Tag Archives: Bad Behavior

The Real Reason for the China-India Conflict Over the Line of Control

Posted by on April 24, 2013 Comments Off

Beijing’s moves along the disputed border are aimed at achieving India’s strategic encirclement

… This time around, the Chinese forces are unlikely to withdraw because as a risen power, the occupation is a well-crafted act of an unfolding grand strategy.

According to the Chinese, they are technically correct in insisting that the present occupation does not transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This is not all. India, according to China, has done more transgressions into the Eastern sector than the other way round. China further says that it has refrained from making noises because it wants good neighbourly relations, but it will act in self-defence if the need arises.

India, on the other hand, says that differing perceptions about the LAC are responsible for numerous transgressions as well as the present stand-off in the Western sector. Meanwhile, treating it as a military matter, the Indian army has reportedly pitched its own tents facing the Chinese. What is the truth in this game?

Beijing’s moves along the disputed border are aimed at achieving India’s strategic encirclement – The Times of India

China’s bad behavior toward India is strategic. China’s bad behavior toward Japan is also strategic. For that matter, the same applies to the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Real Reasons for the China-Japan Conflict Over the Senkaku Islands

Every Category of Primary Risk to American Security is Growing

Posted by on April 2, 2013 Comments Off

The last few months have made crystal clear what was increasingly evident anyway: that every category of primary risk to American security is growing.

In January, a Chinese vessel locked a radar fix on a Japanese ship. That’s equivalent to a sniper fixing a laser sight on the forehead of a prospective target. It was a deliberately provocative act, and it comes on the heels of actions by which the Chinese have made clear that they intend to pursue vigorously their claim to hegemony over the South China Sea and much of the East China Sea.

Last year, the Chinese took effective control of Scarborough Shoal — a coral reef that both China and the Philippines claim — by stationing ships nearby and blocking the entrance. From all appearances, they intend to keep the ships there permanently, presenting the Philippine government with the Hobson’s choice of starting a shooting war or accepting de facto Chinese control over the shoal.

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And what exactly is the United States government doing in response to these growing threats? After 20 years in which it allowed the strength of America’s armed forces to decline gradually, it is now radically cutting military capability.

Our Growing Security Risks

If every category of primary risk is growing, but the US military is being radically cut by the administration, then doesn’t that mean big-time trouble in the not too distant future? For example, more bad behavior by other countries. More challenges.

Our fondness for China’s government is enabling North Korea’s bad behavior | Fox News

Posted by on December 12, 2012 Comments Off

Americans wondering why North Korea has gotten away with building A-bombs and ballistic missiles—like the one it successfully tested Tuesday—need only consider Jeff Immelt.  The day before the missile launch, the CEO of General Electric and friend of President Obama endorsed China’s economic model and said “state-run communism may not be your cup of tea, but their government works.”

What do the unpatriotic sentiments of GE’s boss have to do with U.S. policy toward North Korea? Both are based on the faulty but soothing assumption held by the elite establishment in American government and big business: that China is our partner.

Our fondness for China’s government is enabling North Korea’s bad behavior | Fox News

The Economic Singularity

Posted by on October 16, 2012 Comments Off

A singularity is a point where your model or formula blows up. Like a division by zero for example. This is sort of a hint that economically the West is on the path to blow up.

As societies move through time, behavior builds upon itself. In particular, it is the bad behavior that automatically builds up that is the problem. And it is this problem that will cause the West to blow up – economically. The problem I refer to is too much debt. Over 65 years of bad behavior since the end of World War II will not be solved without pain.

The full article is below:

“Concern about politics and the processes of international co-operation is warranted but the best one can hope for from politics in any country is that it will drive rational responses to serious problems. If there is no consensus on the causes or solutions to serious problems, it is unreasonable to ask a political system to implement forceful actions in a sustained way. Unfortunately, this is to an important extent the case with respect to current economic difficulties, especially in the industrial world.

“While there is agreement on the need for more growth and job creation in the short run and on containing the accumulation of debt in the long run, there are deep differences of opinion both within and across countries as to how this can be accomplished. What might be labelled the ‘orthodox view’ attributes much of our current difficulty to excess borrowing by the public and private sectors, emphasises the need to contain debt, puts a premium on credibly austere fiscal and monetary policies, and stresses the need for long-term structural measures rather than short-term demand-oriented steps to promote growth.

“The alternative ‘demand support view’ also recognises the need to contain debt accumulation and avoid high inflation, but it pushes for steps to increase demand in the short run as a means of jump-starting economic growth and setting off a virtuous circle in which income growth, job creation and financial strengthening are mutually reinforcing. International economic dialogue has vacillated between these two viewpoints in recent years.”

