaders or rival leaders.

With the new nuclear powers – the ones that don’t have hundreds of nuclear weapons – like India, China, France, Britain, Germany and Pakistan (and possibly Israel, South Africa, North Korea and Iran), it is reasonable to consider that the nuclear equations are written in terms of the delivery mechanism of the weapons as well as in terms of the systems that control launch schedules. In recent years, the development of a missile defence shield has become a primary focus. Only four countries are known to have the technology currently, the USA, Russia, Israel and India.  In the seconds or minutes leading to a cataclysmic attack on large populations, it is these delivery mechanisms (missles) and response systems that determine how good one’s deterrent is. This isn’t India’s problem at the moment, despite the fact that the Agni-III missile isn’t quite ready for deployment. India’s problem seems to be the lack of confidence we have in the yield of the weapons themselves. And naturally, this can be a source of grave concern. Not only will a damp squib nuclear device turn things in our enemies’ favour when it comes to actual exchange of bombs and missiles across the border, but the very idea that we have a deterrent becomes a false hope that we rest our strategy upon, and when it comes time to take the difficult decisions and defend our country (by attacking our enemy, if that is the only option left), becomes a contentious issue. Leaders cannot make decisions about everyday things that need their attention – be they border incursions, weapons buildup, political rhetoric or regime change. If India’s nuclear deterrent isn’t as good as it is touted, we are in deep trouble already – because much of our strategy and some of our diplomacy is dependent on the existence of this deterrent.

India’s nuclear deterrent is good enough for 200 kilotons (200 kt, equivalent to a few thousand tons of TNT). The effect of a 200 kiloton device is about 10 times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. A sizeably large crater will exist after the explosion, a mushroom cloud that would blank out the sun for days, with the damage to life and property being a statistic, rather than something that can be clearly fathomed or something that can be imagined. To give you an idea of how complete the destruction from a Hiroshima-style nuclear device is, here are two images of Hiroshima itself, before and after the nuclear attack by the US in 1945:

Hiroshima Before the Blast

Hiroshima after the blast

Given that only the most basic features of the landscape are visible, albeit bathed in deadly radiation, a 20 kt like the sort used in Hiroshima is not exactly a lightweight. It is justifiable to expect much more from a 200 kt device, and even more from a multi-megaton class device such as the Tsar Bomba.

And yet, given the extent of destruction that 200kt nuclear weapons can cause, they can only cause so much damage. Given that decision making in a nuclear war scenario is often left to the commander in chief of the armed forces, or the President, it is crucial that the destruction a device is capable of is not half-hearted or feeble, because the price to pay for a feeble nuclear weapon is probably one’s entire country, all its people and all its infrastructure, given the nature of some Doomsday devices like the Soviet Era Perimeter. We don’t yet know if China has a similar doomsday device, capable of acting by itself once it has registered from seismic readings that a nuclear bomb has exploded on its soil. Chances are that if they do have one, we don’t know its inner workings or the location of their missile silos, which makes our nuclear game theory tilt quite lopsidedly in favour of China. This is probably quite true since Indian commanders are considering re-examining the no-first-use option that India has long favoured. Perhaps this is necessary because India’s belligerent neighbours are not likely to launch merely one attack – there will probably a concerted slew of several attacks if at all diplomacy fails and our nations have to go to war.

For this and other reasons, the test yield targeted by most modern nuclear bombs is of the order of a few megatons (equivalent to a few thousand tons of TNT). In addition to the explosive force of such a blast (of a few megatons, a few thousand times more powerful than India’s current nuclear deterrent) the radiation levels are significantly higher in case of larger explosions, as is the radius of the blast, which will effectively put paid to a few hundred square miles of terrain for several years and possibly decades. The key question that the users of the deterrent (the strategists) will ask, however, is whether the deterrent is good enough to take care of multiple targets whose destruction is crucial to the survival of India if and when a nuclear fusillade begins.

Let’s look at the nuclear capabilities from our two immediate (hostile/semihostile) neighbours. China has 3-5 megaton yield devices, which are capable of being delivered by their DF-5 Dong Feng missile which has a range of around 12,000 miles and is therefore a viable deterrent against all of Europe and the east coast of the USA. Pakistan has the Ghauri and the M-11 missiles for medium/long range strikes, which can reach Delhi and Mumbai from Pakistan with ease as per theoretical range calculations. In reality, although China has full nuclear capability over all sovereign Indian land, Pakistan doesn’t have nuclear delivery capability over most of our territory in addition to the fact that they have lower yield nuclear weapons (although more nuclear weapons than India). That said, the present controversy puts us at par with only Pakistan in terms of nuclear bomb yield, which is disappointing news for India as we should have the capability to approach China in terms of our yield. Our launch vehicle technology and of its hitherto largely successful operation, however, is something ISRO and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre have to be lauded for, apart from their efforts in the Chandrayaan – I moon mission.

The present controversy also has a unique political flavour. K Santhanam and PK Iyengar, the scientists who consider the tests a failure and call for more nuclear tests are figures in the scientific community, presumably, and don’t have any apparent connections with the Congress party or the Left. Even the Congress and the Left have gone out of their way to make it clear that they believe the tests were successful. The BJP of course will have to claim it was successful because they were the ruling party at the time. While Abdul Kalam, Rajagopala Chidhambaram and other prominent scientific and political figures contest Santhanam’s claims,  other scientists support his claim – probably also the ones at Lawerence Livermore National laboratories who measured seismic data from the May 1998 nuclear tests in both India and Pakistan. I find it difficult to believe that Santhanam’s claims are a sort of opportunism, but it cannot be ruled out. Neither can it be ruled out that the Congress could be allowing Santhanam to rake up the issue because they would like to see a dead BJP rather than a beleagured one. The BJP’s other controversies notwithstanding, they were seen by the nationalist party’s supporters as a party which wouldn’t compromise the military strength of the Indian nation, and an exposé in this regard will be a blow for the BJP.

Without actually having the deterrent that we say we have in our journals and in our press conferences, we could strategically adopt the dark horse strategy of possessing greater capability that we are seen to have, which is almost always an advantage, rather than bragging about our capabilities. We could also end up destroying confidence in a government whose stability is essential for a stance on issues such as Kashmir, terrorism, border incursions and other issues that determine our policy towards our neighbours. I believe that being the dark horse is a great idea in the context of nuclear conflict (look at Israel), but that we have neither the capability nor the integrity to accomplish something like this if we don’ t stand with our scientists on the state of nuclear technology and instead only seek to manipulate their accomplishments to benefit from our respective vote banks.

What does all this mean? I guess I, like all citizens expect the scientists’ peer reviewed word to prevail and not  be hijacked by propaganda. If propaganda says that India has 200kt devices and a viable nuclear deterrent, they should be backed by strong agreement in terms of scientific evidence for this claim. Pushing the idea of a deterrent at the citizens to make them feel secure in the face of a confused, beleaguered, Islamic fundamentalist uprising in one of our neighbours and a zealously expansionist communist, aggressive, oppressive regime in our other neighbour makes for bad strategy, especially when we don’t have the quality of the deterrent we talk about. When the Congress government has to make a decision now on whether to conduct another nuclear test to make the technology reliable, the nuclear opportunism that the BJP exhibited when they were in power will haunt the present government. Were they to make the mistake of not carrying our another set of nuclear tests to ensure our country’s deterrent against potential nuclear assault from Pakistan or China, we would be lying to ourselves and compromising the well being of our entire nation in the event of a conflict.

Links:

FAS article on India’s nuclear arsenal

Indian Express article on India’s current nuclear deterrent controversy

Lawerence Livermore National Labs report (PDF) on yield of nuclear tests conducted in 1998

FAS’ nuclear forces guide

Dept of Defence to Block Sale to China’s Wugang Australian Resources

Business Spectator reports:

Western Plains’ decision to mount a very public assault on the Department of Defence over its refusal to support the aspiring magnetite producer’s proposed joint venture with China’s Wugang Australian Resources within the Woomera Prohibited Area is going to irritate the already inflamed sensitive issue of Australia’s attitude to investment by China’s state-owned enterprises.

