Asia Times Online

Letters

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Please note: This Letters page is intended primarily for readers to comment on ATol articles or related issues. It should not be used as a forum for readers to debate with each other. 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, June 2012

[Re Assad forces world powers to think again, Jun 27, '12] Dear Victor Kotsev, I loved your article on Syria at Asia Times Online except for one detail: Syria has consistently maintained that cannon fire, not a missile, brought down the RF-4E (or QRF-4E). It say the max range of this cannon fire was 2.5 kilometers as you note, however.
Arthur Borges (Jun 29, '12)

[Re North Korea goes a-schmoozing, Jun 28, '12] As North Korea goes a-hunting for good relations in Southeast Asia, South Korea is tying the knot with its former colonial occupier Japan in a military alliance. Contrary to common belief, as Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said, "our relations [with North Korea] are good and have a long history". Cambodia also entertains excellent ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Laos and Vietnam entertain ideological affinities, Myanmar even now remains true to past relations with Pyongyang, and pragmatic Singapore has long served as a venue to facilitate contact between the two Koreas even during the darkest hours of their stormy differences.

Yong Kwon's Notes on starvation [June 28, 2012] forgets to mention the vagaries of Mother Nature on North Korea's agriculture, as well as a horrible weapon the US, South Korea, Australia, and the Europrean Union use - denying the DPRK food aid. The US cut off aid in 2008 as did South Korea, though the latter occasionally allows some food to trickle in to the North depending on public pressure. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak seemingly doesn't give a fig that he is handing Kim Jong-eun a powerful propaganda weapon by sleeping with Korea's brutal colonial occupier. On the other hand, Pyongyang has a weapon of its own - a youthful leader in the person of Kim. Compared to the gerontocracy ruling in Seoul, younger voices calling for better relations with the North are stifled.

Seoul's military half encirclement of North Korea is offset by Pyongyang's tightening traditional ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 29, '12)

[Re Assad forces world powers to think again, Jun 28, 2012] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is not going to go gently into that good night of fallen political leaders. In fact, he has declared "la guerre a la guerre".

Turkey did not evoke the "an attack against one is an attack against all" when its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies met on Tuesday, for the self-evident truth that none, including the US, has the stomach for war. So, Ankara got a resolution of support, which it would have gotten without the dog and pony show. Turkey has become the US' "Trojan horse" in a way of support for the Syrian rebels. Military materiel slip in through its border with Syria; it is a safe haven for refugees and disaffected military officers, and the like. Yet, Turkey is vulnerable: open hostilities with Syria will embolden Turkey's Kurdish guerrillas to engage Turkey's military at the same time it would be fighting in Syria.

War against Syria would provoke a military coup, it seems, and in Syria would arouse nationalist feeling in support of Assad against the "dreaded Turks". So in all likelihood, Turkey, like a pesky gnat, will annoy Syria as it tries to strengthen Assad's opponents. In the longer run, Assad's rule may end, but in its wake Ankara's democracy will suffer.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Palmero (Jun 28, '12)

[Re China laces up the foreign-policy gloves, Jun 27, '12] When Deng Xiaoping was quoted as advising China to keep a "low profile" he meant China should not become a hegemon that invades other countries at will. He did not mean for China to keep a low profile while it is being peed on. When dangers appear, China will not hesitate to take up arms, as in the case of Korean war and in other wars with India and Vietnam. China cannot act like a gentleman when China is in a room of gangsters. Even a rabbit will show off its teeth when it is pushed to a corner, and China is certainly not a rabbit.
Wendy Cai
USA (Jun 28, '12)

Much is being made of drones used by US President Barack Obama to "carefully" target jihadist evildoers in BadGuyaStan. These remote-controlled devices that can rain death from the sky are truly marvels of 21st-century warfare, with roots in the cruise missiles of the 1980s and the sophisticated electronics boom of the 1990s. Less mentioned is the speculation among many Americans (who choose to think instead of swallow) that drone technology was used extensively on September 11, 2001, attacks. Indeed, in an odd case of fiction anticipating fact, only a few months prior to that tragic day, a Fox network TV movie posited the remote-control takeover of a passenger jet for the purpose of colliding into a skyscraper, showing that even "back then" the developing technology was recognized for its potential. (Needless to say, Fox got very nervous after the "attacks.")

The use of drone-takeover technology would credibly explain how jets "piloted" by amateurs could pull off the neat trick of guiding jets into the Twin Towers, a feat of aviation skill that many aeronautical experts and pilots acknowledge would be well beyond the capability of these alleged hijackers "trained" on crop dusters.

Drone cruise missiles would also explain why no video images have been released of the plane that allegedly hit the Pentagon, and would go a long way to explaining why no physical evidence, like a fuselage or even passenger seats, remained to affirm this alleged strike of flight AA 77. All this is informed speculation, of course. The definitive proof of exactly what happened does exist in the black box flight recorders confiscated by the FBI from the Twin Towers (which to this day they refuse to admit they have, despite eyewitnesses that saw them recovered from the rubble of the towers. Indeed, none of the black boxes of the four "hijacked" planes has ever been acknowledged as having been recovered, despite the extraordinarily high rate of these devices being found in previous crashes.) Of course, plenty of surveillance videos exist showing what did hit the Pentagon, but you and I will never see these because these would refute all the lies about 9-11, lies that the Empire requires to survive a few more years, allowing the plutocrats to complete their pillaging and looting before It's Lights Out Amerika.
Hardy Campbell
Texas (Jun 28, '12)

[Re The phantom war , Jun 25, '12] Dear Pepe, I've enjoyed your excellent articles for some time now. The identification of the Saudi base for the attempt to turn the Arab Spring into a Saudi sweep of secular regimes is very helpful, as even some of the best media keep repeating the "democratic peaceful people vs the evil tanks and artillery of the [Bashar al-]Assad regime" mantra, without every questioning. Not to say much nice about the Assad regime, but it is good to be clear on what is going on. No peaceful non-violent movement persists for even a few days against tanks and artillery, and if tanks and artillery are being used, it is usually a real good indication that the opposition is getting a steady support of heavy weapons and ammunition.

One error in your article on the shoot down of the Turkish F-4. If it was a recon version of the F-4, which seems probable, it was almost certainly not armed. An F-4 can carry two kinds of weaponry; a built-in rotary 20mm cannon in the nose, and underwing stores - bombs, smart and stupid, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, napalm, fuel/air explosives, white phosphorous, cluster bombs, free rocket pods, its just amazing what "human" ingenuity can dream up.

The problem is that all under-wing stores induce drag, which slows an aircraft and also interferes with its maneuverability and range. Recon planes carry internal sensors and cameras, and also sometimes underwing reconnaissance pods with further sensors and cameras.

They may also carry underwing jamming pods, or these may be internal, and they could carry chaff dispensers, strobes, and flares as defensive weapons to distract and divert incoming surface to air and air to air missiles. The mission of a reconnaissance flight is to get in and get out, as fast as possible, and with the minimal parasite drag induced by underwing stores. The flight profile can vary from high-high-high (high approach, high pass over the target, high exit) which conserves fuel and is dependent for survival on jamming and sometimes flak suppression escorts, or (low-low-low) to try to get in under the radar, sometimes referred to in the USAF [United States Air Force] as "50 feet at the speed of heat", the idea being to get in and out so fast that by the time someone notices you are there, too fast to track with a gun and too low to shoot with a missile, and impossible to engage unless you happen to be pointing the right way when they appear.

This approach has been discarded in recent years by the USAF (and presumably by most air forces) because with the current cost of aircraft, and the current sophistication of jamming and AA defense suppression, staying high means staying out of range of all guns, from radar directed heavy AA guns to pistols. When you are pushing a US$100 million aircraft, it seems wasteful to fly it where some guy with a rifle can put a "golden bb" into it. Of course the original Phantoms went off at about $4 million apiece, which is about what one of the wheels on a B-2 costs these days, and Turkey probably doesn't have the sophisticated jamming and flak suppression capabilities possessed by its wealthier patrons. So low and fast makes sense. Just no weapons.

It is clear, regime change is and has always been the objective. It is possible that a lot of the saber rattling is just to encourage the NATO-GCC [North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Gulf Cooperation Council] forces on the ground, and to scare Assad's allies into running for cover. Who wants to be on the losing side of a Libya situation. But one never knows. The knuckleheads in Jerusalem and DC (generally not the military) may figure another cheap victory would be just the thing. Without, of course, giving much thought to what "victory" would mean. I think they are far better chess players in Riyadh than in DC or Jerusalem.
Jack (Jun 27, '12)

Oleg Beliakovitch, [Letters Jun 25] commented that "Asia Times Online's Russia coverage is so uninspiring". I would urge Oleg and similar minded people, no matter the topic, to seriously consider contributing to the Speaking Freely sections. I'm certain their contributions would be welcome for consideration by the editorial staff. Start a new career!
Ian C Purdie
Australia (Jun 27, '12)

[Re The Saudi endgame for Iran (it isn't everyone else's), Jun 22, 2012] The Barack Obama administration is sending mine sweepers in to the Strait of Hormuz, to delay as long as possible Israel's temptation to act against Iran; its move should equally stay Saudi Arabia's hand, too. On the other hand, with the visit of Russian President Valdimir Putin to Israel, the Russian influence in West Asia has reasserted itself - in a sense, a countervailing force similar to the Soviet Union's. American presidential politics are a restraint on the US tack towards Iran, thus, strengthening Moscow's hand in the region.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Palermo (Jun 27, '12)

[Re Napoleon's march on Russia: Do dictators always fail?, Jun 25, '12] David Goldman's article reflects that there are lots of things that a ruler or a president can do to inspire or lie to its people to take up arms and give up their lives for a "glorious" goal. I totally enjoyed his article until I reached the last sentence. He said and I quote "unless America and its allies maintain an unchallengeable technological edge, China well may surpass us, and the world will be a worse place". In the past decades, US has never stopped launching wars with millions of soldiers and civilians killed including Americans. Why will the world become a worse place when the US is no longer its leader? Goldman must not just make a sweeping statement without plausible justifications.
Wendy Cai
United States (Jun 26, '12)

[Re Napoleon's march on Russia: Do dictators always fail?, Jun 25, '12] "It (China) has no need to invade anyone," and "China well may surpass us, and the world will be a worse place." I can only assume the last bit was placed in this otherwise thoughtful essay to appeal to Western sensitivity, since that conclusion isn't an easy derivation from the stated premise - a world pervaded by more peace and less warfare, it would seem, will only be a better place.

"To assume that China will fail because it is not a democracy is complacency stretched to the extreme of folly," and willful ignorance, if I may add, for common sense dictates that political governance doesn't merely consist of a Manichean binarism of "good" vs "evil", ie, democracy vs communist dictatorship, but comprises a spectrum of options each of which is applicable to an individual nation/culture.

To be sure, China is gradually evolving; but at its gist, the Middle Kingdom's (and the world's, for that matter) forward development will be driven not so much by ideology, a human invention, but by the more fundamental/practical need for survival, a basic human instinct.
John Chen
USA (Jun 26, '12)

[Re Cultural genocide behind self-immolation, Jun 25, '12] We often get these stories about cultural genicide in Tibet and Xinjiang which are indupitably long on emotive and agenda-driven rhetoric but short on statistical data or empirical evidence, especially regarding the demise of the mother tongue.

I can't speak for Tibet, but during the past decade and more here in Xinjiang I've yet to come across a Uyghur child or adult who cannot speak their mother tongue and I suspect it is the same in Tibet regardless of the schooling system. On the occasions that I've conversed with monolingual Uygurs it's always been through their children, who translate from Mandarin to Uyghur and vise-versa.

All the Uyghur students I know on their way to university after years of education in Chinese schools can speak Uyghur although some cannot read or write it. The fact that Tibetan, Uyghur and other minority students spend their first year at university in advanced Mandarin classes before beginning their formal courses speaks for itself. I've only known Uygurs to speak Mandarin in class or communicating in a Chinese environment. Elsewhere, it's all Uyghur and again I suspect it's the same with Tibetans.

From my experience here in Xinjiang I'd bet that that you would be hard pressed to find a Tibetan of any age in China growing up in a normal Tibetan family who cannot speak their mother tongue and the continual absense of any evidence to support the contrary says something. However, if anyone out there has any statistical data or any evidence at all to support the claims that the Tibetan language is in demise then I suggest you go to print as you will be the first.

And did I hear religion? The facts are that no student or child under 18 or public servant be they Uygur, Tibetan, Mongolian, Kazakh or Han, Muslim, Buddist, Daoist or Christian can engage in religious activities here in Xinjiang or Tibet. There's no favouritism. Everyone is in the same barrel.
Aussie in China
Xinjiang (Jun 26, '12)

The Republican-Tea Party-Neocon-Evangelist-Fundamentalist cabal has made its hostility and antipathy against all minorities well known for many years now. But the latest assault on women and their reproductive rights was capped with a touch of the absurd. Not that absurdity, stupidity and ignorance are unusual terms to describe these politico-terrorists, but the recent reaction of the Virginia legislature to one female politician's use of the word "vagina" takes their abysmal indecency to Marianas Trench depths.

She employed this anatomical term when commenting sarcastically on this predominantly male body's decision to impose yet more abortion-rights deteriorating restrictions, all the better to further humiliate and intimidate her gender. Horrified at such abuse of her constitutional right of free speech (and, more importantly, any reference at all to sex), the testosterone-laden reactionaries swiftly imposed a ban on her from any further speech, yet another American privilege the GOP has nothing but contempt for.

However, what such tyrannically juvenile behavior once again demonstrates is the average neocon's hypocrisy, misogyny and perverse sexual obsession that regularly has some right wing Bible-thumping preacher getting caught with an underage prostitute or a Republican congressmen in a motel dalliance with a young male intern. I mention in passing the Republican-dominated military's long standing tolerance if not passive acquiescence to the raping of female soldiers, as if we needed more evidence of their determination to show "uppity FemiNazis" who's boss.

Of course, this is all commensurate with the fundamentalist plan to turn Amerika into a theocratic Taliban-state where women subserviently service the stud politicians and "barefoot and pregnant" becomes part of every female Wonderlander's Pledge of Allegiance. But don't for a second think that the Republicans intend to only victimize women. No, sirree, their game plan will be to return Amerika to a fin de siecle fantasy world where superior white "Christian" men rule supreme and inferior minorities fight for scraps from their bountiful table. If you want to learn more, just read the Republican Party's ideological blueprint for the future; it's called Mein Kampf.
Hardy Campbell
USA (Jun 26, '12)

It's rather disappointing to see Asia Times Online's Russia coverage be so uninspiring. From periodic disseminating of the open propaganda of Radio Liberty - Free Europe (which would be illegal inside the US) to publishing unapologetically anti-Russian Jamestown Foundation's reports, to now sacrificing valuable advertising space for another ridiculously ideological rant by self-styled "defence analyst" Pavel Felgenhauer - ATol only contributes to an almost comic misunderstanding of all things Russian.

