Recession With A Hint of Sushi

Unlike the events in my dreams, no Japanese Samurai will kill the CEO of Ford

The economy of Japan is the second largest in the world with 4.5 Trillion dollars in GDP but it also is very sick. What Japan went through in the 1990s is what might happen to the United States if it doesn't help large banks balance its balance sheets.

The economy of Japan is still a living, breathing miracle. The entire island country was either burned, atomized or blown up to bits during the Second World War. The Americans, realizing that a weak Japan might fall to communism start pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into their economy. During the early 50s the Korean War also added to those millions that poured into Japan. Close to what happened to Thailand and other democratic South East Asian countries during Vietnam. The Japanese government directed what industries should create the most money for the economy and soon Japan was out of that post-war funk. Heavy industries were created, tarrifs were raised against non-Japanese made industrial products like tvs, the infrastructure of the nation was also built from the ground up to.

I almost forgot to mention the high educational standards the Japanese go through. A highly educated, skilled population made Japan rich creating information, financial and service industries increasingly dominant. From the 60s to the 80s the US feared Japanese economic domination. It was as if the novel Frankenstein was acted out on an economic basis.. and then... it happened.

1989, the Japanese stock exchange the Nikkei hit an all time high of close to 39,000 points. Banks began giving out risky loans to people, investments went increasingly overseases, property values were overestimated and a credit crisis just like the one in the US ensued. During the 1990s, the Nikkei kept falling and falling. Interest rates were cut yet the fundamental problems remained. Only in 2003 did the Nikkei start going up again.

Could this happen to the US? Yes, it could. The 700 billion dollar stimulus package isn't helping those who need it the most. The banks. Californian beer companies and North Carolina tobacco farmers are getting the money. If the banks can't get the money they need to allow credit to start flowing again, you might as well extend your hand to shake recession. The thing which will definately tick me off the most is if those 3 auto losers : GM, Ford and Chrysler get any money. They do not deserve it. If we pay them out, we might as well prepare to pay out 1000 other large companies in the US. They'll start crying out for helping because we've only been curing the symptoms and not the disease. Let's get credit flowing again. For God sakes, help the greedy out!

The French: A Most Glorious Military History

by Didier Massu

Many of you might look at this article and laugh. Go ahead but the truth remains the French ARE the most powerful nation in Europe and have been so for awhile. Also, my people are the most war-like as well. Let's dive into French military history shall we.

I'm not going to start with the Gaullic Wars. The Romans were fighting Gauls, not Frenchmen. The Franks were still hacking and slashing other Germans in the Teuton forests. The Gauls were Celts much like the present day Irish. Also, to those who think Britain has a much better Military History. -SPUT!- I spit upon you! The English conquered who again? Aging Mughals, drugged up Sudanese dervishes and Dutch farmers? That's nothing. We French had to go against everyone! EVERYONE! It is not easy you know to fight every tribe and nation on this planet Earth.

I shall start with Clovis. That noble and most ancient King of the Franks. He extended Frankland or France to the Rhine and pushed out those other disgusting German tribes. He also converted to Christianity and made all the Franks due so. I don't mean to be Frank but he was really cool. Europe was more like the movie Conan than anything else after the end of Rome. You had big tribes moving here and there and killing each other like Conan. Not even Asterix could stop a big Frankish axe from cutting him in two. The good times kept rolling until the 700s. The Arabs just conquered the Visigoths (another German tribe) in Spain.They invaded France and threatned to take all of Europe. It was up to a Frank... it was up to a French man to save Europe. That Frank was Charles Martel, Major Domo to the inept King of the Franks. He smashed the Arabs and their Berber friends at Tours saving Europe from destruction. He had a child, Pippin the Short who was rather short but Pippin had a child himself. Named Charles, he became Charles the Great or Charlemagne!

Every year after he became King of Franks (due to the Pope's blessing) he went to war. He smashed Lombards in Italy, Saxons until they became Christians and Avars.. till there was no more Avars. The only time he failed was against the Arabs in Spain and when he was leaving he was sabotaged by those Basques. He made schooling free and encouraged the arts. He was the greatest King of the Dark Ages. Who did the English have? No one!