Western Plains released a letter from the department this week that told the company the proposed joint venture at Hawks Nest, south of Coober Pedy in South Australia, would not be compatible with the department’s activities within the Woomera area on “safety, operational and national security grounds”. Therefore it would neither grant the level of access to Hawk’s Nest required by the proposal nor support Western Plains’ application to the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Complete story see http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Another-China-snafu-pd20090924-W7B7E?OpenDocument&src=kgb

The Little ISRAEL in INDIA

By: Daily.Pk

It’s interesting to note that while both India and Israel with the help of the US, of course, are bent on the break-up of Pakistan – Israelis with the help of its powerful Jewish Lobby in the US and Britain – are also on their way to establish a second little Zionist entity in India next to Muslim Bangladesh and Buddhist Burma. Of course, the later is not a hot topic in India or the West -thanks to the anti-Muslim partnership between Hindu and Jew extremists who own the mainstream media both in India and the West.

The Zionist rabbis (mostly European-Asian Khazars) have been recruiting “the lost Jewish brothers” around the world to replace the native Muslims and Christian Palestinians – in order to fulfil the Zionists’ dream of a Jewish demographic western colony in the Muslim-majority Middle East. In the 1980s, Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, found some 9,000 lost Jewish souls in a very unexpected place – among the Chin-Kuku-Mizo tribe, which lives in Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram, bordering Mayanmar where Buddhist rulers have been carrying out genocide of Muslim minority  (4 million) for decades. In March 2005, Israel’s Chaief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, recognized these Indian tribesmen (Beni Menashe) as “the descendents of prophet Jusuf’s (Joseph) son Menassah. Since then, 1700 of them have been brought to Israel and got them settled on the confiscated Palestinian lands.

In addition to Beni Menashe, the other “Jewish communities” Israelis found are – Beni Israel, Cochin (Malabar) Jews and European Jews who came with the British colonists. The British colonization of India was a Jewish Rothschild family project. Both the first governor of India under the British East India Company, Lord Clive and the last Governor General of the British India (also the first Governor General of India after independence), Lord Mountbatten (Queen’s uncle) were known for their close links with the Rothschild family.

Christopher Jon Bjerknes in a recent article has claimed that Jewish elites collaborated with the British colonists during India’s War of Independence (British call it a “Mutiny”) in 1857 – which resulted in death of millions of Hindus and especially the ruling Muslims which ushered the end of the Mughal dynasty (1526-1857) and 1,000 year of Muslim rule in India.

On August 19, 2009 – John Kaminski co-authored with Arun Shrivastva an  article, titled Second Israeli state emerging in India, in which they wrote:

“Activities presaging the creation of a second Israeli state are well-known in India, but not elsewhere. Most everyone remembers how the first Israel popped onto the world scene in 1948 and has continued mass murdering its neighbors and hapless nations that fall under its sway ever since.

Precisely, political stealth moves over the last three decades and an aggressive outreach effort by “rabbis from Israel” to convert inhabitants of the three easternmost provinces of India to Judaism have been reported for years by Indian patriots in the Himalayan foothills who seek to return their country to its much longed for pre-British liberty.

By means of “a ritual bath,” rabbis promise penniless Christian, Muslim and pagan converts a trip to Israel and preferred employment status, then buy votes of peasants, take over local boards and pass laws to legalize their manipulations, the same way they do everywhere else.

While the core issue in this geopolitical expansion of Rothschild-Rockefeller money empire that controls the world is proximity to the centuries old center of opium production run by the generals in Myanmar, the creation of a new Israeli state in the exact center of China, India and Southeast Asia augurs badly for the peoples of the region, as the current level of destabilization among Israel’s neighbors in the Middle East clearly illustrates.

Bharat patriots in the Himalayan state of of Himachal Pradesh today describe the region as the new pot growing capital of the world, with Israelis in every community guiding the industry clear on up to the Indo-Tibetan border.

The latest news from that beautiful border area is this. Dharamshala became Tibetan Dalai Lama’s de facto capital ever since the Chinese annexed Tibet. Some of the world’s most high profile leaders and Hollywood stars (like Richard Gere) are regular visitors.

In these peaceful parts, what are 20,000-plus Israelis doing? Many in Manali town and its surrounding villages speak Hebrew. Near Dharamshala no less than 10 villages have been taken over by the Israelis. It has long been known that the Dalai Lama gets a very large annual stipend from the CIA, and is planning to create a Buddhist independent nation across the Himalayas, stretching from Ladakh in Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in Northeastern India.

The war on Afghanistan and Pakistan by the U.S. is a drug war. The locals want to do away with drugs, but the Jews and U.S. want to keep profiting from this moneymaking scheme, because for centuries this particular secret industry has literally ruled the world with its profits.

The creation of a New Israel right in the middle of the major East Asian markets sheds new light on the American military assaults on Pakistan and Afghanistan, as its war against the Muslims of the region more and more resembles the Jewish-dominated political cooptation and military oppression in the Middle East.

Millions of penniless Indian and Bangledeshi peasants have for centuries provided slave labor to the British overlords who have always ruled Burma with puppets and who have plagued China and India with their opium. China in particular has every right to bear seriously ill will against the Jewish Sassoons of the world who control people’s minds through exploitation of their weaknesses.

Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland. These are the three states that border Myanmar where sinister Jewish manipulation of desperate societies has become obvious.

This remote region of India north and east of Bangladesh is shrouded by the awful memory of what has come to be known as the Nellie Massacre, when in 1983 1500 Muslims were hacked to death after being promised it was safe to vote by Indian President Indira Gandhi. Numerous government inquiries produced no perpetrators and no motives, so typical in a government investigation when that government is controlled by Jews. Relations between India and Israel have warmed considerably in recent years.

The Nellie slaughter looked like a manipulated false flag massacre because Muslims and the indigenous Tiwas are not enemies. And it resembles the 9/11 coverup in the United States, where a major false flag operation was also blamed on Muslims.

The same result more recently occurred in Bombay, after 60 Uzi toting commandos shot up the Jewish Shabad House. On Nov. 26, 2008, a handful of terrorists, well trained and well armed, entered some high profile buildings and hotels, after killing three top anti-terrorist police officers and spraying bullets on common citizens in Mumbai. Latest information: 125 dead, around 300 injured some critically. Why was Shabad House never investigated? Muslims were rounded up, but the Jews, the ones who pulled the caper, were given a free pass, reminiscent of U.S Homeland Security czar Rabbi Michael Chertoff releasing 60 Israeli terror suspects immediately after the 9/11 incident…..”

Uighur Restaurant Blast Rattles China’s Nerves

 

IslamOnline.net & News Agencies    

 

Three people were seriously injured in the explosion, which destroyed the Uighur restaurant.

BEINJING – In a new sign of rising sectarian tension in China, an explosion destroyed a Uighur restaurant in a busy section of Beijing early Friday, September 25.

“I looked and I saw that the building was all crumbled and there was some smoke,” Sun Jia, 43, a resident of Xinjiekou area of central Beijing, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“And I saw a young man with blood all over the side of his head and one side of his body. It looked like his ear had been badly injured.”

Three restaurant employees were seriously injured in the explosion, which also wounded an unknown number of passers-by.

The cause of the blast is not yet known, but police labelled it a gas explosion.

“According to the initial investigation, the explosion was an accident,” a policewoman told AFP.

The building housing the restaurant had partially collapsed, an AFP reporter at the scene witnessed.

The windows of adjacent businesses, and even some 100 metres (109 yards) away, were blown out or shattered.

State-run Xinhua news agency, quoting a witness surnamed Qiao, said the restaurant had collapsed, “burying some people in the debris”.

Police kept hundreds of onlookers and a large number of reporters from gaining access to the blast scene, where several diggers and bulldozers were quickly cleaning up debris.

