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Please note: This Letters page is intended primarily for
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The Edge is the place for that. The editors do not mind publishing one
or two responses to a reader's letter, but will, at their discretion, direct
debaters away from the Letters page.
May 2011
[Re Ysais Martinez letter on
A steamy tango in Washington, May 26] Ysais Martinez analyzes the love
affair of the United States congress with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu as anything but steamy. He's right. The members of the US Congress
couldn't rise to their self-interested feet fast enough during his speech, even
if it meant attacking the leader of their very own nation. How absolutely
embarrassing.
Mr Martinez should, however, exact some precision in the remainder of his
letter. First of all I know of no nation that explicitly recognizes Israel as a
Jewish state, not even the US Congress. He asks "What about the Palestinian
side? Aren't they supposed to compromise as well?"
I think they have. Rather than holding up negotiations by not agreeing to
Israel's latest moving of the goalposts, they punted the ball right back. They
said that the Israelis could define their state any way they choose. The only
condition is that the state they recognize would first define its borders, and
surely Mr Martinez would not disagree with that given his love for freedom and
democracy! I imagine Mr Martinez would like to believe that Palestinians would
recognize Arab East Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Jenin, and Ramallah as part of a
Jewish state?
Israelis alone will decide what kind of state they want to live in - a secular
democracy or a theocracy. This latest dance music by Netanyahu is the most
bogus excuse ever for not negotiating. And it sounds so innocuous. It isn't.
The solution is simple. Once borders are decided upon, Palestinians recognize
Israel as the "State of Israel". Israelis recognize Palestine as the "State of
Palestine". It's that simple.
The 1967 line is a compromise by the Palestinians. It corresponds to an
armistice line, not a border. The only internationally recognized border is
that at the termination of the British mandate. If Mr Martinez has evidence of
another I would love to see it. The old story in Israel is that the Likudists
have three dreams: a Jewish State, a democracy, and a state that includes the
West Bank. This is impossible. You can be a democratic Jewish state, but not
with West Bank/East Jerusalem. You can have the West Bank and Jerusalem, but
not be a Jewish state nor a democracy, or you can be a democracy and not be a
Jewish state.
I have no faith in the US Congress. The vast majority would run over their
grandmother if it meant maintaining support of the Likud lobby.
Miles Tompkins
Canada (May 31, '11)
[Re Israel as a
Middle Eastern hegemon, May 23] Spengler's refrain is getting tiring
and his neglect of serious environmental constraints seems outright callous;
24,000 thirsty Israelis? It takes a hell of a lot of optimism to think that
their thirst for drinking water, let alone for swimming pools, will be
adequately quenched.
Unless the title says it all, namely that Spenglerians in Israel are counting
on taking over all the water resources in the region and for that reason are
gloating secretly about the low birth-rate in countries such as Turkey and
Iran. Of course, if Israel's lethal WMD have not contaminated those countries'
dwindling and mis-managed aquifers by then.
What about the Arabs? Does he expect all their prolific offspring to have died
of famine by then? There would no doubt be plenty of Schadenfreude among
Spengler's friends, but I wouldn't bet on it if I were in Israel, since the
regional if not global impact is likely to be very ugly indeed.
Fatema Farmanfarmaian
United Kingdom (May 31, '11)
After reading The Last Tango in Paris, one must wonder how the 1967
borders of Israel were defended and eventually defeated multiple Arab armies in
1967. If Israel was defended in 1967, it must obviously be defendable now as it
has become the number one power in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is obviously lying, as history shows us that his words are
false.
Bob van den Broeck
Canada/USA (May 27, '11)
We will presume you are referring to
A steamy tango in Washington, Asia Times Online, May 25, '11. - ATol
[Dear Leader is hard to
track, May 26, '11] Had Sunny Lee followed US Institute of Peace
analyst John S Park's observations, it would come as no surprise that China
sees economic advantage in modernizing North Korea's port of Rajin. In fact,
the Rajin Sonbong is a special economic zone which will benefit from Chinese
trade and investment. Such infusion of capital and rebuilding of North Korea's
"rust belt" will help energize the North's economy.
You have to wonder why the press keeps guessing where Kim Jong-il is. He is
where he always was: head of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea].
More to the point, Kim is recovering nicely: you only have to compare the slim
Kim at the time Bill Clinton sat for a picture with him in July 2009 to the
more round figure of the North Korean leader in his current trip to China, in
order to see that he is at the top of his game once more.
A more economically viable and stable North Korea challenging the South
Korean-US policy of banking on a failing North, is another indication of China
eclipsing US in influence in Asia.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 27, '11)
[Re A steamy
tango in Washington, May 25] In assessing Israeli premier Netanyahu's
"glittering" turn in addressing the joint session of the American congress, it
will due well to recall the old wives' saying: "all that glitters is not gold".
The head of the Likud-led coalition has signaled that he is not interested in a
two state solution, and that's that. It judged United States President Barack
Obama a pushover since in the past he could thumb his nose at the American
president's attempts to jump start negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority. He was wrong.
The resignation of George Mitchell was a bellwether. As a result, Obama lobbed
a grenade into Netanyahu's "I don't give a damn" standpoint, by resurrecting as
a basis for negotiations the 1967 borders.
Now, these borders are internationally recognized by none other than the
International Court of Justice, and let's remind ourselves they include all of
the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. By bringing them to the fore, did the
US president understand that he had changed the debate and put the rights of
the Palestinians to a state of their own within this framework?
Suddenly the Palestinians have rights and full recognition of a claim to a land
which Netanyahu, try as he might, calls "Judea and Sumaria", an irredentism
claim solely based on the Old Testament.
Netanyahu's intransigence pushes Israel further into to its self-imposed
isolation. Obama knew what he was doing since for all too long Israel has acted
like a loose cannon in a Middle East in ferment.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (May 26, '11)
[Re A steamy tango in
Washington, May 25] Anyone who saw the extremely warm reception of
Benjamin Netanyahu by the United States Congress would definitely assert that
tango is not that steamy after all. It is ludicrous to see the anti-freedom
press focusing on some minor tensions, while completely ignoring the gigantic
support for the State of Israel in the United States.
Not only the vast majority of Americans support the Jewish State, but also
congress and most freedom-loving people. In a democracy people are free to
disagree with whatever they want to disagree. Heated debate and loud
disagreements are the signs of a sound democracy. So people expect to be
presented both sides of an issue.
Unfortunately when it comes to Israel, there is only Israel-bashing and talks
about Israel's compromise. What about the Palestinian side? Aren't they
supposed to compromise as well?
Objectivity is not expected from fellow letter writers or myself, we are not
journalists. But journalists should be a little more responsible and leave
their opinions aside unless they don't take their jobs seriously. Neither
Israel will cease to exist nor the United States will ever leave Israel alone
in a region plagued with deceivers and people - who unlike the West - aren't
afraid of blood, death, and destruction.
Ysais Martinez
United States (May 26, '11)
[Re A steamy tango in
Washington, May 25] Benjamin Netanyahu was reported in this article to
have given a hawkish speech before the Knesset in which he claimed the
Palestinians were after Israel's very existence and vowed not to
compromise...and "He (Netanyahu) blasted that Israel could not return to the
"indefensible" 1967 borders...". Also it reported, "Obama's aides said that
Netanyahu would "never" do what it takes to achieve peace".
