Re: ESU origins..

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Doug sayeth: And, a great many would claim '_some_ chance against the
West.'

Um... which West? The majority of the west is functionally bankrupt. The
difference between 'I'm printing money like mad' and 'I'm bankrupt' is
just
owning a printing press. In the EU, Germany is lugging around everybody
and
their economy is slowing because of it plus resentment is building.
Italy,
Greece, and a few others may yet actually finally admit default. Their
populations may not stomach necessary austerity. The Eurozone may yet
fragment.

The US? Their financial woes are a decade from over. And when they are
over, they won't be what they once were (much like Britain, retiring a
lot
of military in the hopes France will protect them or something of that
sort). So their force projection capability, while still formidable,
will
probably be considerably less because the economic engine isn't there to
drive it.

So which West is China/Russia/anyone afraid of going forward?

Russia is going to end up the Junior Partner (I have another word for
it,
but it's an unpleasant one) in any relationship with China. China's long
term economic and intellectual potential is quite staggering.

Looking forward, might be a good idea to get your kids into Mandarin or
Cantonese emersion classes.... or maybe the grandkids....

T.

-- 
Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their
family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.* 
*--
Willa Cather (1873 - 1947)Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt
-- Publius Cornelius Tacitus (from the book Agricola, attributed to a
speech from Calgacus)