View from The China Pagoda

Boycott Carrefour?

2008-04-21T21:26:00.003+08:00

The Chinese blogospehere is overflowing with calls to boycott Carrefour. The torch relay in Paris was a disgrace indeed. On the one hand, peaceful protests should be permitted, but on the other hand the torch relay should not be disrupted. I am not in favor of the torch relay, because it was invented by Hitler - so to speak - and has turned into a meaningless media circus. But both sides in the equation should be allowed to have their place under the sun. Paris leaned towards the protesters and thereby insulted the Chinese.

The Chinese people's anger has focused on Carrefour. A boycott of companies and institutions financing the Dalai Lama could, indeed, be a powerful weapon against what the Chinese government calls "Tibetan separatists". But proof of Carrefour's financing of the "Dalai clique" has not been substatiated. The biggest source of financing for the Dalai Lama remains the U.S. government and its assorted agencies such as the CIA. If venting some anger at Carrefour makes you feel better, very well then, go ahead. But perhaps it's not the most appropriate target.

Tibetans and Indians

2008-04-20T20:30:00.005+08:00

“Are the Tibetans doomed to go the way of the Native Americans?” asks Ian Buruma in “Tibet's last stand” (The Guardian, April 14, 2008) The comparison is preposterous. The Native Americans or Indians have been ruthlessly murdered by the white American settlers, driven ever more westwards, having their lands confiscated, their women and children murdered. Nothing of the sort has or is happening in Tibet. China's central government has pumped billions of yuan in the development of Tibet. Yes, it's all hardware – buildings, roads, airports, a railroad, the restoration of temples. Usually you start with the hardware, the software will follow. But it's precisely in the “software” field that more needs to be done.

Some Han Chinese – the engineers and managers – have been sent to Tibet by the central government. Many others – the shopkeepers, gold diggers and prostitutes – just went searching for a place to earn a few bucks. They live alongside the Tibetans, but don't speak a word of Tibetan, forcing the Tibetans to communicate in Chinese. This creates friction and tensions. Free Tibetan language and culture classes could promote the integration of the two communities. The Chinese government should invest more in this field.

As even Ian Buruma has to admit, “capitalist development has been even more devastating to Tibetan tradition” than Chinese communism. Tibet is now a breading ground for small scale capitalism. An independent Tibet would no doubt invite the big international mining firms and millions of Western tourists. It would be even more devastating to Tibetan culture, which would be relegated to zoo-style performances for tourists.

On the other hand, modernization should be welcomed, not rejected to preserve a Medieval way of life. Monks are welcome to continue their study of Buddhism, but they shouldn't dominate society.

Leave Afghanistan NOW!

2008-02-02T21:42:00.001+08:00

The Belgian government has decided to send four F16 fighter bombers and 100 support personnel to Kandahar in September for four months to beef up Belgium's contribution to the NATO aggression against Afghanistan. While Canada is considering pulling its troops out and Germany refuses to give in to pressure by the U.S. to increase its forces in the South of Afghanistan, the Belgian government and its so-called “Christian” minister of defense Pieter De Crem show their total moral depravity by jumping deeper in the Afghan quagmire.

As Matthew Parris convincingly argues in The Times (“Enough. Time to pack up and leave”), Britain should also withdraw its forces because they are not doing anything worthwhile in Afghanistan. Parris: “We British - never mind about America, or Italy, or Canada, Germany or France - are at the limit of what we can achieve by force. It is no good sending any more troops: we haven't any to spare, and the force we already send to Helmand province is overstretched.”

Foreign forces should finally withdraw from the country and let the Afghans sort out their problems. Today the country is no better off than under the Taliban. Sure, there are some pockets of progress, some girls can go back to school, but nobody is in control of the country, certainly not the puppet Kharzai clique, which is not worth to be called a government. Violence is rife, development is stunted and here comes De Crem throwing 30 million euro into the cesspool to finance Belgium's contribution to the mess.

While Belgian F16s have been stationed in the country before, they never dropped a bomb. This time, they will be assigned combat missions and start dropping bombs, killing tens, perhaps hundreds, of innocent Afghan civilians, while the pilots committing these war crimes remain safe up in the air, so De Crem can avoid the ordeal of seeing body bags arriving in Brussels. While murdering Afghan civilians, the Belgian airmen should not run any risks. Shouldn't we call this racism?

Blog break

2008-02-01T21:47:00.000+08:00

The last post on this blog dates from September 15, 2007. For several reasons, I just couldn't keep up with the blog. But I still have been following the news. Every day, there is a story worth telling, a comment waiting to be launched in cyberspace. From now on I will not only resume posting comments every day, but will also try to add stories for each day since September 15, 2007. Of course this is going to take some time, probably several months, and it may be difficult to post something for each and every day since then, but I'll give it a try.

The blog break is over!

Madonna turned Esther

2007-09-15T22:19:00.001+08:00

Madonna is a pop icon and some of her songs, such as “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl” will remain popular forever. One can appreciate songs whatever the religious belief of the performers. But Madonna is going too far. Brought up a catholic, she converted to Kabbalah, a Jewish sect condemned as heretic by the orthodox rabbis. As most of Kabbalah's holy sites are located in Israel, Madonna frequently visits the Zionist state. This week, at the end of the Jewish New Year, she even met Israel's president, war criminal Shimon Peres, who gave her a copy of the Old Testament. As she converted to Kabbalah, she even took a new name “Esther”.

Madonna, the famous pop singer is dead, reincarnated as a Jewish fanatic who is cozying up to war criminals. She is hereby deleted from the list of my favorite singers. (CNN: “Madonna meets Shimon Peres”)

Monstrous crimes remembered

2007-09-14T20:01:00.000+08:00

Twenty-five years ago this week, more than 1,700 Palestinians were slaughtered in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla in 48 hours of carnage while Ariel Sharon watched from a safe distance. Most victims were women and children. An Israeli commission of inquiry concluded that then defense minister Sharon was "indirectly" and "personally" responsible, but far from being punished for this despicable crime, he would still rise to the top and become prime minister of Israel. Franklin Lamb notes that it is considered "the bloodiest single incident of the Arab-Israeli conflict and a crime for which Israel will be condemned for eternity". (Counterpunch: "A Letter to Janet About Sabra-Shatilla"), (Aljazeera: "Sabra Shatila recalled")

All of those who perpetrated the massacre, the hundreds of Phalange and Haddad militia, escaped justice, because they acted on the orders of the Israeli government. Survivors are still haunted by the memories 25 years later and most still live in refugee camps. 45,000 people still live in Sabra and Shatilla today. But many Lebanese, let alone people around the world, have never heard of Sabra and Shatilla. Therefore it is imperative to keep the memories alive and remember the victims.

Belgium is fading

2007-09-13T14:46:00.000+08:00

Almost three months after the Belgian general elections of June 10 there is still no new government and no solution in sight to the problems preventing a coalition government to be formed. Finally, the foreign press also starts noticing. (The Economist: “Time to call it a day”); (The Independent: “The Big Question: Is Belgium on the brink of breaking apart, and would it matter if it did?”, “Pressure grows on Belgium's fragile state”)

The disappearance of Belgium may be the result not of a conscious act but of a general acknowledgment of its irrelevance. It is true – at least for now – that there is no majority for a break up of the country. Even in Flanders, there is no majority for a declaration of independence. Rather Belgium may “fade from the page of history” to borrow an expression used by Ayatollah Rohollah Khomeini when he was talking about Israel. The Jewish state will disappear because it is built on a gross injustice – the genocide of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a racist apartheid state. Belgium will fade simply because it is no longer needed. There are altogether seven parliaments and governments where three will suffice to guarantee governance: one each for Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. There will still be chocolates and beers, although they may no longer be called Belgian. The only thing for which Belgium is indispensable is the monarchy. The royals will have to look for another job.

Stop "Stop Islamisation"

2007-09-12T15:30:00.000+08:00

On September 11, some European right-wing forces planned a demonstration in Brussels about what they view as the islamisation of Europe. But the mayor of Brussels banned the demonstration fearing counter manifestations by migrants.

While being firmly opposed to the viewpoints of the organizers, banning demonstrations is never a good option. When there is a demonstration, there is always the possibility of a counter-demonstration. The best the authorities can do is to separate both demonstrations to avoid clashes. In the end even the main organizer withdrew his support for the demonstration and only around a hundred people turned up where about 20,000 were expected.

The leaders of law-and-order Vlaams Belang – who usually always defend an increase in police powers – were briefly arrested when they showed up to demonstrate. Now they claim to defend the freedom of expression, but if a left-wing demonstration would have been organized, they would be the first to support a police crackdown. Their hatred of migrants and Islam led them to break the law. (Al-Jazeera: “Clashes at Belgian anti-Islam rally”)

Believers in Islam should be allowed to practice their religions and customs.

The Surge deflated

2007-09-11T11:06:00.000+08:00

The most anticipated congressional testimony by a U.S. general since the Vietnam War brought nothing new. Even before the start of the Surge, one could have predicted what general David Petraeus would say yesterday and today, which is: the surge is working, the situation is improving and we have to stay the course. And in the meantime reduce the number of surge troops to deceive the public that troops are coming home.

The surge was a dismal failure and could not have been otherwise. Occupying a country doesn't work and intensifying the occupation will only intensify the resistance. Now the general says we have to wait for his next report in March 2008. In the meantime tens of thousands more Iraqis will have been killed. What makes Petraeus think that the situation – from an American point of view – will be better in six months? It's stupid wishful thinking on his part, because it won't. Only an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of American forces from Iraq will create conditions for an improvement in the situation. The experience of Vietnam shows us that generals are consistently wrong in their assessments and recommendations. They only say what they think their bosses in the White House and the Pentagon want to hear.

The aim of the surge was to give Iraqi leaders the security needed to make stabilizing political arrangements. None were made and Iraq is further disintegrating. Effecting a troop surge without any results and then scaling it back won't solve anything. A BBC poll in several countries showed that 67% of the respondents want an immediate or gradual withdrawal of American troops. As even former secretary of state Madeleine Albright had to admit: “Our troops are being asked to risk their lives to solve problems our civilian leaders created.” Still the U.S. is clinging to hopes of an impossible victory, inflicting ever more damage. (The Independent: “The view from Washington: Petraeus offers hope of success to a war-weary America”, “The view from Baghdad: Mounting death toll which makes a mockery of US optimism”, “Patrick Cockburn: The 'surge' has failed to improve the bloody stalemate”, “Under siege: what the surge really means in Baghdad”); (The Guardian: “A wrong ID, a wrong turn can mean death”, “We need to get out of Iraq”, “Delaying the inevitable withdrawal”)

The mistress army strikes back

2007-09-10T18:07:00.000+08:00

Many Chinese officials and businessmen have mistresses these days. There's nothing much wrong with that, although some become corrupt to satisfy the money hunger of their mistress. But like with anything else you can overdo it. Take the “Zipper mayor” for example. Pang Jiayu (63) is a former mayor of Baoji in Shaanxi province and has also been deputy chairman of the provincial Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He had no less than 11 mistresses, most of them the young wives of his subordinates. That seems to be a few too many for a man his age. In return for sexual, he promised them to help their husbands get rich. But when some of the schemes fell through and some of the husbands got the death penalty, the mistresses banded together and informed in a letter the Commission for Discipline Inspection of Pang's misdeeds. As Wang Xiaowei writes in the South China Morning Post, “Pang's case takes the cake”.

Eleven mistresses, joining hands to denounce their former patron, if anybody can do better, please raise your hand. The fact that Pang's case has fueled the imagination and has had a wide-ranging impact guarantees that his punishment will be severe. (The Guardian: “Concubine culture brings trouble for China's bosses”) But the fact remains that Pang could break the law for 13 years and - to borrow the official jargon - "lead a desolute life" without being exposed. Many similar "local emperors" still ride roughshod over the people and only a new cultural revolution can stop them.

Lost remembrance

2007-09-09T21:00:00.000+08:00

Chairman Mao passed away 31 year ago today. “31” is not a sexy number, but still one would expect that some commemorative articles would have appeared in the Chinese press. There was no such thing. Chairman Mao's death went by unobserved in China. The party leadership doesn't really know what to do with Mao's legacy. It has clearly betrayed his ideology and policy recommendations. But the leadership also doesn't want to ditch Mao completely. The resulting debate could be devastating for the Communist Party, which remains a communist party only in name. An public debate would open the floodgates. On the other hand the current leaders of the Communist Party are following a policy so opposed to everything the Chairman stood for, that they decided to just ignore him.

But amid the dislocations, exploitation and misery caused by the current capitalist development, many people have not forgotten Mao. He created a massive social experiment, and indeed many things went wrong. Social engineering on the vast scale of China is not an easy matter. And most experiments don't succeed on the first try. But if the imperialist U.S. and the rising capitalist power China are common stakeholders in a “harmonious world”, something must be wrong.

Socialism, let alone communism, cannot be realized in poverty. Only when the forces of production are highly developed can socialism be realized. Deng Xiaoping argued that some people could get rich first and common prosperity would be realized. The migrants flooding China's cities in search of factory work are better off toiling in the sweatshops compared to life on the land. But that doesn't mean they are not exploited. Moreover, income disparities between urban and rural residents are still widening. Historical experience proves that capitalist development cannot be skipped. But going out for all round capitalist development also means a revolution is in the making.

An idiot on the world stage

2007-09-08T15:56:00.000+08:00

As we all know, Bush's brain has left the White House and now he is acting even more like an idiot on the world stage. While attending a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) he thought he was attending an OPEC summit, that's short for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. And when thanking his Australian hosts for their contribution to the war in Iraq he was talking about “Austrian” troops. (The Times: “How Australia became Austria – and in Opec”)

This guy really doesn't know what he's talking about, he is merely able to misread the papers and briefing notes written by his staff. This guy is commander-in-chief of the Big Paper Tiger, the army with the most firing power in the world. Not only is he an idiot, he's also a war criminal and still the leaders of other states are treating him like one of their own. Can't the American people see the damage he is doing to its reputation?

A dangerous test strike

2007-09-07T19:40:00.000+08:00

Yesterday an Israeli fighter jet intruded into Syrian airspace and apparently has bombed a target inside the country. This may very well be a test run for a more devastating strike on Iran. News reports claim that there is a cooperation in the nuclear field between Syria and North Korea. Israel might have tried to take out a nuclear installation in Syria to prepare for a strike against the Busher reactor in Iran.

Israel has clearly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. And, of course, the U.N. Security Council is doing nothing. Now imagine that the Iranian Air Force would have attacked a U.S. target in Iraq or a Syrian plane would have dropped a bomb on Israeli territory. This would surely have given the Bush-Cheney war criminal gang an excuse to start another war “to bring democracy to the Middle East”. But the Zionist apartheid state of Israel can violate the airspace of its neighbors with impunity, drop bombs at will, deny any wrongdoing and nobody is doing anything about it.

There can only be peace in the Middle East when the Zionist state vanishes from the page of history.

War in cyberspace

2007-09-06T16:08:00.000+08:00

Is the Chinese military hacking into other governments' computer systems to spy on and disrupt them? If you read a slew of revelations in the Western press in the past few days you may think so. It started with an allegation in Der Spiegel that the networks of Germany's foreign and economic ministries were hacked into. When exactly it happened is not very clear, but the revelation was made just before chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China and was clearly made to embarrass the Chinese and push the spying topic high up the agenda. In the following days news surfaced that also networks at the Pentagon, in Great Britain and in France had been attacked. (The Guardian: “China flexes muscles of its 'informationised' army”)

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said China was opposed to hacking computer networks and would punish the perpetrators. There is not much proof that the attacks originated in China, but it is of course possible that the PLA is conducting cyber warfare experiments.

The hypocritical thing is that the U.S. and other Western countries are also developing cyber warfare capabilities, but the recent accusations make you believe that China is a rogue state, while the U.S. is strictly adhering to international norms. The U.S. that is, which illegally invaded a sovereign country which posed no threat whatsoever. If they invade with an army of flesh and blood, can you believe they would not invade other countries' networks in cyberspace.

It seems, apart from the reported cyber attacks, it is the attacks in the press that were designed to embarrass China. Without any proof, as hackers in other countries could very well be using insecure computers in China to disguise their location.

Flying nukes

2007-09-05T21:27:00.000+08:00

Last week a B-52 bomber flew from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana carrying six cruise missiles for decommssioning. So far so good. But even the bomber's crew was unaware that nuclear warheads were attached to the cruise missiles. The U.S. thereby violated a treaty committing itself not to fly around with nukes. (CNN: "Air Force investigates mistaken transport of nuclear warheads")

The incident is considered to be a major breach of security. So here we have the U.S. accusing Iran of endangering world security - although the Iranians don't have nuclear weapons - while the U.S. air force is flying nuclear warheads around the country. Nuclear weapons should be dismantled so nobody can fly around with them, even by mistake. No, they could not have detonated, but if the B-52 would have crashed, radiation would have contaminated a large area, possibly including population centers.

Seeing is believing...

2007-09-04T22:18:00.000+08:00

George W. Bush has now made his third lightening visit to Iraq. Six hours on a U.S. airbase in Anbar province. He doesn't even dare to go to Baghdad anymore. Do you call that visiting Iraq? If the Iraqi people are welcoming the Americans with roses and fireworks, why does the American president not dare to walk among them. Among those whom he has brought “democracy”? Bush said he wanted to “see with his own eyes the remarkable changes that are taking place in Anbar province.” Holed up in a fortified American base. What exactly is it you can see from there? The nearby McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken?

In order to prolong the occupation, Bush wants to prove that progress is being made. Of course there is no such thing. Once again he is on a quest to deceive Congress and get away with war crimes. (The New York Times: “Bush, in Iraq, Sees Possible Reduction in Troop Levels”)

Bush is urging Congress to listen to what the U.S. commanders in Iraq have to say. But they are only saying what Bush would like to hear, totally divorced from reality. Most disgusting of all, the puppet leaders of Iraq, Talabani and al-Maliki are welcoming and schmoozing with the war criminal who is responsible for the utter destruction of their country and the mass murder of its people. They truly belong in the dustbin of history.

