tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355879912012-02-16T21:01:26.937+07:00The Dragon & The EagleSIMPLE OPINIONS ON THE POLITICS OF WORLD'S TWO GREAT POWERSNur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-36858781301088139832011-03-26T09:31:00.000+07:002011-03-26T09:31:11.426+07:00No Way for ‘(Jasmine) Revolution with Chinese Characteristics’<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
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mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4ptNur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-26801780884592628122009-01-25T16:44:00.003+07:002009-01-25T17:00:50.417+07:00Keeping promises is not easy, Mr. President ...This week a big event, a remarkable achievement was recorded in history. Barack Hussein Obama took oath as the 44th president of the United States, in an inauguration ceremony witnessed directly by no less than two million people and another hundreds of millions of television viewers. On Tuesday, 20 January 2009 Obama, the first African-American leader of 'the Free World', was a brilliant star. Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-40365903591233892452008-11-07T05:10:00.005+07:002008-11-07T08:58:48.361+07:00'A New, Changed America'? - Don't get too excited ...History was made in the United States three days ago. Democratic Senator Barack Obama successfully won the 2008 U.S. presidential election - one of the most exciting presidential elections in U.S. history - with a landslide victory over Republican candidate Senator John McCain. Obama, 47 years of age, will become the 44th president of the U.S. as well as the first African-American president for Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-64033360588376750512008-10-24T04:57:00.005+07:002008-10-24T15:18:01.415+07:00Election 2008 is Coming ...In less than two weeks the world will witness a major – probably the biggest one – political contest that has drawn much attention for several months. In the midst of the global financial crisis, we await the emergence of new leaders the United States, a president whose words and actions will affect the global politics significantly.When in August Obama appointed Senator Joe Biden as his vice Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-968880059835312242008-06-05T07:13:00.006+07:002008-10-24T05:00:49.660+07:00Toward A Changed America?It was much anticipated news that broke yesterday: Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidency. After a 17-month long campaigning in the Democratic side, the United States has now seen the first Afro-American citizen to contest the presidential election in November this year. Obama will face John McCain, a Vietnam War veteran, who had sealed the G.O.P. candidacy. Obama, Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-39906053442340675342008-01-11T15:57:00.000+07:002008-01-12T07:44:09.477+07:00Crying or smiling: What the Americans will choose?What's the hottest news in the U.S. on these days? You may say the cancellation of Golden Globe, or anything about Britney (oh, c'mon). However, nothing is arguably more talked about than the 'two-horse' race between two Democrat senators running for the party nomination for presidency.Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus, the first series of party convention; a win that surprised most Americans and,Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-41072140852712951392007-09-24T09:53:00.000+07:002007-11-09T08:27:37.021+07:00Environmental degradation and health problem to celebrate?A week from now the Chinese will be celebrating their National Day. One thing for sure to cheer at is the greatest achievement of post-Deng Xiaoping China so far, the continuously high economic growth – despite recent worldwide banning of Chinese products. However, there are also some negative impacts many scholars argue as undermining positive things the Chinese have under reform. Widespread Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-18591163739382957612007-09-24T09:25:00.000+07:002007-10-22T09:32:25.212+07:00It's Jena Six, Not O.J.In American politics, Dubya’s likely plan to withdraw a significant amount of U.S. troops – in which Democrat senators be frustrated in gaining the majority to pass the proposal – in Iraq could be one of hot topics many people talking about. Some, while perhaps blaming it on Dubya for taking a long time to realise the necessity of the withdrawal, may applause on the plan should it happens. OthersNur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-62605342954569120792007-06-10T19:15:00.000+07:002007-10-22T09:31:28.237+07:00Slavery with 'Chinese characteristics'?An article in the 9 June 2007 edition of Seputar Indonesia daily has shocked me. Entitled ‘Buruh China Dijadikan Budak’ (Chinese Workers to Be Slaves), the article tells a sad story of 31 workers in a brick factory in Linfen, Shanxi province. According to Beijing News, those workers had been treated very badly during their time in the factory. One worker was reportedly dead after being beaten Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-527852531987598782007-06-10T18:54:00.000+07:002007-07-14T14:05:04.618+07:00Either You Are a 'T' or an 'S-P' …When I was waiting for this year FA