It is obvious that Netanyahu with support from the Israeli lobby, the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is deliberately blocking any
negotiation in good faith to form a sovereign Palestine, once again. This
motivates terrorism against both the United States and Israel and is a great
threat to US national security and peace in the world. Neither Obama nor
Netanyahu are treating Palestinians on an equal basis with Israel. They have no
right to dictate that constituent members shall exclude Hamas or any other
group in a democratic government negotiating on behalf of Palestinian people.
This violates fundamental democratic principles.
So, after 40 years of blocking by Israel with the help and support of USA, a
last resort of UN declaration and recognition of a Palestinian state must
finally override this blockage in the interest of world peace.
Daniel N Russell
United States (May 26, '11)
[Re Hitler and the
Chinese Internet generation, May 24] The author's infatuation with one
Chinese rumor is just another example of how Westerners, and more dangerously
political analysts, lack a fundamental understanding of how the Chinese think.
Yes, on paper 170,000 views of one rumor sounds like a lot. But when you have
1.3 billion plus people and 400 plus million netizens, that's inconsequential.
Obviously this touched a nerve with Richard Komaiko (or did it?), but what
folks really need to realize is that in China, rumors often run wild. Yet just
as suddenly as a rumor appears, it disappears (eg, the recent run on salt
during the Japanese nuclear melt down). One thing I do agree with the author is
the need for additional education in Western history (but China is not alone in
this need. Westerners should at least touch on Eastern history/philosophy). As
a history buff and having been schooled both in China and in the US, I believe
China's focus on history could be expanded a bit beyond the emphasis place on
regional affairs and the atrocities that the Japanese inflicted on its
neighbors (then again, would a more global view scare the Western analysts
more?). However, I must add that the Chinese history books, even with the
communist political rhetoric, did not cover up the fact that Hitler was a evil
person. Just take a look around. In a world where even the young Mongolians
dress up as the Nazi SS, you won't find that in China. Then again, if you are
worried about racial hatred, I am pretty sure most are more worried about China
integrating than segregating. Just ask the Tibetans.
Frank Yang
Texas, USA (May 25, '11)
[Re Israel as a Middle
Eastern hegemon, May 23] Spengler's article on Israel's population
growth over the next century, almost makes sense. He presents some very
general/basic data interpretation. It does not show any data on the emigration
of Jews to the United States and Europe.
As an ex-Intel employee of 20 years, I saw 80% or more of Intel Israeli
engineers and techs working on projects in the U, staying on and becoming
citizens. Obviously the US is a safer place to raise a family. Many of the
Israeli immigrants to the US were Russians. Israel was only a waystation to a
good life in the West.
Spengler failed to mention some of the details of the Israeli surge in
birthrate. This surge in population is largely due to the Ultra-Orthodox Jews,
whom do not work or add much to the economy of Israel. Israel is a welfare
state, and without continued donations by pro-zionist governments it will fail,
as it did before. The modern Jews now living in Israel are already tired of
footing the bill for the burgeoning population of Ultra-orthdox freeloaders.
The Ultra-orthodox are now joining the army and fight by the laws of the Torah
and Talmud, not the Geneva Convention. I see nothing but continued conflict for
the self proclaimed "Chosen People" of Israel. There most likely will not be an
Israel at the end of the century.
Spengler shows his bias in how his data is presented, ignoring obvious facts.
Omission of the truth, is always a lie. Generalizations of the races by
Spengler is racist indeed.
"The right way to read this projection is backwards: Israelis love children and
have lots of them because they are happy."
The majority of the Israelis I worked with were very uptight and secretive
people, enmeshed in work politics. My boss was a Russian Jew from Kazakstan. He
told me the Jewish people were the smartest people in the world, "after all,
all of the chess champions are Jewish.'' I asked what about Bobby Fisher?
Does Asia Times Online not find Spengler's generalizations of Persians, Arabs,
Jews and other ethnicities as racist?
Bob van den Rock
United States (May 24, '11)
[Re Israel as a
Middle Eastern hegemon, May 23] It is true Israel has a high
fertility rate. The question does not lie there. Who is having the babies?
Large families are found among the "heredity" or Ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Many do not recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist state, and for the majority
of them, sons of theirs are not fodder for the Israeli citizen soldier army. US
President Barack Obama voiced his fear that Israel's unwillingness to engage in
a "meaningful peace process" heightens its growing isolation in the Middle
East.
On the other hand, it is true Israel is armed to the teeth, yet ironically is
rendering America's presence in the Arab world less significant. So "hegemony"
that Israel is, and one to be feared, it is falling back to a defensive posture
similar to a "Crusader state". In consequence, it cannot make any significant
concessions to the Palestinians, and must remain always on the qui vive,
which translates into a willingness to engage in low level warfare like "Cast
Lead" at any time for even the slimmest of excuses.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (May 24, '11)
The master class in real politics the Israeli president administered to
President Barack Obama in the Oval office last Friday on Israel's
4,000-year-old right of return to the Holy Land puts paid to the Arab
Awakening as harbinger of better life to Arabs in Israel's neighborhood. The
obduracy of Palestinians in not recognizing their role as the chosen vessel of
Europe's repentance for what was meted out to Jews in its midst over a
millennia is the main obstacle to the peace Bethany was talking about.
Palestinians must cease their resistance to the inevitable and learn to
co-exist with God's chosen people. In that is their deliverance. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was not meant for them.
M A Avid
United Kingdom (May 24, '11)
[Re India left out in
Afghan musical chairs, May 20] India likely isn't as marginalized as
may be indicated by appearance. For one thing, South Asian geopolitics is in
constant flux, with the ground reality frequently shifting overnight. Moreover,
India's geographic location and growing global profile will invariably present
the country opportunities to become involved in affairs within its
neighborhood.
That being said, the Indian leadership may do well to focus more on shoring up
the country's economic fundamentals rather than wasting energy being bogged
down in geopolitical mazes. Just as China's miracle growth will inevitably
experience a correction, a nasty economic storm is gathering speed and heading
India's way.
John Chen
United States (May 23, '11)
[Re US-Taiwan defensive
binds start to fray, May 19] The title appears to erroneously suggest
that the United States is abandoning Taiwan because of a diminution in
ideological zeal for freedom and democracy, but the content is quite correctly
illustrative of the Taiwan issue.
First, it states, ''The internal law obliges US administrations to hinder any
effort to determine the future of Taiwan other than by peaceful means,
including boycotts or embargoes … [with] lawgivers left some wiggle room.'' It
ambiguously provides that "defense articles and defense services are made
available in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a
sufficient self-defense capability". The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) can be
rhetorical, but the reality is that Taiwan's defense capability cannot include
that against an embargo circa 2040.
The US will never know whether the people of Taiwan will choose war and
destruction over an autonomous niche within China. When a war has not started,
the US will simply not have any indication from Taiwan what it really wants.
Really, the world does not want Taiwan to have any chance to articulate such a
choice. Taiwan does not want the world to give it such a chance, to declare
whether it wants peace with a niche within China or a destructive war.
Such is Taiwan's strategic ambiguity that can serve only to prolong the status
quo for two or three more decades; eventually the mainland side will compel
Taiwan to make such a choice without starting a war.