Don't support the troops

2007-09-03T16:22:00.000+08:00

Usually, The Independent has insightful stories about many issues, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and also publishes columns by Robert Fisk. But yesterday they blew it with a distasteful campaign to “support the troops”. (The Independent: “IoS campaign: Honour our troops”, "A debt of honour: They fight and die for Queen and country. We must support them”)

We should support the troops, the newspaper crows, they lack protective armor and are poorly cared for when they return. The bottom line is: they don't need protection if they stay home and are not sent to wage war abroad. And when they are not fighting, they will need much less care. “Dying for Queen and country” is absurd. It is totally idiotic to die for the Queen, as for dying for the country, they are not fighting to defend their country against aggression, the soldiers themselves are committing aggression against other peoples. The Military Covenant may very well be honored in defense of the country, but not if the military is committing the crime of aggression. In doing so they become war criminals, and the Independent on Sunday is asking us the support them. The U.K. has now lost 168 troops in Iraq and 74 in Afghanistan, plus 1,741 casualties lifted out of both countries. These men and women wouldn't be dead or wounded if they hadn't crossed their country's border to go to a place where they had nothing to defend.

Shame on The Independent!

Deception

2007-09-02T10:59:00.000+08:00

The U.S. is preparing a savage air attack on Iran – not excluding the use of tactical nuclear weapons – to prevent it from acquiring an atom bomb. Never mind that Iran and the UN atomic energy agency on August 21 agreed on a timetable for Tehran to clarify outstanding concerns about its nuclear program. If the ghost of the atom bomb is insufficient to justify war, the U.S. will engineer an incident “proving” that Iran is responsible for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. “The Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days,” The Times writes. (“Pentagon ‘three-day blitz’ plan for Iran”) Not “pinprick strikes”, but “taking out the entire Iranian military”.

But in the same edition The Times (“How the West summoned up a nuclear nightmare in Pakistan”) published an extract from a forthcoming book, written by Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark, showing how the U.S. covered up Pakistan's quest for the bomb. So here we have the U.S. of A. turning a blind eye to Islamic Pakistan getting the bomb and preparing to strike at Islamic Iran to prevent it from getting the bomb. So what's the bottom line? It's not about nuclear non-proliferation. If you are a U.S. ally, you may have all the forbidden toys you want, but if you are not, you're gonna be bombed back to the Stone Age if the U.S. president only presumes that perhaps you would be tempted to acquire forbidden toys.

Bush accused Iran of “putting the Middle East under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust”. Iran doesn't even have a bomb. But Pakistan does have several. Moreover, president's Musharraf's grip on the country is slipping and it could fall into the hands of Islamic militants, the very same who have trained and supported the Taliban. The authors of “Deception” describe Pakistan as a “desperately unstable country” [...] “on the failed states index at position 12, just below Haiti, in worse shape than North Korea and Burma”. Finally, Iran's Ahmadinejad was democratically elected (he was not even the candidate of the conservative clergy), while Musharraf took power in a coup.

To Bush that doesn't matter, you're with us or against us.

The book “Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons” will be published in Britain in September (Amazon.co.uk) and in the U.S. in October (Amazon.com).

The Belgian split

2007-09-01T16:37:00.000+08:00

Belgium still doesn't have a new government following the June 10 elections. And it doesn't look like there will be in the near future. The gap between Flemish and French-speaking parties is too wide to reconcile. Ever more people are now contemplating the split of Belgium. If a Belgian government cannot be formed, Flanders will go its own way. Discussions of outright independence were usually confined to right-wing parties. But now for the first time the daily De Standaard publishes an extensive series of articles exploring how an independent Flanders could come about and what its place in Europe and the world would be.

Some argue that Belgium is already a small country and to split it up further would diminish its place in the world. But having six million inhabitants, Flanders has more people and is certainly more prosperous than many other countries. Even an independent Flanders would still be on a par with Denmark and be much larger than Luxembourg.

Many people who were not in favor of independence in the past are now changing their views because they become aware that Belgium is simply ungovernable. The two communities don't read each others newspapers or watch each others TV programs. Both vote for other parties and if people from the two communities do meet, they speak English, like they do with foreigners.

In 1830, Belgium split off from Holland. Perhaps in the coming years Flanders will split from Belgium and a proud new republic will be born.

The final cheers!

2007-08-31T16:02:00.000+08:00

A man called Michael Jackson has died yesterday. No, not his more famous namesake the pop singer. This Michael Jackson was a famous beer writer, who published many books about the world's beers. He also wrote a book about Belgian beers, which helped make them famous all over the world. He was also called "the beer hunter", the title of a popular television series he produced. (CNN: “Famed 'beer hunter' dies”)

Michael jackson was always on the look-out to taste new beers and to try to accurately describe their taste. He wanted something more than pils. When he tasted a beer brewed by Belgian monks he was hooked to discover more: Westmalle, Trappist, Geuze, Orval, Westvleteren, Duvel,... Sales of his books exceeded three million in 18 languages.

At 65 - much too early - he drank his last beer. But his descriptions of beers will continue to guide beer lovers for many years to come. Cheers!

China's happy mask

2007-08-30T15:35:00.000+08:00

According to secretary general Giles Merritt of the think tank Friends of Europe , “China is mistakingly downplaying its own serious structural weaknesses”. He says the Chinese leaders fail to mention the country's problems because they don't want to lose face. (The Taipei Times: “Underneath China's happy mask”)

The Chinese indeed don't like losing face, but that's besides the point. Many Westerners see China as a rising power, exporting ever more goods, collecting giant foreign exchange reserves and even getting stronger militarily. Most foreign businessmen only go to the big coastal cities. They are mesmerized by the skyscrapers in Pudong and the Olympic village in Beijing. They hardly know anything about the countryside and the poor regions of the country. But you cannot say that the Chinese leaders themselves do not know this, as Wang Yong correctly points out in the Shanghai Daily. (“Western observer fails to see vigorous debate in China over problems”)

China is still a developing country and is certainly not hiding its problems. Some villages still don't have good roads or even electricity. China is developing fast, but it still needs several decades to become a developed country. To have a comprehensive understanding of China, you need to look at both the developed and the underdeveloped parts.

Poppyland

2007-08-29T19:52:00.000+08:00

No, the Taliban are not a nice bunch of guys. Who would want to envelop the bodies of women in a burqa where not even the eyes are visible? Men who impose this requirement must be totally out of their minds. The Taliban wanted to establish a dark medieval society. But what can you expect after 200 years of meddling by the foreign powers: the British, the Russians, the Iranians, the Pakistanis, the U.S. and an assorted collection of NATO troops? But the Talibs scored two achievements: they defeated the warlords and brought some sort of justice. Cruel justice, chopping of hands, feet and penises. And they almost eradicated the opium production.

Today, Afghanistan is ruled by nobody. There is the puppet Karzai regime in the presidential palace in Kabul, the warlords, the resurgent Taliban and the NATO troops. And guess what: the opium production is soaring to record highs. (The Independent: “Record opium crop helps the Taliban fund its resistance”), (The Guardian: “UN horrified by surge in opium trade in Helmand”), (The New York Times: “Afghan Opium Crop at Record High”).

Opium production increased more than a third compared to last year. Helmand province is the biggest single opium producer in the world, right under the noses of the NATO armies. The head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa had to admit: “The results are very bad, terrifyingly bad”. And who is to be held responsible for this? The foreign armies occupying Afghanistan today.

The mercenary army

2007-08-28T19:14:00.000+08:00

It should surprise nobody that the U.S. military is facing ever more difficulties to sign up new recruits. Everybody with a few grams of brain matter knows that after signing up, Iraq is waiting. Either they will have to endure innumerable tours of duty, utterly exhausting even the most battle-hardened soldiers. Now the U.S. Army has found a way: bribery. (The Washington Post: “Many Take Army's 'Quick Ship' Bonus”)

Since late July, more than 90% of new recruits have accepted a 20,000 dollar “quick ship” bonus. For most of them, that's the equivalent of more than a year's pay. Sure, that comes in very handy. But the flipside is that the new recruits leave their homes within days of signing up for a short crash course leaving them unprepared and badly trained. Then it's onwards to the battlefields of Iraq. Many of them will never get the chance to spend their 20,000 dollar, but will instead quickly return to the homeland... in a body bag.

In the first three weeks of the program, which started on July 25, the army enlisted 3,814 new recruits using the bonus. The American people is tired of the war in Iraq and the only way the military can fill its ranks is bribery, wasting more of the taxpayers' money to send the sons and daughters of the country to commit crimes abroad. Some of them would indeed have joined up, perhaps in 2008, without the bonus. So the army may now have a supply of fresh recruits, but will face more difficulties next year. The flow of cannon fodder will dry up.

Meanwhile, Bush wants to launch another criminal war against Iran. That will break the back of the U.S. military and even lots of money will not be able to solve the personnel problem. You can have the best military hardware in the world, you can sow death and destruction on an unimaginable scale, but in the end it's the people who are the driving force. Equipped with the best hardware, bombers, fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, spy satellites... the U.S. is defeated every day by Kalashnikovs and roadside bombs.

So what about the Iraqi resistance? Do they have a problem finding new recruits? No, because the war crimes committed by the U.S. are turning each and every Iraqi into a dedicated resistance fighter,... free of charge.

Puppet-on-a-string

2007-08-27T14:53:00.000+08:00

Nouri al-Maliki is an American puppet, frequently traveling to Washington to receive instructions from his boss, George W. Bush. But as it goes with puppets, if they won't or can't fulfill their master's wishes, they are prone to be kicked aside and replaced. al-Maliki is coming under fire because he can't deliver on the “benchmarks” which emerged from neo-con fantasy land. Hillary Clinton said that al-Maliki should be replaced by a "less divisive and more unifying figure". The problem for the U.S. is: another puppet won't be able to deliver either. The Iraqi government is totally irrelevant outside the Green Zone. How can it accomplish anything?
(ZNet: “King George, al-Maliki, & the Press”) (CounterPunch: “Don't Carpool with Nouri al-Maliki”)

In 1963 the U.S. ambassador in Saigon and the C.I.A. supported (behind the scenes of course) the murder by South Vietnamese officers of president Ngo Dinh Diem, because he could not fulfill America's wishes. al-Maliki should watch his back or buy a one-way ticket to Tehran, where as a fellow Shia he is still welcome.

al-Maliki told his American critics to stop meddling in the affairs of his country and behave like colonial overlords. But that's exactly what Iraq is: a colony of the U.S. and al-Maliki is a puppet-on-a-string. Until the master cuts the string...

Freedom of immigration

2007-08-26T13:23:00.000+08:00

Many people on the right as well as on the left of the political spectrum oppose free immigration. Foreigners – defined as people from less fortunate countries of course, not rich Americans and Saudis – are not allowed to stay if they don't have the proper papers. They are hunted by the police, locked up in closed centers akin to jails and sometimes forcefully expelled to their countries of origin. The right says they are a danger to “our values”, which of course are defined as being of higher quality than theirs. On the left, immigrants are feared because they supposedly drag down wage levels.

But Nick Clegg has an interesting observation to make. (The Guardian: “Ignoring immigration issue is not an option”) “Millions of Britons take up the freedom to live and work abroad; there are more Britons living abroad today than there are non-UK citizens living here. We should never lightly deny the freedom of movement to others that we so fully enjoy ourselves.” Well said! “We” claim the right to migrate to other countries, and most of “us” will certainly keep our “values” and perhaps not even learning the language of the country we are living in. But if “they” come to live among “us”, they have to “integrate”, that is learning “our” language, conforming to “our values” (no wearing of headscarves) and still “they” will be treated as a nuisance at best and sometimes much worse.

Clegg still calls for borders to be controlled more effectively. By the same logic, other countries should not allow so many Britons to immigrate. "We" keep "them" out, but "we" should still be able to go and live "there". There is only one correct policy: abolish the borders and let everybody travel and live where he or she pleases. Not only the rich Westerners, but everybody.

The Book of Faces

2007-08-25T12:53:00.000+08:00

The Facebook networking application is getting really hot. I joined some time ago at the invitation of an ex-colleague. It's certainly nice to keep in touch with old friends all over the world. You get notified when they add new photos or favorite music. You can send them a message or poke them from within the Facebook page. You can show off a lot of private information: contact details, places you have visited, photos, books you have read, your favorite music. You name it and there is probably a way to put it in your profile.

It's a pity you can only join one country network. All the expats out there would love to join two or even more networks, because it allows you to send friends requests to people you don't know in other countries. The World Friends application is not up to scratch, because you get too many random requests from people you don't even want to be friends with, like a fat (nothing against fat people, my beer belly is also further developing) lady from California, Presbyterian, conservative, with the Bible listed as her favorite book. Ouch, not my piece of cake. I'd prefer to be friends with a Mongolian girl with a Genghis Khan necklace. But Facebook doesn't make it easy to find them.

Anyway, so many people are joining up these days, Facebook will develop further and it could still be a good help to find long-lost friends or find new ones.

One must however be careful not to spend too much time on Facebook. One more application to check several times a day, while we already have to keep an eye on e-mail, websites, blog,... And there are still only 24 hours in a day!

Facebook is also increasingly used to launch local or even worldwide protests. Maybe someday it will become not only a friendly tool, but a revolutionary tool.

On the balcony

2007-08-24T13:56:00.000+08:00

The attempt by Yves Leterme to form a new Belgium government has crashed. The king had to be whisked back to Brussels in an airforce jet from his vacationing spot in the South of France to enable Leterme to give back his assignment. What was the king doing in the South of France when everybody with the slightest political feeling could predict the pending crisis? But that's a minor detail. When he returned to his Belvedere palace, he passed a banner proclaiming “Independence for Flanders!” That may very well be the long-term outcome of this vaudeville.

The bottom line is: the situation is completely blocked. Leterme has failed miserably, and he's partly to be blamed for the mess. So is Madame “Non” Joelle Milquet and everybody else around the negotiating table. Since the elections on June 10, 75 days have been wasted in useless chit-chat carefully avoiding the main topic: the future of the Belgian federal state. Leterme is now heading for the balcony and wait for others to find a way out of the mess.

The best was out would be to:
declare Brussels “District of Europe”, Brussels D.E., where all the major European institutions are located. Issue European passports to the inhabitants of Brussels.
Split Belgium along the “language frontier” into two autonomous regions: Flanders and Wallonia. Of course we get rid of the monarchy in the process.
Establish a Europe of the regions, abolishing the nation states set up in the 18th and 19th century. In each and every European state there are profound contradictions between regions: Amsterdam against Rotterdam, Munich against Hannover, Paris against Marseille, Madrid against Bilbao, London against Glasgow. Get rid of the decaying carcass of the nation states and establish a true Europe of the regions.

One option is an independent Democratic People's Republic of Flanders. But creating new states in Europe is not the best solution. Another alternative is for Flanders to join the Netherlands. More than 60% of the Dutch people would welcome a union with Flanders, but more than 60% of the Flemish people doesn't like the idea. Moreover, getting rid of the Belgian dynasty of the Saksen-Coburgs, to be ruled by the Dutch dynasty of the Oranjes is not an appealing thought. A unified Dutch-Flemish country would be economically very strong, but it would have to be a republic. The monarchies should be buried together with Belgium.

The V-word

2007-08-23T17:59:00.000+08:00

Not V from Victory, but V from Vietnam. In the past, George W. Bush stubbornly refused any comparison between Iraq and Vietnam. Now that his brain (Karl Rove) is on the way out, Bush's I.Q. is reaching new depths. In a speech to the Veterans of Foreign War in Kansas City, Bush did make a comparison, but of course a totally erroneous one. Look what happened in Vietnam after we left, goes his distorted logic, so we'd better stay in Iraq. The basic reason why Iraq is in such a bloody mess is precisely the American occupation. End the occupation, and it will still be a bloody mess for some time, but at the same time the first step will have been taken for Iraq to recover from the American invasion. (The Guardian: “This is a war for credibility”; “The Saigon syndrome”)

According to Bush, the mistake America made in Vietnam was not to have stayed there longer, a mistake he does not want to repeat in Iraq. The mistake (or more precisely war crime) America made in Vietnam as well as in Iraq was to commit aggression against those countries. The U.S. has learnt nothing; as Mao said “imperialism can only lift a rock to drop it on its own foot”. It will never learn. Bush also points out that a retreat would embolden the “terrorists”. But it is precisely the U.S. aggression that pushes them to act. Osama bin Laden was once a partner of the U.S. in the struggle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. So why did he become America's deadly enemy? Because he believes in “Islamo-fascism”? Not at all! Because he objected to the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. Leave those Muslim countries alone, and al-Qaeda will no longer have the incentive to attack America. Bush is doing exactly the opposite. al-Qaeda did not have any activities in the Iraq of Saddam, it does now, right under the noses of the American troops.

Blackhawk down

2007-08-22T17:43:00.000+08:00

Today, 14 U.S. soldiers died when their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Iraq. Apparently, the cause of the crash was mechanical failure, not hostile action. It is the worst single incident since January 2005. (The New York Times: "Black Hawk Fails and Crashes, Killing 14 U.S. Soldiers")

Boys everywhere like to play soldier. They want to show that there strong and brave. To learn to become a leader of men, or perhaps to impress the girls. Sometimes playing soldier causes cuts and bruises. But that about it. Boys should grow up and stop playing soldier. In the real world war kills. Another 14 coffins loaded on a C-130. 28 parents, 14 wives and how many children in mourning. Since the start of the war, 3,721 U.S. troops died in Iraq. Tens of thousands got severely wounded and will remember their “tour of duty” in Iraq forever. They didn't die or get maimed to defend “freedom and democracy” nor to help the Iraqi people. They went to a distant land most knew nothing about to topple its government and occupy it. There action caused more than 700,000 Iraqis to die and another 4 million to become refugees. They died to achieve this “glorious” goal. The people of Iraq despise them, the peoples of the world detest them. When the American people is no longer deluded by neocon claptrap, it will also stop to “support the troops”.

