Return of the Political Thread

[Intheno]

China would kick India's little brown ass in a second.

The US just can't decide whether its the Chinese in China that are the problem or the 50,000 Chinese per week that are entering the US illegally, and with no effective checks in place this will double. Right now there are too many Chinese in west coast cities to deal with if and when it kicks off. They all have pitchforks and meat-cleavers, and lets face it, they would keep on coming even if they had to use plastic spoons. There are umpteen millions of them back home and they have all the weapons they need. The US just keeps buying all they can from them becauuse they are cheap. Well cheap is relative in this situation. The US are building the Chinese threat by pumping billions into thier economy. This could be countered with higher import duties, but guess what. The opposite just happened....

Why did the opposite happen? Because the US government needs to keep people spending by pumping low cost products into the marketplace for yanks to spend thier 'disposable income' on. They need to keep the feel-good factor going in order to perpetuate the great spending spree that must surely end in a depression the likes of which has not been seen since the 30's.

There will be few true US manufacturers left if checks are not put in place. The same will happen in Europe, because like it or not, we are a worldwide economy and a worldwide community. If America is worried about the Chinese then they probably need to do something about it, but if they do the consequences are no less severe.

The Chinese are now the strongest country on earth in my opinion. The latest developments with Taiwan (the Chinese have officially recognised Taiwan as 'thiers') may bring all the posturing to a head sooner rather than later though. China have also been forging alliances in Africa, and I expect them to target this continent for 'development', increasing thier sphere of influence into 'colonies' for thier 'empire'. There's no way the Chinese are going to be beaten, or the US, so you end up with a stalemate either way. The US can financialy cripple China by not buying from them. China can financially cripple the US by not selling to them.
So surely war, missiles and death are the answer?

Sorry, touched on a fave topic of mine.

 

[Steve Morris]

Originally posted by Buddha 3
That would have been Srebrenica...

Jay, I knew I could count on you to sort out the facts.

 

[Baca Loco]

Good one, ITN. You've finally said something sensible. Glad to see you're not too busy putting out fires on SmackTalk with anonymous posts. One key problem the Chinese still have is their currency is tied to the dollar. They's looking to change that but it's problematic. The other problem they have longer term is greater reliance on non-domestic energy sources than even we face.
And as a matter of military competence the only geo-strategic power the Chinese can demonstrably project is intercontinental ballistic missiles. Okay for brinksmanship but not practical for most applications. Now if you want to talk cyber assault technology we're talking a viable, serious threat. Of course they are busy shipping all our defense and IT tech home outta the port of Long Beach as fast as they can stuff it on container ships making the round trip to sell us plastic flamingos and the like.

To come full circle and return to Paintball seeing its a game played primarily by those with reasonable amounts of disposable income the coming chaos in the economy is likely to put a big time damper on the national level of play, ain't it?

 

[Gyroscope]

Originally posted by Intheno
The US can financialy cripple China by not buying from them. China can financially cripple the US by not selling to them.

My understanding is that they could also cripple us by simply ceasing to buy T-bills. The current record deficits the US is running are carried by the Chinese and other far east countries. When (and if) they say enough is enough, the EU could find itself in a position similar to what the US did in the early to mid 90s- no longer the lesser of 2 evils, but the last great evil standing.

Better hope for a strong China then.

 

[Baca Loco]

What fun for a Friday

Gyro, it ain't just the Chinese or even predominantly the Chinese buying our debt but yes, as a macro economic indicator of truly frightening proportions that's a colossal one. Right now it's kind'a like the commercial bank loans to Donald Trump as opposed to me or you for the second mortgage. The Donald gets in trouble and the banks have so much invested they're prepared to find ways to bail him out--us they let take the fall. We've been exporting our lifestyle on a wave of debt and inflationary money printing gone wild and everybody is, or ought to be, terrified of the fallout as there will inevitably be one.

 

[Gyroscope]

We are in the unusual position to give an informed answer before death to the question: Would you rather live in a society in ascent or decline?

How can anyone be afraid of anything this big? It is like fearing nuclear war or killer asteroids or the Mexican pop band Menudo- the horror outstrips the imagination to a degree that fear seems absurd and inadequate. Morbid fascination I can relate to.

 

[Intheno]

loco, I don't put out fires, I prefer starting them.
Do not assume you are reading me all the time. I am not the only individual that uses my alter-ego's. And as I have said many times, my anonymity merely allows me the freedom to speak freely while not getting taken too seriously (except by you of course...).

As for the political/economical effect on Paintball. I would not be so sure it woiuld be detrimental. While it makes sense to assume that recreation would be the first industry to suffer in a depression, this has not been the case in recent history. In fact the opposite has often happened, as people search for an affordable release for thier ever stressful lives.
The more expensive sports/passtimes will suffer first, thats where the big bucks get spent, and there may be some cascading down into paintball due to this.
In fact Paintball may prosper, as cheap TV ads are available, cheap (yet relatively rewarding) sponsorships may seem more attractive to companies looking to lower costs while keeping constant and undiminished exposure to thier demographic.

Anyway, the Chinese don't have to get too clever to attack the US. There 100 times more able-bodied Chinamen in the US than you have military guys. Who's to say they have not been shipping over thier troops in containers since 96? These 'sleepers' who wash your clothes and deliver your food could do more damage in one hour than a few ICBM's. They also have the ability to make americans smell bad. Imagine one weeks worth of laundry soaked in urine, thats a start...

Seriously though, China will wait. They will develop strong ties in Africa, Asia and the middle east. Thier diplomats are everywhere, and people are generally very interested in talking to them. 10 years ago America could have turned the world against China and enforced embargo's to force thier will on them. Now they have no chance.

In case you think I am totally pro-China, I think what they are doing to Tibet is absolutely disgusting. Trying to destroy a nations people, religion, countryside and ability to sustain itself is bullying in the exrteme and for that alone I hope they catch a cold. They are actually going into Tibet, cutting down the trees and then blasting away the earth so that only rocks remain and nothing will ever grow there.
That to me is worse than ecoomic decline so that a few fatties have to eat less.

To the US I say that it has been proven that you only consume half of the food you cook. So cook half as much....

 

[Intheno]

Oh, and would it be a good time to say the US should stop teaching kids about Columbus and teach them instead about the Chinese landing in California in 1421?
Would these make the Chinese the rightful owners?

 

[Intheno]

My understanding is that they could also cripple us by simply ceasing to buy T-bills. The current record deficits the US is running are carried by the Chinese and other far east countries.

The Bin-Ladens carry a few of these too don't they?

 

[Buddha 3]

Originally posted by Intheno
China would kick India's little brown ass in a second.

No doubt about that. But what I meant is that while the world is watching China, India is pushing towards the 1 billion people mark, and is doing good business as well. No way they will overtake China, but they will become an economic force to be reckoned with.