World View -- Huge Anti-Japan protests spread across China, turn violent
The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of all family members and non-essential U.S. government personnel from its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and warned U.S. citizens against any travel to the two countries due to security concerns over rising anti-American violence. Saturday is the fifth day of anti-American protests in some 20 countries in the Mideast and beyond. AP and State Dept. (re Tunisia) and State Dept. (re Sudan)
The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of all family members and non-essential U.S. government personnel from its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and warned U.S. citizens against any travel to the two countries due to security concerns over rising anti-American violence. Saturday is the fifth day of anti-American protests in some 20 countries in the Mideast and beyond. AP and State Dept. (re Tunisia) and State Dept. (re Sudan)
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Libyan
officials say that the Benghazi attack was very well planned
Libyan officials believe
that Tuesday's attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, killing US ambassador
Chris Stevens, was planned, "meticulously executed" and may have
involved foreign elements. According to Libya's General National Congress president
Mohammed al-Megaryef:
"There was planning. It was
not a peaceful protest which degenerated into an armed attack or aggression.
That's how it was planned.
[The attack] was prepared, especially since it coincided with the date of September 11.
There are non-Libyan elements on Libyan soil and they plan to carry out their own agendas on our territory.
The attack itself and the manner in which the attack occurred... confirms that this was planned and programmed to achieve a purpose.
I do not exclude discovering things that will link Al Qaeda and the US consulate attack."
US military and intelligence agencies have launched an elaborate manhunt in Libya against the militants suspected of staging the most serious assault on an American diplomatic mission in decades.
Early indications are that the attack was carried out not by the main al-Qaida terror group but "al-Qaida sympathizers." A leading suspect is the Libyan-based Islamic militant group Ansar al-Shariah, led by former Guantanamo detainee Sufyan bin Qumu. Australian Broadcasting and AP
[The attack] was prepared, especially since it coincided with the date of September 11.
There are non-Libyan elements on Libyan soil and they plan to carry out their own agendas on our territory.
The attack itself and the manner in which the attack occurred... confirms that this was planned and programmed to achieve a purpose.
I do not exclude discovering things that will link Al Qaeda and the US consulate attack."
US military and intelligence agencies have launched an elaborate manhunt in Libya against the militants suspected of staging the most serious assault on an American diplomatic mission in decades.
Early indications are that the attack was carried out not by the main al-Qaida terror group but "al-Qaida sympathizers." A leading suspect is the Libyan-based Islamic militant group Ansar al-Shariah, led by former Guantanamo detainee Sufyan bin Qumu. Australian Broadcasting and AP
Huge
Anti-Japan protests spread across China, turn violent
In the largest
anti-Japan protests since China and Japan normalized diplomatic ties in 1972,
more than 70,000 Chinese staged rallies Saturday in at least 28 cities to
demand that Japan surrender the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands to China. The largest
demonstration, in Qingdao, Shandong Province, attracted as many as 30,000
people and evolved into rioting as protestors torched as many as 10 Japanese
enterprises, including a Panasonic factory. In Beijing, police deployed more
than 100 officers as well as 100 vehicles around the Japanese Embassy to
prevent protesters from taking violent action. But clashes ensued as an
estimated 1,000 protestors busted barricades, blocked traffic and hurled
plastic bottles and eggs onto the embassy grounds. Carrying Chinese flags, they
chanted "Protect the Diaoyu Islands" and "Slap economic
sanctions on Japan." When there are protests against China's government,
the Chinese security forces clamp down hard, but these rallies appeared to have
the tacit approval of Chinese authorities. Japan Times
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Japanese
do not believe that U.S. will support them over Senkaku islands
Although the United States is
nominally committed to supporting Japan in a confrontation over the
Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, according to the terms of a 1960 defense treaty, many
Japanese do not believe that America will honor that commitment. According to
one Japanese analyst:
"There is a
perception in Japan that the U.S. commitment is ambiguous. If China thinks
Japan will hesitate to respond or that America will hesitate, that will
embolden the Chinese. It’s better that America sends a clear, explicit message
now than have to respond to something worse later.
If Japan loses the islands and the U.S. doesn’t come to aid Japan, the credibility of not only the U.S. alliance with Japan but of all U.S. alliances globally would be severely harmed."