Grow up and stop playing soldier. Grown-up men make love...

Taiwan powder keg

2007-08-21T13:23:00.000+08:00

Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton has called on his country to resume diplomatic relations with Taiwan. He believes that relations with the U.S. are so important to China that it will have to accept diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Taiwan. Many neocons are completely out of touch with reality, but Bolton is one of the most brain-damaged.

Still, some people believe that in the not too distant future, a war between China and Taiwan is likely to break out. (see: Richard C. Bush and Michael E. O'Hanlon's “A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America”) Now, O'Hanlon is also the guy who said things were improving in Iraq, the U.S. can still win and Bush is a hero. (see my post of August 9 below)

Moreover, you would assume these guys have a crystal ball, knowing perfectly well what is going to happen. Well, nobody has, so they are just hallucinating from inhaling too much neocon nonsense. You could certainly piece together some possible scenarios for the future. But “A War Like No Other” goes too far. The authors say they don't want to see a war between China and Taiwan, but they secretly hope that China would be seriously damaged and the U.S. could remain the overlord of the world.

They write that “a process can begin that, if mismanaged, can escalate out of control. It should not. But it could.” Yes, it could. But it is also very well possible that the Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straight are clever enough to avoid it from happening. If war mongers like John Bolton would just shut up.

The King meddles

2007-08-20T18:21:00.000+08:00

The creation of a new Belgian government is going nowhere. The country is irrevocably split between Dutch and French speakers. The Dutch speakers want to transfer more authority in almost all areas of governance from the federal level to the regional level. The federal government would only remain as a service-providing institution, whereas the regional governments would have the real power. The French-speakers want to move in exactly the opposite direction: more authority transferred back to the federal level.

The making of a new government always includes compromises: party A gives in one item, but gains on another and so on. Each party can blow up its gains and minimize its losses, thereby hoping to survive the next election. But if two groups are moving in exactly opposite directions, compromises are useless. Giving more authority to the regions in one area and taking it away in another doesn't solve anything and only achieves to make the whole construction of the state more complicated.

On Friday evening, prime minister-to-be Yves Leterme saw no way out anymore and called on king Albert II for help. What he could have done was to return his task of forming a government back to the king, who could have named somebody else – which wouldn't have solved much, because nobody can solve the problem – but that's what the constitution allows for. But no: the king called the party leaders to his palace to have private discussions. As Sp.A leader Vande Lanotte (a constitutional rights professor) pointed out: this is unconstitutional. The king may only consult the politicians at the start of the whole process to determine whom to name as an “informer” to gather more information or a “former” to write the next government's program and form the cabinet. Intervening in between is “not done”. The king is not neutral: he is a French-speaking aristocrat now giving his support to a coalition of Catholics and Liberals.

The King of the Belgians has overstepped his authority to save Leterme's skin and give a coalition government of his liking another try. It's not exactly a royal coup d'etat, but it's nevertheless impermissible. If he continues to meddle, he should be forced to abdicate the throne and the monarchy should be abolished. It'll save a cent or two for the already disastrous budget.

Local bullies

2007-08-19T17:27:00.000+08:00

Last week a stone bridge under construction in Fenghuang county, Hunan province, collapsed killing dozens of people. The exact number is still unknown. The South China Morning Post reported on August 18 that officials attacked journalists who were investigating the disaster. Among the journalists were some from the communist party's mouthpiece People's Daily.

This is just incredible. Who do these local bullies think they are? Those corrupt criminals no doubt got bribes from the construction company, which used shoddy materials leading to the deaths of workers and bystanders. And they have the temerity to attack reporters form the People's Daily in Beijing because they want to hide the truth. They accused the Chinese reporters of "illegally conducting interviews". But this "crime" has already been abolished for foreign correspondents, who don't need any authorization and only need to obtain permission from the people they interview. How is it possible that reporters from the People's Daily - the newspaper of the Central Committee - are accused by local nobodies of "illegally conducting interviews"? One of the attackers was the director of Fenghuang's agricultural bureau.

These local bullies believe they are the boss in their local kingdom and can do whatever they like. Laws and courts are not going to solve the problem, because the local judges are the buddies of the local bullies.

Those local kingdoms all over China make live very difficult for the people. The profiteering local bosses and capitalists should be brought to justice. But what are the central authorities in Beijing going to do about it? They are too afraid to rely on the people and launch a mass movement.

Cars and blue skies

2007-08-18T16:41:00.000+08:00

A year before the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese organizers are worried that air pollution might seriously hinder the athletes' performances. By then, most polluting factories will have been relocated far away from the Olympic Green, all construction sites shut down and migrant laborers sent back home. But what about Beijing's ever increasing car population, growing at the rate of 1,000 a day?

The city government decided to try to find out. On August 17 and 19 only cars with odd-numbered license plates would be allowed on the roads; on August 18 and 20 their even-numbered brothers and sisters would take over.

A random check yesterday on a trip from home to my favorite restaurant Morel's showed that Beijing's drivers are overwhelmingly adhering to the ban, some no doubt disgruntingly, but they nevertheless kept there cars off the roads. Traffic went much more smoothly. But the smoggy sky didn't disappear. (The Times: “Traffic ban fails to beat city smog”)

Of course, four days is too short to have a big impact. Perhaps if the experiment would be extended for three months, the sky might turn blue again, but that would disrupt the normal life of the city too much.

Perhaps it would have been better to build the Olympic Green on the steppes of Inner Mongolia?

Another phantom - HEU

2007-08-17T16:13:00.000+08:00

At last there is some progress on the North Korean nuclear issue. IAEA inspectors have verified that the North has shut down its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. But that's only one part – although an important one – of North Korea's expected full declaration of its nuclear activities. Diplomats are now hammering out the next steps at a meeting in Shenyang, China. (The Financial Times: “Next step for N Korea nuclear disclosure”)

The American neocons can still sabotage the whole ongoing process by chasing the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) chimera. U.S. officials claim that in 2002, the DPRK's vice foreign minister Kang Sok-ju admitted that the country was making HEU. The DPRK government later retracted this statement, either because the U.S. were lying and it was never made, because Kang bluffed and shouldn't have, or because what he said was true but should have been kept secret.

It is difficult to know the truth. But let's assume for a minute that one of the first two possibilities is true, that the DPRK really does not has a HEU program, just like Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction (WMD). You can prove that you have something by showing it, but you can never convincingly prove that you don't have something. Maybe you do, but you have hidden it very well. The North Koreans could prove that they were busy with plutonium enrichment – because they were and that's why they could dismantle it. But HEU? If it was bluff, they cannot prove the program doesn't exist.

It's not excluded that the neocons will grab this ghost to claim that North Korea did not fully disclose its nuclear program – playing the same trick they played on Saddam as a pretext to invade Iraq.

The North Koreans may not be the world's most open jolly good fellows, but put before the hard choice of believing the North Koreans or the American neocons – in the absence of hard proof – I'd believe the former.

"Terrorist" Guardians

2007-08-16T13:55:00.000+08:00

The U.S. government is contemplating to put Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Pasdaran, on its list of terrorist organizations, which already includes – among others – Hamas, Hizbollah, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (DFLP-GC) and the Communist Party of the Philippines. The biggest terror organizations in the world – the C.I.A. and the Mossad – are of course not included. While the IRGC is separate from Iran's regular armed forces, it is nevertheless part of Iran's defense establishment. It is the first time part of a country's armed forces are put on the list.

The U.S. authorities are claiming – as usual without the slightest proof – that the IRGC is delivering all kinds of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to Shiite groups in Iraq, which they use to kill American soldiers. (Mind you: according to international law, killing American soldiers in Iraq is perfectly legal, as an occupied people has the right to kill its occupiers) Indeed, a rising number of American soldiers is being killed by the Madhi Army, but that is because the U.S. itself is more and more targeting the Mahdi Army, which is only fighting back with the weapons they have, not because they get more deadly weapons from Iran. The U.S. government has never been bothered by the truth, whatever it can concoct together to justify a war of aggression will do.

By labeling the IRGC a terrorist organization, the U.S. is paving the way for air strikes on Pasdaran bases and installations. The war mongers in the White House – Dick Cheney first and foremost – are desperately trying to concoct a pretext to launch an aggression against Iran. The U.S. can start with bombing the Pasdaran, hoping that Iran will retaliate, so it could thereafter escalate the war. I am not the only one saying this. Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich “accused the Bush Administration's labeling of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization a prelude for war there.” (The Raw Story: “Kucinich: 'Belligerent' Bush Admin. trying to 'deceive' US into 'yet another war'”)

The IRGC also runs a vast business empire. Doing business with any companies associated with the Guard, would be declared illegal. The U.S. would thereby try to inflict an economic blow on Iran. Foreign banks will think twice about dealing with enterprises linked to the Guard. But the move is fraught with peril. Iran is perfectly capable of hitting American warships and commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf and even of completely disrupting tanker traffic and thereby the world's oil supply.

As usual, Washington is playing with fire while lighting a cigarette over an open oil barrel...

Japan's surrender

2007-08-15T12:02:00.000+08:00

62 years ago, the Japanese imperial army unconditionally surrendered, finally bringing to an end the Second World War. Today, a delegation of the Japanese Mei Shin Kai group commemorated the end of the war together with the Chinese people in Nanjing – site of the Nanjing Massacre. The Chinese and Japanese peoples now live in peace, but the Japanese government still refuses to fully acknowledge and atone for the horrors its predecessors inflicted. In Germany, the Third Reich is dead and buried, but the Japanese leaders still maintain that the Imperial Japanese Army fought to liberate the Asian peoples and defend Japan. 62 years after the end of the war, the Japanese government should finally and irrevocably refute the Japanese Empire.

But the mood is changing. Today, only one member of Shinzo Abe's 16-member cabinet visited the Yasukuni Shrine. The number of members of parliament visiting the shrine declined from 62 last year to 46 this year.

Japanese schoolbooks should tell the truth about the war, instead of glorifying the Japanese Empire and instilling in young minds the repulsive idea that it may return in the future. Finally, to become a modern country, Japan should send the emperor into retirement and establish a republic. 62 years after the end of the war, 62 years after the emperor should have been deposed, he is still clinging to the Chrysanthemum Throne, driving his empress and his daughter-in-law-princess crazy.

Japan was only half liberated in 1945. The task remains unfinished.

The Mark of Rove

2007-08-14T19:00:00.000+08:00

Bush's brain is gone. Since he doesn't have one of his own, he needed someone else's to hatch his criminal schemes. White House deputy chief of staff Karl Christian Rove will resign on August 31, leaving Bush brainless, 18 months before his term ends. His legacy: incompetence and duplicity. (The Guardian: “Not the legacy he had in mind”), (The Independent: “Bush's brain goes missing as Karl Rove retires”), (The Times: “End of ‘Bush’s brain’ will bring down the curtain on lame-duck President”).

In fact, without Rove, Bush wouldn't be president. Rove schemed and cheated to first make Bush governor of Texas in 1994 and in 2000 steal the elections from Al Gore, repeating the dirty trick in 2004 to overcome John Kerry. Bush was never elected by the American people. Twice he stole an election, and couldn't have done it without Rove. Bush is not up for re-election and Rove is not to become another Republican's brain. Primarily because none of the candidates wants him. Roping in Rove would be poison, his magic has expired and would only guarantee defeat. His devious role was coming to an end, becoming ever more exposed. Better cut and run before it becomes too hot.

In fact, everything Bush does has the Mark of Rove stamped all over it. Of course, criminals abound in the salons of the neo-cons: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bolton, Podoretz, Libby, the list is long. Rove isn't the only one, but he certainly is one of the major masterminds, although not as well known as many others. Read up on it in James Moore and Wayne Slater's eye-opening book “Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential”.

Now he will retire to Texas to write his memoirs and shoot pigeons. He says he wants to spend more time with his family. He shouldn't be allowed to. Bad guys like Rove commit crime after crime, get away with it and retire in peace, never mind the wars they have inflicted on the planet. Can the 650,000 murdered Iraqis (or is it 700,000 by now?) “spend more time with the family”? Unless perhaps in the company of Allah?

Rove should not be allowed to get away with it. Bush is getting weaker day by day and is not capable anymore of protecting his cronies. If the Democrats are worth more than a dime, they should pound Rove to pieces. There is enough evidence of his crimes to fill a whole library. Surely there must be a way to have him arrested? Let's wait and see what will happen to Bush's brain outside its White House skull.

He has been implicated in the theft of two elections, the leaking of the identity of CIA-agent Valerie Plame and the politically motivated sacking of 8 federal prosecutors. All domestic crimes. Isn't this enough to lock him up for the rest of his earthly days? In an interview with the Washington Post, Rove said he expected Bush's poll ratings and conditions in Iraq to improve. Now, that's not a very clever prediction for such a famous brain. For the Americans, the situation in Iraq will never, ever, improve. Bush's rating may go up – briefly – if he decides to attack Iran, because the brain-dead part of Americans will rally around their C-in-C. But the resulting catastrophe will seal Bush's fate.

The BBC concluded one of its dispatches: “To his critics he will always be an evil genius; to his intimates, an irreplaceable friend.” That may be not too far off the mark. But The Guardian adds that in the end Rove has failed to engineer “a paradigm shift towards hegemonic conservative government”, and that's why he's leaving. He wanted to leave behind a permanent Republican ruling majority, but today the Republican party's popularity is at its lowest point in two decades. And now, Bush's brain goes missing. It has failed. It is dead. The Rasputin of the White House, with a sinister Svengali-like power, is absconding to Texas. But he has not been brought to justice. There's still some unfinished business...

Tainted toys

2007-08-13T21:39:00.000+08:00

Mattel continues to recall toys covered in paint with excessive lead levels and toys including small magnets that could pose a health hazard if ingested by children. By now, the large majority of toys are manufactured in China. The scandal gives the “Made in China” label a bad reputation. China correctly counters that more than 98% of export products meet international quality standards. But that doesn't make it right for 2% to be possibly lethally dangerous.

Toy manufacturers are blamed, but most of them have not knowingly used substandard materials. Zhang Shuhong, CEO of toy maker Lee Der Industrial in Foshan, committed suicide. His best friend had supplied him with the lead paint. Apparently unknowingly, because another factory had supplied lead ingredients which were mixed in the paint.

The bottom line is, Chinese factories' incoming inspection is weak to non-existent. Deals are made among friends, business partners gathered around the banquet table, toasting gan beis to merrily clinched deals. Nobody checks the quality of whatever is entering the factory gates. Used and mixed, when it leaves the gates, the managers are ignorant about what's in it. Exported it enters the labs of Mattel, where from now on everything coming out of China will be scrutinized endlessly.

To avoid tragedies – and loss of business – Chinese companies should set up incoming inspection departments, where they themselves can scrutinize what suppliers drop at the gates. Yes, it will add to the costs, but setting up a well-staffed lab will no doubt be much cheaper than the lost business as a result of exports bans that are now making up the headlines.

Oh, and before once again picking on the Chinese, it would be appropriate to remember that most of the companies vilified for exporting dangerous products do have capital if not managers from Hong Kong, Taiwan or abroad. They want to cut corners to make profits. Of course, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also part of China, but if bosses from those two territories are to blame, it should be duly pointed out, instead of blaming "the Chinese".

Anyway, the lead-and-magnets problem is a wake-up call for the Chinese government. Wild and unbridled capitalism leads to wild and unbridled problems. Abolishing capitalism is the best solution, but if that is a bridge too far for now, at least the government could reign-in its most abhorrent excesses.

IMAR celebrations

2007-08-12T17:29:00.000+08:00

The Chinese Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) is celebarting its 60th birthday. The region was set up in August 1947, more than two years before the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

China's vice president Zheng Qinghong flew to Hohhot to attend the celebrations. So what is there to celebrate? According to the Chinese government, the economic development and prosperity of the region. Its per capita GDP reached 20,047 yuan last year, ranking 10th nationwide, up from 16th in 2000. The region is also the home of a few strong brands, such as Mengniu and Yili dairy products and Erdos cashmere.

The Chinese leaders also claim that the Mongolian culture and language are protected, supported and flourishing. Some Mongolian nationalists dispute this. They say the use of the Mongol language is dying out because students are forced to use Mandarin Chinese.

However, there is a better explanation. Inner Mongolia is part of China. Unless students want to stay there whole lives on the grasslands, being able to speak the Chinese language is certainly a big advantage. It's the same like people in Western Europe learning English. People in Flanders speak Dutch, but apart from Holland, Suriname and the upper class of Indonesia, how far outside the border can you manage if you don't speak English? Even if Dutch and French-speaking Belgians get together, they use English to communicate. So, Inner Mongolians will want to learn Chinese and if they interact more and more with Chinese-speaking people, that is the language they will use most.

Mongolian is a beautiful language, people should cherish it and continue to use it. But people also need jobs. If speaking Chinese helps you get a better job, are you going to stick with Mongolia?. Are Chinese-speakers sticking exclusively toh Chinese? No, they are learning English. Because it gets them a better job. And the opportunity to communicate with more people. Does this mean that Washington is forcing the Chinese to learn English? The U.S. is doing many bad things, but this is not one of them. Likewise, people should not accuse the Chinese government of deliberately suppressing the use of Mongolian. Chinese, like English is a powerful magnet. But there will always be a proud place for Mongolian.

The dollar bomb

2007-08-11T17:07:00.000+08:00

According to The Telegraph of August 8, China could liquidate its vast holdings of U.S. treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation. (The Telegraph: “China threatens 'nuclear option' of dollar sales”)

Perhaps without too much exaggeration this is called the dollar “nuclear option”. Indeed, Beijing has gained a lot of leverage over the U.S. economy. It is holding huge amounts of U.S. treasuries. If it sells them, the dollar will certainly crash and the U.S. economy will descend into a severe recession.

