Fate and Tempting Fate with Floods and Fire.

A life of full measure lies between eighty and ninety years, It is a span of no significance except to mankind. Things that occur outside that experience zone are thought to be unusual. They are not. For most of human history the life of one generation was exactly as the generations that both preceded and followed it. That is no longer so. Collective wisdom and knowledge about the real natural world has become less common.

Wealth, travel and communications allow people to visit and settle in places that wiser folk once avoided. Every year, including the coming winter we will hear about some small group who get lost and die on a winter pass, not because they are brave but because they are foolish. People drown and lose homes on hurricane prone beaches with regularity and predictability. Great rivers, whose banks once held marshes and now cities, flood with the regular change of seasons. Property and lives are lost on a calculated risk. Tempt fate and and you will sometimes lose.

So it is, in the season of fires, in the hills of California.

Fires on hill sides, that have been burning repeatedly for hundreds of thousand of years, are doing so again. The hills and canyons cannot remain as they are and be safe from fires. They can be made safe by changing them and destroying what they are. If people choose to live in such areas, then knowingly or not, they are tempting fate. That is their choice. They and politicians will likely demand that others share the consequences of their bad decisions. That is your fate.

The ABC's of democracy in the ME. Now the PKK is a US Problem.

Under the impression that defeating al Qaeda may end the US nightmare in Iraq, many Americans will be surprised to learn that the mission creep is still creeping. It started with WMD and then a US mission to de-baathicate Iraq and then to bring democracy to the ME.

I, like many others, was just getting used to having defeated AQI. That sounded like a win and a possible victory march home, but now seems not to be. You see, It seems to be that the PKK, who hate the Turks, who hate the Iranians, who hate the Kurds, who hate the Syrians, who may work with the Turks, who have Kurds, who hate Kurdistan, which wants freedom and democracy, from Iran, Syria and Turkey, who are also part of Iraq, who can't be controlled, who never had democracy, who may possibly be combined with the Shiites, who are close to the Iranians, who hate the Sunnis, who also hate the Kurds, but may have to work with them, so that democracy will make Iraq, and then possibly everyone else free, and the only way this will now happen is the PPK becomes the duty and call of the USA, to help Turkey not attack Iraq and bring them all to democracy. They all mostly hate the Jews who already are a democracy but mostly hate all of them. Pelosi thought she could help and most of Washington thought this would be a good time to get further involved. That happens with democracy. Get it?

Upside Down

Taqiyya

The word "Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing, precaution, guarding.” It is employed in disguising one's beliefs, intentions, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions or strategies. In practical terms it is manifested as dissimulation, lying, deceiving, vexing and confounding with the intention of deflecting attention, foiling or pre-emptive blocking. It is currently employed in fending off and neutralising any criticism of Islam or Muslims.

Falsehoods told to prevent the denigration of Islam, to protect oneself, or to promote the cause of Islam are sanctioned in the Qur'an and Sunna, including lying under oath in testimony before a court, deceiving by making distorted statements to the media such as the claim that Islam is a “religion of peace”. A Muslim is even permitted to deny or denounce his faith if, in so doing, he protects or furthers the interests of Islam, so long as he remains faithful to Islam in his heart. Islam Watch.

Steve Emerson was on Glenn Beck's show last week discussing a recent "kumbaya, we are all Allah's children" letter signed by over 100 Muslim clerics and delivered to the Pope. Emerson said that the letter is a load of rubbish. Many of the signers have ties to radical organizations and some have issued fatwas calling for "death to the infidels." The letter, he said, is more evidence of Muslim deception. He also said that "things are worse than ever" in regard to the political correctness of our institutions such as the FBI. That is discouraging news.

