World View: China Accuses U.S. of 'Diplomatic Encirclement' in Asia

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Hollande’s women troubles and Peugeot layoffs overshadow France’s Bastille Day
• Libor-fixing was well known in 2008
• China accuses U.S. of ‘diplomatic encirclement’ in Asia

Hollande’s women troubles and Peugeot layoffs overshadow France’s Bastille Day

French fighters and reconnaissance aircraft fly over Paris during the Bastille Day military parade in Paris on July 14 (AFP)

France’s president François Hollande marked July 14 Bastille Daycelebrations on Saturday with a pledges to fight industrial layoffsand keep the two women in his life from fighting with each other. TheSocialist candidate is refusing to accept an announcement bymoney-losing French car make Peugeot that it would lay off 8,000workers in France, and he promised public spending to supportFrench-made cars. Hollande is also asking his partner, ValérieTrierweiler, to end an open feud with his former partner, SégolèneRoyal. The spat became public in June, when a tweet from Trierweilersupported Royal’s opponent in an election, which Royal then lost.Trierweiler stole François Hollande away from Royal, his previouspartner of 30 years and the mother of his four children. Hollande’soldest son has said he and his siblings want o further contact withTrierweiler. France 24 and Reuters

Libor-fixing was well known in 2008

I’ve checked my own files, and I have about two dozen stories on filefrom 2008 that talk about investigations of illegal fixing of theLibor rate. Apparently Timothy F. Geithner, currently the TreasurySecretary but then at the New York Fed, was aware that illegalLibor-fixing was going on. And yet, nothing was done, and thecriminal activity was allowed to go on as usual.

This is just one more example of the massive change to ourculture since the 1990s. In the 1980s, when the Boomers werein charge, if you committed a crime, then you went to jail.In the 2000s, with the Gen-Xers in charge, if you commit a crime,then regulators refuse to investigate and prosecute, and you’reallow to continue illegal activities. This is the majorcharacteristic that distinguishes Generation-X from the Boomers– not that there are more crooks in Generation-X, but thatGen-Xers refuse to blame or prosecute other Gen-Xers, even forobvious, major crimes. Thus there have been no prosecutions ofthe banksters who caused the financial crisis.

As I explained in “The Legacy of World War I and the Holocaust”, this is also the samebehavior that led to the 1930s Holocaust. Germany’s Lost Generation(the generational predecessor of today’s Generation-X) hated theprevious Missionary Generation (which was identified with the Jews)just as much as today’s Gen-Xers hate the previous Boomer Generation,resulting in world catastrophes in both cases. Bloomberg (2012) and Bloomberg (2008)

“Greece is collapsing, the Iranians are gettingaggressive, and Rome is in disarray. Welcome back to 430 BC.” –British comic John Cleese

China accuses U.S. of ‘diplomatic encirclement’ in Asia

The ancient Chinese saying goes, “The tree craves calm but the windkeeps blowing.” The wind, in this case, is the United States, and theObama administration’s “pivot,” announced last year, of its armedforces from Europe/Atlantic to Asia/Pacific. U.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clinton meddled in the South China Sea issue through herwhirlwind tour of China’s neighbors — Afghanistan, Japan, Mongolia,Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia — to promote “strategic pressure” on Chinaand “diplomatic encirclement” by its neighbors. Though China alwaysexercises restraint and insists on diplomatic solutions to thedisputes, Clinton has encouraged China’s neighbors to keep challengingChina.

Washington must understand that returning to Asia by way of militarilyflexing its muscle, and diplomatically intervening in bilateraldisputes is wrong and short-sighted. It is wrong because it isfavoring confrontation instead of cooperation, which does notcontribute to Asia’s development and also goes against U.S. long-terminterests. Americans should do more to promote regional and win-wincooperation rather than mess up peace and development in theAsia-Pacific region. Xinhua

Permanent web link to this article