Meanwhile, objective and informative coverage of Russia is readily available elsewhere on the Internet. I would suggest that Asia Times Online dig a little deeper and work a little harder, if it aims to maintain its hard-earned reputation for years to come.
Oleg Beliakovitch
Seattle, WA (Jun 25, '12)

[Re Okinawa remains an intractable thorn for US and Japan, May 25, 2012] Thank you always for the interesting articles on Asia. I would say that this article, however, over-emphasizes the economic aspect of the problems in Okinawa without any concrete evidence.

Economic compensation is just one aspect of the problems in Okinawa. The most important thing is the unfair burden of Okinawans, who had painful experiences during the World War II which they are are forced to still bear for the sake of peace and securityfor Japan and neighboring Asian countries. If we remember the huge number of civilians (not soldiers) who were killed during the battle of Okinawa, maybe we can understand the complex feelings of Okinawans towards both the US and Japanese governments, and why they are islanders are so sensitive about the military accidents and crimes of the US Marine Corps.

It seems to me that authors of this article think money can solve anything as a political tool, or money is the biggest motivation for the protestors. To think that the main reason for the people's anger is economic profit is short-sighted and perhaps arrogant. We have to remember how rulers have behaved in past history. Under the beautiful slogans of their rulers, ordinary citizens have always been sacrificed, not only in Okinawa but everywhere in the world. We must never forget this reality.

We have to find the most reasonable way in which can secure a normal life for Okinawans, to minimize the sense of unfairness, while understanding the historical background of the issues. This must take place without weakening the US security presence amid the growing tensions in neighboring Asian territories.
Megumi Maekawa
Tokyo (Jun 25, '12)

[Re US Marines eye Japan as a training yard, Jun 22, '12] The US Navy and Air Force are already stationed on Japan's main island of Honshu. During the Vietnam war, these American bases were a staging ground for air and sea strikes in Indochina, while providing a healthy shot in the arm of Greenbacks into the Japanese economy. Now, according to Kosuke Takahashi, it is the Marines' turn to use Honshu for mock attacks and search and rescue missions. A telling example of the Barack Obama administration's new Asia-Pacific policy has been occurring in the last few days: the inclusion of Tokyo in trilateral naval exercises off the coast of South Korea's Jeju island, in the Yellow Sea. In an operation on the eve of the 62nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, with land operations in Pocheon, Japan's role strikes one as an anomaly from the historical script, on one hand, and on the other, it is Washington's way of tying Japan firmly into a military role. It is more than odd since in concert with South Korea, this trilateral drill forces Tokyo to defend and patrol waters and small rock formations that Seoul claims and which Japan says is its own.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 25, '12)

[Re Pyongyang takes another shortcut, Jun 21, '12] It seems to me that everyone misses the point. North Korea has been at war since 1950. It suffered terribly under United States bombing missions during that war. The DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] leaders fear renewed attacks against the country.

It is little wonder that Washington's use, for example, of food as a weapon that North Korea sees such a move as a scorched earth policy to force it to submit to conditions it rejects.

July will mark the 59th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement, it is about time to get on with signing a peace treaty. A treaty would greatly lessen tension, normalize relations, and get down to dealing with the hard questions diplomatically. Short of that, for Petrov and others to criticize continuation of a "military first" policy is besides the point.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 22, '12)

[Re Crude tools cloud US-China trade rows, Jun 22, 2012] "[We] are in a jobs and economic crisis here in the US," wrote Michael Wessel. It's amazing how almost no one in the US can admit it's been 60 years of constant warfare that has destroyed the US economy and the US' reputation (not to mention destroying a vast number of human lives).
Lester Ness
Kunming
China (Jun 22, '12)

[Re It's Ecuador or Guantanamo, Jun 20, '12] I am in broad agreement with the comments of earlier letters penned by Michael Bucci and Ian Purdie [Jun 21, '12], though I wish to dissent slightly by adding the following observation:

As Purdie points out: Bob Carr (Australian Foreign Minister) further went on to say he was perplexed by the whole matter because his understanding of the situation was if the United States wanted Julian extradited, it would be far easier to extradite him there from Britain rather than Sweden. Is this necessarily the case? The way Escobar describes it: Swedish justice has become hostage to the prejudices and whims of hardline 4th wave feminism (the sort that automatically stignatises men as always the victimisers of women; thereby permitting ruthless, manipulative women to rule the roost in all matters pertaining to gender relations).

If that be the case Julian Assange cannot anticipate one iota of natural justice from the Swedish judical system. By contrast Assange (who has not been accused of breaking any UK laws) would most likely receive a fair hearing from a British court should the US government apply to have him extradited there to face charges in the USA. It is likely that such an attempt would fail due to the greater impartiality of British justice: which is the likely reason why US power elite would like to get him to Sweden where they can play upon the local feminist establishment thirst for vengeful retribution on alleged male wrongdoers to get the outcome they want.

The utter lack of committment shown by our (Australian) government to standing in support of Julian Assange in his hour of need, even at the risk of inviting American disapproval (natural justice sacrificed to political/diplomatic expediency?) is just one of the lesser reasons why, with disgust, I have no confidence in our government.
Neverfail
Australia (Jun 22, '12)

[Re It's Ecuador or Guantanamo, Jun 20, '12] Though many of us prone to distrusting all things governmental have long applauded Julian Assange's WikiCrusade to expose hypocrisy, double dealing and lies, the wannabe-Ecuadorian hardly deserves to be idolized, revered or enshrined. Hmm, on second thought, yes, let us DO enshrine him in the Hall of Arrogant, Publicity-Seeking and Alienating Cybernauts, a place where future paladins of web exposes can learn how NOT to behave. The truth is that Messieur Assange has a long history of drawing undue attention to himself while at the same time pissing off his erstwhile allies, colleagues and lovers.

To a large extent his current troubles are a result of these unfortunate proclivities, exacerbated by his tweaking of superpower noses in order to get maximum PR notoriety. Not that I object to singeing Uncle Sam's hoary beard per se, but if the object of these WikiLeaks revelations is to make governments more transparent in their foreign policy dealings (a goal one can argue is naive in the extreme), how much good does it do to paint a target on your chest?

The cybersphere offers anonymity and unaccountability, perfect electro-guerilla protection from the predatory instincts of national security organs. It is an ideal environment by which hit-and-run tactics can be used to keep these reactionary forces off balance and insecure, never sure when their intelligence will be compromised by a hacker in Vanuatu or Hamburg.

But by making himself a convenient foil for Swedish honey traps, Assange gives these so-called defenders of national security a body, face and personality that they can persecute and make an example of. Julian, baby, booby, don't misunderstand me, I am with you and your holy cause, but once you get to your sanctuary in the Galapagos, can you just blend in with the iguanas for awhile?
Hardy Campbell
Texas
Regards Hardy Campbell Texas (Jun 22, '12)

[Re It's Ecuador or Guantanamo, Jun 20, '12] It is always a pleasure to read Pepe Escobar especially by a person (like myself) who is entrenched in a country blind to not only its own liars, thieves and manipulators (in politics, finance, commerce, military and media), but categorically dismissive of views presented by anyone from the "outside world" from which Escobar hails. It is no small wonder that Americans remain hushed about their government threatening Assange after showing little dissent over (or notice of) surrendering key elements (or notice of) surrendering key elements of their constitution to the endless war on terror President Barack Obama has continued, enlarged and exploited better than John McCain ever could.

The saga of Julian Assange is not unlike Thomas Paine's in 1792. Here is a man who revealed the underbelly of the West in the hope of changing the course of nations away from dishonesty and crime to transparency and accountability; whose revelations were consumed, shared and lauded by a world audience; who had hoped, no doubt, to create "real change" and embolden others toward acts that serve and uphold human values over corrupt ones; who now sits, like Paine did, awaiting the guillotine - a man without a country or a friend, abandoned at home, threatened with treason and death elsewhere, and seemingly forgotten by a complacent and fickle world-at-large that once championed his heroism.

If Assange is the uber-whistleblower, his fate will determine that of anyone who does likewise - and that is Washington's message to its shrunken, limp and persecuted body of dissenters, and its message to anyone anywhere who doesn't wish to be included on the President's Tuesday morning checklist and be visited by an assassin or a drone.

What Tom Paine knew and Julian Assange will discover is that truth always prevails! Always.

Truth cannot be executed.
Michael T Bucci
USA (Jun 21, '12)

[Re It's Ecuador or Guantanamo, Jun 20, '12]Another fine article by Pepe Escobar. While I could quibble over a few minor points, I must say Pepe is refreshingly telling us how it is.

I am a supporter of Julian Assange and today in a further development, our foreign minister, Bob Carr, in an interview took issue with Julian's claim that Australia "had declined to protect him". While I certainly remember our prime minister [Julia Gillard] publicly washing her hands over Julian, probably because the WikiLeaks cables I read portrayed her as the "pin-up girl" of the US and by inference, a sycophant.

Carr asserts that Assange has received a higher level of consular assistance than any other Australian previously. Curiously, a poll conducted on the Sydney Morning Herald web site has 77% of respondents disagreeing with that statement when I last checked.

Carr further went on to say he was perplexed by the whole matter because his understanding of the situation was if the United States wanted Julian extradited, it would be far easier to extradite him there from Britain rather than Sweden.

Politically, the Australian government is between a rock and a hard place over this ongoing saga. Should the worst scenario of Assange finishing up in Guantanamo emerge, then the government has a ticking time bomb on its hands. Most Australians have had a thorough gutful of successive governments kowtowing to every American wish or whim. It would prove the straw which breaks the camel's back with Australia - US relations as far as the man in the street is concerned. It is with good reason, since the early Vietnam days that, excepting for ceremonial occasions, visiting American servicemen aren't allowed to appear in public in uniform here.
Ian C Purdie
Australia (Jun 21, '12)

The plight of Spain these days will make any celebrations of past glories difficult. So as the anniversary of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa approaches in July, that blighted nation can look back at the 800 years that have followed and wonder, What Went Wrong? Here in Wonderland, we should be asking the same question, not of ourselves (heaven forbid a Wonderlander admit anything is wrong with God's Chosen Country), but of the nation whose past fate is most analogous to our own future doom. Take the battle itself, for instance.

It was won by the medieval version of the "Coalition of the Willing", an alliance of Christian kingdoms in Spain as well as volunteers from all over Europe, with full papal support to boot. European Christianity considered this campaign payback for the shocking loss of Crusader Jerusalem 25 years previously, and indeed, though it took another 280 years to be eradicated totally, Islamic power in Iberia had been permanently crippled by this defeat. The final liberation in 1492, witnessed personally by one Signore Columbus, presaged the so-called Golden Age of Spain, where untold riches flooded the once EuroBackwater and turned it into a global world power. Spain had a golden opportunity then to capitalize on this windfall prosperity, a choice of developing its economy to become a manufacturer of goods, or to become a society where aristocratic "One Percenters" siphoned the wealth off seeking meaningless titles and building glorious armies to fight heretics and freedom fighters. The choice was preordained, of course. Spain's enemies seemed to crawl out of the woodwork, demanding an endless flow of American gold, silver and gems that could not keep up with the massive expenditures required for replenishing the armies and navies and fancy palaces, so in stepped foreign creditors, eager to drag Spain into an eternal cycle of debilitating debt. The New Dark Age that followed ended in a horrific 20th century civil war whose victor, Franco, realized Spain was not ready to enter the Big Leagues of Predatory Anglo-Saxon capitalism quite yet. Alas, his death in 1975 ushered in, prematurely as the old dictator so presciently foretold, an era of unrestrained capitalist indulgence that has once again introduced Spain to the ruthless world of indebtedness, diminishment and renewed EuroBackwaterness.

Wonderland, so blithely ignorant of its own recent history, let alone that of an eclipsed superpower, will be unable to take solace in the knowledge that its own victories over Muslim powers and its own infinite indebtedness to the rest of the planet and its own manufacturing base collapse are not exact parallels to Spain's sorry tale of temporary world domination and ultimate failure. Yet as an important anniversary of our own approaches next year and with it the expiration of the enslaving, bubble-inflating US Federal Reserve charter, Amerikans should ponder that history is a Non-Euclidean universe where parallels intersect all the time.
Hardy Campbell
Parallel Texas (Jun 20, '12)

Today, June 18, is the "official" date when the US declared war in 1812 on His Majesty George III's Great Britain, kicking off the unimaginatively named War of 1812 (or the even more banal Second War for American Independence). I still don't see why some PR dude didn't come up with a sexier name, like the War for British Respect, or the War That Got the White House Barbecued or the War That Everyone Claims Victory In.

It seems like our Canadian brothers are making more of a 200th anniversary big deal about this little side-war to the larger Napoleonic struggle than us Yanks are. Perhaps that's because, as opposed to subsequent wars against brown or red people where we invariably killed many of the savage heathens while barely getting our own hair mussed, this war caused more than a few bruises to newly American pride. Getting your capital burned and having the president's residence used to toast marshmallows will do that to you, as well as getting your derriere handed to you when attempting to conquer Canada with a motley crew of drunkards.

But we had our share of triumphs, capturing British warships, repulsing attacks on Baltimore, and most famously, whipping the Duke of Wellington's finest troops two weeks after a peace treaty was signed to end the conflict. The reality was that things ended pretty much as they started, with all the reasons for going to war in the first place pretty much a thing of the past. But the Wonderland spin machine was working even back then, so being able to end the game in stoppage time with a very very late goal was spun as the capping cherry on an American victory pie, eventually propelling the winning coach, Andre Jackson, to the newly rebuilt White House. The Canadians, very much British back then and only a little less so today, cherished their few moments of glory and still sell the war as being "their" victory. So it was really the Perfect Little War; everyone won, nobody got conquered, there was no guerilla quagmire war to muddy victory, everyone had a kick-butt battle they could commemorate while heroes galore emerged on both sides. We even got a national anthem out of it.
Hardy Campbell
Land of the Spin USA (Jun 19, '12)

[Re Europe's crisis is about wealth, not growth, Jun 18, '12] It's doubtful that any meaningful course of action will be undertaken to effectively address the European mess until after the US presidential election. In the meantime, policymakers will dawdle, print more money, waste some more time, and watch the financial cancer metastasize.
John Chen
USA (Jun 19, '12)

[Re Pyongyang's crimes go unpunished, Jun 15, '12] Thank you to Robert Park for his cogent criticism of North Korea's serial, diabolical human-rights violations. However, his grasp of the facts is faulty. Specifically, he jabs at Washington for not opposing the north's many crimes. This is untrue. President George W Bush told the Washington Post that he loathed Kim Jong-il for starving his people and he categorized North Korea as evil. His national security advisor, Condeleeza Rice, famously denounced the country as a "an outpost of tyranny".

