Over at Pajamas Media this AM, Roger L. Simon lays out a pretty good case for trying to do something, whatever one can possibly do, to bring attention to China’s newest wave of oppression against freedom of ideas, freedom of speech. China is outlawing anonymous blogging and is requiring users of services like Microsoft’s Windows Live Spaces to register with their real names. And then there’s Yahoo!, of which Simon quotes Reporters Without Borders as stating has been helping the Chinese government identify Internet dissidents. Nice, that one, huh? So, since Bejing is spending enormously on the 2008 Olympics and will try to re-launch China before the world during that two weeks of constant coverage, here is what Simon is proposing:

From this moment on, I will not write about the Beijing Olympics unless the subject at hand is censorship and repression in China. And – unless the Chinese government changes its policies – when the Olympics do come, I will not blog about them at all. I will take the opportunity to write as often as I can about the lack of Freedom of Speech on the Chinese Internet and on the suppression of bloggers and journalists in that country.

I hope we could all do this together, especially since this is not an issue of right or left. It is about Freedom of Speech, something upon which the vast majority of the blogosphere can agree. We can reach across the aisle on this one, if others are willing. So…

… about those Beijing Olympics – they’re a propaganda sham until the people of China have Freedom of the Press.

Bloggers aren’t really all that important — yet. But, in the game of International prestige, every little jab begets a little bruise, and a zillion little bruises grouped together can look like a whole world of hurt.

Technorati Tags: Roger L. Simon, 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympics

With all the emphasis on climate change going on at the G8 Summit, and with our own pres, G.W. Bush capitulating to the pressure of the Warmies and coming out with his own plan for addressing the problems that are supposedly going to be caused by said warming, it is countries like China and India that are holding all the cards in this game of International poker. With the likes of Germany’s Merkel wanting a binding pact to cap world temperature rises with the goal of “cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to 1990 levels before 2050, and holding global temperature rises to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by century’s end”, one has to ask — is anyone at the G8 sane? Stick with me for a sec.

In this article by Dr. Lee C. Gerhard along with the PowerPoint presentation linked to therein, the only causative factor investigated so far with a consistent tracking to the historical record of global warmings and coolings is solar activity. It’s not CO2, its percentages of atmospheric concentration lags the temp changes, not precedes them. Kinda hard to be the cause if you’re part of the effect. Richard S. Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is saying this, and much more. (Lindzen drives the Warmies absolutely nuts!)

What most commentators—and many scientists—seem to miss is that the only thing we can say with certainly about climate is that it changes. The earth is always warming or cooling by as much as a few tenths of a degree a year; periods of constant average temperatures are rare. Looking back on the earth’s climate history, it’s apparent that there’s no such thing as an optimal temperature—a climate at which everything is just right. The current alarm rests on the false assumption not only that we live in a perfect world, temperaturewise, but also that our warming forecasts for the year 2040 are somehow more reliable than the weatherman’s forecast for next week.
(…)
Is there any point in pretending that CO2 increases will be catastrophic? Or could they be modest and on balance beneficial? India has warmed during the second half of the 20th century, and agricultural output has increased greatly. Infectious diseases like malaria are a matter not so much of temperature as poverty and public-health policies (like eliminating DDT). Exposure to cold is generally found to be both more dangerous and less comfortable.
Moreover, actions taken thus far to reduce emissions have already had negative consequences without improving our ability to adapt to climate change. An emphasis on ethanol, for instance, has led to angry protests against corn-price increases in Mexico, and forest clearing and habitat destruction in Southeast Asia. Carbon caps are likely to lead to increased prices, as well as corruption associated with permit trading. (Enron was a leading lobbyist for Kyoto because it had hoped to capitalize on emissions trading.) The alleged solutions have more potential for catastrophe than the putative problem. The conclusion of the late climate scientist Roger Revelle—Al Gore’s supposed mentor—is worth pondering: the evidence for global warming thus far doesn’t warrant any action unless it is justifiable on grounds that have nothing to do with climate.

