Mike Carrell wrote: > > Ed Storms wrote: > > > > John Fields wrote: > > > > > > On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 08:48:27 -0500, you wrote: > > > > > > > > > > >Dr. Storms wrote: "I think you all are missing the point of the missile > > > >defense system. It > > > >is to defend us from China in 10 years, not NK now." > > > > > > > >Possibly, however the premature deployment will inhibit only the > irrational. > > > >China knows it is ineffective. > > > > > > --- > > > And will watch as it's made effective? > > > > Yes, because Chine is gaining more by buying the US in contrast to > > taking. We are giving China the ability to develop its manufacturing > > infrastructure by going into debt to buy its products. When we run out > > of money in a few more years and need to use military power to keep > > China from taking over countries in its part of the world, we will need > > the missile defense to keep China from implementing a counter threat. > > The world is not what it seems to be because our government no longer > > holds truth in high regard. The Cold War is not over. > > To regard what is happening as a cold war is a misnomer; it is commerce,
Yes, I agree. However. commerce is only the method. it is not the goal. As you note, Mike, China has always had big plans, which were frequently interrupted by internal conflict. This interruption might happen again, similar to what happened to Russia. Nevertheless, the goal of China is to dominate, which is a good position that the US used to its advantage while it could. The difference between the Cold War and now is the difference between how money is made. During the Cold War, corporations made money by telling people they had to pay high taxes to allow the corporations to defend us against a weak and inefficient foe, as it turned out. This time they make their money by telling us to buy the cheapest goods and encourage companies to go overseas so that such goods are available. I remember the times ads encouraged people to buy AMERICAN rather than Japanese. Where are these ads now? The idea that neutral commerce is driving the system is nonsense. Why would a government enact laws and policy that would obviously weaken it and drive the country into the hands of another country? Wars are normally fought by governments to prevent this result. Why do you suppose our government is not waging such a fight - other than obvious stupidity? Ed the > action of a market economy, now being played out on a global scale with an > intensity and speed without precedent in history. The US abandonment of > manufacturing expertise began after WW2 with Deming's visit to Japan and the > introduction of statistical quality control. The knowledge of how to do low > cost, high quality mechanized production is no longer the property of any > country; it can be done anywhere there is the will to do it. Territorial > wars over natural resources are a bit obsolete, but we may see wars over > water in this century. The idea of the US nuking China's commercial > production is a bit absurd. > > Anyone with a new awareness of China should get a copy of "1421 The Year > China Discovered America" and also dig into the 1421 website, with Google as > your guide. Also get a copy of "The Genius of China" to get a perspective on > how far China's technology was in advance of Europe's in early times. In the > 1400s China dominated its world as the US does now, and set out to bring the > whole world into its tribute system. They launched an immense fleet of > exploration which mapped the world with accurate longitude -- before the > Harrison chronometers -- including the Americas and Antartica. When the > fleets came home they found the emperor deposed and the mandarin bureaucracy > turned inward, erasing a great achievement and setting the stage for China's > decline as a world power. > > China and India are awakening to industrial status and the relative > dominance of the US and Europe will wane as these nations adapt our own > discoveries. Toynbee decades ago documented the challenge and response of > governements to a changing world. The war in Iraq is but one episode; it > remains to be seen how all this plays out. Flailing about and demonizing > Bush, Islam, or "THEM" of any color or persuasion will not help; it only > blinds the protester. Remember that all this ebb and flow of economic > fortune has played out in the US since our founding and development as the > largest free market economy in the world. It is now gone global, and there > is no going back; the US has not been self sufficient sine the '30s. One of > the basic charactersitics of humans is to divide the world into US and THEM > on any pretext. > > Meanwhile remember the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times". > > Mike Carrell > > > > > Ed > > > > > > -- > > > John Fields > > > > > > > >
