Thursday, February 9, 2017

"Vice Pope" Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga does not deny being funded by George Soros,and working with the "Catholic Spring " movement

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga (Wikipedia)




 Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga ,the so-called " vice Pope" given his close association with Pope Francis, has refused to answer questions concerning his work with a number of NGOs funded by billionaire George Soros.Cardinal Oscar has also refused to answer queries concerning any funding he, or entities associated with him, may have received from Soros.

The queries were put to Cardianl Oscar as  a result of he  being named in email communications between the former Clinton campaign manager John Podesta and US based Catholic NGOs backed in part by George Soros. The emails include this paragraph:

This is why we gathered at the Vatican in mid-June, at the encouragement of Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, often referred to as the "Vice Pope" and a strong supporter of PICO, who had urged us to share our stories, our perspective, and our hopes for the impact of Pope Francis' visit to the United States, with Vatican officials.
The emails also contain discussions of a Catholic Spring

There needs to be a Catholic Spring, in  which Catholics themselves demand the end of a middle ages dictatorship and  the beginning of a little democracy and respect for gender equality in the  Catholic church.

While the matter of the Podesta "Catholic Spring" emails was discussed widely in the US prior to last year's presidential election, there is no record anywhere of Cardinal Oscar being questioned about his role in the matter. He has now been questioned, and he has failed to clarify matters.

In addition, there is  evidence that in reviewing the queries sent him,  Cardinal Oscar consulted with parties in the US, possibly in San Francisco, New Jersey and Maryland, before deciding to maintain his silence on the matter.

It does appear as if the "Vice Pope" is on some campaign to change the Vatican from within, and that
he is doing so with what amounts to an illegal slush fund , financed by George Soros.


END


References -The Podesta emails



Re: opening for a Catholic Spring? just musing . . .

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Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Batuan Tengah akan dicantumkan: Malaysia's 2008 plans to reclaim land between Middle Rocks may soon come to fruition,with some help from China

by Ganesh Sahathevan




Utusan reported in 2008:

Menteri Luar, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim berkata, kedua-dua bongkah batu di Batuan Tengah atau Middle Rocks milik Malaysia yang terpisah antara jarak 500 hingga 600 meter di Selat Singapura mungkin akan dicantumkan

To be read with:
China can build military installations on coral reefs, China can certainly build installations on Middle Rocks.

See also Malaysia's Ministry Of Foreign Affairs archives.

END
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Monday, February 6, 2017

Shah Alam Chinese Reserve Land-Geely record share price suggests Proton acquisition is at discount to value of massive premium landbank

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The announcement of an acquisition usually leads to a spike in the share price of the target and drop in the share  price of the acquirer. When the reverse happens , it usually means that the market has determined that the target is being acquired at a  discount to intrinsic value.

Quite apart from its automobile business, Proton Holdings Bhd has a massive land bank, including that site in Shah Alam which then  owner DRB-HICOM had planned to develop as far back as 2013,at an estimated Gross Development Value of RM 4 billion.



DRB-HICOM Bhd plans to redevelop Proton’s manufacturing complex in Shah Alam 
into an integrated development  that will generate around RM4 billion in gross development value (GDV).

It is no mystery then that the Geely Auto share price is at an all time high, for reasons including the Proton acquisition (see Nikkei article below), Clearly, the market perceives that Geely is acquiring Proton at a discount,and that the automobile business is not necessarily the main component of the company that is to be acquired.


However, Shah Alam is considered Malay-Muslim or Bumiputera territory, where the Malay and Muslim identity is jealously guarded. Land in Shah Alam is in effect Malay reserve.
Geely, like other Chinese companies, is more likely than not to market the development to Chinese buyers exclusively so it  does appear that  the Proton land in Shah Alam will undergo a transformation into Chinese Reserve land.

