Post: #26

Chinese Latinas will be a godsend to the whole world really.

Post: #27

All the Things I Thought to Respond to This Thread (with relevant videos and/or Gifs):

1. "I don't know why they're even building this. We'll all just want another canal in an hour."

2. "Hope the Nicaraguans save their receipt, cuz if this is like all the other Chinese shit I buy, I ain't worried about nothing."





3.

(03-20-2015 03:14 PM)TheWastelander Wrote:  We should prevent them from doing it but our nation, unlike China or Russia, is still crippled with retarded guilt over our limited colonialism.

4. "This is the free hand of market doing what it does."

5.

(03-20-2015 04:32 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  Wow the equipment they're using in those pictures for this looks antiquated I thought they were more advanced.

Relevant:

Post: #28

(03-20-2015 03:46 PM)Tex Pro Wrote:  Time to start learning Mandarin.

I for one fully welcome our Chinese overlords. The Chinese are ruthless and practical. They will run the world like a Swiss watch.

That thought occurred to me eight years ago.

You've got a lot of catching up to do.

Post: #29

If old Teddy Roosevelt could see how far we've declined, he would probably take out his side-arm and pistol-whip the dorks running the show now in Washington.

   


   


There's a little part of me, even after all the disillusionment and bitterness, that's a nationalist.

And you don't mess with our buddies in Central America. That's our backyard, bitches. And don't you forget that.

There's a part of me that says [to the Chinese]: don't come over here with your scams, your flim-flam opportunism, and your money and try to buy it. It's the same story in Africa.

Students of history may recall that Imperial Japan had plans to build a canal in the region in the 1930s. The Japanese Empire had big plans for a commercial zone in Central and South America in the 1930s. Go check it...it's the truth. And now it's China.

I don't like this.

We'll see if you got the juice to pull this off. We've still got teeth, and we can bite.
We may be indebted to China to the hilt, but guess what? After a certain point, the debtor owns the creditor. We'll just see if they ever get their money.

And as for that little sneak Daniel Ortega...he'd just better remember his history.

We landed Marines in Nicaragua in the 1920s....


   

Post: #30

(03-20-2015 07:43 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  

(03-20-2015 03:14 PM)TheWastelander Wrote:  We should prevent them from doing it but our nation, unlike China or Russia, is still crippled with retarded guilt over our limited colonialism.

We ain't got shit on the Brits, the French or the Spanish. What little we got was crap compared to their loot.

Post: #31

I'm not taking sides, but can somebody explain how the new canal would weaken the US and its position in Latin America?

Post: #32

Post: #33

(03-20-2015 08:05 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  If old Teddy Roosevelt could see how far we've declined, he would probably take out his side-arm and pistol-whip the dorks running the show now in Washington.







There's a little part of me, even after all the disillusionment and bitterness, that's a nationalist.

And you don't mess with our buddies in Central America. That's our backyard, bitches. And don't you forget that.

There's a part of me that says [to the Chinese]: don't come over here with your scams, your flim-flam opportunism, and your money and try to buy it. It's the same story in Africa.

Students of history may recall that Imperial Japan had plans to build a canal in the region in the 1930s. The Japanese Empire had big plans for a commercial zone in Central and South America in the 1930s. Go check it...it's the truth. And now it's China.

I don't like this.

We'll see if you got the juice to pull this off. We've still got teeth, and we can bite.
We may be indebted to China to the hilt, but guess what? After a certain point, the debtor owns the creditor. We'll just see if they ever get their money.

And as for that little sneak Daniel Ortega...he'd just better remember his history.

We landed Marines in Nicaragua in the 1920s....

Only problem is that by the time the USA wakes up to do something, the Chinese will have the USA surrounded.

The Chinese already bought off the Russians, the Africans, and the Latin Americans.

Now they are buying off the Europeans as well:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/busine....html?_r=0

Also, China doesn't need to get paid back since they are just using that giant pile of USD bonds they hold to buy everything and everyone in sight.

The Chinese are smart. Instead of directly challenging the USA, they are just slowly chipping away the the USA-led global order, bit by bit, until one day it all unravels.

Post: #34

Dont be so sure about the new "chinese hegemony". The USA inflience in the SA region is no dead, nor the chinese is so extended. Also, the chinese have some serious issues to deal before trying to be a global power (demographic imbalance, social problems, extreme corruption, econological damage, etc).

Too many sinologist are in chinese pockets. Look at the books of Guy Sorman. The guy did a very good analysis of China on one of his books.

Post: #35

(03-20-2015 10:22 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  I'm not taking sides, but can somebody explain how the new canal would weaken the US and its position in Latin America?