Originally, the Bush team sought regime change to end the north's rights abuses and unify the peninsula that Koreans self-divided. It manifested the moral clarity that extended Washington's balanced, long time opposition to all Korean dictatorships, eg president Jimmy Carter's (1976-1980) vociferous, hard line rejection of the right wing Park Chung-hee regime in Seoul.

However - ironically - the self-styled progressives in office in South Korea under the Kim Dae-jung (1998 - 2002) and Noh Moh-hyun adminstrations (2003 - 2008) spurned Bush and Rice. During the 1980s, when the South Korean left was protesting for power, it claimed to champion democracy, unification, workers' rights, anti-militarism and peace. Instead, Kim Dae-jung bribed Pyongyang with hundreds of millions of dollars in early 2000 to set up the June summit held in Pyongyang. It was one aspect of a larger, sordid three way package. It next saw South Korean capitalist interests ally with the south's alleged progressives and the north's supposed socialists to pay northern workers slave wages in the south's investment projects meant to achieve peace and unity. But neither are in sight. The widespread belief in Seoul is that the so called progressives agreed to a North Korean demand that they do not raise human-rights questions in return for the lucrative commerce; plus, the South's money men paid off the progressives to spearhead the investments.

As the destitute North has a songun or military first policy, surely the money it rakes in foots the bill for its nuclear gambit. It also maintains the vast system of repression that Park justifiably indicts. In addition, the southern progressives openly said that they would delay unification - for generations - because it is too expensive. Clearly, Korean nationalism comes second to money. A special raspberry goes to the Ssouth's student and left wing civic groups. They are quick to protest against any minor - and alleged - foreign error or crime, but feign ignorance when quizzed about the North's abuses to justify their apathy. Korea's militant racism explains their silence. One also wonders if they are paid off. Readers who wish to learn more should consult the book Korea Betrayed that Asia Time Online's Seoul correspondent, Donald Kirk, wrote - the front page of the website advertises it. I am pleased to report that in 2006, I suggested the title to my colleague Kirk. He documents at length the South Korean progressives' bribery and moral sell out of their own people.
Victor Fic
Toronto (Jun 18, '12)

[Re What China really wants in Africa, Jun 13, '12 and Africa: China's Promised Land, Jun 15, '12] Chinese individuals wishing for greater economic opportunities would more likely look for developed countries such as Canada, Australia and the US. Southeast Asia would also offer ample economic opportunities given the large pre-established network of Chinese diaspora there. Africa, being even more chaotic and corrupt than China, would be the last place on their minds as far as greener pasture goes. If the "China Safari" theory is based on some unacknowledged state sponsored "Lebensraum" policies to ensure national or cultural survival, I'd think Siberia would be a much more logical option than shipping a third of their population across two oceans to a continent that is already overpopulated and politically unstable. Getting a nationalistic Russia to give ground in Siberia, though, would be a formidable challenge.
Tom
Melbourne, Australia (Jun 18, '12)

[Re A window into North Korea's art world, Jun 15, '12] A slight detail is missing from Michael Rank's review of Rudiger Frank's book. Editor Frank, good economist that he is, has set the essays of his books, as the book's long title says, under the umbrella of the political economy of North Korea's art world. The unifying idea of the essays is a study of the interrelationship between the political and economic processes as they surface in North Korean art.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 18, '12)

[Re Congress pushes for war with Iran, Jun 14, '12] "Indeed, this resolution is not about the national security of the United States, nor is it about the security of Israel. It is about continuing US hegemony over the world's most oil-rich region," writes Stephen Zunes.

Don't forget the clerical leadership in the US, eager for the Rapture, Armeggedon, the Second Coming of Jesus, the End of the World.
Lester Ness
Kunming
China (Jun 15, '12)

[Re Congress pushes for war with Iran, Jun 14, '12] Before the Barack Obama administration rushes into war with Iran, it has to clean up the political mess it has created over Syria. Washington has to come to an understanding with Moscow and Beijing. From the way things look today, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's harsh public statements are not helping to advance America's foreign policy objectives. And then there's the question of whether the US sustain yet another war in Asia?
Abraham Bin Yiju
Palermo (Jun 15, '12)

[Re Towards a new Arab cultural revolution, Jun 12] Alastair Crooke joins other analysts in boldly predicting that the Syrian crisis is fast becoming the epicentre of a new and dangerous conflagration involving the internal and acrimonious split within Islam between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. But a more primordial classification than Crooke's, who sees this as a battle between the "Ottoman Sunni hegemony" and an Iranian-Syrian alliance, would be to view it as part of the ancient civilisational struggle between Arabs on the one hand, and Persians on the other. Despite their respective doctrinal differences over the line of succession from the Prophet Mohammed, it is at this deeper civilisational level that linguistic, cultural and racial features play a much more significant part in defining the conflict.

Added to this, Crooke makes no mention of the 1980-1989 Iran-Iraq war, which was fought along similar lines. Iran was the former Soviet Union's Cold War proxy, while Saddam Hussein's Iraq lent itself to being both a proxy of the US and an anti-Shiite coalition of regional forces. These forces are now turning Syria into what Crooke declares to be a "clash of religious poles." As with Christendom's 15th and 16th century Protestant Reformation, such intra-religious conflict can be far bloodier and more brutal than conflict between the major faith traditions.

If the "Arab Awakening" is going to succeed in bringing democratic reform to the region, there must be a reckoning that is hopefully not on the battlefield, but between religious leaders on both sides of this turbulent religious divide. Hardline religious militantism is ultimately not about the virtues of religious observance, but about power. It is about reviving ancient civilisational dominances. It is about the struggle for imperial dominance.

Such militantism can never be about democracy or human rights or justice. It is about full-scale murder. And the sooner Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims reconcile their differences at the negotiating table, and not in murdering innocent Syrian civilians, the sooner will they bring glory to Allah (Peace Be Upon Him).
Reverend Dr Vincent Zankin
Australia (Jun 15, '12)

In What China really wants in Africa [Jun 12] and Africa: China's promised land [Jun 13], Cedric Muhammad illustrates a fantastical vision of a 300-million strong Chinese exodus to Africa. Such myths are not at all uncommon or original. For example, since the early '90s, the so-called "Yellow Peril" myth has been actively propagated with regards to Russia (especially the Russian Far East) as well. If you were to believe that story, then over 10 million Chinese have already emigrated to Siberia, and they outnumber Russians in that region right now. But the verdict is out on that fantasy: ethnic Chinese make up less than 3% of the population in the Russian Far East, and out of that roughly 3%, nearly 90 out of 100 are seasonal traders and migrants (translation: no intention of long-term/permanent settlement in Russia). In fact, since the late 2000s, more Russians have visited China than the other way around. Muhammad's story of 300 million "imperialist" Chinese migrants is just another "yellow peril" myth enlarged to a whole new scale.
HJ
Seattle, WA USA (Jun 15, '12)

[Re What China really wants in Africa, Jun 13, '12] Serge Michel and Michel Beuret were certainly drinking something stronger than Vichy water when they envisioned 300 million Chinese pulling up roots and heading off to the "Dark Continent". Nor did they bother to check that the population in China hit 700 million 46 years ago in 1966.

As to the one-child policy. The one-child policy is but one measure of China's family planning policies. When the number of women of child-bearing age (even less considering the lower median age when Chinese women finish having children) and the Hukou system are taken into account, less than 20% of Chinese families are affected by the "one-child" laws and regulations

One thing though is for sure that while many Chinese are prepared to vote with their feet, Africa would be the last place on their list if at all.

An entertaining read!
Aussie in China
Xinjiang
China (Jun 14, '12)

The leakage of some "Free Trade" agreements being proposed by the Oblaminator and his gang of crony capitalists is doubtless making this tanned version of Tricky Dicky Nixon furious about leaky White House "plumbing." How dare someone with a conscience expose more of the lies Obama has spewed?

These particular treaties pretty much allows American corporations to get away with financial murder overseas just like they do here. Oh yes, the escape clause buried in these is the proviso for an "independent" tribunals to settle disputes and render decisions that supersede state sovereignty, with these tribunals being composed of the usual suspects, lawyers and consultants who expect to get jobs or juicy contracts with the companies they are supposedly arbitrating "independently". Of course, the slimy ethics don't perturb this president, who never met a virtue he couldn't corrupt with his slick rhetoric and broken promises, but as the most secretive administration since the Watergate years, his ire at the continued lack of security must be profound.

He's still irate at the revelations about Stuxnet and the US's extensive involvement with his Zionist masters, so one can imagine the efforts to find these patriotic leakers determined to show the public what a hypocrite Obama is. Ideally, the Kenyan Who Would Be King will initiate taped conspiracy sessions, psychiatrist office break-ins and dirty tricks campaigns that will eventually bring his corrupt presidency down. That may be hoping for too much, since the alternatives to a smooth talkin', snakeoil salesmen is an inarticulate blue blood who believes he's destined to rule a distant planet as a god. Talk about a Hobson's choice.
Hardy Campbell
Texas (Jun 14, '12)

[Re China can fiddle as Rome burns, Jun 13, '12] Francesco, Francesco!! What an active imagination. If I didn't know better I would say you have been smoking some really good stuff.
Sir Rogers
USA (Jun 14, '12)

[Re Taiwan circling South China Sea bait, Jun 12, '12] How can the term energy security be a concept that is "outright exotic" to the Taiwanese while "only 0.6% of the petroleum, natural gas and coal Taiwan uses is actually pumped or dug up on the island or in its surrounding waters"?

"Fuels that keep the Taiwanese economy alive are shipped from the Persian Gulf, western Africa or mainland China, and if for whatever reasons those supplies were to be choked off or become enormously expensive, economic activity on the island would quickly collapse." How then can the fact that mainland China could eventually be able to slowly "choke off" Taiwan's supply not place "energy security" under the spotlight?

How will Taiwan respond when, in 2030, the Chinese mainland fires a few blank shots at an oil-tanker leaving Taiwan? Won't oil become more expensive for Taiwan? What if mainland China, in circa 2040, fires with its smallest munitions and causes a few casualties on an oil-tanker leaving Taiwan and vows to repeat it at any time without further warning? Won't oil be even more expensive, even if no more firing takes place for a number of years? Will it be available at all?

How could the US respond then? Will the US retaliate by harassing oil supplies to the Chinese mainland thus provoking war, and then send Taiwan into the inferno? Lacking any information that proves Taiwan prefers war over negotiation, the US will not retaliate in kind.

Any commercial uniqueness of Taiwan to the world (such as parts necessary for global manufacturing) will be slowly eroded in the long-term. As long as no abrupt conclusion is sought, Taiwan's economy will slowly wither.

Nuclear energy is a way to delay reunification. But this not only "a tricky option as Taiwan is very earthquake-prone"; there is also the threat of the mainland attacking what would be very vulnerable structures. However, such an attack would carry a lot of ramifications and there is a good chance that the Chinese mainland will never have the courage to attack them. A Taiwan that is unwilling to raise the stakes is one that has to anticipate reunification by slow and certain coercive peace from the Chinese mainland: erosion of Taiwan's "energy security".
Jeff Church
United States (Jun 13, '12)

Dennis O'Connell [letter, June 12], do you think basic human freedoms such as a free press, free speech and freedom of religion should be given to Iraqis, Afghans, American Indians etc, or are you just good at talking out of both sides of your mouth? I guess dead people don't need those freedoms.
Yun Tang (Jun 12, '12)

ATol - If you would like to continue this debate further please move the issue to our forum.

[Re US has eyes for North Korea, Jun 11, '12] It took Washington some time to relieve Army Brigadier General Neil Tolley of his command. The Barack Obama administration, so touchy on leaks, did not have to go far to find another one in the case of Tolley. There has to be something in the military's DNA that makes them crow about thumbing the US's nose at North Korea. Arrogance plays its part no doubt, partly.

On the other hand, as the "Times" man in Seoul reported yesterday, Pyongyang has issued a statement saying it will not be pushed into initiating warlike actions. It has been more than obvious, and notably since the sinking of the Cheonan, that both the US and its South Korean ally have been smarting for a "battle" with the North.

When North Korea did respond to live ammo falling on its territory during joint US-South Korean exercises along the NLL [Northern Limit Line] in November 2010, the Obama administration had to stay Seoul's hand from opening a new front in the Korean War. Now, both Washington and Seoul are looking for a fight once more, but Pyongyang won't allow them to brand it the casus belli.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 12, '12)

[Re The Muslim revolution 'hiding in plain sight', Jun 11, '12] As often happens with his demographic obsessions, Spengler is either blissfully unaware of, or chooses to mold the facts to his own satisfaction. The truth is, the secular Jews in both America and Israel have less children than any other ethnic or religious group in their respective countries, while supposedly healthy overall demographic picture is being propped up by either Orthodox Jews and Arabs in Israel, or Hispanics from Mexico and Central America in the US. Non-Hispanic whites in the United States have fertility rate of around 1.6 children per woman, same as Russia and Scandinavia. And it is likely heading lower. Educational attainment reduces birthrate across the board, irrespective of religious background. No country is immune to that.
Oleg Beliakovitch
Seattle, WA (Jun 12, '12)

[Re The Muslim revolution 'hiding in plain sight', Jun 11, '12] Asia Times Online can always be counted on for insightful, well thought out and well-researched articles with the one exception being Spengler. This author uses your respected platform to spread his hateful, racist and bigot rants. The author paints Jews and Americans as the Aryan Races and argues that Muslims of all races are below them. I always ask myself why would ATol allow this to continue. Why allow ATol to be dragged down into by bigoted opinions instead of a being well respected asset on the web where intellectuals exchange ideas.
Aysar Odeh (Jun 12, '12)

The Pentagon is reporting 154 suicides of returning troops in the first 155 days of 2012. Less publicized but clearly connected is the exploding (sorry, my punning governor is broken today) epidemic of the use of baths salts among soldiers, sailors and aviators. This innocuously named drug creates bizarre hallucinations and compulsions, which is ironically appropriate, since these same behaviors are exhibited by our government vis-a-vis economics, foreign policy and legislation. Of course, the Pentagon is scrambling to find ways to stem the tide of self inflicted deaths, which will soon join Taliban sniping as the most common cause of troop death. But despite numerous psychiatric studies, evaluations, surveys and attempts to reduce soldier stress upon rotation back to "The World", the soldiers that have had to implement Wonderland's murderous, Taliban-recruiting-poster activities find themselves unable to cope. Killing women, old men and young children will do that to you. The rampant use, procurement, sale and trade of narcotics, hallucinogens, painkillers and psychotropic drugs is a natural attempt to delay the day of reckoning that all too often comes upon leaving the macho, mutual reinforcing and psychologically cloistered universe of the occupying imperialist army. There, the daily atrocities American troops commit in order to survive in a ruthlessly hostile environment, are all forgiven,understood, rationalized and medicated away. Bereft of such protection, the guilty consciences of these soldiers will not allow survival in the unforgiving cosmos of laws, morality and humanity. But the solution should be obvious. Just have these soldiers run for political office. Once elected, they would find the same lack of remorse, consideration or empathy positively conducive to success.
Hardy Campbell
Texas (Jun 12, '12)

[Re The Great Leap Forward from myth to history, Jun 8, '12] I wonder if Peter Lee might explain the significant difference between the 67 deaths per 1,000 (using his figure of 45 million deaths) during the Chinese famine and the 22 deaths per 1,000 in Ethiopia at the height of the 1983-1985 famine.