The blast came amid a massive security clampdown in the Chinese capital to prevent disruptions to sensitive October 1 celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of communist China.

Tension

Residents said the restaurant featured specialties from China’s northwestern Muslim-majority Xinjiang region.

“It was a Xinjiang restaurant,” a man who runs a nearby convenience store told AFP.

“All I heard was one loud boom.”

Xinjiang was plunged into turmoil in July after thousands of minority Uighur Muslims went to the streets to protest discrimination and religious and cultural controls in their region.

Chinese security forces launched a deadly crackdown on the protestors, leaving nearly 200 people dead and 1,700 wounded.

In recent weeks, tension rose up in the troubled region after incidents of syringe attacks that victims blame on Uighurs.

In Beijing, Xinjiang-style restaurants, with their barbecued-meat skewers and flatbread, are ubiquitous and popular.

“They’re all good, hard-working people,” a 40-year-old man who would only give his surname, Zhao, told The New York Times.

“We’ve lived together for 10 years and we get along well. Clearly this was an accident.”

Xinjiang and its Uighur Muslims, a Turkish-speaking minority of more than eight million, continue to be the subject of massive security crackdowns.

Muslims accuses the government of settling millions of ethnic Han in their territory with the ultimate goal of obliterating its identity and culture.

Beijing views the vast region as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.

FT.com article on Australia's FDI regulations

Australia warns on foreign investment
Australia’s foreign investment regulator said Canberra had a clear preference for foreign investments in its large companies to be kept below 15 per cent in comments that will be greeted warily by Chinese investors wanting to expand in the country’s resources sector.

China is obviously trying to buy as much as it can while prices are so low. China and Australia are so dependent on each other so there is this interesting friction between economical hostility (Australians don’t want to wake up owned by Chinese) and friendship (on the other hand they want to sell as much as they can).

NY Times: Asian Universities Seek Students From Nearby Shores

A recent UNESCO report shows that more and more Asians are attending universities from within their own region rather than going abroad, reports the New York Times.

I find it fascinating that governments in places like Singapore are actively trying “to increase education services’ share of the gross domestic product” [emphasis mine]. While higher education is increasingly seen as a driver of the new global economy, I’ve always couched that relationship in terms of the knowledge produced or training made available. Have I underestimated the extent to which the delivery of higher education services itself is seen as a means of boosting an economy?

Fahriddin's Grandfather was born in the former Uyghurstan

My grandfather’s name was Tursuntai Mukhammetov. He was born in China the ex Republic of Uyghurstan. He married my grandmother there and she gave birth to their first child, my uncle. In total they had 7 children who were born in Urumqi, Tashkent and Almaty. Unfortunately the eldest child died at birth so now I only have five aunts and uncles from my mother’s family. The reasons why I am writing this essay about my grandfather, is because he was a very inspiring person and also he was a successful man throughout his life.

      My grandfather was an inspiring person because he managed to raise and feed six children and his wife. When my grandfather was only 18 he got married to my grandmother who was only 16 years old. In about a year she gave birth to a girl which died in a couple of days. But that did not let my grandparents down so in a year my grandmother gave birth to my eldest uncle. My grandparents did not stop from there, they continued with five more children including my mother. It was very difficult raising six children during those times back in the 1950’s but he managed to feed his family, raise them and buy them all the things that were necessary.

     My grandfather was a very successful man throughout his life. In China he had a very good job at his father’s factory which produced leather. When he got married his father sold the factory and my grandfather’s family opened a supermarket. Later my grandfather decided to move to a new home so him his son and his wife decided to move to Tashkent where my grandmother gave birth to two more children. Afterwards they all moved to Almaty where my mother and two more of my uncles were born, this is where my grandfather got a job as the director of a big supermarket.

     In conclusion these are just two of the reasons why I chose to write my essay on my mother’s father. In my eyes he was a very successful man and even though he is not with us right now he still inspires me a lot.

Mainland Shoppers Set To Flock To HK For Golden Week

1.8 Million Tourists And Shoppers Made The Trip Last Year; Will This Year See Similar Figures?

Photo Courtesy Hong Kong Tourism Board

Hong Kong retailers, hoteliers and merchants of all shapes and sizes are getting ready for the second of two “Golden Weeks” which take place annually in China — the first celebrating Chinese New Year and the second beginning on National Day (Oct. 1) and continuing through the Mid-Autumn Festival (Oct. 3) until finally ending on the 8th. For Hong Kong’s luxury retailers, Golden Week has traditionally provided a much-needed boost to their sales, particularly as fall begins and the flow of foreign tourists slows down significantly.

For many mainlanders, however, Golden Week is a chance to hop over the border and do some serious shopping. As Hong Kong retailers aren’t saddled with the same high sales and luxury taxes as those in the mainland, shoppers from throughout China often take advantage of the timing of Golden Week to enjoy the cultural ambiance of Hong Kong while stocking up on expensive products that would — at home — cost up to double the price.

Today, the New York Times Globespotters blog gives a glimpse into the fun (and chaos) of Golden Week in Hong Kong, when millions of shoppers (many of whom have saved up throughout the year for their HK shopping spree) converge on this small but densely-packed city to queue up for hours and open their wallets:

European designer emporiums, jewelers and gold shops will all be packed, as mainland Chinese rush to buy goods that are both cheaper, and more likely authentic, than back home. (Unlike China, Hong Kong has no sales or luxury taxes.) For upscale shopping, avoid the crowds by trying department stores like Lane Crawford instead.

…

As far as the local government is concerned, you can’t have too many festivals. During this hectic period, there is also the Hong Kong International Arts and Antiques Fair from Oct. 3 to 6, and the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival from Oct. 1 to 15. Jazz and antiques aren’t big Chinese tourist draws, so they might be another way to escape from the maddening crowds.

In addition to these festivals and events, this year’s Golden Week will also coincide with Sotheby’s Autumn Auction of Contemporary Chinese and Asian Artwork, taking place on October 6 in Hong Kong. It’ll be a great opportunity for luxury buyers who have come over from the mainland to bid on some domestic contemporary artists and maybe take home a few Yue Minjuns, Zeng Fanzhis or Cai Guo-Qiangs in addition to the boatloads of Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Rolexes they’re going to tote back over the border.

China's Amazing Caves of a Thousand Buddhas (Mogao Caves)

The Mogao Caves (Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, or the Caves of Dunhuang) are an intricate complex of Buddhist temples inside caves near the city of Dunhuang in Gansu province, China.

Located in China’s Gobi Desert and designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, “Mogao” is Chinese for high up in the desert. These are remnants from China’s glorious Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the 492 cells and cave sanctuaries in Mogao are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art.

According to Tang Dynasty records, a monk had witnessed on-site a vision of thousand Buddhas under showers of golden rays. He started the caves construction work that spanned ten dynasties.Other pilgrims and travelers followed for the next thousand years.
The Mogao Grottoes contain priceless paintings, sculptures, some 50,000 Buddhist scriptures, historical documents, textiles, and other relics. The styles applied are typically from Indian-Buddhist schools.
Some sutras as big as 65 square metres, and encompassing a whole wall.
Despite erosion and man-made destruction, the 492 caves are well preserved, with frescoes covering an area of 45,000 square metres, more than 2,000 colored sculptured figures and five wooden eaves overhanging the caves.
Today, 220 of the Tang caves remain.  Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project.