When we ask "Where are the moderate voices of Islam," we should also ask where are the western leaders who will demand the truth and not accept the lies and deception of groups like CAIR or the Muslim American Society (formerly known as the Muslim Brotherhood). And when we find a moderate Muslim like Bhutto or Musharraf, we must work with them. She may have baggage but Benazir Bhutto is a moderate Muslim willing to speak out against radicalism and at a much greater risk than the rest of us face. Unlike the western politicians who refuse to confront or publically acknowledge the motives of organizations like CAIR or the MAS, when Cal Thomas asked Bhutto about Islamic radicals active in in the west, she answered:

"They are infiltrating (the United States and England). What I am hearing is that they now want to buy people off (and) plant people in intelligence and the military." Bhutto described the radicalization of Islam, which she said is virtually unchallenged in the Islamic world: "When I was a young girl, my Islamic teachers said everybody can have their own religion. Now they say you cannot (even) talk to others about their religion. You used to be able to marry anyone who is from the Abrahamic tradition - people of the Book - but (Muslims) are now taught you can't marry anyone (who doesn't have your) interpretation (of Islam)."

Radical Islam is unchallenged in the Islamic world and having a good go of it with the rest of us. Its hard to tell who the biggest deceivers are: radical Muslims or ourselves.

*******

Speaking of radicals, Jimmy Carter was interviewed on the BBC last week and called Dick Cheney, a "militant" and repeated the smear that Cheney was a draft dodger who had never served in the military. Is there a nastier, more "holier than thou" person than Jimmy Carter? Carter had to know that the use of "militant" would imply "terrorist." I have to believe that history will judge Carter as not only one of the worst Presidents in US history, but also as one of the worst, if not "the worst" of former Presidents.

******

According to Andrew Liveris, the Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Company, the high cost of oil is going to put another nail in the coffin of American manufacturing which finances 70 per cent of all business research and development. He says that the lack of a comprehensive energy policy has resulted in an energy crisis which is much worse than the high cost of fuel for our cars.

The real energy crisis we face today is much graver because it has ballooned into a manufacturing crisis. It is now undermining the very things that have made this country so great for so long — its economic prowess, its education system, its strong history of innovation and invention, and, last but certainly not least, its basic national-security and influence in the world.

******

Race Relations

Can't we all just get along?

Another old man has incurred the wrath of the left. DNA pioneer, Dr James Watson, a formerly respected 79 year old scientist, says that blacks have a different kind of intelligence and the world either ballistically denounces his statements or like the EB goes silent.

A high-ranking black Police union official calls for more ethnic profiling in the UK. He says the black and Asian communities are calling for it as a way to do something about the runaway "knife crime" which is taking a heavy toll on their children. The story has been largely ignored in the US. It's not hard to figure out why.

Jena, Louisiana. Apparently, it is more hateful to hang a noose than to beat a person unconscious for hanging a noose. The assailants are seen as defenders of the black race while the victim got what he deserved. It looks like we are seeing a backlash against high incarceration rates for black males.

Clarence Thomas was on Hugh Hewitt's show for 2 hours last week talking about his biography which is currently a best seller. Raised first by a single mother and then his grand parents in South Carolina. Educated at Holy Cross and Yale Law, he's a clear thinker whose unforgivable sin is being conservative while black. Thomas pointed out that upholding the constituiton is more imperative than achieving a desired outcome. Black activists seem to hold the view that the constitution is relevant only when it supports their positions.

Know the Difference Between Torture and Interrogation

trish said...

Many, besides just the left, argue that torture does not work. A certain poster here with past connections to interrogations and present connections with the CIA makes that claim.
---
I cite such people as examples of the creeping political correctness, and Psychologizing under the influence of the dominate culture and institutions.

10/19/2007 07:32:00 PM

Past connections to interrogations, yes. Present or past connections to CIA? No.

Waterboarding isn't torture, by the way. Unless the admin has decided it is, which I don't believe it has. The USG doesn't undertake torture in any of its agencies nor sanction such, so it's a moot debate, manufactured for your entertainment. Because it's a matter of US Code, you can only fiddle with the definition, as there's a certain amount of unavoidable, cultural subjectivity involved, but you can't get very far with that tack. Good Guy is our schtick, broadly speaking, and we're schtickin' to it. (Jihadists will disagree, but jihadists don't like being leisurely strip searched by female soldiers, either.)

Trish proposes that every American attend a short, unclassified course on interrogation - taught by those who do it for a living - so that every American would have a better understanding of what it is, and what it is not; what it aims to accomplish and what it aims to avoid; its many, and universal, methods and its inherent limitations. Trish's course would end with videotape of actual (obvious, rather) torture, so that everyone has a vivid image in future discussion of the matter. Better yet, it would end with videotape of a high level detainee abjectly weeping, then agreeing to cooperation, after relatively brief interrogation employing approaches decidedly this side of torture. But as a practical matter that'd never be declassified.

