Causeway politics – a strategic choke point

The Causeway is like the aorta in our blood circulatory system. A block or choking the Causeway/aorta could immobilized the heart and leading to death. Keeping this Causeway open is critical to both countries. But at some point in time, there are factors that would favour one side and gave the idea that keeping it close, choking it, would be a good thing to do. At this point in time, many of the good things are on the side of Singapore, economics, security, social etc, would favour Singapore even if traffic flow at the Causeway is not optimum, or slow. It seems that choking the Causeway is more favourable to Singapore than Malaysia at this point in time.
 
The Malaysians want to raise Causeway toll fees, why should Singapore allow the Malaysians to profit from higher toll fees and not Singapore. They jump, we jump, they raise, we raise. This seems to be the mantra of the day.
 
A decade or two forward, when the Iskandar Economic Zone took off with massive Chinese investment and infrastructural development, when Tanjong Pelepas and Pasir Gudang became more efficient, just to service the factories and their goods in Johore, when KL becomes the land transportation hub for rail and roads to China and Europe, when the Isthmus of Kra is cut and ULCC by passed Tuas Port, what would be the effect of choking the Causeway?
 
What would happen when the faster, cheaper and more efficient HSR takes over as the preferred mode of transportation to Europe and China, replacing the ships and the sea routes? What would happen when goods from Singapore got held up at the Causeway and unable to catch the land road to Europe and China? When the Iskandar becomes a boom town, like Shenzhen to Hongkong, the poultry and farm produce from Malaysia may not find it necessary to travel further south than the IEZ?
 
When economic activities shifted to Malaysia, like the factories of Europe and America shifted to China, the Causeway could become a lifeline for Singapore to access Malaysia and the land road up north. Choking the Causeway could cause a heart failure and total and permanent disability for the whole body system. Keep the Causeway free flowing then could mean a life and death situation to the Singapore economy. It be would Malaysia's turn to want to choke the Causeway to its advantage.

CIA Drug And Narcotic Trade And Trafficking Exposed. PART 7

CIA manages drug trade and trafficking claimed a Mexican official, Guillermo Terrazas Villaneuva of Chihuahua province. He said," CIA and other US outfits like FBI and DEA don't fight drug traffickers but instead try to control and manage the illegal drug market for their own benefit."

In 1990 the anti-drug unit sent tons of cocaine to US. The agency inspector General Frederick Hitrz admitted CIA worked with drug traffickers and had obtained waiver from the Department of Justice in the 1980s allowing it to conceal its contractors illicit dealings.

A reporter Gary Webb conducted an indepth investigation called, "The Dark Alliance" uncovered a vast CIA machine to ship illegal drugs into USA to fund clandestine and unconstitutional activities abroad, including the financing of armed groups . Gary Webb was eventually assassinated by CIA secret hitman.

After Dark Alliance series USA law makers spokesman Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts confirmed CIA was involved in drug trafficking through parties allied to it and through partners on its payroll.

Mexican officials especially Mexican president Felipe Calderon in an interview with BBC in 2009 claimed complicity by USA officials and authorities that enabled tons of drugs and cocaine to be shipped or sent to USA with immunity.

Many drug bosses and American officials claimed that Obama administration was selling weapons to drug cartels through a front company in Mexico and Obama was using tax money to arm Mexican cartels.The president and his Department of Justice have been engaged in a cover up since they were exposed by whistle blowers that leading congress held disgraced Attorney General Eric Holden in contempt.

Now do we see why USA is dead against Philippines president Duterte wars against drug traffickers. It is because it is against CIA interest in the very lucrative drug and narcotic trade and trafficking in which USA use the profits to finance wars of aggression overseas.

Southernglory1

Sunday,20th November,2016

CIA Drug And Narcotic Trade And Trafficking In Thailand. PART 6

CIA Drug And Narcotic Trade And Trafficking In Thailand.     PART   6

In the 1950s to 1970s CIA threw its full support behind the Thai General Phoa making him the strongest man in Thailand. In return General Phoa allowed CIA two Thai paramilitary organisations , The Police Aerial Reconnaisance Unit and the Border Patrol Police. The training and equipment of the two units were under the control of CIA specialists who organised front companies and laundering funds for black operations operating out of Miami.

General Phoa protected KMT supply equipments market their opium and helped to garner support for KMT among Thailand's overseas Chinese.

USA ambassador to Thailand William Donovan founder of the OSS was a senior adviser to CIA. He hailed Phoa's state as the free world's strongest bastion against the communist in South East Asia. In 1955 Phoa's National Police Department had become the largest opium trafficking syndicate in Thailand and was deeply involved with every aspect of the narcotic trade.

Phua police guards would escort the KMT opium caravans from the Thai-Burma border to police warehouses in Chiengmai. From there police guards brought it to Bangkok by train or by police aircraft. Then it was loaded into civilian coastal vessels to a mid ocean rendezvous with freighters bound for Hongkong, Singapore or Sydney.