Reread that bold statement in the last graph, then reread the title of this post. As I’ve been saying repeatedly over the last few weeks, in the U.S. and the West, the Left is using Global Warming Hysteria to scare John Q. Public to such an extent that we are all willing to submit to egregiously high “Carbon Taxes”, which our elected and non-elected public servants and bureaucrats will gladly spend for us in a manner of their own choosing. We might have thought that the eight years of Republican-controlled Congress was an orgy of spending and increased entitlements, but we ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Not if Pelosi and Co. get their hands on trillions of dollars in increased taxes. The blood-suckers up on Capital Hill are probably vibrating off the planet in anticipation, and giddy with utter delight to have come up with an entirely new category of taxation, which if fully implemented, seems to have the potential to out revenue almost all other taxes except for Social Security, unless of course you abandon all modern conveniences, and breathe real slow and shallow.

OK, Okie — the title of the post is all about China, so get on with it already!

Here we go. Both India and China have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, but neither of them are required to reduce emissions under this agreement. Ain’t that a sweet deal? Two days before G8, China introduced its plans for control of greenhouse gases which they have “asked local governments to earnestly implement”, but it’s what they won’t do that’s important to this discussion. China’s top economic planner, Ma Kai:

“[I]t is neither acceptable nor fair” to hold China to the same standards as developed countries that are largely responsible for the state of global warming today.

What China, and the rest of the under-developed world wants to do is “blame” the United States and Europe for decades of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, tag us with implied guilt for the looming disasters to come, convince us to tax ourselves to the point of becoming non-competitive with them in future economic development, and letting them run rampant with their economies, regardless of the “Carbon Loading” involved. Once again, ain’t that a sweet deal?

I remember so very clearly having a conversation with “Brother No. One” from an extremely wealthy Taiwanese family in the Taipei office of their trading company. He was telling me of the purpose of the Chinese diaspora, the coming wave of Chinese investments in all the world’s economies, the centralization of control that would lead to China being the major power on the Earth. “All the nations of the world will bow to Mother China” he told me.

If we are so stupid to buy into hysterical tripe like Anthropogenic Climate Change, cripple our own economic potential with ruinous taxation, and then follow that up with International treaties and agreements in the manner of Kyoto — he might just be proved right . . .

Technorati Tags: G8 Summit, China, India, greenhouse gas emissions, Dr. Lee C. Gerhard, Carbon Tax, Kyoto Protocol, Anthropogenic Climate Change

Even with all the world chaos caused by the radical Islamists, the United States cannot afford to ignore the military aspirations of China. From Reuters:

Chinese president and commander-in-chief Hu Jintao urged the building of a powerful navy that is prepared “at any time” for military struggle, state media reported on Thursday.

At a meeting of delegates to a Communist Party meeting of the navy on Wednesday, Hu said China, whose military build-up has been a source of friction with the United States, was a major maritime country whose naval capability must be improved.

“We should strive to build a powerful navy that adapts to the needs of our military’s historical mission in this new century and at this new stage,” he said in comments splashed on the front pages of the party mouthpiece People’s Daily and the People’s Liberation Army Daily. “We should make sound preparations for military struggles and ensure that the forces can effectively carry out missions at any time,” said Hu, pictured in green military garb for the occasion.

China’s naval expansion includes a growing submarine fleet and new ships with “blue water” capability, fuelling fears in the United States that its military could alter the balance of power in Asia with consequences for Taiwan.

The rampant spying and stealing of U.S. military secrets during the Clinton administration — which hopefully has diminished after the capture of the main ring that gave the Chinese navy our Aegis missile technology — is something that I fear happening again if another military-adverse Democratic President takes up residence in the Oval office in ‘08.

Whoever follows GW had better keep a keen eye on ol’ Mother China! (db)

Technorati Tags: China Blue-water Navy, China Naval Expansion

[h/t: John at Sheep's Crib]

Almost a month ago one of my fellow SCBA bloggers brought this late September, ‘06 atrocity to our attention. I guess I was so wrapped up in the election that I wasn’t paying attention. While the Chinese are busy playing games below sea level, about 5,700 meters above that their soldiers use Tibetans for target practice, and they aren’t using rubber bullets!