In any event, she'd make special provision for Doug, who would also attend a full SEAR course, thereby making him acquainted with both ends of the business and leaving him an all round better human being.

Mon Oct 22, 08:12:00 AM EDT

Trish is a commenter and ex-director of The Elephant Bar, amongst possible other things unnamed.

That Man, Matt Drudge

“I need Hillary Clinton. You don’t get it. I need to be part of her world. That’s my bank.”

October 22, 2007
Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge

By JIM RUTENBERG NT Times

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 — As Senator Barack Obama prepared to give a major speech on Iraq one morning a few weeks ago, a flashing red-siren alert went up on the Drudge Report Web site. It read, “Queen of the Quarter: Hillary Crushes Obama in Surprise Fund-Raising Surge,” and, “$27 Million, Sources Tell Drudge Report.”

Within minutes, the Drudge site had injected Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fund-raising success into the day’s political news on the Internet and cable television. It did not halt coverage of Mr. Obama’s speech or his criticism of her vote to authorize the war in 2002, but along the front lines of the campaign — the hourly, intensely fought effort to capture the news cycle or deny ownership of it to the other side — it was a telling assault.

Mrs. Clinton’s aides declined to discuss how the Drudge Report got access to her latest fund-raising figures nearly 20 minutes before the official announcement went to supporters. But it was a prime example of a development that has surprised much of the political world: Mrs. Clinton is learning to play nice with the Drudge Report and the powerful, elusive and conservative-leaning man behind it.

That man, Matt Drudge, came to national prominence a decade ago as a nemesis of the Clintons who used the Web to peddle, gleefully, the latest news and rumor generated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

That people in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign orbit would tip off the Drudge Report to its fund-raising numbers is in part a reflection of her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies, like Newt Gingrich or Rupert Murdoch. But it also speaks to the enduring power of the Drudge Report, which mixes original reporting with links to newspaper, Internet or television reports far and wide.

The site is a potent combination of real scoops, gossip and innuendo aimed at Mr. Drudge’s targets of choice — some of it delivered with no apparent effort to determine its truth, as politicians of all stripes have discovered at times.

Aides in both parties acknowledge working harder than ever to get favorable coverage for their candidates — or unfavorable coverage of competitors — onto the Drudge Report’s home page, knowing that television producers, radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters view it as a bulletin board for the latest news and gossip.

Because of the sheer number of people who look at it and because of the attention it gets from the media, what appears on Drudge can, for a few minutes or an entire day, drive what appears elsewhere, making it, “a force in the political news cycle for both the press and the campaigns,” said David Chalian, the political director at ABC News.

Nielsen/NetRatings has clocked three million unique visitors to the site over the course of a month, and the Drudge Report said its users clicked onto the site a combined 16 million times in the course of a single day last week. The site’s influence, which is not limited to politics, has survived the proliferation of blogs offering all manner of news, analysis and gossip, as well as the advent of one-stop shopping political sites like Politico, which has a big staff of established political reporters.

What sets Drudge apart as much as anything is its ability to attract well-placed leaks and traffic in the freshest and rawest material — though sometimes including what some have considered smears.

On the Republican side, a generation of campaign consultants has grown up learning to play in Mr. Drudge’s influential but rarefied world. They have spent years studying his tastes and moods while carefully building close relationships with him that are now benefiting some Republican presidential campaigns — and that others are scrambling to match.

The early advantage on their side, in the view of several Republicans, seems to have gone to Mitt Romney, who hired the former Bush political aide who had been the central party’s prime point of contact with Mr. Drudge, Matthew Rhoades. His status was solidified after the 2004 election at a steakhouse dinner in Miami with Mr. Drudge, who for all his renown in politics is a somewhat spectral presence who rarely agrees to meet with political operatives or journalists and who did not respond to requests for an interview for this article.

So important was the Romney camp’s perceived advantage in the eyes of aides to Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, that at one point this year they even considered sending an emissary to Miami to build their own relationship with him, two former McCain campaign officials said. (Mr. Drudge ignored the invitation, one of the officials said.)

