Changing World

The world is changing bigly and fast. World politics and economics are like a complicated chess game with the four major players of USA, China, Russia and the European Union (EU), but mainly it is the US trying by all means to slow down the rise of China and to maintain its hegemonic position in the world. In that sense, the US is not only against China and Russia, but also the EU and the whole world. 

The Ukraine War is not only a war between Ukraine and Russia. It is rather a US' proxy war against Russia. Ukraine is a weak link being played more than being a strong player itself. Affected by the Ukraine war, Europe so far appears to be a loser and cannot afford to "obey" Uncle Sam to completely cut economic ties with China.  

While the US brought many years of wars and destruction to the Middle East, China has just brokered a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It appears that the Middle East is leaving the US for China. No more wars and destruction. It wants peace and development. 

Africa pretty much has been won by China. Except Canada, Central and South America, and Mexico, all seem to look to China and the East.  

Asia is booming economically and doesn't want war. It wants peace and stability. Yet, the US has been playing the Taiwan card, to stir up conflicts between China and Taiwan. After Ukraine, another provocation to push the People's Republic of China (PRC) into taking military action, the un-given-up last option, to unify Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC)? It is also a profiteering opportunity for the US to sell arms and weapons to the pro-independence Taiwanese Government. 

The weaponization of the US Dollar by Uncle Sam has scared off many countries. De-dollarization is picking up in speed. A long line-up of countries want to join the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). 

The declining US can no longer be the hegemon of our becoming multi-polar world. It is just too late to make America great again.

Edi Lee for Peace   ***   Fast Edi Thoughts and Comments     

Is America Declining?

Is the United States of America (USA) declining? Yes, just look at these slogans used by Donald Trump and Joe Biden: Make America Great Again (MAGA), Build Back Better (BBB), Save America!  

The world is changing and changing fast. Uncle Sam can no longer be the hegemon of the world.

Edi Lee for Peace    ***   Fast Edi Thoughts and Comments  

No Trade War

China and the Unites States say that they will not engage in a trade war. This is good for both countries and the world.

Great Again

October 1st is the national day of the People's Republic of China. While Donald Trump has been saying that he'll make America great again, Xi Jinping has been working hard to make China great again. Who do you think will succeed? Peace !

President Trump

As I predicted, Donald Trump has won. He will be the next President of the United States of America. The American people have spoken.

Obama in Canada

I watched U.S. President Obama give a speech in the Parliament of Canada. I must say that he is a great speaker. In musical terms, the analogy is that he is a great singer. Whether you give him a good song to sing or not, he can still deliver a great performance. That said, how many listeners ever try to analyze the lyrics of a song and see what it says? And whether the singer actually does what he or she sings? 

I agree that the U.S., Canada and Mexico, actually the whole world should reduce the use of fossil fuels for energy, and switch to using clean, green and renewable energy.

I disagree with Obama that he said gender equality is a universal value. I mean it 'should be' a universal value, but it is not. Many countries are still very backwards, ultra-conservative and unfair. They are still very misogynistic and discriminatory against women. Look at Saudi Arabia. If you are a woman, you are not even allowed to drive there.

Regarding the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), I have talked about it before. Of course, Obama was trying to get Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada to come on side and have the TPP signed and rectified. Is the TPP good or bad for the U.S. and Canada? It depends who you are and whom you ask. If you are interested, you can read what I wrote about the TPP on August 1 and October 5, 2015 in my blog Fast Edi Thoughts and Comments.

Regarding global disputes and conflicts, I'm not sure Obama really meant what he said. Certainly every peace-loving person would choose to resolve such serious problems diplomatically and politically, not militarily. But the U.S. military actions everywhere in the world, and the ' let's drop a bomb ' U.S. foreign policy, just don't concur with what Obama said.

I would like to ask this question: when will Washington (and the world) learn that violence is a problem, not a solution? Being a pacifist, my position is that all disputes and conflicts must be negotiated and settled through peaceful means. No violence, No killing, No war. Thank you.

Political Talk For Peace

Talking about politics day after day has made me tired. I joined in the discussions because I didn't like people who promote war and resist peace for solutions. I found the need to share and support the pacifists' solution and reject the warriors' solution.

I was talking in Youtube with others about the South China Sea conflicts and disputes.There was a Vietnamese guy who insisted on going to war with China, refusing to even accept his own prime minister's position for peace. He wanted the U.S. and Vietnam go to war with China. So much anger, negative emotion and foul language from this man! I told him I didn't take side with one country against another. I said I only took side with peace.

When shall we have lasting peace in this troubled world?

Donald Trump is Winning

Ted Cruz has dropped out after Donald Trump won the Republican primary in Indiana.

This is my guess only. I could be wrong:

If it is Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton, Donald will win.

If it is Donald Trump vs Bernie Sanders, Bernie will win.

Interesting time in America !  

Chris Christie for Vice President?