I'm wondering this as well.

Maybe it's just the fear of rising Chinese economic and imperial power?

Post: #36

(03-20-2015 03:31 PM)DChambers Wrote:  The destruction of this Chinese project must be considered one of the highest priorities of the nation. The idea that any trade may flow through an American canal not owned or controlled by one of our protectorates is beyond the pale.


The reintroduction of the Monroe Doctrine with the focus on the Orient's unwelcome advances into the Americas is in order. China must be kept from expanding its markets at all costs. Lest they wean themselves from our consumers and find they no longer need us. At which point the sabre rattling will begin.

The USA can't have it both ways, okay maybe it can but don't be surprised when your traditional allies seek investment from elsewhere when you turn down our resources, case in point: Keystone Pipeline which Obama recently kiboshed. A pipeline to Pacific waters can't be built soon enough to get Canadian oil to Asian markets, which will fetch a higher price than sending it stateside but that may be as much of a pipe dream as Keystone as we are still America's bitch after all.

[img][/img]

Post: #37

(03-20-2015 10:15 PM)TheWastelander Wrote:  We ain't got shit on the Brits, the French or the Spanish. What little we got was crap compared to their loot.

Those empires rose and fell. Meanwhile everyone in the world carries iPhones, eats McDonald's, is getting fat on Starbucks Milkshakes, and speaks broken (American) English. The United States went from a few coastal colonies to dominate an entire continent that was populated by sovereign Indian nations and other European empires. That continent is bigger than most of punk-ass Europe, not including Alaska or the Hawaiian Islands, and was replete with natural resources. And, unlike those other "empires," the United States didn't lose those possessions; they're just "states" now. Even after decolonization, it has de facto colonial power over Puerto Rico, Guam, and Virgin Islands--not to mention all the various puppets it's controlled by proxy right up to the present. Players all over the world log into this--an American website, operated by an American in American English--for game advice. Wannabe gangstas all over the world "rap" in American English and pantomime American body language. Even the sluts all over the world copy our sluts.



Meanwhile, the British are back to being stuck on that burnt-out depressing island with shitty internet connections, the lispy Spanish are straight broke, and the French are stubbornly condescending to the world despite the fact that all the shit they accomplished happened hundreds upon hundreds of years ago--including that oversized coat-hanger that they're so proud of.

So I reiterate:



And add this:

Post: #38

This thread is meh. Too many pessimistic dudes who don't know that the US is still very influential in Latin America. China has nowhere near the same influence as the U.S in the region, despite what Nicolas Maduro and fellow bloodthirsty leftist despots say.

If you want proof, just see what would happen if China tried to build military bases in Central America. That would be a different picture but the Chinese and the Russians don't have the capacity to display international military fighting capacity the way the U.S can.

Post: #39

China has never had hostile intentions against the West. Today, Chinese are very busy with their new overnight built prosperity, they want to make businesses, not war.

Post: #40

(03-21-2015 12:20 AM)Luvianka Wrote:  China has never had hostile intentions against the West. Today, Chinese are very busy with their new overnight built prosperity, they want to make businesses, not war.

It's still fun to stir the pot, Luvianka....I love a good argument. I wish Samseau was around.


   

Post: #41

@Tuth, I think that the Wastelander's point was that compared to the UK/France/Spain, the USA'a colonization and imperialism overseas has been quite limited and soft in comparison. Sure, people all over the world are using Iphones and eating fast food, but it would be more impressive if these countries adopted American ways such as the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, respect for private property, etc. The British gave their colonies common law, the French Liberté, égalité, fraternité, I'm not so sure about the Spanish but my point is that Euro colonization, over hundreds of years, had and continues to have a lot bigger impact than the USA's cultural imperialism, for better or worse, the USA has been the world's softest imperial power.

Also, the French and British still to this day maintain overseas colonies, which are probably on the same level of importance/value as PR, Guam, and the USA Virgin Islands: Martinique&Guadeloupe, Saint Pierre&Miquelon, French Polynesia, Bermuda, Anguilla, Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, British Virgin Islands, etc.

Post: #42

I think, paradoxically, a lot of people overstate the rise of China and the decline of the U.S., often at the same time. China has big problems in the near future to do with demographics, a massive domestic debt bubble, environmental degradation, social unrest, and even things off most people's radars such as a problem with supplies of fresh water.