But, typical of a campaign with a reputation for exploiting every advantage and trying to neutralize every disadvantage, Mrs. Clinton’s communications team, led by Howard Wolfson, is not leaving Mr. Drudge to the Republicans. Five current and former Democratic officials said Mrs. Clinton has on her side the closest thing her party has ever had to Mr. Rhoades in Tracy Sefl, a former Democratic National Committee official, who has established a friendly working relationship with Mr. Drudge — and through whom Mrs. Clinton’s campaign often worked quietly to open a line of communication.

That effort has helped to mix some positive stories in with the negative fare about Mrs. Clinton that Mr. Drudge still serves up regularly, they said, though Ms. Sefl’s fingerprints are usually impossible to spot.

In April, Mr. Drudge scored exclusive access to a first round of Clinton fund-raising figures. In later months, he highlighted a campaign strategist’s prediction that Mrs. Clinton would win over even some Republican voters, polls showing her lead widening and articles chronicling her success in winning over previously skeptical voters.

Though liberals say the site’s ideological imbalance remains plain, Republicans, who viewed the site as theirs in campaigns past say they are noticing what they believe to be more Democratic driven — often Clinton driven — items on it. And, as New York magazine reported recently, Mr. Drudge sometimes mentioned Mrs. Clinton favorably on his syndicated radio program, even if no one really knows whether his comments reflected admiration or simply a recognition that keeping her in the news is good for his business.

“It seems to me that after the 2004 election, the Democrats realized the impact that the Drudge Report has, and made it a priority,” said Jim Dyke, a strategist for Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign and the communications director for the Republican National Committee in 2004.

The Democrats have come to believe, Mr. Dyke said, what Republicans have always thought: “No single person is more relevant to shaping the media environment in a political campaign.”

Few are willing to attach their names to any specific statements about Mr. Drudge or descriptions of their strategies in dealing with him, fearing that they might alienate him.

Former Republican Party and Bush campaign officials said that in 2004 they considered Mr. Drudge’s site so central in their efforts to undermine Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign that they systemized their approach to him.

Senior aides in the Bush war room, run by Steve Schmidt, a veteran Republican communications aide, insisted on vetting any information to be fed to Mr. Drudge so as not to annoy and overwhelm him with items he might find unworthy. And, these officials said, when the approval was given, the main point of contact was usually the Bush aide who was closest to Mr. Drudge, J. Timothy Griffin, now a consultant to the campaign of Fred D. Thompson, the former Republican senator from Tennessee.

Through that system, Mr. Bush’s aides funneled embarrassing tidbits about Mr. Kerry in which mainstream news reporters had initially shown less interest. From time to time, those former aides said, an item’s appearance on Drudge would drive it into mainstream news coverage: A video clip of Mr. Kerry contradicting himself, or a photograph of him wearing a protective germ outfit.

“It’s the stuff that speaks to the absurdity of politics, and it’s done with devastating effect,” a former Bush campaign aide said.

But, several strategists said, nothing is automatic with Mr. Drudge, whose tastes can be unpredictable, making a personal connection to him all the more valuable. Those who know him best say it takes special courting to build a real relationship.

Before Mr. Griffin left politics to work as a military lawyer in 2005, he had a dinner with Mr. Drudge and Mr. Rhoades to solidify Mr. Rhoades’s new place as the main Drudge Report contact for the central party. That dinner was first reported in the book “The Way to Win,” by Mark Halperin and John F. Harris, published last year.

As the Bush political team dispersed among the Republican candidates this year, some of Mr. Rhoades’s former colleagues came to regret his special relationship with Mr. Drudge. Former aides to Mr. McCain said in interviews that they had cursed Mr. Rhoades’s name daily this year as Mr. Drudge ran a series of photographs making Mr. McCain look old and other items, like one wrongly raising the possibility that a bump he took to the head in Iraq was cancer.

Democrats have long known how the McCain campaign felt. And it is precisely why, a strategist close to the Clinton campaign said, her aides had decided to use the site more aggressively and capitalize on the line to him established by Ms. Sefl — now a vice president at the Glover Park Group, the former firm of Mr. Wolfson, Mrs. Clinton’s communications director, and an informal adviser to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe. Ms. Sefl had no comment.

