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Domain: the-diplomat.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to the-diplomat.com.

Comments · 4

  1. HEY SUBMITTER! by Thud457 · · Score: 1 · on America's Next Bomber: Unmanned, Unlimited Range, Aimed At China

    howzabout the single-page link to the article so we don't have to click click click click click through?!!!
    asshat.

  2. wow. China is steeping up all right. by WindBourne · · Score: 1 · on China Launches Space Station Laboratory Module

    On the one hand, they have launched a nice space station.
    At the same time, they are gearing up to attack Vietnam and the phillipines, and warning India to steer clear of Others properties that China wants.

    Here the party demands war and here they warn india to steer clear or be attacked as well

  3. Re:Interesting. by guanxi · · Score: 1 · on 8 of China's Top 9 Govt. Officials Are Engineers

    The most interesting thing from my point of view was that when i did raise issue with my Chinese friend, he came back with a reply i hadnt anticipated. (and i consider myself very politically aware)

    Don't be surprised; they're just repeating the typical talking points of the gov't propaganda. The Chinese Communist Party still needs to sell itself to maintain control (as does any authoritarian dictatorship), and they have a propaganda operation that spreads these carefully-crafted, plausible-sounding talking points (which are complete BS, of course). They even have a hired army to post the propaganda to online forums, referred to jokingly as the Fifty Cent Party (paid 50 cents per post).

    It's not at all unusual. Every sophisticated dictatorship in history seems to do the same.

    If you're interested in Chinese politics, here are a few relatively credible sources that provide a much more nuanced, sophisticated perspective:
      * The Diplomat: Foreign policy publication from Japan, has some very well-respected writers, and you'll learn much about China you had no idea of. If you read one, I'd read this.
      * Asia Sentinal: AFAIK founded by writers of the defunct but excellent Far East Economic Review, and based in Hong Kong.
      * Caijing: Based in Beijing, so subject to gov't influence, but seems relatively independent, has a good reputation, and provides sophisticated points of view on China.

  4. Re:The Economist by CaptainAvatar · · Score: 1 · on What Magazines Do You Read?
    Oh yeah. I love the Economist so much that it's the only magazine I read regularly that I DON'T subscribe to! Why? Because by the time I'd get it in the post here in Australia, it would be Monday. But I can get it at the newsagents on Saturday. I'd rather get it two days earlier than save $180 per year (or however much cheaper it is).

    The other magazines I subscribe to are:

    The Diplomat (an Australian perspective on world affairs, but much more lightweight than the Economist)
    History Today (British history magazine, which is what I'm studying. A bit too middle-brow though *sniff*)
    Fortean Times (my favouritest mag ever, a monthly dose of high strangeness)
    Skeptical Inquirer (a necessary counterbalance to Fortean Times)
    The Skeptic (a necessary counterbalance to Skeptical Inquirer!)
    Warship (an Australian naval history/news etc magazine, very much a small press sort of thing. Don't know if I'll keep it up, may look for something a bit more professional)

    I probably don't need two skeptical mags. I do feel the lack of straight science in there; tried Scientific American for a while but it's a bit too detailed for me; New Scientist is more like it but as it's a weekly, between that and the Economist I'd never get to read any books! A compromise might be an astronomy (my first love) mag like Sky & Telescope, but then I'd like something with a bit more aerospace type stuff ... Oh well, I read too much anyway!