– Lawrence Summers, The Financial Times, October 14, 2012

There is indeed considerable disagreement throughout the world on what policies to pursue in the face of rising deficits and economies that are barely growing or at stall speed. Both sides look at the same set of realities and yet draw drastically different conclusions. Both sides marshal arguments based on rigorous mathematical models “proving” the correctness of their favorite solution, and both sides can point to counterfactuals that show the other side to be insincere or just plain wrong.

Spain and Greece are both examples of what happens when there is too much debt and austerity is applied to deal with the problem. One side argues that the cure for too much debt is yet more debt, while the other side seemingly argues that the cure for a lack of growth is to shrink the economy. It is as if one side argues that the cure for a night of drunken revelry is a fifth of whiskey while the other side prescribes a very-low-calorie diet of fiber and veggies.

Both sides have arguments that are intellectually appealing, yet both cannot be right at the same time. What I think we need to consider is the possibility that there is something that is happening outside of traditional economic theories, which will mean that following either traditional policy solution could lead to disaster.

But is there a third alternative? If we want to find one, the first thing we need to do is to properly diagnose the problem. In today’s letter we begin to explore why the models aren’t working. Sometimes the best way to understand a complex subject is to draw an analogy. So with an apology to all the true mathematicians among my readers, today we will look at what I will call the Economic Singularity. And maybe we’ll have a little fun on the way. Let’s jump right in.

 
The Economic Singularity

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Japan should drop sense of superiority over China, Asia |Opinion |chinadaily.com.cn

Posted by on September 19, 2012 Comments Off

Japan’s arrogance and provocation regarding the Diaoyu Islands is in line with its complex formed over one century ago, when it proclaimed superiority over China and Asia.

The two countries became rivals over the last 500 years, with Japan catching up with and defeating China in the late 19th century. Even its defeat in World War II could not break its sense of superiority, as Japan considered China’s victory to be a present from the United States and the Soviet Union, turning a blind eye to the Chinese people’s heroic resistance.

Japan has been heavily influenced by China and learned a great deal from Chinese culture. China enjoyed comprehensive superiority over its neighbor in all fields, including military strength, at that time.

However, China experienced decline since the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), while Japan rose as a world power in the late 1860′s, when the country completely reformed its political and social structure by using European powers as models.

Japan should drop sense of superiority over China, Asia |Opinion |chinadaily.com.cn

Liberals love to tell us that all bad behavior is rooted in a reaction to some kind of negative event, oppression or racism which is lurking behind every corner. Historical grievances fall into the category of negative event. Conservatives prefer to just listen to what the players are telling us. In this case the chief player – China – is telling us that historical grievances are in fact driving this problem. In other places like Iran, the Iranian leaders are telling us that their goal is to facilitate the rise of Islam and the return of the Mahdi. They don’t seem to be all that concerned about the CIA led revolution in the 50s.

China’s Support Enables North Korea’s ‘Bad Behavior,’ Panelists Say

Posted by on June 28, 2012 Comments Off

China’s consistent support of North Korea enables the Pyonyang regime to flout international law, the panelists said, adding that Beijing views its support as a way to balance a region that Beijing sees as increasingly hostile.

South Korea’s efforts to increase coordination with the United States and Japan as a concerted effort to counter North Korea “has created a new regional order that China perceives that as a way of returning to the old Cold War structure,” said Moon Chung In, professor of political science at Yonsei University. “That’s bad news.”

“Beijing has shown a pattern of rewarding [North Korea’s] bad behavior,” said Peter Beck, South Korea country representative for the Asia Foundation. “China has shown – year in, year out – that it will steadfastly stand by North Korea, no matter what North Korea does, short of starting a war. If North Korea starts a war, I think China will watch.”

China’s Support Enables North Korea’s ‘Bad Behavior,’ Panelists Say » International Media Conference 2012

The Lies That Inflated the Housing Bubble

Posted by on June 4, 2012 Comments Off

Read this very interesting story about the lies that drove the housing bubble. Of course the borrowers lied, but the lenders didn’t really care. They were just going to bundle the loans and pass them off to unsuspecting investors. There was money to be made. Investigating lies would only slow things down.

On the lender side a lot those people that made the brilliant decisions are still around. Some may have learned their lesson, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot haven’t.

