Sometimes I feel like Professor Masaryk

The forces fighting for my cause are stuck in the middle of nowhere, fighting the wrong direction the long way home. Friends become enemies: enemies become friends. Allies are transitory. The truth is there for all to see, but no one wants to look.

If Professor Masaryk knew that it would take the better part of 75 years for the final freedom to come; would he have kept fighting? Would the troops on the Trans-Siberian have kept fighting the way they did?

Yep, I think so. A good lesson why, even when things are in flux, you have to keep going in the direction you think is right. And yes, Kelo and the "Big 10" rulings have me in a funk.

Keeping and eye on the long game: Part XII

In case you missed it, Bill Gertz is keeping a eye on The Long Game as well, in the Washington Times special on 26 JUL, Chinese Dragon Awakens.

China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years, according to Pentagon officials.

U.S. defense and intelligence officials say all the signs point in one troubling direction: Beijing then will be forced to go to war with the United States, which has vowed to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack.

And where will those forces come from on short notice if we have the balance of our combat ready forces committed elsewhere?

China's economy has been growing at a rate of at least 10 percent for each of the past 10 years, providing the country's military with the needed funds for modernization.

The combination of a vibrant centralized economy, growing military and increasingly fervent nationalism has transformed China into what many defense officials view as a fascist state.

"We may be seeing in China the first true fascist society on the model of Nazi Germany, where you have this incredible resource base in a commercial economy with strong nationalism, which the military was able to reach into and ramp up incredible production," a senior defense official said.

Well, it isn't a democracy and it isn't Communist anymore. What else do you call it? Hard to argue.

The release of an official Chinese government report in December called the situation on the Taiwan Strait "grim" and said the country's military could "crush" Taiwan.

Earlier this year, Beijing passed an anti-secession law, a unilateral measure that upset the fragile political status quo across the Taiwan Strait. The law gives Chinese leaders a legal basis they previously did not have to conduct a military attack on Taiwan, U.S. officials said.

The war fears come despite the fact that China is hosting the Olympic Games in 2008 and, therefore, some officials say, would be reluctant to invoke the international condemnation that a military attack on Taiwan would cause.

Agreed. I have been saying for awhile that we are safe through 08/08/08. 2009 through 2012 is a key danger time for us. If we have a combo of a large percentage of our combat ready troops otherwise employed, and we have a weak government here after the 2008 elections; it will be a perfect storm that the Chinese will have trouble not taking advantage of. I would look at it.

In the past, some defense specialists insisted a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a "million-man swim" across the Taiwan Strait because of the country's lack of troop-carrying ships.
"We left the million-man swim behind in about 1998, 1999," the senior Pentagon official said. "And in fact, what people are saying now, whether or not that construct was ever useful, is that it's a moot point, because in just amphibious lift alone, the Chinese are doubling or even quadrupling their capability on an annual basis."

If you have not been reading my "Long Game" series: shame on you.

China is building capabilities such as aerial refueling and airborne warning and control aircraft that can be used for regional defense and long-range power projection, ... It also is developing a maneuverable re-entry vehicle, or MARV, for its nuclear warheads. The weapon is designed to counter U.S. strategic-missile defenses, ... Work being done on China's weapons and reconnaissance systems will give its military the capability to reach 1,000 miles into the sea, ... Beijing also has built a new tank for its large armed forces. It is known as the Type 99 and appears similar in design to Germany's Leopard 2 main battle tank. ... The country's air power is growing through the purchase of new fighters from Russia, such as Su-30 fighter-bombers, as well as the development of its own fighter jets, such as the J-10.

Gen. Hester (Air Force Gen. Paul V. Hester, head of the Pacific Air Forces) compared Chinese warplanes with those of the former Soviet Union, which were less capable than their U.S. counterparts, but still very deadly.

"They have great equipment. The fighters are very technologically advanced, and what we know about them gives us pause for concern against ours," he said.

The Chinese have learned one thing that we have neglected in our ground war against terrorists. Missiles.

"It is their surface-to-air missiles, their [advanced] SAMs and their surface-to-surface missiles, and the precision, more importantly, of those surface-to-surface missiles that provide, obviously, the ability to pinpoint targets that we might have out in the region, or our friends and allies might have," Gen. Hester said.

The advances give the Chinese military "the ability ... to reach out and touch parts of the United States -- Guam, Hawaii and the mainland of the United States," he said.

There is a lot more in the report, especially concerning the Chinese oil situation and "other" former Chinese territory issues. Read it.

"Let's all wake up. The post-Cold War peace is over," Mr. Fisher (vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center) said. "We are now in an arms race with a new superpower whose goal is to contain and overtake the United States."

Next time you go to WalMart and buy all those Chinese goods, or read about China buying American corporations; think about that.

Sunday Funnies

Poland and Ukraine: how adult countries act

The right leader matters. Democracy matters. Letting go of the past so it doesn't destroy the future matters.

A great story from the BBC about the re-opening of a Polish cemetary in what is now Ukraine.

Ukraine's Viktor Yushchenko and his Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski were attending ceremonies to remember those killed in 1918-1920.
...
The Lviv graveyard, built when the city was part of Poland, had always been a contentious issue, as it became a symbol of Polish victory in territory that was fought over for centuries.

The BBC's Helen Fawkes said ties improved significantly after many people in Poland backed the Ukrainian opposition protests of the Orange Revolution last year, which led to Mr Yushchenko becoming president.
...
"This cemetery holds the remains of former fellow students, schoolchildren, neighbours and relatives. Some of them [fought under] the Ukrainian trident, others under the Polish eagle. One people's defeat never was another people's victory.