If he did one bad thing it was the forbidding of the creation of forts. Soon, the Norsemen took advantage of this and bad things happen. But also good things too. Some Danish Norse settled down in Normany when they made a truce with the King of France and they became Frenchmen themselves. These Frenchmen conquered the stupid English and made them speak French for the next 500 years -SPUT!-. They also conquered parts of Italy and Greece and brought the Byzantine Greeks to their knees. They also helped a lot in the Crusades with men like Bohemond. They made Crusader States in Syria and Lebanon after defeated Arabs there.

It was good to be a French man for a time. We were the most numerous of the Europeans then until the English came. They thought they could rule us? The fools. The English came to conquer France and the French King had little power at the time. It was very bad. Western France burned because of the English. We went from 20 million to 16 million because of them. There would be 12 million more Frenchmen today if it weren't for them! -Sput!- . Their bowmen may have won Crecy and Agincourt but we won Patay and Orleans using the same tactics as before. France was ours again! We ran the English out of our country thanks to Joan D'Arc. My hero. Their arrows couldn't beat French cannon I suppose -laughs-.

After we won, we had a new enemy. The SPANISH! The Spanish seized control of the Holy Roman Empire. The blasted Habspurgs controlled Europe and only us, the French could stop them. They controlled the Low Countries, Spain, Italy and Germany. We were surrounded. We had to fight back. They beat us. France began a Civil War against the Protestants. It was a dark time to be French...

Millions of Frenchmen died fighting one another over religion. Stupid I say, stupid! Finally Henri IV stopped the nonsense and brought us all together again. One big happy French family. We had to fight the Habpurgs a smart way. We got the Ottomans to help us distract them and the Dutch did a lot to waste all their silver from the Incas and Aztecs. Finally in the 30 Years War we attacked and won great victories for our nation. We beat the Spanish.. finally. -coughs on cigarette-. Under Louis XIV the borders of France expanded even if we put the rest of Europe to a draw. We fought all the nations and still managed to expand. Stupid Anglais, they cannot defeat us! Disaster struck, the English formed a big alliance against us and we lost Quebec. At least we kept our sugar islands but the loss of a few acres of snow was disheartening. We got back at the stupid faces with the Americans. We gave them everything to beat you. HA! At Yorktown, your world did turn upside down as we marched crying Englishmen into prisoner camps.

It was to be a Frenchman... AGAIN. Then a few revolutions happened. We French got tired of the Monarchy. We got tired of all the Louis and Marie's. We wanted a Change We Could Believe In. The revolution happened and in 1793, 500,000 Frenchmen were at war. The largest European army ever. The other Eurofags tried to beat us but we held them back and occupied parts of Germany and the Netherlands. To be French meant to be victorious. Napoleon took charge and you might say, he was a Corsican. Not French. Who trained him? Italians? -puh!- Italian's can't even defeat medieval Ethiopians. Shaddup. It was the French. Napoleon was a genius! He smashed armies like there was no tomorrow. Prussians, Austrians and Russians were defeated at Jena, Austerlitz and Borodino. Alas, it was Europe and his own hubris which defeated him. Waterloo was a triumphant comeback yet it failed. All stars must fade one day...

After this, things got interesting. France conquered Algeria. Defeated the Austrians for the millionth time in Northern Italy. Fought with Britain against Russia in the Crimea where we watched the British flounder uselessly against the Russians. Fought the Mexicans and nearly one and now it was our turn against Prussia. The Prussians were a strange German people. Like us, they liked war. We were not ready when we fought them. The Prussians were more organized. They captured the French King and his army at Sedan and surrounded another army. Blast! They won fair and square I suppose. France didn't sit down for long.

We defeated the Chinese in Vietnam getting a rather beautiful colony there and defeated the women-warriors of Dahomey in Africa. Not to mention killing more Chinamen in the Boxer Rebellion.

The French Empire had made a comeback. We were Republican yes, but we were strong. Our navy was big. Our colonies were huge. Until, Germany struck again. We fought a global war with the Hun. In the early days of the First World War we charged the Germans again and again. Toujours l'audace. We lost hundreds of thousands of men but at the Marne. We held strong and stopped the Germans from getting to Paris twice in 50 years. Out of a male population of 20 million French men. We lost 2 million. France was devastated. At Verdun, 800,000 Frenchmen gave their lives for Life, Liberty and Fraternity.