At the same time, Democrats said they noticed an occasional Clinton-friendly tone from Mr. Drudge, whom New York magazine quoted as saying on his program: “I need Hillary Clinton. You don’t get it. I need to be part of her world. That’s my bank.”

Pelosi's Time Has Passed. She Will Not Recover.

Pelosi's judgment questioned over Armenia issue

By Susan Cornwell Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Nancy Pelosi's pledge of a new direction took a detour when she fumbled an Armenian genocide resolution and raised questions about her leadership as the highest ranking member of the U.S. Congress.

Pelosi, 67, speaker of the House of Representatives and next in line to the presidency after the vice president, swore she would push the controversial resolution to a vote, then blinked when some fellow Democrats withdrew their support in the face of furious reaction from Turkey.

President George W. Bush warned the symbolic resolution to affirm the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide would harm Washington's relations with Ankara. But as long as it looked like it would pass, Pelosi stuck to her guns.

When Democratic support started waning last week amid protests from NATO ally Turkey -- which denounced the measure as "insulting" and hinted at halting logistical support for the U.S. war effort in Iraq -- Pelosi wavered.

Critics say she miscalculated.

"It's certainly not her finest moment," said Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

"There's been no great harm done, but we do have to find some ways to mend the U.S.-Turkish relationship."

Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed in World War One, but denies they were victims of a systematic genocide.

Pelosi took office amid much fanfare 10 months ago. She proposed "a new direction" for America and vowed to challenge Bush on a host of fronts, including the Iraq war.

Her stumble on the Armenia resolution gave Republican critics more ammunition.

They called the bill another "irresponsible" or "dangerous" foreign policy gambit by Pelosi, who flew to Syria last spring when the White House was not on speaking terms with Damascus.

Pelosi also has tried for months without success to defy Bush's policy on Iraq with legislation forcing a withdrawal of U.S. troops.

NO 'DAMN ALLIES'

Even some of Pelosi's closest allies, like Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, say she misjudged the Armenian resolution.

Murtha, who opposes the measure on the grounds the United States doesn't have any "damn allies" and therefore needs to keep Turkey on its side, counted up to 60 Democratic votes against it and said it would fail if brought up.

Pelosi is one of several Californians in Congress with many Armenian-Americans in their districts. They have pushed similar proposals for years.

"She feels morally committed to this issue," said Murtha. "It's just, is it practical at this point to go forward with it?"

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich offered another excuse for Pelosi's misstep: she had too much on her plate.

This week House Democrats also tried and failed to override Bush's veto on a children's health program. A bill to revise rules for government eavesdropping on terrorism suspects had to be pulled from the floor at the last minute.

"The pace of this institution is not always conducive to a well-thought-out approach, to considering the consequences of a certain type of action," Kucinich said.

Pelosi still has not ruled out calling a full House vote on the Armenian resolution, which the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed on October 10.

Some conservative commentators suggested the genocide measure was part of a hidden Democratic agenda to undermine the Iraq war effort, but other analysts said that was unlikely.

"I think it's more domestic politics, playing to interest groups, than backdoor foreign policy," said George Washington University professor of international affairs Henry Nau.

"If members of Congress are plotting with interest groups to weaken Turkish support of U.S. policy in Iraq and thus undermine American forces in Iraq, the drama thickens beyond my capacity to comprehend," he said.

Internet Video Content. Is it Working for You?

The internet is changing in ways that are astounding. The latest is video content and the increased interest of media companies positioning themselves on the internet. Sites like CNN and Newsweek are promoting more and more use of video, but placing thirty second ads before the content. You Tube will be doing the same? Given the choice of reading or having to wade through internet commercials, I usually choose to read. How about you? What web sites and links are there that do a good job of mixing video content with more static presentations?


October 19, 2007
Video Meets the Web Meets TV
By David Needle Networking

SAN FRANCISCO -- Is the rise of the Internet slowly killing television? Not in the view of media execs here at the Web 2.0 Summit, who said TV is merely changing with the times.

"Television viewing has gone up every year," said Amy Banse, president of Comcast Interactive Media. "I object to this idea that it's online video versus cable video. I don't think most customers think that way, they just want video and the ability to seamlessly access it regardless of what screen it appears on."

