The next in line to world's nº 1

[Vee]

I’ve seen a number of articles recently pointing out to a shift of power in the world leading nations. This one from the 26th of December says that China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2032: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-26/china-overtake-us-worlds-largest-economy-2032. That’s 14 years from now, not a very long time.

Although I think things might not happen exactly as many are expecting, let’s say for argument’s sake that this is true. The US empire falls, leaving a place that, like history can teach us, will be taken by another power.

The US has made many enemies all over the world especially ever since american companies decided that their oil had mysteriously ended up underneath someone else’s sand and the government started one war after another to bring it "home" by whatever means deemed necessary.

Many people are looking forward to the fall of the US empire and to the end of what they consider bullying from a country that has never brought them anything other than violence and more poverty. Although those hard feelings are understandable, what will happen if the US empire falls?

The next in line to the title of biggest world power are China and Russia. So, if one of these countries, or both, took charge of the biggest world’s affairs, what would that mean for the people? Should they be happy with the change?

One way to have an idea is to look at how these countries treat their own citizens. How are things in Russia and China in terms of human rights?

According to Reporters Without Borders, in a list of 180 countries, Russia is 148 China is 176 in terms of freedom of press. (https://rsf.org/en/ranking). Not a promising score for people who like to be able to speak their minds.

This article from Reuters says that China closed more than 13000 websites in the past 3 years - https://uk.reuters.com/article/chin...00-websites-in-past-three-years-idUKL4N1OO03A.

Russia is not much better in what comes to freedom of press, freedom of speech or religious freedom. Both countries have very oppressing views on those basic human rights.


For more on the way these countries treat people, please have a look at these links and draw your own conclusions:

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/china-and-tibet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_China
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china/report-china/

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Russia
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countrie...russian-federation/report-russian-federation/
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/russia-makes-worlds-worst-list-for-religious-oppression/

Personally, I believe that if either China or Russia were the number one power in the world today, RF wouldn’t exist, or if it did I wouldn’t have the freedom to write this post without ending up in jail.
Bottom line is, if in the near future we get new bullies, will they be any better than the present ones?

 

[Sunstone]

The US deserves a great deal of criticism for its behavior in the world, but folks are really going to hate what's coming down the road to replace the US.

 

[Quintessence]

I think that one should be very careful in assuming that the size of a nation's economy represents the size of its influence in human society. I'm not sure I entirely understand some folks' obsession with size to begin with. I think about the Jewish people, whose influence vastly outstrips their numbers. Size is not a good measure of the story.

 

[Brickjectivity]

A lot of people have suspected that the US has invaded other countries for oil, but do not believe it. What has happened is very different from that and is a bit more silly. Our presidents would have considered such an invasion to be unprincipled and/or ungodly. They certainly would not have planned an invasion with a goal of obtaining oil. I think none of our presidents would have gone along with any invasion based upon oil reserves. We invaded for other reasons, for incompetent ones, unfortunate ones. To presume intelligence was behind it is a mistake. Morality and righteousness were behind it.

 

[Sunstone]

A lot of people have suspected that the US has invaded other countries for oil, but do not believe it. What has happened is very different from that and is a bit more silly. Our presidents would have considered such an invasion to be unprincipled and/or ungodly. They certainly would not have planned an invasion with a goal of obtaining oil. I think none of our presidents would have gone along with any invasion based upon oil reserves. We invaded for other reasons, for incompetent ones, unfortunate ones. To presume intelligence was behind it is a mistake. Morality and righteousness were behind it.

With all respect, Bush/Cheney probably were not as naive about their motives in invading Iraq as you represent them to be, Brick.

 

[socharlie]

I’ve seen a number of articles recently pointing out to a shift of power in the world leading nations. This one from the 26th of December says that China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2032: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-26/china-overtake-us-worlds-largest-economy-2032. That’s 14 years from now, not a very long time.

Although I think things might not happen exactly as many are expecting, let’s say for argument’s sake that this is true. The US empire falls, leaving a place that, like history can teach us, will be taken by another power.

The US has made many enemies all over the world especially ever since american companies decided that their oil had mysteriously ended up underneath someone else’s sand and the government started one war after another to bring it "home" by whatever means deemed necessary.

Many people are looking forward to the fall of the US empire and to the end of what they consider bullying from a country that has never brought them anything other than violence and more poverty. Although those hard feelings are understandable, what will happen if the US empire falls?

The next in line to the title of biggest world power are China and Russia. So, if one of these countries, or both, took charge of the biggest world’s affairs, what would that mean for the people? Should they be happy with the change?

One way to have an idea is to look at how these countries treat their own citizens. How are things in Russia and China in terms of human rights?