Source: Wayfaring

Free PowerPoint Backgrounds Download:Beautiful China

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 1:The National Stadium

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 2:The Water Cube

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 3:Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 4:Yuelu Academy

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 5:Hong Kong

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 6:Xishuangbanna

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 7:Tiananmen Square

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 8:Mount Taishan

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 9:Shaolin Kung Fu

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 10:Lake Sun Moon

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 11:Qinghai Lake

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 12:A-Ma Temple

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 13:Mural of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 14:Lop Nur

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 15:Lushan Mountain

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 16:Lijiang River

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 17:Leshan Giant Buddha

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 18:Jiuzhaigou

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 19:Pinus hwangshanensis

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 20:Yellow Crane Tower

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 21:Huangguoshu Falls

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 22:Panthera tigris amoyensis

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 23:Hulun Buir Grassland

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 24:Mount Heng

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 25:West Lake in Hangzhou

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 26:Mountains and Waters in Guilin

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 27:The Forbidden City

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 28:the Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 29:Giant Panda

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 30:Red-crowned Crane

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 31:Potala Palace

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 32:the Great Wall

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 33:The Three Gorges Dam

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 34:the Terracotta Warriors

Free PowerPoint Background of Beautiful China 35:Qomolangma

245 Entry #1: Silk Road = a route of two points or a chains of cultures?

In Chapter of the Silk Road by Francis Wood, we can read about records of both the Roman/Greek and China on the places of the Others. To the Romans or Greeks the land lies to their east were both charming and threatening, and to the Chinese the whole Xiyu (西域) was both fascinating and fearful. Not El Dorado exactly, as they sort of had some ideas what the lands were about, but the account on this “Others” inevitably was fragmented, incomplete, and opaque.

Reading this chapter, that reminds me of the 1983 NHK(Japanese Public TV) documentary series on the Silk Road. By that time, I still remember pretty well that the Japanese were suddenly immersed themselves in a fervor of the Silk Road, following economic reform of PRC allowing tourism to enter the country’s westernmost areas. Drama series were made (I still remember the theme song) and a documentary series of 40+ episodes was made in a timespan of 5 years. The portrayal of the Silk Road in the series were very like Chapter 3 of the textbook — it is a route connecting two points of cultures.

Well, of course the Silk Road is about the cultural achievement of connecting the two cultural spheres of dominance in the two end of the Eastern Hemisphere.  But I can’t help but ask: is the Silk Road a route, or is it an organic chain of cultural spheres together, one affecting each other and even sometimes a domino effect?  The dichotomy of “center” and “periphery” is very funny here: as if we can put Bactria, Sassanid Persia, Transaxonia and else on a two-axis Cartesian coordinates, X axis is East Asian culture, and Y “the West”.

Is that the periphery itself a center of its own? If we look at these “others” in relation to the two cultures, will we overlook their own invention and uniqueness? I believe the studying of the Silk Road is not about fitting clusters of cultures on a neat relational map to two big cauldrons. It has more to do with the people on the route themselves, not just their relationship with the two ends of the pole, but their own features are also something we should equally pay attention to.

ni hao beijing!

Ahh, finally here and finally blogging.  It’s been about a week and I think I’m finally over the jet lag, finally over the culture shock (not really) and finally over the fact that I’m a fob here.

Me: “I want one of THAT. *point*”
Vendor: “This?”
Me: “No… THAT. *emphatic point*”
Vendor: “OK. How many?”
Me: “What? I want one of THAT. I don’t understand you.”
Vendor: “*sigh* 3 kuai.”
Me: “What?”
Vendor: “*bigger sigh* *3 fingers in the air* 3 kuai”

That about sums up my days here thus far.  Finding basic sustenance is the most stressful part of my day, cause it just won’t cut it to avoid these situations.  Fortunately, I’m learning quick, sort of.  I’m now able to order somewhat competently.  But, the moment they venture off script, I’m done for.  A quick “wo ting bu dong” (I can’t understand you) and the awkwardness continues.

I’ve managed to see a little bit of Beijing already, but I’ll save that for another post.  For now, my favourite chinglish sign of the week. Now, I can’t laugh TOO hard, because I’m pretty sure that’s what I sound like when I speak here.  But, what the heck…

Ticket to Heaven

Jede Woche gucken wir kurz bei der europäischen Kommision für Waren und Verbraucher rein. Die haben eine nette Liste von Dingen, die der Zoll gestoppt hat (hier). Drastischer ausgedrückt: Der Zoll rettet und Tag für Tag und Woche für Woche das Leben und zeigt das auf diesen Seiten .

Darunter befinden sich ab und zu schöne Fundstücke. Zum Beispiel (alt aber immernoch gut) dieses hier:

Böse böse, aber diese Marke war echt ein Treffer!

China's military build up ignored by Obama, media

Source: Examiner

China’s military build up ignored by Obama, media

By Jim Kouri, CPP

While the news media and politicians in the United States continue their focus on domestic issues such as President Barck Obama’s health care plan there are enormous changes occurring in the People’s Republic of China. For the most part, the news media and pundits have ignored events in China for over a decade, except during the Summer Olympic Games when many members of the mainstream media gushed over the Chinese.

Even when President Bill Clinton allowed dual-purpose technology transfers to the Chinese, few realized the significance of those transfers, and little was reported in the US media. Some of that US technology, for example, helped the Chinese government in perfecting the accuracy of their Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).

Sadly, many political leaders are still ignoring the fact that China is planning to increase its military spending by up to 15% in the new fiscal year. Of course, an official from China’s parliament quickly told US and European Union military analysts that much of the increase would be used to cover fuel and salaries and that China was a “peace-loving nation”.

Jiang Enzhu, a member of the Chinese parliament, told the British Broadcasting Company that the US spent a greater proportion of its economy on defense and that China had “no intention of vigorously developing armaments.” However, American intelligence sources have at various times accused China of understating its military budget and weapons programs.

It’s been widely accepted that China’s armed forces are the largest in the world and has undergone double-digit increases in military spending since the early 1990s. The increases have caused fear by their immediate neighbors Japan and Taiwan. The US has also expressed concerns over the spending on their 2.5 million strong military. Washington has several times accused China of understating its military budget.

But the Chinese government claims its spending is in line with military budgets in other governments. China’s defense budget has climbed in recent years along with the success of its economy. China also claims its military spending is insignificant when compared with the United States. According to Pentagon figures the US had a base military budget of $400 billion in last year.

Japan is also developing new torpedos to boost the defense of its islands, including some claimed by China. The Japanese fear the Chinese may try to take over the disputed islands.

Part of the efforts to strengthen its ability to defend remote islands against Chinese attack entailed the Japanese sending some ground troops to San Diego, California for advanced training with the US Marines, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said. The troops took part in reconnaissance training such as learning how to land on potentially-occupied remote islands and gather information, the paper said.

The aim is to strengthen Japan’s ability to defend remote southern isles such as the disputed islands known as the Diaoyus in China and the Senkakus in Japan, the newspaper said.

Wang Xinjun, a military analyst, told the Chinese media that the US is playing up China’s military power in order to contain China’s military development. He says that the Pentagon seeks to strengthen US forces in the Asia Pacific area, in order to offset China’s influence in the region.

Meanwhile, left-wing politicians and activists in the US believe this is a means by which the Pentagon may garner more funding for military weapons and technology. As usual, the liberal-left in the US sees no threat to national security, preferring to hamper any military spending as they did during the Cold War.

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org).  In addition, he’s the new editor for the House Conservatives Fund’s weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.

He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations.  He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.   Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com.  He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.   He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc.

To subscribe to Kouri’s newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write “Subcription” on the subject line.

Gas poisoning kills four in NW China coal mine

LANZHOU, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — At least four people were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a coal mine in Gansu Province, the local work safety watchdog said Sunday. The accident took place at about 6 p.m. Saturday as five management officials of the Jinmiaogou Colliery under Kaifu MiningCo. felt ill while working underground in the shaft. One was saved but the other four, including the head of the mine, were killed by the gas, the Production Safety Supervision Administration of Gansu told Xinhua. Production of the mine, in an uninhabited region of Subei County in Jiuquan City, has been suspended ahead of the National Day celebrations slated for Oct. 1. However, the head of the mine led four subordinates into the shaft for safety checks after a fire triggered by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake in the area on Friday. The coal mine, with all necessary production licenses, reported a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes a year.

