The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire

remember when the Japanese bought Rockefeller center??
they sold it for a loss later...
with the current sale,china will be paying a whopping tax bill each year to nYC and NY state..
unless they turn it into an embassy..

The refusal of the Obama admin to approve the Keystone pipeline has had me rethinking Canada's relationship with the USA. The symbiotic relationship which is now over 400 years old has served Canada well. The future of this relationship is not as strong and has serious issues.

My initial reaction to Keystone centered on the environmental issue that the USA is using to slow track a decision. My thought process then morphed into a conspiracy of OPEC, Russia and the USA not wanting a financially stronger Canada. OPEC for the obvious reason of not wanting more crude supply which would attack their revenues and thusly their political stability. Russia, for the same reason as OPEC but also because a stronger Canada would have enhanced ability to defend Artic claims which conflict with Russia's.

Why would the USA not embrace a larger energy relationship with Canada? It is a no brainer as PM Harper suggested. On reflection that might not be the case. Oil and gas production world wide is increasing with the USA leading these increases. Even without domestic USA production foreign sources are available. But again with the history of economic co-operation between the two countries why would the USA prefer to buy oil from less secure and potentially unfriendly countries like Nigeria, Venezuela or the ME?

In situations like this I like to follow the money. If Canada developed the oil sands to their potential it is highly likely that 5 -6 mbpd (million barrels per day)could be exported. The only country that exports more today is Saudi Arabia. The wealth that such an export level would accrue to Canada is almost unimaginable. What impact would this have for Canada's international role in the world and almost as importantly how would it affect the relationship with the USA?

The USA's dominance of the America's manifested in the Monroe Doctrine. (We will ignore the War of 1812) In our life time it was exercised in the Cuban missile crisis, Panama, El Salvador and that little island in the Carribean that Reagan ran the Cubans out of. Canadians are very naïve if they think that the same concerns do not exist in Washington about Canada. The relationship works if Canada cannot afford independent action. Oil money would allow independent action.

What are the USA's long term geopolitical interests in Canada and how are they achieved? Once the 49th parallel was established USA interests funded Canadian economic development. Canada needed USA markets, USA military protection and needed USA capital investment and know how. The USA in return had unencumbered access to a hugh treasury of natural resources. USA Artic claims could replace Canadian supplies to a degree. I suggest that oil is not the key resource the USA is afraid of losing access to if Canada becomes rich enough to say 'no'. It is water! Any futurist consulted today will say that fresh water supply will be the key international commodity within 25 years. This will be a national security issue for the USA.

If my concern has any basis then what action should Canada take to protect its long term sovereignty and independent action. The most obvious in my opinion is a enhanced relationship with China. China is the 2nd largest economy in the world, a net importer of resources, has no direct claim on the Artic, and is separated from Canada by an ocean. They are a perfect foil to USA influence. I think PMSH realizes this and thusly his preoccupation with developing markets in SE Asia and particularly with China.

Bye the way I am not anti-American I am pro Canadian. Canada has reached a point where sovereign interests should trump a junior relationship with the USA especially if that relationship is too one sided.

Any ally that is not rethinking its relationship with the US right now is crazy. My conservative friends are rooting for Putin over Obama, and they may be right to do so. At least Vlad's not Muslim.

A 10 spot says the Chicoms got taken - I bet that gold vault was hollowed out in the 90s.

Buyer beware - particularly whe you are dealing with the oldest whore on the block.

Who Owns you NOW Obama?
My condolences to the good American folks, who have fought hard to keep liberty alive.
Are still trying with all the obstacles of a self destructive Government with a Muslim communist at its head.

Nine Signs the Chicoms are about to launch a financial attack against the US -

#1 Chinese credit rating agency Dagong has downgraded U.S. debt from A to A- and has indicated that further downgrades are possible.

#2 China has just entered into a very large currency swap agreement with the eurozone that is considered a huge step toward establishing the yuan as a major world currency. This agreement will result in a lot less U.S. dollars being used in trade between China and Europe…

#3 Back in June, China signed a major currency swap agreement with the United Kingdom. This was another very important step toward internationalizing the yuan.

#4 China currently owns about 1.3 trillion dollars of U.S. debt, and this enormous exposure to U.S. debt is starting to become a major political issue within China.

#5 Mei Xinyu, Commerce Minister adviser to the Chinese government, warned this week that if the U.S. government ever does default that China may decide to completely stop buying U.S. Treasury bonds.

#6 According to Yahoo News, China has already been looking for ways to diversify away from the U.S. dollar…

There have been media reports this week that China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the body that handles the country’s $3.66 trillion of foreign exchange reserve, is looking to diversify into real estate investments in Europe.

#7 Xinhua, the official news agency of China, called for a “de-Americanized world” this week, and also made the following statement about the political turmoil in Washington: “The cyclical stagnation in Washington for a viable bipartisan solution over a federal budget and an approval for raising debt ceiling has again left many nations’ tremendous dollar assets in jeopardy and the international community highly agonized.”

#8 Xinhua also said the following about the U.S. debt deal on Thursday: “Politicians in Washington have done nothing substantial but postponing once again the final bankruptcy of global confidence in the U.S. financial system”. The commentary in the government-run publication also declared that the debt deal “was no more than prolonging the fuse of the U.S. debt bomb one inch longer.”

#9 China is the largest producer of gold in the world, and it has also been importing an absolutely massive amount of gold from other nations. But instead of slowing down, the Chinese appear to be accelerating their gold buying. In fact, money manager Stephen Leeb says that his sources are telling him that China plans to buy another 5,000 tons of gold. There are many that are convinced that China eventually plans to back the yuan with gold and try to make it the number one alternative to the U.S. dollar.

So exactly what would happen if the Chinese announced someday that they were going to back their currency with gold and would no longer be using the U.S. dollar in international trade?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-18/9-signs-china-making-move-against-us-dollar