About Cuba...

Justanothercoverup — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:09:53 -0600

Cuba was in crisis when I was in grade school, and since Castro's take-over, Cuba has just "been there" - and rather than open a legitimate market, China and other countries were chosen; out of sight, out of mind.

In the aftermath of Katrina, I commented on one board that I believed Bush had made the largest political blunder in history. Castro is growing old and ill - and instead of accepting the help, we had to turn-up our noses instead of capitalizing on one of the great diplomatic opportunities we ever faced to begin normalizing relations with Cuba.

Let's face it, this administration hasn't done anything right I'm personally aware of except make us the most hated country on earth. Whoopee What next?

JAC

Cuba

kerry — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 16:04:27 -0600

At the risk of hijacking this thread (which are few and far between in spite of the brilliant people who post here) it has always annoyed me how we treat one communist country (China) one way politically because we don't want to close off the markets and how we treat another communist country (Cuba). With regard to foreign policy this country doesn't have a moral compass. Our foreign policy is driven not by principle but by corporate greed (Iraq anyone?) If trading with China is good policy, then trading with Cuba is doubly good, because they are our neighbor. So let's all light up a Cuban cigar and celebrate communism with our Chinese brothers and sisters at the local WalMart with Hillary (Bill doesn't get a cigar for obvios reasons)!!

very informative

Bill Prendergast — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:49:47 -0600

comment you sent in there. The US relationship with what we used to refer to as "Communist China" is very dysfunctional. The US business quest for cheap labor and that luscious market puts them in bed with--gasp!--the Communist.

My point, of course, is one about alliances and geopolitics. You don't go around calling China evil if you're going to need them as allies in your "crusade" against Islam. But Bush doesn't get it, he's not responsible and the people around him don't give a shit about how hard they make things for their successors or their countrymen or their armed forces. If it sounds good to American conservatives, they tell him to say it, and damn the consequences.

The Chinese - Take a closer Look!

Justanothercoverup — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:31:06 -0600

No one can blame the Chinese for their current behavior, as it was enabled by America and our quest for "low, low prices," even if it comes at the expense of our National Security. Do I approve of Bush's remarks? Absolutely not! Stirring a hornets nest in todays world is asking for trouble - and rather than rhetoric, we need action to soften the coming blow when China finally decides to cause our economy to crumple and fall.

China's intentions and actions have been suspect for many years, and there has been evidence in support of that contention - as will be shown by the links below; America has essentially outsourced most of our heavy industry to China and other countries, leaving us with a "service-based" economy dependent on China for most of our imports - which we now find are inherently dangerous. (Tainted pet food, tainted honey, and now toothpaste laced with anti-freeze.)

America has some of the best farmland in the world, yet America's farmers are going bankrupt while we import food products that are dangerous to our health - yet the imports still keep coming. What will it take for corporate America to wake-up and realize that their quest for profit is destroying our country.

Corporate/Governmental Treason - Aiding and Abetting the Enemy!

While all eyes are turned toward Iraq and our attention is drawn to the growing possibility of war with Iran, an important news item has once again been overlooked by the MSM, which if publicized like it should be, would reveal the United States is faced with a long-term national security issue that will eventually dwarf the problems we now face in the Middle-east. China's rapid military build-up concerns many of our military commanders, but politics and the debt we owe have forced the White House to understate the danger we face from China and Bush's corporate masters have effectively silenced most of the MSM from stating the full extent of the threat we now face from Communist China.

Almost two years ago, on several different political forums, I posted my suspicions that if we did attack Iran or otherwise become embroiled in another serious armed conflict, China would use the opportunity to make a grab for Taiwan, confident that we would be too stretched militarily to effectively neutralize the Chinese military without resorting to all-out nuclear war. The below story tends to substantiate my suspicions, and even more importantly, it raises grave national security concerns the MSM refuses to communicate to its readers/viewers.

Latest Chinese missile to target US carriers: report

RAW Story

China plans to equip its upcoming missiles with infrared technology to give them the ability to hit US warships in Asia, a Japanese newspaper said Wednesday.

The upgrade is part of preparations for a potential conflict over Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory and which has a security pact with the United States, the Sankei Shimbun said.