It was painful to watch Chris Christie stand quietly behind Donald Trump like a little school boy being punished. It just didn't look right. It looked really bad. In spite of Chris Christie 's pro-Trump endorsement, Donald told him to go home.

Chris Christie has completely lost his integrity and credibility. I should say that he gave it all up himself, but for what? To dream of becoming vice-president? What a big embarrassment to the people of New Jersey!

Gun-Rich America

Mass shootings in America are no longer shocking news. They are repeated episodes one after another. Whether you think it is crazy or not, it has become part of the US reality. Free to kill. Free to get killed. Welcome to gun-rich America !!!  

Syria

Fooling all the people all the time no longer works. Sooner of later, the truth will come out. If George Bush and gang of the U.S. and Tony Blair of the U.K. did not invade Iraq, which was an illegal war, there would  be no ISIS today.

The name of the game is to fight ISIS and the terrorists, but the real objective of Uncle Sam is to get rid of Assad in Syria. Putin is more open. Russia and Syria are long-time allies. The U.S. looks at Assad of Syria as an evil dictator, but Russia looks at the Assad regime as the legitimate government of Syria. The U.S. has been arming the so-called moderate rebels, but the reality is that terrorists are terrorists, and there are very few such so-called moderate rebels. Why do you think so many American weapons and military gear ended up with ISIS?

Can you see the name of the game is fighting ISIS, but the real objective of the U.S. is  using the moderate rebels, severe terrorists, or whatever you call them, to fight Assad? On the other hand, the army of Assad is supported by Russia as the legitimate soldiers and defenders of Syria.

Anyway, it all boils down to a competition of control and influence in Syria and the Middle East between the U.S. and Russia. Obama and Putin just can't see eye-to-eye, and it is very sad. The Syrian civil war is sort of like a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia, while fighting ISIS is only a side show though still important. Uncle Sam wants to get rid of Assad, but Putin says no, so it is like a stalemate.

Why did it take Russia's military action on ISIS in order to wake up Obama, that there is no military solution to the Syrian civil war, I mean for the U.S. to play a military chess game with Putin? Did Obama pretend that he was sleeping? So now John Kerry, Secretary of State, has begun to talk peace and take a diplomatic route, hoping to reach a political solution with Russia. It was a bit laughable that he said having a military alliance with Syria is a wrong strategy. Who was he talking to? Obviously Russia! Putin could  easily say to the U.S. that Russia's having a military alliance with Assad is all legitimate, but Uncle Sam's having a military alliance with the rebels including ISIS is the wrong strategy and illegitimate. Can you see that ISIS is both an enemy and ally of the U.S.? It is like Uncle Sam saying "I want you, ISIS, to help me kill Assad, but that doesn't mean I won't kill you!" Isn't that crazy or what?!      

Military confrontation between two major powers like the U.S. and Russia can only be a problem, not a solution. Obama, Putin, World Leaders: please don't let a war between the U.S. and Russia happen! The Middle East is all a mess. Not sure when PEACE would finally come !!!

China - U.S. Cooperation

President Xi Jinping is visiting the U.S.  China and the U.S. must work with each other. If they fight, the whole world will suffer. If they cooperate, which they should, good things can happen that benefit both countries and the world.

Refugees

Refugees arriving in Munich were met by welcoming crowds.Thumbs Up to Angela Merkel of Germany. Sorry but Thumbs Down to Stephen Harper of Canada.

Dear Prime Minister Harper, you said the root cause of the refugees was ISIS. No, please look back, way back, before ISIS came to existence. The root cause was Uncle Sam's Militarism and Interventionism, in meddling around with the affairs of other countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and more. You broke the vase, or helped break the vase, so you own it. There is no excuse not to fix it. Even if you think you did not break the vase, you must still help the refugees. Why? Many reasons, but here is one simple reason: because we are Canadians, and you are the Prime Minister of Canada.

    

Korea (2)

Early this year, on January 13, 2015, I wrote about the two Koreas showing hints that they were willing to talk, which I supported. Now North Korea accuses South Korea of political and military provocation and threatens to risk an ' all out war '. The U.S. then halts military exercise with South Korea.

Dear Uncle Sam and Korean people of the North and South, please don't play chicken. One miscalculation could lead to irreversible disaster. No war in the Korean Peninsula ! No war period !

A Canadian Korean friend told me that this is the way the game is played:

North Korea under the dictatorial leadership of Kim Jong Un would threaten to go to war with South Korea. Rich corporations of South Korea then made big donations to North Korea, which enabled them to pay less tax to the South Korean Government. The leadership in the North got what they wanted, and the leadership in the South stayed in power. If the US or UN would bomb North Korea, then the ' Mafia Bill ' from North Korea would be even bigger.

Money and Power Games everywhere, only played in different ways. Peace !  

American War And Peace

There are many dark forces in this world, including the war hawks and neo-cons in America. These warmongers want war, not peace. The U.S. Military Industrial Complex needs to constantly create enemies and conflicts, in order to keep the hugely profitable war business going.