This last sentence is extremely significant. The U.S. has defense treaties with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand (ANZUS treaty), Israel, Europe, Iceland, and others. All of these countries have cut back on their own military in the last 65 years because they've counted on U.S. protection. If the U.S. repudiated its treaty commitment to Japan, then every one of these other countries would go into total panic, with disastrous geopolitical consequences. Time
If Japan loses the islands and the U.S. doesn’t come to aid Japan, the credibility of not only the U.S. alliance with Japan but of all U.S. alliances globally would be severely harmed."
This last sentence is extremely significant. The U.S. has defense treaties with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand (ANZUS treaty), Israel, Europe, Iceland, and others. All of these countries have cut back on their own military in the last 65 years because they've counted on U.S. protection. If the U.S. repudiated its treaty commitment to Japan, then every one of these other countries would go into total panic, with disastrous geopolitical consequences. Time
China's non-Communist
parties condemn Japan's Senkaku/Diaoyu policy
China's non-Communist parties on
Saturday released a joint statement expressing strong indignation over, and
condemnation of, Japan's "purchase" of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
What fascinated me about this story is that I thought all non-Communist parties
in China were against the law, so imagine my surprise that here's a bunch of
them issuing a statement. The statement was issued by the central committees
of:
·
The
Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang
- Chinese
Democratic League
- China
National Democratic Construction Association
- China
Association for Promoting Democracy
- Chinese
Peasants and Workers Democratic Party
- China
Zhi Gong Party
- Jiu
San Society
- Taiwan
Democratic Self-Government League.
"China's non-Communist
parties voice strong indignation over and rigorously condemn the move.
Most non-Communist parties were born during the time of war against Japan's invasion (in the 1930s and '40s). Having had fought for the Chinese nation's independence and liberation, these parties, traditionally being patriotic and peace-loving, are staunch guards of the nation's territorial sovereignty," the statement added.
Most non-Communist parties were born during the time of war against Japan's invasion (in the 1930s and '40s). Having had fought for the Chinese nation's independence and liberation, these parties, traditionally being patriotic and peace-loving, are staunch guards of the nation's territorial sovereignty," the statement added.
The Chinese nation is
peace-loving, so are its people. China has no intention to impinge on other
countries' territorial sovereignty, but will not tolerate any infringement on
its own sovereignty by other countries. Long gone is the time when the Chinese nation
was bullied by others.
If the Japanese government underestimates Chinese people's determination, courage or strength, it would be a miscalculation and they are doomed to fail."
Xinhua
If the Japanese government underestimates Chinese people's determination, courage or strength, it would be a miscalculation and they are doomed to fail."
Xinhua
New Fed quantitative
easing program unlikely to affect anything
The massive new quantitative
easing program (QE3) announced by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is unlikely to have
any effect whatsoever, based on the result of a survey of nearly 1,500 CFOs
from a broad range of public and private companies. The survey was conducted
jointly by CFO Magazine (where I used to be the Technology Editor) and Duke
University. The QE3 program is supposed to make it easier for banks to lend
money to businesses at lower interest rates, so that businesses will use the
money ton invest and create jobs. The main finding is this:
"U.S. finance
chiefs say that interest rate reductions of 1 or 2 percentage points would not
alter their capital spending plans, indicating that potential monetary policy
actions by the Federal Reserve are unlikely to spur the corporate sector to
action."
The report showed that 91% of
the 1,500 CFOs polled wouldn’t bolster their spending plans even if the Fed’s
programs successfully lowered interest rates by one percentage point. And 84%
said a two-point reduction in rates wouldn’t change their spending plans
either. According to a finance professor at Duke, "The survey paints a
stark picture. In current circumstances, lower interest rates will not spur
investment. The potential QE3 is doomed."
The irony is that Ben Bernanke
made his reputation based on his research that "proved" that the
1930s Great Depression could have been avoided if the Fed at that time had
lowered interest rates by a small amount. This finding has now been totally
disproved, as Generational Dynamics predicted years ago, and now Bernanke is in
a state of total panic, hoping against hope for a miracle. Fox Business and CFO Survey Press Release (PDF)
COMMENTS: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 16-Sep-12 World View -- Huge Anti-Japan protests spread across China, turn violent thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, State Dept., Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Ansar al-Shariah, Sufyan bin Qumu, Japan, China, Senkaku Islands, Diaoyu Islands, Fed, Quantitative easing, QE3
Permanent web link to this article
COMMENTS: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 16-Sep-12 World View -- Huge Anti-Japan protests spread across China, turn violent thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, State Dept., Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Ansar al-Shariah, Sufyan bin Qumu, Japan, China, Senkaku Islands, Diaoyu Islands, Fed, Quantitative easing, QE3
Permanent web link to this article
