12/03/2010

What a WikiLeak from the US Embassy in Japan may look like.

Tokyo Embassy, USA, to the Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State. Top Secret. Subject: Korean War Sequeal The South Koreans are not biting. After blowing up the Choenan and getting our own team to fix the blame on the North Koreans they are still not declaring war with the North. In fact they are getting suspicious of the cause of the Incident. And when North Korea asked to see the evidence, they got cold feet and conducted their own investigations which revealed a lot of holes in the fabricated truths we put up as findings of an international investigation team. The South Korean public also does not believe it anymore. The situation is getting dicey. Now the good part. The artillery firing in Yeonpyeong was so close to the North and it forced them to respond furiously with artillery fire. Several soldiers and civilians in the island became war collateral. And we thought the South will now have to retaliate. The bad part is that the South Koreans still refuse to act. They are only prepared to raise the tones of their verbal protests. Even with our nudging they would not fire back at the North. The Ambassador is fuming mad at the inactions of the meek South Korean President. He appears so weak and reluctant to do anything, pleading for time to cool off. Our close ally in this game, Japan, is losing its patience. They wanted action, war, between the two Koreans. They have promised to commit weapons, men and finances, without reservations, to the conflict. And they are not asking much in return for their contributions. They only want to have a free hand in the reconstruction of the whole of Korea after the war. They want to bring in their manufacturing plants, build the infrastructure, and concessions on territorial rights from the 38th parallel to the Yalu River. Below the 38th parallel they will leave everything to us. Our Japanese ally is asking for immediate action. If Choenan does not work, if the artillery drills and war games do not work, what else shall we do to get the South Koreans fired up to want to go to war with the North? We need clear and specific instructions from Washington to proceed further on this operation urgently. Further delay will result in the tension dying down quickly, and all our effort will go to waste. Our Ambassador is suggesting to remove Lee Myung Bak with a hawkish new President. We need a military man to take charge and to declare war on the North Koreans. Embassy Tokyo.

A rude shock to American military superiority

US was surprised and shocked to see a Chinese submarine apeeared suddenly from nowhere in the midst of US / Japan naval drill in the East China Sea. The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed.At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory. Uninvited guest: A Chinese Song Class submarine, like the one that sufaced by the U.S.S. Kitty HawkAmerican military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier. According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy.The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age. The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon. Battle stations: The Kitty Hawk carries 4,500 personnelThe lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from hostile aircraft or submarines.And the rest of the costly defensive screen, which usually includes at least two U.S. submarines, was also apparently unable to detect it.According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines. It also led to tense diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the submarine was "shadowing" the U.S. fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and dismissed the affair as coincidence. Analysts believe Beijing was sending a message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its backyard. The People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine fleet includes at least two nuclear-missile launching vessels. Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors. Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War. He said: "It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans. "It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan." In January China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for the first time. The above was posted by Southglory in redbeanforum. What else does Admiral Michael Mullen wants to know from the Chinese? In this case, the Chinese is telling the American to buzz off or else...they have the capability to down the carrier if they wanted to. The Chinese could keep quiet about this technology and capability and let the Americans continue to have war games in their coastal waters or operate happily thinking that they can do it with impunity. This is a piece of friendly advice from the Chinese. Don't play in out backyard and think you can walk in and out anytime you like. The Chinese can close the door on the Americans.

Foreign talents in loan shark activities

Cheaper, better, faster and no strings attached. Foreign workers are now recruited to be runners for loan sharks. They are cheaper, hungrier, and nothing to lose. The last part spells big trouble. The more nothing to lose foreigners on the loose, the more dicey things will become. They will do anything. For the moment these foreign runners are still at the level of spray painting doors, locking doors and throwing shoes and slippers over the balcony. When else will they do when they graduated and move to a higher level of operation and higher risk? The police are confident that they can manage this problem. Why manage the runners when the loan sharks are the real source of the problem and weeding them out is like uprooting the grass? How many loan sharks have been caught? So far it seems that only the runners are caught. This problem does not seem to go away.

Joker of the Year - Admiral Michael Mullen

Below is a quote that warrants the award of Joker of the Year. ‘Raising a military to provide for the country’s own security, It’s own needs, that’s fine. That’s what we do. But some of the specific capabilities are very clearly focused and pointed at the USA. They are anti access capabilities. Talk to me about why you are developing these capabilities, other than thinking that we are the enemy…Those are the kinds of discussions I can’t have right now because I’m not sitting down with them. Admiral Michael Mullen. And this Joker even called on the Chinese to rein in Pyongyang. China should simply ignore him or tell him to get his 7th Fleet out of its economic zones before talking to him. China should also ask him to rein in the South Koreans from conducting provocative military exercises simulating attacks and landings on North Korean soils, and that including reining in the American forces too, from being the major partner of such exercises in the Yellow Sea. What an arrogant prick.

12/02/2010

Celebrating Singaporeans - Professor Kishore Mahbubani

Foreign Policy Magazine Honors Professor Kishore Mahbubani as One of the World's Top 100 Global Thinkers SINGAPORE, Nov. 29, 2010 /Standard Newswire/ -- The National University of Singapore (NUS) is pleased to announce that Professor Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished diplomat and Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) at NUS, has been selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of its "Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2010", alongside prominent thinkers who shaped the world in 2010. Other prominent international global thinkers who were honored this year include Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Robert Zoellick, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, US President Barack Obama and Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan. This is the second annual list of top global thinkers who shaped the world, and half of this year's top 100 Global Thinkers hail from outside the United States. Prof Mahbubani is honored by the magazine "for being the voice of a new Asian century." .... He is in good company except for Barack Obama. He is lucky that George Bush Jr is not in the list.