Second, it continues, ''ships carrying oil to Japan and South Korea could
simply take an insignificant detour''. Well, ships carrying oil to Taiwan
cannot. So the Chinese mainland will not need a comprehensive embargo, only
Taiwan's energy link, and not even an actual embargo but the increasingly
explicit threat of it to undermine Taiwan's island-economy.
Last, ''Tsang argues that as long as the TRA is not repealed, Washington will
always have the option to decide what to do as the situation unfolds.'' Wrong!
Do the people of Taiwan really want Washington to have such an option, to
decide on their behalf whether they want peace and a negotiated niche within
China, or a destructive war, one that has not started?
The TRA is not going to be officially repealed but will be increasingly
immaterial. Taiwan's strongest defense will continue to be the Western
consumers of Chinese exports, but such defense is effective only in deterring a
gory attack on Taiwan, not gradual pressure that will eventually bear fruit for
the Chinese mainland.
Jeff Church
United States (May 23, '11)
[Re What Obama
couldn't possibly say, May 20] The latest article by Pepe Escobar
stretches the truth and our credulity to the limit. Of all the nonsense
"analysis" in this e-zine, this piece of fiction approaches being the worst and
most irresponsible.
First of all, please for just one moment imagine yourself to be the president
of the USA. In just a few short months, nearly every country in the Middle East
has witnessed a vigorous protest movement with teeth, enough to toss out
Mubarak, Ali, maybe Gaddafi, and others on the way? (and with, one should note,
no small measure of encouragement from Washington DC). Your whole cadre of
analysts at the State Department are unprepared to answer basic questions, such
as who are these protesters and what do they want? Are they really fed-up
citizens, or Iranian set-ups? etc. This is a real question he needs answered.
While that is going on for a couple of weeks, consider this. What has been the
United States' consistent playbook for this region for 40 years? It has been to
encourage measured stability, and support for Israel, with low-level
encouragement for democracy. Why low-level? Because none of the regimes in the
area showed even the slightest willingness to accommodate real democracy. And,
important to note, change does not come fast to the Middle East. (And how
exactly do the Arab critics of Obama's ''slow reaction'' think that he should
have been more forceful, and to what end?)
Now suddenly you have a raft of new players on the scene; protesters from
groups you don't know. Do you (as Bush would have done) ally yourself knee-jerk
with Mubarak, Ali, etc. and put down the "radical" protestors so as to ensure
"stability" for our friends? Or do you take a chance to support genuine
self-initiated democratic movements by people seeking freedom and liberty?
Probably, you check it out for a few days, and then, if you are a risk-taker
for youth and democracy like Obama, you come out and support the 'Arab spring'
movements.
So where does oil figure into this? or Saudi Arabia? They don't figure in.
First, because there is no popular movement in Saudi Arabia, and second because
none of this has anything to do with oil. That this might be about oil is as
much a phony fixation among Arabs as is the fixation in the West that the
uprisings are all led by the Islamic Brotherhood.
Both are false. Saudi Arabia was deliberately left out of the speech. If I were
the king, I would see this as a veiled threat - no, we did not mention you, but
don't conclude that we are not watching what you do. We are just keeping our
mouths closed, for now.
There is plenty of time to deal with Saudi Arabia, but only if the people there
demand change.
John in Kansas
United States (May 23, '11)
[Re Food fight looms over
North Korean 'famine, May 20] Famine is in North Korea, which even
American NGOs like Mercy Corp were there to observe during a tour of the most
hard hit provinces in the North. So, the question arises: why the quote marks
around famine?
The implication is that it is maneuver to bilk food aid from the US.
Equally by saying that the US may send in an inspection team is simply a
bureaucratic measure to put off until tomorrow food deliveries. Is there any
need for yet another report when Mercy Corp and Helping Hands Korea have
already alerted Washington of dire food shortages, albeit advocating different
strategies for relief?
On the other hand, little is known of former US ambassador to Seoul Donald
Gregg's visit to South Korea. A small announcement in the press suggested that
he was going to urge South Korea's president Lee Myung bak to send food to
North Korea.
So far the Barack Obama administration is not forcing the issue. A
confrontation with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is unlikely, in public
at least. A more significant development would be the US unlinking its policy
toward North Korea from Lee's. The dragging of feet on rescuing North Koreans
from starvation and death remains, without the help of the US, South Korea,
Australia, and the EU.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 23, '11)
[Re Lee hangs tough on North
Korea, May 19] Did anyone expect South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak
to depart from his hardline policy toward North Korea? Lee broke the "Sunshine
Policy" mold, and so owns lock, stock, and barrel his unbending standpoint
toward the North.
It does little to explain his policy by excusing it since it is difficult to
deal with North Korea. Instead of acting in the spirit of reducing tensions in
the Korean peninsula, Lee has continually stoked the flames of confrontation
and is willing to provoke "war-like actions", as the world has seen by the
exchange of live fire with North Korea in late November 2010.
In this, the US has played a frightful role in backing up Lee's negative
approach to the Kim Il-sung regime. It has encouraged the South Korean
president in pursuing a policy which, even in the short run, is doomed to
failure. Furthermore, thinking that a "hell no, we won't deal" attitude will
push North Korea to implode is simply proof that Lee and his American friends
are wandering in the garden of romantic fairy tales.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 20, '11)
Re Hardy Campbell's request that AsiaTimes Online readers cast their votes for
the most fiendish American accomplishment [Letters, May 18] I could cast
thousands, but I'll select the accomplishments of Norman Borlaug, the farmer
from Iowa who was the Father of the Green Revolution. The improvements in
agricultural productivity that he spawned have arguably saved hundreds of
millions of lives around the world, and improved the lives of possibly billions
more.
That is an almost diabolical accomplishment in that it casts insurmountable
aspersions on the integrity and honesty of people like Noam Chomsky, and their
amateur-hour camp-followers like Hardy Campbell.
If you are forced to conclude that they traffic in half-truths, or half the
story, then you must inevitably ask why they cower in pathological fear of the
other half? If American actions and motives aren't as unrelentingly one-sided
as they say, then what horrible mental anguish must these folks be subjecting
themselves to in order to avoid facing contrary facts?
The mental suffering that Mr Borlaug and millions of other Americans inflict
upon the Chomskys and Campbells and Pepe Escobars of the world gets my vote.
Geoffrey Sherwood
United States (May 20, '11)
[Re Lost homes, May 18] Never is a
long time, but the US housing market does face strong headwinds. Barring any
catastrophic event (such as war or even more meshuga government policies), home
prices should continue to fall for several more years, and then languish at the
nadir for another equally lengthy period. All those wealthy Asians snapping up
price-distressed mansions in the US must have a hard time hiding their newfound
riches back home.
John Chen
United States (May 19, '11)
[Re Middle East front opens
for the Koreas, May 18] Yong Kwon brings nothing new to the table. In
fact, he is shy in not connecting the dots leading to Israeli South Korean arms
sales.
North Korea has never made a big stink about its rocketry nor technology
transfers, say, to the Middle East, for hard cash which it cannot raise through
normal channels, owing to US pressure and sanctions. It is interesting to note
that America's ally Egypt had a deal with North Korea, and if it displeased
Washington, US "demarches" were never made public. The implication is that the
United States will swallow a bitter pill to keep Egypt in its orbit.