"The fact that the two presidents visited the Lychakivske cemetery together shows that Ukraine and Poland are brave enough to look the past in the eye."

He said the main conclusion from history was that "there is no free Poland without a free Ukraine, and there is no free Ukraine without a free Poland".

Mr Kwasniewski said Ukraine and Poland should cherish the gift of freedom that both nations received amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Interesting to know that stupid populist politicians aren't unique to the U.S.

Ukraine's parliament called for the service to be cancelled until the inscriptions on the graves were changed from Polish to Ukrainian.

Mr Yushchenko's office condemned the move. On Thursday, the resolution was annulled, allowing the ceremony to go ahead.

Somewhere, The Gipper is smiling.

Rumsfeld's brief to the Senate

I'm sure most of you saw some of the testimony yesterday at the Senate. I liked Secretary Rumsfeld's exchange with Senator Kennedy the best.

Body language and tone is so important. I didn't catch all the words, but it came out kind of like this.

Field Marshal Rommel is rolling in his grave

How far the mighty have fallen. From Frederick the Great's Prussians, to Kaiser Bill's outstanding Deutschen Reichsheeres, to the feared professionals of the Wehrmacht that served with Field Marshall Rommel; the last thing you could accuse the German Soldier of being is wanting to be on par with and/or look like a hausfrau. Well, welcome to the 21st Century. To quote a great man from a great movie.

God, how I hate the Twentieth Century.
-Patton

Now this has nothing to do with the recent entry of women into the Bundeswehr and their ability to kill bad guys - our female soldiers do a good job at that, but is a direct byproduct. Coming to an American Court near you:

GI Joe's buzz used to be troop standard, as officers meticulously monitored the length of soldiers' hair. Now even ponytails are allowed in the German army after a few shaggy men demanded equal treatment with the women.
...
Equal treatment for all – those were the arguments German women used to gain entry into the army. Now the men are ... learning to apply the same terms ... After all, why shouldn't men also enjoy the same pleasures of coming through their long locks?

That's what an 18-year-old recruit argued, when his commanding officer demanded he cut off his 25-centimeter long ponytail. When he refused to do so, he was imprisoned for subordination and fined 150 euros. ... he sought legal council and demanded the repeal of the so-called "hair and beard regulation," which enforces strict ... standards ... for men ... while allowing longer coiffures for women. ... was unfair, the soldier argued. It meant he didn't have the same freedom to develop his personality as the women.

A military court in Bavaria was convinced. It said ... the hair regulation was unconstitutional. (and) was an infringement of the basic right to freedom of expression.

Don't laugh. Some in our Supreme Court think we should look very closely at other country's law when drafting our own.

Here is a good question, does this still bring FEAR into the hearts of Frenchmen? Don't be silly. Of course.

USAF Academy: The ugly truth

For my previous comments, in reverse chronological order, go here, here, and here. You can find a fairly good idea where the fatwa is going here.

As this is the end of the beginning of the purge, it is helpful to review the genesis of this all.

This soon to be retired USAF Captain MeLinda Morton (13 yrs service....)

...hired this womyn from Yale Divinity School, a Ms. Kristin Leslie.

And that started the shit-storm that followed. It is very critical that you read the first three posts, then look at Ms. Leslie's CV. Below are some of the core items, but not all, from the CV PDF.

Areas of Teaching Interest

Feminist Pastoral Theology
Feminist/Womanist Pastoral Psychology/Psychotherapy

Courses Taught

Feminist Liberation and Feminist Pastoral Theologies
Feminist Pastoral Psychology

Reviews

Andrew Sullivans Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con: A Reader in The Witness 80, No. 6, 1997.

Publications

"When Violence is No Stranger: Pastoral Counseling with Survivors of Acquaintance Rape. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

"Writing for Our Lives: Twenty-Five Years of Women Writing in their own 'Languages.'" Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: Under the Influence of Feminist Methodologies and Beyond. (projected publication date July, 1998).

"Sophie's Wisdom: Acquaintance Rape, Relational Theology, and a Redemptive Doctrine of Sin." To be included in a volume of feminist/process theology being proposed and edited by Marjorie Suchocki.

Papers and Presentations

"Acquaintance Rape and a Redemptive Doctrine of Sin" Paper presented at the regional meeting of AAR, San Diego, CA. March 1996.

"Gleaning the Power of Inclusive Language" Paper presented at the annual meeting of National Association of College and University Chaplains, Atlanta, GA. 1990.

I don't think I need to say more. I said it before, no one should be shocked.

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A little wordplay here. Trying to dig up the "Sophie" in her "Sophie's Wisdom" work above, and really couldn't get the meaning. Perhaps the Sophie from Casanova? I don't know. What I DO know is what a Sophist is. From Wikipedia:

In modern philosophical usage, sophistry is a derogatory term for rhetoric that is designed to appeal to the listener on grounds other than the strict logical validity of the statements being made.

The Sophists held a relativistic view on cognition and knowledge. Their philosophy contains criticism of Religion, law and ethics. Though many sophists were as religious as their contemporaries, some held atheistic or agnostic views.

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'Nuff said.

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UPDATE: Head on over to The Mudville Gazette for a solid review of the report by Greyhawk. He also has a link to the WHOLE REPORT in PDF from Fox News. Primary documentation is always key. You cannot rely on boiled down spin. It is 100 pages, but at least read the Executive Summary. If you love Cliffs Notes, I will give you the Phibian Executive Summary from the third paragraph of the Executive Summary.

The HQ USAF team found a religious climate that does not involve overt religious discrimination...

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