Although millions died from starvation and its consequences my wife's grandparents, parents and numerous uncles and aunts farmers from Gansu and Shaanxi were all survivors.
Aussie in China
China (Jun 11, '12)

[Re Iran and the US vie in Afghanistan, Jun 8, '12] Brian M Downing made the statement in the article Iran and the US Vie in Afghanistan that "Iran arms the Taliban with a modicum of weapons". That statement is a bald-faced lie. It is unfortunate that the neo-con conspiracy has come to Asia Times Online. There is no proof that Iran is arming the Taliban but Downing states that as fact. The neo-cons rely on the Joseph Gobbles axiom of repeating lies enough in the hopes that they convince people to believe them as truth.
Shel (Jun 11, '12)

Jean Voiret in his letter about Tiananmen [Jun 7, '12] claims that Professor Gene Sharp helped organize and oversee the demonstrations. For proof he sites "French scholar Thierry Meyssan". Meyssan is not a scholar he is a self-appointed Marxist journalist, I apologize to all real journalists for linking them to Meyssan. What are the views of Meyssan, well he believes the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was behind the 2004 Beslan massacre to gain control of the Caspian Sea, I'm not sure if it is Meyssan or the CIA who fail to realize that 75% of the Caspian is not controlled by Russia. I assume the CIA wants to corner the market on the caviar that they enjoy in their salons in Washington while planning the overthrow of heroic leftist governments. While covering the revolt in Libya he accused the journalists of CNN and the BBC of being CIA agents. A little checking on the Internet will prove these charges against Professor Sharp are lies, as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn have come to his defense. Now Voiret as a Marxist you should genuflect at the mention of those names. Now might I suggest you should consult Mao's red book or a copy of Das Capital to see what is the proper Marxist penance for spreading lies against a fellow leftist or you could try WWSD which is, what would Stalin do. Also could you please explain how China has become more democratic in the last 23 years? Belief in basic human freedoms such as a free press, free speech and freedom of religion are not Western concepts they are the birthright of all people, but I guess that is Marxist heresy.
Dennis O'Connell
USA (Jun 11, '12)

[Re Cold counter to warming US-Vietnam ties, Jun 6 ] Adam Boutzan provides Viet Tan a backhanded compliment by linking us to a purported Vietnamese government intelligence report about US peaceful evolution plots.

While we appreciate Boutzan's belief that Viet Tan has the "capability to manufacture and disseminate" such a document, Viet Tan is in no way connected to the imagined disinformation campaign.

Conspiracy theories are always exciting but professional journalism necessitates more responsible reporting.

Irrespective of the authenticity of the supposed intelligence document, I am confident that democratic change in Vietnam does not require a "nudge" from the United States. Real change in Vietnam - when it comes - will arise from the efforts of the Vietnamese people themselves.
Duy Hoang
Viet Tan Spokesman (Jun 8, '12)

[Re Saenuri's rebrand a victory of sorts, Jun 7] Saenuri, as Aidan Foster-Carter admits, squeaked through to victory in parliamentary elections. In a way, the change in name of the party is a repudiation of sorts of the harsh legacy of president Lee Myung-bak. In other words, Mme Park put on a new face of change. And yet, her party saw its majority whittled down to a handful of votes-still enough to not relinquish the reins of power.

Judging by Western media coverage, the DUP's leader Mme Han was hardly mentioned by name, whereas Mme Park's got full attention.

Saenuri's strength lies in the more traditional provinces, not in Seoul; that in itself is telling as South Korea is drifting even with a Seanuri romp in November at the polls, towards an opening to the Pyongyang.

Seoul's media's obsession with North Korea is an indication of its inability to looks at the strains in South Korea's economy and political life. It is easier to make fun of the young Kim Jung-eun than to refit a stagnant South Korean social scene.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 8, '12)

When the autopsy of Empire is conducted by some future cockroach historian, doubtless they will examine the finances of Wonderland, stroke their antennae with amazement, and gasp, "Has any country ever spent so much and received so little in return?" Take the US military. Their expenditures on weapons, personnel and bases accounts for something like 40% of ALL countries' military costs put together, yet for such costly dominance, they have spent to date a total of 20 years in the Third World chasing sand shadows, with nothing to show for it but dead and maimed soldiers and civilians and tottering, propped-up-with-toothpicks regimes ready to collapse at the merest whisper.

Or consider the educational system, that for decades has had billions siphoned down the black-hole maw of teachers unions, school constructions and new technologies, only to produce an illiterate, apathetic me-first-generation whose relative standing with even Third World countries we aren't invading this week plummets daily.

This gross waste can be rivaled, however, by so many other things in Wonderland. We spend billions electing politicians who create polarizing gridlock and spend with the profligacy of a sailor in a red light district on pork barrel projects that produce nothing but kickbacks and their next campaign's contributions. This sort of financial excess is exceeded by the health-care system, that has produced an aging population of scared, zombified drug addicts whose deteriorating quality of health puts them 37th on the WHO list (it was 24th as little as 6 years ago.)

Then there's the billions we've poured into the War on Drugs and Cancer we've been waging for decades with nothing to show for it but rich Mexican cartels and higher and higher rates of cancer in younger and younger children. Then there's the Wall Street financial houses, the doyens of capitalism that has promised Mr Joe Blow Amerika a lifetime on Easy Street if only he would invest his life savings; alas, on the corner of Easy Street and Suckers Avenue, a shantytown full of panhandling Joe Blows grows ever larger.

Even all that is small potatoes compared with the Federal Reserve cabal that specializes in inflating and deflating bubbles that suck trillions out of WonderCitizens while depositing that loot in the Swiss bank accounts of the plutocrats. The cockroach historian will conclude that never has a country dedicated to the idea that money is god, savior and the very reason for existence been so little rewarded for its blind faith and devotion.
Hardy Campbell
United States (Jun 8, '12)

[Re Tiananmen villain seeks to clear his name, June 5] Kent Ewing's article is quite interesting. However, it is partially beside the point: Today, many solid presumptions point to the fact that the Tiananmen protest were neither a spontaneous "democracy rebellion" nor a genuine Chinese "counter revolutionary riot".

Two Western scholars, the first of them Professor Domenico Losurdo (Italy), proved that the Tiananmen uprising was in reality the first color revolution organized by Western secret services to try toppling the government of a country not accepting the United States's "Full spectrum dominance". The second, French scholar Thierry Meyssan, even brought proofs that the color revolution theorist Gene Sharp and his assistant Bruce Jenkins were personally present in Beijing during the 1989 events, most probably to help organize and oversee the demonstrations.

The Chinese Communist Party has really no reasons to be ashamed of having resisted this uprising, which would have brought chaos to China. And a progressive evolution from the former authoritarian Chinese communist system to more and more democracy along Chinese lines is in any case better than sudden uprising and chaos.
Jean P Voiret (Jun 7, '12)

[Re Climate-change deniers on the ropes, June 5] Regardless of whether Earth's climate is changing or not (and most currently available evidence suggests that it is), Mr McKibben's article is an affront to the process of scientific discovery.

As scientists, we are supposed to welcome alternative opinions even if we disagree with them, and thrive on an open discussion. Instead, Mr McKibben suggests withdrawing funding from his opponents, reducing their support by elected officials, preventing them from making public speeches or publishing in scientific journals, and holding "thousands of rallies around the world" in support of the status quo as important milestones in winning a scientific debate.

Questioning prevalent theories is an essential part of scientific progress. To be scientific, claims need to be falsifiable. Once upon a time, deniers of the Sun's rotation around the Earth, or fly maggots being spontaneously generated by rotting meat, were also a small minority marginalized by the scientific establishment.

I am not sure if the use of the term "deniers" is an intentional attempt to equate Mr McKibben's opponents to Holocaust deniers. If it is, such a rhetoric approach is no better than the Unabomber billboard or references to Hitler Youth that are decried in the article. Also, Mr McKibben should probably do some research on the state of science in South Korea. Being Korean is not a sign of poor quality of a scientific journal.
Andrei Alyokhin
United States (Jun 7, '12)

Wow. What good timing for Obama. Last year he "finds" Osama bin-Laden and kills him without a messy trial that could have seen the "terrorist" walk away a free man or a black ops interrogation in an undisclosed East European location that could have exposed the entire network of his dreaded criminal group.

This year he knocks off via drones all but one top al-Qaeda leader, thus allowing the government mouthpieces to (once again) write that alleged "terrorist" organization off as a serious threat to the US, just as we prepare to stare down China and Iran. And just before the elections too, thus enabling Obama to polish his macho record of taking care of business that the previous log choppin', gun-ownin' he-man from Texas couldn't.

Well, you know what they say about timing. And if you can't stand on your jobs creation record (which you've already said will make or break your campaign) or your watered down, half-derriered healthcare system (that the courts will probably liquidate anyway), you can still boast that you've exchanged one invisible bogeyman for ones that are propping up our corrupt country or ones that don't get bluffed as easily as your Democratic Party does at the poker game we call the United States Congress.

I wouldn't worry anyway, Obama. None of that matters anyway in Wonderland, where no one has time or the brains to think about deficits, employment statistics or approaching economic cliffs. The only thing people will be voting on is the color of your skin.
Hardy Campbell
United States (Jun 7, '12)

[Re Obama and the generals, Jun 1] It is not surprising that the US military is moving ever closer to the extreme right-wing conservatives. This is exactly what happened in Germany as the Nazis rose to power.

Hindenberg brought the Nazis together with the military and with a group of large industrialists. This is perhaps the greatest threat to the freedom of the American people. The armies of other countries have little chance of destroying our constitutional rights, but a coalition of US military, industrilists and extreme conservatives is very likely to destroy those rights. Lou Vignates
United States (Jun 4, '12)

The latest brouhaha about Obama using the term "Polish death camps" illuminates some fundamental truisms about our species. I can't help but chuckle when I hear English football commentators gushing about the newest Champion's League Cup winners being an "English" team. Of course, with stars from Cote d'Ivoire, Spain, Brazil and the Czech Republic, that team, Chelsea, is as English as the average UN ambassador is a New Yorker. But as with Obama's gaffe, the old maxim about the secret of a successful business rings ever truer; Location, location, location.

Humans, being essentially territorial animals, identify strongly with location as being a primary identifier of distinction, exceptionalism and uniqueness. Therefore, many countries will grant citizenship to children born on their soil, even if the parents have just stepped off the boat. Similarly, even in the same nation, cities, states, provinces and regions will develop rivalries simply because "they" are from "there," rather than the all-important "here." However, heads of states, especially those who consider themselves Leaders of the "Free" World, should have better informed speech writers than those evidently schooled by cable TV made-for-the-masses history programs. This is even more true when the country in question, Poland, has a long and bitter history of being abused, used and defamed by its so-called "allies" and "friends."

Poland, the country the British ostensibly went to war for in 1939, was willingly sacrificed by the Anglo-Saxons to Stalin's warm embrace (one doubts if Winston Churchill would have been so accommodating if Poland had been an English-speaking country.) Poland, the nation that incurs the murderous wrath of its former masters in Russia with each new North Atlantic Treaty Organization missile defense flirtation, can't even get the same visa waivers for US entry for its citizens as other NATO members.

Poland, with no dog in the Afghanistan fight other than its rather pathetic allegiance to the Anglo-Saxon-dominated NATO-stoogery, his its citizens needlessly perish in that barren Grave of Empires. Poland, host of the upcoming EuroNations soccer tournament, finds itself the subject of calumnious BBC reports of racist gang threats to tourists, as yet another gentle reminder of how much Poland is appreciated in the Anglo-Saxon Empire (the irony of this so-called "news flash" coming from the nation that gave us the word "hooliganism" deserves no further mention).

So when we hear a president with Obama's mixed background, who has his own "location" birth issues seemingly perpetually hanging over his head, identify camps conceived, constructed and employed by Germans for the purpose of killing non-Aryans (sorry, Hebrews, the Holocaust had plenty of other victims besides you) as being "Polish", we have yet another example of multi-partitioned Poland getting precious little love from yet another Anglo-Saxon "friend." Ah history, Plus ca change... Hardy Campbell
United States (Jun 4, '12)

"The United States won't attack anybody. We hate war (at least my generation since I was born in the mid 1980s and things changed dramatically after the Vietnam War)." [Ysais Martinez, letter May 31]

Yet, for each of my 59 years, the government of my country has been fighting a war here, supporting a coup there, sponsoring death-squads or an insurgency somewhere else. We are still fighting (and losing) something resembling a war in Afghanistan.
Lester Ness
Kunming
China (Jun 1, '12)

The latest exercise in showing the universe how ridiculous Wonderland is consists of liberal leftists demanding that the state of Arizona prove United States presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not a unicorn. This is simply a reducto ad absurdum argument to illustrate to sane people how silly the entire "birther" debate has become in the mad dog neo-con campaign strategy.

The underlying thesis is that unicorns are not eligible for the highest office in the Land of the Slave, so that if the Mormon Mittmeister is not proven to be human, ergo and ipso facto, he is not qualified to be one button push away from global Rapture. The response from the Arizona authorities, not known for their sense of humor or even basic common sense, remains to be seen, but one approach may be for them to state that since unicorns are mythical creatures, ie, beings that do not exist, and since Romney clearly exists, logically then, Romney cannot be a unicorn.