Let's put Yong Kwon's article in perspective: it appears at a moment when China
is contesting a report on Irani and North Korean advanced rocketry and nuclear
programs.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 19, '11)
[Re Lee's Kim invite plays
to home crowd, May 17] South Korea's Lee Myung-bak's invitation to Kim
Jong-il to join a nuclear summit meeting in Seoul is a Madison Avenue ploy. Its
obvious falseness is obvious. Lee may knock up his popularity at home, but not
by very much. His hold on the GNP is being strongly challenged by Park
Chung-hee's daughter.
Lee's term in office has brought South Korea to the edge of war with the North,
and for many he has become "damaged goods". If the GNP occupies the Blue House
again after the 2012 elections, South Korea will have to offer substantive
proposals, not a card trick like Lee tried to pull off in a reunited Germany.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 18, '11)
Long after the Empire joins the USSR, Assyria and Nazi Germany on the
inglorious trash heap of history, its long list of crimes, sins and
transgressions against its fellow earthers will challenge future scholars.
Deciding which of its fiendish accomplishments has done more harm to humanity
will require long heated debates in seminars, symposia and conferences among
the ivory towered intelligentsia of the post-imperial planet.
There will doubtless be agenda items with titles like "Agent Orange and Its
Hideous Fetal-Deforming Legacy," "DDT with its Lethal Persistence in the
Environment," and "Predatory Capitalism, Third World Debt-Slavery and US Banks'
Enrichment." But it is in the sphere of military technology that Wonderland
stands tall above the rest of the wannabe WonderPlagues. Drone weapons that can
swoop out of the sky without warning and murder women and children in
OverThereaStan seems like a good candidate, but that's only because it's the
newest, sexiest kid on the block, the Justin Bieber, if you will, of America's
Full Spectrum Arsenal.
No, I'm going to nominate instead the humble anti-personnel weapon known as the
cluster bomblet.
How cute of the Pentagon to give a diminutive name to a small ball-shaped
device that children cannot help picking up and having their faces, arms and
innards destroyed in a ghastly explosion. By showering these bombs from planes
onto an enemy area, the theory is that they will annihilate an attacking force
as they detonate during descent. But naturally not all of these bomblets
explode as "designed" and instead lay waiting until some unwitting peasant or
child steps on or plays with them.
Bad publicity about these little devils has caused Wonderland to pass lame
two-faced legislation banning export of such devices until they can be
"ensured" of detonation (how decent of those legislators), but notably the
Obama administration, like his dim-witted albino clone predecessor, has shied
away from getting on board international prohibition of its trade.
I know, I know, little child-killing bombs don't have the same historical
resonance as collateralized derivatives that shatter national economies or a
Bhopal's mass gassing of poor brown people, but in the Wonder Hall of Shame
there will be a kiddie's section commemorating all those young souls that never
had a chance in Imperial America's plans. Cast your vote, ATimers!
Hardy Campbell
United States (May 18, '11)
[Re Sunday, bloody
Sunday, May 16] Mr Escobar, Do you know why Ha'aretz can run an
editorial or article criticizing Israel's policies or suggesting that the mobs
are knocking on Israel's borders? Because Israel is a democracy unlike Iran,
Syria, Gaza, the West Bank, and other unpleasant places that you seem to glow
over. If it was in Iran, the newspaper would not be able to report the news
unless it is reporting government propaganda.
Your opinion-filled pieces propose the destruction of Israel and the relocation
of Jews to God knows where. Amidst your nonsensical rants, shouldn't you
propose or share with your readers a solution to the Israel-Palestinian
conflict? We need more "Israels" in the world and less "Irans."
I have also read about the hostility towards Palestinians from their own Arab
neighbors but you never report a word of it. Support for terrorist organization
Hamas is not necessarily support for the best interests of all Palestinians.
Finally, Israel is a very prosperous nation. Countries that call for Israel
destruction should set an example and slap Israel in the face by becoming
developed nations themselves. That is why it is very hard for many of us to
read and understand criticism of our Western governments when we have such
comfortable lives, prosperous small businesses, and affluent societies. You
want Israel to disappear, but what will replace it?
Ysais Martinez
United States (May 17, '11)
[Re Constitutional
chaos looms in Nepal, May 11] Certainly, the writer needs to be thanked
for keeping readers aware of the ongoing situation in Nepal. It is not unfair
to add some more relevant issues based on ground realities. So far as the
so-called people's movement in Nepal is concerned, its attempt to reinstate
democratic and constitutional process has been derailed. In fact, the movement
was against absolute monarchy and not constitutional monarchy.Bringing the
existing democratic constitution back on track was the main objective.
Unfortunately, a few vision-impaired leaders of major political parties made
the constitution a captive and tried to impose their dictated principles in the
name of new Nepal. No clear ways are seen to bring the situation back to rule
of law and true democratic process.The only way to get the nation back on track
is to revive the constitution of 1990. From a legal point of view, the interim
constitution cannot be validated as a full-fledeged constitution and the 1990
charter is strong enough charter to withstand updating to meet current
challenges.
Dibakar Pant
St.Paul,USA (May 16, '11)
Is United States President Barack Obama trying to surpass president George W
Bush's record for lies crammed into a week? The myth-making machine in the
White House is working overtime to cover up the multitude of disinformation
stemming from OsamaBama-Gate by flooding the airwaves with a tsunami of
balderdash, baloney and braggadocio. First, according to Pinnochiobama, no
Americans died in the raid, yet a US helicopter outside the compound crashed
and was utterly destroyed; did they parachute out after it hit the ground?
Second, Osama bin Laden was allegedly buried at sea because of American concern
for Muslim funeral customs, yet that very act is in violation of Muslin custom;
what, no one consulted Wikipedia? Third, no photos will be released of the
execution or the body, because the lie of Bin Laden being killed would be
exposed; I guess the CGI [computer-generated imagery] experts are having a hard
time faking the video too. Fourth, the White House had to back away from the
lie about him using a woman as a human shield; maybe Obama hoped his nose would
stop growing if he chopped one more little lie off. Fifthly, the vast lie about
Osama being the leader of anything, let alone "al-Qaeda", was still being
trumpeted by the Great Truth Shredder, who knows all too well that the body
double they killed represented nothing more than America's favorite Chimera,
the mythical beast that spawned self-serving fantasy after fantasy, a befitting
creature for a Wonderland that only exists for battling non-existent enemies
...
Hardy Campbell
Texas USA (May 16, '11)
[Re 'Seductive' China to
strain Seoul's US ties, May 11] South Korea's chattering class may see
an advantage to "siding" with China, the conceit remains a piece of
intellectual meat to chew over. If anything it is a sign that the hard-nosed
policy of president Lee Myung-bak toward North Korea has unsettled geopolitical
realities in northeast Asia and put Seoul at the mercy of China's displeasure.
Furthermore, Japan and the US are in accord with Lee's approach, and thus are
able to thwart any initiative by Beijing to jump start the stalled six-party
talks. Such a united front not only vexes China but makes it lose "face" as a
leading Asian power.