The YouTube description of this video reads like this:

On September 30th 2006, Chinese soldiers shot Tibetan refugees like “dogs, rats, and cats” at Nangpa La pass near Mt Everest Base Camp in front of a sizeable international mountaineering audeince. This is video is in memory of those died on that fateful day!

John remarks that the Chinese answer to their “Tibetan Problem” is very “similar to Stalin’s solution.”

Think about this one when you unwrap that “Made-in-China” appliance on Christmas morning . . . Those all-too-rare “Made in USA” labels are getting more important all the time! (db)

Technorati Tags: China, Tibet, Genocide, Atrocity, Nangpa La Pass, Mt Everest Base Camp

Cross-posted over at Junk Yard Blog . . .

The old Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times” seems about right for this post-election hangover all three branches of government are going through. So as not to terminally bury the lede of this post, it’s actually gonna be about Chinese military expansion, but first I’ve gotta crab a bit about the House & Senate leadership choices.

The Dems are already at each others throats in the House, with San-Fran Nancy more concerned about “loyalty” to the old-time-back-roomers than to her empty promise to “Drain the swamp” of corruption. Even the San-Fran Press is not amused:

NANCY PELOSI isn’t even speaker of the House yet, and already she is acting like the GOP leaders whom she so handily toppled in last week’s election.

When U.S. Rep. Pelosi, D-San Francisco, was working for a Democratic takeover of the House, she promised to “drain the swamp” — swamp being an apt term for the too cozy relationship between GOP biggies and big donors, which too often led to the shoveling of taxpayers’ dollars into the maws of corporate contributors.

So who does Pelosi back to be her top lieutenant when her party wins? Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa., the prince of “earmarks.”

Not to be outdone, Senate Democrats will stick with Harry Reid as their leader, that is unless Jack Abramoff has some really interesting anecdotes to share that the MSM will actually cover. Ben Stein said this about Reid’s land deal in a conversation with John Gibson:

But I think Harry Reid is a very peculiar case because he was caught doing a very questionable land deal in Nevada and basically just got even — did not even get a slap on the wrist. I don’t understand that. I mean, if that had been a Republican, they would have taken him out and drawn and quartered him.

Speaking of the Republicans, they are not to be outdone in the step-on-your-own-you-know-what department. The Senate Repubs put Trent Lott back in power as minority leader and now Boehner is their leader in the House and Roy Blunt returns as whip. No new faces needed there, huh guys? Didn’t we lose last week? Just askin’.

The executive branch has been busy of late, tryin’ to regroup no doubt and figure out some way to keep the next two years from being just one more Excedrin moment after another. Today, Secretary of State Condi Rice broached the subject of China’s military expansion — the jist? “WE” don’t like it! From Breitbart:

The United States has some concerns about a rising China, including a military expansion that may be excessive, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday.

Beijing has spent heavily in recent years on adding submarines, missiles, fighter planes and other high-tech weapons to its arsenal and extending the reach of the 2.3 million-member People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest fighting force.

Its reported military budget rose more than 14 percent this year to $35.3 billion, but outside estimates of China’s true spending are up to three times that level.

“There are concerns about China’s military buildup,” Rice told a television interviewer. “It’s sometimes seemed outsized for China’s regional role.”

Beijing insists its multibillion-dollar buildup is defensive, but it has alarmed some Asian neighbors and U.S. military planners who see China as a potential threat to U.S. military pre-eminence in the Pacific.

Asked whether U.S. foreign policy toward China is aimed at containing China’s ability to flex military power, Rice turned the question to politics and economics.

“U.S. policy is aimed at having China be a responsible stakeholder in international politics,” she replied. “That means that Chinese energy, Chinese growth, Chinese incredible innovation and entrepreneurship, would be channeled into an international economy in which everybody can compete and compete equally.”