By the same token, the unicorn-conspiracists might counter-claim that, since Romney characterizes himself as a compassionate conservative, that is to say another mythic being rumored to have only been seen in the Himalayas or the lunar Sea of Tranquility, then he implies rather strongly that he is indeed a unicorn (others more generously assert he is more akin to a gryphon or mock turtle, but you get the point.) Others may quite correctly point out that unicorns have single horns on their foreheads, and are otherwise quite similar to horses, neither quality "The TerMittator" exhibits.

The appropriate reply to this would be that horns can be sawed off, cosmetic surgery can wondrous things, and have you ever seen a circus horse count to five? In any case, come what may, if Romney becomes president, the presence of a fictional creature sitting in the Oval Office will still be a step up from the Village Idiot and the Uncle Tom previously and currently in residence. I, for one, can think of nothing that would be a more fitting epitaph to Wonderland, a nation where all its wars are free, capitalism is all about helping people and the average white trash 'merican envisions Jesus returning in a Confederate flag-draped Hummer with a freshly killed deer mounted on the front grill. Uh, on second thought, make that a unicorn.
Hardy Campbell (Jun 1, '12)

[Re Got war if you want it, May 30, '12] Pepe Escobar is reading from the propaganda script in Iran regarding the sanctions on the already crippled country. I have to give Escobar his credit though. If a "Martian" came down to earth who knew nothing about this world then on reading these views he would believe that North Korea, Zimbabwe, and Congo are the most prosperous nations on earth and Europe is an continent with mass starvation, rotten cities, and people living in caves with one dollar or less a day. That is how twisted, distorted, and sickening Pepe Escobar's columns are. The United States won't attack anybody. We hate war (at least my generation since I was born in the mid 80s and things changed dramatically after the Vietnam War). The war in Vietnam had a deeply corrosive effect on American society. It fueled the hippie movement and the morality of this great nation took a blow that it never recovered from.

Damn 1960s. Also, President Barack Obama and his Chicago buddies are experts at campaigning. They will probably say one thing or two about Iran to fuel some passions, but a strike on Iran would be so wildly unpopular that Obama would probably lose the elections by a landslide. Unlike what Escobar wants the world to believe, Americans do not buy the whole Iran "thing". More and more media outlets openly discuss the sovereignty of Iran and how they have not attacked anyone in VERY long time. In a few words, most of us understand the anti-Iran propaganda. We do not like the Iranian system, but fact is fact, they have complied with all International Atomic Energy Agency requirements and nothing suspicious have been reported to the world. As long as the war is with words we should be fine. No one wants war Escobar. Those days are over. There is too much to lose and very little to win.
Ysais Martinez (May 31, '12)

[Re Hard truths from a prodigal son, May 30] "US sanctions are bound to remain forever unless President [Barack] Obama certifies to the extremely unpopular US Congress (14% approval rate), 'Iran has released all political prisoners and detainees; ceased its practices of violence and abuse of Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity; conducted a transparent investigation into the killings and abuse of peaceful political activists in Iran and prosecuted those responsible; and made progress toward establishing an independent judiciary.' "

It would be nice if my native US would set the example and release political prisoners, stop its violence against US citizens, etc, too!

Lester Ness
Kunming, China (May 31, '12)

[Re Hard truths from a prodigal son, May 30] One did not have to wait for insights from Kim Jong-nam to learn that North Korean policy makers are "smart, rational, and know perfectly well what they are doing".

The oldest son of Kim Jong-Il may see hope in "market oriented reforms", which, by the by have been happening with mitigated success. Nonetheless, missing in Dr Andrei Lankov's article is any mention of bruising sanctions imposed by the US, the incurably hostile policy of South Korea against the North, as well as the unrelenting harmful effects of the weather - all three or a combination thereof would upend economic reforms or the economy in general.

So talk of reform is idle chatter without its geopolitical and economic context.

As for the role or China, or the rise in importance of a Chinese faction within the Korean Workers Party does not stand the test of Lankov's own "From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: the formation of North Korea, 1945-1960".
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 31, '12)

Of the many lies, myths and fairy tales told from the crib to the grave here in BelieveAnythingLand, the ones about capitalism are among the most insidious, pernicious and invidious. The ones that's my personal favorite is how "The Big C" (my designation for capitalism that carries the appropriate double meaning) encourages and promotes competition in order to provide consumers with the best product at the best prices. The romantic idea espoused by The Big C-ists is that these supposedly individual companies work independently to create this competition, and that the more competition, the more unlikely that any kind of collusion could successfully rig prices. That is the theory of course, sort of like the theory of chaste priests and honest lawyers working solely for the welfare of their clients.

But the reality in Wonderland, like so many other good ideas like democracy and privacy and freedom, falls preposterously short of the ideal. In fact, politicians are bribed through campaign funding and threats to unseat them by well funded firms and Big C-ists to allow gross violations of federal anti-trust legislation with the sole purpose of eliminating competition and jacking up prices while quality swirls into the toilet. The few companies left standing then get together to fix prices illegally with the politicos winking and nodding all the way to their favorite bailed out bank. The consumer has few advocates outside of Whoresville (AKA Washington DC) and have no choice but to pay whatever prices or rates the new monopolists want.

The "Trust Busters" of days gone by, like Teddy Roosevelt, also had to face duplicitous Big C-ists who prattled on and on about consumers getting better deals with monopolies, but back then I guess only vertebrates were qualified to run for office. These Big Cists were defeated, successfully restrained in their insidious practices and a modicum of competition did occur for a time. But, like the now defunct Glass-Steagall Act that would have prevented the collapse of 2008, those old fashioned and "outdated" regulations that kept the Standard Oils from dominating industry, didn't have the new-fangled, modern and sexy gee-whiz financial world of the 21st century to deal with. So blessed is the new era we live in that we now have a handful of banks that precariously control the nation's economy, a dwindling number of media outlets to tell us what lies to swallow (dominated by right wing Big Cists, I might add), struggling farm producers being consumed by a cabal of predatory mega-agribusinesses, fewer and fewer defense contractors surviving to win no-bid deals from the Pentagon that Corruption Built, the Seven Sisters of world oil reduced to four, and of course, Microsoft (listed in some thesauri as the very definition of monopoly).

Prices continue to rise, the quality of products gets shoddier and shoddier, and more companies either get shuddered by foreign competition and/or outsourcing or are purchased at dirt cheap prices by the monopolists. And another myth bites the dust while Karl Marx sings the blues.
H Campbell (May 31, '12)

Dallas Darling in What made Iran's revolution any different?[May 29], engages in a screed of anti-American nonsense. He claims the "US militarily occupied Iran" after World War II, which is a bold-faced lie. Also it was British firms that were exploiting Iranian oil, not US firms. He claims we used Iran as leverage against Russia and China. He is mistaken, China had zero to do with Iran until the 1980s after which the US had no influence in Iran. As for Russia I guess he means the Soviet Union, they refused to leave Iran at the end of World War II and before they left in 1946 set up two Soviet communist governments in northern Iran. It was American power that helped Iran ensure its territorial integrity, I guess he forgot that part.

The shah was an extremely flawed individual, however he did help modernize Iran and when compared to the fascist mullahs that rule Iran now he could qualify for sainthood. One of the students who overthrew the shah determined the shah had killed around 2,500 people over 25 years in power, the mullahs have killed that many people in a single day. Darling claims the number is 20,000 - another lie. Also the Iran-Iraq war would never have happened had the shah stayed in power, so chalk up another one million Iranian casualties to the mullahs. Iran is not a theo-democracy as he claims, there is no democracy in Iran. Iran does not allow a free press - the life blood of any democracy - and they get to determine who can run for office, so its not a democracy any sensible person would recognize as a legitimate fair government. Darling needs to look up the word democracy as he appears to have no idea what it means. Regarding the Arab Spring he writes, "alternative and different democracies, some initially much more bloodier and deadlier than Iran's Islamic revolution turned republic will continue to happen", well those governments he describes don't sound like democracies to me. I guess the left is searching for a new phrase after their old one "sovereign democracies" meaning leftist fascist states, has fallen into disrepute as a term that made as much sense as skinny fat people.
Dennis O'Connell
USA (May 30, '12)

The State Department just issued their annual exercise in hypocrisy, a list of countries that abuse human rights. Naturally, that list has to include China, who, to their credit, did not allow Wonderland's own human-rights abuses to go unnoticed. But for some reason the Chinese preferred to limit their discussion to minor infractions such as jailing Occupy Wall Streeters. The reality, that Wonderland is now and has been for quite some time one of the All-Time Greats human rights violators, merits more publicity. The list of evidence is impressive indeed, beginning with slavery, then the genocide of the native red man, the slaughter of the Filipinos, the firebombing of Dresden's civilians, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, Agent Orange, etc. etc., ad inhumanum. Let's see if the Chinese, Syrians or Burmese can match that history!

But let's talk of a much more timely human-rights abuse, one so callous and hypocritical that it makes most other previous WonderCallousness/Hypocrisy blush verdant with envy. I speak of the flagrant disregard of the US military for the safety of their troops. And no, I am not referring to the obvious perils of combat, i.e, IEDs, grenades, snipers, etc. I refer to the lethal contaminations and electrocutions suffered by US soldiers in Iraqi and Afghan facilities designed and built by the Pentagon/s sole source bid winner, KBR. What perhaps these blatant failures in elementary engineering and safety so galling is that KBR (yes, the KBR Darth Cheney owned) explicitly re-wrote their contracts so that they were indemnified from legal costs resulting from their own malfeasance. Of course, the Pentagon has gone to great lengths to first cover-up, then hem and haw and obfuscate concerning the true causes of the shocking (sorry) deaths due to faulty wiring in showers and the cancers and debilitating diseases caused from exposure to hexavalent chromium (which even KBR employees were exposed to for a while, until they were issued hazmet suits which were NOT issued to the grunts.)

Numerous lawsuits have been filed, regardless of contract lingo (this is Wonderland, after all) and doubtless most of the victims will fall prey to old age or their contracted illnesses long before they see a dime. But if we want to talk of human-rights abuse on Memorial Day honoring our "heroes," how appropriate that we mention how the US government callously disregards the well-being of their military charges when capitalist interests are threatened. And if you throw in the multiple troop rotations without rest, the lack of psychological counseling when they leave the hellholes their country created, their unemployment plight when they return to a collapsing economy, the shortchanging of the wounded's medical care and the drug addictions acquired during the aggression that they have to overcome on their own, well, then this human-rights abuse is historic, hypocritical and hideous indeed. But I have all the confidence in the world that the good ol' USA will manage to beat that any day now. Iran, you listenin'?
Hardy Campbell
WonderTexas (May 30, '12)

Saudi Arabia can stop Iran from going nuclear without military intervention

In his column "US hardline in Iran talks driven by Israel" [May 30], Gareth Porter seems to have missed the central issue: Why Iran wants to develop nuclear power in the first place? With the world's third-largest reserves of oil and second-largest reserves of natural gas, it is prepostrous for Iran to claim it needs nuclear power at a time when many long-time producers of nuclear power like Japan and Germany have abandoned nuclear power after the catastrophic nuclear accident at Fukushima. Iran sits on a faultline and is regularly hit by earthquakes and an earthquake on the scale of Fukushima can severely damage its nuclear reactors, leading to a catastrophic release of radio-active particles. As such, it is clear that Iran's nuclear ambition is based on purely military considerations. Iran thinks that acquisition of nucear weapons would give it a strategic asset now enjoyed by Israel.

As Iran's former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani remarked: "If one day ... the Islamic world will also be equipped with the weapons available to Israel now, the imperial strategy will reach an impasse, because the employment of even one atomic bomb inside Israel will wipe it off the face of the earth, but would only do damage to the Islamic world." Iran's current President Mahmud Ahmadinejad also repeated the same sentiment when he threatened to wipe out Israel from the face of the earth.

Recently, I watched on the classical channel, an Oscar-winning movie Mission to Moscow, based on the book by the American ambassador to the Soviet Union, Joseph Davieson, before the Second World War. Ambassador Davieson was sent by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt to find out what Russia would do if Hitler unleashed his blitz in Europe. After completing his tenure, he met the Dutch foreign minister on his way back in 1938. When Davieson asked the Dutch foreign minister if it would be possible to persuade Hitler to keep peace in Europe, the minister told him that there would be peace if Hitler gets what he wants and he wants all of Europe and all of Russia. If he gets these two things, there would be peace.

Similarly, Iran's ruling Shi'ite mullahs want two things: First, they want to dismantle Israel, giving all lands to the Palestinian people. They seem to believe that Jewish people have no place in the Islamic Middle East and Israel, which contains Islam's third holiest shrine of Jerusalem, must be dismantled. Secondly, they weant withdrawal of all American troops from the region, allowing Iran to dominate the region, especially Saudi Arabia. Iran's Shia mullahs consider themselves as the guardian of Islam and Sunni Saudi Arabia, which contains Islam's two holiest shrines of Mecca and Medina, is an userper. But they also realise that they don't have the military clout to achieve their goals and acquisition of nuclear weapons would them the necessary military clout.

A nuclear-armed Iran can deter Israel, while unleashing its surrogate Hezbollah militias based in Lebanon. Iran has steadily built up the rocket arsenals of Hezbollah, after they were depleted during military operations by Israel in 2006. Hezbollah militants are now believed to have tens of thousands of rockets capable of reaching cities deep inside Israel. A nuclear-armed Iran can unleash the Hezbollah without fearing any Israeli retaliatory strike. As such, a nuclear-armed Iran does pose an existentialist threat to Israel.

Saudi Arabia also faces a similar threat. A nuclear-armed Iran can intimidate Sunni Saudi Arabia into submission. Although the richest oil-producing country, Saudi Arabia's small population of 25 million is dwarfed by Iran's huge population of 80 million and a nuclear-armed Iran will be far more intimidating than it is now. It can also incite Saudi Arabia's large and restless Shi'ite minority. Iran already overshadows the Gulf region and a nuclear-armed Iran can undermine Saudi Arabia's security in many ways.

However, Iran can be stopped from going nuclear without any military intervention. Iran is totally dependent on oil revenues to bankroll its expensive nuclear program. If Saudi Arabia could be persuaded to increase its oil production dramatically, bringing down oil prices drastically, it can force Iran to abandon its nuclear programme for lack of funds. If Saudi Arabia can bring down oil prices from today's $100 a barrel to $30 a barrel, it can bankrupt Iran and Iran has few other resources to replenish its coffers. Natural gas prices are at their historical low and cheap oil will divert even users of natural gas to oil. Iran will soon find it impossible to bankroll its highly expensive nuclear programme and provide welfare to the poor who are regime's biggest supporters. Cheap oil will also help the global economy.