And from a military standpoint, South Korea cannot cut the umbilical chord to
the nation that has propped it up since its creation, and that has allowed it
to grow and prosper. Of course, technically South Korea, despite huge
investment in China, is technically at war with the Communist regime, the more
especially had not affixed its signature on the 1953 Armistice Agreement.
Consequently, for these and other reasons, no matter how attractive the
conceits of university professors, they remain simply speculative and without
any muscle.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 12, '11)
So self-righteous, two-faced Wonderland-Pot is once again pointing a finger at
the China-Kettle and calling it human-rights-black. Can any of Asia Times
Online's readers explain how a country that is currently bombing and shooting
men, women and children in three Muslim nations can accuse a country not at war
with anyone of being a violator of human rights?
Please, someone, anyone, explain how it is that a country that is maintaining a
mean-spirited, 50-year-old embargo against a poor neighboring nation, Cuba - an
embargo that denies the Cuban people essential commodities - can accuse a China
that believes in free trade with everyone on earth of being an abuser of basic
human dignities?
Is it China that incarcerates the highest percentage of its population in
overcrowded, gang infested prisons or the high and mighty United States?
Another no-prize quiz question; Which of the two nations manufactures and sells
more weapons to the rest of the world so that wanton destruction, oppression
and death is sown for profit in the most desperately poor parts of the globe?
Which of the two has the most megacorporations polluting rivers, seas and lakes
around the world, or whose big agro-conglomerates are impoverishing native
farmers with their monopolies on genetically engineered hybrid seeds?
It wasn't China whose financial gurus threw millions of its fellow citizens out
of work permanently with their greed and political bribery. It isn't China that
actively supports tyrannical regimes in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain that
persecutes, tortures and executes its dissident citizens.
Yes, if you use the arbitrary and cherry-picked standards of the US State
Department to judge who violates human rights, China makes the biggest and most
convenient target because they're just godless commies, they own our derrieres
and they're yellow-skinned to boot. But if one expands the definition of what
constitutes true abuse to incorporate the entire gamut of socioeconomic
malevolence, the winner, by a Texas mile, stands alone and unchallenged.
So if Americans want to see the real face of human rights abusers, look in the
mirror and take a long hard look at a country that denies, ignores and
marginalizes its gross and egregious human rights violations on a daily basis
and chalks it all up to the price of divinely anointed exceptionalist
greatness.
Hardy Campbell
United States (May 12, '11)
One wonders here in Wonderland, just how many times does Pakistan have to
remind us that it is the main enemy, with Saudi Arabia a close and richer
second. Let's look at the track record.
In 2001, weeks before the attack, the head of the notorious Pakistani ISI,
Mehmood Ahmed, authorized the transfer of $100,000 to the alleged 9-11
ringleader Mohammed Atta (you remember, America; the alleged ascetic who hated
western decadence but drank like an Irish fish and had a stripper
girlfiriend?). That indiscretion (facilitated by Saudi credit institutions)
cost Ahmed his job but no worry; the US "War on Terror" money kept pouring in
regardless.
Or what about the Sam Walton of nukes, the Pakistani A Q Khan, who did for
nuclear weapons technology what Ray Kroc did for burger franchises? The Bush
White House thought that somehow all that US taxpayer loot being shoveled into
ISI bank accounts merited at least an interview with Dr Khan, but nothing
doing. But we can imagine the kind of money the Pakistanis made peddling their
technology to the likes of Iran and North Korea.
And let's not forget the regular CIA reports of Saudi money funneled through
Pakistan to the Afghan Taliban, the heroin making its way from Afghan poppy
fields to American veins via Pakistan, the training camps for Kashimiri,
al-Qaeda and Chechnyan rebels in the Hindu Kush, blah blah blah.
The "relevations" of sanctuary for the 9-11 Fall Guy bin Laden are as
surprising as Donald Trump saying something inane, especially when one
considers how cozy a relationship the CIA, ISI and Saudi security have been
since the halcyon days of the Soviet war. But the game of smoke and mirrors and
money will continue, despite numerous other such "revelations" sure to come in
the future.
Hardy Campbell (May 11, '11)
United States [Re Who's
influencing who across the strait?, May 9] I found one great
contradiction and one a very illustrative use of a certain word. The
contradiction is in, on one hand, ''If Taiwan does not support the struggle for
freedom of thought within China, I see no need for America to support Taiwan,"
Rohrabacher reportedly wrote to Ma, and on the other, (according to Kou) ''...
Ma was elected to serve Taiwan people, he cannot and should not jeopardize
Taiwan's political and economic interests in order to push China toward
democratization."
This contradiction actually illustrates a basic conflict of interest between
Taiwan and the United States, except for Taiwan it is a fanciful thought (of
indefinite status quo or independence) but for the USA it is a realistic goal -
of Taiwan, the instrument, as the beacon of democracy for mainland China, the
real American objective. Ma is correct and realistic, although denial is a
necessary ingredient for political prosperity in Taiwan.
Since Taiwan is an island completely exposed, reunification is inevitable in
due course for Taiwan's economic survival. In order to make reunification more
palatable, it is obligatory for Taiwan to serve as a beacon of democracy to
alleviate any detriment on Taiwan when reunification becomes necessary. Kou's
verdict on Ma is the deluded in denial accusing the realistic of betrayal;
there is not much to ''jeopardize'' as Taiwan's fate is very much sealed. (The
reader may find Last
Ming Dynasty admiral spooks Taiwan by the same author illustrative;
just to extrapolate, the mainland side will have far more potent trump cards
than the name of an admiral to spook Taiwan very much more, to the decisive
detriment of its island economy in the decades to come.)
Also quite worthy of thought, is word ''sentiments''. It is found in,
''According to Rohrabacher, NTDTV's broadcasts to China help break a Chinese
blockade on free information and promote democratic sentiments.'' So
Rohrabacher acknowledged the sentiments, which should include Taiwan being the
Nationalist seat of government of all of China, the Nationalists taking most of
the Chinese treasury and public cultural relics to Taiwan, and Japanese
aggression that led to the ceding of Taiwan and later Japanese atrocities in
China.
Hong Kong democracy does not arouse such sentiments so Hong Kong better induces
''democratic sentiments'' in mainland China. For the United States, Taiwan's
role as a beacon of democracy is better served after reunification, as
sentiments must first dissipate.
Last, one really must ask if mainland China is less autocratic now than it was
20 years ago. The ''Jasmine Revolution'' spooks China, but one should ask why a
country with per capita income one tenth that of the United States should be
unconcerned about any ''revolution''. Some seasonal adjustment seems realistic
in assessing Chinese political progress, I believe. The detriment to freedom
associated with the Patriot Act, in response to a conceived crisis, does not
indicate great downward spiral of American democracy, one would hope.
Jeff Church
United States (May 10, '11)
[Re Israel and the Bin
Laden assassination, May 9] One can turn Viktor Kostev's analogy on its
head: there is more than a little similarity between Israel's program of
"targeted killings" of Palestinian leaders and Bin Laden's terrorist assaults
on Westerner countries, especially the United States.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (May 10, '11)
The Osama bin Laden affair has two distinct phases that Pakistan needs to look
into in any inquiry. Firstly, Bin Laden's undetected and prolonged stay in
Pakistan, and that concerns all the intelligence agencies of the country
- both civil and military. Secondly, the intrusion of the US armed forces deep
inside Pakistan territory, which involves the operational failure on the part
of the military - army and air force. Since it is a matter of great national
importance and involves civil, army and air force, the inquiry should,
therefore be headed by either, specially constituted parliamentary committee, a
Supreme Court judge, or the defense ministry.
