China threat theory is sooooo out of favor among people who know their stuff that it boggles my mind how the rest of the world (except for US army leadership of course, who just want more toys to play with) keeps nagging on about it.
'Heping jueqi' is the 21st century mantra for the chinese. They don't want to fight any serious wars, and aren't going to be able to project global power in any serious way for quite a long time.
China is a great power in name only, they are not willing and capable of acting like a great power yet. They're still on the edge of the world system in a lot of ways. What they want right now is to be accepted into it, and if anything, the west should accomodate them. You might want to read John Ikenberry's extremely insightful essay in Foreign Affairs of Jan08.
Also, they walk a razors edge in their national politics, balancing economic freedom and political dictatorship. Nobody can expect them to 'go western' all of a sudden. It'd destroy their nation as a unit. All our complaints about human rights violations, morally right as they may be, are trumped by their national survival. China is preoccupied by raising its living standard right now. Deng Xiaoping got something very right when he allowed for just economical freedom, but also gave China a huge national problem.
All this crap about 'china's growing military' pails when compared to current US power. China is not 'getting ready to attack'. China is getting ready to be able to protect her trade-lanes in the east/south china sea. That may scare americans, who have regarded that little pond as their own back yard for a century, but it's only natural for a rapidly growing nation. Yes, China is indeed growing its army, but that does not mean they're pumping liquid oxygen into their DF-5 ICBM's just yet. Misinterpreting the goals of a rising power is the surest formula to kick off a war. As a Rising power, China is risk-averse and, for all intents and purposes, seems to have limited revisionist aims.
The biggest threat of war with China comes from self-fulfilling prophecies about war.
I'm currently studying in Seoul, Korea, and the nationalism of the chinese students I encounter is pretty frightening.
The weird way they swerve between the official government line that's burned into their minds and their own rationality is extremely interesting to see too. Very 1984-ish.
On the other hand, nothing discredits the western fear-mongering over chinese intentions quicker than a sitdown over a cup of soju with a chinese dude.
It'll be interesting to see how the chinese government will handle the rampant nationalism. Sometimes they can use it, like now with the olympics/tibet, but other times it really messes up their whole 'peaceful rise' idea... they're doing their darndest to become a non-threatening part of the international capitalist system, and then their own internal problems always get brought up as criticism.
Not that it isn't their own fault for allowing economical freedom without political freedom...
He's not comparing the conflicts, he's mentioning relevant psychological research.
Yes, it is a different conflict, but the mentioned research wasn't relevant to just that conflict, it was relevant to a perception of bias in general. Notice how he goes on to give other examples?
I got through half a year of classes on game-theory in Korean with it. The professor never noticed I didn't speak a word Korean. Tests were in English, and the guy just kept asking ending in '...isn't that right, studentX?' or '...do you not agree, studentY?'.
Smile and nod baby, smile and nod. Best followed by a short single chuckle, as if the intrinsical irony of reality does not elude you.
By the end of the semester the guy actually seemed to like me.
Now, when the babyboom of 443002008 (four hundred forty-three million two thousand eight) hits, they'll be ready!
Our future galactic overlords shall be pleased to know that thanks to this discovery, they won't have to go through pension-fund and healthcare reforms!
Not entirely disagreeing here, but last time I checked, Colombia, Papua, Iraq, Mexico, Birma and Kashmir were all in a state of war...
I think your high opinion of the chinese system is also a bit... silly. Unless you agree with a confucian ethic (nepotism, corruption, yay?), mixed with dictatorial suppression (that is what the chinese model is after all... capitalist economics with political dictatorship). Unless you're talking about the old china, which was just as bad as Russia.
Market possibilities? This is the same guy that sailed across the pacific ocean on a boat made from recycled beer kegs.
Isn't it an enormous feat already that somebody comes up with this idea and makes it work?
It might be marketeable in the future... just like almost every innovative technology. Right now it's a feat to marvel at though.
no no no, that's why it is so ingenius.
Now they sue over it getting too warm, and then, once they have relocated to the bahama's, they sue again, because it's getting too cold and the value of their beachfront property has gone down!
in any case, has it really been 'crucial'?
in kosovo only 5 aircraft were lost, out of 30k+ attack sorties.
and didn't the US limit the use of the B2 in iraq2 due to its operating costs?
I mean, the aircraft is amazing and in a coventional large scale conflict probably would kick the shiznit out of any major army, but 'crucial' in two conflicts that were largely won by land-based forces, and a third (kosovo) which was a cakewalk for NATO?
For a 'learned' person you're awefully quick to interpret quirky spelling as trying to be cool and 'posing'.
It might just as well be a habit or an accepted way of expressing him/herself within his/her own dialect group.
