カテゴリー: 議論の場

                                            

                                                 Presidents Reagan and Gorbachov

The official dates of the cold war are from 1947-1991, a period of 44 years. If we follow the metaphor, we could see a period of cooling, freezing and then melting over those four decades. Crisis after crisis unfolded. And solutions were found or emerged. Once again we have the makings a potential cold war, with tensions between China and her neighbors and China and the US brewing. All the makings are there, and yet there seems to be a problem. The map of the middle east is being re-drawn and revolution and war rages. In the “old days” perhaps nations could ignore the political realities unfolding in other parts of the world. But not in the wired 21st century. The English poet John Donne wrote “No man is an island.” And in our times no country is an island politically. Events on the other side of the globe affect us all. So while conditions might seem ripe for another few decades of another cold war, political realities half a world away might force all parties to stop, take a look around and see what common interests they have with those they might confront locally. A new cold war? Has the energy already gone out of it? Log in and give us your thoughts.

On October1, 2014  China will celebrate it’s 65th birthday. 65 years ago, on October 1, 1949  Mao Zedong proclaimed in a resounding voice the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The country had much to celebrate: the end of a bloody civil war, the end of centuries of foreign domination and intervention and the end of the warlords. The following 65 years have seen massive changes and improvements as well as turbulent times. But China has clearly emerged as a world power with vast political and military might, and its own space program. But at 65 China still has many problems. Perhaps the biggest is in its dealings with its minorities. The question is how can China deal with Tibet, Xinjiang and now Hong Kong? How can people’s expectations be matched with the realities of 21st century politics? How can China continue to grow and adapt and be an all-inclusive society providing peace, security and freedom to all of its peoples? A big question for the leaders who will again go to Tiananmen Square on October 1. Log in and post your comments.

                         Captain Scarfield  (Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates 1921)

It is strange that piracy once almost extinct in the 19th and 20th centuries, has come back to haunt us in the 21st century. Theft, kidnapping and more on the high seas or costal waters is again part of the landscape. The most common instances of piracy are found around Somalia in Africa and the area around the Malacca strait. Twenty countries in Southeast Asia  have joined in an anti-piracy coalition, while others have cooperated to create safe maritime passage around Africa. The question is are the developed nations doing enough? Can piracy or the causes of piracy be eliminated?  Do we need to call piracy a form of terrorism and bring all our resources to bear, or are current efforts enough? Please log in and let us know your opinion on this matter.

                     National Security Council (Photo: White House Gov.)

                                     by David Parmer

A key element of stage magic is misdirection: while we watch the magician’s right hand, his left hand holds the disappearing coin. Faced with the back-and-forth of US-China relations, one wonders where is the substance and where is the illusion. Are we seeing one, or the other? Or both? On one hand the US and China are wary of one another. The “pivot to Asia” can be interpreted to mean the US plans to check Chinese power. And China’s de facto “no fly zone” in the S. China Sea has raised the tension level with the US and her allies. Pushback from the Chinese side on the Diaoyu/Senkaku issue has further raised tensions and soured relations with Japan, one of the US’s closest post-war allies. OK. So relations are frosty, and there won’t be any invitations for a beer after work-but wait just a minute. In 2014 the Obama administration has sent it’s “A” team to China. Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel went in April, and then Secretary of State John Kerry in August (accompanied, apparently, by everyone in Washington except the ticket taker at the Smithsonian) and in September, National Security Advisor Susan Rice put in her appearance in Beijing to lay the groundwork for President Barak Obama’s visit in November. So what is going on? In the old old old days states sent their representatives to the Middle Kingdom to pay their respects to the Son of Heaven. But surely, nothing like that could be going on now? Could it? So where is the substance and where the illusion? What aren’t we seeing in the US-China relationship? Which hand holds the coin? Log in and give us your opinion.

 

 

 

 K. Nishikori, Wimbleldon 2013 ( Wikimedia/D. Iliff)

This week saw a tremendous national buzz build around Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori as he made his way to the finals at the U.S. Open; the first Japanese to do so in 96 years. To do this he defeated world #1 Novak Djokovic. Sadly for Japanese fans, Nishikori’s tennis wasn’t the best on the day, and the crown went to Croatian Narin Cillic. So game over. But the question of national pride remains. Is it important for citizens to support athletes in national competitions simply because they share the same passport?  Should the pride of a country rise and fall with the performance of its athletes? What about the Olympic Games? Is it time to tone down the nationalism?  Please log in and tell us what you think about national pride and sport.

                           (Photo: white house.gov)

 Isn’t it a little early to be thinking about the 2016 U.S. general election? Maybe not. Surely by early next year several people will declare themselves to be candidates for either the Republican or Democratic nomination. Already we can see the outline of the race to come. But who are the people in question?  Let’s take a look.

Republicans

Senator Paul Rand

Governor Jeb Bush

Governor Christ Christie

Governor Bobby Jindal

Democrats

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Vice President Joe Biden

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Senator Bernie Sanders

Senator Russ Feingold

Governor Andrew Cuomo

Governor Jerry Brown

Governor Martin O’Malley

These are the early possibilities. Some names will surely disappear, and some new ones will appear. Dark horses will appear seemingly from nowhere and some leading candidates will bow out for one reason or another. In short, it will be presidential politics as usual in the USA. And it will surely be exciting and worth watching.

What do you think? Please log in and let us know.

 

 

50 years from now what kind of world will we have? It is safe to say that many current problems will be solved, or will solve themselves, and new ones will be front page news (assuming newspapers are still around). Minor territorial disputes in Asia may be resolved peacefully, or military action may have altered the map. Of interest is Taiwan which has remained independent since 1949. Recent murmurs from the PRC indicate that this situation can not continue indefinitely. Will the PRC let time sort out the situation, or will direct action be taken? Great powers are rising in Asia, and India will certainly pull itself together much the same way Japan and China have done. Pakistan remains an enigma, for it often appears more a collection of tribal areas than a sovereign nation. The map of the Middle East is right now being re-drawn. Of particular interest is Iran, a nation yet to come into its own in the 21st century. But surely Iran will be a major player in this century, if not in the first half, then surely in the second half. A peaceful, prosperous and powerful Iran could be a great force for stability in its neighborhood. Well, we will just have to wait and see what happens in 50 years, or maybe the seeds are being sown now, and a careful scrutiny can give us some inklings of things to come. What do you think? Please log in and let us know.

                      

                                     Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle (Photo: ISRO)

Why should we spend money to explore space? This is a common question around the world. The usual answer is that there are many benefits right here on Earth that come from space programs. Governments, however, are held accountable for the monies that they spend, and ordinary people want some return on investment. Japan has a reported budget of about $3.5 billion. Reports say a reorganization of Japan’s program is going to be expected to show some practical returns at the expense of pure science. India has a budget of around $1.3 billion. While exploration is still a priority, a more-down to earth focus has been to develop the rocket power to put heavy satellites into orbit, thus freeing Indian from dependence of foreign launch capabilities, and putting her into the launch business. China’s space budget is also said to be about $1.3 billion, matching India’s. And China has a whole host of missions in the works for 2016, 2017 and culminating in a 2020 Mars mission. China’s return on investment seems to be technological advancement and national pride.  And NASA? $17.8 billion dollars looks like a lot…but 2012 saw cuts and more cuts. America’s leading role in space exploration and research may be a thing of the past as a result of budget cutting and lack of vision. Budgets, the final frontier. Log in and let us know your thoughts.