According to Reporters Without Borders, in a list of 180 countries, Russia is 148 China is 176 in terms of freedom of press. (https://rsf.org/en/ranking). Not a promising score for people who like to be able to speak their minds.

This article from Reuters says that China closed more than 13000 websites in the past 3 years - https://uk.reuters.com/article/chin...00-websites-in-past-three-years-idUKL4N1OO03A.

Russia is not much better in what comes to freedom of press, freedom of speech or religious freedom. Both countries have very oppressing views on those basic human rights.


For more on the way these countries treat people, please have a look at these links and draw your own conclusions:

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/china-and-tibet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_China
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china/report-china/

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Russia
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countrie...russian-federation/report-russian-federation/
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/russia-makes-worlds-worst-list-for-religious-oppression/

Personally, I believe that if either China or Russia were the number one power in the world today, RF wouldn’t exist, or if it did I wouldn’t have the freedom to write this post without ending up in jail.
Bottom line is, if in the near future we get new bullies, will they be any better than the present ones?

I learned that US is the country where public did not hear a word of truth for hundreds of years...everything is manipulated.

 

[Vee]

I think that one should be very careful in assuming that the size of a nation's economy represents the size of its influence in human society. I'm not sure I entirely understand some folks' obsession with size to begin with. I think about the Jewish people, whose influence vastly outstrips their numbers. Size is not a good measure of the story.

Which is why I think there are a lot of surprises still to happen. Let's wait and see.

 

[Vee]

I learned that US is the country where public did not hear a word of truth for hundreds of years...everything is manipulated.

Although there is no shortage of lies, there are also many people telling the truth and trying to open people's eyes to reality. Not all is bad.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I learned that US is the country where public did not hear a word of truth for hundreds of years...everything is manipulated.

We have our intellectuals and our uneducated people just like any other country does, but we have a free press. You're mistaken about truth being unavailable. Its available. We can get it and have libraries filled with controversial ideas.

 

[Holdasown]

When they moved the price for oil a barrel from pounds to dollars England had the same issue. They lost none of their world stage presences. When they switch price for oil a barrel from dollars to Renminbi it will hurt the US for a while too but a country our size does not loose influence or place overnight. The US should be going green as much as a possible. The world wants to move from fossil fuels. I wish my home state of WV would move to green technology instead of staying in the shadow of coal. We are a natural resource and should stay one.

 

[socharlie]

We have our intellectuals and our uneducated people just like any other country does, but we have a free press. You're mistaken about truth being unavailable. Its available. We can get it and have libraries filled with controversial ideas.

did you hear "fake news" expression? everything is manipulated...it is available but it may not be the truth, there is no truth in our Machiavellian world, there is just a version of 'truth' prepared for you.

 

[socharlie]

Although there is no shortage of lies, there are also many people telling the truth and trying to open people's eyes to reality. Not all is bad.

true, not all is bad, the same in Russia and China - not all is bad.

 

[Sunstone]

Of course, one does have to take into account the fact that the Public Relations industry is a propaganda weapon employed by the uber rich and large corporations to distort public perception of reality in their favor.

 

[Quintessence]

Which is why I think there are a lot of surprises still to happen. Let's wait and see.

There's one matter of policy I'm particularly interested in with respect to these two nations, and that's environmental policies. I hear "world's largest economy" and I see "world's largest contributor to ecosystem degradation, mass extinction, and global climate change." I'm not well-appraised of either of these nations' environmental policies, but considering my country has already abdicated leadership on all of those issues at the national level, I have to be optimistic that others pick up the ropes (which Europe already does to no small extent).

 

[Brickjectivity]

did you hear "fake news" expression? everything is manipulated...it is available but it may not be the truth, there is no truth in our Machiavellian world, there is just a version of 'truth' prepared for you.

A 40 year old man such as myself with some scientific education and some historical knowledge is not totally lost. I do not feel confused about the news. I don't always have good political instincts, but that is my own fault. Most news I can easily ignore if its of poor quality. For example if someone wants to tell me that the Egyptian pyramids are energy beacons I can tell it is a silly thing. If I had no history and no science, something like that might distract me. History is the primary key to understanding news. Science and History together let me be certain that people have been to the Moon, that the Earth is round and that nuclear bombs are real. Also important is reading biographies. My political instincts are terrible for a reason: I don't read many biographies. It is not because I am surrounded by lies. I am responsible for my poor political knowledge, and I am responsible to know that pyramids are not energy beacons. I can deal with news if I take the time to understand history and science. People can ask me: "Is this for real?" and in most cases I can tell them if it is or not. Sometimes I cannot, but usually I can.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Chicken Little for President!

