Monday, September 17, 2012

Interesting times...

We've got the Islamic rioting across the Middle East, Israel threatening preemptive action against Iran (who is coyly hinting at support for Syria if Western hawks intervene,) massive anti-Japanese riots in China forcing factory closures as PLAN and JMSDF warships are almost playing bumper cars in the South China Sea...

It's feeling pretty 1914 around here these days. All we need now is for something all unsuspected and triggering to happen, like maybe the heir to the throne of a senescent empire to get killed by violent militants, and we could be hearing the Guns of September!

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember telling my daughter "Honey just be glad he's not going to Afghanistan. Japan is a beautiful country, you'll love it over there."


Carteach said...

Well.... war IS the usual answer to world wide economic depression.

VERY traditional, a good war is. Lots of history to fall back on, there. Never fails to answer the call, it does.

Unknown said...

Whatever will happen has already been scripted. Right now all are simply rehearsing their lines.

Armed Texan said...

If only we were half as isolationist as we were in 1914 and the Europeans could get het up over the death of an Archduke.

Firehand said...

From a news story,
“The course of developments will depend on whether or not Japan faces up to China’s solemn stance and whether or not it faces up to the calls for justice from the Chinese people and adopts a correct attitude and approach.”
Translation: "What happens depends on whether the Japs do what we want."
Oh yeah, this is going to be a nice, friendly discussion...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-china-japan-idUSBRE88F00H20120917

Anonymous said...

The Japanaese should fortify the island ASAP. Call it Ft. Sumter, yea that's the ticket!

Gerry

Anonymous said...

Ugh.

Please no. Can't we all settle for some nice juicy civil wars?

sobriant74 said...

Aunt stabby,
I say we just sit back and watch. The part I find most interesting about the islands is that china says they belong to them....since they belong to Taiwan.
So, the island nation we (read China) say we own is having a territorial dispute with japan so were going to jump in, even though neither side wants us there. No chance for misunderstandings there.

Firehand said...

The PRC seems to have the same viewpoint as a lot of muslims: "If it EVER belonged to us for any length of time, it's ALWAYS ours; we just have to take it back."

angrymike said...

I read something that made me think, the ppl of China has quit buying Sony TV's even though the Japanese company has it's TV's produced in China. So their not buying something produced in their own country because it's owned by the Japan, talk about biting the hand that feeds you........

perlhaqr said...

Nah, it'll probably simmer for about 2 more years, maybe late June, and then we can get a real 100 year offset deja vu.

Shrimp said...

@ angrymike: Makes as much sense as people who won't buy that "foreign" car made by (insert name of foreign car manufacturer) that employs people in their very own state.

Anonymous said...

WWI was the most unnecessary war ever participated in by the US. We could have easily avoided entry into the fight except for the ambition of the racist President Woodrow Wilson.

Unfortunately, we are too intermingled in the world of 2012 to avoid conflict. Isolationism is an historic thread within US foreign policy. Shame we can't retreat to Fortress America and let the rest of the world continue on its journey to Hell.

Mike

Tam said...

Shrimp,

"Makes as much sense as people who won't buy that "foreign" car made by (insert name of foreign car manufacturer) that employs people in their very own state."

On the Zed Drei, 'BMW' stands for 'Bubba Makes Wheels".

SpeakerTweaker said...

Just remember, that heir will be killed by a gun chambered in a caliber that normally bounces off anything thicker than a flannel shirt, and thus could not possibly have caused the death of an actual human being. I can hear the conspiracy theories now...

John said...

Been looking that way for some time now -- 20th Century Deja V-ucked

Bubblehead Les. said...

I'm getting too old to live in these "Interesting Times." Personally, if I had the Means, I'd be looking for a spot in Alaska or the Central Urals away from big cities to ride this crap out.

Jocassee said...

You're just a damned optimist this morning aintcha?

global village idiot said...

The problem is that the Dumb Thing that starts The Big One will likely be all but forgotten by the time The Big One fizzles out.

Think anyone at Versailles said anything to the effect of "That'll teach 'em to whack an Archduke again!"

It sort of goes without saying that our Dumb Thing will be PROFOUNDLY dumb. WWIII will be scripted by Joseph Heller.

gvi

NotClauswitz said...

This Administration is so full of SMART Experts and Real-Leadership and stuff that our Foreign Policy is just made of WIN! Whatever we do, we'll do it to protect GAIA from the nasty old Sequestered Carbon, by unleashing even more!! Yaaarrghh!!!

Kristophr said...

Oh, and to make it even more fun, The President's men are refusing to rule out trying to enforce the Anti-Blasphemy Treaty that retard signed at the UN.

