skirmish

Fraser Nelson also reveals to readers that schools "may start competing for pupils". Seriously. http://t.co/Ls0g8jZSCX

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Ganguly

House Intelligence chair says "small skirmish" likely before end of tensions with North Korea | http://t.co/J7jCJTeSSr

Nakajima

Amazon loses to underdogs over endangered language skirmish - New York Daily News (blog) http://t.co/TqyKVqlh1x

Gairola

Japan-China maritime tensions; a ICG report

Dangerous Waters: China-Japan Relations on the Rocks

Beijing/Brussels, 8 April 2013: China and Japan must begin talks on crisis prevention and mitigation regarding the disputed waters of the East China Sea to avoid an accidental clash that could lead to a larger conflict.

Dangerous Waters: China-Japan Relations on the Rocks, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the dangerous standoff between the world’s second- and third-largest economies over the sovereignty of a group of islands, known as the Diaoyu in Chinese and the Senkaku in Japanese. Responding to the Japanese government’s controversial move to purchase three of the disputed islands in September 2012, China dramatically stepped up patrols in an area previously administered by Japan alone.

The report's major findings and recommendations are:

The Chinese response embodied a tactic of “reactive assertiveness”: Beijing responds very assertively to perceived provocations in order to alter the status quo in its favour. In the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute, it aims to make overlapping control a new reality that Japan must accept.

The standoff is likely to be long-term and fraught with risks for an accident. The actors that populate the frontline of engagement are maritime law enforcement agencies and navies. Their only mission is to vigorously defend sovereignty claims. Many factors, such as rough weather, mechanical failure or an over-zealous individual, could lead to a clash.

The two countries’ traditional means for defusing crises have been unravelling. Top leaders mistrust each other; back-channel diplomacy has waned. High-level officials from both need to focus urgently on negotiating crisis-management mechanisms, and their senior political figures need to provide the political space for behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

“The two countries lack the mutual trust and communication mechanisms to manage incidents, let alone to discuss intentions or operating protocols”, says Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, Crisis Group’s North East Asia Project Director. “In the event of a skirmish, heightened nationalism, especially in China, could constrict the room for diplomacy to de-escalate the situation”.

“The shared desire to avoid a military clash and complementary economic ties offer substantive incentive and common ground for China and Japan to engage in meaningful contact with each other”, says Yanmie Xie, Crisis Group’s China Analyst. “The only way to avoid a larger conflict is to work jointly toward establishing communication mechanisms and strengthening crisis mitigation”.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/north-east-asia/245-dangerous-waters-china-japan-relations-on-the-rocks.pdf?utm_source=china-japan-email&utm_medium=3&utm_campaign=mr-email

Shimizu

@BellaLOVEx22 http://t.co/Xz7VHh4AGI

Baruwal

How would "World War III" (a nuclear holocaust) affect the ozone layer? For that matter, how would just 2 Atomic Bombs affect it?

The fact of the matter is that if you put someone, anyone, in a corner for an expanded period of time and give them no options out except for the ultimatums that you are putting before them, then something will eventually, and DEFINITELY, give.

Fisher

For the Greater Good! Greeting's traveler I welcome you, to the book of face, my name is Trot'Tau'er.
Today I offer you my services to advance the greater good of the hobby! I am here to help you in all matter's.
Perhaps you have seen our new Tau forces, and are in need of some tactical advice and breakdowns? Perhaps a small skirmish can be arranged to seek strengths and weakness.
What's that? The colors of the sept's are confusing you? Fear not for I have been trained by Aun'Va himself! I even have studied other races, should that be of use to yourselves.
If you would like to take advantage of the knowledge the greater good provides all you have to do is come on down! or call in store to book sometime!
The store will be open all day except for 2-3 were I shall be following a pathfinder to some awesome food.

Chakraborty

5 years ago today I lost my mum, best friend & go to person. I miss you every day. May you be at peace with the angels. Xx

Lakhanpal

@mattburns81 @tedk11 @dewhurst73 Makes two of us!

Ramírez

Our phone disappeared it just vanished. one minute there and then.... the thing of it was that it fell Behind something in such a way as when ever it rang.... it sounded like it was coming from everywhere. my wife said it was behind me when i felt for sure it coming from in front.... yup couldn't have just fallen and smashed like anything else not our phone nope.... this one needs to teach us a lesson... it seems my whole life has been a battle or at the very least a mild skirmish with the inanimate. it's a legacy however, my father has fought the good fight against mere objects his whole life. when i was younger my job was to hold the flash light when he tried to fix things but i quickly discovered i had another reason for being there i was a chronicler of sorts. i was Geraldo Rivera reporting from the front or Pablo Guzmán action news man. i was witness and now i know it had prepared me for when it was my turn to force the flash light into my own sons hands for the express purpose of watching his old man fall apart at a fixture that simply will not fix. and oh the one sided arguments my dad would have at the "thing" in question. it wasn't that he didn't know what he was doing he did but unfortunately fell victim to Murphy's Law every time. What can go wrong, will..." i'm reminded of this one time my father was attempting to fix the pipes beneath my Granny's sink a welding torch was involved and me the mute witness with shaky flashlight in hand. a flashlight that no matter where it was pointed it was always either too low or too high or "Not in my Eyes!"
Suddenly it was like everything had slowed down and i was seeing it all happen one frame at a time. the welders torch was pointed toward the wall and my dad was looking away. looking for that small piece he needed that was both there and not there as these small pieces have a habit of being. they live both in our universe and at the same time just out side of it and they were always "just there a second ago." so as you could imagine my father was completely unaware that when he moved the torch looking for that impossibly gone little piece of what-have-you. the flame was pushed flush against the wall. i counted to myself slowly there was no use telling my dad what was about to happen he had left being in a tizzy about it all and was well on his way to losing his mind altogether to interrupt him at this crucial stage would only have ended badly for me so all i could do was take a step back, any thought of proper flashlight placement out of my head, and i counted down to myself. 3...2...1... what happened next toppled me backwards and set my fathers arm hair on fire along with the portion of wall beneath the sink. the shock of it all shot his head up in outrage which connected sharply with the under side of my granny's cabinet the rest still echos through space and time. and now here i am in a house of my own, a family of my own and now the inanimate objects are coming for me and the ringing of this blasted house phone taunts me into a tizzy and i fear i know already what the next stage is. so i stand in my house my hands cupped in desperation around my ears in a vain attempt to track its source as i slowly lose my mind. "The cat's in the cradle with the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon. when you coming home son? i don't know when but we'll get together then, Dad i know we'll have a good time then". ;)