In response to a question, Banse said Comcast isn't threatened by the potential of free ubiquitous Wi-Fi access sponsored by certain municipalities and tech companies like Google. "You want me to be a dinosaur running scared," she said. "Google is a phenomenon and it's been a wonderful partner. People want to buy our pipes for fabulous services and we monetize them in part through Google, and we've talked to them about new ways to expand the partnership."

Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive, said it's critical that online formats be standardized over the next two to three years to better attract the next generation viewers. He said CBS has been using "next-generation" ad formats that are starting to pay off.

Asked if he was worried about losing viewers to Facebook and other social networks, Smith said he wasn't, and that such networks help CBS. He said social networks have become a kind of online water cooler where people can discuss what they saw on TV the night before and indirectly market the shows. Smith said CBS needed to be more involved in social networks, get advertisers involved and figure out ways to monetize it.

Smith noted CBS bought celebrity gossip site Dotspotter earlier this month. He didn't confirm the price, rumored to be $10 million. In a recent posting, GigaOm analyst Om Malik, who moderated today's panel, described the deal as CBS's "Water Cooler 2.0" purchase.

Participatory television?

Another angle on where TV is headed came from Joel Hyatt, CEO and founder of Current TV. He said TV isn't dying, as evidenced by the huge viewership and companies spending billions to bring television content to the Internet. He said the chief problem is that "much of television sucks."

Current TV is a cable channel with an affiliated social network site, Current.com. In addition to sharing comments on programming, Current's aim is to move television from a passive experience to a far more participatory experience. Sponsors encourage viewer-created ads, which Hyatt said viewers prefer nine to one over those created by ad agencies.

"We've created the first truly two-screen experience," said Hyatt. "On the TV tab, you can find out what's on and then later you can go to the Web site and interact and engage with other people that saw the show." He said giving consumers a reason to go from the TV to the Web is a true convergence of the two technology platforms. "It's not about 'Gee, now we can watch Desperate Housewives on a laptop.' That's cool, but it's not a big idea."

Malik, the panel moderator, appeared skeptical that the Current TV idea would have broad appeal.

"When I come home from a hard day of hating my boss, why would I want to give up the passive consumption of TV to contribute online?" he said.

But Hyatt countered that viewership of many TV shows is declining, particularly the broadcast evening news. "You ask our target demographic about watching a news anchor at 5:30 tell you what the news is. It is of no relevance to the younger generation. They want to participate and create," he said.

Fellow panelist Mike Volpi, CEO of Internet TV play Joost, said the key for online video to succeed is for companies to provide services that aren't already broadly available -- not another YouTube.

"The market needs companies that provide high-quality video and content that's curated and packaged in the right way where frequently the content owner is the editor," he said.

The rosy outlook from media executives today comes as the second major indication that traditional media companies are becoming more aggressively active -- and less reactive -- when it comes to online video initiatives. Yesterday, a consortium of media giants, including Viacom, News Corp., Disney and NBC Universal, announced guidelines for how they wished to work with video sharing sites.

Those guidelines entail a great deal of policing for copyright-infringing user-uploaded videos, including a stipulation that sites develop technology enabling video content owners to detect and block copyrighted content even before it's made visible on the site. That's a marked difference from Google's proposed filtering scheme, which would enable media companies to find and remove videos only after they're posted.

At least two online video sites, DailyMotion and Veoh, signed-up to support yesterday's guidelines. Google is said to be in talks with the group as well.

China at Our Back

Is the US, and now Europe, waking up to the fact that China is a rigidly controlled Communist dictatorship? The West thought by encouraging Chinese involvement in the World trading system that they would become capitalists and democrats. It did not quite work out that way.

A Chinese democracy is never going to happen as long as the Communists rule and the Communists will continue to rule. The Chinese Communist Party is ruthless, determined and brutally efficient in maintaining control. It is also very very rich, courtesy of the US and Europe.

China has masterfully manipulated the world trade system and is now in a position to dictate profound changes to the real New World Order. The US and Europe handed the keys to the farm to the Chinese and now are beginning to squirm in discomfort as they realize the predicament that they have created for themselves.