CIA ripped in billions of dollars from the Thai narcotic operations and the Thai military elite that ruled the country became very rich from their drug monopoly and from ties with CIA. Much of this smuggling network remains very active today and maintains close ties to Thailand's military and paramilitary circles.

CIA airlines, Civil Air Transport or Air America and Air Asia together with CIA holding company , The Pacific Corporation provided air transport for many of the drug operations in the Far East.

In the 1970s and 1980s CIA hope to defeat the left wing Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese. It supplied guns, money and training to the Hmong tribes who were anti-communist monarchists. The Hmong's primary cash crop was opium and CIA provided helicopters to collect opium for the Hmong commander General Van Pao from his scattered highland villages and transport it to distribution centres at Longtieng and Vientiane. The processed heroin was ultimately bound for American GI addicts in Vietnam and other South East Asian countries.

Southernglory1

Saturday, 19th November,2016

Saturday,19th November,2016

Abe gave 2 decommissioned Japanese naval vessels to Malaysia

What is bribery, I dunno. During Najib’s visit to Japan, Abe gave him 2 decommissioned naval vessels and told Najib he expected Malaysia to offer Japan to build and operate the Shinkansen train for the KL to Singapore route. This is what Abe said, “I expressed (to Najib) my strong expectation that Japan’s shinkansen technology will be adopted. The process of decision will be done in an open, transparent and objective manner, and that the project is uppermost in the minds of the government of Japan.”  Including open bribery? I quoted this from the Statestimesreview.

How could Malaysia refused even if the naval vessels were rejected or destined for the museum, like what the Americans gave to the Philippines. Maybe these are charitable gifts, so museum pieces, as long as they float, will be good enough for poor developing countries.

The acceptance of such gifts on a silver platter is similar to what Nizam Idris said about the reserved Elected President for the Malays in the ST on 17 Nov 16. When given, how to say no? But he also expressed the negative connotations of accepting the reserved EP scheme.  Najib in a way also knows that accepting the 2 decommissioned naval vessels would compromise his position in the award of the contract for the KL-Singapore route.  But why not, take first then think how to deal with it.

If Abe wants to offer it as a bribe for the contract, he should show more sincerity by presenting Malaysia with 2 new ships than those due for the scrap yard. Would Najib and Malaysia be slighted by such junks, crumbs left on the table?

The Japanese have lost their class. Want to give, give something good. If not don’t give. Malaysia has its pride, so don’t expect 2 pieces of junks will change Najib’s mind and award the multi billion contracts to Japan. Abe is lucky if Najib is not offended by the rejects passover as ‘gifts’. The audacity to offer a bribe and expecting a contract is an insult to Najib personally and Malaysia as a nation.

CIA Drug And Narcotic Trade And Trafficking in Burma PART 5

CIA Drug And Narcotic Trade And Trafficking In Burma. PART 5

CIA ran covert operations in the Golden Triangle heroin complex since the early 1950s.  CIA had close relationship with the drug lords and was enmeshed with the region's opium-heroin trade CIA and the US agency for International Development  ( USAID ) supplied the region's opium and heroin dealers with arms, ammunition and transportation of food supplies in exchange for mercenary forces or political leverage. CIA support included in the collection, manuafacture and transport of opium and heroin.

CIA activities in Burma transformed the Shan states into the largest opium growing region in the world.

As part of its growing operations against communist China in the 1950s and 1960s CIA established a large narcotic cover organisation  in Taiwan known as Western Enterprises. CIA agency airlines provided cover for the CIA to drop teams of Chinese Nationalist soldiers on mainland China to contact dissidents and build a viable resistance to Mao Tsetung's government .

CIA also sent commandos from the offshore island of Quemoy as it planned a covert invasion of China. Its covert airline ferried tens of thousands of KMT troops into Shan States to inflitrate into Yunnan. Kweichow and Kwangsi. It also recruited thousands of indigenuous hill tribes to help KMT soldiers to fight against Mao in China.

In August 1952 CIA secretly despatched KMT soldiers to invade Yunnan and dropped rebellious pamphlets to instigate the peasants to rise up against Mao's government. The CIA's hope for a peasant uprising failed and the KMT soldiers were driven out of Yunnan into the Shan states of Burma.

The CIA alliance with the opium lords lasted almost two decades. CIA delivered arms to KMT forces in Burma and then loaded opium aboard its civil air transport planes for the return flight to Bangkok. CIA commandos also used its infiltration routes into southern China as drug smuggling routes for traffickers in Burma and Thailand. CIA set up five secret training camps and two illicit radio stations in the Shan states protected by KMT troops and local tribesmen who were on CIA payroll . All the money spent by CIA on the clandestine activities was derived from trafficking in opium and heroin..

Southernglory 1

 

Friday,18th November, 2016