Alpan works through lunch most days, reading files over food from the deli downstairs. Right now, he’s reviewing the case of a grocery-store manager in New Jersey who paid $120,000 for a home whose value then jumped to $220,000. Over the course of a single day, the manager took out five home-equity lines of credit. A week later, with half a million dollars in his pocket, he walked. The scheme is called shotgunning, and Alpan sometimes wishes he was unscrupulous enough to have done it. “I could have been a millionaire,” he says, snapping his fingers, “just like that.”

One of every four files Alpan reviews contains a hardship letter. Such letters are meant to win the bank’s sympathy, but more often than not, they end up highlighting the lies the borrower once told. “I was selling cars … making $2,100 a month, and they cut my hours,” explained one borrower, though his mortgage-loan application had said he earned $350,000 a year as a regional manager for a Big Three automaker. One hardship letter that went viral around the office began, “I did a lot of coke, and now I can’t afford my mortgage.”

Alpan scowls as he plows through the files. The infinite variety, as well as the sheer tonnage, of bad behavior has clearly affected him. Among the thousands of fraudulent loans he has audited, the only common denominator is deceit. “It’s not just lawyers and pastors and CEOs who lie and scheme. It’s nurses and schoolteachers, too,” he says. “Everybody’s guilty; no one’s up to any good.”

Magazine – CSI: Housing Bust – The Atlantic

Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official | Reuters

Posted by on April 22, 2012 Comments Off

The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

The Obama administration suspects the Chinese manufacturer sold the chassis – not the entire vehicle – and may have believed it was for civilian purposes, which means it would not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said.

Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official | Reuters

This administration is looking for any excuse to avoid confronting bad behavior. The US looks weak to China and Russia, and it just encourages more bad behavior.

Are Rich People Unethical? – Yahoo! News

Posted by on February 29, 2012 Comments Off

At last, an explanation for Wall Street’s disgrace, Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and other high-society crimes and misdemeanors: A new study published in the Proceedings of that National Academy of Sciences found that wealthier people were more apt to behave unethically than those who had less money.

Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley analyzed a person’s rank in society (measured by wealth, occupational prestige and education) and found that those who were richer were more likely to cheat, lie and break the law than those who were poorer.

“We found that it is much more prevalent for people in the higher ranks of society to see greed and self-interest … as good pursuits,” said Paul Piff, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at Berkeley. “This resonates with a lot of current events these days.”

…

“This has some pretty clear implications,” said Piff. “Inequality is very much on Americans’ minds, and the potential effects of severe inequality on individual levels of behavior are major.”

Are Rich People Unethical? – Yahoo! News

We knew this had to be true based on the rules of modern liberalism.

Liberal:

  1. All outcome for an individual or nation can be no better or worse than any other.
  2. If an outcome is found to be better, then they must have cheated.
  3. If an outcome is found to be worse, then they must have been victimized.
  4. The amount a victim lashes out is directly proportional to the victimization.
  5. It is the successful group or cheater group who is doing the victimizing.

Conservative:

  1. Good behavior leads to a better outcome.
  2. Bad behavior leads to a worse outcome.

Although the study applies only to individuals, the same must be true with successful countries, cultures and civilizations. The successful – the rich – got that way by cheating. Or at least that’s what liberals have always known. Now they have a study to back it up.

Mideast Expert Phares: Obama Turns Blind Eye to Iranian Danger

Posted by on February 22, 2012 Comments Off

Middle East expert Walid Phares tells Newsmax that the Obama administration is not convinced that the Iranians pose a serious danger — even as a top Iranian official declared that his country is prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike.

Phares, while noting that he believes the Iranian quest for nuclear weapons is “not stoppable,” also says a resolution passed in the U.S. Senate last week is a “message to the administration” that it is time to confront the Islamic republic before it obtains such weapons.

Coincidentally, Phares’ remarks in an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV on Tuesday came on the same day that an Iranian official vowed that his country would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered.

Mideast Expert Phares: Obama Turns Blind Eye to Iranian Danger

Remember, to the modern liberal like Obama, Iran is only reacting to the west which includes Israel. As long as the west doesn’t provoke Iran then everything will be just fine. We can learn to live with a nuclear Iran.

The modern liberal is unable to recognize threats until it is too late. The primary reason for this is that all bad behavior is only a reaction to something else. That is the foundation of modern liberalism. The bad guys cannot have an evil agenda of their own.

Who gets to have an evil agenda?

The countries and civilizations that are most successful have an evil agenda: America, Israel, Europe – the west. We know they have an evil agenda because of their success. The only way to success is through cheating in some form. So the modern liberal seeks to pull down the walls on top of himself or herself. Apparently, this delusion is so strong that they cannot see their own death as a result. Unfortunately, they pull down the walls on the rest of us too.