It is very true that the economic relationship has been very beneficial to the West. The Chinese have willingly provided product after product to replace what was once produced in a closed western factory. All of this has been in the name of economic efficiency. Now the Chinese are creating national super funds to apply capital to projects and acquire resources on a scale without historic precedent.

For some time I have feared the potential consequences could be devastating to the US and Europe. At a minimum, the Chinese will be making the decisions and the Chinese are dictated to by a secret and powerful dictatorial party.

My fears have not decreased. All evidence points to a China on the long march to a goal, somewhere in the future, at a place and time of their choosing.

__________________

Heat on China as trade gap with Europe SOARS

By Fergal O'Brien Independent, Ireland
Saturday October 20 2007

Europe's soaring trade deficit with China is heightening tensions over the weakness of the yuan ahead of a meeting of the Group of Seven nations today.

The euro-area trade gap with China widened 25pc to a record €59.9bn ($85.6bn) in the seven months through July, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday. Imports from China rose 21pc, outpacing the 15pc gain in European shipments in the opposite direction.

The widening deficit may add to friction between China and Europe as the G7 meets in Washington. China's currency, the yuan, has fallen 4pc against the euro this year, which EU officials say makes their exports less competitive, while the EU has criticised Chinese import tariffs and below-cost sales.

Concern

"We are concerned -- very concerned -- with the huge trade deficit between Europe and China,'' European Commission president Jose Barroso said yesterday in Lisbon, where he is attending a meeting of EU leaders.

"We have received some commitments'' from the Chinese "to work with us to correct those imbalances,'' he said. "So far we have not seen enough results in this area.''

The yuan has gained almost 10pc versus the dollar since the Chinese government ended a strict peg to the US currency in July 2005; it has dropped more than 6pc against the euro in that period. Chinese central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan yesterday said China will make the yuan freely convertible "eventually,'' and currently has no timetable for the plan.

Europe is "unlikely to hasten the pace of yuan appreciation,'' said Kimberley Forkes, an economist at Moody's Economy.com in London. "China will let the yuan appreciate in its own time, not rapidly, and certainly not in any way that's going to discourage domestic growth.''

While France has led the charge against the strength of the euro, other countries added their voices in recent weeks, concerned that the currency's gains will further impede an economy already confronted by a rise in credit costs and record oil prices. A delegation including European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet will travel to China later this year to discuss the yuan.

The EU also has become increasingly vocal about Chinese trade practices, saying barriers such as import tariffs unfairly limit European shipments to the Asian nation while charging that Chinese exporters break rules by selling goods such as chemicals, bicycles and frozen strawberries below the cost of production.

"We need to address the trade deficit ahead of the summit at the end of November,'' Peter Power, a spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, said in Brussels.

Protectionist

"If China does not pull its weight, we will inevitably be faced with calls for a different approach'' that "would clearly be a more protectionist approach''.

ECB governing council member Yves Mersch yesterday highlighted both benefits and difficulties of the euro's rise, noting that it helps counter some of the impact of rising oil prices, which reached a record $89 a barrel this week.

"In order to have planes flying you also need to import oil, and a high euro greatly makes oil prices cheaper,'' Mr Mersch said in Prague.

"I would not deny that a strong euro could potentially harm weaker exports to trading partners.''

While a degree of consensus has emerged on the yuan, officials can't agree on how to respond to the euro's advance against the dollar. The euro rose to an all-time high of $1.4310 yesterday and was at $1.4291 by the close.

While French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants the ECB to do more to tackle the currency's rise against the dollar, ECB president Trichet has urged politicians to show "verbal discipline'' when discussing currencies.

The euro area's trade surplus with the US narrowed 7.6pc in January-July to €37.5bn, according to yesterday's figures. The surplus with the UK, the region's biggest trading partner, soared 35pc as exports rose 6pc and imports fell.

"We have not a problem in terms of trade with the United States, but we have really a problem with China,'' the Mr Barroso said.

The euro region posted a trade surplus of €4.3bn in August, compared with an €800m surplus in July, which was revised from a €600m deficit reported earlier. The aggregate data is published a month ahead of the figures for individual trading partners.

- Fergal O'Brien