Models compete in New Silk Road contest in Sanya

Models compete in New Silk Road contest in Sanya (in South China)

Contestants in the 17th New Silk Road Model Contest pose during an outdoor photo shoot in Sanya (simp三亚trad三亞), a coastal city in South China’s Hainan (海南) province, September 14, 2009. The final round of the contest, which includes the winners of previous rounds held in 14 different cities, will take place between September 11 and September 30 in Sanya. [Xinhua]

bron: www.chinadaily.com.cn

Friggin Homemade Sun Protection Suits Should Be Banned

Hmm, does it come in blue?

Oh dear, Mai Lee from Qingdao, China, scared the shit out of sun bathers when she donned on her homemade full body sun protection suit and went for a jog. Ms Lee had read a little too much about the risk of skin cancer when she decided to make herself a safety suit. One horrified bather said “her eyes and mouth look like holes in a plate”. And before we all snicker and make fun of the freak, just remember these two words….Snuggie Blanket!

Psst Hmm, watch out for sunstroke love!

Psst I am thinking lose the red balaclava for starters!

You Learn Something New Everyday

The fossilized remains of a “tiny” Tyrannosaurus rex were unearthed in a lake bed in northeastern China. After being smuggled into the United States, they were purchased by Massachusetts ophthalmologist Henry Kriegstein, a private collector who in turn donated them to science.

Kriegstein thought he had a infant t-rex on his hands. And rightfully so – the fossil had all the same physical characteristics of a t-rex, only much smaller.

Nicknamed Raptorex, this predator stood only about 9 feet tall and weighed an average of 150 pounds. That’s 1/100th the size of the t-rex, who could weigh as much as 15,000 pounds.

Raptorex lived some 250 million years ago, 60 million years before it’s giant-sized descendant. He was a predator, and a formidable one, using his oversized head, powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth to tear into flesh. And just like the t-rex, Raptorex had disproportionately small forelimbs. This discovery stirred a new debate into the long-standing theory that t-rex’s tiny forearms were a recent evolutionary development – one caused by the rapid increase in size of the species. Previous theories have speculated that the forelimbs just couldn’t keep up with the growth of the rest of the body.

Eventually the remains will be shipped back to Northern China to be put on display in a museum in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The creature has been officially named Raptorex kriegsteini after the collector who generously (and wisely) turned it over to science.

Photo credits: University of Chicago; Todd Marshall, Paul Sereno and Mike Hettwer.

Political change in Naypyidaw is in China's best interest

PRISCILLA CLAPP

Wall Street Journal

September 17, 2009

Ms. Clapp was Charge d’Affairs for the U.S. embassy in Rangoon from 1999 to 2002.

s the People’s Republic of China approaches the 60th anniversary of its founding, Beijing has been unpleasantly surprised by the sudden outbreak of unrest on its long border with Burma. It’s a lesson to China about the tenuous nature of its friendship with the junta, and a reminder that political change in Burma is in Beijing’s best interests.

The flare up began last month when Burmese forces attacked a recalcitrant militia in Kokang, near the Chinese border, forcing tens of thousands of refugees to flee into China’s Yunnan province. A diplomatic battle soon ensued. China issued an uncharacteristically stern warning that Burma should “properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard regional stability.” Burmese military leaders hinted at Beijing support for their move against Kokang. And for the first time in history, the official Burmese press published a news item about the Dalai Lama visiting Taiwan.

The public bickering is noteworthy because China has invested heavily in its relationship with the junta. Beijing has given Burma decades of generous military assistance, built factories and infrastructure and mined Burma’s wealth of resources. China is Burma’s largest trading partner. On the political front, Beijing has acted as the Burmese regime’s primary protector in the United Nations Security Council and other international fora to blunt the impact of Western sanctions and hostility against the military government.

The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. Burma’s military leaders are determined to clear away the remaining vestiges of their long-running insurgencies before heading into multi-party elections next year as part of the country’s transition to “disciplined democracy.” According to local reports, Burmese army units have already begun to move into Mongla, another autonomous former insurgent area, as well as the heavily armed and fortified northern and southern Wa areas along the Chinese and Thai borders. Tens of thousands of refugees from the northern Wa area have reportedly already fled into China, even as Kokang refugees return home.

The Burmese regime may also be egged on by its own citizens, many of whom harbor strong anti-Chinese sentiment. The junta’s move against the ethnic Chinese border groups, long notorious for drug dealing and other criminal activities, has been quietly cheered by many Burmese. Chinese investment has done little to improve the lives of average Burmese and they view Beijing as propping up a hugely unpopular government. It’s clear that this is a critical moment for China in its relations with Burma. Beijing harbors a strong interest in promoting political transition in Burma to replace the long-standing military regime with a more stable and rational civilian government. Chinese frustration with Burma’s inept and capricious military leaders is only thinly disguised. Beijing recognizes that the underlying causes of instability and violence will only become more acute the longer the current situation lingers.

Burma also poses a regional threat that China can’t ignore. Not only does violence inside Burma spill over into China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India, the porous border with China is rife with illegal trafficking in narcotics, contraband, and humans, and HIV/AIDS has spread from Burma into Yunnan province at an alarming rate. Burma’s expanding military relationship with North Korea, rumored to include a nuclear technology component, threatens to bring a new security threat to nuclear weapons-free Southeast Asia.

Beijing could start by making overtures to various political forces inside Burma that are likely to emerge soon in a new parliamentary setting, not just the generals and their business cronies. China might also strengthen ties with other ethnic minorities, not just with ethnic Chinese groups in Burma, as well as with the political opposition and Burmese exiles.

China could also help revive the U.N. effort to encourage political dialogue and transition in Burma. If China were to support U.N. and other international efforts to promote free and fair elections in Burma in 2010, it would not only win plaudits from the international community, but would be warmly welcomed by a wide swath of the Burmese population of all ethnic races. It would be awkward for the military regime to take issue with this stance without suggesting that it had no intention of running free and fair elections.

Beijing could also send a powerful signal to both the generals and the Burmese public by holding back on arms supplies to the regime during the transition period. China is Burma’s primary source of military equipment and has been seen in the past to deliberately curtail arms supplies to signal its displeasure with the regime. In light of the current unrest on the border, it might be an appropriate gesture by Beijing to refrain openly from fuelling further instability with new arms supplies and to reassure the Burmese public of its friendly intentions to support a peaceful and stable political transition.

China has been extremely patient with its badly behaved clients in Naypyitaw for more than two decades and is not likely to make an abrupt turn at this stage. But there’s no doubt that it would be in the best interest of China and of the Burmese people for Beijing to start treating Burma like the regional security threat that it is.

<em>The book of Genesis FAIL.</em> A snake in China grew one of it's legs back.

Genesis 3:14

So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, ”Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.”

Telegraph.co.uk – A snake with a single clawed foot has been discovered in China. Apparently serpents have finally paid their full punishment for deceiving Eve and their curse has been lifted. After 6,000 years, snakes will soon be walking around on their feet like they used to in the Garden of Eden.

In all seriousness, this is a true story.

Dean Qiongxiu, 66, said she discovered the reptile clinging to the wall of her bedroom with its talons in the middle of the night.

“I woke up and heard a strange scratching sound. I turned on the light and saw this monster working its way along the wall using his claw,” said Mrs Duan of Suining, southwest China.

Mrs Duan said she was so scared she grabbed a shoe and beat the snake to death before preserving its body in a bottle of alcohol.

The snake – 16 inches long and the thickness of a little finger – is now being studied at the Life Sciences Department at China’s West Normal University in Nanchang.

Snake expert Long Shuai said: “It is truly shocking but we won’t know the cause until we’ve conducted an autopsy.”

A more common mutation among snakes is the growth of a second head, which occurs in a similar way to the formation of Siamese twins in humans.

Who said all mutations are harmful deformities? A snake that can climb a wall with it’s mutated claw sounds pretty evolved to me.

Notícias da China de 16/09 de 2009

China constrói quarto centro espacial.

Na última segunda feira (14) a China começou a construção do seu quarto centro especial na província de Hainan, demonstrando total interesse em projetos e ampliações do segmento no país.

O novo centro espacial conta com um espaço pata lançamentos e missões até para lançamentos de satélites e componentes para construção de uma futura estação espacial.

