john9001: so the Japanese government bought 59 billion in worthless US paper money,boy are they stupid. They are not that stupid. Yes, they are mistaken in their belief that they must pay welfare to their people in order to avoid unempoyment - which is what their american economics teachers told them.
But at least they pay welfare to their workers by financing a make-work export production for US. They are wasting labor and material resources and slowing down the economy by diverting savings and taxes - but at least the japanese retain work ethics, expertise, habits of thrift and manufacturing infrastructure.
We get free stuff that raises our standard of living but also allows us to expand welfate state, destroys our productive infrastructure - physical and intellectual capital, and makes us dependent on the arbitrary decisions of the foreigners.
The day japanese government stops giving trillions of yens to the americans to buy their products and instead buys the same products with the same money from the same people directly - or pays them same salary not to work - will be the day that japan does not even notice that US disappeared while US realises it owed it's livelihod to the foreign largesse.
You are saying "Japan would never do that, if US falls, who will protect them from North Korea" - and I say EXACTLY!
That is precisely why US must keep sabotaging any development that may lead to the disarmament of North Korea and why it must never hurt a hair on North Korean's head and must keep supplying them with food like it did Soviet Union - barely enough to survice but not enough to become civilised.
Of course the North Korea is not as impressive a scare to keep world wying for US protection as Soviet Union was in keeping Europe on the leash - but, conveniently enough, we have this new muslim terrorism arise just in time to preserve our importance. Especially after we stirr it up just a bit more.
Frankly, untill the last year I was not sure if it will be the muslim terrorists or Chinese communists that were being set as the next bad guy.
The government apparently decided that it is better to have Chinese subcidise us than than use them for a punchbag - especially since they are hard to provoke but are growing quite fast and could have hit us back.
The neo-con cabal though that muslim fundamentalism would be easier to cultivate and control. They were eager to have their "next Pearl Harbor" but expected nothing worse. Let's hope they are right as we have no choice but proceed their way.
Sabre Miko, it certainly sounds like an odd interpretation of "currancy manipulation."
...then it's a matter of simply applying the terms in a way consistant with past administration usuage. Right. And that in turn depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.
They may be speaking in some kind of coded language that only the inside people intimately familiar with the past context could understand.
But for an average joe it surely sounds like his job is not going to be lost to China and his business is not going to fold due to competition from imported goods dumped on us and that his retirement dollar will be able to buy the same amount of stuff.
Of course the same joes with the intimate knowlege of past administrations would decifer the report as saying that their jobs will keep getting lost to China and their businesses will fold due to unfair competition and their pensions will not buy anything.
So, which joe are you?
miko