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China's Island-Building In Pictures
An anonymous reader writes: The South China Sea is just small enough to have high strategic value for military operations and just large enough to make territorial claims difficult. For over a year now, the world has been aware that China is using its vast resources to try and change that. Instead of fighting for claims on existing islands or arguing about how far their sovereignty should extend, they simply decided to build new islands. "The islands are too small to support large military units but will enable sustained Chinese air and sea patrols of the area. The United States has reported spotting Chinese mobile artillery vehicles in the region, and the islands could allow China to exercise more control over fishing in the region." The NY Times has a fascinating piece showing clear satellite imagery of the new islands, illustrating how a fleet a dredgers have dumped enormous amounts of sand on top of existing reefs. "Several reefs have been destroyed outright to serve as a foundation for new islands, and the process also causes extensive damage to the surrounding marine ecosystem." We can also see clear evidence of airstrips, cement plants, and other structures as the islands become capable of supporting them.
> Ralph Nader (hardly a Republican)
Oh please. He went hard center in 1996 during his first Presidential campaign then went even further CONservative in 2004 after quitting the Green Party. He even campaigned in swing states in 2000 intentionally to take votes from Gore which enabled Bush to win. He is the reason for Bush. It is his fault. He is the ultimate CONservative hero. He was a great man in the sixties when he took on Detroits murder of tens of thousands of us per year, but since then he has become a Bush Republican.