Just to make the inquiry absolutely transparent and acceptable to all, the
inquiry must be headed by an entirely neutral person. That would also establish
the supremacy of the civil administration in matters of national security and
defense.
Col Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Pakistan (May 10, '11)
Re Tibet's only hope
lies within, May 6] I suggest that the dreaded so-called ''tragedy'',
in "crimson" or whatever color, black, white, or brown, is itself the hope.
There seems to be validation by mere proclamation.
First and foremost, authors on this subject, instead of expounding on an
unsubstantiated proclamation of ''tragedy", should rigorously articulate the
worth of cultural identity to human beings. More generally, can ethnic
minorities be happy without ethnic cultural identity? There should first be a
clear explanation on why ethnic cultural identity is objectively valuable
before elaborate analysis on any ethnic struggles, before ascribing the state
of tragedy. I believe there are two truisms. First, it is the nearly universal
yearning of ethnic parents for their offspring to preserve a traditional
culture; the second is the gradual yearning of the offspring to be included in
a society, to become a part of the majority. In short, ethnic cultural identity
is a universally and vicariously coveted burden; and assimilation is
objectively the universal virtue that is subjectively and transitionally
dreaded.
A progressive society, such as the United States of late, should heed the
sentiment of ethnic parents but also promote assimilation intelligently.
Attempts to do so can be observed in rhetorical expressions. A quotation from
Martin Luther King is illustrative. ''I want to be the white man's brother, not
his brother-in-law.'' Did he suggest that a black man should not find white
women attractive? Did he suggest that one should have the power over a
sibling's choice of a spouse? Did he suggest that persons of Obama's racial mix
will be less desirable?
No. The statement catered to the present generation of both black and white
parents' fear of assimilation, but his advocacy was in fact assimilative. More
examples can be found in the battle cries for coercive busing of children.
''Separate is inherently unequal''. Why? Separate can be equal if white paid
reparation into all-black schools, but the progressive USA wants unity.
''Separation instills a feeling of inferiority on black children''. Does
separation also instill a feeling of inferiority on Tibetan children? If race
is no longer a consideration in the choice of a mate, then there will be no
more Hawaiians; the American ''tradition of assimilation'' across the racial
divide, cited by the US Senate as it rejected the 2000 Akaka Bill, would be a
reality. Then, there will be no more Hawaiians to be found and to be wooed.
Would this be a tragedy?
China's minority policy should be judged on how intelligently it promotes
assimilation, but assimilation is the virtue and minority cultural identity is
the social burden. Assimilation should be an individual choice after exposure.
The Tibetan language is allowed in China; if a Tibetan youth sees opportunity
associated with the Han language and neglects the Tibetan language, such is
social progress. A progressive government, the USA or China, must have coercive
exposure, be it in busing of children or population transfer, both intended to
dilute cultures. Last, instead of going only to Tibet to understand the Tibetan
issue, one should go to various parts of China to find persons of one or both
Tibetan parents with Han names. If one were to study the Russians in the USA,
would one look into Russian quarters? Was Natalie Wood Russian? Would the
social phenomenon of Natalie Wood be more illustrative of any Russian issues in
the USA than studying Russian quarters?
Jeff Church
United States (May 9, '11)
[Re China's energy
bosses taking political wheel,
Power bubbles are Hu's big challenge and
The empty talk of Wen Jiabao, May 5] Perhaps unwittingly, in the second
of the above articles, Francesco Sisci provides the appropriate reply to points
raised in all three.
According to Mr Sisci, the United States has successfully thwarted the
challenges to American supremacy coming from the Japanese and the Europeans
since World War II. Why does he then feel the need to ask whether the Americans
would tolerate the rise of China? In fact the Chinese leadership and Mr Sisci
himself already have the answer to that question. The Americans will not.
In a nutshell, the time of China's "Gorbachev" and "Yeltzin" is almost over. By
that I mean, to a growing body of opinion inside the Chinese Communist Party,
China has gone as far as it can go in the direction of "Westernisation" (as
prescribed by the political elite in the West) and in its attempts to pacify
critical opinions in the West. From their experiences leading the many
'state-owned enterprises' and the state apparatus, the powerful political and
economic oligarchs have obviously come to the conclusion that the dangers from
domestic politics and economics are far less threatening than the threats from
abroad. As such, democratization in politics as well as in economics can wait.
Kent Ewing is probably right that Wen Jiabao's pronouncements abroad and in
international contexts are meant for foreign consumption only. As far as I can
see the leaders in position now and those coming on stream in the near future
are going to gird their collective loins for some tough confrontation ahead
domestically and internationally - but especially internationally. At this
point in time compromises are seen as far less attractive and hold greater
long-term threats. It is the time to "circle the wagons".
Jim
Singapore (May 6, '11)
[Re Welcome to the
post-Osama world, May 5] United States President Barack Obama has
certainly demonstrated that he's a man of considerable intelligence and
political savvy, but to think that he could use the end of Osama bin Laden as a
pretext to start moderating US involvement abroad and in the process shorten
the leash on the Pentagon?
I don't know ... I mean, we're talking perhaps the single most powerful
institution on the planet (with all due respect to the Federal Reserve), and
military folks are a different breed altogether. My guess is the
commander-in-chief will soon be back to honing his Freudian techniques.
John Chen
United States (May 6, '11)
Futureman opined on the Osama assassination. "Yes, Americans rejoiced about the
death of a man they once supported as a 'freedom fighter', then they turned
around and sponsored a "democratic" replacement for Gaddafi, who wound up
building six atomic bombs destined for downtown Tel Aviv and New York, " he
said.
"Of course, the US then had to occupy Libya, and just to be safe, Tunisia,
Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Then Americans also completely forgot about the
mortgage meltdown of '08, and had a bigger crash in 2015 , followed by even
more destructive depressions in '18, '22 and '34. "
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You're kidding, right? I mean, four new
invasions and four more crashes? How? Why?"
"Well, as it turns out, scientists in the 22nd century determined that 21st
century Americans had been infected with a rare virus, called The History
Amnesia Bug. It progressively deteriorated the capacity of people to remember
historical events; at first, memories would last a year or two, then it went
down to a few months, and before the 21st century was over, people forgot
things immediately after they occurred.
So politicians lied outrageously in campaigns, knowing no one could recollect a
word they promised. America kept buying stocks in companies with bogus balance
sheets, even after they had been exposed numerous times as frauds, and
speculated heavily in ridiculous ventures like Afghan Disney, Chernobyl health
food farms and an American car industry.
Naturally, other countries took advantage of this affliction and gradually
America was reduced to a rump state, centered around Wichita, Kansas,
surrounded by colonies of Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans and even Africans. But
that was OK, because by then no one remembered a country that was ever bigger
than WichitaLand. It was all they ever knew."