 

[socharlie]

A 40 year old man such as myself with some scientific education and some historical knowledge is not totally lost. I do not feel confused about the news. I don't always have good political instincts, but that is my own fault. Most news I can easily ignore if its of poor quality. For example if someone wants to tell me that the Egyptian pyramids are energy beacons I can tell it is a silly thing. If I had no history and no science, something like that might distract me. History is the primary key to understanding news. Science and History together let me be certain that people have been to the Moon, that the Earth is round and that nuclear bombs are real. Also important is reading biographies. My political instincts are terrible for a reason: I don't read many biographies. It is not because I am surrounded by lies. I am responsible for my poor political knowledge, and I am responsible to know that pyramids are not energy beacons. I can deal with news if I take the time to understand history and science. People can ask me: "Is this for real?" and in most cases I can tell them if it is or not. Sometimes I cannot, but usually I can.

once one of my professors 40 years ago told audience in a debate with another professor that the best way to deceive is to tell a half truth...

 

[columbus]

The US has made many enemies all over the world especially ever since american companies decided that their oil had mysteriously ended up underneath someone else’s sand and the government started one war after another to bring it "home" by whatever means deemed necessary.

Many people are looking forward to the fall of the US empire and to the end of what they consider bullying from a country that has never brought them anything other than violence and more poverty. Although those hard feelings are understandable, what will happen if the US empire falls?

Personally, I am convinced that Putins Russian ambition is to knock the USA off of the pedestal we've put ourselves on. One of his bigger plans is to become the dominant power over the gulf oil fields. That's why he is forming alliances with our enemies, like Iran and Syria. It's also why he wanted a weak and divisive president.
So far, so good.
Tom

 

[Skwim]

I’ve seen a number of articles recently pointing out to a shift of power in the world leading nations. This one from the 26th of December says that China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2032: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-26/china-overtake-us-worlds-largest-economy-2032. That’s 14 years from now, not a very long time.

Although I think things might not happen exactly as many are expecting, let’s say for argument’s sake that this is true. The US empire falls, leaving a place that, like history can teach us, will be taken by another power.

The US has made many enemies all over the world especially ever since american companies decided that their oil had mysteriously ended up underneath someone else’s sand and the government started one war after another to bring it "home" by whatever means deemed necessary.

Many people are looking forward to the fall of the US empire and to the end of what they consider bullying from a country that has never brought them anything other than violence and more poverty. Although those hard feelings are understandable, what will happen if the US empire falls?

The next in line to the title of biggest world power are China and Russia. So, if one of these countries, or both, took charge of the biggest world’s affairs, what would that mean for the people? Should they be happy with the change?

One way to have an idea is to look at how these countries treat their own citizens. How are things in Russia and China in terms of human rights?

According to Reporters Without Borders, in a list of 180 countries, Russia is 148 China is 176 in terms of freedom of press. (https://rsf.org/en/ranking). Not a promising score for people who like to be able to speak their minds.

This article from Reuters says that China closed more than 13000 websites in the past 3 years - https://uk.reuters.com/article/chin...00-websites-in-past-three-years-idUKL4N1OO03A.

Russia is not much better in what comes to freedom of press, freedom of speech or religious freedom. Both countries have very oppressing views on those basic human rights.


For more on the way these countries treat people, please have a look at these links and draw your own conclusions:

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/china-and-tibet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_China
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china/report-china/

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Russia
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countrie...russian-federation/report-russian-federation/
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/world/russia-makes-worlds-worst-list-for-religious-oppression/

Personally, I believe that if either China or Russia were the number one power in the world today, RF wouldn’t exist, or if it did I wouldn’t have the freedom to write this post without ending up in jail.
Bottom line is, if in the near future we get new bullies, will they be any better than the present ones?

 

[socharlie]

A 40 year old man such as myself with some scientific education and some historical knowledge is not totally lost. I do not feel confused about the news. I don't always have good political instincts, but that is my own fault. Most news I can easily ignore if its of poor quality. For example if someone wants to tell me that the Egyptian pyramids are energy beacons I can tell it is a silly thing. If I had no history and no science, something like that might distract me. History is the primary key to understanding news. Science and History together let me be certain that people have been to the Moon, that the Earth is round and that nuclear bombs are real. Also important is reading biographies. My political instincts are terrible for a reason: I don't read many biographies. It is not because I am surrounded by lies. I am responsible for my poor political knowledge, and I am responsible to know that pyramids are not energy beacons. I can deal with news if I take the time to understand history and science. People can ask me: "Is this for real?" and in most cases I can tell them if it is or not. Sometimes I cannot, but usually I can.

Pyramids exist despite nobody really understand possibility of erecting one, anything possible ....