yeah, chinese were so much happier living under a brutal dictatorship eating dirt. evil transnational corp's paid several times prevailing wages so people moved to the cities! obscene!!! In reality, Chinese culture and government had stagnated and failed (hence the civil war)...and was eventually replaced by a communist dictatorship which failed to bring meaningful improvements to chinese life. In my recent graduate school classes we had many chinese students. in general, they were extremely proud of their culture, very pro-market, and very ambitious.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

I don't know about anybody else...but even though the Chinese might not prefer that they return to bikes and eating one meal of dirt a day..the planet would be much better for it (pollution/climate change, resource competition, etc). I also attended grad school with Chinese students and one in particular said that American capitalists can't even compare to Chinese capitalists. What they practice is pure unregulated capitalism and she mentioned how there really isn't much "morality" in the way they practice it. They are uber capitalists and aggressive and shrewd about it (securing markets). They also are very stategic and their business plans are long term in nature. It's just the "asiatic" way...However, they need resources to sustain their exponential growth and we're in competition with them although currently we're in a mutual dependent relationship. However, once they bring about 300 million of their 1.3 billion population up to current Western living standards they will have an internal market and will stop servicing our debt. They won't necessarily need our contracting debt-ridden market any longer. People will be going to Wal-mart and thinking they are shopping at Neiman Marcus. Of course, if we decide to further corner the market in resources in the Mid East and elsewhere militarily...they'll exercise the nuclear option much quicker and dump their dollar reserves. They have already pretty much stopped buying our treasuries..they are just now waiting for the fire sale once we go insolvent. Then they will be able to buy actual strategic assets without much fuss by Congress b/c we'll be so desperate for capital injections. They will feel the pain of dumping this market if forced but they are much more strategically established to survive the blow....their BRIC economic arrangement and the military Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a strong countermeasure to U.S. influence in resource-rich Central Asia as well as NATO's expansion.

A Poem Dedicated to the last 150 years of this planet.

By a Silent, Silent Chinese.


When we were called the Sick Man of Asia, we were the Yellow Peril.


When we are billed to be the next Superpower, we are a threat.


When we closed our doors, you smuggled drugs to our markets.



When we embraced Free Trade, you blame us for taking away your jobs.


When we were falling apart, you marched in your troops and wanted your “fair share”.



When we were putting the broken pieces together again, “Free Tibet” you scream, “it was an invasion!”


So, we tried communism, you hated us for being communists



When we embraced capitalism, you hate us for being capitalists.


When we have a billion people, you said we were destroying the planet.



When we tried limiting our numbers, you said it is human rights abuse.


When we were poor, you thought we were dogs.



When we loan you cash, you blame us for your debts.


When we build our industries, you called us polluters.



When we sell you goods, you blame us for global warming.


When we buy oil, you call that exploitation and genocide.



When you fight for oil, you call that liberation and democracy.


When we were lost in chaos and rampage, you wanted rule of law for us.



When we uphold law and order against violence, you call that violating human rights.


When we were silent, you said you want us to have free speech.



When we were silent no more, you say we are brainwashed racists.


Why do you hate us so much? We asked.
“No,” you answered, “We don’t hate You.”


We don’t hate you either,
But do you understand us?


“Of course we do,” You said,
“We have NBC, CNN and BBCs…”


What do you really want from us?



Think hard first, then answer…


Because you only get so many chances,



Enough is enough, enough Hypocrisy for this one world.


We want one world, one dream, and peace on Earth.



This big blue Earth is big enough for all of Us.

Great poem..but as far as the last statement...I have to respond not really...a population culling is unfortunately needed if we continue down the path we're on...

