Conflict and early hours
Apparently there is a great deal of tension between China and Japan right now; China are trying to claim some potentially oil-rich islands controlled by Japan.

What are your thoughts on this Far East conflict?

Failing that, why the fuck are you awake and on b3ta at 6am?
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Tue 5 Oct 2010, 5:58, 14 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

alt Q
basically, I'm pissed from the night before.

Ha ha ha ha mentalism, drink & drugs rule!

Actually, i didn't realise it was that late - have to throw the recidivists out about now. I may need help with that, thanks in advance.
(Cosa Nostril, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:03, Reply)

China will back down, there ain't gonna be no conflict.
Are you playing Risk?
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:21, Reply)

No, it was being discussed on Radio 4 this morning
Apparently the islands are like the oriental Falklands, and Japan recently imprisoned a Chinese fisherman who crashed into a patrol ship, thus aggravating things.

I would love a game of risk though.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:51, Reply)

I'm not saying these events are not happening.
Just looking at the situation. China, is totally dependant on the rest of the world buying their goods. It seems unlikely they will have a go at Japan, a very strong ally of the US, over oil, which they can get with the buckets of money they have, on the world market. It would be not worth the risk for the rest of the world to stop buying chinese goods.

China is also not a tin pot dictatorship which needs to distract its population from economic and political problems with a nice patrioic war.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:59, Reply)

No, but they are bent on Empire
see Nepal, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

They already have a huge oil development program (CNOOC are pretty much the world's largest oil co) and are trying, along with Russia, to get into the Arctic.

They are a tinpot dictatorship, repressive and full of human rights abuses, just on a rather grand scale.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Tue 5 Oct 2010, 8:18, Reply)

An empire that they don't have to fight for.
Nepal is would be a political takeover. Salami slicing I think is the term.
Taiwan was created when the last remaining chinese counter revolutionary forces set up a state. China has the best claim to Taiwan, but has not, in 60years landed troops.
Hongkong was given back at the end of the lease period.

I agree that they are a repressive regime, but the people get their bread and circuses, so don't need anything to take their minds off a crappy government.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 8:45, Reply)

I am
www.strategygamenetwork.com/
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:51, Reply)

ooohhh

( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:52, Reply)

I may play that later, thanks tlic.

( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:53, Reply)

After about a month you're restricted to 4-player games on the traditional board
but that's not terribly bad. Watch out for the "traditional" card exchange rules, they're not the ones I played - 1st person to exchange gets 4 armies, the next gets 6, then 10, 12, 15, 20... We always played three soldiers was 4, three horsies was 6, three cannon was 8 and one of each was 10.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 7:58, Reply)

Oh yes, I'm remembering the rules now, and the bonus for owning whole continents.

( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 8:00, Reply)

I play the same rules that you do
much better than the other way
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 8:50, Reply)

I wake up at 6am
But couldn't log on to B3ta until 8am from work. I'm so tired these days that not even inminent war could keep me awake.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 5 Oct 2010, 8:13, Reply)

I know how you feel
I'm up at 4, in the ofice by 5, and now the clocks have changed in Oz, and are about to here, I'm going to have to be in even earlier.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Tue 5 Oct 2010, 8:20, Reply)