Os objetivos Chineses vão além, e com isso a China planeja a construção de uma estação orbitral e uma nova missão a Lua, colocando assim a China a frente de países como Índia, Japão e Coréia do Sul.

A construção total do centro espacial esta previsto para ser concluído em 2013.

Why Not Use Patriotism To Help The Economy?

Politicians have used patriotism for everything from going to war to selling stupid little magnets…..maybe they should try it to sell the recovery of the economy…….China is!

China’s securities watchdog has resorted to investors’ patriotism to help stabilise volatile markets, urging firms not to let diving stocks tarnish the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party’s rule.Brokerages and fund managers have been told their “top duty” was to protect social stability by helping the market keep an even keel, a memo distributed by the Shanghai branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission said.

“A stable and safe capital market is related to vital interests of investors, stability of the economy and financial market and the overall situation of social harmony and stability,” it said in the memo seen by AFP and dated Thursday. National Day takes place on October 1.

The notice was issued after the benchmark index slumped 6.74 percent on Monday, the biggest single fall in 14 months as concerns mount over slowing lending growth and a new share supply glut.

Analysts have said policy decisions, rather than economic fundamentals or company balance sheets, are often the main drivers in the nation’s stock markets.

If  it works for China will the politicians try and repackage a Communist policy to fit the capitalism of the US?  Interesting question huh?

"Crisis" is just another word for "opportunity"

So, if you’re like me, you’ve probably already read the International Opportunity Crisis Group’s brief on the situation in Myanmar (link for those who haven’t).

Obviously, the situation there is bad.  And, due to restrictions on the foreign media, its not getting much airplay or articles devoted to it.  I think even I’ve only mentioned it once, in the passing, which is bad of me, since I’ve seen the reports but always gone “maybe later”.

But it seems to me that the junta has made a serious mistake here, in a strategic sense.  Although the Chinese government can be hyperbolic in defense of its sovereignty from mean and nasty human rights organisations, it is a principle they seem to take somewhat seriously.  So long as a country does not threaten their interests, the Chinese are quite content for whatever regime they have to continue on as it has before, an attitude some might suggest we share with them, when it suits our interests.

But I’m digressing.  The thing is, one thing that the Chinese government does not like is floods of refugees.  In fact, one of the more plausible explanations for Chinese support of North Korea is the fear that without the aid China gives it, the government would collapse and even more North Koreans would attempt to cross the border into China.  And if you’re fleeing towards China, that says a lot about how bad the regime you are running from actually is.

So.  But China has other interests in Burma too, interests that force it towards supporting the junta.  So naturally, China is in a bit of a bind, especially when you throw in the ethnic calculations on this.

So where is the opportunity?  Well, China would clearly love a resolution to this crisis.  China has a balance of influence thay likely able to force changes in Myanmar’s policy, they have the geographic closeness as well as the military, economic and political links that can bring pressure to bear upon the junta.  But at the same time, there is fear that hasty action could threaten what China has in the increasingly insular and erratic state.  And furthermore, as the article points out, the junta has been reaching out to states like Russia, Malaysia and India to balance against that Chinese influence (indeed, my argument that China has such a level of influence is born out of the attempts of the junta to not be in thrall to Chinese geopolitical ambitions).

But these allies of Myanmar are not exactly the best of friends.  India, for example, was denied access to gas from the Shwe field pipeline, which is due to open in 2010, and will exclusively help China in its quest for more access to the world’s energy resources (another one of those issues complicating their relationship with the junta).  Russia is trying to pull a “Sparta” in world affairs, a theme I will expand upon later, and so is offering help to any regime which is non-democratic and not loved by America, there is no deep and meaningful significance to their relationship.  And North Korea…well, international pariahs tend to stick together, out of necessity more than choice.  Not to mention the DPRK isn’t exactly influential on the world stage, attention-gaining antics aside.

To put it more bluntly, the junta’s allies are fair-weather friends, who given the right incentives, could abandon the support they provide to it currently.  Gas for India, maybe arms deals for Russia and something for North Korea to shriek about later on, when it feels the world isn’t paying it enough attention.  But that’s speculation, no doubt the government’s in question are already calculating what it would take for their alleigance to switch.

And China too, has friends in this.  Western governments, eager to rehabilitate their stained reputations from the War on Terror and abandonement of human rights in pursuit of this, would no doubt like to help bring about a democratic and free Myanmar, if for no other reason than to have an example of their benevolence to silence internal and external critics.  Failing that, selfless attempts to intervene in a humanitarian crisis will do.

First this is a good way for Western powers to work with China in a multi-lateral fashion, involving the UN and ASEAN, as suggested by the International Crisis Group.  Now is an especially good time, since there is a debate in ASEAN about having a human rights enforcement capacity, and while Myanmar is opposed to this, its reasons for being so will look even more self-serving, in the current political climate.  Also getting China to work more with international bodies is a good idea generally, since China does not work with such organisations much, outside of the UN and certain economic forums like the G20 (this is partly due to the realist suspicion of international institutions that permeates Chinese foreign policy, and I believe partly a hangover from their years in the Non-aligned movement).  While engagement without reservation has its down sides, edging China into a more pro-active role in a humanitarian crisis would seem to me to have few negative implications, and ensnaring it into a more active collaboration with ASEAN may have some effects on its horrendous internal policies too.

Secondly, and far more cynically, as astute readers will have noted, China and Russia are both members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, with India as an observer.  Given their potential for disagreement over this issue, even if it is somewhat forced due to the reasons I have outlined, this might throw a spanner into the relationship between China, India and Russia, and so the workings of the SCO.  Very speculative, I know, but some people in America and Europe consider the SCO an anti-NATO alliance, despite its protestations otherwise, and ruining the burgeoning cooperation between China and Russia and potentially India could be appealing.

Anyway, regional and geopolitical manouvering aside, lets hope something can be done to resolve the crisis.  The Burmese junta seem to have gotten away with far too much lately.

Review: Super Junior-M's 'Super Girl'

Super Junior-M is back! It’s been way too long since they’ve promoted. What makes their comeback even better is the fact that they have a really catchy song to back them up– “Super Girl.” You all should know by now that I couldn’t resist a beat like this if my life depended on it.

I couldn’t help but grin hugely when the video and music actually started. OMG. Super Junior–no matter which version–really gets me hyped up. Quality vs. quantity? In this case quantity wins out because there is more to love. However, I think in the past year Super Junior has upped their quality tremendously. I was very impressed with Super Junior-M’s first album, and Super Junior’s third album and “It’s You” promotions definitely changed my opinion of their style. I’ve always loved SJ (they were one of my first Kpop groups), but now I can say it with pride ^^

The video gives a big “deja vu” feeling. It makes me think of SJ-M’s “U” along with SJ’s “Sorry Sorry” and “It’s You.” I still like it though. It’s just that the sets are familiar and the format is predictable.

The “house-party” premise is odd, but it’s cute for the video. SNSD’s Jessica is enviable! She looks gorgeous. AS DOES EVERYONE ELSE! I could go on and on about it, but I am up late enough as it is.

Anyway, I can’t get enough of the song (although I could do without the “shu-per” English pronunciation lol). The video is awesome, and UGH I’m so happy to have something that detracts from the crappy day I’m having. SJ-M is wonderful.

Censored!

Bad news friends. China is blocking WordPress and Facebook. I smuggled this in code on a fishing boat down the Mekong to a contact in Vietnam who deciphered and posted it for me.  Just kidding. I e-mailed it to my friend Marc who graciously posted it for me. Thanks Marc!

China – Wow. I’ve only been here 24 hours but there is so much to say. First, the sheer amount of development that is happening even in Yunnan, the farthest province from Beijing is breathtaking. Highway projects, skyscrapers, malls and hotels are going up everywhere. This is an amazing juxtaposition to the still very traditional life occurring on the streets. Markets, bicycle-taxis and family shops and restaurants still dominant the street level. I watched a few minutes of what appeared to be some sort of acupuncture/blood-letting procedure happen right on the street right in front of a large bank. I’m not sure how sanitary that was!

