Jim Hlavac
| Politics Home The Practicalist The Socialist Era Politics Re-Explained Fundamentals Domestic Affairs Economic Theory Foreign Affairs Libertarian Ideas Political Theory Philosophy Royalty & Theology |
Foreign Affairs
| Foreign Affairs Sections |
South East Asia can be considered everything from Bangladesh through Viet
Nam and Indonesia and the Philippines -- basically every place in Asia that isn't
China or Japan and Korea --which are North East Asia, indeed, most of Asia.
Bangladesh is actually slowly coming out of the horrors it faced. They are
surely a long way form economic prosperity but they are working on it. The
government is loosely stable. The military is quiescent. There is no ethnic
slaughter and no religious strife. There are constant natural disasters mostly
typhoons.
But even these have been mitigated by economic Growth. Instead of people
farming rice for subsistence in tidal flats they are working in cities that are well
inland from the delay marshes which comprises most of the country .
One major source of growth as been the virtual elimination of all the red
tape and prohibitions and fees on forming small businesses an banks. Instead
the government has shifted to becoming a tool for the people to have access to
data and publications and information and the Internet. They ave been mightily
aided and abetted by a number of private social agencies that have control over
vast resources from both inside and outside the country.
But the various sectors of the government and military have pretty much
figured out that if you let the people do what they want and merely provide the
information and seeds and tools and a good road network and electricity then
they are able to create economic wealth themselves.
While illiteracy is overwhelming, among young boys it is becoming
non-existent. With this generation learning to read and write by the time they are
of age to get involved in business -- just a decade or two away -- then there will
be a great outpouring of effort. The story of girls is somewhat harder, but the
culture traditions are fast loosing importance when the woman aware asked their
own opinion.
Burma is a disaster that is ready to implode. The State Law and Order
Committee -- the SLORC -- which actually uses English as its language is
nothing short of a criminal gang who murders at will and steals everything. When
Burmese students and citizens attempt to do anything the Slorc just shoots them
and imprisons the wounded. Ethnic Strife is rampant and the economy is so
tattered that it barely exists anymore. It is a place crying out for military
intervention by reasonable countries.
Thailand is further along, but it is a monarchy -- and the king is so divine
that no one can approach him who is not on his knees. This monarchy leads to
the military and the cronies fighting for the kings favor -- or trying to ignore the
king -- the place is corrupt -- but it has so modernized and joined the western
world that it has 80 story skyscrapers and a subway. It is not the King and I any
more.
Indonesia would be better off as a federation of small ethnic states and
islands. There is no reason for some small island with a million people to have
an army and a foreign policy -- they don't have enough people to staff the
embassies. However, they should have far more autonomy than the past 70
years of government afforded. The Dutch were lax administrators so many of
the islands simply stayed the way they were. But when the imperial Japanese
showed up -- they of course did what empires do -- make every one do the same
thing, adhere to the same ideas -- and prevent anyone from doing anything else.
And that brought to the fore the Communists -- who of course thought they
would solve the problems like Russia did -- because they thought Russia was
rich. And that led to the military getting in power -- not without shooting a lot of
people -- and that led today. The difference between the communists and the
military? Absolutely none -- they both wanted to install their families and friends
in power and control all the industry and
Nam and Indonesia and the Philippines -- basically every place in Asia that isn't
China or Japan and Korea --which are North East Asia, indeed, most of Asia.
Bangladesh is actually slowly coming out of the horrors it faced. They are
surely a long way form economic prosperity but they are working on it. The
government is loosely stable. The military is quiescent. There is no ethnic
slaughter and no religious strife. There are constant natural disasters mostly
typhoons.
But even these have been mitigated by economic Growth. Instead of people
farming rice for subsistence in tidal flats they are working in cities that are well
inland from the delay marshes which comprises most of the country .
One major source of growth as been the virtual elimination of all the red
tape and prohibitions and fees on forming small businesses an banks. Instead
the government has shifted to becoming a tool for the people to have access to
data and publications and information and the Internet. They ave been mightily
aided and abetted by a number of private social agencies that have control over
vast resources from both inside and outside the country.
But the various sectors of the government and military have pretty much
figured out that if you let the people do what they want and merely provide the
information and seeds and tools and a good road network and electricity then
they are able to create economic wealth themselves.
While illiteracy is overwhelming, among young boys it is becoming
non-existent. With this generation learning to read and write by the time they are
of age to get involved in business -- just a decade or two away -- then there will
be a great outpouring of effort. The story of girls is somewhat harder, but the
culture traditions are fast loosing importance when the woman aware asked their
own opinion.
Burma is a disaster that is ready to implode. The State Law and Order
Committee -- the SLORC -- which actually uses English as its language is
nothing short of a criminal gang who murders at will and steals everything. When
Burmese students and citizens attempt to do anything the Slorc just shoots them
and imprisons the wounded. Ethnic Strife is rampant and the economy is so
tattered that it barely exists anymore. It is a place crying out for military
intervention by reasonable countries.
Thailand is further along, but it is a monarchy -- and the king is so divine
that no one can approach him who is not on his knees. This monarchy leads to
the military and the cronies fighting for the kings favor -- or trying to ignore the
king -- the place is corrupt -- but it has so modernized and joined the western
world that it has 80 story skyscrapers and a subway. It is not the King and I any
more.
Indonesia would be better off as a federation of small ethnic states and
islands. There is no reason for some small island with a million people to have
an army and a foreign policy -- they don't have enough people to staff the
embassies. However, they should have far more autonomy than the past 70
years of government afforded. The Dutch were lax administrators so many of
the islands simply stayed the way they were. But when the imperial Japanese
showed up -- they of course did what empires do -- make every one do the same
thing, adhere to the same ideas -- and prevent anyone from doing anything else.
And that brought to the fore the Communists -- who of course thought they
would solve the problems like Russia did -- because they thought Russia was
rich. And that led to the military getting in power -- not without shooting a lot of
people -- and that led today. The difference between the communists and the
military? Absolutely none -- they both wanted to install their families and friends
in power and control all the industry and