Maybe Roberts will rule that it is merely a tax?

Karl said...

Ripe conditions for a bolt-out-of-the-black, but this is the age of spreadsheets and it is likely most saber-rattlers are forecasting major losses if they proceed on course.

Hoping here that Iran gets spanked, while the others find reasons to lose interest. Naive, huh?!

Kristophr said...

Shrimp:

The first thing Fiat did when they pried Chrysler out of the .gov's hands was move the entire operation down to deep red "right to work" states.

Ian Argent said...

Oddly enough, today's wikiwander started with looking up the weapon used to kill Franz Joseph.

Bram said...

I'm wondering if Duchess Kate's bare breasts could start WWIII? At least it would be something worth fighting over this time.

NotClauswitz said...

Duchess of Kate, Helen of Troy - wouldn't be the first time.

John Stephens said...

Clearly the whole world has failed the final exam in World History, and must now do the entire 20th Century all over again.

NAVIGATOR said...

CHORUS FROM SONG JOHN FOSTER DULLES

"THE WHOLE WORLD IS FESTERING WITH UNHAPPY SOULS
THE FRENCH HATE THE GERMANS
THE GERMANS HATE THE POLES
ITALIANS HATE YUGOSLAVS
SOUTH AFRICANS HATE THE DUTCH
AND I DONT LIKE ANYBODY VERY MUCH !"

Joe in PNG said...

If there was any concept I wanted to see hauled out and shot, it is the idea that "war improves the economy".
No, it does not.
"But it got America out of the great depression!" some may claim, and I will argue that America was the only nation in the late 40s who's factories weren't either smoking rubble or uncleared jungle.


NotClauswitz said...

From Iowahawk Twitter-feed:
There's a riot in Tunis/
Egypt's broken out in fights/
there's a rocket launch in Gaza all the way to Golan Heights - #Prez44WhereAreYou

T.Stahl said...

But ße Dschörmens are lacking a zero behind their number of MBTs to make it interesting.

Windy Wilson said...

But seriously, folks, the 1914 comparison is apt. Look at how politicized everyone is, which is also how it was before WW1.

Anonymous said...

As far as Libya goes, time to rename some US Warships the Enterprise, Intrepid, Argus, etc along with some Marines lead by a Prebble, and put paid to the musselmen......once and for all.

Of course these days we won't be using brown bess muskets and grapeshot.

Anonymous said...

"like maybe the heir to the throne of a senescent empire to get killed by violent militants"

History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes ( I believe I'm quoting someone) what concerns me is is unlike anytime in the past 100 years the USA is far more vulnerable:

1. Our economic state is parlous

2. Our traditional allies and nations with we share common cultural markers are also in crappy shape & really aren't holding up their end.

3. US Culture has been heavily mined and sapped. WWII style unity in the face of "x"? Dream on.

4. Lots of the wannabe 2nd & 3rd rate powers actually have the potential technical ability to inflict nasty, if limited, 1st strikes and to make a lot of trouble. Worse, many of those 1st strike scenarios are deniable so that you can't say state X did it, or helped.

Anonymous said...

.-)

Kristophr said...

China is taking a big gamble here.

Their economy is in taters. I think they are going fo a wag the dog, but if it goes to shooting, they ain't going to win without going nuclear.

Kristophr said...

Sorry, tatters.

If it was in taters, they would be in better shape.

Woodman said...

I think at this point taters and other root vegetables would be a better investment than many.

Lergnom said...

Maybe I'd better take that tour of the battleship New Jersey before she gets called up again.

AK™ said...

Hmm..no world "leaders" or "heads of state" with epic mustaches..so the chance of a world war sparked by such a thing (as an epic 'stache)..is pretty low.

War being declared because of other things..more than possible.

Ken said...

I intend to put my personal economy into taters as soon as may be. :-) As for the topic at hand:

FN 1910 for sale cheep. You too can create an entire century of misery.

Will said...

Lergnom:

Not worth the trouble/cost. The .gov recently put all the replacement 16" BB barrels up for scrap sale. Requirements are they must be de-milled on site.

I doubt we have the ability to make these any more.

Don't know if this has occurred yet.

Suckers are something like 240,000 lbs each!

Ken said...

A bigger problem with respect to the old battleships is maintaining the steam plant, I suspect.

Justthisguy said...

I concur with Bubblehead. As I said to him a while back, I am sixty-something, which is way too old to play Infantry.

If it's an existential fight to save Western Civilization, I might feel a need to get involved anyway, but this usual nation-state young-men craziness leaves me cold.