East China West China

Today is election day in Taiwan and I hope voters will shun any candidates or political parties intent on moving towards independence. The U.S. needs to oppose moves towards Taiwan independence as strongly as it does reunification by force and make it clear that if the voters of Taiwan do decide they want to elect pro-independence parties and politicians then they will be left to face the consequences on their own without any economic, political, or military support from the U.S..

The U.S. and the rest of the world must understand that the situation between China and Taiwan is not akin to Russia and Ukraine which are and have been separate countries. China and Taiwan are more like East and West Germany or North and South Vietnam. This is because their separation is a relic of the cold war and like these other two countries that had been divided over capitalist / communist ideology and U.S. / U.S.S.R. alliances China too will eventually be reunited.

The question is will it be reunified by force because of the irresponsible words and actions of politicians and the inability of the voters of Taiwan to see that the DPP is leading them towards disaster, or will it be reunified peacefully when mainland China looks and functions a lot more like Taiwan. The best thing Taiwan can do for itself, the rest of China, and the world is to maintain the status quo and continue to set an example of what kind of an open and prosperous society freedom and democracy can bring.

Hey Terrorists and Their Sympathizers, Please Stop It.

God will take care of me and all the other infidels so there’s no reason for you to shoot up night clubs, drive into crowds of innocent people, or commit any other atrocious acts. By even thinking about committing such evil acts in the name of God you’re basically saying that God is incapable of determining and carrying out his own will so he needs you to do it for him. That type of thinking is not only arrogant it is also insulting to the God you claim to serve. It’s almost as if you don’t really believe there is a God and are simply using the whole God is on my side idea to justify your sick and twisted view of reality.

Instead of hating those who don’t follow your primitive rules and rituals just view us in amusement and laugh at us knowing that we’re really going to get it from God in the manner and at the time of his choosing, not yours. In conclusion, God doesn’t need you to make decisions and take actions for him so please stop it. Moreover if you know someone who may be thinking and/or planning something bad then please confront them and report them to the authorities. We must all be vigilant against the violent and mentally unstable among us regardless of which dogma they use to justify their ideology and actions.

The Human Toll of Terror

P.S. I hate to break it to you but your god doesn’t exist and we have no reason to believe that any other gods exist. At least not any that are aware of, concerned with, and actively influence the affairs on planet Earth so it’s time to stop praying (especially by singing/howling through loud speakers at 5am or any other time) and to start thinking for yourself and acting for a better world.

Vietnam War

April 30th marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. A war which spanned three decades during which millions died, many of them civilians and many of them engaged in armed struggle first against U.S. backed French colonizers and then against the U.S. itself who in addition to bombs covered the beautiful and biodiverse country of Vietnam in toxic chemicals which are still causing horrific birth defects to this day.

While so many eyes are on Japan and it’s Prime Minster in anticipation of how he will represent Japan in another WW2 anniversary apology I think more eyes should be on the U.S. for an apology which has yet to come for what it did in Vietnam as well as in neighboring Laos and Cambodia where people are still being maimed and killed as a result of unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. which has thus far done far too little to clean up.

There are many lessons to learn from the Vietnam War including how racism and us/them thinking in general can pave the way to unthinkable acts one couldn’t even imagine enacting upon ones “own people”. More important than celebrating victory on this 70th anniversary of WW2 the U.S. should be humbly reflecting upon defeat on this 40th anniversary of the Vietnam War and how an ill-informed public along with bad foreign policy decisions like the one to support the French in their attempt to recolonize Vietnam after it fought with the U.S. in WW2 to expel Japanese forces led to such a terrible tragedy.

Israel, Iran, and U.S. Foreign Policy

In light of recent events now is as good of a time as any for the U.S. to re-evaluate its relationship with Israel and put an end to policies which often leaves the U.S. as a lone voice in the U.N. defending the misdeeds of Israel and policies that provide it, a country with a per capita GDP on par with that of Spain, with around 3 billion dollars annually in foreign aid.

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Operation Meetinghouse

March 9th-10th 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Operation Meetinghouse. A U.S. air raid in which the densely populated city of Tokyo was firebombed and around 100,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, died extremely painful deaths similar to the ones of this young mother and her small child, both of whom might still be alive today if not for humanities failure to avoid this conflict via diplomacy guided and backed by a free press and freethinking citizens.

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