And you have a smart China strategie too by borrowing money from china so that you can afford to buy things from them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
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And you have a smart China strategie too by borrowing money from china so that you can afford to buy things from them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
Yeah, we've got 'em just where we want 'em now. They walked right into that one. Never saw it coming!Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomi
We have some other gems to our credit. We also take the money that the Chinese loan to us and let Israel "borrow" it. Years ago we passed a law that Israel is guaranteed future loans, that can be no less than what the payments are for the current loans. And you know, amazingly, they have never defaulted on a loan payment. Imagine that! :dozey:
Here's another one. We invaded Iraq (based on the excuse of the moment), and then our leader, the grown up version of the Mad Magazine kid, said that the Iraqi oil revenues would pay for the reconstruction. Well, the Iraqis have been banking their oil revenues and are up to over $70 billion in surpluses now. So, who is paying for the reconstructon? Our "friends" in China saw that we were in a tight spot, so they let us borrow a few hundred billion. Now Iraq is a little less of a mess than it was four years ago. Roads and bridges in the U.S. are falling apart. But what's important is, the ones in Iraq are looking good... til some Iranian or Syrian with a bomb and a bad attitude blows them up again. Like that matters to us: we'll build them back again! This is America, son! We can rebuild 'em as fast as they can blow 'em up. We don't care about the cost. China says they will keep loaning us money (as long as we keep buying their slave labor crap).
What's that you say? The Japanese can't be trusted to maintain a military force? I thought Tojo was dead. But if they can't be trusted, I guess they can't be trusted. So that's OK. Who might be a threat to Japan anyway? North Korea and/or China? Tell ya what, we'll borrow a few MORE billion every year from China to protect Japan from China. That sounds kinda funny, but I guess we gotta do what we gotta do. Should we ask Japan to pick up at least a part of the tab? Naaaaah, we'll take care of it. Best that they invest their money so that Toyota and Honda can go ahead and put the final bullet in GM's head.
With all of this money we're borrowing from China to keep our heads above water, what will happen if they begin to really flex their muscles? Well, they better not do that. If they do, then... well... we might just have to tell them to stop... or else! Or else what? Or else... we'll tell them to stop again.
Before the Chinese mess with us, they better talk to Mexico and learn what happens when you do things that threaten our sovereignty. If you send drugs, crime and poor people here to make things easier for yourself and harder for us, we won't put up with that. We'll use their drugs, stop arresting them for committing crimes and give them jobs, free educations, free housing and welfare so that they aren't poor anymore. So yeah, China better talk to Mexico. They don't want to poke us with a stick and get us wound up.
Anyway, the British Empire fell apart and you guys are doing OK now. I figure we'll be OK too. Our kids have talents too. Our girls can dance in more Girls Gone Wild videos - I bet those would sell like hotcakes in China (do they eat hotcakes in China???). Our boys can be international video game champions (they can't spell, add or subtract... maybe a Chinese kid could help keep score). So don't go thinking that we Americans don't have a plan to work our way out of this deepening hole.
The Romans figured out how to deal with the Huns. We'll figure out how to deal with the Chinese. The Romans did figure out how to deal with the Huns, didn't they? Didn't they???!!! :eek:
Russia seems to be flexing its muscels again, the Tsars are back.
Matryoshka dolls are what they are called.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomi
Russia, just a load of old cossacks... ;)
The major thing is to do something that would convince the Russian people that there is a better way — that Putin/Medvedev's growing alienation from the rest of the world is not desirable, that Russia ought to have more of a role in the world than supplying natural resources, that proper democracy and a free press are not that threatening or difficult to achieve, and so on. But they seem happy with what they have.
The way forward is surely not military action on Europe's doorstep, but financial sanctions.
yeah, the Romans let the Huns have their way with them, man woman and child, over and over again........No one appreciates George Washington, who probably did more for the rule of law over men rather than rule of a man over subjects, then anyone else in the history of the last several hundred years. And his best advice to America keeps getting ignored; stay out of europe and its bloody wars (as in real blood)Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
And over and over again, I hear the words that those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to keep repeating its mistakes
We couldn't even convince Americans that Bush/Cheney's growing alienation from the rest of the world was not desirable. And we speak (approximately) the same language as them!Quote:
Originally Posted by BDunnell
Unfortunetly economic sanctions only ever affect the people, almost never the government. Mugabe's still in power, Kim Jung Il's still in power, the Burman junta is still in power, Gaddafi's still there, Castro's still around, Saddam was there until he was forced out and countless other nations I've forgotten about. When have they worked?Quote:
Originally Posted by BDunnell
Never, you're quite right, but none of those countries are as economically significant as Russia, so I think they would have more effect applied to Russian firms.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew