Constituent politics in the United States often has a major impact on foreign policy. The ballot box can send a signal in a more direct and, at times, cutting way than any academic debate on foreign policy at a Washington think tank. As any Congressional staffer knows, vocal advocacy by constituents on behalf of … Continue reading Korea and Virginia: The Canary in the Coal Mine?
security
High School Reunion: Vietnam and Baby Boomers
Notre Dame College Prep, Niles, Illinois Class of 1966 -- 50th high school reunion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GREGORY JOSEPH KASPER PFC - E2 - Marine Corps - Regular Length of service 0 years Casualty was on Sep 25, 1967 In QUANG TRI, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY ARTILLERY, ROCKET, or MORTAR Body was recovered Panel 27E - … Continue reading High School Reunion: Vietnam and Baby Boomers
ICAO’s Not-So-Friendly Skies Exclude Taiwan
WV MetroNews – September 11, 2001 Air Security Should NOT Become a Political Football Post-September 11th. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the leading experts on airport safety and security are gathered for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s 39th Triennial Assembly in Montreal (September 27 - October 7) (http://www.icao.int/Meetings/a39/Pages/default.aspx), representatives of one of the world's leading air hubs … Continue reading ICAO’s Not-So-Friendly Skies Exclude Taiwan
Silk Road Summit: As China Leads, America Recedes
AmazingXinjiang.com In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. --composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge after awaking from an opium-induced dream; completed in 1797, published in 1816. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Those who have seen the rather sexually risqué Netflix TV series … Continue reading Silk Road Summit: As China Leads, America Recedes
Hillary Warrior Princess: Would a Clinton Presidency Lead to a Showdown With China?
980 × 551 - scmp.com By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea! You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be! Then Secretary of State Clinton and then Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi were anything but happy when they discussed freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The long march … Continue reading Hillary Warrior Princess: Would a Clinton Presidency Lead to a Showdown With China?
China: Pulling the Red Carpet Out From Under President Obama
Proper Greeting on the tarmac: Premier Zhou Enlai Greets President Nixon in 1972 with a handshake that changed history. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China, the land of Confucian etiquette, is where diplomatic protocol was first invented. The sage himself famously wrote in his Analects: “You peng zi yuan fang lai, bu yi le hu!” which roughly translates as … Continue reading China: Pulling the Red Carpet Out From Under President Obama
Trump, Hyde, Immigrants, and Gold Star Mothers
War-Veterans.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I felt a special connection when I read Mrs. Ghazala Khan’s July 31st column in the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ghazala-khan-donald-trump-criticized-my-silence-he-knows-nothing-about-true-sacrifice/2016/07/31/c46e52ec-571c-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html.) She described how she had a son who graduated from UVA and then went on to become an army captain. So did I. My boy was deployed to South … Continue reading Trump, Hyde, Immigrants, and Gold Star Mothers
European Terrorism and Asian Tourism
Hong Kong victims of axe attack on German train South China Morning Post980 × 551 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One less conspicuous aspect of the axe attack last month (July 18th) on a German train, another in a series of relentless acts of terrorism in Europe this year, was the fact that members of a Hong Kong family were among … Continue reading European Terrorism and Asian Tourism
The Coming War Between China and Japan — Maybe Not In the Realm of Fantasy
YouTube1280 × 720 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of Beijing's first responses to the recent Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling against its territorial claims in the South China Sea including its sacrosanct "nine-dash-line" was, according to a July 16th report in the South China Post, to lash out at Japan.(http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1990349/china-japan-dont-get-involved-south-china-sea-row). Beijing reportedly issued a warning to Tokyo "to not get … Continue reading The Coming War Between China and Japan — Maybe Not In the Realm of Fantasy
Why Not India? Just Look at a Map!
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second state visit to Washington in two years, according to the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/06/the-impressively-awkward-hugs-and-handshakes-of-indias-narendra-modi/), occurred last month (June 7-8) with the usual Washington pledges to upgrade the relationship with the world's most populous democracy. I have pondered for a long-time why the U.S. has not vigorously pursued closer ties with a country … Continue reading Why Not India? Just Look at a Map!
Halpin's Asia Takeout 