Those quotes are pure gold. When reading about Lebed, it is very easy to see a man's man who knew what he was who he was where he was from and where he could go.

I was not all all surprised when Yeltsin first asked Lebed to join with him (so Yeltsin could defeat the communists in the 1996 election) then sought a way to publicly deflate him (which he partially achieved) so as to try and reduce the potential for Lebed to win in 2000 as a wild card candidate.

Putin is a fabricated polititian and to his credit has been seen to have stabilised the Russian economy when many saw it as a basket case. Russia has endured a boom that may be lifting it above the mafia infighting that seemed to be tearning the political fabric apart.

The really interesting aspect to what has happened in Russia is that in China, both Jiang Zemin & Zhu Rongji have done an oustatnding job at balancing the forces of progress against the potential for mafia style corruption. There are many of us (Westeners & Chinese alike) who fear what direction China will move in once Jiang & Zhu have moved on (both are retiring) Zhu in particular is a bit like a Lebed - widely liked & respected and a true reformer. Hu Jintao is still too much of an unknown to know what impact he will have within China, (Hu is tipped as Jiang's replacement).

The threat to China's stability is not and *never* was the so called 'democracy' movement (most of its members in the 1990 period could barely understand what democracy really meant). The real threat in a large country of 1.25 billion was always the potential corruption and how that could quickly tear the country apart. China if descending into warlordism would not be a nice place and that would be so for many many years.

Notwithstanding that it is still a 'communist' state, most visitors are stunned at how advanced life is in the large cities all over China. It is certainly true that there are wide gaps between the haves & have nots but the country is changing at an incredible rate - month by month & year by year.

The reconstruction and advances are of enormous proportions. I am one who believes that Bush's rapproachment with Putin, is out of fear that China will become too much like America and too quickly.

The republican agenda is for US global hegemony and a rapidly improving trade capable China is a serious threat. The Chinese are both smart and industrious plus have an enormous sense of pride in being Chinese even if there are any who dislike the current political structures in the country. They would all *love* to be recognised as equals after centuries of dismemberment & civil war.

Bush & his Republican advisors will use Russia, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam - whoever they can, to diminish Chinese national advancement despite the reality that an advanced China would bring more peace that a China being sniped at and destabilised.

Anyway nuf of the rambling.

Had to get that off my chest.

Cheers

Doug Marker

It is a reality of life in China that despite the central govt, the provinces can be like
the old wild west.

A corrupt provicial govenor can and they do, siphon off millions of yuan from projects
initiated & funded by Jiang & Zhu but in a country so large & so populated, managing
these projects is as big a challenge as supressing the 'mafia' (here in HK called 'Triads').

It is a neccesity in China that they employ capital punishement but it will only be
effective as long as the ordinary people see that the top govt are 'clean'. If ever
a corrupt premier or President gets into power (some argue that one leading Chinese
figure (Li Pang) is such - he was roumoured to have been behind the planting of bugs
in Zemin's new US presidential jet late last year), then capital punishment would
take on a sinister air.

For anyone concerned about the Falun Gong, be aware that these people are fruitcakes
(figure that out but as a hint that type of produce has a wide variety of nuts included).
The practices they claim to espouse are actually widely accepted in China - there is a
worldwide Tai Chi movement that practices almost identical meditation except for one
very simple reality - their is no kook leading Tai-Chi who claims to be a divinity & tries
to take on the Chinese govt. Tai-Chi is practised openly in Tien'An Men and just about
everywhere else including many parks in Sydney, but the Chinese govt has no issue
whatsoever with Tai-Chi - but they do take issue with (and with complete justification)
a movement that confuses sound meditation practices with a belief that the Falun
Gong leader is another Jesus Christ and that Falun Gong could be so stupid as to
gather several thousand followers in one Beijing's disctricts that is home to the
major politicians & stage a demonstration of their 'power' and their belief in their
leader's divinity. That act was what turned the govt against them and why we now
see many more 'fruitcakes' from many nationalities travelling to China to 'take a
stand' against the govt on behalf of imprisoned members - fact is, what came
first ? - the Falun Gong staging massive demonstrations of their influence in a
dramatically changing China, or the govt's desire to curb a dangerous spiritual freak
show that is not unlike the moonies of South Korea - these idiots have forgotten
what their own Falun Gong was supposed to be about & have confused attacking
perceived authority with some kind of unbalanced 'liberation theology'.

We see these idiots here in HK (where they are tolerated), and where they are
attempting to garner popular support not for what they practice, but for attacking
a perceived 'authority' who does awful things to their members who get jailed in
the mainland.

China has seen what happened in Japan and Korea. In Japan there was the
fanatical Aum cult - their charismatic kook of a leader initiated the sarin gas
attack on Tokyo subways. These bastards practised killing sheep on a property
in Australia before the infamous Tokyo incident that murdered so many innocents.
[link|http://www.rickross.com/groups/asahara.html|Aum cult info]

In Korea (famous for Christian cults) there are the moonies.
[link|http://www.sonic.net/sentinel/1earth4.html|Info on Moonies in US]
Rev Moon [link|http://www.perkel.com/politics/moonies/|Rev Moon],
is possibly a nicer fruitcake than Falun Dafa & his idiots but for anyone who
wants to find about about them here is their web site (ain't they sooo cute)
[link|http://www.falundafa.org/|Falun Dafa] Read about how wonderful
Li Hongzhi is and how awful the Chinese govt is. If you like them let me introduce
you to a person called Rev Jones who once lived in a lovely haven of
paradise called Jonestown. [link|http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~reli291/Jonestown/Jonestown.html|
a Sensible analysis of how Jonestown occured (& why Falun Dafa-ites now spring
up in a transitioning China))].

Here is the photo of China's Rev Moon, the founder of Falun Dafa ... [link|http://www.falundafa.org/eng/teacher.htm|Li Hongzhi].

As u may gather - this author has no sympathy for Falun Gong or any cult that
tries to deify their leader whilst taking advantage of massive change in a given
country or area. It has happened in the US (the idiots who were going to become
interstellar travellers & all sucked poison while waiting for their 'comet' bus to
arrive). that bunch of fruitcakes sucked in people who were overwhelmed by the
changes brought on by the Internet - when electricity was introduced back in
the 1800s it had the same effect - some people went crazy trying to adjust to
a world with a different type of energy.

Ahhh what the hell - the world will still be doing this crazy S*** in 100 years
when some other fruitcake claims to have the divine answers to what people
fear by way of change. I just wish they wouldn't casue so many deaths as a
result.

But, if anyone has doubts about what Falun Gong really is just ask yourself this
question ...

Is Falun Gong famous for having first invented a wonderful spiritual movement that
captured the imagination of the world or is Falun Gong's only real fame that they
attack the Chinese Govt's authority and get imprisoned & hurt in Chinese jails.

When you answer that question, then ask what sort of person is attracted to the
type of organisation you derived from the 1st question's answer. Rest case !.

Doug Marker