"Let me win or I'll quit the game"
Papua New Guinea is threatening to dramatically reduce the money it receives from Canberra ... The most serious step being contemplated is the suspension of significant elements of Australian aid deemed not essential to PNG, the Herald understands. ... The aide-memoire gives the Australian Government a week to respond. (SMH) Tim Blair comments: "threaten us some more".
Commentary
One of the most interesting of all modern strategies is the use of self-mutilation as defense. And the wonder is how well it works. North Korea vows to starve its people unless its demands are granted. And the world gives. Saddam released crude oil into the Persian Gulf to force America to let it have Kuwait. And environmentalists blamed America for an environmental disaster. Youths burn buses in France to protest the lack of public services to the Paris suburbs. Iraqi insurgents threaten, unless America their bidding to kill each other. And the Lancet duly chalks it up as an American war crime.
The supposed justification for this train of reasoning is that "if you break it, you own it". That's to say the moment America turns its attention to anything, everything that subsequently happens, even if caused by a meteor from outer space, flows from the consequences of that attention. Everyone knows that Cuba was destroyed by America trading with it before Castro. Everyone knows that Cuba was destroyed by America not trading with it after Castro. The attack on the World Trade Center was provoked by America. Besides, the Pentagon actually attacked the WTC themselves just to make sure. On and on it goes, with America alternatively playing the role of hapless bumbler and omniscient fountainhead. Spying everywhre and knowing nothing. Guilty while breathing.
This type of thinking effectively dehumanizes nearly every person on the planet by reducing them to the status of victims. It is probably no coincidence that the greatest economic progress on the planet has been achieved by countries like China, India, Taiwan or Singapore that have simply given up on this claptrap and gotten on with their lives. Who could have guessed?
posted by wretchardthecat at 10/31/2006 08:08:00 PM
5 Comments:
Dude. You, like, totally forgot Iran. Everything that happened under the Shah is our fault. And everything that happened under Khomeini is our fault because the Shah sucked.
I don't know. US economic progress is pretty good.
Gross national income per capita in '03 - US dollars:
India - 530
China - 1,100
Singapore - 21,230
US - 37,610
Geohive
I dunno guys, I think the comment about China, India, etc. are pretty dead on. He referred to "economic progress", not relative GNP per capita.
Of COURSE they're still far below us in absolute terms (look at the relative starting points!), but they've been acheiving far faster gains for several years now. That's progress.
They need to hire this guy.
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