But is such a scenario realistic? The Chinese government immediately denied that such plans exist. It reiterated that it is a responsible investor in the international capital markets and that it wouldn't take such reckless actions as suddenly selling dollar assets. So first of all, the Chinese government does not have the intention – at least for now. But if for example the U.S. would interfere in a conflict over Taiwan, China might also use economic weapons to coerce the U.S. to back off.

But there is a more fundamental problem. China cannot threaten to sell, because if it does, the value of its dollar assets will immediately start to plummet. The same will happen if it starts to sell them suddenly in significant quantities. Yes, China can bring the dollar down, but it would pay a high financial price. The question is, would it be worth it? Almost certainly not – in a non-war scenario.

If you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will try to jump out. If you put it in cold water and slowly raise the temperature, it will boil before thinking of jumping out. China may opt to slowly sell dollar assets and diversify its foreign exchange holdings. That way, it will not lose too much by selling and the dollar will continue its downward slide. Before the U.S. knows it, the yuan will have become an important international reserve currency.

China isn't stupid. A dollar bomb doesn't work.

Peace Mission 2007

2007-08-10T16:41:00.000+08:00

The armed forces of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are holding a major military exercise in Urumqi in Xinjiang and subsequently in Chelyabinsk in Russia. For the first time, a large Chinese contingent of 1,600 troops is traveling to Russia for a joint drill. A total of 32 Chinese Mi-17 and Z-9 helicopters will also participate in “Peace Mission 2007”. China is quick to point out that the exercise is not targeting any third country. The enemies are terrorism, extremism and separatism, cleverly chosen so the U.S. can hardly object. But there is no doubt that the armies of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are strengthening their ability to cooperate. Nothing will stop them to counter U.S. aggression if it would materialize. The U.S. has its bases in Jordan, Qatar, Afghanistan and Iraq to the South, but the members of the SCO are forming a strong bloc, which the U.S. will find very hard to penetrate.

The presidents of the SCO members themselves will observe the military maneuvers in Chelyabinsk on August 17. Iran has observer status and its president is also joining the summit meeting. The U.S. should think twice before attacking Iran.

For better or worse

2007-08-09T15:54:00.000+08:00

Some people are just incredible, claiming that something is white when almost everyone can clearly see it is black. And they still expect to convince some people to become color-blind. Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack have the temerity to write in the New York Times: “Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms.” (The New York Times: “A War We Just Might Win”)

Sure, didn't Bush himself say more than four years ago that the mission in Iraq was accomplished? “Today, morale is high,” write the two propagandists. Sure, that's why the suicide rate in the U.S. army is the highest in 26 years. Still, some naive souls will no doubt believe their claims. After all, they are just back from a visit to Iraq, they saw the glorious situation with their very own eyes. They strolled down Ramadi without body armor. Well, sometimes the wrong people are lucky. Anyway, they don't hide the purpose of all this happy hullabaloo at the end of their story: “There is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008.” The purpose of their lies: convince Congress to continue funding the occupation of Iraq, safeguarding the profits of the arms industry.

“The war in Iraq is about to get worse – much worse. [...] Iraq is in a state of anarchy. [...] The war was not doomed because Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz did not do sufficient planning for the occupation. The war was doomed, period. It never had a chance. [...] This anarchy could end with foreign forces, including Iran and Turkey, carving up the battered carcass of Iraq. No matter what happens, many, many Iraqis are going to die. And it is our fault.”

Now who is this Chris Hedges? The former Middle East bureau chief of ... The New York Times. O'Hanlon and Pollack visited Iraq on a tourist trip organized by the U.S. army. Hedges has lived in the Middle East for seven years. Chose yourself whom to believe at the New York Times.

Is it getting better or worse? Chris Hedges doesn't think it's getting better. (Truthout: “Beyond Disaster”)

The final countdown

2007-08-08T15:32:00.000+08:00

The final one year countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics starts today with an evening gala in Tianmen Square. (Reuters: "WITNESS: Breathless in Beijing"), (CNN: “Coe: Games already shaping Beijing”)

Host cities of previous Olympics launched the one year countdown in a simple ceremony at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. But Beijing had to do better, forcing hundreds of carefully selected dignitaries to sit outside in the heat, listen to meaningless speeches and watching a gala performance which had nothing to do with the Olympics. As a matter of fact, Olympic fatigue is already setting in, certainly among the foreign population of Beijing. The locals are still very proud that their city will host the Olympics, but will soon enough find out the drawbacks, with factories closing, cars ordered off the road and ever more strict security to guarantee that nothing untoward will happen in the run-up – or heaven forbids – during the Olympics.

Meanwhile, many foreigners are already planning an extended holiday next year in August in Bali or Phuket at a safe distance from the Olympic commotion.

Even some Chinese are also getting tired of the Olympic hype. Artist Ai Weiwei, who designed the bird's nest stadium together with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron wants nothing to do with the propaganda and openly declares that he will not attend the opening ceremony.

Some opponents of China are clamoring for a boycott of the Olympics because of the human rights situation or Darfur or whatever they don't like about China. Their voices would have been much weaker if the Chinese government hadn't hyped the Olympics to extend they did. It may very well be the most important sporting event in four years, but it is still only that, a sporting event. There are many much more important things in the world, which deserve much more attention than the Olympics.

Argh, one more year and 17 days before this Olympic madness will die down.

To tell the world

2007-08-07T14:53:00.000+08:00

The Times has published the story of Joe Darby, the American soldier who informed the world about the torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. (The Times: “Why I had to tell the world what they’d done”)

“The photos bothered me,” he told The Times, “because morally they went against everything I knew to be right.” “I knew something had to be done. But I was afraid of retribution,” Darby continues. And retribution would follow. Ex-secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld deviously congratulated him by name, and now Joe Darby is on the run, his life in danger because the torturers in the U.S. army accuse him of betrayal. They don't want the truth to be known, so they can continue to torture and murder innocent Iraqi civilians and resistance fighters.

When Joe Darby arrived back in the U.S. a lieutenant-colonel told him: “No, you don't understand son, you can't go home. You'll never be able to go home.”

On the other hand, those who wantonly murder Iraqi civilians do go home. The majority will never even be reprimanded, some will be discharged from the army and get on with their lives and yes, a very few will even see the inside of a prison cell. Pfc. Jesse Spielman was sentenced to 110 years in prison for the rape of a 14-year old girl and the murder of her and her family, but ... could be paroled after ten years.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. (The Guardian: “The US arsenal lost in Iraq”) That's during a period in time when General David Petraeus was responsible for security training, the same guy who is now leading the surge and is expected to report on its progress in September to war-criminal-in-chief George W. Bush. At a time when Washington is accusing Iran of arming the “bad guys” and seems ever more ready to strike Iran – perhaps even with nuclear weapons – the resistance's best arms supplier is the Pentagon itself.

And finally, a study shows that 8 million Iraqis – nearly a third of the population – need immediate emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. (CounterPunch: “Still Getting It Wrong: The New York Times and Iraq”)

And some say the situation in Iraq is getting better...

Ban the bomb!

2007-08-06T13:01:00.000+08:00

Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hirsohima, one of the United States' major war crimes. The human toll, including deaths from radiation sickness, has now officially reached 253,008. That's more than 84 times the death toll of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Those who defend the bombing say it saved the lives of thousands of allied soldiers and speeded up the capitulation of Japan. Saving the lives of allied soldiers does not justify the cold-blooded murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians in enemy territory. (CNN: “Japan commemorates Hiroshima dead”)

OK, the U.S. had a new toy and wanted to show it to the world in a display of “shock and awe”. First of all, Japan was already prepared to negotiate a surrender if the U.S. would have agreed to Japan's request to keep its emperor or if the Soviet Union would have declared war on Japan a little earlier. Atomic pyrotechnics were not essential to speed up the process. Secondly, the U.S. could have exploded an atomic bomb over the ocean or in a sparsely populated area to demonstrate its might and warned that – in the absence of a speedy capitulation – large population centers would be targeted. Instead, Harry Truman decided to murder hundreds of thousands of civilians. What's even worse, not once, but twice. Following the horrors of Hiroshima, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later.

Dropping the bombs had very little to do with Japan. It was a show of strength to warn America's new enemy: the Soviet Union.

So what's the status today? By signing the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970, the nuclear powers promised to significantly reduce their nuclear arsenals. The main culprit remains the U.S. Three of the original Big Five powers – the U.K., France and China – only have small nuclear arsenals, forces de frappe to respond to a nuclear attack, but without the overwhelming force to take on the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia. Following the demise of the Soviet Union, much of Russia's nuclear assets have fallen into disrepair, neglect reducing its potency.

That leaves the U.S. with an arsenal capable to destroy the whole planet several times over. Washington doesn't take any option of the table, which means it remains ready to actually use once again the atom bomb, now much more devastating in its destructive power compared to the baby bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Moreover, the U.S. is still developing newer, more advanced, more destructive nuclear bombs. The average annual spending on nuclear weapons by the U.S. during the Cold War was 4.2 billion in current dollars. This year the figure is 6.4 billion.

Freedom of speech is a holy concept, but it's repulsive that some still have the criminal audacity to defend the use of nuclear weapons. (The Guardian: “Terrible, but not a crime”) This is unacceptable. Oliver Kamm should be prosecuted for advocating war crimes.

Those who want to read more about the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can turn to Gar Alperovitz's masterpiece “The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb”. Or view the HBO documentary “White Light/Black Rain” (truthout: “HBO Airs A-Bomb Footage Kept From Media for Decades”)

On this August 6, let's all unite to Ban the Bomb!

The Embassy

2007-08-05T13:39:00.000+08:00

Yes, we can call it THE EMBASSY, the largest in the world, representing the sole superpower in its most recent colonial dependency. Costing 300 million pounds or 445 million euros or 613 million dollars, a cluster of 21 high-rise towers occupying 104 acres on the west bank of the River Tigris, to house 3,000 staff. Still under construction, the American embassy in Baghdad is to become the biggest in the world. Incredible isn't it? Are relations with Iraq the most important of all to the U.S., requiring its biggest diplomatic mission on earth? More important than its relations with Russia, the European Union or China? What's more, the embassy is being build with slave labor. (The Times: “‘Kidnapped’ Filipinos build US embassy”)

In March 2006, 51 Filipinos boarded a flight in Kuwait, having been issued boarding cards for Dubai, contracted by First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting to build skyscrapers in the Gulf. In fact, they were smuggled past Kuwaiti security, victims of human traffickers. Ten minutes into the flight they were told they were heading to Baghdad, kidnapped to the most dangerous place on earth, incarcerated in the Green Zone, forced to help build America's biggest and most glorious embassy, kept under control on the plane by a submachine toting security guard of their employer. Conditions in the concentration camp in the Green Zone were the kidnapped workers were performing forced labor were “deplorable, beyond what any man should tolerate”, one U.S. expert testified.

The Democratic chairman of the House oversight committee, Henry Wax-man, admitted: “The project has been beset by allegations that the prime contractor, First Kuwaiti, has used forced labor to build the embassy, violating the laws against human trafficking and sending exactly the wrong message to Iraq and the rest of the world about U.S. respect for human rights.”

An inspector of the U.S. State Department has investigated the case and found nothing wrong. The U.S. government and its commander-in-chief is guilty of kidnapping, human trafficking, the organization of slave labor, conducting fake investigations, violations of human rights, and of course war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed every minute since the invasion in March 2003.

More of the same

2007-08-04T13:44:00.001+08:00

The U.S. Democrats are meekly trying to bring the troops home from a disastrous war in Iraq while at the same time giving Bush more money to continue the bloodshed. The Democrats are also as eager as the Republicans to start a war against Iran. Here comes one of the Democrat hopefuls for the presidency, Barack Obama, declaring that he would invade Pakistan – even without the agreement of its president Pervez Musharraf – to hunt al-Qaeda leaders in the North-West Frontier area. (The Times: “Obama willing to invade Pakistan in al-Qaeda hunt")

It seems that even if the American people elect a Democrat president in November 2008, far from stopping the aggressive wars, it will only be more of the same.

In order to brush up his credentials as commander-in-chief, Obama suggested a pre-emptive military action that even Bush has refused to order because it would plunge the whole of Pakistan into a war of resistance against American aggression. The Pakistani government – an “ally” in America's “war on terror” - reacted angrily. It seems, apart from the Israeli Zionists, the U.S. is unable to keep any friends in the Middle East.

Offering to meet with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea is meant to win votes to his left, while suggesting to strike in Pakistan is aimed a winning converts on his right. Unprincipled speeches to try to win as many votes as possible are sending a confusing message that will do Obama no good.

Tofu projects

2007-08-03T14:30:00.000+08:00

The U.S. is regularly accusing China of poor craftsmanship, exporting poisonous products and building shoddy projects. Indeed, there are a lot of “tofu” projects in China, built by unscrupulous contractors offering bribes to gullible officials. Roads, buildings and bridges age in a couple of years because substandard materials were used so contractors and corrupt officials could line their pockets.

But the U.S. authorities should not throw the first stone. Are all the roads, building and bridges in the U.S. safe and up to standard? The catastrophic collapse of the bridge over the Mississippi in Minneapolis showed this not to be the case. What's more, the American Society of Civil Engineers reports that as of 2003, there were about 160,570 bridges deemed structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The number represented 27.1% of America's bridges.

Obviously, not enough funds are earmarked to repair defective infrastructure. The U.S. prefers to throw away its money in Iraq. Shouldn't a so-called “democratic” government overseeing a market economy be able to allocate funds where they are most needed? Some American economists are accusing the Chinese government of distorting the free market economy are thereby misallocating funds. The U.S. government is also misallocating its funds, letting the country's infrastructure crumble in a pile of debris. The “terrorists” didn't even have to lift a finger.

More arms for more war

2007-08-02T13:45:00.000+08:00

The U.S. government has decided to sell billions of dollars worth of arms to its so-called allies in the Middle East. Zionists and Sunni Arab states will be armed to the teeth to counter what the U.S. perceives as an emerging Shia alliance of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and its Sunni Hamas ally. Saudi Arabia will get 20 billion dollars worth of armaments in the coming decade. That is how Bush is spreading “democracy” in the Middle East, arming one of the most brutal royal dictatorships, where there are no elections worth the name and where women are prohibited to drive a car. Never mind that the majority of 9/11 hijackers had a Saudi passport and the U.S. must reluctantly agree that Saudi Arabia is playing a counterproductive role in Iraq. (The New York Times: "U.S. Arms Plan for Mideast Aims to Counter Iranian Power") (Time: "Slow Going for Rice in Jerusalem")

If Saudi Arabia gets the goodies, Israel must also be rewarded with an increase in military aid from USD9.1 billion in the past decade to USD30.4 billion in the coming decade. Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states also get their share. What is the U.S. trying to achieve? It is preparing a war on Iran to completely destabilize the whole of the Middle East and wants its allies to be well armed to lend a hand.

The U.S. may very well be arming the governments of the Arab states, but they have forgotten that the real power is in the hands of the peoples of the Middle East. The U.S. could rather easily drive Saddam Hussein from power but is now mired in an unwinnable war in Iraq because the Iraqi people is resisting the occupation.

Selling more weapons to its client states in the Middle East will not save the U.S. from utter defeat. Bombs and fighter jets can rain destruction on the innocent but will never be able to win the war. Power comes out of the barrel of a gun – and in the 21st century also out of roadside bombs. These simple weapons of the people can defeat the most expensive hardware the U.S. can deliver. The U.S. is working itself into deeper trouble from which it will not be able to extricate itself.

PLA turns 80

2007-08-01T13:17:00.000+08:00

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) turns 80 today. On August 1, 1927, during the Nanchang Uprising, a ragtag army was born, called the Red Army. It withstood five blockades by the Kuomintang and embarked on the legendary Long March, during which it was literally decimated. The purpose of the trek north was to fight against Japanese aggression. Who could have thought that the remnants of the Red Army arriving in Yan'an would not only successfully expel the Japanese aggressors, but also win a civil war against the stronger and better equipped Kuomintang army?

The Chinese people had never seen such an army. Instead of plundering, they fought for the people. If they took anything from the people, they politely requested it and paid for it. Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the PLA won the “hearts and minds” of the Chinese people. It fought its way to Beijing, where Mao announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. The PLA heroically fought against American aggression in Korea and played an important role during the Cultural Revolution in reestablishing order out of chaos. Although the number of its members has declined from 6.2 million in 1951 to 2.3 million today, the PLA is still the largest army in the world.

Its assault on the people of Beijing starting on June 3, 1989 will never be forgotten, but will also never be repeated. Today, the PLA is a much more professional fighting force, with a strategic missile force, nuclear attack submarines, oceangoing missile destroyers and supersonic fighter jets. This week, a PLA contingent is preparing for the first ever joint maneuvers in Russia, in the area of Chelyabinsk. Of course the U.S. is getting nervous. With a strong PLA, it cannot bully the Chinese nation.

Welcome Angelica!

2007-07-31T12:00:00.000+08:00

The Belgian police and the Foreigners' Affairs Service (DVZ) tried to repatriate Ana Cajamarca and her 11-year old daughter Angelica because they were staying in the country illegally. Ecuadoran Ana arrived with her husband on a tourist visa and stayed on, already for four years. The parents of Angelica are now separated and each has a new partner, both having the Belgian nationality.

Ana is not a political refugee, she was fleeing poverty in her Ecuadoran homeland, hoping to give chances for a better life to her daughter. After a complaint to the police that “foreigners” were walking down the street, mother and daughter were picked up and immediately incarcerated in a closed center for illegal immigrants, 127bis in Steenokkerzeel, close to Brussels airport. The Belgian authorities are locking up children behind bars because their parents don't have the right papers in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. When police tried to transfer Ana and Angelica first to Brussels Airport and subsequently by car to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, they handcuffed Ana and brutally threw Angelica back into a car when they tried to escape. A doctor certified Ana's injuries.