In the words of Ebenezer: 'Decrease the excess population'. Let's start with those who propose culling. LOL

ah, the uber enviornmentalist position...we should reduce mankind to his caveman days (except mine of course). you can be the diplomat to ask them to take one for the team.
I don't know about uber capitalists but it's myunderstanding that communism has no morality so it woudl be no suprise that after decades of communism, morality would be on the wane. I've heard shanghai be compared to 19th c NYC.
The US wasn't always so short term. Under FDR, the government adopted a Keynesian approach (in the long run we're dead) to managing the eocnomy which encourages short term thinking. I'd also say the shift away from dividends towards short term capital gains (part of a long term inflationary trend, among other influences). I assume you mean buying. It's our own problem that we have no self control.


let's hope not. we have no money for this excercise and it hasn't cornered any markets. It would be far cheaper to let the market decide.
wouldn't you? dollar declines are outpacing interest rates leading to losses.
I can't say I share your view that China is a threat only. Malthus is alive again.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

You make good points, but my question remains: Who has allowed all of this to happen and for what purpose?...The Chinese have a right to develop their country, and if they are 'super-capitalists' then aren't they just following an American model?...the differnce is here: the Chinese, although they have their own corrupt ruling elite, mostly Party bosses, and members of Triads & Tongs, are still working to build China, and to improve the lot of the Chinese people, even if only for the reason that they want to maintain their own positions...now, who are our leaders working for, and why have they shipped whole American factories to China, and why have they sold the American working man out for an easy buck?...who does our President work for?...who does Congress work for?...who runs Wall Steet?...are they Americans?...I say NO.

When America made many products here, by American hands, in American factories, giving Americans jobs, the pride and quality was there from the start.

When it was time to service that American-made television, we called a local repairman, who we also provided with a job.

When we needed to buy clothes, we also provided Americans with jobs...

It all funneled our resouces to keep Americans going, and we had few problems at that time. People seemed happier. Greed of the Big Corporations wasn't an issue, they actually listened to us, and showed their pride in how their products were made.

Now, we've been saddled with imported junk, brainwashed into thinking we're getting a bargain, and along with that, the Big Boys are pocketing more for their retirements, as crumbling hulks of long closed American factories are torn down to make way for "housing developments" for low-income heathens.

The cash flow stinks. And so does imported junk.

__________________
"Accept the fact that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue"

Baby, you put it in a (big) nutshell...It is time for America First...but we got a long hard road ahead...just look at what we get to pick from for this upcoming election.

I think you guys missed the sardonic tone of my statements and the irony I was trying to communicate. I totally agree China has just as much right to develop as we have and to reap the benefits for their people. Who are we to hold them back! They also have the right to reap the consequences of exponential economic growth which includes the honor of having the world's deadliest air pollution and hence incidences of premature death. Indeed, all those rural Chinese moving to the city are getting more money so they can die earlier...nice tradeoff.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...pollution.html

Ironically, this month's issue of National Geographic has a huge piece on China. I happened to have seen it today while waiting at the eye doctor. It mentioned what I just cited above and also quoted Chinese workers and the tradeoffs of the unfettered growth they are experiencing. I encourage everybody to get a copy even if it's to just look at the pretty pictures.

The main point I was trying to make is that despite China's sovereign right to mimick our wasteful consumptive ways..the planet can only give so much and it will respond violently to restore equilibrium/balance. This is just a sobering fact and the natural order of life that I'm trying to point out whether Malthusian or not. The planet simply cannot sustain the global growth we've been experiencing ever since China and India's economies started emerging. There is not enough resources..chief among them oil. Yes there are speculatory factors and mismanagement of the U.S. economy has not exactly helped the situation. Combine this with resource wars and natural disasters (possibly the result of climate change manmade or not) such as what was just experienced in Burma this week and the entire human race is facing some serious problems.

Global elites or corporate mandarins are leading us down this dangerous path and NO these people are not concerned with God and country necessarily. They may wear American flags or don Chinese stars on their lapels...but it might as well be a $ sign or yuan symbol..because the only loyalities that these elites have particularly in the U.S. is for the accumulation of Capital in fewer hands and it's free movement. American elites will leave this sinking ship/economy and take their money and park it in pirate coves in the Mid East or East Asia. Everybody else who doesn't have a swiss bank account, the inside track on wall street to short trade or the political connections for that matter to know when to place put options and game the system will be left holding the empty bag. Last man out loses. Right now they are just shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic while everybody looks on in a dazed stupor and they take off on the few lifeboats that are left...

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"Fascism has to exploit either a foreign people or its own people; it has to have money, and if it must pay off the top subsidizers this means it has to destroy its millions of smaller helpers...."