If that's the case, one might argue that the non-conformity and lack of class-aspiration in that post is in fact the opposite of 'posing'.
One might also argue that your post was pretentious and offensive and that you are thus a 'jerkwad', 'douchebag' or an 'exceptionally pompous individual', to use your idea of 'standard english'.
Obligatory good will huntin rant:
Why shouldn't I work at the NSA?
That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot at it. Let's say I'm working at the NSA and somebody puts a code on my desk, something no one else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break, and I'm real happy with myself cause I did my job well.
But maybe that code is for the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East, and once they have that location,
they bomb the village where the rebels are hiding. Fifteen hundred people I never met before, never had no problem with get killed. So now the politicians are saying 'Send in the marines to secure the area,' cause they don't give a shit, it's not their kid gettin shot at, just like it wasn't them when their number got called cause they were off pullin a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Soutie over there takin shrapnel in the ass. He comes back to find out that the plant he used to work for got exported to the country he just got back from, and the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass has got his old job cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks.
Meanwhile, my buddy realizes that the only reason why we were over there in the first place was so that we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. So, obviously, the oil companies used the little skirmish to scare up domestic oil prices, a cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helpin my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. So they're takin their sweet time bringin the oil back, of course, maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and frickin play slalom with the icebergs. It ain't too long before he hits one of 'em, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now, my buddy's outta work, he's walkin to all the job interviews, which sucks because the shrapnel in his ass is givin him chronic hemeroids, and he's starvin cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the
Absolutely ingenious machines, including seating-sensor (and heater) so you can't use the spraying mechanism to spray water all over the place, which I'm sure everybody tries the first time they see such a toilet. They have multiple modes... fume-mode, jetmode (warning: don't use '100% water pressure' mode when seated, ouch), etc.
Circumventing the sensorsystem on those toilets became an obsession for me the first time I was in Japan. Great fun to be had with these things and examples of very good design.
buying a submarine and cutting cables seems a bit overcomplicated for just disrupting an internet connection.
afaik terrorists still prefer good ol' 'stuff that goes boom' tactics. blowing up an IXP or something seems a bit more simple for a terrorist organisation.
plus, they have nothing to gain from disrupting their major communication system.
Slashdot Mirror
Ugh. How is this insightful?
.
China threat theory is sooooo out of favor among people who know their stuff that it boggles my mind how the rest of the world (except for US army leadership of course, who just want more toys to play with) keeps nagging on about it
'Heping jueqi' is the 21st century mantra for the chinese. They don't want to fight any serious wars, and aren't going to be able to project global power in any serious way for quite a long time.
China is a great power in name only, they are not willing and capable of acting like a great power yet. They're still on the edge of the world system in a lot of ways. What they want right now is to be accepted into it, and if anything, the west should accomodate them. You might want to read John Ikenberry's extremely insightful essay in Foreign Affairs of Jan08.
Also, they walk a razors edge in their national politics, balancing economic freedom and political dictatorship. Nobody can expect them to 'go western' all of a sudden. It'd destroy their nation as a unit. All our complaints about human rights violations, morally right as they may be, are trumped by their national survival. China is preoccupied by raising its living standard right now. Deng Xiaoping got something very right when he allowed for just economical freedom, but also gave China a huge national problem.
All this crap about 'china's growing military' pails when compared to current US power. China is not 'getting ready to attack'. China is getting ready to be able to protect her trade-lanes in the east/south china sea. That may scare americans, who have regarded that little pond as their own back yard for a century, but it's only natural for a rapidly growing nation. Yes, China is indeed growing its army, but that does not mean they're pumping liquid oxygen into their DF-5 ICBM's just yet. Misinterpreting the goals of a rising power is the surest formula to kick off a war. As a Rising power, China is risk-averse and, for all intents and purposes, seems to have limited revisionist aims.
The biggest threat of war with China comes from self-fulfilling prophecies about war.
QFT.
I'm currently studying in Seoul, Korea, and the nationalism of the chinese students I encounter is pretty frightening.
The weird way they swerve between the official government line that's burned into their minds and their own rationality is extremely interesting to see too. Very 1984-ish.
On the other hand, nothing discredits the western fear-mongering over chinese intentions quicker than a sitdown over a cup of soju with a chinese dude.
It'll be interesting to see how the chinese government will handle the rampant nationalism. Sometimes they can use it, like now with the olympics/tibet, but other times it really messes up their whole 'peaceful rise' idea... they're doing their darndest to become a non-threatening part of the international capitalist system, and then their own internal problems always get brought up as criticism.
Not that it isn't their own fault for allowing economical freedom without political freedom...