Yeah. Like they are gonna be satisfied with a WalMart in every province and a Micky Dees on every corner — wait, they already got that! When you unwrap those appliances in 5 weeks, look to see if ANY of them DON’T have the words “Made in China” on them, so they’ve got that, too. The Olympics will be there in ‘08, so the eyes of the world will be on China for a couple of weeks, not to mention a lot of hard currency being spent by that same “world” — what do these guys want?

Same as all of the James Bond villians past and present — total world domination. At least, that is what a couple of Chinese billionaire brothers told me once on one of my business trips to Taipei. They explained it to me like this.

“China is the greatest culture on the planet, and in the 21st Century will become the greatest power as well. It all depends upon the diaspora of Chinese money and influence. We live here in Taiwan as free Chinese, but there is actually only one China — all Chinese belong to Mother China, and in time, will all be together again as China becomes The Great World Power.

It will be easy, and the world won’t understand until it is too late. We will put our money into every economy and become necessary to those economies’ survival. With economic power will come political influence.

Sometime before the year 2050, the world will kneel before Mother China!“

Pretty close to word-for-word, at least that is how I remember the conversation — actually, he was monologuing, huh? I remember my reaction — thought that they were a bit stark-raving mad. But, that was before it became known that China had stolen our Aegis missile technology and actually put it into use. Then we learned that WE barely dodged another big bullet with the arrest of a Chinese agent on his way to Hong Kong just over a year ago carrying top-secret info on propulsion systems for naval warships. At least they got this group, ’cause it was the same one that stole the Aegis information.

These thefts, begun in 1990 and continuing throughout the Clinton administration and finally stopped last year, have been major factors in China’s ability to build and deploy a formidable blue-water navy. Just days ago our own Navy released the story of a U.S. carrier battle group that was successfully stalked by a Chinese diesel sub, which was able to surface within firing range of the carrier before it was detected. Now, that’s some scary stuff!

One of my continuing memes is that as serious as the GWOT happens to be and as big a threat that radical Islam has become to the entire Western World, we cannot take our eye off China — ’cause no matter how many toasters they make for us, they sure aren’t our buddies! (db)

Technorati Tags: China Military Threat

Cross-posted over at Junk Yard Blog . . .

From Bill Gertz at the Washington Times comes this sobering bit o’ news:

China sub secretly stalked U.S. fleet

A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times has learned.

The surprise encounter highlights China’s continuing efforts to prepare for a future conflict with the U.S., despite Pentagon efforts to try to boost relations with Beijing’s communist-ruled military.

The submarine encounter with the USS Kitty Hawk and its accompanying warships also is an embarrassment to the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. William J. Fallon, who is engaged in an ambitious military exchange program with China aimed at improving relations between the two nations’ militaries.

Disclosure of the incident comes as Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, is making his first visit to China. The four-star admiral was scheduled to meet senior Chinese military leaders during the weeklong visit, which began over the weekend.

According to the defense officials, the Chinese Song-class diesel-powered attack submarine shadowed the Kitty Hawk undetected and surfaced within five miles of the carrier Oct. 26.

The surfaced submarine was spotted by a routine surveillance flight by one of the carrier group’s planes. The Kitty Hawk battle group includes an attack submarine and anti-submarine helicopters that are charged with protecting the warships from submarine attack.

According to the officials, the submarine is equipped with Russian-made wake-homing torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles.

One doesn’t have to be a Patrick Robinson fan to “get” that China is damn determined to have a modern blue-water navy whose goal is to control the high seas in the western Pacific and a good deal of the Indian Ocean. Key to that strategy are those sneaky-super-silent Russian-sourced diesel subs, virtually undetectable under 7 knots, and as shown in this Gertz article, easily capable of attacking a US carrier battle group. Taking out a carrier would destroy approximately 6,000 US Navy personnel, along with billions of dollars worth of jets, helicopters, and the ship itself. Imagine what one of these little bastards carrying a multi-megaton nuke could do, especially if the capt. and crew of the sub were of the ultimate-sacrificing type. Ya think Ahmadinejad wouldn’t give his left one to get his hands on that combo? Who ya kiddin’?

