uicksilver workshopThe People's Republic of China - population: 1.6 Billion, with a standing army of approximately 2.3 million service members - is increasing it's annual national defense budget by almost 18%. The total expenditure? About 45 Billion US dollars annually.
Um...Big. Fucking. Deal. Let's have some perspective here:
Military analysts say that China’s public military budget actually reflects only a fraction of its overall military spending, and that the real figure is likely to be two to four times higher.
Even so, China's defense spending - and let's try to keep in mind that as a Communist state (*wink, wink, nudge, nudge) this budget is spent on everything from weapons systems to hotel chains to China's emergent space program (which threatens U.S. commercial interests) - doesn't come close to that of the U.S. (2006 defense budget: $419.3 billion, not counting 'emergency spending' authorizations) or other Western powers a fraction of its size.
Don't get me wrong, I think that any expansion of military spending by any nation at this point in human History is nothing short of pathetic. But this Yellow Peril race baiting has to stop. The U.S. media needs to take a long hard look in the mirror before even insinuating that another nation's increase in military spending is a threat.
Scare Americans, sell ads, profit!