Citing unnamed military sources in Japan and Taiwan, the conservative newspaper said that China was developing an infrared detection system for its medium-range Dongfeng-21 missiles so they can pinpoint warships.

The upgraded Dongfeng would discourage the United States or Japan from sending in their warships equipped with the Aegis technology designed to shoot down incoming missiles, the newspaper said.

The Dongfeng-21 has a range of some 2,150 kilometers (1,350 miles). The Sankei estimated that around 100 are deployed.

Western analysts have also speculated that China is also developing a next-generation long-range Dongfeng-41 capable of hitting the US mainland. MORE

Are these the actions of a nation friendly to the United States? I think not, and although it's obvious to our military commanders and allies in the far-east, the State Department, Congress, nor even the Presidency have properly addressed this vital security issue that like Iraq - worsens with each passing day!

Why? Unfortunately, the answer is more than obvious! While publicly complaining about the United States' obvious imperialism and unilateralism, China, by virtue of their loans and investments are helping to finance the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why would the Chinese help to fund a war they publicly condemn? In a nutshell, it's obvious the Chinese are also benefiting from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and again, we need to ask ourselves and our government "why" and "how" they are obviously condoning, albeit through the back-door, both wars - while publicly lambasting us as "imperialists."

Notwithstanding the suspicions that are surfacing in the US by recognized investigative reporters like Semour Hersh, international opinion is that the US will soon engage Iran, whether it be through a unilateral action, an attack first begun by Israel, or now that France has a Conservative President - possibly a multilateral effort spear-headed by the US, Britain, France, and Germany. The popular view is that if it does turn-out to be a multilateral action, efforts will be made to keep Israel out of the fight to help mitigate the reaction from our Arab allies.

As China and Russia watch every move we make, evaluating our weapons systems as they witness them in use, and analyzing our military tactics, both countries are working on methods to counter many of our weapons systems, even those that are still in the development stages. These two countries we call "friend" are both engaged in developing and selling weapons systems to our adversaries which are specifically designed to counter American military assets, and what do we do?

Borrow more money, and especially as China is concerned, actually increase our business and outsourcing of American technology and manufacturing - pouring billions of dollars of profit into the Chinese war machine.

We know that Iran and North Korea are threats to our national security and to our allies who are within the range of their weapons , and in response to those threats, both countries are under embargoes and/or sanctions in an effort to slow-down their nuclear ambitions and military capability, and rightfully so! Throw China into the mix; evaluate their military build-up, their emphasis on countering American weapons systems, especially those we would ultimately use in the defense of Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, and it points to a direct effort by China to gain military superiority over the United States in East Asia.

This is far from acceptable- yet American corporatism is hell-bent on enriching China even more, enhancing their corporate bottom-lines at the expense of America's national security. For decades, pundits have predicted China would one day challenge the United States as the world's foremost super-power - and because of corporate greed and a foreign trade policy that benefits everyone but America, China has become a force to be reckoned with, decades before they would have attained the financial strength to do so by and through their own efforts.

Wal-Mart led - and won the race to dominate the American retail market with Chinese-made products, and ultimately forced their competitors to do the same to remain in business. These reports have been worrying many of our military analysts who seriously question China's ambitions and ultimate goal(s) for the past few years - but have we made any REAL efforts to quell China's obvious intentions to match American military superiority, or are our major corporations/government ignoring the warning signs, too intent on making the "quick dollar" and afraid that if they protest too much, China will quit financing the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars.

Note: Some people may take issue with describing China as an "enemy." If the bulk of their military research is designed to counter American weapons systems, they continually refuse to place any real sanctions on North Korea, and China constantly threatens Taiwan with invasion (who is a genuine ally of the United States), then what else should they be labeled as? Who constantly opposes the US and western powers at the United Nations concerning vital areas of international security? Who constantly "dumps" products on the US in violation of signed trade agreements, and as icing on the cake, allows tainted food products to be shipped to the United States? China is also the leader of industrial espionage in the United States. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it's a damn duck - and China and Russia are far from being "friends" of the United States.

JAC

Diatribune - China - Comments

About Cuba...

Cuba

very informative

The Chinese - Take a closer Look!