Cup final to be aired a month ago (with a disappointing result at last), I accidentally watched Oprah, who had Bill O'Reilly as her guest. To be honest, I didn’t know who O’Reilly was until I watched him, strongly but also stubbornly, trying to persuade the (American) audience on his controversial thinking about American society.O’Reilly is a well-known host ofNur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-73487804989708016092007-04-29T19:49:00.000+07:002007-04-29T20:02:36.114+07:00No Life, No Liberty, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness?If we are to talk about human rights, then Americans, theoretically, are perhaps the luckiest nation in the world. Those who study the history of the United States will find that the above statement has a strong base to argue. Whilst stating that “all Men are created equal”, The Declaration of Independence also stress that every person shall be entitled unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty, and Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-47023408881856531452007-04-22T10:48:00.000+07:002007-10-22T09:30:40.522+07:00Withdraw immediately!![Due to my recent busy times, I couldn't write a new, fresh posting. It is quite 'bad', actually, since there are many interesting issues and events happened in American politics as well as Chinese politics in these days. Since I have promised to myself that there should be at least one posting each month, so for this time, please read below a posting which was originally written as a comment on Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-32031360927847526062007-03-21T09:58:00.000+07:002007-03-21T10:01:06.036+07:00‘Withdrawal seems to be the hardest word’It is good to notice that 20 March this year marks the fourth anniversary of U.S. invasion in Iraq. Four years have passed since Dubya accused Iraq of having weapon of mass destruction (WMD) and therefore ‘needs to be freed’ from Saddam’s regime. While U.S. forces needed only about a month to invade Baghdad, but what follow since then have been a nightmare to Washington as well as the Iraqis. TheNur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-60925206224297848442007-02-14T09:53:00.000+07:002007-02-14T10:12:30.357+07:00China Needs to 'Hear to Its Own People'TIME magazine in its 11 January 2007 Asia edition published a very interesting article on the development of Chinese international influence. Entitled 'China Takes on the World', the article’s main point is that while China is now taking further steps in becoming the world’s next great power, international community (or to be precise, the West) should take a deep look into threats and Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-10437509953313205252006-12-26T11:26:00.000+07:002007-10-22T09:28:57.264+07:00U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq – Expire date: 20 January 2009?Those of you who learn international politics today, and to some extent U.S. foreign policy, may have already been familiar with the so-called terms of ‘the American empire’. Whatever it means, its supporters believe that it is best for the world to have such an empire for it would bring “prosperity” and “peace” to the international community. American hegemony is the best answer, they say, to Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-68417078891821966792006-12-18T07:36:00.000+07:002006-12-22T08:56:53.028+07:00'Energy security with Chinese characteristics'"China is willing to cooperate with other countries in developing and exploiting energy resources, especially in energy conservation, improvement of energy efficiency, development of alternative energy resources and environmental protection concerning energy utilization, and contribute to maintaining the stability and security of international energy supply." (People's Daily Online, 16 December Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-68740434029177790102006-12-11T08:11:00.000+07:002006-12-11T08:15:17.921+07:00Be patient with war = More sacrifices?The news that Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Iraq this week catches my attention. Apparently the notorious outgoing Secretary of Defense needed to thank U.S. troops for their service in Iraq, without realising that perhaps only a few of them were happy with his visit (he made them serve in arguably the bloodiest place on earth today, remember?) The Defense Department reportedly said Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-30035753147262352862006-11-27T08:11:00.000+07:002007-10-22T09:27:51.603+07:002006: The year of ‘Sino-Indian partnership’Many of you may have not noticed that another ‘historic’ political development in Asia took place on last Monday, 20 November. President Hu Jintao paid a visit to India, the first Chinese head of state to do so in the last ten years. Having established diplomatic ties since 1 April 1950, both countries announced the establishment of their strategic partnership for peace and prosperity last April Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-80694718660740052362006-11-15T12:16:00.000+07:002006-11-17T07:45:39.191+07:00Your posting and a new featureDear readers,First of all, thank you for all your attention, comments, and suggestions to my blog since being published for the first time about a month ago. There are still so many things to be done to make this blog more useful and interesting that any advice is valuable.A student asked me a week ago whether he could write something and published it in my blog as a posting, not only a comment. Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-83702672719566729812006-11-10T09:33:00.000+07:002006-11-10T09:44:10.276+07:00A good signal for the Democrats in 2008?The so-called “Democratic wave” came into reality as the U.S. had mid-term election just two days ago. The result is quite ‘humiliating’ for the Republicans: they lost more than 30 House seats and 6 Senatorial positions. Needless to say, the GOP has been swept from power in the Congress; the election has put the Democrats as “rivals” to Dubya’s administration. Dick Morris (Fox News political Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-84051146132974009182006-11-06T09:10:00.000+07:002006-11-08T11:33:52.014+07:00A "Democratic wave"?"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq" (U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in an address to college students).Ouch, that hurts, John! How come could you say like that? You had to be joking, did you? Yeah, that's what Kerry said, Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-53874050478686642192006-11-03T12:17:00.000+07:002006-11-06T10:30:20.881+07:00A hard contest for the GOPWhen I browsed the Internet this morning, I found a very interesting story about the upcoming U.S. congressional election published by Der Spiegel. Excerpt is as follows (bold are mine):Things are not looking good -- for the president, for his party and for an entire caste of Washington officials who, in the last six years, have gotten used to the idea that their control over the country is Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-75902247452054490362006-10-18T07:33:00.000+07:002006-11-27T08:06:28.663+07:00What an unfair world we live in!It is understood that early this week the U.N. had produced another U.S.-led resolution (like most of other resolutions were) imposing stronger sanctions to North Korea re its nuclear testing. However, the resolution won’t resolve different opinions among major powers in the region. The U.S. and Japan want tough diplomatic and economic sanctions over North Korea, while Russia, China and South Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-22144507779732476922006-10-13T10:21:00.000+07:002006-11-27T08:08:32.906+07:00America: Worse Off in Overall SecurityThis is another, perhaps the most shocking one, proof that U.S. policy in Iraq has gone completely wrong. Quoting a study published in the British medical journal the Lancet, the Wall Street Journal Online reported that approximately 600,000 (!) Iraqis have died from violence since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, with coalition forces were involved in about 30% of all these violent deaths. Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-4148445742165723022006-10-13T09:18:00.000+07:002007-10-22T09:25:58.325+07:00Stupid or Brave Lil' Kim?One reader of this blog was attributing Kim Jong-Il as "stupid, but brave." Well, is he a stupid or brave man, or what? Why will Kim Joing-il always be a nightmare to any American presidents? One is for sure, he used 'the best opportunity' to shock the world by "(taking) advantage of the United States' entanglement in Iraq to advance his nuclear agenda" ('Diverted Attention, Neglect Set the StageNur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-11525402132340080572006-10-10T08:10:00.000+07:002006-11-27T08:07:23.845+07:00State of DenialAnother controversy, yet not completely new in nature, has struck the U.S. in these days following the publication of State of Denial: Bush At War, Part III. The book was written by Bob Woodward, himself with Carl Bernstein were gained much ‘popularity’ with their All the President’s Men in the 1970s. State of Denial reveals that for the last three years, the Bush administration has not been Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-25302484987432253612006-10-10T07:01:00.000+07:002006-11-27T08:07:01.868+07:00Pyongyang plays dirtySurprising developments had taken place in the East Asia this week. Two giants of the region, Japan and China, were having a summit (the first in five years) in Beijing following the appointment of Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Both countries have been estranged neighbours for quite a long time, yet the major issue in this summit was North Korea’s nuclear threat. Both Abe, who was Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35587991.post-1160118277281247832006-10-06T14:02:00.000+07:002006-10-11T11:44:32.298+07:00Welcome to The Dragon & The EagleTwo students of mine sent me messages some other day, stating their interests in studying Chinese and American politics - messages that had inspired me to set up this blog. This blog is specifically designed to express my views on the latest developments of Chinese politics as well as American politics, two of my preferred lecture topics. Those who have the same interest with me may find this Nur Rachmat Yuliantorohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12862667270738998122noreply@blogger.com5