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 !!!

Three Powerful Men

I call Putin the Chess Player, Obama the Smooth Talker, and Xi Jinping the Deal Maker. Arguably, they are the 3 most powerful men on earth today.

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! 

Please Shake Hands

Chinese President Xi Jinping met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing. Both looked relaxed and shook hands.

Shaking Hands is always better than Shooting Bullets and Dropping Bombs. When is Obama going to shake hands with Putin? I hope soon !!!

U.S. Sanction Against Russia

U.S. sanction against Russia, and probably also the dropping of oil prices, got to be an economic, geopolitical and currency war of the U.S. against Russia.

Does sanction work? Yes and No, if you ask Obama. For Cuba, with whom the U.S. has just re-established diplomatic relationship, Obama said No. For Russia, Obama said Yes. If it didn't work on small Cuba, having been proved for more than 50 years, how would it be possible to work and hurt big Russia ? Mr. President Obama, please tell us ! 

U.S. sanction would hurt Russia and make it difficult for Putin for a while, yes, but not for a long time. It won't take 50 years or more, like in the case of Cuba, to find out. We'll wait and see. 

Sanction, in my opinion, largely hurts only the people - your own people, those of your allies, and those of the sanctioned country you try to hurt, but not so much the elites and governments in power. 

U.S. sanction against Russia has pushed Russia even closer to China. It hurts not only Russia, but also Europeans who do business with Russia. Maybe Germany, France and a few other European countries didn't really like the sanction against Russia, but wouldn't dare not to "obey" Uncle Sam, being under political pressure to follow.

Obama Chewed Gum at APEC

I do agree that Obama looked bad, in being one of the world leaders and walked around chewing gum in such formal APEC summit. Some people said Obama was rude. I am not against chewing gum (Singapore is), but Obama did look like trying to be cool only with the opposite effect. Xi Jin Ping and Putin looked more like statesmen than Obama.

Good Bye Country, Hello New Home

Just finished watching a Youtube video titled ' Time to Get the Hell Out of the U.S.' As the news channel was RT (Russia Today), there would be people who just wrote it off as nothing but Russian propaganda. 

Here are my thoughts and comments: some haters of Putin and Russia would say that this is nothing but Russian propaganda, but I do think that there is some truth in this report. You can argue about different ideologies, but you can't deny facts. There has been an increase of Americans who gave up their U.S. citizenship and moved to other countries. If you are an American citizen, you have to report your world wide income to Uncle Sam wherever you live. This controversial and complicated tax system alone would be a reason for Americans living abroad to give up their American citizenship.

For example, Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook, surrendered his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore. He said it was a personal choice which had nothing to do with tax saving. Whether he told the truth or not, he had saved millions in tax money. Uncle Sam got mad and increased the exit tax to punish such non-patriotic Americans. Give me your money before I let you go !

Tina Turner, an iconic American singer also gave up her U.S. citizenship and now lives in Switzerland. Dear Uncle Sam, I know I know, this one really hurts ! Tina Turner is no longer an American ... WTF ???!!! 

French actor Gerard Depardieu left France and became a Russian citizen. Putin happily granted him a Russian passport. There are people who envy the rich. There are people who look down on the poor. But most people do not fully trust their governments. In this case, can you blame Gerard at all, that France's tax rate was going up from 45% to 75%? Russia has a 13% low flat rate. For comparison, Singapore's rate is 18%.

In the past, people looked to the West. So many people wanted to go to America, the Land of the Free. Today, people look to the East. The center of world economy has already gone to Asia. There are so many troubled spots in the world today, and I feel so lucky to be in Canada. I feel both free and safe here. I don't see any need for me to move away from Canada. Dear American friends, would you consider moving to Canada, the true North strong and free ?

John McCain on Russia

In retaliation for U.S. action against Moscow, Russia had imposed sanctions against John McCain and eight other American officials. John McCain must be very upset. He made an insulting statement against Russia. He said,"Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country." This false statement is not only insulting; it is very stupid. Bet you Putin loves Russia more than McCain loves America. No wonder someone by the name of Socialist Slayer said,"Go away John McCain. America hates you more than Russia." 

Ukraine

I'm not an expert in Ukraine politics, but here are my thoughts and comments anyway:

To understand the deep-rooted problems and issues, you can't just look at Ukraine from the perspectives of USA and the West. You must also look at this whole mess from the Russian perspectives.

The current Ukraine Government was created, only after the elected president Viktor Yanukovych ran for his life, left Ukraine and went to Moscow for protection. It was a forced exile. He still considers himself the president of Ukraine. There was agreement signed between Yanukovych and the opposition party, which is no longer honored, so from the Russian perspectives, it was a coup or forced exile. Russia doesn't recognize the current Ukraine Government as legitimate.

Especially about Crimea, you need to know its history and current strategic importance to Russia, etc. etc., before you should completely take side with USA and the West. Every coin has 2 sides. To be a referee and fair judge, you need to look at both sides of the coin. There is no way Russia will "give up" Crimea.

American and Western media only showed Ukrainian people died, but they didn't show the death of ethnic Russian people and police. There was violence on both sides.

Ukraine is a divisive country: some are pro-West, some are pro-Russia, and everyone needs money and wants peace. The mess is all international dirty politics.

Regarding invasion and occupation of a sovereign country, USA and the West broke the UN rules themselves many times over, so they have no moral authority to lecture and accuse Russia of occupation or invasion of Ukraine. Man, don't tell me Ukraine will split into two: pro-west West Ukraine, and pro-Russia East Ukraine and Crimea. Interference of internal affairs of Ukraine ? Both USA and the West on one side, and Russia on the other side, have been doing so for years. All a mess !!!!