At the eleventh hour a judge decided that both should be released immediately, to the utter frustration of the police and the fascist administrators of the Foreigners' Affairs Service. The police convoy on the way to Amsterdam had to turn back, while minister of the interior Patrick Dewael tried to subvert justice and convince the convoy's commander to continue to Schiphol.

Dewael and minister of Foreign Affairs De Gucht are liberal party members, trumpeting at each opportunity the freedom of the individual. But when a mother and daughter want to stay in Belgium to work hard for a better life, they condone the use of Gestapo practices to expel them. The Belgian wife of the Ecuadoran president accused the Belgian authorities of Gestapo practices. Later on, she retracted her words and De Gucht issued an indignant rebuttal and called the Ecuadoran ambassador for a dressing down.

Dewael and De Gucht are trying to wriggle themselves into the next Belgian government. They should be dismissed immediately from the current caretaker government and arrested for infringement of the human rights of innocent people, illegal detention, brutalities, lies and slander. The wantonly trampled under foot the European Convention on Human Rights and are getting away with it.

They claim to be liberals, uttering sweet words. Their deeds show they are fascists.

In the early 20th century, tens of thousands of Belgians fled poverty to the U.S. and Canada to seek a better life. Today we should welcome foreigners seeking a better life in Belgium. Abolish the borders! Welcome Ana and Angelica!

Abe's crushing defeat

2007-07-30T10:58:00.000+08:00

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a crushing defeat in upper house elections. Together with its coalition party New Komeito, the LDP only managed to grab 46 seats as it needed 64 seats to keep it majority in the House of Councillors. Half of the upper house's 242 were up fro grabs in Sunday's election. Former prime ministers who suffered similar defeats stepped down, but Abe declared that he would cling to power as his LDP still has a majority in the lower house. But his LDP colleagues will start getting nervous. They don't want to see a similar defeat at the next elections. While the Japanese parliament cannot force Shinzo Abe from power, the LDP could by choosing a new chairman.

Abe's government wanted to ramp up nationalist sentiment by embellishing Japan's past, rewriting the pacifist constitution and giving its army more leeway in missions abroad. The majority of the Japanese people don't care about this. They care about bread-and-butter topics like the economy, pensions, wages and unemployment. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) cleverly played up these themes and won big in the upper house. Now it will be able to delay or even block legislation tabled by the LDP.

Except for an 11 month intermezzo, the LDP has been continuously in power since its founding in 1955. The Japanese people want change. Shinzo Abe is paying the price. After 10 months in office, he is struggling to pass the one year mark. (The New York Times: “Governing Party in Japan Suffers Election Defeat”) (The Times: “Revenge of the middle classes sends Japan’s ruling party to historic defeat”) (The Guardian: “Japanese PM vows to stay despite poll disaster”)

Stupid fools

2007-07-29T13:57:00.000+08:00

If you want to have a good laugh at the incredible stupid incompetence of certain journalists, or their criminal intent for that matter, you only have to turn to the pages or the website of the Washington Times. The paper's Bill Gertz is claiming that China is arming both sides in Iraq by concluding a deal with the government of Nuri al-Maliki to deliver small arms and by supplying shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, which end up in the hands of Iraqi insurgents. (The Washington Times: "China arms both sides")

Now let's see... Iran is actually supporting the current Iraqi government, because it is led by Shiites. al-Maliki has visited Tehran and met with Iranian president Ahmadinejad. So if China is indeed arming the al-Maliki government and Iran, it is supporting one side only, unless the Washington Post can prove that China is also arming the Sunni insurgents. Ah yes, but it does, says Gertz... because the insurgents are capturing arms from the Iraqi government. That's a pretty piece of mind boggling logic. The insurgents are no doubt also capturing weapons from the American occupiers, which by the same logic proves that Bush is arming the insurgents fighting “America's glorious men and women in uniform put in harm's way”.

An anonymous American official ads that “the Iraqi government needs to better understand that the U.S. military is fighting and dying to give their nation the opportunity for a free and open society and government,” and therefore shouldn't buy arms from China. Yeah right, the 650,000 Iraqis murdered as a result of the American occupation will not have the privilege to enjoy this “free and open society” which 2 million other Iraqis have fled and where you are more likely to encounter a suicide bomber at the next street corner than return safely home.

Richard Fisher, a China specialist with the International Assessment and Strategy Center added that “from oil deals now to arms deals, we are allowing China to benefit from the stability earned with American blood.” Which idiot could be brain-damaged enough to mention Iraq and stability in the same sentence, let alone stability earned with American blood? The American military is doing nothing but creating instability, chaos and carnage all over the world.

For good measure, Bill Gertz adds that the United States will need its nuclear weapons for the foreseeable future. He quotes Steve Henry, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters as saying that “China is building new strategic nuclear forces and the buildup cannot be ignored.” Of course, a statement without any proof to back it up. China has a small nuclear deterrent force sufficient to retaliate, but is certainly not expanding it. Moreover, China is the only nuclear power which has solemnly declared that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons and will never use them against non-nuclear states.

The propaganda machine of the Washington Times is continuously churning out lies, nonsense and incitement to war crimes. Press freedom should be as extensive as possible, but the Washington Times is crossing a red line.

The new empire

2007-07-28T13:53:00.001+08:00

Michael Gorbachev presided over the demise of one empire – the former Soviet Union – and is now lamenting the rise of another – the new American empire. The United States is “sowing disorder across the world by seeking to build an empire,” he said. “World leadership by a single power, and what followed? What has followed are unilateral actions, what has followed are wars, what has followed is ignoring the U.N. Security Council, ignoring international law and ignoring the will of the people, even the American people. It is a massive strategic mistake: no single center can command the entire world, no one. Current America has made so many mistakes.” (Reuters: "Russia's Gorbachev says U.S. is sowing world disorder")

Ah yes, Gorbachev seems to have second thoughts on breaking up the Soviet Union and ending up with the American empire ruling the world. Gorbachev, who is deeply unpopular in Russia, now also risks to lose his credibility with his American friends. Although what he is saying now is right, it is too little too late. To his eternal shame, he left the world in the grip of the American empire. Destroying Soviet social imperialism was the right thing to do. But Gorbachev could have steered the Soviet Union back on the path of Marxist development instead of leaving the fate of Russia in the hand of a capitalist drunkard like Yeltsin.

Now, Gorbachev can lament as much as he likes. He had the power to destroy the Soviet empire, but he lacks the power to destroy the American empire. He is just shouting in the desert.

Chen in deep trouble

2007-07-27T19:33:00.000+08:00

It doesn't look good for ex-comrade Chen Liangyu, former politburo member and Shanghai party secretary. Yesterday he was formally kicked out of the party. He's no longer Mr secretary, not even a comrade anymore, just a commoner standing accused of an impressive list of crimes. (China Daily: “Former Shanghai Party chief sacked from CPC, gov't posts”)

Chen funneled money from Shanghai's social security fund into private investment projects; used his authority to approve projects and investments – at a price; let his family members profit handsomely from his corrupt practices, while at the same time courting up to 11 mistresses. Ex-comrade Chen truly had a busy life. A life that is now in mortal danger.

His trial will no doubt be held in the coming months, certainly before the 17th party congress is convened in October. The crimes of which he stands accused certainly merit the death penalty, but it would be very unusual if it would be carried out on a former politburo member. Still, his former politburo colleagues might see the need of setting an example – killing the chicken to scare the monkeys – to show that anybody, never mind how high up in the hierarchy, will be prosecuted if found guilty of corruption. As general secretary Hu Jintao has said on many occasions, the fight against corruption is a life and death struggle for the party. It's also a life and death struggle for those convicted of corruption. The next months will show whether Chen Liangyu will win his last struggle to spend the rest of his life in prison and later on under house arrest or if he will get the ultimate corruption award: the executioner's bullet.

The end of the Tour

2007-07-26T17:25:00.000+08:00

The cycling race “Tour de France” is becoming a complete mockery. All the cyclists know that taking forbidden substances is not allowed. But in quick succession Vinokourov, Moreni and even the yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen have been caught. The French press has declared the Tour to be death. France Soir and Libération have stopped covering the Tour and are not publishing race results anymore.

The basic flaw is not really medical, but rather commercial. Too much money is involved. The Flemish city of Gent paid a huge amount just to host the finish of one race. Sponsors are spending millions, increasing the pressure on their team to win. The race is becoming ever more difficult. Taking forbidden substances or blood transfusions becomes very attractive. Some are calling for a legalization of doping, but that would open the door to even more hanky-panky. If you allow doping it is the health of the cyclists which will be endangered.

The answer is to keep the aggressive anti-doping tests to screen out the cheaters on the one hand, and reduce the money element on the other hand. Throw out the advertising on the cyclists shirts. If companies want to sponsor, the can sponsor the Tour, not individual teams. With less commercial pressure to win at all costs, taking forbidden substances will lose its attractiveness.

China and terror

2007-07-25T19:42:00.000+08:00

Economics professor M. Shahid Alam of Northeastern University draws an interesting parallel between Chinese resistance during the Second Opium War and modern-day Islamic “terrorists”. His historical point of reference is an article written by Friedrich Engels, co-author with Karl Marx of the Communist Manifesto. (Counterpunch: “Islam Now, China Then”)

Muslims are accused of insanity, brutal indiscriminate violence and suicide attacks against innocent civilians. Well, argues Alam, “a little history is connecting Islam today to China in the middle of the nineteenth century”. In May 1857 during the Second Opium War, Engels had an article published in the New York Daily Tribune. The Chinese, he describes, were fighting back with every possible means at their disposal against the colonial invaders, poisoning the bread of Europeans in Hong Kong, massacring crews and passengers on trading vessels, coolies fighting till the end in a show of “fanaticism”.

“European statesmen and newspapers fulminated endlessly about Chinese barbarity, calling their attacks “cowardly, barbarous, atrocious”. The Europeans too called for more wars, endless wars, till China could be subdued, totally.” Engels quickly unearthed the root cause of this barbarism: the source of this “universal outbreak of all Chinese against all foreigners was the piratical policy of the British government.” The Chinese could not match the military power of the Western countries, so they used asymmetrical warfare, targeting the West's weak points – just like today's Islamic “terrorists” are doing. The Muslims are also waging a popular war “for dignity and sovereignty”. Ultimately the West didn't succeed in splintering China into a hundred fiefdoms. Today, China is a peaceful, rising power. The West today is indeed still succeeding in splintering the Muslim world into a hundred fiefdoms – and the Muslim peoples are fighting back, with everything they have, including terror.

How to win the war on terror? Eliminate the root cause: the foreign policy of American imperialism and its followers.

Shahid Alam has also published a new book: “Challenging the New Orientalism: Dissenting Essays on the "War Against Islam".

The way ahead

2007-07-24T18:38:00.000+08:00

In the run up to the 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, reformers and orthodox communists are trying to influence the leadership. The website Maoflag has become a gathering place for those who argue that China has become too capitalistic. The website published an open letter to the leadership, but this was quickly removed. A certain level of debate is tolerated, but open defiance of the policies of the Central Committee is still touchy.

On the other side of the political divide are the reformers, who argue that political reform is going too slowly and China should speed up the introduction of direct elections.

The debate is becoming much more lively thanks to the internet. In the past it would have been nearly impossible to have such a wide range of opinions published. Readers online can moreover add their comments to the stories. While websites are also monitored, what is tolerated on the web is much broader than what is tolerated online.

In the months ahead, the debate will certainly intensify. But the central leadership will no doubt stick to the middle ground: no return to communist orthodoxy, but also no far-reaching political reforms.

Singing PM-to-be

2007-07-23T16:07:00.000+08:00

Yves Leterme has been minister-president of Flanders. But as the June general election approached, he wanted to play ball on the federal level. He resigned as minister-president, ran a campaign with promises of more powers for Flanders, garnered 800,000 votes behind his name and became Belgium's prime minister to be.

Yves Leterme wanted to switch from the Flemish regional level to the Belgian federal level, because – so he said – more powers have to be transferred from the federal to the regional level in order for Flanders to be able to conduct good governance. In the meantime, he compiled a dossier that will serve as the basis for discussions to form a new government. Whether he will be able to transfer more powers to Flanders remains to be seen as all French-speaking parties are against such a policy.

For Leterme the switch to the federal level didn't go very smooth when on Belgium's national day he couldn't recall the event in the past that is remembered on July 21 (the coronation of Belgium's first king Leopold I). That's not really a shame, most people don't know. But a future prime minister should presumably be able to sing the country's national anthem. Leterme blundered by singing the first part of the Marseillaise instead of the Brabanconne. Belgium once again was the laughing stock in the foreign press.

Belgium is more and more becoming a fiction. People identify themselves with Flanders, Brussels or Wallonia. Who needs a Belgian national anthem?

Blundering spies

2007-07-22T15:47:00.000+08:00

Ever since the end of the Second World War, the C.I.A. has been considered to be the ultimate spy agency, together perhaps with the Mossad. The James Bond's of the C.I.A. were professional spies, turning up all sorts of secrets all over the world. In “Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA”, Tim Weiner thoroughly debunks this myth. In 1971, Henry Kissinger told Zhou Enlai that the competence of the CIA was being vastly overestimated. Evan Thomas sums it all up in this book review. Here is another one by Michael Beschloss, both published in the New York Times.

The C.I.A.'s spies were picked up by the dozen in the Soviet Union and China. The agency did not foresee the explosion of the Soviet atom bomb, the Korean War, uprisings in Eastern Europe, the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba, the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait or India's nuclear bomb explosion. Even its successes turned out to be failures. In 1963, the C.I.A. backed a coup in Iraq: it ultimately brought Saddam Hussein to power.

The C.I.A.'s analysis is fatally flawed by a lack of agents speaking foreign languages and understanding the history and culture of their target countries. This is even more so for those agents who try to directly meddle in the affairs of other countries. When the Berlin Wall fell, the leader of the C.I.A.'s Soviet division watched CNN...

For those who oppose U.S. imperialism, it's good to know that the C.I.A. is just a bunch of idiots. As Thomas notes, Weiner “paints what may be the most disturbing picture of C.I.A. ineptitude.” It may take some time, but ultimately, the truth surfaces.

Potter-mania

2007-07-21T15:08:00.000+08:00

Today, the final book of the Harry Potter series goes on sale all over the world, with long cues at midnight for bookstores to open. This mania is a bit over the top. Those Potter fans can't even wait till the morning to rush to the bookstore. Most of them will only read the first chapter during the night. The rest and the final episode will have to wait for tomorrow anyway.

The Potter books are fiction and fiction has its place in literature. But this good-versus-evil, us-versus-them paradigm is not very appropriate. Bush will like it of course: playing the role of Harry Potter against the Voldemort terrorists. The real world is a bit more complicated. Underlying causes need to be analyzed. Some good guys are using bad methods to wage their struggle. One's good guy is another one's bad guy. Who is good and who is bad? And all the shades of gray in between?

The real world is much more complicated than a mere fantasy. But it can be equally, if not more, fascinating. I can't bring myself to read the Potter books. Time is a valuable commodity. There are only 24 hours in a day. Better don't spend them in a fantasy world.

Blistering growth

2007-07-20T14:03:00.000+08:00

The Chinese economy grew 11.5% in the first half of the year. Inflation is also on the rise, with the CPI going up 4.4% in June, a 28-month high. Consumption is rising and fixed-asset investment slowing down a bit, but investment and exports are still the main drivers of economic growth. The central bank is raising interest rates, lowering taxes on interest income and increasing the banks' reserve ratio to reign in excessive lending. The central government is aware of the problem and trying by all means to do something about it. There is now even talk of taxing exports.

The bottom line is, however, that each and every local government or party leader wants the economy in his locality to grow as fast as possible, because high growth means prosperity. Cooling down measures are meant for somebody else. If this mindset doesn't change, the blistering growth will continue.

The problem with high growth Chinese style is that energy is wasted and the environment suffers. While double-digit growth rates seem to be sustainable, the underlying growth is not. Until other goals besides GDP-growth are deemed equally or even more important, the blistering growth will continue. But someday, the laws of capitalism will take their toll. The ghost of overproduction is rearing its head. When it does, the leaders will perhaps rediscover Marx.

Rebel soldier

2007-07-19T13:32:00.000+08:00

Saturday, Pottermania will break out again all over the world. There's nothing wrong with escaping into a fantasy world from time to time, but basically it's a waste of time. There are so many things to learn about the real world. Moreover, they can also be a page-turner. Pick up “Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejía” and it will be difficult to put the book down before turning the last page.

A good book review is “From Foot Soldier of Empire to Rebel for Peace – Camilo Mejía's War”.

Camilo Mejía was born into a Nicaraguan Sandinista family and ended up in Miami, struggling to juggle attending college and working odd jobs to pay for it. Like so many other young men and women, he was tempted to sign up for the army, lured by promises of scholarships to put him through college, earn a decent degree and start a career. Camilo ended up in the Florida National Guard, but as a non-citizen, he could not serve more than 8 years in the U.S. military. Never mind, the army broke its own rules. Camilo's contract was supposed to end in May 2003, but in January 2003 it was illegally extended through a “stop-loss order” till... 2031. Worse was still to come: Camilo ended up in Iraq, in Ar Ramadi in the center of the Sunni triangle.

He tried to be a good soldier, but the brutality and racism of his fellow soldiers, the immorality of his superiors who send them into battle with the only aim of earning medals for themselves, the illegal detention camps where Iraqi prisoners were humiliated, the deliberate murder of Iraqi civilians ... all this made Camilo turn into a rebel soldier. He applied for a two-week leave to the U.S. never to return to Iraq. After staying AWOL for five months, he surrendered to the military to avoid charges of desertion, but was still court-martialed and sentenced to nine months in prison.