END





February 6, 2017 4:50 pm JST

Geely Auto shares hit all-time high -- again

Optimism also boosts domestic rivals in Chinese market
NORIKO OKEMOTO, NQN staff writer
People visit the stand of Geely during an automobile exhibition in Nanjing city, Jiangsu province on Oct. 2, 2016. © AP
HONG KONG -- Shares of Geely Automobile Holdings have continued to be robust on the Hong Kong stock market. On Monday morning, the stock temporarily rose 5.2% from Friday to touch 10.26 Hong Kong dollars, renewing the all-time high it hit on Friday. Geely listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 1997.
China's CMB International Securities last week raised the target price for the Chinese automaker, which has encouraged buying from investors. Another motivation is the rumor that the automaker is considering buying a factory from Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings.
In a report dated Feb. 2, CMB International Securities projected that Geely would sell 1.03 million cars in 2017, higher than the maker's own target of one million units. The brokerage also raised the target price of the automaker to HK$9.43.
Spurred by the robust movement of Geely stocks, shares of other Chinese automakers also strengthened during the morning session -- including Great Wall Motor, Brilliance China Automotive and Guangzhou Automobile Group.
However, Lau Siu Cheung of Prudential Brokerage expressed caution over whether China's auto industry can continue to grow, citing the slowing consumer market in the country. Lau also noted that strong rivalries could lead to price competition. 

Related companies

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd.
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Sunday, February 5, 2017

Singapore can forget the Mersing Line, must now contend with the new Luconia Line

by Ganesh Sahathevan

 It is almost an article of faith that if Malaysia nnd Singapore go to war, Singapore will seek to move its line of effective control forward into Johor, to the so-called Mersing Line,also known in World War 2 as the Wellington Line.
(Source :Singapore 1942 By David Atwell)

 Fast forward 75 years, and one can see from recent developments that the new battle line is out in the South China Sea.It been previously reported on this blog that Malaysia's PM Najib has probably delivered effective control of the Luconia Shoals, in the north-east of the South China Sea, to China.
As reported:
Pedra Branca/Batu Puteh decision suggests Malaysia has surrendered right to Luconia-removing own flag from Luconia Shoals in stark contrast with past practise

 Then comes the matter of PM Najib's sudden interest in Pedra Branca ,and hence the Middle Rocks .As reported: 
China aims for Middle Rocks ,and Pedra Branca, via proxy Malaysia: Artificial islands in the Singapore Strait likely

 Given control over Luconia Shoals and Middle Rocks,  China has now an effective  line of control that extends over the South China Sea:

 This writer will leave it to readers to determine how this is going to affect the Singapore's defence and offence planning, but will remind leaders that the new line is an electronic construction fortified by physical facilities, both in the South China Sea and around it, especially in Malaysia.

END 
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China can build military installations on coral reefs, China can certainly build installations on Middle Rocks.

by Ganesh Sahathevan

As previously reported:
China aims for Middle Rocks ,and Pedra Branca, via proxy Malaysia: Artificial islands in the Singapore Strait likely


Adding to the above are these photos of the Middle Rocks, as well as other areas in the South China Sea where China has built military installations. Readers can determine for themselves if building on and around Middle Rocks is feasible.








Construction: The US Navy initially claimed China was creating a 'great wall of sand' (pictured in February 2014) in the South China Sea
China is creating a 'great wall of sand' in the South China Sea, the US Navy has claimed. Five islands have already been made, with two more in development. This image shows the Johnson Reef on 25 February 2014, which has seen land added drastically over the last three years. A Chinese vessel is seen at the top
Scenic: This photo (from March 2012) shows what the Johnson Reef in the disputed territory looked like before China started to build there
This photo, taken on 13 March 2012, shows what the Johnson Reef looked like before China started to build there. The Philippines has protested China's reclamation of land in the disputed reef in the South China Sea that can be used to build an airstrip or an offshore military base in the increasingly volatile region


SOURCE :
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Saturday, February 4, 2017

China aims for Middle Rocks ,and Pedra Branca, via proxy Malaysia: Artificial islands in the Singapore Strait likely

by Ganesh Sahathevan




Malaysia's decision to seek a review of the International Court Of Justice's Pedra Branca judgement may well be an attempt by the Government Of The Peoples Republic Of China to extend its collection of artificial islands to the Middle Rocks, a rocky outcrop to the south of Pedra Branca, but which the ICJ decided belonged to Malaysia.


Malaysia has since 2008 when the decision was handed down agreed to work with Singapore to arrive at a mutually acceptable delineation of the area, given the competing maritime claims that arise out of the ICJ's decision. Meetings have been held between the countries since 2008,and in 2010 there was agreement to conduct a  joint  hydrographic survey in and around Pedra Branca, and Middle Rocks.