So many conflicts and wars, even terrorists, can be traced back to the root cause of U.S. interventionism. It is a horrific cycle of cause and effect. You may call it negative karma or bad blowback. But hell the warmongers just don't care. It is great for U.S.world dominance and the American war business. Gerald Celente, a renowned American financial commentator and trend forecaster said, "The business of America is war. The business of China is business."

Don't envy the job of the U.S. president. As the U.S. president, you may want peace, but there are powerful dark forces in America which keep pushing you to go to war,  to make troubles and invade other countries, to divide and conquer and drop some bombs, to orchestrate foreign regime changes, and to fight the terrorists whom Uncle Sam created in the first place. In short, it doesn't matter who fight whom, as long as there are war-game players in action, to keep the hugely profitable American war business going!

Sadly, there are people in this world who actually want war, not peace. These dark forces are internal and external, and the U.S. president must deal with them both.  

Obama has re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba, and has succeeded in signing a nuclear peace deal with Iran. There are at least a few more things that he should do, in order to earn his Nobel Peace Prize received in advance:

Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp as promised, and better still, return the lands to Cuba.  

Stop sending drones to kill people, including American citizens who are presumed but not proven terrorists, which will otherwise cause the continued death of more civilians and innocent people.

Reform the racist and corrupted judicial, police, and prison systems in America.

Stop unlimited spying activities on American citizens, your own countrymen, and your allies.

Reduce or take the big money out of American politics. Current lobbying and unlimited donations allowed is a ' buy out the politicians ' program. It is nothing but legalized corruption.

Peace!  

Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)

In the news, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal fails to come to an agreement.

My thoughts and comments:

The TPP is not just about economics. It also has to do with politics. It is Uncle Sam's effort trying to control and counter-balance the rise of China, especially in Asia Pacific. Does it make any sense at all, if not for politics, that the TPP does not include China, the largest country in Asia Pacific?

Obama and Nobel Peace Prize (2)

On September 7, 2013, I wrote about Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize given to him in advance. Now that he has re-established U.S. diplomatic relationship with Cuba, and succeeded in the U.S. Iran nuclear deal, I think he should be allowed to keep the Nobel Peace Prize. But has he fully earned it yet, what do you think?

Donald Trump For U.S. President ?

Just finished watching a Youtube video titled 'Exclusive Donald Trump Interview: I Love China / msnbc'.

Here are my thoughts and comments: .  

I have mixed feelings about Donald Trump. He is a shameless self-promoter, and yes, with a huge ego and narcissistic personality. He talks like he is the smartest and richest person in the world, but he is not.Yet, when it comes to business and economics, he does know what he is talking about. He is very blunt and to the point, and tells you as it is, with no sensitivity or apology whatsoever. 

I doubt Donald Trump really loves China, but I think he sort of respects China as a great challenger or competitor. There is a Chinese saying which goes like this, " A hero respects another hero". At the present, China is playing the game of capitalism (the Chinese way) very well, even better than capitalistic America. Donald Trump is not wrong in saying that the U.S. needs better and tougher negotiators to deal with China. 

Competition is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it is a fair game, and that it benefits one's country and people, and better still, it also benefits other countries and people.We need world leaders who are able to solve problems and improve the lives of the people of their countries "and" other countries, all by peaceful means. No violence, no killing, no war. Negotiation is fine. Fair competition is fine. Would Donald Trump make a good U.S. President? I don't know. What do you think ?

Good Guys and Bad Guys in World Politics

Just finished watching a Youtube video of Lada Ray titled 'Putin's Gambit: Germany To Replace Ukraine As Russian Gas Transiter'.

Here are my thoughts and comments:

Lada Ray is a good political analyst and commentator. Sometimes she talks beyond the mundane. Her comments in this video and others tell me that she see things well from the Russian perspective. I agree with her that Putin is a great chess player. Of course, Uncle Sam depicts Russia as the bad and isolated guy. The truth is that Russia is not isolated. As to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, please study, observe and decide for yourself.

In diplomacy, there are no bad guys. In war, you are the good guy and your enemy is the bad guy. In politics, the good guys and the bad guys are the same guys. An angel blinks his eyes and becomes a devil. A devil snaps his fingers and becomes an angel. Politicians are neither good nor bad. Politicians are politicians.

If you are interested in oil and pipeline politics, watch this video. It is about 21 minutes long. I feel sorry for the people in Ukraine. However you look at the situation in Ukraine, it is a loser, not a winner. Ukraine is not a good chess player. It is not even a player. It is the chess.

Ukraine is a chess game played by the two major players, the U.S. and Russia. Some NATO countries like Germany and France take side with the U.S. against Russia for external show, but work with Russia not-so-openly for their self interests. Peace! 

The U.S. and China Must Talk

The U.S. and China must talk. They must maintain and improve their major-power relationship through peaceful means.

The U.S. needs China. China needs the U.S. The world needs both. I like Jimmy Carter's advice: the U.S. must respect China, and vice versa. Peace !!!