Doesn’t exactly make me feel at ease, especially when other current headlines over at Drudge look like this:

DEMOCRATS TO CALL FOR IRAQ TROOP WITHDRAWAL…

CLEANING HOUSE: Pelosi Puts Weight Behind Murtha in Leader Bid…

Ahmadinejad: Israel’s destruction near…

This one’s kinda funny though: Iranians outraged as GOOGLE redraws map…

Outraged Iranians – Heh! (db)

Technorati Tags: Chinese Submarine, US Navy, Google

I missed this last Thursday, but Mr. Atos at My Sandmen didn’t. Evidently the Chinese government wasn’t very pleased with our criticism of their human rights record, so they decided to call us on the carpet for what they perceive as our own vile human rights violations. From the AP on Yahoo! News:

China on Thursday lashed out against U.S. criticism of its human rights record, saying racial discrimination and crime were still rife in the United States and prisoners were being abused at U.S.-run detention centers abroad.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, denounced the United States for what it said were rampant violence and widespread discrimination against minorities — especially blacks — in its annual response to the State Department’s report on human rights worldwide.

“For a long time, the life and security of the people of the United States has not been under efficient protection,” the Chinese report said.

Blacks are given heavier criminal penalties, arrested more frequently and are more likely to be targeted for hate crimes, the report said.

It also criticized American troops for brutality at prisons in
Iraq and the detention camp for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In response, Mr. Atos asks:

Black America, do you honestly believe yourselves to be oppressed in America? Really?! Think hard about it because 1.3 billion hostile Communist are listening to you bitch (through your ordained mouthpieces of racial oppression). Might you prefer the brand of hospitality they offer their subjects?… equality of subjugation without racial preference!

Homosexuals, do you really see active malevolence in America’s luke warm acceptance of your untraditional lifestyle choices? The Islamofascist regimes of radical Islam hear it in your tenor. Remember them? They are the ones with blades drawn, dying to slice your throats.

Women, are your rights as humans being denigrated by legal limitations to on-demand abortion? ‘Conservative America,’ screams NARAL and NOW, ‘is putting woman in shackles.’ How would you like the Chicoms approach to reproductive rights instead of meaningful public debate? Abortion on demand is what they offer… when the government demands it. The Chicoms hear you whine. They may someday feel your pain.

Preceding and following those three graphs is an analysis of the damage that five decades of Leftist hyperbole have wrought on our society — or as he puts it, “a five decade orgy of experimental capriciousness.”

Acting out as petulant, over-indulged, beneficiaries-of-entitlement can almost be understood of a generation that collectively never thought that they would live past 30. But, once that milestone had been reached, you’d think that the most educated mass of humanity ever would have realized that when there are folks out there that want you dead, you can’t continuously live your life one more toke over the line! (db)

Technorati Tags: China, human rights, My Sandmen

We do a lot of hand wringing and warning here at Okie about the dangers of radical Islam to Western Civilization, but with all the terrorists’ threats, the rioting and protesting about the Mohammad cartoons, the hostile moves being made by Syria & Iran (including trying to acquire nuclear weapons), and Islamic social/political pressure being put on Europe — what cannot get lost in the shuffle is China’s world-wide ambitions, especially their nuclear and blue-water navy advancements.

In the Washington Times today, Bill Gertz writes Commercial photos show Chinese nuke buildup, which details recent Chinese military advancements visible for all to see from information available outside the Intelligence Community.

Commercial satellite photos made public recently provide a new look at China’s nuclear forces and bases — images that include the first view of a secret underwater submarine tunnel.

A Pentagon official said the photograph of the tunnel entrance reveals for the first time a key element of China’s hidden military buildup. Similar but more detailed intelligence photos of the entrance are highly classified within the U.S. government, the official said.

“The Chinese have a whole network of secret facilities that the U.S. government understands but cannot make public,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “This is the first public revelation of China’s secret buildup.”