After his return to Washington in 1938, Ambassador Joseph Davieson told the press: "Russia is the only country in Europe preparing for the day when, as every Russian believes, Germany will attack the Soviet Union to give Hitler a bloody nose and thank God for it." Similarly, the world must thank God that Israel is pressing for action to stop Iran from going nuclear. Like negotiating with Germany in 1938, negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue may be useless. Only a firm action will stop Iran from going nuclear. And this can be done without military intervention.
Mahmood Elahi
Ottawa, Canada (May 30, '12)

[Re Pyongyang's pirates broadside Beijing and South Korea makes waves with China pacts, May 25, '12] Yes, indeed, who hijacked Chinese fishing boats. It comes down to speculation first, proof positive some day in a distant future. If Beijing chose to soft peddle the incident, as Leonid Petrov contends, it would be because China sees a greater danger in falling in line with the US-South Korean bullying moralistic and excessive reliance on a military aggressive policy towards North Korea. Remember, "the timing of the incident ... coincided with the joint US South Korean aerial exercises Thunder Max".

Although the Lee Myung-bak regime may be trying to forge military pacts with China, as Takahashi Kosuke reports, Seoul's moves does not remove suspicions that the South is Washington's cat's paw.

Speculation raises interesting questions, but leaves the answers dangling in midair.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 29, '12)

The National Geographic Society had their annual "Geography Bee" to crown the most geographically knowledgeable American youngster the other day. That venerable organization, dedicated to promoting greater awareness and understanding of the planet, invited President Barack Obama to deliver a brief message and even posed a question himself to the contestants. During Obama's blurb, while he was extolling the virtues and advantages of knowing geography, I immediately thought he should be adding "and it's a good idea to familiarize yourselves with the countries you may be fighting in soon."

Of course, way back before Amerika earned the reputation for bombing first and justifying later, Mark Twain quipped that "God invented war so that Americans would learn geography." Of course, t'were this true, Wonderlanders would be past masters on the subject, assuming, of course, they were educated outside the worldphobic educational system in this country. Perhaps in a bit of spite, Canadian Alex Trebek, the contest's host, had conducted a man-in-the-street survey of American citizens to test their history/geography knowledge, with lamentably predictable results (questions that shouldn't stump grade schoolers flummoxed almost all.) The irony of this competition was that of the final 10 contestants, 8 were Asian-descended and only two were Anglo-Saxon "real 'mericans" (members of what I call the "new intellectual minority" in Wonderland.)

Alas, one white boy was eliminated very quickly, and the second didn't survive much longer, leaving the field to the predominantly Indian-heritage boys to fight it out amongst themselves (eventually a Texas boy (hurray!), Rahul Nagvekar, prevailed.) But the fact children whose parents were not native to this country now dominate practically all American educational laurels, not to mention professional sciences, medicine and engineering, offers both the sprig of hope and the trunk of despair for the future. Perhaps if we get enough of the world's countries to provide children that dominate America, the US will stop invading and destroying countries with the thinnest of pretexts. Wow. I'm proud of myself. I actually wrote that without laughing out loud (OK, maybe a snicker).
Hardy Campbell (May 29, '12)

Pepe Escobar in How Osama re-elects Obama [May 24, '12] is a little light on the facts and wrong in his conclusion. He writes, "Washington lost the Vietnam War but won it on the screen". Evidently Escobar has watched a different set of Vietnam movies than me. Mine include Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Coming Home, Casualties of War and Born on the Fourth of July. These are the most important and successful Vietnam War movies and none of them are pro-war or make out the US won the war, in fact the opposite is true. Kathryn Bigelow's movie is likely to be seen by around 4-10 million people meaning 290 million Americans won't see the movie, so it will have no effect on them. Of the small number who see the movie many will be too young to vote and I would imagine since the majority of movie goers tend to be 25 and younger probably 90% or more of the people who see the movie won't vote. So if this movie is Obama's secret plan to get re-elected he should start to write his concession speech now.
Dennis O'Connell
USA (May 25, '12)

Out of tragedy often wisdom may emerge. If some robed dead Greek dude had said this it would be engraved on a marble slab in Congress, yet another philosophical aphorism our dunder-politicos could trumpet and ignore simultaneously. But in the case of post-tsunami Japan, this may well be a truism. Now that it has become obvious that vast swaths of Japan, far removed from the nuke reactor sites, have become contaminated with fallout, despite all government denials to the contrary, many citizens have become increasingly disdainful of what their politicians claim to be truth. Huh.

Almost makes one wish for a similar occurrence in Wonderland, where ridiculous statements from Washington are regularly pronounced ex cathedra and swallowed whole by its willingly-duped citizenry. What makes this contrast fascinating is that the Japanese are considered to be a very obedient if not acquiescent people, ever ready to kowtow to authority, whereas in the Home of the Knave individuals are supposedly paramount, ever ready to challenge authority. And Lord knows we have had plenty of reasons to doubt what comes out of Washington's mouth, from lying about elections to lying about 9-11 to lying about Iraqi nukes to lying about Wall Street; yet despite all this, Wonderlanders casually accept the Party Line like good lemming-Bolsheviks and proceed to their inevitable collective doom. Of course, that sort of zombified behavior is exactly what the Amerikan educational system has intended all along.

But Japan may have crossed their socio-political Rubicon. Being the only country subjected to atomic attack makes them exquisitely sensitive to the whole radioactivity topic, and the citizens accepted their government's assurance when they went down the nuclear energy road that everything was safe, secure and reliable. Now that that lie has been exposed, and people are living in buildings made out of concrete contaminated with reactor isotopes, or drinking milk from cows fed from fodder grown in radioactive pastures, the creeping conclusion is that government will do anything to keep their lies intact. This fact has been demonstrated over and over in Wonderland, but the most Wonderful thing about this country is its willingness to believe that government's preposterous rhetoric while ignoring its irresponsible, reckless behavior. I have no doubt that if a similar atomic disaster occurred here, Washington's first reaction would be to build a residential neighborhood on the site and call it "Long Life Villas". The waiting lists would be enormous.
Hardy Campbell (May 25, '12)

[Re Pakistan hoist by its own petard, May 24, 2012] The United States refuses to apologize for its deliberate, unprovoked attack on the Pakistani checkpost and is increasingly making threats and generally behaving like a kindergarten bully in the face of Pakistan's legitimate requests for an apology and an increase in North Atlantic Treaty Orginization (NATO) transit fees to an amount that would make up for the $70-80 billion loss Pakistani infrastructure has borne over the last 10 years due to NATO's convoys. It was only natural that Pakistan was going to close those routes off. Ghori's dismissive portrayals of Pakistan's reaction are ungrounded in logic, as are his exaggeration of the esteem Pakistanis hold their soldiers in and the writings of a military dictator whose rule over Pakistan had ended half a century ago. Also while Ghori explained Turkey's mediating role in this episode, he did not mention that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has endorsed Pakistan's demand for a US apology during what was his sixth visit to Pakistan in the last nine years.

Pakistan had already agreed "in principle" to re-open NATO's supply routes when the Pakistani prime minister visited Britain [on May 16], which the US misconstrued as unconditional acquiescence to its pressure, hence its disappointment and publicly thrown tantrum when that turned out not to be the case. Pakistani and US officials have both confirmed that particular modalities of NATO's transit through Pakistan (along with the apology) are the only things in the way of those routes being re-opened; bilateral negotiations are already ongoing and an agreement is expected soon. Ghori's claim of Pakistan's absence from Chicago being "an ultimate insult that could doom relations forever" is not factually accurate. Yes, the Pakistanis would have very much wanted to attend but this conference's agenda was only to formalize a plan for withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, not work out a larger political settlement in that country, hence non-attendance at this particular conference was not going to hurt Pakistan's indispensability to the Afghan peace process, especially considering that other regional powers - Russia, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and India - also did not attend.

The Pakistanis do resent the snubs but they know this is a meaningless gesture that does not change the fact (which even the US acknowledges) that an Afghan peace process is not possible without their cooperation, no matter the US' attempts to sideline them from it in general. Also they have suffered worse insults from the US in the last year and this was not the first time Washington pulled off public stunts in the face of Islamabad's more measured diplomatic postures. The real issue is not that "the Pakistani leadership has painted itself into a helpless and unenviable situation" but that the United States is immensely embarrassed that Pakistan managed to extract an invitation without re-opening the supply route; it obviously anticipated the snubs, they were really Washington's implicit admission of its own glaring diplomatic failure. Also, American officials such as ex-Central Intelligence Agency Chief Bruce Reidel have called the snubs counterproductive. This happened in a conference with goals set far from what the Barack Obama administration had envisioned at the beginning of its tenure. Its definition of victory in Afghanistan changed over time from elimination of the insurgents (the failed troop surge) to simply weakening them to negotiating with them and giving them a share in Afghanistan's future political order, to simply cutting losses and leaving even if the insurgency remains undiminished and in control of around 80% of Afghan territory while diplomatic gestures toward them (like opening the Qatar office) have floundered.

Also Ghori's belief that "it isn't such a riddle to guess which of the two will blink first" is untrue. For years US pressure has gotten only tactical concessions from Pakistan. People within Washington's power corridors admit to having learned the hard way no amount of aid-cuts, pressure or threats can make Pakistan make meaningful and strategic changes to its policies; only accommodation of Pakistan's security needs and reasonable, negotiated settlement of long-standing conflicts with Afghanistan and India can do that. Besides, the Pakistanis are convinced there is nothing the US can do that it won't go ahead and do anyway after they outlive their usefulness post-2014. In October 2011, allegations of the Haqqani Network being a "veritable arm" of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency sparked a public showdown between both countries that involved US troop massing across the border from North Waziristan readied for unilateral military action there and threats of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation, but which ended only with the US getting a promise from Pakistan to broker peace negotiations between it and the Haqqanis instead of getting Pakistan to launch a military operation on them and clamping down on terrorist safe havens in its territory. Also in 2010 Pakistan closed off NATO's supplies in response to a US attack that killed Pakistani soldiers, re-opening them only after getting an apology from the US ambassador. If those episodes are anything to go by, it is NOT a given that Pakistan will be the one to blink first.

The real challenge for Pakistan will be clinching invitations to future conferences on Afghanistan and avoiding losing its political investments in that country by making too big a fuss over the drone attacks and closing NATO's supplies even one more time. Pakistan also needs to address Western security concerns regarding its ties to the Taliban without jeopardizing its own security by ignoring the use of Afghan territory against it by terrorists and other elements. These are questions of reasonable accommodations that Pakistan would need to make over time to avoid losing its stakes in Afghanistan, not of who buckles under whose pressure at what time over what particular tactical issue after painting itself into a corner.
Waqar Ahmed Pasha
Multan, Pakistan (May 24, '12)

As if one needed affirmation that the land where imagination, ingenuity and innovation once produced prosperity, jobs and the highest standard of living on earth is now destitute of new ideas of any kind (except for ways to kill people; GO USA!!), I present to you the WonderElection of 2012. Oh, sorry, excuse me, I meant the re-run of the WonderElection of 2008. Because the Republican party's game plan for winning the White House this time amounts to no more than regurgitation of all the lies, propaganda and disinformation of their last lost campaign. Uh, excuse me, GOP, when the game plan produces a loss, aren't you supposed to change it? Oh, that's right; the definition of insanity applies here (you know, you're crazy if you repeat the same mistake and expect a different result.) So get ready for an unending torrent of new birth certificate demands, Reverend Wright ranting re-hashes, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden/ US President Barack Obama allusions, Hitler/socialist monster comparisons, commercials associating socialized medicine with the end of Western civilization, ad Republicanum.

Which only goes to show you how bereft of attack ideas the average trailer trash meth-head neo-con is these days, when Obama has put plenty of ammunition on the table in front of them and all they have to do is use their grimy cracker paws to put them in their attack ad guns. They could easily make the case that Obama is every bit a flip flopper, reneging on campaign promise after promise. But upon closer examination, the logic of avoiding that strategy is obvious. If they delineated all those broken campaign pledges in detail, they would be making a pretty good case that Obama is really just a clone of former president George W Bush, toadying up to the fat cats on Wall Street, undermining habeas corpus, spying on his countrymen, caving into the incessant demands of a humiliated military, minimizing if not avoiding altogether progress on minority rights and in general acting like a true blue neo-con GOPer. In so doing, their evident hypocrisy would expose the real reason they detest him, which is his color, pure and simple. Because the only strategy the neo-anderthals have remaining is to incite race hatred, a hatred that stems for the average WASP's realization that an aging white population and prolific, fecund minority bodes ill for their fevered vision of an apartheid blue-eyed Wonderland.

So they must leave all those tasty anti-Obama goodies on the table and instead revert to the unimaginative recycling of old tired negativities, probably emphasizing the black thing even more and maybe suggesting Obama is really the evil vanguard of an alien invasion fleet. Darn! That would mean those Republican demands for border fences were right, sorta, kinda...
Hardy Campbell
Texas (May 24, '12)

[Re US gives green light to investment in Myanmar, May 19, 2012] While the lifting of US sanctions has been cautioned by some on the grounds of a potential erosion of US leverage and ongoing human-rights abuses, the greater issue is: Myanmar's political and economic woes cannot be solved by foreign direct investment (FDI). Indeed, they may be compounded.

The lifting of sanctions will mean political gains for Myanmar. Last year in September, a senior Burmese official was quoted linking the strict sanctions regime with the threat of increased Chinese influence, warning of the prospect that Myanmar could become a satellite state of the Chinese government. First, the easing of sanctions does tip the geostrategic balance away from China if they are no longer the only investor in the resource sector. This also arguably provides the government of Myanmar with greater bargaining power, with the entrance of competitors seeking access to extractive industries. Secondly, claims China's economic and political influence is increasing in Asia carries a lot of political clout in Washington. Political incentives to ease sanctions have proven to be important drivers of policy change within Burma as well.

The lifting of US sanctions will also mean economic benefits could begin to flow into the state's coffers. The attraction for FDI is undisputable. Myanmar is a country rich in mineral resources. Questions need to be asked about the flow-on economic benefits to people living in Myanmar. The experience of other countries, starting from a low economic base, is both instructive and disturbing. In many resource-rich countries, economic development has stalled or regressed; a trend described as the "resource curse". There is a potential risk that unaccountable politicians will absorb resource rents, with little benefit to national economic development.

On the balance of these benefits, key risks are apparent. We cannot take for granted that the rolling back of US sanctions in Myanmar will lead to improved development outcomes and human-rights protection.