Camilo Mejía was illegally retained in the army, fought for justice and was thrown into prison, while the war criminals Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Powell and Rice go unpunished. American injustice for all to see.

Slave owners get away

2007-07-18T18:55:00.000+08:00

Some of the bosses responsible for keeping children and adults in slave-like conditions, locked-up, deprived of adequate food and made to work without pay, have been sentenced. (China Daily: “One gets death in kiln slavery scandal”)

But it is surprising that only one man got the death penalty, because he killed one of the workers. So he was convicted for murder. All the others, including the owner of one of the kilns, got lighter sentences. Boss Wang Bingbing only got nine years in prison. It is practically a license to continue the practice of slavery! How is this possible? The local judges were probably also involved in the slave trade and wanted to shield their fellow criminals. In such a high profile case, the criminals should be brought to Beijing and tried by a special court. If they get tried in the locality where they perpetrated their crimes, corrupt judges will make sure they get off lightly. Even some Chinese law experts say the punishments were “lenient”. Not only the slavery scandal itself is a blot on socialist China, as Shanxi Provincial Court vice president Liu Jimin said, the lenient punishment is even a larger blot.

33 officials have been removed from their government or party posts and 62 received disciplinary warnings. They shielded slavery through corruption or dereliction of duty and got off lightly. The Shanxi party and government leadership itself should take the blame. Far from promoting socialist production, they condoned slavery. There are reports that several, perhaps tens or hundreds of slavery kilns are still in business and thousands of people – including children – are still treated as slaves. Protected by corrupt officials and the police. The central government should sent in elite troops to break up this mess, instead of relying on local cadres.

The rule of law doesn't work in China because the judiciary system is corrupt and rotten to the core, to such an extent that in a so-called “communist” country, slave owners are barely punished. Imagine what Chairman Mao's Revolutionary Red Guards would have done with the slave owners.

North Korean shut-down

2007-07-17T18:35:00.000+08:00

North Korea has shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon after having received the first shipment of 6,200 tons of fuel oil. Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have verified the shut-down and installed monitoring equipment to ensure that the reactor is not being restarted. (The Guardian: “Nuclear distraction”), (The New York Times: “Inspectors Check North Korean Nuclear Reactor”), (The Independent: “A better way to defuse Pyongyang's nuclear bomb”)

I have always argued that North Korea has the right to develop nuclear weapons as long as those nations which already possess nuclear weapons do nothing to reduce and finally eliminate their arsenals. But it is not because you have a right to do something, that you also have to do it. The shutdown of the Yongbyon reactor is a welcome development. But it is of course only the beginning and not the end of the process. Will North Korea declare its (perhaps non-existent) uranium enrichment program? Will it give up the atom bombs it has already developed.

Some say the reactor shut-down is a success for the Bush diplomacy. Nothing is further from the truth. Clinton was already negotiating with the North Koreans and even contemplating a visit just before he stepped down as president. The problem could have been solved years ago, without the North Koreans developing nuclear weapons. And even if Kim Jong-il turns out to be willing to give up his nukes, he will surely exact a high price.

The only thing you can say is that in this case Bush did not try to solve the problem by going to war. The reason is he couldn't because of the vicinity of China. He was forced by the circumstances to use diplomacy, not because he choose to do so. In the end, a peace treaty will have to be signed to formally end the Korean War. The American president will have to shake hands with the North Korean chairman. That at least is a duty Bush will be happy to leave to his successor.

The Iran War

2007-07-16T17:37:00.000+08:00

One would assume that two disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are more than enough even for a supreme imperialist power like the U.S. The costs of the two wars are escalating and the troops are stretched to the limit. Rotations are postponed, tours of duties extended, National Guard troops unavailable for crises at home. No exactly a situation conducive to launching another war.

And still... Dick Cheney is pushing Bush to act on Iran, because “he is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo.” (The Guardian: "Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran")

Few really believe that the U.S. will start bombing Iran and send in ground forces. No sane person would even contemplate it. The more so because it is completely unnecessary. As far as anyone knows, Iran is not developing a nuclear bomb, but even if it was, it would still take several years and on top of that why would Israel, Pakistan and India be allowed to have nuclear weapons, but not Iran.

There really is no justification whatsoever for whatever military action against Iran. And still, Cheney is pushing, because leaving this task to the next president may spoil the opportunity. There are already two aircraft carrier groups and almost half of the U.S.'s 277 warships in the vicinity of Iran, ready to strike. Tellingly, Israel has offered the Jews living in Iran from 5,000 pounds for an person to 30,000 pounds for a family to relocate to Israel. (The Guardian: "Iran's Jews reject cash offer to move to Israel") Better get the Jews out first before the bombing starts. Unfortunately for the Zionists, the Society of Iranian Jews declared that “the identity of Iranian Jews is not tradeable for any amount of money”. They prefer to continue to live in the Islamic Republic – and run the risk of being bombed – rather than relocate to the Jewish state, which once again proves that not every Jew is a Zionist.

I believe the U.S. will sooner rather than later attack Iran. One has to be fully aware of the possibility in order to better fight to try to prevent it. But if the Iran War does take place, it will probably ring in the final demise of American imperialism.

Bush... a winner???

2007-07-15T16:28:00.000+08:00

Anybody writing an opinion piece entitled “Why Bush Will Be A Winner” (Washington Post) must be insane or have criminal intentions. William Kristol is probably insane and has criminal intentions. What are his arguments for calling Bush a winner?

Kristol praises Bush because there has not been a second terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. This “achievement” is build on quicksand, it can vanish any day.

Second, Kristol claims the economy is strong. Not so. The U.S. government is paying itself to death financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. America only survives on borrowed money.

Third, argues Kristol, on the war in Iraq “we now seem to be on course to a successful outcome”. Where he gets that idea? Shouldn't he be listening to the men and women in uniform with their boots on the ground in Iraq? They could tell him a different story. And the war in Afghanistan “going reasonably well”? Well, the output of opium is rising and the number of suicide bombings is increasing. And of course Kristol once again claims Saddam Hussein had connections with al-Qaeda. The truth is al-Qaeda couldn't get a foothold in Iraq under Saddam, while today Iraq is its main recruiting and training base.

Some people even forget their own words. In April 2003, Kristol wrote: “The battles of Afghanistan and Iraq have been won decisively.” Today, the first is “going reasonably well” and as to the second “we now seem to be on course to a successful outcome”. What happened to those decisive victories?

Some people will always refuse to see the truth. Nobody should believe them. And a newspaper like the Washington Post shouldn't print such nonsense.

Kristol concludes “If Petraeus succeeds in Iraq, and a Republican wins in 2008, Bush will be viewed as a successful president”. Petraeus, nor any other American commander will ever win in Iraq, that is an absolute certainty written in marble. As for a Republican win in 2008, who is willing to bet on that?

20 years after martial law

2007-07-14T15:55:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow, 20 years ago on July 15, 1987 martial law was officially lifted in Taiwan. It had taken effect on May 20, 1949, right after the Nationalist army of Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan. That means martial law was in effect for more than 38 years. All those who chant the praises of Taiwan as a beacon of democracy in the Chinese world should not forget the long years of martial law, when in fact there was more freedom in mainland China than in Taiwan. Hundreds were executed and thousands imprisoned, many of them innocent. Chen Shui-bian's DPP even claims that 8,000 were executed and 200,000 imprisoned, although the KMT disputes those figures.

Then president Chiang Ching-kuo gave the order to lift martial law six months before he died. The lifting of martial marked the understanding of the Taiwanese authorities that “suppression of the Communist bandits” and “retaking the mainland” would fail. While this could of course be considered to be progress, Chiang's successor Lee Teng-hui gradually steered Taiwan on a course of independence, thereby risking an armed confrontation with the government of the People's Republic of China. So for 38 years under martial law, the authorities who had fled to Taiwan tried (in vain) to reconquer the mainland and topple its government and in the 20 years since, their successors are trying to split Taiwan from the mainland. In both cases they tried to provoke an armed conflict with the legal government of China in Beijing.

Perhaps the time has come for reconciliation, the return of Taiwan under the rule of the government in Beijing. That would be even more significant than the abolition of martial law. Taiwanese premier Chang Chun-hsiung said imposing martial law was a historic blunder that can be pardoned but cannot be forgotten. Declaring Taiwanese independence would be even a bigger blunder, which could not be pardoned nor forgotten.

The food we eat

2007-07-13T15:32:00.000+08:00

Recently there has been a scare about the quality of food products exported from China. The U.S. and the E.U have claimed that fish and other foods have been contaminated. One should not exaggerate. I have been living in China for almost 20 years and only suffered a few times from diarrhea and never got food poisoning. So it can't be that bad. One has the impression that food quality standards are more and more used as a protectionist tool. China can of course also use it, claiming that Perrier mineral water contains too much bacteria.

A fundamental problem is that different countries use different standards. What is classified as a poisonous ingredient in one country is perfectly legal and acceptable in another. With increasing trade and globalization, there is a need for a unified standard of what is poisonous and what is not. To point the finger at China won't help. Still remember the dioxine-tainted chickens in Belgium, which led to the electoral defeat of the outgoing government of Jean-Luc Dehaene?

In China there are indeed unscrupulous food producers who mix dirty stuff because it's cheaper and they can earn a higher profit. The culprit is once again the greedy pursuit of profit. Since China doesn't seem ready to eradicate this evil, the only way to prevent serious repercussions on its international trade is to increase inspections of food (and other products) destined for export. China is doing just that. Scare-mongering by certain elements in the U.S. who have ulterior motives won't help.

PC LInux OS

2007-07-12T14:41:00.000+08:00

After using Mandriva Linux for a couple of months, I have decided to try out PCLinuxOS. At Distrowatch.org, PCLinuxOS is now number 2, behind Ubuntu, but Ubuntu is losing popularity while PCLinuxOS is gaining and set to overtake Ubuntu to become number 1. The fact that PCLinuxOS gained so much popularity in so short a time must mean something. Obviously, they are doing something right.

I had expected more from Mandriva, a Linux distro that makes you become a member of the Mandriva Club (and pay cash) to download. There is nothing wrong with asking for payment, but in return you may at least expect some advantages. Mandriva isn't offering any. A few points of comparison between Mandriva and PCLinuxOS:

+ Mandriva doesn't allow you to log in as root. This is a nuisance, because sometimes you have to do some administrative chores which need root privileges. If you can log in as root, you can use the gui. In Mandriva, you have to do it all at the command line. Not very user friendly.
+ Mandriva doesn't offer video playback (wmv-files) out of the box. You need to install separate codecs and you can only do that as root. You see the problem. Under PCLinuxOS, video playback works right from the start.
+ Mandriva showed my system was completely updated, which it clearly wasn't. PCLinuxOS's system for installing and updating files works better.
Mandriva is a heavier system (over 4GB) while PCLinuxOS still fits on a CD-ROM and is simpler, leaner and meaner. I have the impression it runs faster.
+ The only downside for PCLinuxOS is that there is no 64 bit version, but as the 32 bit version seems to be faster than Mandriva's 64 bit, who cares.

As PCLinuxOS is still gaining in popularity, it will no doubt further improve in the future. Thumbs up!

Flemish national day

2007-07-11T13:57:00.000+08:00

Today, Flanders remembers the battle in 1302 at the Groeningeveld at Kortrijk between a Flemish people's army and the troops of the French king. July 11 has become the national holiday of Flanders, although unlike the Belgian national holiday on July 21, it is not a public holiday.

Flanders had allied itself with England from which it imported wool for its emerging textile industry in the cities of Brugge, Gent and Ieper. But France and England were at war since 1294 and the French king decided to teach Flanders a lesson – or so he thought. Initially he succeeded, but after increasing taxes, the people of Gent and Brugge rebelled and killed the troops of the feudal lord. A French army of 8,500 under the leadership of Robert II of Artois thereafter invaded Flanders, but was routed on July 11 at the Groeningeveld. The Flemish decided not to take any prisoners, although a feudal lord taken prisoner could reap a handsome ransom. The French army was massacred.

It was an epic victory for Flanders, still commemorated today.

On this July 11, 2007 there is still no new Belgian government. Yves Leterme is waiting in the wings to become prime minister, but he is almost certain to again cave in to the French-speaking parties in order to be able to form a government. Leterme has been minister-president of the Flemish regional government and justified his transfer to the federal level by the argument that only on the federal level further powers could be transferred to the regions to enable them to pursue good governance practices. It will soon become clear enough whether he succeeds in transferring more power to the Flemish regional government. Don't bet on it.

Death for greed

2007-07-10T13:24:00.000+08:00

Zheng Xiaoyu, director of China's State Drug Administration from 1998 to 2005 has been executed today in Beijing. He accepted 6.5 million yuan in bribes from pharmaceutical companies to be granted drug licenses. In his defense, Zheng said he only made a “mistake” by accepting the money. The bottom line is, in his greed to get rich, he granted licenses for the sale of fake drugs which led to the death of several people. Can there be anything more despicable than playing with the health of the people to increase your own wealth? (The Independent: Disgraced Chinese food regulator is executed)

Zheng deserved not one, but multiple death penalties. One serious question is how he could have kept up his corrupt practices at the head of an important administration without being denounced. Certainly somebody higher up in the Ministry of Health should also have been punished. What about all his collaborators who knew about the corruption and possibly profited themselves? Only a few have been convicted, many more escaped punishment. And finally, all those bosses of pharmaceutical companies who offered Zheng bribes? We haven't heard of any executions of those criminals.

Ultimately, where's the guarantee that Zheng's successor's hands will remain clean? The bottom line is the corrupt ideology promoted by Deng Xiaoping that “to get rich is glorious”. Those who are getting rich are doing so at the expense of the poor and the environment. The only thing which is glorious is to serve the people. Yes to achieve socialism and communism, the productive forces have to be developed to the fullest extent. But that does not mean letting a small bunch of wheeler-dealers get rich by oppressing and exploiting the people. There is a word for this kind of social system: it's called capitalism.

The Red Mosque

2007-07-09T12:56:00.000+08:00

Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has ordered an assault on the Lal Masjid, the Red Mosque, in the center of Islamabad. The Red Mosque became a nuisance because students kidnapped seven Chinese from an acupuncture clinic (or perhaps a massage parlor). They were freed soon enough, but this led to calls by the Chinese government for better protection of its citizens. There are about 3,000 Chinese working and living in Pakistan. In their view, they are helping an ally and Third World country in its development, helping to build harbors, hospitals and oil fields. But some Pakistanis see them (correctly) as allies of the government. If those people are opposed to the government, the Chinese become easy targets to embarrass it.

That is what happened at the Red Mosque. Now look at it from another angle. We certainly may not like the Deobandi or Wahhabi variety of Islam with its medieval injunctions of no alcohol consumption, no images of living beings, no music or movies and the subservient position of women, forced to be covered from top to toe. But how did the fundamentalist islamist movement in Pakistan came to become so important? First of all it was supported by the state (the army and part of the government). The Taliban in Afghanistan were supported and nurtured by Pakistan's secret service. Many poor people did not have any alternative but to turn to the madrassas for an education, which unfortunately solely focused on the Koran. If the Pakistani government would have done a better job of helping the poor and fight corruption, the madrassas would have had no fertile soil to grow.

Musharraf is wrong to launch an attack on the Red Mosque. It will further aggravate tensions and could possibly lead to the overthrow of the government by parts of the army and the Islamic clergy. It would turn Pakistan into a nuclear armed Taliban-style country. Pervez Musharraf is playing with fire. (South China Morning Post: Chinese targeted to harm ties with Islamabad: analysts)

The plumber

2007-07-08T15:37:00.000+08:00

The king of the Belgians, Albert II, has appointed a negotiator to try to clear the way for Yves Leterme to form a government. The man who is tasked to clear the way is none other than ex-premier Jean-Luc Dehaene, also called the plumber. Yes, the plumber is rather good at fixing things, but the question is whether Belgium needs a plumber to fix the leaking toilets and central heating? Probably not at this time. Belgium needs somebody with vision to chart the course, not a plumber to fix things. The problem is, there is nobody with vision to be found.

Dehaene himself called his mission “impossible”, but added that, like in the movies, missions impossible are usually brought to a happy end. It is nevertheless doubtful that this one will. The Flemish and French-speaking parties are too far apart to be able to form a government. Would-be premier Yves Leterme campaigned on a program of transferring more powers to the regions. If he doesn't deliver, he is going to be bloodied at the next general elections, and even earlier than that, his union with the NV-A will blow up. But the French-speaking parties don't want to have any more powers transferred to the regions, certainly not the MR, which is eager to be part of the next government, because more powers to Wallonia would mean more powers to the PS, which remains the largest party in the south of the country.

Those problems are much too significant for a plumber to fix. Dehaene himself is not very eager this time, because he won't become the next prime minister and he won't get much honor form clearing the way for Leterme even if he succeeds.

Belgium as it exists now has become ungovernable.

Marco Polo Bridge

2007-07-07T14:19:00.000+08:00

70 years ago today, the Japanese engineered the Marco Polo Bridge incident southwest of Beijing as a pretext to launch of full-scale invasion of China. It also started the 8-year War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. In fact, the Marco Polo Bridge incident also marked the start of World War II, although it would still take a few years before hostilities would commence in Europe.

The Japanese invasion led to the fall of Beijing and Tianjin, and at the end of the year 1937 the then capital of China, Nanjing. Nine surviving veterans of the 29th Corps of the Nationalist Army, aged between 87 and 94, commemorated the incident at the bridge, during which more than 5,000 people were killed. (China Daily: A day that pains people even 70 years later)

The event was also commemorated in Taiwan, were presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou saluted the soldiers who fought against the Japanese.