Now however Malaysia is seeking to have the entire decision reviewed, and it does seem as if it is doing so with little basis. The determination to push on with the matter regardless raises the possibility that Malaysia will not mind losing ,so long as the Pedra Branca decision and all prior negotiations are rendered meaningless as a result of the matter remaining unresolved, or at least in contention due to perceived grievances on Malaysia's part. 

That would allow Malaysia to claim that the matter remains in dispute, and justify  a more aggressive assertion of sovereignty  ,such as island building, like China has in the South China Sea. Malaysia's leadership, especially under Prime Minister  Najib has shown little appetite for such aggression , but China of course is an old hand at that game. China has also shown itself willing  to ignore decisions of an international tribunal,and this far defy international criticism for doing so. 

Given that Malaysia and especially Najib are now very much beholden to China it is likely that this legal challenge is being orchestrated by China with the ultimate aim of controlling the eastern mouth of the Singapore Strait. It probably expects that Singapore will fold, just like the Philippines ,regardless of the legal position. 
END 



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China tells Najib to secure Pedra Branca in order to extend the Nine Dash Line;Singapore left wondering why it bothered with its 1MDB cover-up

by Ganesh Sahathevan



China's Nine Dash Line



In December 2010 Malaysia and Singapore issued the following statement, in which Malaysia effectively assured Singapore that the matter of Pedra Branca was all in the past:


Malaysia and Singapore have signed a memorandum of understanding with regard to the joint hydrographic survey in and around Pulau Batu Puteh or known here as Pedra Branca, and Middle Rocks.

The memorandum was reached after top officials of the two neighbouring countries met during the 5th Meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Technical Committee (MSJTC) on the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judgement on Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, here early this week.

According to a joint statement by Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Singapore counterpart George Yeo released by their respective foreign ministries Thursday, both countries reiterated their commitment to honour and abide by the ICJ's judgment and fully implement its decision.

There has been no indication whatsoever in the past seven years that things had changed,until last Friday, 3 February 2017, when  Malaysia's Attorney General Appandi declared that some recently discovered documents suggest that Pedra Branca was between 1958 and 1960 subject to some form of British administration, and that " officials at the highest levels in the British colonial and Singaporean administration appreciated that Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh did not form part of Singapore's sovereign territory' during the relevant period".

Appandi then goes on to declare"that the Court would have been bound to reach a different conclusion on the question of sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh had it been aware of this new evidence."

However, even a schoolboy reading the summary of the ICJ's judgement on the Malaysian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs website will see that these matters had been dealt with.This paragraph provides an example:

As for Singapore’s claim that the flying of the British and Singapore ensigns from Horsburgh lighthouse from the time of its commissioning to this day is also a clear display of sovereignty, the Court states that the flying of an ensign is not in the usual case a manifestation of sovereignty. It considers that some weight may nevertheless be given to the fact that Malaysia did not protest against the ensign flying at Horsburgh lighthouse.

The ICJ decision was based on a number of other factors that have not been challenged, and these primarily concern Malaysia's decision to do nothing, which led the Court to this conclusion:

The Court is of the opinion that the relevant facts, including the conduct of the Parties, reflect a convergent evolution of the positions of the Parties regarding title to Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh. The Court concludes, especially by reference to the conduct of Singapore and its predecessors à titre de souverain, taken together with the conduct of Malaysia and its predecessors including their failure to respond to the conduct of Singapore and its predecessors, that by 1980 sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh had passed to Singapore.

For the foregoing reasons, the Court concludes that sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh belongs to Singapore.

These facts were , by 2010, accepted as conclusive by Malaysia hence the joint declaration of December 2010. The Najib administration was keen to show the Singaporeans that the Pedra Branca matter was something that belonged to the Mahathir era, and that he , Najib, was nothing like Mahathir.There was much talk of a new beginning,and of mutual seemingly borderless movement between the two countries. 
Clearly, something has changed in the past few months and that "something" does seem to be Najib's increasing dependency on China. For China, control over Pedra Branca via Malaysia, which is evolving into a Chinese proxy in the South China Sea, would represent a south westerly extension of the territory it claims, and give it completecontrol over the Singapore-East Asia sea lane.

This writer has on many times suggested that Singapore was surpressing information
its regulatory bodies have gathered on Najb's 1 MDB theft in order to further its national interest. The Singaporeans must now be wondering if it was all worth the trouble.
END 


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