On the other hand, China is hoarding gold and setting about dismantling the world economic order with various organisations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Also, it's not just China you have to look at, it's Asia in general. In this century, Asia is overwhelmingly going to be the largest market in the world. It's going to have the largest population. It's going to have the largest middle class. Many of China's neighbours are rapidly developing and also have large, and still growing, populations. In some sense, China will again literally be the middle kingdom, with other parts of the world very much on the periphery.

That said, like many others here, I will believe China's rise to dominance when I see it. The Chinese are really good at cutting a corner and just throwing manpower at something, but frankly, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this canal literally caved in due to shoddy workmanship.

As for the politics of it, I shrug my shoulders. I'm not a fan of either China or the US. I don't know that I'd like to be ruled by China, though I'm increasingly opposed to American foreign policy. I do consider it grossly hypocritical for people to talk about the Monroe Doctrine though. If the US starts rattling that sabre, then why shouldn't China demand that the US stay the hell out of Asia, and even Australia? Recent "pro-democracy" protests in Hong Kong have the stench of US intelligence agencies all over them. That's not China's backyard. That's China's living room. Reviving the Monroe Doctrine could lead to a Cuban Missile Crisis 2.0, perhaps with a worse outcome. As someone who actually lives right in the firing line, I'd rather prefer it if these two didn't start a global pissing contest.

Post: #43

(03-21-2015 01:17 AM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  

(03-21-2015 12:20 AM)Luvianka Wrote:  China has never had hostile intentions against the West. Today, Chinese are very busy with their new overnight built prosperity, they want to make businesses, not war.

It's still fun to stir the pot, Luvianka....I love a good argument. I wish Samseau was around.

Let's be honest. China is building infrastructure and investing in countries.

America is overthrowing governments and bombing countries that step out of line.

America has already lost the PR war. Even your closest allies are looking for alternatives because your policies hurt us.

We have nothing against your people but we hate your government and it's policies.

Post: #44

(03-21-2015 02:11 AM)scotian Wrote:  @Tuth, I think that the Wastelander's point was that compared to the UK/France/Spain, the USA'a colonization and imperialism overseas has been quite limited and soft in comparison. Sure, people all over the world are using Iphones and eating fast food, but it would be more impressive if these countries adopted American ways such as the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, respect for private property, etc. The British gave their colonies common law, the French Liberté, égalité, fraternité, I'm not so sure about the Spanish but my point is that Euro colonization, over hundreds of years, had and continues to have a lot bigger impact than the USA's cultural imperialism, for better or worse, the USA has been the world's softest imperial power.

Also, the French and British still to this day maintain overseas colonies, which are probably on the same level of importance/value as PR, Guam, and the USA Virgin Islands: Martinique&Guadeloupe, Saint Pierre&Miquelon, French Polynesia, Bermuda, Anguilla, Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, British Virgin Islands, etc.

You've managed to ignore my points about conquering and maintaining an entire continent--not just remote cash colonies--that was disputed by your European empires, not to mention fierce Indian nations. You've also skipped over my points about the American brand of imperialism-by-proxy, which basically incorporated most of Latin America and, arguably, huge swaths of the Middle East into its sphere of influence. Add the cultural part--which is the third piece, and one that you can't simply dismiss as meaningless--and there is simply no empire in modern history with that kind of influence.

Also, the world has adopted the American brand of democracy. While basically all of Europe was still busy kissing the rings of their "divine" monarchs, the United States had adopted a bicameral system of government with a division of powers and an itemized set of civil liberties (Bill of Rights). This was nothing short of revolutionary--on a global scale. Literally hundreds of nation-states around the world have since adopted political mechanisms derived directly from the innovations in the United States Constitution. Even the word "president," used around the world to denote a head of state, is an American application. As for "Liberté, égalité, fraternité," saying them in French doesn't change the fact that even the French Revolution was deeply influenced by the American one.

Everything about your day is American: the technology in the laptop you're using, the refrigerator that keeps your food from spoiling, the car you drove in, the blue jeans you're wearing. Many of the antibodies in your blood, that keep you alive, came from American inoculations. Even the latex in the condoms that keeps the women you bang from getting pregnant is American. The plan B pill she takes if something goes wrong is American. The internet that transmits your porn is American. When you're in Canada, squeezing oil out of those sands, they pay you in dollars, not pounds. Why? Because Canada adopted the U.S. dollar in the 1800s.

The fact that you don't even think about just how American your life is shows you just how massively successful the American empire has been and continues to be.