When the Germans came again in 1940 we were prepared. We made a big fortress against them but the Germans went around the line and went straight at the Ardennes forest. Our English friends turn and ran back to Angleterre. Every other continental nation which hated Nazi Germany fail. I remember.. I cried when the Germans took Paris. My home. -sheds tear-. I still cry to this day...

Of course, not all French surrendered. We fought the Nazis in Africa and Italy and were the first back in Paris. Yet not all was well with France. We had to fight for Vietnam and Algeria. We lost both, we lost the will to fight after losting more 3 million men in 2 World Wars. It was too much for France.

France... where is the France I loved and nearly died for? Where is my France, my sanctuary, my home. -cries again-.

FIN

A Hot Flash, In A Cold War

So, Russia is not dead. A certain Mr. Fukuyama said that history was 'over' with the fall of the USSR. How wrong was he! Russia is resurgent and ready to show its ability to the West.

After the USSR, we saw a dozen former Soviet Republics leave Russia and we also saw Russia get eaten alive by its own businessmen. How could we assume Russia was down for the count? Didn't Russia during the Second World War lose over 20 million people from a population of some 180 Million. Yet 5 years later Russia was back, without the Marshall Plan and with a nuclear bomb. The Russians just dont quit. It's how they are. There's a Russian tide, followed by a denouement and a strong leader is usually to be at the cause of it. Whether its Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander III ( I believe he was the Third), Stalin and now Putin. All Putin's missing is the 'Great' to symbolize his 'greatness'.

I strongly believe that the pundits in Washington, no matter how cunning they are, are not students of history. How could they believe having a Pizza Hut in Moscow would make Russia like us or even become part of the West. They've never been Westernized although most of them look European. NATO 'Great Push Eastwards' during the 90s angered Russians. The old Russian dominion was soon becoming American. Economically as American businessmen were coming in to make a quick buck out of starving Russians.

You don't humiliate these people, they'll get you back. Japan humiliated them in 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. Then 40 years later the Russians came back and crushed 2 Japanese armies in Manchuria while capturing half of Korea. Or the Germans did in the First World War. 30 years later, a Soviet Soldier was flying the Hammer and Sickle over the Reichstag. Anyways Russia's attempt to get us back this summer was interesting.

They suckered Georgia into attacking South Ossetia where Russian troops were. Russia was able thus to justify a response and secure independance for South Ossetia in a matter of days. This sent a chill through Europe. Russian natural gas and oil sustain Central European countries like Germany and Poland. Russian cyberwarfare against Baltic States crippled their countries.

Russian people living in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other places cheer for these victories while the cronies running them cower in fear. NATO doesn't know what to do, Europe is still weak after World War II.

Russia maybe facing a demographic disaster so this is the best time to strike out and use its Petro-Dollars to dominate Europe before the price goes low again. Georgia lies prostate and Abkhazia ( the Other Georgian breakaway country) is going to leave to. Also this might be a sort of tit-for-tat for the independance of Kosovo earlier this year. Venezuela, Iran and soon North Korea will be trying to be Mother Russia's friend. The Russian fleet is steaming to Venezuela right now to engage in War-Games.

An Obama Presidency will have to realize that Russia, among other nations is carving out influence in today's world. This world resembles the late 1800s to early 1900s if any time period. America will have to use Realpolitik to keep its foes at bay and to make sure its allies stand ready for a possible battle. In this century, the Next World War will happen in Asia. Perhaps due to a nationalistic Russia or China.

Rumble In the Jungle: The Tutsis

Many of you might know this but the Democratic Republic of Congo is once again known to the West as a shit country. You might think Somalia is bad. Well, it is. But the DRC is like a zoo... you get killed at. As simple as that.

What's causing this shit?

Rwanda, that's who.