Yunnan is also the most diverse place in China – China is something like 94% Han Chinese, but in Yunnan there are over 50 identified ‘minority groups’ that make up over 50% of the population. Not far from the Burmese, Lao and Vietnam borders, this area is teeming with hill-tribes and ethnic groups that historically and possibly even today owe their affinity much less to a country than the forests and mountains that their ancestry came from.

I also feel like a movie star – so many people stop to stare, some even turn around to keep watching. I remember feeling this a bit in Japan – it can be uncomfortable but I’m trying to take the high road and am assuming its more of a curiosity than anything with mal-intent. The people that I have sort of talked to (with the 4 Chinese words I know) have been generally polite and helpful.

**** Those were my first impressions; it is now 5 days later.

I was expecting Jinghong, the first city we stayed in to be a dirty, crossroads sort of place – not so at all. It had a very metropolitan feel, with promenades, nice restaurants, parks and tons of shopping. We walked by this really nice hotel and decided for a laugh we would ask how much it was per night – turns out it was their grand-opening and they gave us a room for 80 Yuan ($11) when the going rate was 580 ($80)! So that was a pleasant change after staying in relatively ‘modest’ places over the past couple of weeks. After soaking in the culture, having a fantastic massage at the Seeing Hands massage place (supporting the blind by employing them!), and doing some people watching it was time to get back to roughing it. Ohhh and roughing it we did. One evening we were sitting at Mei Mei’s Cafe in Jinghong and reading through the guest book where a few people had written about a trekking opportunity without a guide that would allow you to see some non-touristy villages, beautiful scenery and rural Chinese life along the Burmese border in an area known as the Xishuangbanna region. Sounds good eh?

Off we went the next morning with a sense of adventure and some chicken scratch in my notebook that was supposed to be our guide for the next 3 days. Lonely Planet had not ventured into this area! The next morning after buying some snacks, Wei and I took a bus to a small town called Mengzhe, realizing soon after we got there that the next bus to the town where we were to spend the night wasn’t until 4pm. It was interesting watching my impatience – at first I was upset at myself for not being more detail oriented, thereby wasting four hours of my day. But again, what is wasting time? Can time truly be wasted? We sat on a park bench, watching the ethnic women in their colorful garb rake corn and rice in the streets to dry it after the recent harvest. Other than that, it appeared EVERYONE was wasting time, just sitting around, passing the hours during the hottest part of the day. Just another little part of myself that I’m working on letting go of during this trip, that sense of urgency and efficiency that accompanies my time…

We eventually caught the bus to Xiding at 4pm and after a bit of searching discovered that there was exactly one restaurant and one guesthouse and they were the same place. The room smelled like mildew, had no ventilation and there were small bugs crawling around the edges of my bed. I’ll stop there, but rest assured I’ve never been more tucked into my sleep sheet more tightly!

The only thing that happens in Xiding (ever, as far as I can tell!) is a Thursday market where people from all over the surrounding hillsides come to buy and sell their wares. It was quite a site -  butchers chopping up pigs, fresh tea,  noodle produce, the typical plastic Chinese crap. Mostly it was about the people – Wei took some great shots that hopefully I’ll get to post after I leave China. A colorful mix of young and old, men and women, traditional and modern dress. I was generally a foot taller than everyone and was quite the attraction for the locals once again – I don’t think they see many waiguoren (Chinese term for foreigner) in these parts. While I highly recommend the market, I highly do not recommend sleeping in Xiding…

After the market we started the trek, mostly downhill, reaching our originally intended destination, a town called Zhanlang, passing temples, tea plantations and small villages. We hitched the final 2 miles on the back of a truck after receiving a kind offer for a lift. And here is where it got interesting. Originally our plan was to stay in Zhanlang for the evening, as several travelers had reported very hospitable hosts that would allow you to stay in their homes and show you around the neighboring areas. Arriving at noon, we made the decision to push onward into the unknown. (Looking back this was a bad decision as the primary purpose of the trip was to interact with locals, not necessarily just walk through!). But we started walking, eventually getting lost in a maze of dirt trails with many diversions into corn and tea fields. Suddenly the nice stroll took on a new air – we were running low on water and baking in the midday sun with really no clue where we were. Stumbling upon a motorbike, we found a farmer working in his field who politely offered to take us to the next village for some gas money (and the additional $10 he extorted from us later), which we gladly agreed to. What a ride, three of us and a couple of backpacks crammed onto a motorcycle shredding through steep, rutted single track, ducking the various low hanging branches intent on taking off our heads. Happy to be alive!

Arriving in the town of Manwa in one piece, we composed ourselves and asked several local villagers how far it was to Bada, where we would need to spend the night to catch a morning bus back to Jinghong. This is where it got weird. Despite vague memories of the guest book saying the road from Manwa to Bada was long and arduous, we believed the locals who said it was 2-3 km and that there were many places to stay in Bada. 4 hours and about 8 uphill miles later we ended up in Bada, well after dark, miserable and exhausted. We still don’t know what reason these guys had to lie to us, but already at near exhaustion, we ended up pushing it way to far, nearly a 20 mile day. An interesting note about how Chinese thought is different than ours – during that excruciating 8 miles, we’d encounter people and ask them how far it was to Bada – the usual answer: “not far” or 1 or 2km when in fact it was much more! I have no reason to believe that they were lying, more that it is an aspect of the non-linear approach to life that many eastern cultures have… BIG lesson learned. Bada ended up being a very small town, once again with one place to stay smelling of mildew and dust. At that point all I wanted was sleep so it didn’t matter…. crashed hard and woke up early to catch the early bus back towards civilization.

I know some day I will look back at this and laugh, but right now I’m fighting a cold/possible strep throat from pushing myself past the brink of exhaustion. It was an exhilarating way to see some far off the beaten path areas but a good reminder that the thrill of unplanned adventure must be checked with some planning and reputable information.

Today I find myself in Kunming, the major city in Yunnan, clinging to a 1-bar Internet connection that comes and goes from my 4th floor hotel room, drinking tea and eating yogurt, trying to recover and kick this sore throat. We likely wouldn’t have stopped in Kunming, but this is the one city where Wei can find a new SLR camera to replace the one stolen in Bangkok. Next stop is the northwest of Yunnan, to Dali, Lijiang and the Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Overall my impressions of China have been positive – there has been an element of surprise, despite the many reports of growth here it still is amazing to see it first hand, the red machine running day and night. There is a sense that China will never be the same, that in 20 years it will look drastically different if the pace of development continues. I feel fortunate to be a visitor during this period, witnessing change first hand. There are the negatives obviously of such growth – ‘getting rich’ is definitely on the minds of many Chinese and one needs to be on the look out for all sorts of scams and con-artists. China also faces massive environmental issues, it seems almost monthly a new story about business interests losing touch with ethics and poisoning rivers, risking lives or damaging the environment…

China's Solar Power Revolution

In a move to cut domestic reliance on coal and oil, the Chinese parliament passed a historic law pledging to use renewable energy resources for 10 percent of China’s energy consumption by 2020. This new law is of great interest to companies in the environmental technology industry. Carbon Jungle (CBJG) and Shangde Solar Energy Power Company are two such companies that are poised to benefit from the new law, which includes details on the purchase and use of high-tech solar lenses, solar water heating, and renewable energy fuels. In particular, the government will promote the use of solar technology in buildings as a way to push China’s solar energy industry.

China’s government has already announced plans for implementing this advanced solar energy.  Beijing, China’s second-largest energy consumer, has announced plans to build a “solar street” where buildings, streetlights, and other features will run entirely on energy from the sun.  The city will also introduce solar power for lighting, heating, and refrigeration in Xuanwu Park. Both projects reflect a larger government commitment to dramatically increase China’s use of renewable energy in the coming decades.