Post: #45

When i saw the thread title the first thing that instantly came to mind was the Three Gorges Dam and the law of unintended consequences. If they can do it, fine. But they ought to also keep in mind that certain things have a way of turning around and biting you in the ass in ways that will astound you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign

Post: #46

(03-21-2015 02:55 AM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  Also, the world has adopted the American brand of democracy. While basically all of Europe was still busy kissing the rings of their "divine" monarchs, the United States had adopted a bicameral system of government with a division of powers and an itemized set of civil liberties (Bill of Rights). This was nothing short of revolutionary--on a global scale. Literally hundreds of nation-states around the world have since adopted political mechanisms derived directly from the innovations in the United States Constitution. Even the word "president," used around the world to denote a head of state, is an American application. As for "Liberté, égalité, fraternité," saying them in French doesn't change the fact that even the French Revolution was deeply influenced by the American one.

The problem is that very few of them have adopted the model successfully, starting with the French Revolution and stretching to today.

I think this is in part because by the time American democracy was positioned to be a premier model in the world, American governance had changed so vastly that it contradicted the vision of the founding fathers. The powers of the executive are many times vaster and stronger, the role of the states has diminished, restraints against excessive democracy have all been removed (direct election of senators, universal suffrage, lowered voting age, etc). When imported directly into a country in its early stages of political organization, such imbalances are often nothing short of disastrous. Iraq, which was meant to be a flagship example of global American democracy, is instead a prime example of its combustibility.

Post: #47

I don't doubt that we all live in a very Americanized world and believe that we are all better off from it, but is America really an empire in the sense that the former European powers were? Sure you invent and export and lot of great stuff but the world still hasn't adopted the core American values which separated your country from all of the others and lead to its success, as I mentioned; freedom of speech, right to bear arms, property rights, free market capitalism, etc. If the USA was truly an empire I'd like to think that those inalienable rights that your constitution provides would have been exported elsewhere by now.

Post: #48

It's just a canal. Seems that it will benefit the USA by speeding and lowering the cost of coast-to-coast shipping.

The Chinese will have to put up with Nicaraguan demands for control and revenue, just as the USA did with Panama. It also ties the Chinese even more into world trade, thus lessening the possibility of war.

In the event of war, it could be seized by a couple of battalions.

Post: #49

(03-21-2015 02:14 AM)Feisbook Control Wrote:  I do consider it grossly hypocritical for people to talk about the Monroe Doctrine though. If the US starts rattling that sabre, then why shouldn't China demand that the US stay the hell out of Asia, and even Australia? Recent "pro-democracy" protests in Hong Kong have the stench of US intelligence agencies all over them. That's not China's backyard. That's China's living room.

And following that logic, why shouldn't Russian demand that the US keep out of Ukraine?

G

Post: #50

(03-20-2015 07:03 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  The Chinese-Nicaraguan mixed girls will be hot!

She's actually Filipina and Australian but point taken. I have a thing for the Japanese-Brazilian mixes myself

Was actually just reading this interview today that does a good idea of looking at the big picture regarding US/Chinese international politics. It doesn't reference this move in particular, but it ties directly in.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/...earsheimer

Quote:The United States will try to undermine Chinese hegemony in East Asia and in Asia more generally. See, the reason that China does not want the United States to be a regional hegemon is that if the United States dominates its region and has no security threats in its region -- in the Western Hemisphere -- it is then free to roam into Asia, it's free to move across the Pacific Ocean into East Asia and interfere in the politics of China's neighborhood.

The Chinese don't want that. The Chinese understand full well that the reason that the American military is now deeply involved in East Asia and is talking about pivoting to Asia and therefore moving even more forces to East Asia is because United States faces no security threats in its own neighborhood and it's therefore free to intervene in East Asia. The Chinese would much prefer a situation where the United States has to worry about its own backyard.

Quote:In a situation where the United States is a hegemon in the Western Hemisphere and China is a hegemon in Asia, those two hegemons will go to great lengths to undermine each other's hegemony. The Chinese will try to intervene in the Western Hemisphere and form alliances with countries like Brazil and Mexico and do everything that they can to create a situation where the United States has to concentrate on its region of the world and is not free to roam into Asia and cause trouble there.

Also relevant, there was a huge scandal in the southern Philippines in January that is currently unraveling where 44 Phil special police were killed trying to capture a Malaysian terrorist after they started a huge firefight with a rebel group that they have a peace agreement with.

It's just coming out that the US was on the ground providing intelligence and basically orchestrated the whole thing, which the Phil government tried to cover up, as they want to use the region as their foothold in the South China Sea.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/03/21/1...ce-process

Meanwhile Philippines intelligence just discovered that China is building military bases on the disputed Spratly Islands.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/119660/...china-sea/

It's all just one huge chess match between the US and China right now, which the latter currently seems to be winning.