Nice to know that our military has been “on it”. What is telling is that even in the face of this type of public disclosure, the Chinese government still denies what the satellite evidence shows.

Pentagon officials have asked China to allow visits to underground facilities such as the submarine tunnel and a command center in Beijing, but either the requests were denied or the existence of the sites was denied.

“The Chinese have denied having any underground submarine facilities,” the Pentagon official said, noting that the satellite photos indicate that China has misled the United States.

Just in case you don’t feel a bit threatened by this deception from China, then consider the following:

According to a classified Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, China’s nuclear forces include about 45 long-range missiles, 12 submarine-launched missiles and about 100 short-range missiles — each with a single warhead.

By 2020, China’s arsenal will include up to 220 long-range missiles, up to 44 submarine-launched missiles and up to 200 short-range missiles, the DIA report stated.

Somehow, I don’t think all those will be pointed at Taiwan either. Maybe a few for Japan, and then how about Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Diego and who knows where else? Submarine launched missiles could target the East Coast and areas accessed via the Gulf.

And then, just when you try to convince yourself that the Cold War is truly over and long forgotten, the Russians get testy and warn the U.S. not to intervene militarily in Iran over their quest to get nuclear weapons, threatening military activity as a possible response. On top of that, the Russians are suggesting that we work with the Chinese to put pressure on Iran to stop enrichment activities and buy the enriched uranium from Russia?

That old Chinese curse, may you live in interesting times, sure seems to be working overtime, don’t ya think? (db)

Technorati Tags: China, Chinese nuke buildup, DIA, Russia warns USA, Bill Gertz

Oh boy, more fun with our friends in Asia. From World Tribune online.

Beijing announced plans last week to build a high-frequency radar on the South Pole. Analysts say the radar could be used to disrupt U.S. intelligence satellites.

The radar will be built at China’s Zhongshan Station, where Beijing has set up of a space environment lab.

National security analysts say the South Pole site, because of its remoteness, could be used by China to develop anti-satellite lasers capable of blinding or disrupting U.S. reconnaissance satellites, most of which pass over the pole.

The station will consist of 20 antenna units, including 16 units for the main antenna and four for the auxiliary antenna. Each antenna is 20 meters high. The high-frequency radar can detect ionospheric convection within a range of 3,000 kilometers.

Chinese officials told Xinhua the station would be used to measure the polar space environment. (Yeah, that’s the ticket!)

China’s space program, unlike the U.S. space program, is directly related to Chinese military operations. (Well, I’m sure that we too have our moments.)

A Pentagon report on the Chinese military last year said China was “working on, and plans to field, ASAT systems.” [emph mine]

What’s that old Chinese curse again? Oh yeah — May you live in interesting times . . . Thanks. (db)

Technorati Tags: China, South Pole, radar, spy satellite

In light of China beginning to do this,

China is preparing to “strike hard” against rising public unrest, a senior police official said according to state media on Thursday, highlighting the government’s fears for stability even as the economy booms.

I’m glad that someone in the Congress is doing this!

Google will be called to task in Washington next month following a controversial decision by the internet search engine to launch a China-based version of its website that will censor results to avoid angering the country’s Communist government.

The decision by Chris Smith, a Republican congressman from New Jersey who chairs a House subcommittee on Human Rights, to call for a February 16 hearing to examine the operating procedures of US internet companies in China, represents the first signs of what could become a serious backlash against Google and other internet companies in Washington that are perceived as capitulating to the Chinese government.

I love using Google, but their decision to support the repression of the Chinese people by capitulating to the Chinese government’s insistence on Google filtering the search results that it supplies to its China version leaves a very bad taste in one’s mouth. Doesn’t look like Google management is taking its motto, “Do no evil”, very seriously here, unless they are all ivory tower Liberal Progressives that believe Chinese Communism is a good thing. From their willingness to ignore or parody Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter one could begin to come to that conclusion.

Might be time to start using Yahoo! a little more — no wait — they gave up a Chinese dissident’s email identity that put that guy in jail for ten years! Dogpile anyone! (db)

Technorati Tags: Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, Chris Smith