Rwanda, the homeland of the Tutsis and the Hutus and probably the most important genocide of the 90s. Forget Bosnia. This was the real deal. When the two biggest tribes of Central Africa clash, everybody is shaken. After the Tutsis won back the DRC after the genocide. Two million Hutus ran screaming for their lives into the Congo. Can't blame them, they were gonna be killed too. Hutus and Tutsis killing each other in large numbers ain't anything new. Its a Post-World War phenomena. In 1959, intense rioting against a Tutsi king led to the murder of 40,000 Tutsis in Rwanda.

The Hutus in the Congo (or as it was known back in the 90s ; Zaire) started attacking the Tutsis again. Paul Kagame, the Tutsi President of Rwanda after the genocide helped form a pro-Tutsi militia, the ADFL and lended 2000 veteran Tutis soldiers to crush Zaire's army in the Eastern Congo and they did. But they couldn't just take over the Congo. Take a globe and compare the size of Rwanda and the Congo. The Congo is huge while Rwanda is tiny. Real small. Doesn't matter though, the borders between countries don't count. Tribal boundaries do. That's how Africa works.

It's also hard to blame the Zairean soldiers. They were serving the most corrupt human being in history, Mobutu. His massive theft of Congolese wealth helped create the term Kleptocrat. He built massive mansions in the middle of the rainforest while Congolese had to flee from Hutu Interhamwe militia and his own goons. You Westerners might not get how the whole tribe thing works. Well, Europe was like that not too long ago. Where do you think the Hungarians came from? They were a small-time Eurasian steppe find who found a nice plain in Eastern Europe and settled down. Their king was called the King of Magyars, not the king of Hungary or of a set place. Then the whole idea of Nation-States set in.

Paul Kagame and the President of Uganda Yoweri Musevni got Kabila, a washed up warlord to lead this 'rebellion' against Zaire's Mobutu. Somehow, Kabila marched an army to Kinshasa. As usual, Kabila stuck to his old habits when he took power such as smuggling, embezzling, stealing. A bodyguard shot him in the head in 2001. In this huge power vaccuum African nations likes Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa,Namibia and others got involved besides Rwanda and Burundi. All for the resources of the Congo of course. More than 4 million people died in that time period in the Congo.

Where does that put us today and how does it relate to the Tutsis? The Tutsis are a people who've been pushed over the edge. Sometimes, an ethnic group gets a syndrome where they have nothing to lose. Like Jews during and after the Holocaust, Inca rebellions after the Spanish Conquest and now Tutsis in Central Africa. The new hot rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda claims he's fighting to protect ethnic Tutsis all over Africa. He's just making it worse, the Hutus already hate the Tutsis and Nkunda wants to add the Luba (another tribe) to the list. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing from mountainous region of Eastern Congo and as usual, the UN doesn't know what the fuck to do because if they do shit properly (like killing every Tutsi soldier in the Eastern Congo, Rwanda will get pissed and use genocide points to rack up international support.)

The UN can't do anything. They pass out cookies and water to starving Congolese villagers instead. Many of them have been raped which is a usual tactic. Showing the enemy that they cannot even protect their own women from harm can severely weaken morale.

Nothing is going to be done though. This story line in the media will go on for a few months than disappear like Iraq most recently did because the 'Surge' quieted down the insurgents and Al-Qaeda in Iraq. A solution to this Central Africa problem:

a) Create a permanent Tutsi and Hutu homeland ; Tutsiland and Hutuland. After all. Whats better than actually giving these tribes nation-states and seeing them fight set battles like Europeans. Isn't that proper war? Wasn't Verdun, which killed more Frenchman than the amount of Rwandans dead in the genocide a greater battle? I think not.

b) Give the Hutus and Tutsis MOAB's and give the last tribe standing Rwanda and Burundi. Yes, Burundi. Both tribes live there too. Right now, Hutus control Burundi while Rwanda has Tutsi controlled. I'm surprised they're not killing each other....

c) Wait 500 years and WAIT for nation-states to set up. Its easy to see there would be an Yoruba, Hausa and Akan country. Maybe even an Somali one if they decided to get united, but they're like the Kurds. So disorganized they have no shot at unification.

d) Letting this shit continue to such a level that the problem is resolved.... (laughs) impossible.

There you have it. Sometimes, you can't put a good tribe down.