The reality is, FDI can and sometimes does undermine human rights when human-rights protections are not enshrined in law, implemented and broadly respected. Law is not the whole picture, but it can serve as a fundamental baseline to protect communities. For example, communities access to safe drinking water, arable land and even their rights to shelter in circumstances where the government appropriates land for infrastructure development, and there is an absence of formal land tenure systems in place.

Some serious questions need to be asked about who benefits from the lifting of sanctions. It's in the US interests, and indeed all potential donors and investors to consider the risks of enriching a political elite, in the absence of deep institutional reform. If not, there is a risk that the people of Myanmar will not be able to fully realize their human rights and consolidate the gains of democratic reforms.

What we can know with some certainty is that if the end goal is development, a genuine investment-friendly economy, and improved human rights protections, the government of Myanmar faces a long and difficult journey towards reform. It's not clear, however, that this is the kind of strategic vision that the government has.
Pat Manley
Australia (May 23, '12)

Though the new comedy The Dictator will not be to many tastes, one cannot help but acknowledge the star's (Sacha Baron Cohen) ability to adroitly contrast stereotypes, prejudices and myth. He masterfully accomplishes this by portraying a Middle Eastern despot whose entire raison d'etre is top subjugate, oppress and demoralize his "people" in the fictional state of Wadiya. At the end of the film, his Muammar Gaddafi-like character, Aladeen, launches into a soliloquy telling his American-world audience that the US's lack of a dictatorship deprives them of the ability for the top 1% of its people controlling most of the country's wealth, or their ability to rig elections, or illegally detain citizens, or manufacture excuses for aggressive war, etc. Indeed, a clever (albeit partial) laundry list of sins that Wonderland's so-called "democracy" has been guilty of for many decades. Such candor about the hypocrisy of the "Land of the Free" is refreshing, though woe to thee who tries to talk about such things outside the safe sanitizing rubric of comedy or fiction.

But evidence is mounting that even the fresh air of truthful fiction may be a harbinger of hope. A trailer for an upcoming TV program features a newsman's response to an audience member's innocent inquiry about why he thought America is the greatest country on earth. To the shock of everyone (including myself when I first saw it), the newsman not only denied that America was the greatest nation on earth but delivered his own laundry list describing just how short of such an arrogant title Amerika indeed falls. Such audacity may or may not find fertile ground in cable TV ratings, to be sure, but the idea that anyone would question the shibboleth of assumed and divinely anointed Amerikan exceptionalism provides some measure of hope that someday we can remove our collective heads from our posteriors and face the ugly truths about the infinite lies this nation has accepted without question from its onset. Belief in these mendacities has created a disintegrating police state with the thin liberating patina of More's Utopia but the visceral moral rot of George Orwell's Animal Farm. But these are baby steps in beginning the painful process of restoring the dignity we've falsely been told we had.
Hardy Campbell (May 23, '12)

[Re Chen hands Beijing a hollow victory, May 21, '12] The article does not confirm that Beijing views the issue as a victory or defeat, hollow or otherwise. It is merely the author's hypothesis that Beijing views the Chen case as a victory. "If that's regarded as a winning outcome in Beijing, then it is a Pyrrhic victory that does nothing to address the deeply rooted and widespread problem of corruption that Chen has spent the last several years of his life fighting against."

In fact, more essential about the Chen issue is: "On the whole, in very charged diplomatic circumstances that could easily have led to a serious strain in relations, both sides reacted with remarkable restraint, flexibility and collaboration.", and, "Analysts have been quick to hail the Chen case as an example of the new maturity and sophistication in Sino-US relations." The author seems too eager to conclude that the Chinese central government will not heed problems at more local levels.
Jeff Church
United States (May 22, '12)

Pity "poor" China. They have made quite a cottage industry of harping on multipolarity and struggling against "Big Power Hegemony." Yet by flexing their muscles in the South China Sea, going on a spending binge in armaments and high-tech weapons systems, hacking into certain Big Power Hegemons' data banks and in general asserting their independence and state sovereignty, they have given that certain Big Power Hegemon (BPH) and their erstwhile fair weather stooge-lackies the heebie-jeebies (that's BPH-speak for "scared someone has the cojones to stand up to our bullying.")

The added burden of being that BPH's primary creditor adds to the discomfort both sides are feeling in this polarity-transitioning phase we now are in. Such times on the world stage are hazardous, to be sure. When one established but aging, creaking BPH is getting ready to stumble off the stage but hasn't quite done it yet, when does the up and coming BPH decide it's time to walk out and give that old top hatted, bearded uncle in the ridiculous costume a not-too-discrete shove? Usually the old BPH stays way past his retirement time and makes a real hash of things. History gives us numerous examples; Carthage's misguided attempt to stop the unstoppable Roman ascendancy, enfeebled Spain disastrously reacting to Frances' challenge in the Thirty Years War, an embarrassed post-Suez Britain having to acknowledge its subservient status to the US, and even Wonderland's desperate and futile flailing in the Middle East being a last gasp effort to convince the world it could replace its previously respected prosperity and industry with military aggression and techno-savagery.

Mind you, Uncle Sam's reluctance to go quietly into the night is understandable. Watching China do to its neighbors what Amerika has routinely done with its "backyard brothers" can only inspire envy, regret and the silly meaningless gestures of the lame-and-toothless. The laughable attempts to make Filipinos sawed-off brown Rambos ready to stop the Yellow Hordes seems like a stand-up comedian's punchline for a bad joke, just as ineffective missile defense systems, easily-circumvented sanctions and neo-colonial NATO invasions amount to little more than band aids on the dying carcass of the star-spangled hegemon. The 20th-century BPH would like to turn back the clock, to be sure, to happier BPH days, but the 21st-century wannabe-BPH will have none of it. We can all thank the Lord for that.
H Campbell
United States (May 22, '12)

[Re The 'illogic' of China's North Korea policy, May 18, '12] From a US standpoint, China's North Korea policy appears aberrant. From the Chinese point of view, its policy towards the North is quite rational thank you very much. In fact, a case can be made that Beijing has consistently followed the same policy, with some tweaking here and there, for more than 60 years.

"China crosses the Yalu", an Alan Whiting study for the Rand Corporation, seven years after the 1953 Armistice Agreement, documents why China entered the Korean War. Beijing's reasoning in protecting its national security has little changed since then. As Ralph A Cossa and Brad Glosserman readily admit, US President Barack Obama's Asia-Pacific doctrine simply reinforces China's fears of the US.

Rather than repeating the same old mantra about China's protection of North Korea, which is hardly different in kind from America's policy towards South Korea, it might be worthwhile for the two analysts to call for a less aggressive US policy towards North Korea. The US's current policy simply keeps raising red flags to China and North Korea.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 21, '12)

[Re JP Morgan not so dumb and Tighter days ahead]. JP Morgan and other Wall Street financial institutions are definitely not dumb when it comes to making money. Actually, looking at the staggering cost to society, one can't help but feel that these banks are in fact too smart for the good of the country and of the world.

With economic gloom returning, things should get mighty interesting in President Barack Obama's re-election bid. Another round of QE simply may not be able to save the day for him. But then again, what exactly does Republican candidate Mitt Romney offer? Change and hope?
John Chen USA (May 18, '12)

[Re Middle East calm in the eye of a storm, May 16, 2012] There has been much uninformed explanation and speculation by self-proclaimed experts and commentators as to why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to forgo a new election and form a workable coalition government. Israel's real threat has always been a binational state. Either a two-state solution, where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in security and peace. Or, a binational state where eventually Israel loses its Jewish character and majority.

Since he became prime minister, Netanyahu has had that choice. Pursue a peace with the Palestinians or change the subject. The prime minister's record on pursuing peace had been dismal at best. When he was prime minister last, his government was known for its self-promotion and was under a cloud of corruption charges. His record had been against a two-state solution and he had to be dragged kicking and screaming in saying those words as prime minister now. So far, he has changed the subject by demonizing and threatening Iran and making it his "messianic mission". The prime minister was cheered on by his neo-con supporters and the Israel-can-do-no-wrong crowd in the US Congress and the media. Sensing the danger of these policies to Israel, its military and intelligence service members decided to speak out forcefully. Their job has always been to protect the people of Israel, whereas the prime minister, whenever in office, had seemed to be working to protect himself politically. Thomas Pardo, head of Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, said Iran "is not an existential threat." In fact, Army Chief Benny Gantz has described the Iranian leadership as very rational and the former chief of the Mossad Meir Dagan has said that it would be "stupid" to attack Iran. Finally, former Israeli internal security chief Yuval Diskin confirmed the fact that all the saber rattling about Iran was because the Israeli government "has no interest in solving anything with the Palestinians ... ".

Now that the prime minister has formed a coalition with Kadima, it will be interesting to see if he changes his tune. The head of Kadima and a new vice prime minister, Shaul Mofaz, is on record having said "the threat that Israel will become a bi-national state is far more serious than the Iranian nuclear issue." The question now is, in order to prevent the real threat to peace and stability in the Middle East, is the prime minister willing to bring about a settlement with the Palestinians?
Fariborz S Fatemi
Virginia, USA (May 18, '12)

Obesity is symbolically the perfect "disease" to afflict Americans. It represents excess, consumption, lack of restraint and a willingness to ignore deadly repercussions. What could be more Wonderish? Children are bombarded from the crib with propaganda by the junk food manufacturers of America, who depend heavily on government subsidies for the sugar, salt and cholesterol-soaked food oils that poison the innocent.

Their parents, pressured by dwindling incomes and ignorance of basic nutritional needs, cave in to the relentless misinformation disseminated by these capitalists and allow their kids to become bloated, inactive dough-boys with barely mobile arms and legs, ready to "blossom" into diabetic, heart-diseased couch tubers that regularly trot (or should I say, roll) to the doctors, pharmacies and fat farms in order to stem the tide of obesity-related illnesses they will carry to the grave. Naturally, the insurance companies will be glad to make this experience as easy as possible, for a rather hefty fee, when they deem the victims insurable (lotsa luck there, fatso!). Everyone benefits, as long as you're a corporation who controls congressional regulations on such things as basic child nutrition, enabling food monopolists to label their sugar-laden fruit-flavored cereals 'healthy" because, after all, they taste like healthy fruit.

But the use of obesity to describe Amerika goes beyond the tragedies of individuals. Just as once brilliant and massive stars that run out of solar fuel collapse into the cosmic abyss known as black holes, so too will the once brightest of earthly star-nations, now that it has spent its energy, will and spirit in useless exercises of impotent power, implode its ponderous mass into the geopolitical equivalent of an infinite sinkhole.

Like its citizens, the obesity of bureaucracy, political paralysis, debt, bailouts, infinite wars and a citizenry expecting something for nothing has turned Wonderland into the nation-state equivalent of a sofa spud, sitting before a computer monitor and playing games with robot drones, surveillance satellites, collateralized debt obligations, stock market manipulations, bogus statistics, poll numbers and video games. Unable to rouse ourselves into productivity or value to mankind, our increasing spiritual obesity makes us heavier and heavier but simultaneously smaller and smaller. Ultimately, the lights will go out once and for all, and we will become the heaviest nothingness in history.
Hardy Campbell
Texas (May 17, '12)

It's funny Dennis O'Connell [letter, May 14] mocks China when his own country is the biggest thief in the world for the last few centuries. Does this guy have shame? Why doesn't China go to international courts of injustice? Because they're run by people like Dennis O'Connell.
Yun Tang (May 16, '12)

[Re Student loans fail usury test, May 15, '12] Student debt in the US has crossed the trillion dollar threshold. Students are defaulting on loans, and a staggering debt is a bubble about to burst.

In fact, the trend to privatize American education from the ground up is a sign of the times. The country is turning its back on its future by condemning those who it can least afford to drop out or abandon the dream that anyone can make it in America. The slashing by state - and education is traditionally the purview of the 50 states - of budget allocations for education is an erosion of democracy. The attack against teachers who are strongly unionized is an assault again on the democratic ideal praised in Tocqueville.

America is on the road taken by Pakistan which allocates two percent of its budget to education. Little wonder poverty and extremism go hand in hand there.

We are beginning to see the same drift in the US. By beggaring the middle classes, the working class, and the poor, the "one percent" is fostering extremism, ignorance, and the rise of political right wing radicalism, the better to keep their privileges and hands on the level of government.

The formula spells disaster. One just has to look at the arrogance of JPMorgan Chase to see how unrestricted control has led to a $2 billion dollar loss - as far as [its chief executive] Jaimie Dimon is willing to admit, to see the pitfalls of the ruling elite who have feathered their own bed with taxpayers money, the bank's clients' savings, and still walk away without a slap on the wrist. Saying this, by any standard student loans in the hands of private banks are a bellwether for disaster.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 16, '12)

Over the last months many writers on the Asia Times Online have been trying to prove that the South China Sea belongs to China and The sea rises in China [May 14, '12] by Brendan O'Reilly is the latest attempt. Scarborough Shoal is 140 miles [225 kilometers] from the Philippines and 600 miles from mainland China. What the Chinese call Huangyan Island is a small rock the size of a car. An acorn is not an oak tree and a rock is not an island. The areas that China claims in the South China Sea are insane and make a schizophrenic kleptomaniac seem sane and honest. Portuguese fishermen fished the grand banks hundreds of years before Columbus, but I don't believe Portugal claims the grand banks as their territory. Brendan O'Reilly believes that the Philippines should give up possibly billions of dollars in oil and natural gas for the right to sell China some pineapples.
If China believes they have a good legal case they could take their case to the International Court of Justice or the International Tribunal for the law of the sea. However China knows its legal claims are a joke and refuse the rule of law and seek to intimidate their smaller neighbors. I always thought that when China was faced with a major internal crisis they would seek to start a war with Taiwan, now its seems they will substitute the South China sea instead. If China thinks it can sink the ships of its neighbors and not expect extreme blow-back they are more than insane. China seems to resent that it missed out on the age of imperialism and seems to want to have a go at it now, however China might want to look at a calender and realize it is 2012 and not 1870. But it appears that China wants to pull down the communist star (the last communist died in china a long time ago, if any ever existed) and hoist up the jolly roger, so let the party begin.
Dennis O'Connell
USA (May 15, '12)

"Fundamentalism at the US's corps," [May 14, 2012] By Brian M Downing is quite a good article. Readers might also look for Mikey Weinstein on the "Pentecostalgon". Lots of Born-Again officers are no more prepared to accept the Jews or Lutherans in their midst than they are Muslims.
Lester Ness (May 15, '12)

That chuckling you're hearing from above is Karl Marx having yet another guffaw over capitalism's latest victimizing of itself, in this case, JP Morgan's two billion dollar loss in the financial gee-whiz "risk reducing" financial device they themselves invented, the credit derivative.