One would hope and think that in the 21st century naked aggression of one country against another would finally belong to the past. In World War II, the United States was one of the allies fighting against the Nazi and Japanese aggression. At the beginning of the 21st century, the U.S. attacked and invaded the sovereign country of Iraq under a false pretext to murder its people and rob the country's oil. 70 years ago the Chinese people resisted the Japanese aggressors and finally defeated them. The Iraqi people will do the same with the Americans. Where there is aggression, there is resistance. Nothing can stop it, not even the dictator in the White House.

Bad bad birthday

2007-07-06T22:18:00.000+08:00

... Mr. President! The world's No 1 war criminal – George W. Bush – turns 61 today. All peace loving peoples and all Americans who still have left an ounce of decency can only wish the president a very very bad birthday. (The Guardian: Congress and Libby give Bush the birthday blues)

It seems he is getting the message. The situation in Iraq is getting worse every day. The surge isn't working and even Republican senators don't want to wait till September to be told the inevitable – that no, because the Iraqi government didn't do its job, the surge didn't work.

Bush can only stick to his disastrous and criminal strategy – like a burned-out potato stuck to the bottom of the pot – because reversing course now, when everybody can clearly see the catastrophe, will not win him any points. Like a black fly who cannot extricate its legs from a mighty piece of shit, Bush is contemplating about his place in history and how future historians will rate him. His place is already reserved before he steps down: the worst president the U.S. has ever had in its entire history – period.

The leader of the 'free and the brave' remains holed up in the White House, at Camp David or Kennebunkport – too afraid to go to a restaurant in Washington D.C. because of the hostile attitude from the American people. He has lost all trust and all capability to govern except as a dictator trampling underfoot the constitution of the United States.

We wish you a bad bad birthday, Mr President.

They hate injustice

2007-07-05T21:48:00.000+08:00

Why do 'they' hate 'us'? Why do 'they' – the Jihadis, the Arabs, the Muslims – hate 'us' – God-fearing Americans who want to bring freedom and democracy to every corner of the world?

“The Blair-Bush message: terror is simply the product of an evil ideology”. (The Guardian: Denial of the link with Iraq is delusional and dangerous) It's 'us' against 'them', freedom and democracy against Islamo-fascism... Bush, Blair and all the commentators who claim that “they hate us because of our freedoms” are the real fascists who want to whip up an anti-terror war to break-down what's left of precisely those freedoms in the West. What is fascism? It is one of the most brutal stages of capitalism, where the bourgeoisie sheds all its false pretenses of democracy and freedom to impose the dictatorship of bureaucrat-capitalism and crush any resistance by the working class. Look at Hitler. Now look at Osama bin Laden. There is much wrong with the guy, but he is not a fascist, not even an islamo-fascist. He is hiding in a corner of a medieval society dreaming about a kaliphate. Nothing fascist about that.

Why is this so called Islamo-fascist ideology flourishing now? Do 'they' attack 'us' because of our lifestyles? Then why doesn't Al-Qaeda attack Amsterdam or Stockholm? Why didn't they attack Britain before the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq?

The simple reason is that they don't attack 'us' because of our freedoms or lifestyles, but because of what the Western powers have done and are still doing in the Middle East: invading and oppressing peoples. 'We' are not bringing 'freedom' and 'democracy' to the Middle East, but only oppression, killings and exploitation. And so 'they' hate 'us'. Rightly so!

“A society can live with kufr (non-believers) but not with injustice,” dismissed Pakistani chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was quoted on the Counterpunch website (Counterpunch: Pakistan's New Jihad by Ayesha Ijaz Khan)

They can live with non-believers – they don't kill us because we are not Muslims; they kill us because we bring injustice upon them. Stop the injustice, and the war on terror will be won, by 'us' and by 'them' – together.

Ian is free!

2007-07-04T14:52:00.000+08:00

The BBC's Gaza correspondent Ian Jonhston was finally released after 114 days in captivity. For a couple of days his live had seemed to be seriously in danger, as his kidnappers, the “Army of Islam”, belonging to Gaza's Dogmush clan threatened to kill him if their demands were not met. At one point they showed Ian in a video wearing a suicide belt. Calls from all over the world went unheeded. But in Gaza itself, something fundamental had changed.

Hamas had driven out the corrupt and treacherous Fatah elements and gained total control of the strip. Hamas wanted Ian Johnston to be free, because he had been the only foreign correspondent reporting from Gaza. Hamas began to heighten the pressure on the Dogmush, surrounding their stronghold and arresting its members. If the Dogmush had killed Johnston, Hamas would probably have eliminated the whole clan. Hamas showed that it had total power in Gaza and could wield this power to achieve its ends. Ian Jonhston was freed and warmly received by prime minister Ismail Haniyah. Hamas, the movement accused by the E.U. and the U.S. of terrorism, had freed a Western hostage. Foreign minister Mahmoud Zahhar (of the only legitimate Palestinian government headed by Ismail Haniyah) said security would be extended, so that foreign journalists would be free to work objectively.

Hamas surely scored a major propaganda victory, showing itself to be a responsible movement, capable to provide security and defending the rights of its people.

While Ian Johnston should never have been kidnapped in the first place and deserved to be set free a long time ago, let's not forget the tens of thousands of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli state and still languishing in its prisons. They are also held illegally, but the demand to set them free is a mere whisper compared to the worldwide outcry to secure Ian's freedom. (CNN: Freed BBC reporter: 'It felt like I was buried alive')

The lawless U.S. of A.

2007-07-03T14:52:00.000+08:00

As was to be expected, U.S. president George W. Bush has commuted Scooter Libby's sentence so he will not have to go to prison. It's not a pardon, mind you, the guy will still have to pay a 250,000 dollar fine. What mattered was not going to prison, the fine will no doubt be paid by rich Republican Party donors as they have already promised to do.
(AlJazeera.net: Bush commutes Libby's prison term); (The Independent: Bush steps in to commute Libby's prison term); (The Guardian: Commuting his destiny); (TheRawStory: Scooter Libby gets out of jail free with card from President Bush); (The Times: President steps in to save Libby from ‘excessive’ prison sentence).

What does this charade says about “justice” or rather “injustice” in the U.S.? It means you can commit any crime you like, endanger the “national security” of the country as much as you like, and get away with it without any punishment, as long as the president approves. All the laws of the U.S. are worthless scraps of paper, only invented to make bickering lawyers rich. They are worthless! If the president says you can do it, you do it. If not, you end up in jail. Who needs laws if there is dictator Bush to decide?

Delaware Democratic Senator Joe Biden called on Americans to “flood the White House with calls expressing outrage over this blatant disregard for the rule of law.”

While Libby escapes prison...

... an upright man who has made a tremendous contribution to world peace by exposing Israel's nuclear arsenal has been sentenced to a 6-month prison term in Israel for the crime of talking to foreigners! Mordechai Vanunu already spent 18 years in prison and would like nothing more than to leave the damned soil of Israel. He was not even allowed to talk to foreigners! (The Guardian: Vanunu jailed again after talks with foreigners).

Moreover, he has no hope that the Israeli president will commute his sentence. The outgoing president, Moshe Katsav, is too busy raping his female secretaries, while the incoming president, Shimon Perez, played a crucial role in the establishment of Israel's nuclear arsenal and therefore hates Vanuanu intensely.

Come to think of it: if Scooter Libby doesn't have to spend time in prison, even poor Paris Hilton was treated unfairly. Libby may very well be the fall guy, the scapegoat, to shield criminals higher up the hierarchy such as Cheney and Bush himself, but that doesn't make him innocent.

Chocolate and wine

2007-07-02T13:42:00.000+08:00

A German study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, claims that a piece of dark chocolate a day seems to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. An Italian study, published in the American Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry concluded that a regular glass of wine can help put off tooth decay and can kill bacteria that cause upper respiratory tract infections. Finally, a piece of good news: a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate are good for health. Of course, the wise doctors hasten to add: when consumed in moderate quantities, such as one glass of wine and one piece of chocolate a day... (The Wall Street Journal: Study Suggests Dark Chocolate Can Decrease Blood Pressure)

Well, drinking 10 bottles of wine and eating 10 kilograms of chocolate a day can indeed never be good, you don't need to be a doctor to understand this. But what about a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine? Is that excessive? Too much? Yes, the doctors say, we do not recommend that. But have they ever conducted experiments to prove it. Perhaps they have stuffed some monkeys full of wine and chocolate, but certainly no humans, because they wouldn't want to harm their health, even if they have not yet obtained any proof that it is harmful.

If eating chocolate and drinking wine is indeed healthy, we shouldn't be too scroungy. Go for that bar of chocolate and that bottle of wine and help the doctors proof their point.

Brown's Wars

2007-07-01T13:38:00.000+08:00

Today The Independent published a three-part story called Brown's Wars (Part 1: Under attack in the UK; Part 2: Meltdown on the frontline in Basra; Part 3: Overstretched in Helmand province) as well as stories on the car bomb attack at Glasgow Airport (Terror at Terminal 1: Horrific scenes as two men crash Jeep into airport).

Britain's new prime minister wasn't allowed a quiet entry to Downing Street 10. Two cars bombs were defused in the center of London, while Glasgow Airport was attacked by a flaming Cherokee Jeep. The terror alert was raised to the highest “critical” level. Passengers arriving at Glasgow Airport were stuck in their planes, unable to disembark. While the three attempted attacks didn't succeed in causing any casualties, they did succeed in spreading “terror”, “making the public feel uneasy wherever they go, causing disruption and economic damage.”

What is Gordon Brown to do? Attacks in Britain are directly linked to British actions in the Middle East. In Afghanistan, the British are losing the fight against the Taliban. Five years of Karzai government has not brought any improvement in the dismal living standards of the people. Afghanistan has one again become – under the noses of NATO commanders – a major producer of opium.

In Iraq, the remaining British troops are holed up at their base at Basra airport. When they do come out, they are killed. They only provide shooting targets, acting as a magnet for insurgent attacks, the city of Basra itself under the control of militias.

“The week's events tested the new Prime Minister in a way no one could have predicted.” (The Guardian: 'There was a man on fire. It was terrifying') If Gordon Brown wants to avoid carnage at home, he should call British troops back from Afghanistan and Iraq and denounce U.S. aggression. And lest we forget, call back Tony Blair as Middle East envoy. Stop the aggression and war crimes and the “terrorists” – even though they may very well be fanatics – are unlikely to attack. That is not capitulation, it is the right thing to do. Brown has got his work cut out for him, but will he deliver? Unlikely.

Hong Kong Hong Kong

2007-06-30T21:18:00.000+08:00

gen ni zai yiqi (together with you, from the lyrics of a famous song beautifully performed by the late Teresa Teng). Ten years ago, today at midnight, Britain relinquished sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. Some had trembled at the mere prospect years in advance. Without the British, Hong Kong would be finished. The doomsday scenarios didn't happen. Hong Kong prospered thanks to closer relations with the mainland. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists spent their yuans in Hong Kong, bringing added prosperity.

The Chinese PLA came to Hong Kong, but left the censors behind. Press freedom and the freedom to protest was left unchanged. The one thing Hong Kong doesn't have yet is general elections for the chief executive and the legislative council. The government in Beijing is afraid it could lead to unrest and turmoil. The Chinese leaders shouldn't worry too much. They remain too much traumatized by the Cultural Revolution. A bit of turmoil and disorder and chaos is good, it brings progress. But in the end, let's not forget, Hong Kong didn't enjoy even a tiny scrap of democracy under British rule. Now that Hong Kong is part of China, the Big Democrats of the West are raising a hue and cry... Hypocrites!

Living without China

2007-06-29T21:43:00.000+08:00

Can you live without China? Not if you're living in Beijing. But outside of China, you can't either. (Reuters: U.S. family tries living without China)

Sara Bongiorni tried for a whole year to boycott anything “made in China” and lived to suffer. Her book A Year Without 'Made in China' should make interesting reading. The bottom line is, living without China destroys a big chunk of your prosperity. Living without China-made products makes almost everything much more expensive. Shoes become unaffordable, appliances gather dust because all spare parts are made in China... Food for thought...

This book should be recommended reading for all those in the American Congress who want to impose sanctions on China. Perhaps they don't care, because they have the money to buy goods 'made in America'. But the lesser well off and the outright poor will suffer. China's emergence as a big trading power is a blessing for the poor of the world, thanks to products produced by the poor of China, some will argue. Perhaps, but China's National People's Congress has voted for a new Labor Contract Law, which will offer better protection for migrant workers. As a result, some products will become a bit more expensive. But the rise of China will still be good for the poor inside and outside the country.

The family jewels

2007-06-28T21:51:00.000+08:00

The C.I.A. spilled some of the family jewels, the old, outdated, discarded, forgotten jewels. Including a lot of black holes so as to continue to cover up its crimes against humanity. Interference in other countries' affairs, manipulation, illegal wiretapping, harsh interrogation methods, coups d'etats, political assassination, torture, secret prisons, spying on anti-Vietnam War groups, black operations, experiments with mind-control drugs... Even so, nothing much is released about foreign operations. The collection is nearly all about activities involving American citizens. Still, the dreadful list is long, 693 pages long. The whole shebang is available here.

American presidents from Truman and Eisenhower to Nixon and Reagan were terrified of the spread of “communism” or what they thought it represented, of the dominoes falling. To prevent it, anything was allowed, including torture and murder. Congo's Patrice Lumumba was murdered by C.I.A. agents, but they failed several times in their attempts to assassinate Cuba's Fidel Castro. From poison to make him lose his beard to exploding cigars, nothing worked. Bush is now even invoking the help of the “good Lord” to take away Fidel the sooner the better, blissfully ignorant that if the “Lord” is up to any “good” it would be Bush who is taken first...

Has the C.I.A. learned its lesson? Has it become any more civilized since 1973? Fat chance! In the deranged minds of the “good Lords” of the White House, “islamo-fascist terrorism” has replaced “communism” as the bogey-man. The dirty tricks, the coups, the assassinations, the crimes, they continue to be committed in violation of all the glorious principles and moral values the American Empire professes to adhere to. C.I.A. director Michael Hayden acknowledged the agency “did some things it shouldn't have done”. How nice! The fact is, it continues to do those things...

Get lost, Tony!

2007-06-27T23:33:00.000+08:00

After 10 long years, Tony Blair is finally leaving Downing Street 10. While some still parrot that he has been a great British prime minister, the reputation of Great Britain in the Middle East has reached freezing point after Britain's participation in the two disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The fact that Blair refuses to make any self-criticism and blatantly continues to defend the indefensible, shows how far out on limb he his, out of touch with the British people, who wants its government to stop meddling in the Middle East.

Ten years ago Britain welcomed Blair full of hope after long years of Tory government. Blair would bring a fresh wind of change. Guess what? Ten years later Britain is clamoring for change, again. Blair failed to deliver the goods, and his successor Gordon Brown will also fail. He may indeed soften a bit the blind adherence of the British government to the war policies designed in Washington. But the new prime minister has been a long-standing member of Blair's government as Chancellor of the Exchequer and is therefore also responsible for Britain's crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Blair has barely left Downing Street and he's appointed special envoy for the Middle East by the Quartet (U.S., E.U., U.N. and Russia). Of course, the U.S. and Israel believe he would make a good envoy because they are absolutely sure he will defend their interests against the Arab peoples. (The Jerusalem Post: Livni: Blair would be perfect ME envoy) Others see it differently. “His selection for the job takes American policy in the Middle East to new heights of absurdity. [...] The decision is lunacy itself. The guiding question could only have been: who is the most profoundly resented and bitterly hated man in the Middle East. Bar Bush, the honour could only have gone to Blair.” (The Guardian: Adding insult to injury) and (The Times: Mixed welcome awaits Blair in Middle East role). Russia procrastinated a bit but finally relented, which shows the Russian government failed to stand up to Washington. (The Independent: Russians withhold approval of Blair envoy role)

How can Blair, the war criminal, bring any “peace” to the Middle East? Why is he not prosecuted for war crimes, now that he has lost his immunity? “Blair, who supported the American occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, may not be a man of peace. He will not do anything to support the Palestinian interests but will do everything to support the Israeli occupation,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told AFP. Indeed.

The big dividing line is now between the big powers (and that unfortunately includes China) and the peoples of the world. The central battlefield: the Middle East...

Fingerlicking bad

2007-06-26T16:21:00.000+08:00

The U.S. is requiring foreign visitors to give finger prints of their ten fingers to be kept for 75 years in a database. Visitors who need visas will have their fingerprints taken at the U.S. consulates abroad. Those arriving on a visa waiver program will undergo the procedure at the airport. In the coming years, the U.S. plans to add facial and retina scans. (AFP: US to introduce 10 fingerprints system for visitors)

Doesn't this look very much like Big Brother? A needless invasion of privacy? If the U.S. was not invading foreign countries and killing its peoples, would it have to be afraid of foreigners? No, the country which is implementing those draconian security measures is not the former Soviet Union, not China, or Iran or Sudan. It's the U.S. of A.

In its paranoia to avoid further “terrorist” attacks, Washington is setting a very bad example. The European Union now also wants to take finger prints of foreign visitors arriving at its borders. In China, you only need a valid passport and visa. China welcomes foreign visitors, it doesn't treat them like potential criminals.

Olmert & Abbas

2007-06-25T23:58:00.000+08:00

As a “goodwill” gesture, Israel is to release 250 Fatah prisoners. The only reason is that it hopes those 250 Fatah members will go and fight against Hamas to further damage the struggle of the Palestinians. Now, all of a sudden, Israel, the U.S. and the E.U. are willing to disburse millions of dollars to the Fatah government to bolster it against Hamas. (Aljazeera.net: Abbas: Time for 'serious talks')

The conference of the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (or what's left of it, unable to represent the Palestinian people) is just a big show. Even after the expulsion of Hamas from the Palestinian government, Israel is not willing to resume peace negotiations for the simple reason that it does not want peace. If there is peace, Israel cannot continue to grab Palestinian land. That is the only thing the Zionists want and peace is an obstacle to the land grab.

