About the situation in the South China Sea...

[Nightshade]

One of the sites I quoted in another post deserves its own topic-

Here is a great article and presentation about the situation in the South China Sea- and the stakes involved:

http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/201 ... china-sea/

[Top Gun]

I feel really sorry for those soldiers stationed at the ass-end of nowhere for what's more show than anything else. The one part that did give me a chuckle was this, though:

While an arbitration outcome unfavorable to the Chinese — which could be decided as early as March 2015 — would create some public-perception problems for them, China is unlikely to be deterred, in part because there is no enforcement mechanism. “Let’s be honest,” Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt says, “China has essentially studied how the U.S. has conducted its hegemony, and they’re saying, ‘We have to respect some court case?’ They say that the United States blatantly violates international law when it’s in its interest. China sees this as what first-class powers do.” (Multiple requests for comment from the Chinese government went unanswered.)

China has certainly had many examples to look to, both historical and current, on how to best employ the bully pulpit.

[vision]

http://imgur.com/gallery/pMAC4vq

[Burlyman]

I don't feel sorry for idiots who willingly march off to their deaths or the blind fools who feel sorry for them.