China, Taiwan & the U.S.

An interesting, enlightening, and sobering read on China, with, of course, parallels with Cuba.

In 1949, political power was seized with a gun. (Was it not Mao who said power comes from the barrel of a gun?) In China today, political power is literally maintained at gun-point.

America has a government. Britain has a government. Taiwan has a government. China has a regime. The only difference between the Chinese Communist Party and the Mafia is that the former is more successful at what it does, while the latter lacks an ideological rationale for its crimes.

Key to this speech, however, is how China is priming for war with the U.S., and how its attempt on acquiring Taiwan (Republic of China) will likely be the "flashpoint" of the whole mess. It's a much clearer take than what you might fight on wikipedia.

H/T Babalu.