Don't worry, that's where the anti-gravity boots another department is working on come in handy!
wait, that was supposed to say
... and he ruins his own joke as usual.
'catatomic'
catatonic?
He's not comparing the conflicts, he's mentioning relevant psychological research.
Yes, it is a different conflict, but the mentioned research wasn't relevant to just that conflict, it was relevant to a perception of bias in general. Notice how he goes on to give other examples?
I can vouch for the smile-nod method.
I got through half a year of classes on game-theory in Korean with it. The professor never noticed I didn't speak a word Korean. Tests were in English, and the guy just kept asking ending in '...isn't that right, studentX?' or '...do you not agree, studentY?'.
Smile and nod baby, smile and nod. Best followed by a short single chuckle, as if the intrinsical irony of reality does not elude you.
By the end of the semester the guy actually seemed to like me.
Extra long term investors are rejoicing.
Now, when the babyboom of 443002008 (four hundred forty-three million two thousand eight) hits, they'll be ready!
Our future galactic overlords shall be pleased to know that thanks to this discovery, they won't have to go through pension-fund and healthcare reforms!
the drivers weren't up to date?
Not entirely disagreeing here, but last time I checked, Colombia, Papua, Iraq, Mexico, Birma and Kashmir were all in a state of war...
I think your high opinion of the chinese system is also a bit... silly. Unless you agree with a confucian ethic (nepotism, corruption, yay?), mixed with dictatorial suppression (that is what the chinese model is after all... capitalist economics with political dictatorship). Unless you're talking about the old china, which was just as bad as Russia.
Market possibilities? This is the same guy that sailed across the pacific ocean on a boat made from recycled beer kegs.
Isn't it an enormous feat already that somebody comes up with this idea and makes it work?
It might be marketeable in the future... just like almost every innovative technology. Right now it's a feat to marvel at though.
no no no, that's why it is so ingenius.
Now they sue over it getting too warm, and then, once they have relocated to the bahama's, they sue again, because it's getting too cold and the value of their beachfront property has gone down!
in any case, has it really been 'crucial'? in kosovo only 5 aircraft were lost, out of 30k+ attack sorties. and didn't the US limit the use of the B2 in iraq2 due to its operating costs? I mean, the aircraft is amazing and in a coventional large scale conflict probably would kick the shiznit out of any major army, but 'crucial' in two conflicts that were largely won by land-based forces, and a third (kosovo) which was a cakewalk for NATO?
For a 'learned' person you're awefully quick to interpret quirky spelling as trying to be cool and 'posing'. It might just as well be a habit or an accepted way of expressing him/herself within his/her own dialect group. If that's the case, one might argue that the non-conformity and lack of class-aspiration in that post is in fact the opposite of 'posing'. One might also argue that your post was pretentious and offensive and that you are thus a 'jerkwad', 'douchebag' or an 'exceptionally pompous individual', to use your idea of 'standard english'.
Obligatory good will huntin rant: Why shouldn't I work at the NSA? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot at it. Let's say I'm working at the NSA and somebody puts a code on my desk, something no one else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break, and I'm real happy with myself cause I did my job well. But maybe that code is for the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East, and once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels are hiding. Fifteen hundred people I never met before, never had no problem with get killed. So now the politicians are saying 'Send in the marines to secure the area,' cause they don't give a shit, it's not their kid gettin shot at, just like it wasn't them when their number got called cause they were off pullin a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Soutie over there takin shrapnel in the ass. He comes back to find out that the plant he used to work for got exported to the country he just got back from, and the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass has got his old job cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile, my buddy realizes that the only reason why we were over there in the first place was so that we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. So, obviously, the oil companies used the little skirmish to scare up domestic oil prices, a cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helpin my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. So they're takin their sweet time bringin the oil back, of course, maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and frickin play slalom with the icebergs. It ain't too long before he hits one of 'em, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now, my buddy's outta work, he's walkin to all the job interviews, which sucks because the shrapnel in his ass is givin him chronic hemeroids, and he's starvin cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the
Absolutely ingenious machines, including seating-sensor (and heater) so you can't use the spraying mechanism to spray water all over the place, which I'm sure everybody tries the first time they see such a toilet. They have multiple modes... fume-mode, jetmode (warning: don't use '100% water pressure' mode when seated, ouch), etc.
Circumventing the sensorsystem on those toilets became an obsession for me the first time I was in Japan. Great fun to be had with these things and examples of very good design.
buying a submarine and cutting cables seems a bit overcomplicated for just disrupting an internet connection. afaik terrorists still prefer good ol' 'stuff that goes boom' tactics. blowing up an IXP or something seems a bit more simple for a terrorist organisation. plus, they have nothing to gain from disrupting their major communication system.