Huh. With risk reduction like that, break dancing in a mine field looks like a guarantee for long life. Mind you, the Morganauts were feeling pretty smug in 2008 when all those speculators were up to their ying-yangs in toilet dwelling subprime mortgage derivatives, a venture they had deemed too risky because it was exceedingly complex by even the byzantine standards of Wall Street.

While all around them were making out like Gucci-suited Chicken Littles, JP stood on the sidelines, relatively immune to the card castles collapsing around them. Well, those Chicken Littles have all grown up now and are flying home to roost in the wreckage of Morgan's risk management division, which intended to prove Morgan's original thesis that these derivatives were too risky to touch, by using the empirical method, the School of Expensive and Incredibly Stupid Hard Knocks.

So Wonderlanders are once again faced with a financial reality that they had hoped had vanished in an avalanche of government propaganda, media-fed wishful thinking, doctored statistics, federal largesse, congressional winking-and-nodding and presidential pandering to banks, plutocrats and the military.

That reality demonstrates that, in the Disunited States of Incompetence (Futureman tells me this will be the official name of the US centuries from now), there is no level of smug confidence or arrogant hubris that the economic gods will not punish, sooner or later. Indeed, a country that depends on creating an unending procession of financial Frankenstein monsters in order to sustain its mirage of superduperdom will eventually have to turn their pitchforks on themselves. Now I just need to figure a way to turn that fact into a credit derivative.
Hardy Campbell (May 14, '12)

[Re Pyongyang paints history in its own image, May 10, '12] No matter in what garish colors Andre Lankov paints North Korea, the way it imagines its own history is very mainstream. All countries, including his own former Soviet Union, engage in this exercise. Frances Fitzgerald in 1979 wrote America Revised, a highly critical review of high school history textbooks, which is a good case in point.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 11, '12)

[Re: Hu oils cogs to lock the US Asia 'pivot', May 8, '12]. I don't think Chinese President Hu Jintao was expressing a wish as much as he was making a patent observation, that the entelechy of a US-China economic marriage will be realized with or without the two governments' willing consent - it's the capitalist way and, quite simply, the path of least resistance. Chimerica, it's coming to a friendly neighborhood near you.
John Chen
USA (May 9, '12)

[Re Change Europe can believe in?, May 7, '12] It is obvious that Pepe Escobar is not fan of French President Nicholas Sarkozy. As usual though, Escobar takes the path of attacking free markets and glowing over state controlled economic activities. In his attempts to sell President-elect Francois Hollande as a pure socialist, Escobar diminishes the Franco-German relations that Hollande advocates.

According to EurActiv, Hollande proposes a Franco-German partnership to foster economic collaboration between the French and the German state. Such collaboration will be in the areas of transportation, renewable energy, and environmental initiatives. In addition, the Franco-German partnership will create an office for research about issues of interest to both nations.

So Escobar, Germany will be a power house in Europe for years to come. Otherwise who will clothe and feed the folks that your column constantly defend? You may like the idea that Hollande will impose a tax on wealth that increase state revenues by 29 billion euros, but you failed to mention that Hollande advocates to reduce taxes to companies and small businesses to boost economy. See Escobar, the Occupy Wall Street Protesters and the likes neither produce a dime nor create a job. It's the opposite, they live off the sweat of someone else. Like the millions in the European Union living off Germans' productivity and hard work. I have to give you credit in labeling Hollande as a pragmatic leader. He may raise the income tax for Frenchmen but will make up for it by lowering taxes on businesses.

On social issues Hollande is on the far left. However, any leader in the developed world that effectively tackles economic issues and reduce the deficit (Hollande has stated during his campaign that by 2017 France's deficit will be zero) will get a free pass on such matters. Regarding the creation of a basket of currencies for international trade, Escobar you better slow down on that one. Not every country that wants to impose its currency on international trade will get its wishes. There are legal guarantees that make business in one place, in one currency more convenient than others. Investors feel more comfortable dealing with a currency from a country where someone like [Bolivian President] Evo Morales won't wake up one day and say: this company is no longer yours and will be transferred to its "legitimate owners".

The basket of currencies sound fair in a multi-polar world but it is easier said than done. Some countries just talk, talk, and talk but they don't care in creating strong, trustworthy institutions inside their geography. It's all about the economy Escobar, and the economic crisis will take priority over whatever socialist agenda that Mr. Hollande ever dreamed of. We are all socialists, Mr Escobar, but we are all capitalists. We are all liberals and we are all conservatives. It's all shades of gray.
Ysais Martinez
USA (May 8, '12)

The latest buzz in Vunderland concerns the new president of France, who has triumphed over the Anglophile plutocrat Nicolas Sarkozy. Amerikans are aghast at the stupidity of the French for having anything to do with THAT WORD. Of course, anything with THAT WORD here is equivalent to "atheist", "ACLU lawyer," and "baby-eating monster" in the neo-con universe (which is normally bounded by the nearest WalMart, liquor store and trailer park meth lab.)

THAT WORD, for those who haven't divined it yet, is (shudder) SOCIALISM. Of course, no neo-con could define that for you in economic or political terms, other than to identify it with President Barack Obama and Hollywood celebrities.

So they're convinced the French will begin mobilizing mobs of red-bereted, wine-swilling commies determined to take back the Statue of Liberty, all recipes for French fries and every employed mime in America. This is amusing, because any examination of the US will expose it as socialist a society as the French, Russians or Chinese every aspired to be. The difference is simply one of class; here, only the rich are deserving of government intervention to distribute wealth. But by calling ourselves "capitalists", we adorn ourselves with the delusion of rugged individualism, government-free "job creation" and good ol' 'merikan Free Enterprise, none of which could exist without massive tax breaks, trade restrictions, subsidies, interest-free loans, grants, bailouts and no-bid rigged contracts, all at the expense of the tax payer. So please Mr New Socialist French President, hold back your hordes of godless Francais Rouge who want the proletarian rats to feast on government cheese. Recognize that in Wonderland, these rats are content to place the cheese on the table and wait patiently while they dream of cheese crumbs falling from the heavens.
Hardy Campbell
Texas (May 8, '12)

[Re Israel stokes the 'Iran threat', May 7, '12] I agree with Kaveh Afrasiabi about Germany's hypocrisy. I think it is irresponsible policy to sell nuclear weapons technology to Israel as long as Israel refuses to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Afrasiabi is as usual on the mark with his insightful analysis and it is very refreshing to see the "three giants" of Asia Times Online, Pepe Escobar, Afrasiabi and MK Bhadramkumar at the top of their games. Thank you.
Tim Bowen
Toronto (May 8, '12)

[Re North Korea puts China in harm's way, May 4, '12] Resumption of the six-party talks in Beijing is not North Korea's decision alone. The record shows that by playing "tough cop", the US, along with South Korea and Japan, has closed any avenue of reopening the suspended talks.

The Barack Obama administration's military policy in the Asia-Pacific region targets Beijing. Its inadvertent involvement in the Bo Xilai scandal and mishandling of the Chen Guangcheng affair seem not only interference in China's internal affairs but an existential threat to the emergence of China as a regional and global player.

Beijing may also feel that it cannot play Washington's surrogate in dealing with North Korea: it is a no win situation any which way you look at it. Let Washington "do its own dirty work" is more the mood these days, it seems.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 7, '12)

[In response to Ysais Martinez letter May 1] Egypt is an ancient country and Egyptians are sophisiticated people. We Americans are ignorant barbarians by comparison. We have given death and destruction to the countries we have conquered. We cannot give anyone democracy because we do not have it at home. We have oligarchy, instead.
Lester Ness
Kunming
China (May 7, '12)

[Re Potent portraits in North Korea, May 2] Are portraits of the three Kims a burning topic of interest? Hardly. I wonder how Dr Lankov would interpret portraits of popes in the living rooms of Catholics or the wearing of religious medals?
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (May 3, '12)

Editor's note: Seemingly, yes. Dr Lankov's piece was one of the best-read articles of the day.

[Re Confessions of an angry young drone, May 2] Well, Pepe did it again. He is one special thinker/wordsmith who has that rare capacity to stretch beyond the investigative into the realm of almost-poetry; even with its most tragically, diabolically-embedded on-point message?

Now I'm waiting for the sequel, the Boomerang Effect ... as we sow, so shall we weep?

"Only a part of the
Whole
Coil
Is required when the rope
Hangs the one they have agreed to call
Outlaw"...
- "Death Song" by Thomas McGrath, the late, great, plains poet
Beryl John-Knudson
United States (May 3, '12)

Pssst. Keep it quiet. The Cold War between East and West. It's baaaaacccckkk. In fact, it never really went away, just dressed up in different threads and went to a manicurist, hairdresser, etc. for a schnazzy make-over. So instead of intimidating the world with May Day parades that feature soldiers, missiles and tanks, Russia flexes its muscles in far more subtle, nuanced ways. Take Poland and Ukraine, who are co-hosting the 2012 European Football Championship in June.

Poland, ancient enemy of Russia and member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), saw a significant number of its political, military and religious leaders killed in the Smolensk air tragedy of 2010, an "accident" that for many Poles was as "accidental" as 9/11 was perpetrated by "foreign terrorists" to many thinking Americans (I know, an oxymoron).

Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that always chafed under Russian domination, has seen its Western-flirting prime ministers mysteriously poisoned or imprisoned on trumped up charges and its political system kept in turmoil. Recently mysterious bombs have been detonated in a Ukrainian city, with no "terrorist" group claiming responsibility, which is not what usually happens when terrorists blow things up to make a point.

Already some western European leaders have urged a boycott of the Ukrainian part of the soccer tournament, as a protest against the dubious incarceration of ex-Prime Minister, the anti-Russian Yulia Tymoshenko. This would suit Russia just fine, with a western boycott making an understanding, brotherly Russia seem a more logical alternative as Ukraine's "protective" partner. And neither the European Union nor NATO should entertain any doubts that, while Russia may have grudgingly accepted their old enemy Poland into the Western alliance, Ukraine, with its religious, racial, economic and cultural ties with Mother Russia, will never be allowed the same path.

Many Poles paint the Smolensk plane crash as a not-too-subtle reminder of who's the Alpha Dog in their backyard. And it may be a coincidence that now Washington is making noises about its proposed missile defense system for Poland being technically inadequate, making the placement of these extremely provocative weapons of dubious strategic value problematic, while saving Wonderface at the same time.

Yes, the East was down at halftime to the West but has come storming out of the locker room with renewed fire and determination, while the once-dominant NATO team is creaking, aching and desperate for the full time whistle. Sorry, NATO, you're all out of subs and a new player for the East is coming on, a real sleeper with a wicked left foot by the name of China.
Hardy Campbell
United States (May 3, '12)

[Re Bibi unrattled by early election noise, May 1, '12] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netenyahu may ignore early election noise, but he cannot refrain from recognizing the "ghetto" Israel has become during his years in office.

A state armed to the teeth, Israel can hardly pursue a forward policy against its Arab and Irani neighbors with impunity. Already signs in Egypt point to a revocation of an "entente cordiale". Rising voices within Israel now condemn Netenyahu's "messianic" revisionist Zionist designs of a Greater Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River.

It is for nothing, perhaps, that the death of Bentzion Netenyahu at the age of 102 is sign that ultimately his son's designs as the region's hegamon is also doomed.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Palermo (May 2, '12)

[Re US strikes a military pose for Iran, May 1, 2012] The visit by Iran's President Mahmud Ahmedinajad to the tiny island of Abu Musa has stirred up the hornet's nest of Arab outrage and Western tut-tutting, just as was intended. To Iran's credit, it has not backed off one iota from the pathetic posturing of the Saudis, the Emirates and the WonderBlunderers. Instead, it has ratcheted up its bold defiance, making the various emperors scramble for the nearest clothes racks. While the Saudis, Bahrainis and Emirates blather on about unification ands the dire Shi'ia/Iranian "threat", the DunderHeaders face inexorable difficulties extricating themselves from the Afghan briar patch and the Iraqi minefield, staying out of the deteriorating Syrian quagmire, and trying to stabilize the unraveling Pakistani non-state while worrying about the increasing Islamic assertiveness of Egypt and Turkey. Iran's strategic brilliance in exploiting this Keystone WonderKops dilemma would make Henry Kissinger proud. The dizzying panoply of multipolar combinations that Iran can exploit is frankly leaving the Anglo-Saxons befuddled, confused and a tad desperate, completely at sea in a universe where the once-ballyhooed levers of Western coercion are attached to rusting gears and obsolete mechanisms. The underlying message Iran makes with a visit to an island situated astride the major shipping lanes through the petrocentric Strait of Hormuz is that the West can talk all it wants about attacking secret nuke plants but Iran can easily close that narrow stretch without breaking a sweat. Recognizing their strategic nudity, US generals are now being allowed to confidently state that Iran is not likely anytime soon to develop those at-one-time imminent WMDs. This shows Iran's strategy is paying off big time. The old schoolyard adage that the best way to deal with bullies is standing up to them and calling their bluff seems to once again demonstrate Aesopian wisdom. In the long run, avoiding another war is a good thing for Wonderland also. All those troops fighting Third World "terror" will be needed to quell the coming insurrection back home.
Hardy Campbell
Texas (May 2, '12)

[Re The horror and the pita, Apr 30, '12] Whatever happens in Egypt - after the media manufactured revolution - will be the responsibility of the United States and the Western powers. It was pathetic to watch CNN and BBC during the so-called revolution in Egypt glowing about events that they did not fully understand. I loved it when these networks interviewed a couple of English-speaking, clean-cut, educated Egyptians who talked the talk of democracy. It was laughable when they attributed the opinion of these couple of Egyptians to 80 million people. So the United States and the naive leaders in Europe thought that Jeffersonian secular democracy would flourish in two weeks on Egyptian soil. President Barack Obama and his administration thought that 80 million Egyptians would embrace a democracy that in their eyes is irreligious or - like Michael Scheuer would say:- "perhaps even pagan". And this is where our strategic mistake lays on with the Islamic world: we offer them democracy when they despise democracy (not that they hate freedom, let's be clear) and prefer 1,400 years of tradition. We think that democracy is the solution to every single problem on the planet - just like the communists thought that communism was the only answer - and we have forgotten that fostering a democracy that is perceived as pagan will only harvest terrorists and losers willing to die for their cause. Let's let it slide and welcome to the new Egypt!
Ysais Martinez
USA (May 1, '12)

April Letters

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