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21. Marc-Albert - 7/29/2002 5:01:00 AM Goat Island?? Well, I guess you may call it like that since the one dozen semi-permanent denizens of Perejil have probably eaten up all the parsley by now.
Thanks for the Kagan link. Remarkably lucid. I subscribe to everything he says. 22. Rama - 7/29/2002 6:11:37 AM I agree, it is an excellent article 23. alistairConnor - 7/29/2002 7:08:06 PM Message # 25209 Marc-Albert The Dom-Post (known as the ComPost) is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Need I say more? 24. alistairConnor - 7/29/2002 7:20:48 PM Message # 25214 Depends what you're into, Rick. In most parts of the world, political parties who claim to base their actions on "christian values" are actually talking about an authoritarian, patriarchal model.
To put it another way, I've nothing against Christ, on the contrary, but he himself was sensible enough to stay out of secular matters.
I don't think that it's clear yet, where these geezers are going. I think that's why Clark is not wanting to rely on them in the short term. Electorally, their support comes from ex-National voters, and logically they will emerge clearly as a right-wing party -- Dunne himself may not like this, he himself is bland as mashed potatoes, but their true nature is sure to come through. 25. alistairConnor - 7/29/2002 7:36:40 PM Message # 25208 Jex : There is indeed a "Green International", the first Global Greens conference was held last year in Australia, and a Green Charter has been adopted. 26. betty - 7/29/2002 8:08:52 PM aC,
that link doesn't work for me (though i've seen the charter before so it doesn't really matter to me). 27. jexster - 7/29/2002 10:57:31 PM The CluelessOne
"WASHINGTON, July 29 — An American attack on Iraq could profoundly affect the American economy, because the United States would have to pay most of the cost and bear the brunt of any oil price shock or other market disruptions, government officials, diplomats and economists say.
Eleven years ago, the Persian Gulf war, fought to roll back Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, cost the United States and its allies $60 billion and helped set off an economic recession caused in part by a spike in oil prices.
For that war, the allies picked up almost 80 percent of the bill."
SEARCH FOR INTELLIGENT LIFE IN TEXAS BUSH- Profound Effect on U.S. Economy Seen in a War on Iraq
The National Joke is set to become an International Disaster.
28. jexster - 7/29/2002 11:02:38 PM "Just open a map," said a member of the Kuwaiti royal family in close consultation with Washington. "Afghanistan is in turmoil, the Middle East is in flames, and you want to open a third front in the region?"
"That would truly turn into a war of civilizations," he added.
29. jexster - 7/29/2002 11:04:47 PM My view is that given all we have said as a leading world power about the necessity of regime change in Iraq," Mr. [James] Schlesinger said, "means that our credibility would be badly damaged if that regime change did not take place." 30. jexster - 7/29/2002 11:06:06 PM "Given the marked lack of enthusiasm for this venture, I wouldn't think the market reaction would be very good,"
James A. Placke, a former senior diplomat specializing in the Persian Gulf and now a senior associate of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
31. PincherMartin - 7/30/2002 12:00:30 AM Wonkers --
Yeah, that would be great! We wouldn't have to worry about the Saudis flooding the market with cheap oil.
You haven't been paying attention to what's going on in Central Asia. If Al Qaeda took over in Saudi Arabia, they wouldn't be in charge of those wells long enough to destroy them, let alone profit from them.
But, as I said, it's too much to hope for. The Sauds are always on the verge of falling out of power, according to some analysts. And in this case, it appears to be a family squabble anyway. The funny thing is Abdullah was once considered anti-West, when he took over from Fahd, and now he's being portrayed as pro-American. 32. jexster - 7/30/2002 12:48:49 AM ONDON, July 29 — King Abdullah II of Jordan, stopping here on his way to a meeting with President Bush in Washington, said today that elements of the American government were "fixated" on attacking Iraq and that only Secretary of State Colin L. Powell understood the true dimensions of the challenge.
Inmates in Charge of Asylum - Jordanian Says U.S. Attack on Iraq Would Roil Mideast 33. magoseph - 7/30/2002 2:01:31 AM Method Without Madness?
Under group pressure, they see logic and a "higher purpose" in their actions.
The list includes architects and drifters, engineers and poets, teenagers and middle-aged men, a 30-year-old woman, an 18-year-old girl, and, every week it seems, someone else, someone different.
Suicide bombers are not deranged, psychiatrists say
34. Raskolnikov - 7/30/2002 3:42:27 AM I seem to recall a few months ago that Pincher posted some information showing that the US share of global GDP had not actually declined since WWII. I seem to remember it being discussed in the context of declining US global power. However, I can't seem to find the post, and can't confirm the info on the web. Does anyone recall where this was, or if Pincher is here, can he recall where he found it? 35. stostosto - 7/30/2002 5:11:11 AM Rask: Angus Maddison is a good (the best?) source for these long term GDP comparisons. 36. PincherMartin - 7/30/2002 5:26:19 AM Angus Maddison's latest book was my source for that debate.
However, I don't recall arguing that the United States did not see its share of the World GDP decline since WWII. I believe my argument was that the United States share of world GDP did not decline markedly from 1950 onwards. (1950 is a key benchmark year Maddison uses for most of his graphs. I'll find the particular one when I have the chance today.)
In fact, I took PE to task -- for obvious reasons -- when he used 1945 as his benchmark for measuring U.S. economic power relative to the rest of the world. 37. PincherMartin - 7/30/2002 5:31:22 AM According to Maddison, the U.S. share of world GDP actually trends slightly upward since 1973, due to the breakup of the Soviet Union. 38. ronski - 7/30/2002 8:59:03 AM What If They Gave a War in the Straits, and Nobody Came?
Comments from Pincher and all others appreciated. 39. PincherMartin - 7/30/2002 3:54:04 PM Ronski --
Thanks for the link.
My first reaction was why would anyone be surprised that Taiwan -- and not the war on terrorism -- is China's top priority.
China has Muslim terrorists, but they are largely under control. The Chinese suffer much less from them than do Russians from Chechens, Indians from Kashmiri separatists, or Americans have recently from Al Qaeda.
It's conceivable to me that Chinese might even think a U.S.-led discussion on Xinjiang was a ploy to distract attention from Taiwan (and possibly even to encourage more separatist talk in another troubled region).
40. PincherMartin - 7/30/2002 3:54:16 PM China's foreign policy is built largely around two goals: trade and Taiwan. Their perspective for viewing the latter of these goals is strictly in realpolitik terms. I mean hard-core power politics. So this paragraph in the article rings true: The first question following my paper asked if the powerful United States does not feel safe, then how could any other country feel safe? There was a disconnect when discussing a sense of vulnerability in the United States, and a constant redirecting of the debate toward power politics, the so-called "trilateral relationships" (U.S./China/Russia; U.S./China/Japan, etc.), and American policy toward Taiwan. The name Kissinger was heard more than bin Laden. But again, what does this silly scholar expect? Bin Laden is as remote to Chinese concerns as the price of rice in Szechuan is to U.S. concerns.
But she also hits one other note that strikes me as true:The conversation was wholly scripted by the afternoon of the second day, and the agenda seemed to be to give us a message about how close the Chinese are to taking action across the strait. An academic goes to China to attend a high-profile conference ands is shocked the Chinese use it for non-academic purposes? But to Chinese minds, this is an opportunity to make clear to high-profile U.S. decision-makers their feelings on Taiwan.
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