"So what happened to that country?" Futureman sighed. "Well, the virus
eventually died off, and then Wichitalanders began reading ancient history
books, and before you knew it, they invaded all the neighboring states, set up
fast food franchises next to military bases and began investing in
hypercollateralized uber-incomprehensible futures in Martian fruit mines."
Hardy Campbell
United States (May 6, '11)
[Re Dying for TEPCO,
May 3] I am curious to know where Paul Jobin heard that members of the
burakumin underclass are helping with the cleanup operation at the damaged
nuclear reactor in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He admits that it was only a
rumor and not verifiable - so then why write about it?
It is true that some discrimination against the historical burakumin underclass
persists in the 21st century, however from what I have read and seen in Japan
the stigma is fading.
The bottom line is that one does not need to be from an underclass to volunteer
for dirty and dangerous jobs. Could it be that Mr Jobin added the unverifiable
burakumin points to spice up the article and build a doomsday scenario? If so,
he added to the torrent of misinformation calling itself "journalism" that has
helped spread unnecessary panic around Japan and the world since the horrible
events of March 11. Blair (May 6, '11)
Editor's note: The letter writer has been referred to Japan Focus, the original
publisher of the article
reproduced in Asia Times Online.
[Re Show us the
shooter, May 4] Everything that Pepe Escobar wrote about the hit on bin
Laden is true: it was a "targeted killing". (And I hate that expression.)
However, there is an issue which Mr Escobar seems to have overlooked. That is
what Bin Laden's supporters might have done to secure his release had he been
taken alive. For it seems most likely that they would have taken random
hostages and killed them, quite possibly in their favored style, by sawing
their victim's heads off on camera. This could have gone on indefinitely. Let
us remember that they are mass murderers, who feel pretty good about sneaking
up on their hosts and slaughtering them en masse.
I like what Pepe Escobar said, but he should have gotten around to this issue.
Steve McCaffery (May 5, '11)
Now that Osama bin Laden dead, let us talk about peace and harmony in the
world. That depends on if the United States and its allies wish to live in
peace with the rest of world or continue bullying the Muslim world and invade
their countries with every lie and excuse in the book.
Muslims all over the world are fed up of being labelled as terrorists by the
West when in fact they are the real victims of aggression from America, Zionist
Israel and its European allies.
Let us hope that Osama's death brings peace, tranquility and dignity to the1.5
billion Muslims who are peace-loving and law abiding people. Muslims have been
victimized both by the terrorist groups and the United States and its European
allies. Give them breathing space to live and die in peace. They hate wars,
violence and terror that wipes out their entire families by aerial bombings and
tanks that raze their homes to rubble.
Let us now hope and wish that Osama's myth is buried somewhere at sea, and will
not haunt innocent Muslims again. There is no doubt in mind that Osama's death
is definitely a triumph for the Americans warmongers, neo-cons, rightwing
supremacist and Anglo-Saxon Europeans who dream about re-colonizing a Muslim
world rich in natural resources and oil reserves. Now, that the Western
economies are in ruin and dependent upon the Muslim world's oil supplies and
commerce, the West must gang together to bully Muslims by arm aggression and
illegal invasions to intimidate them since they can no longer do it with
dollars.
Saqib Khan
United Kingdom (May 5, '11)
[Re Kim Jong-il safe from
Osama's fate, for now, May 4] Sunny Lee's piece is straight out of
"Alice in Wonderland". It is an exercise in frustration of resolving
fundamental differences with North Korea since 1948. Reliance on assassination
or saber rattling on the part of South Korea and the US only furthers tensions
and risks confrontation.
Diplomacy is looked down upon as an ancillary tool at best. And the solution
lies in political backbone bolstering the art of statesman ship which at
present is sorely lacking in Seoul and Washington.
South Korea's Lee Myung-bak's push towards the North has failed miserably. He's
a lame duck and cannot stand again for office. It is hoped his successor has
feet planted in reality and will be willing to deal with Kim Jong-il. Otherwise
South Korea and its American protector will mire in the muck they have made on
a divided Korean peninsula.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 5, '11)
[Re Obama/Osama rock
the casbah, May 4] I usually speak of Pepe Escobar in only grandiose,
positive superlatives, but will yank his chain a bit on this one ... creative
buffoonery is heavily laced among his small truths and assumptions. One could
say he has too many bells tinkling on his jester's cap; or as Danny Kaye said
in Court Jester (1958) ...
"the-pellet-with-the-poison-in-the-vessel-with-the-pestle."
Sounds like a metaphor for some of Escobar's assumptions, but I do recognize
also, the Osama 'event' is laced with a few absurdities of its own in a most
serious of escapades, yet to be defined; validated?
Then too, tales told by "the other media" are so full of doublespeak;
innuendoes resting on weak legs, that no one is certain what was the
back-lighting in the process of Bin Laden's demise. And when is an
assassination not an assassination? Plus Gitmo and black sites and drones
feeding 'pellets' or "pestles' from a safe house in Utah maybe ... could be the
ultimate terror when 'drones' possibly wearing army-issue shorts and drinking
cokes and sending vessel-with-a-pestle on a path that kills innocents more
often than not. Is this all not terrorism with a capital T?
Too much, too much, and so much more to come; to not look forward to?
I better read Pepe again ... who is to say what's true is true with the malice
of a chalice and the vessel with the pellet or the pestle, whatever?
How does one yank ones own chain ... very carefully I suppose?
Beryl John-Knudson
United States (May 4, '11)
[Re Obama/Osama rock
the casbah, May 4] Guess that professor who made a bundle a couple of
decades ago by writing a book informing us all that history had come to an end
was wrong - as Pepe here shows, the casbah seems likely to keep on rocking (or
being rocked) for quite some time to come.
Of course, if too many of the wrong buttons are pushed, the whole casbah might
just come to an untimely (?) end - but that wasn't, I'm sure, quite what the
dear professor had in mind ...
Henri (May 4, '11)
United States President Barack Obama paid rich tributes to the US special
forces who carried out the operation resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden
and capture of some of his family members. Obama emphasized that the troops had
been ordered to avoid any collateral damage to the civilians in the area. He
also said that there were no American casualties during the operation.
This last part is not understood. The burning debris of a Chinook helicopter
that had either crashed or was shot down was shown live on the TV channels.
Where was its crew at the time of its crashing? And how did it survive? One
would like to know.
Col Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Rawalpindi, Pakistan (May 4, '11)
[Re Sangay raises exiled
Tibetans' hopes, May 4] The reader should have an objective view of
what hopes for the Tibetans-in-exile in India mean. I see two ways for their
offspring to achieve greater happiness.
One is for China to allow persons born in India of one or both Tibetan-Chinese
parents to reclaim Chinese citizenship. Whether persons with one or more
Tibetan-Chinese grandparents will be allowed to regain Chinese citizenship will
be more problematic further into the future.
The other is for the Indian society to become more inclusive. The religious
(and racial) divide in India will have to be greatly eroded for the Tibetans in
India to be happy, to become Indians. I tend to think that the latter is quite
unlikely within decades. A great deal of human happiness derives from social
inclusion, most decisively in courtship and marriage. The subjectively dreaded
''cultural assimilation'' is, objectively, at least a necessary by-product of
social inclusion.