The Palestinian people is once more being betrayed, this time by Mahmoud Abbas and its Fatah movement. Fatah has degenerated into nothing more than a police force in the service of the Zionists.

Now look at Gaza. Since the victory of Hamas, order has been restored and life can return to normal. Of course it will be very difficult to establish a viable economy, since all border crossings are closed. Even so, under these extremely difficult circumstances, Hamas will try to protect the Palestinians and their dignity.

There is indeed the danger that extreme Muslim groups will try to impose a strict Islamic order, but that is certainly not what the Hamas leadership has in mind.

“If I tell the truth...”

2007-06-24T23:09:00.000+08:00

In an exhaustive story in The New Yorker, Seymour Hersh describes how Major General Antonio Taguba conducted an investigation on the torture of prisoners held by the U.S. Army at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. (The New Yorker: The General’s Report)

Taguba is ordered to limit his investigation to low-level soldiers to shield those higher up in the chain of command, including then secretary of state Donald Rumsfeld. Taguba was later sidelined and pensioned-off for trying to do his job.

Hersch shows how Rumsfeld and the top brass in the Pentagon encouraged the practice of torture but still denied any knowledge and strictly limited investigations to shield themselves.

Now that the truth has been published in the New Yorker, why is torturer-in-chief Rumsfeld not arrested and brought to justice? Because U.S. has lost all moral principles (if it ever had any) and is killing and torturing innocent people in pursuit of so-called “terrorists”.

Taguba says a lot of people are lying to protect themselves. While Taguba himself is ostracized for trying to uncover the truth. There is no place for an honest officer in the U.S. military. Only one officer, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan is to be court-martialled in August in connection with the torture at Abu Ghraib. He may very well be guilty, but it's also clear he's a scapegoat so more senior officers up to and including the secretary of defense are not disturbed.

And Congress is doing nothing to launch its own investigation. Most of the detainees at Abu Ghraib were not “terrorists” and didn't even have anything to do with the insurgency. Based on lies, the U.S. invaded another country and started torturing its people and those responsible are left undisturbed. And then Americans ask themselves “Why do they hate us...?”

European nonsense

2007-06-23T22:14:00.000+08:00

After a long night “dinner” ending at 5 a.m., the European heads of state and government finally reached a “consensus” on the watered-down European “constitution”. Every leader wanted to salvage some peanuts from the negotiations to spin it as a major victory back home. The result is a collection of nonsense, which, if submitted to a vote, would be rejected by European voters.

Some parties in European countries argue against granting more powers to the European Union because it is a bureaucratic entity stifling the will of the European peoples. The European Union no doubt is a bureaucratic monstrosity, but the solution is not to preserve the nation states. They should be abolished, or to borrow the words of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, vanish from the map.

The leaders of European countries are petty merchants chasing a chimeric goal of ephemeral gains. Each and everyone of them wants to return home clutching some stupid imaginary brownie points.

The result is that the “glorious European Constitution” has become a rubbish heap of unintelligible nonsense. As Lenin used to ask “What to do?”. Very simple! Abolish the nation states, create a Europe of the regions, and start to issue European passports.

Alas, such a solution requires a small degree of vision and none of the leaders of EU member states even has a tiny nano amount of the vision required to make “it” happen. Until they manage to gather that tiny amount of vision, the peoples of Europe will reject their “solutions”, which amount to nothing more than tiny fig leafs of failure.

Dealing with puppets

2007-06-22T20:46:00.000+08:00

Iraqi “president” Jalal Talabani paid a week-long visit to China, apparently the first visit by an Iraqi president to China since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1958. Of course, unlike Saddam Hussein, Talabani is not a legitimate Iraqi president, he's only a running dog of American imperialism. Still, Chinese president Hu Jintao welcomed him as a genuine head of state and even described him as “an old friend of the Chinese people”.

If the Chinese government is willing to deal with the puppet government in Baghdad, then why did the Communist Party reject the puppet Japanese government of Pu Yi in Manchukuo in the thirties? Not dealing with the puppets of your very own enemy, but having no qualms to deal with puppets of U.S. imperialism oppressing and slaughtering the Iraqi people is not the “right thing to do”. Talabani revived a 1997 contract signed by the Saddam administration for China National Petroleum Corporation to develop the al-Ahdab oil field with a pre-war capacity of 90,000 barrels a day, only awaiting the new Iraqi oil law dictated by Washington to plunder Iraq's oil resources.

The Chinese government should be ashamed of being complicit to the plunder of Iraq's natural resources under the umbrella of the American occupation. Welcoming a puppet like Talabani, who only “reigns” in the Green Zone fortress is a disgrace. The Talabani puppet administration only “survives” because it is propped up by the war criminal trio of Bush-Blair-Cheney.

China also canceled a large part of Iraq's debt. This amounts to a direct subsidy of the American occupation. China pledged to help Iraqi reconstruction. How can Iraq be reconstructed as long as the American occupation continues?

China is starting to show the first signs of imperialist behavior.

Flying high

2007-06-21T22:12:00.000+08:00

I had a ticket for a morning flight to return to Beijing but was invited to attend another factory visit. Oh well, no panic, we'll find a way to get back to the capital. Anyway, I was mentally prepared to spend several hours at the airport to catch the first available flight back to Beijing. Ten or fifteen years ago it would have been a nightmare and you would probably have ended up back at the hotel, hoping to catch a flight the next day. Once, in the eighties, I was stuck in Xian for three days.

Anyway, nowadays they have places at the airport where you can have a decent pint of beer and I had a book in my hand luggage – so everything was available to make the long wait less tedious and cumbersome.

Well, far from having to wait, I had to run. I arrived at Shenyang's Taoxian Airport at 2.08 p.m. and the guy at the China Southern ticket desk asked me whether a 3 p.m. flight would be O.K. with me. I had to run through the check-in and passport check and by 2.50 p.m. the plane was taxiing to the runway. Well, can't expect to have good luck each and every time, but still it's a nice illustration of how China has changed. If you wanted to buy a plane ticket in the eighties, you had to go to one building in Beijing – the dreaded CAAC – and queue up for an hour or more to be told that, “meiyou” all tickets were sold out.

Today, you book your ticket on-line or make a phone call and half an hour later the ticket is delivered at the door. And if you have to change your plans, you just go to the airport, buy a new ticket and be airborne 50 minutes later. No, not everything has changed for the better, but certain things certainly have...

Filip the flowerpot

2007-06-20T21:45:00.000+08:00

Prince Filip of Belgium is nothing more, nor less, than a gilded flowerpot. He was invited to be present at a CEO breakfast, at the opening of a new production hall, at a seminar on doing business in Shenyang, and at a cocktail reception for visiting Belgian businessmen. Endless speeches follow each other, elucidating nothing in particular, full of stock phrases including a lot of “challenges and opportunities”.

The Prince, he just sat there in his designer suit, not uttering even one word in public. Perhaps that's all for the better, he's not really interested in the places he's visiting anyway and if you ask him next month where he spent two nights, he will probably have forgotten the name of the city. He did give a lecture at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing – someday when I have nothing much to do, which isn't likely to occur in the next couple of years, I'll google it and have a look – but even on this occasion, the words he uttered are not his, the speech written by ghost writers and vetted by the Belgian government.

Some of the accompanying Belgian businessmen are certainly interested in China and the – erh “challenges and opportunities” – it offers. They can do without the prince. If they have a nice, interesting project and somewhere somehow an important decision is blocked, they'll be able to get to the vice mayor to make their case regardless of the presence of the prince. Others only want to hang around in the vicinity of the prince – never mind the country he's visiting – hoping someday to be granted a royal honor, an officership in the order of Leopold, or even better to be made a Baron. Those “businessmen” are not interested in doing business, they're interested in royalty.

Did the prince do anything worthwhile in Shenyang. The answer is no – he's just a gilded flowerpot...

North-eastern beauty

2007-06-19T21:24:00.000+08:00

Everybody is aware by now that the major Chinese cities are changing and developing fast. Beijing is metamorphosing in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics. Shanghai has been transformed by the emergence of Pudong and is preparing for the 2010 World Expo. Smaller mega cities such as Shenyang are also changing fast.

In the eighties, the best hotel in Shenyang only carried three stars, located off the main square with the large Mao statue. The square and the Mao statue are still there, but the center of town has moved to another, larger, more modern square. One of the best hotels in town, the Shenyang Lido Sheraton, is located on the outskirts of the city.

Following the demise of the state-owned enterprises, Shenyang and the North-east hinterland, the center of China's Manchuria, has lagged behind, plagued by inertia and high unemployment. This now also belongs to the past. Shenyang has become a dynamic city, with modern apartment buildings and new economic development zones.

Visits of foreign dignitaries are still rather sparse, so even Prince Filip of Belgium received a royal welcome in the city, shutting down major intersections when his motorcade flashed by. Tomorrow we'll see whether his welcome was worth it.

The Prince

2007-06-18T23:07:00.000+08:00

Prince Filip of Belgium is once again in China, supposedly opening doors for Belgian businessmen to sign lucrative contracts. Is anyone still stupid enough to believe this? I've said it before and I'll repeat it for good measure, the only doors he is opening are the doors to the toilets – come to think of it, not even those doors, he'll have his sycophantic courtiers and aides to do it for him.

The job of Prince Filip as “grand timonnier” of Belgian trade is finished, I wrote two years ago. Because there's nothing left of “Belgian trade”, there remains “Flemish” and “Walloon” trade. The regional governments can take care. Well, here he is again! So I decided not to show up at his glittering party at the China World Hotel. Why? Because he deserves no welcome. Nothing personal... Filip is a poor – rich – guy who never had the chance to live a normal live. Can't blame him. But he does have the choice to abdicate as successor to the throne, ditch his blue blooded wife and become a commoner – thereafter to let his hair hang down. He has a choice, it's all his, but he is blinded by the glamor of becoming King of the Belgians.

Monseigneur was supposed to show up at his very own glittering reception at 7 p.m., but a phone call to some of those present at the premises at 8.30 p.m. revealed that he hadn't shown up yet. The arrogance of royalty...

Brick carrying slaves

2007-06-17T22:16:00.000+08:00

At least a thousand people and probably many more have been enslaved in brick factories and mines in Shanxi and Henan provinces. Children and adolescents have been kidnapped from the streets and railway stations in China to be enslaved in the most disgusting conditions by “modern” slave owners whose only purpose in life is to make money.

Local Chinese authorities have been complicit in this modern slave trade. One slave camp was owned by a village party secretary. Of course China has laws prohibiting such practices, but if the local authorities, the police and the slave traders are all working together and protecting each other, the laws can never be implemented. There has been a huge crackdown, hundreds of people have been rescued and exploiters have been arrested. Some of the slave traders and bosses will no doubt be executed. But will it solve the problem?

Communist party organizations at the local level have degenerated into exploiters and oppressors of the people. The party central in Beijing is powerless to stop them. After the crackdown, the ugly beasts will rear their heads again to kidnap innocent people from China's streets. Laws are not enough. The only way to crush the oppressors and exploiters is the dictatorship of the proletariat – that is democracy for the people and dictatorship for the enemies of the people. Nothing else will do. To solve this problem, a revolutionary mass movement is needed: to swipe away the slave owners hiding inside the Communist Party.

To rebel is justified!

(The Guardian: Enslaved, burned and beaten: police free 450 from Chinese brick factories), (The New York Times: Reports of Forced Labor Unsettle China), (The Times: Children snatched off the streets to work as slaves).

Hamastan

2007-06-16T22:05:00.000+08:00

Hamas has gained control of Gaza and expelled Fatah from the strip. Some say Palestine will break up in two “states”: Gaza dominated by Hamas and the West Bank dominated by Fatah. There are now two Palestinian governments. The U.S., European countries and Israel are accusing Hamas of executing a coup. While the situation is indeed confusing, a few things are not that difficult to comprehend.

The Hamas government was formed after democratic elections in January 2006, pushed by the U.S. but – according to Washington – won by the wrong party. The Bush administration is only supporting democracy if its henchmen are elected, otherwise the losing party is allowed to launch a coup to make it clear to the voters that they made a mistake. Under Zionist pressure, all aid to the Hamas government was stopped.

It is also certain without any doubt that the U.S. is supporting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, providing weapons and financial assistance. Let's ask a straight question: who is fighting for the rights of the Palestinian people: Fatah or Hamas? The U.S. is propping up the Zionist regime and Fatah at the same time. Guess who will be the losers? Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert is calling on his “friend Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) to take the opportunity to exercise his authority”. Do the Palestinian people need any more guidance as to whom they should support?

Next question: Is Hamas a bunch of Islamic extremist fanatics? No they are not, they are providing social services, helping the people and standing up for the rights of the people. The secular Palestinian resistance movements such as the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine did the same in the 70s, but the West did not support them, because it viewed them as “terrorists” and “communist sympathizers”. Now they are weak and cannot constitute the main force for the liberation of the Palestinian people. Fatah has degenerated into a bunch of corrupt politicians on the payroll of Washington.

Do not believe the rotten propaganda emanating from Washington, Jerusalem and European capitals. Fatah will lose because it betrayed the Palestinian people. Whomever supports them is supporting traitors. It is Hamas which deserves our support. Even non-believers should support Hamas and Hamas will welcome their support, because it is fighting for the rights of the Palestinian people.

(The Independent: Robert Fisk: Welcome to 'Palestine'), (AlJazeera.net: Hamas tightens control in Gaza), (CNN: Hamas seizes second Fatah base), (The Times: Analysis: the future is bleak for Abbas).

"Masked might"

2007-06-15T20:11:00.000+08:00

The U.S. State Department is accusing China of a “deliberate effort to mask the nature of Chinese military capabilities”. The U.S. is trying to portray China as a dangerous rising military power, trying to “mask” its military spending and objectives.

If you have military might, you are going to use it – be it actively or passively – otherwise it's of no use. It is clear for all to see who is attempting to dominate the world, establishing ever more bases and troops in ever more countries, and the culprit is not China.

The U.S. says China is developing “robust anti-satellite weapons, ground-based lasers and satellite communication jammers designed to deny space access to other countries”. Which country is the overlord of space, trying to preserve its domination and “denying access to other countries”?

And finally, which country – China or the U.S. – is spending more on defense, or aggression? One need not be a rocket scientist to see the truth.

'Feral' Blair

2007-06-14T19:22:00.000+08:00

Tony – the liar – Blair compared the news media to “a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits” and further lamented that he “was not the first prime minister to face extraordinarily brutal treatment”. (The Independent: Simon Kelner: Would you be saying this, Mr Blair, if we supported your war in Iraq? ; The New York Times: Blair Compares News Media to ‘Feral Beast’ in Angry Parting Shot)

Yo' Blair! Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren't you!? The real problem is that the news media were not 'feral' nor 'brutal' enough early enough to tear a budding war criminal like you – and your buddy Bush – too pieces so the Iraq war could have been avoided. Far from 'feral', the press was too weak and meek to denounce your blatant lies with sufficient ferocity to kick you out of office and into the place where you belong: the dock of an international war crimes tribunal. The lies you invented to start the Iraq war amount to incitement to genocide and mass murder and warrant the death penalty.

As Martin Bright observes (New Statesman: It takes one to know one): “In fact, the real media scandal remains the journalists who were complicit in justifying the spurious intelligence on behalf of the government and presenting it as fact to an unsuspecting public. Collectively, the profession failed in its duty by being too credulous in the weeks leading up to the war. Too many journalists who should have known better became willing collaborators in the government's propaganda machine, rather than holding the government to account.”

When you leave office in two weeks time, Mr Bliar, you will walk out of damned Downing Street No 10 a free man. 650,000 Iraqis are dead as a result of your lies. That will leave a permanent blood stain on the reputation of Britain. One of the reasons is, the British press was not 'feral' enough.

al-Yamamah

2007-06-13T20:29:00.000+08:00

al-Yamamah... Never heard of it? Quite possible. The reason is the British government doesn't want you to know even the broad outlines – never mind the details – of one of the biggest corruption scandals of modern history. Anyway, some facts are bubbling to the surface... (The Sunday Times: How much hypocrisy can Britain get away with on this sordid deal?, Bandar lobbied No 10 to drop Saudi bribes inquiry)

British Aerospace seems to have paid huge bribes to Saudi princes, including Prince Bandar bin Sultan who allegedly received a billion pounds, for the privilege of selling 72 Typhoon jets. Blair's government is hiding behind the fig leaf of 'national security' to bury the facts. 'National security' was not the issue, rather the fact that the Saudi dictators threatened to cut intelligence and even diplomatic ties if an investigation into the corruption scandal would continue.

The British government violated international anti-corruption treaties and illegally impeded investigations by the Serious Fraud Office and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). If the international community fails to bring Blair to justice for war crimes, perhaps it could nab him as a corrupt arms dealer?

As to Prince Bandar, long-time Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and intimate friend of the Bush Dynasty, perhaps he will now be denied entry to the U.S. or be arrested as a common thief and join Scooter Libby behind bars, where they could together contemplate the criminal and disastrous invasion of Iraq.

The price of the al-Yamamah contract was deliberately inflated to win by corruption. Clean guys, Bandar and Blair...

Sensible dress code

2007-06-12T16:52:00.000+08:00

Some like to wear a T-shirt and jeans, others a suit and tie. Everybody should have the choice to go wherever he likes in the attire he prefers. The China Daily has now come up with an interesting argument for wearing T-shirts instead of suits. (China Daily: Sensible office wear)

If you wear a suit and tie, the airco has to be kept at a lower temperature to be comfortable, wasting energy and increasing green house gas emissions. If “keeping good manners” wastes energy and contributes to climate change, perhaps it's time to ditch the “good manners”. The article in the China Daily concludes: “The corporate world should shake free of the idea that suits are the only appropriate office attire.” Maybe the Chinese can show the way?

Save the planet, dress less!