The Shanghai city government, meanwhile, has drafted a plan to boost municipal use of solar energy, including setting up several power generators with a combined capacity of 5,000 kilowatts, undertaking 30 projects that combine urban construction with solar energy, and installing solar panels at the factories of 20-30 heavy industries. A proposal has also been approved to install thousands of rooftop solar panels on commercial and residential buildings and educational institutions.

China has several advantages in solar energy development. For one, two-thirds of China’s land area receives more than 2,000 hours of sunlight annually, more than many other regions of similar latitude, including Europe and Japan. This gives China a potential solar energy reserve equivalent to 1,700 billion tons of coal. China is also a world leader in solar thermal production and use, accounting for 55 percent of global solar heating capacity.

Carbon Jungle will be a major player China’s solar energy development with its non-photovoltaic solar lens technology.  Capable of transmitting solar energy with an efficiency of 92%, the solar lens is also cheaper than photovoltaic panels, as it does not require expensive power inverters and batteries for power storage.  Its unique chemical regenerative process also allows Carbon Jungle’s solar collector to create steam from stored heat, thereby allowing the device to create power around the clock.

China’s commitment to solar power should not come as a surprise, as the nation has experimented with new solar technology during global events such as the 2008 Olympic Games.  Solar power and terrestrial heat were used at various Olympic venues, including solar generators that powered the sports facilities.

With these and other initiatives, China is playing an important role in providing global solar energy markets with the policy support and legal protection they need.  As China’s solar market emerges, the advanced technology developed by Carbon Jungle and other Chinese companies will be instrumental to moving the world to greater energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

SS501 Picks Up an Award For Hyun Joong

The 4th Seoul Drama Award 2009 prize giving ceremony winners list was released tonight (11 Sept) at Seoul Olympic Park. Seoul had won 5 big prize and was the biggest winner. Among them, winning the Internet Best Actor Award Kim Hyun Joong, could not receive the prize because he was recuperating and quarantined from H1N1 in Japan hospital. The prize was received on behalf by the idol group, SS501’s member, causing some regrets from his fans who liked him.

Kim Hyun Joong acted as ‘Yoong Ji Hoo’ in ‘Boys over Flowers’, snatched the heart of many girls. Therefore, in the joint internet voting held by ‘Seoul Drama Award 2009′ and ‘Yahoo! Korea’, both him and Moon Geun Young, “Painter of the wind’, won around 255 million votes and 252 million votes respectively, as the Best Actor and Actress in the heart of internet users in China, Japan, Korea and other Asia countries.

During the award ceremony, guest performer SS501’s 3 members, Kim Kyu Jong, Kim Hyung Joon and Heo Young Saeng, received the award on behalf of their leader Kim Hyun Joong who was absent because of his sickness. Hoe Young Saeng said: “We received the prize on behalf of Kim Hyun Joong. His current health condition is very good, thank you for all your concerns. We will pass this trophy to Kim Hyun Joong.” Also, winning ‘Internet Best Actress’ Moon Geun Young, not only thank the support of her fans but also wish Kim Hyun Joong for speedy recovery.

This year, other than winning the ‘Internet Best Actor’ and ‘Internet Best Actress’, Seoul also ‘A Men’s story’ which acted by Park Yoon Ha won the ‘Best Long Drama Award’; Kim Myung Min’s ‘Beethoven Virus’ won the ‘Best Short Drama Award’, and also ‘Boys over Flower’ winning the ‘Most Popular Drama Award’, total up to 5 big prizes. Other than this, Taiwan’s ‘Taiwan 24′ and China’s ‘Live a Luxury and Dissipation Life’ both won the ‘Judges Special Prize’.

Credit: Yahoo Taiwan News + (English translation) SS501UFO.blogspot.com

[Via http://twistedstars.wordpress.com]

Impact of a USD carry trade

I’ve been tracking this story for awhile and thought I would post the latest iteration here from tonight’s Sunday Times:

Cheap dollars are sowing the seeds of the next world crisis

After years of selling cheap goods to debt-fuelled Western consumers, China now has $2 trillion dollars of foreign exchange reserves. That’s 2,000 billion – a reserve haul no less 25 times bigger than that of the UK.

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By Liam Halligan

Published: 6:05PM BST 12 Sep 2009

In a world of systemic instability, reserves mean power. Reserves mean you can defend your currency, stabilise your banking system and boost your economy without resorting to yet more borrowing – or, worse still, the printing press.

More than half of China’s reserves are denominated in dollars. So when the dollar falls, China loses serious money. When you’re talking about a dollar-reserve number involving 12 zeros, even a modest weakening of the greenback sees China’s wealth takes a mighty hit.

In recent years, America has run massive budget and trade deficits, both of which put downward pressure on the dollar – so devaluing China’s reserves. Beijing has remained tight-lipped, worried less about diplomatic niceties than the financial implications of voicing its concerns. If the markets thought China would buy less dollar-denominated debt going forward, the US currency would weaken further, compounding Beijing’s wealth-loss.

American leaders have relied on this Catch-22 for some time, guffawing that China is in so deep it has no choice but to carry on “sucking-up” US debt. But Beijing’s Communist hierarchy is now so worried about America’s wildly expansionary monetary policy that it is speaking out, despite the damage that does to the value of China’s reserves.

Last weekend, Cheng Siwei, a leading Chinese policy maker, said that his country’s leaders were “dismayed” by America’s recourse to quantitative easing. “If they keep printing money to buy bonds, it will lead to inflation,” he said. “So we’ll diversify incremental reserves into euros, yen and other currencies”.

This is hugely significant. China is now more worried about America inflating away its debts than about those debts being exposed to currency risk. Economists at Western banks making money from QE still say deflation is more likely than inflation. As this column has long argued, they are talking self-serving tosh.

The entire non-Western world rightly sees serious inflationary pressures down the track in the US, UK and other nations where political cowardice has resulted in irresponsible money printing.

Following Mr Cheng’s comments, the dollar fell throughout last week, hitting a 12-month low against the euro. As the dollar’s “safe haven” status was questioned, gold surged above $1,000 an ounce to an 18-month high.

The US currency could well keep falling. America’s trade deficit grew in July at the fastest rate in almost a decade. Imports exceeded exports by $32bn last month – a gap 16pc wider than the month before. One reason was that as oil prices strengthened, so did the cost of US crude imports.

Oil touched $72 a barrel last week. If the greenback weakens further, prices will keep going up. That’s because crude is priced in dollars and global investors will increasingly use commodities as an anti-inflation hedge.

These forces could combine to send the dollar into freefall. US inflation would then soar and interest rates would have to be jacked up. Even if a fast-collapsing dollar is avoided, Fed rates may have to rise quickly if China is serious about dollar-divesting and the US has to sell its debt elsewhere. Under both scenarios, the world’s largest economy could get caught in the stagflation trap – recession and high inflation.

Beijing doesn’t want the US to stagnate. China has too much to lose. But even if China and US work together to avoid a meltdown, the currency markets could provide one anyway.

The dollar is now being used as a “carry” currency. Traders are using low Fed rates to take out cheap dollar loans, then converting the money into currencies generating higher yields.

“Carrying” credit in this way is currently the source of huge gains. No one knows the true scale, but the world has, of course, been flooded with cheap dollars.

This presents serious systemic danger. A dollar weighed down by Chinese divestment, then suppressed further by carry-trading, could easily spring back. Those who had borrowed in dollars would owe more, while their dollar-funded investments would be worth less. This “unwinding” could send financial shock around the globe.

This is what happened in 1998, when yen carry-trades went wrong, causing the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management and sparking a global slowdown.

So even if the Western world manages to fix its banking system, the Fed’s money printing could well be stoking up the next financial crisis. The dollar carry-trade. You heard it here first.

Liam Halligan is chief economist at Prosperity Capital Management

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My long term veiw still hasn’t changed much and Halligan’s proposed outcomes are looking more probable than possible. More deflation before lots of inflation. And more pain all the way around.

[Via http://thelonelytrader.wordpress.com]