In fact, I tend to think that both the state of having lost one’s traditional
culture and living in a society that is conducive to ''cultural assimilation''
lead to greater happiness for all, including a group of human beings called the
Tibetans today. The reality is that, within a few generations, the Tibetan
cultural identity and the happiness from being socially included in the Chinese
or Indian societies are mutually exclusive (with the development of the service
economy).
The German newcomers to America assimilated the most thoroughly and the
fastest, even when the ethnic German parents insisted on having German schools
with German as the medium of instruction. Basically, ''a blonde is a blonde''
in courtship and marriage has led to happiness and assimilation for the Germans
and the virtual extinction of the German identity. If ''a human being is a
human being'' had been a social reality in courtship and marriage, then there
would really have been an American ''tradition of assimilation'' across the
racial divide (as the US Senate proclaimed in 2000 as it rejected the Akaka
Bill).
There would not be a racial group with the Hawaiian cultural identity in the
United States, as race and ethnicity will no longer be a consideration in the
choice of a spouse. In fact, the Hawaiians would no longer be found and wooed.
Moreover, is this election a ''win for democracy''? The whole Tibetan struggle
is not about democracy. It is about preserving a traditional culture by
segregation. Why has it taken decades to have the simplicity of an election
when the Tibetans-in-exile have been under the Western limelight for decades?
Furthermore, why have the Tibetans-in-exile been under Western limelight for
decades? If Tibet had remained a secretive and isolated theocracy, with
tenacious atrocious serfdom, would the Tibetans in Tibet be under such
limelight? Would the theocracy dissolve itself without secular forces? I don’t
think so.
So the Central Chinese Government’s social objective (even if additional to
nationalistic objectives) of dissolving Tibetan serfdom has placed the
Tibetans-in-exile under such limelight. Last, has Sangay, in his ''16 years at
Harvard'', become aware of the recent American social objective of
assimilation, in coercive busing of black children to be exposed to white
children against the choice of 85% of black parents, and in the rejection of
the Akaka Bill for cultural autonomy for the Hawaiians in 2000, with the US
Senate citing the American'' tradition of assimilation'', ''cultural
assimilation'' that is?
Jeff Church
United States (May 4, '11)
[Re Osama's al-Qaeda
ready for a fight, May 2] The most wanted man alive has finally been
brought to justice to face the end of his own mortality. But Osama bin Laden's
powerful message that galvanized disaffected elements throughout the Muslim
world cannot be so easily obliterated by the barrel of a gun.
United States President Barack Obama, in his nationwide address, was at pains
to point out that America would never be at war with Islam. Despite his
disclaimer, he nevertheless concluded by saying America can do these great
things, not just because of its wealth and power, but because it is "one
nation, under God".
President Obama deliberately left open the question whether America is one
nation under the God of Judeo-Christianity, or whether this includes the God of
Islam. Unless this most fundamental question of national self-identity can be
resolved, the US will never be freed from Bin Laden's divisive and destructive
legacy.
Reverend Dr Vincent Zankin
Australia (May 3, '11)
[Re Osama's al-Qaeda
ready for a fight, May 2] Osama is dead. Obama is an American. And Kate
and William are married. Question; Which fact is more irrelevant to the modern
world?
Well, William could be king some day, which may register a blip on the Who
Cares? Meter of the future, and Obama's citizenship has only been a question
mark for people convinced silent black helicopters are hovering over their
houses every night with nefarious intent. But the alleged execution of a man,
so marginal to the movement he allegedly spawned that George W Bush dismissed
his relevance with customary contempt years ago, must rank below the other two
insignificances by a fair margin.
I won't even speculate why now, after all this time under Pakistani protection
and Saudi/CIA financial support, Bin Laden was handed over to the US black ops
forces on a silver platter, but my, wasn't there an unseemly rush to ensure an
autopsy by someone other than the US government was not performed. Why, only a
conspiracy theorist would suggest that the long-ailing Bin Laden was already
dead when his villa was attacked and thus a poll-struggling Obama was given a
symbolic political coup at the same time the Pakistani ISI ensured more US
taxpayer money gets salted away in their Swiss bank accounts.
Whatever the reality, the tall turbaned Saudi had long since served his purpose
as the front man for 9/11, an event many who have chosen not to drink the US
Mythological KoolAid realize is much more than the Manichaean black-and-white,
good versus evil drama American's so dearly love.
So America will stay in Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya and all its 1,000-odd
bases around the globe, regardless of whether al-Qaeda, Bin Laden or the Devil
himself still lives and breathes, because that's where America's future lies.
So today let's wave the flag, remember the Alamo and dream about our fantasies
being worth their weight in gold.
Hardy Campbell
United States (May 3, '11)
[Re Osama's al-Qaeda
ready for a fight, May 2] While I do acknowledge Osama bin Laden’s
treachery, the United States has made three important mistakes which are going
to come into prolonged focus once the ''celebrations'' die down.
First, this was vengeance, not justice. Bin Laden should have been captured and
tried in a court of law with international legitimacy; not the kangaroo courts
of Guantanamo; and certainly not the military equivalent of a summary
execution. This will fuel further terrorism, not thwart it.
Second, that it took 10 years for the combined resources of the US military and
intelligence structures to locate Bin Laden points to the utter incompetence
and inefficiency of the US government agencies responsible; it is in no way a
cause for celebration. If anything, this will give confidence to terrorists,
and not thwart them.
Third, once again the US administration makes the mistake of trying the solve
terrorism by treating its symptoms, not its true cause, which is a failed US
foreign policy in the Middle East. If the US administration was to support a
Palestinian homeland, stop supporting Israeli terrorism, close Guantanamo, stop
invading and occupying Muslim nations, and stop thwarting UN efforts to deal
with these issues, the threat of terrorism would be neutralized.
The killing of Osama bin Laden represents yet another in a series of
extraordinary mistakes by the US administration which can only undermine
efforts to reduce the threat of terrorism.
Dr Rory E Morty
Giessen, Germany (May 3, '11)
[Re New currents in
the Egyptian revolution, May 2] Egypt is rushing forth to burnish its
traditional image in the Middle East. The transitional government in the hands
of the old guard is redirecting new policy. Already, they have thrown off the
heavy legacy of following the United States and Israel by three momentous
actions: one, Egypt brokered a peace between Hamas and the Palestinian
Authority; two, it recognized Hamas; and three, restored relations with Iran.
Viktor Kostev may not buy into the argument that Egypt has the right to pursue
an independent foreign policy that does not mirror Israel's designs. However, a
new realism holds sway in Cairo and is sanctioned by the very elite which once
supported the deposed Hosni Mubarak's identity of views with the Zionist state.
What we do not see is any hint of new winds sweeping through the cob-webbed
corridors of Israeli policy. Instead the Israeli government has gone
underground into a bunker of its own making.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Palermo, Italy (May 3, '11)
[Re Time to wise up on North
Korea, Apr 29] Former United States president Jimmy Carter again did
return with a message from Pyongyang: North Korea is willing to discuss all
options. However, the US and South Korea once more turned a deaf ear to Carter.
It is obvious that neither Washington nor Seoul is willing to talk to Pyongyang
but on the terms of these two countries. This is not diplomacy in any sense of
the word; it is a ukase plain and simple. As such the stalemate continues.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 2, '11)
April Letters
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