China

[39mto39g]

I went to the local auto parts store today just to look around, AAAaAAAAA-car parts.
Anyway I found some tools that were really heavy duty made and upon inspection were made really well. I bought a set of Lazer incribed 3/8 deep well sockets and a socket wrench, and a set (2) of mecalical advantage X2 pliers and side cutters. I was feeling good about the tools when I got home because of the quality and workmanship that I so esstutly picked out, I turned the box(s) over and it said to my ammazment CHINA? No way this could be made in china, They make crapp with a capitol K.
This got me to thinking about something that China did several months back that made me wonder at the time. The Country of China bought IBM. I thought, why would China want to buy IBM. When I turned over the box of High quality tools and it said China, I realized that there reasoning might be something a little more sinister that just being stupid.
Under all the Windows operating systems behind every computer in the world resides the real operating systems of computers DOS, Which IBM has most of the Codes that can get into most all systems that are used today.
Now, I have no Idea what China would want with IBM, but If I were a power in the world like China and was confronted with the vast power of the United States, I would want a edge or an advantage over the US, Like maybe, Being able to shutdown all computers in the US with a secret code . But then I would be sinical and not trusting . And beside that, our government is way smarted than that,?

Ron

[Seascamp]

China?s Lenovo acquired the IBM PC Division. This move makes Lenovo the number three PC manufacturer in the world. Big Blue isn?t about to give up their bread and butter business with the secret sauce code for the mega mainframe servers or high speed number crunchers, at least not yet.
I can?t recall the last time I saw an IBM PC but do recall that they were in early but couldn?t keep up with the market and became the slow horse in a long, fast race.

Scamp

[David]

China is nowhere near as behind the times as many assume they are. They remind me of the Japanese and Microsoft in many respects. The Japanese in that they are masters of duplication of any and all sorts of manufacturing processes and like Microsoft in that if they cannot figure something out or outright buy something for themselves they will simply steal it.

Your post also reminded me of the Soviet Tu-4. Now that was a surprise

[Boats]

Be ready for a flip-flop boys. China is sucking up the worlds business. It's been a sleeping dog for quite some time and now its moving in. Cheap labor - better education - and the means to make change at any cost.

They are also taking plenty of oil out of Saudi - because they have the cash and they are not too top heavy. How well they do when they become democratic is the big test. Monitary rewards will breed big trouble (as we know). They are now positioning themselves for a big move into the world market. I think they could even take our Japan's economics which will create some instability in that area.

Russia could have done the same thing but they are slackers from some reason the old school thinking keeps dragging them down.

The US has gotta get a better handle on what is going on and quite thinking super-power as this is taking much the money needed to develop and keep pace with the other powers to be.

I know we don't like being considered or pass over by older 3rd world countries but we've go to watch our backs or they will not only run us over - but put several knives into our backs in the process.

Nobody likes us and it would give them great pleasure to see us fail.


Thoughts?

[Seascamp]

I was just in Beijing in January and it was real and sometimes fun but not real fun. First off the corruption is absolutely staggering. In both overt and covert terms everyone with a rank badge has a way of helping themselves at the expense of foreign travelers. The UN provisions the PRC signed up for in terms international travelers are a rude joke. I traveled from Budapest to Beijing via Hainan Airlines and knew, just knew my baggage wouldn?t show up so no big surprise when it went poof. But no big deal, I knew I was going for the Three Gorges Hydro Electric meeting so only took ?Blue Light Special? stuff along so I guess they got their junky stuff back, eh.

More border guards than passengers at the Beijing airport and even the attendants at the shops are border guards. Shift change was a long formation of border guards that marched through the airport and came to a halt at each shop and station. Never seen anything quite like that. Very militaristic there and most every other place in Beijing as well but it is my guess that the troops with the real magazines in their assault rifles are close by, but out of sight.
So yes, as the PRC puts the rest of the third world out of business by low-balling the manufacture commodity items, they have a lot of hard currency to spend on their infrastructure, military and bullying Asian neighbors. Like their hollow and meaningless support of UN traveler provisions, the PRC has zero respect for International agreements regarding intellectual properties, patents or copyrights.
But we seem to be our own worst enemy because I see that Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other PRC commodity retail outlets are booming. A couple of years ago, we got our Fruit of the Loom knickers from India or Sari Lanka, now it all comes from the PRC. Check out the ?Made In? tag on most home or clothing items these days and guess what it reads.

Scamp

[Keith_Hixson]

The two largest nations in the world. Over half the world's population live in these two mega countries. Both have nuclear weapons. Both are highly advanced in all forms of technology. One day they will be the movers and shakers of this world. Hinduism and the cast system has really held India down, Communism has kept China from achieving greatness in modern times but that could all change very easily.

They have the population and technology to become the two great mega powers in the world if they so desire.

Both have populations of a little over 1 Billion. I believe the U.S. is about 300 million, so watch out for these two emerging super powers. They play by their own rules the Muslim world should be threatened by these two countries more than the United States.

Keith

[Seascamp]

Correct in all respects. Of late India has been succeeding by targeting higher end employment and my guess that the vast majority of new generated computer code in the world is stitched together in India. China has been targeting low to mid industrial/manufacturing employment and has been succeeding there. Their advantage is they can make costs whatever they want them to be depending on target product. Once established and on track in a product area, they move to higher end quality products in the same market segment and make back initial losses. In the interim they have cleared the field of any reasonable competition. As to being Communists, well, maybe in name but certainly not in internal or external practices. More like an embedded dictatorship that has no real vested interest in the employment or welfare of their citizens and it goes down hill elsewhere.
With regard to stroke with the Islamic radicals, the PRC certainly made an object lesson recently. Some Chinese have taken jobs in Iraq just to get any kind of meaningful employment. The terrorists grabbed up eight of them as hostages and the next thing we saw was the hostages being treated all nice and let go. What went on behind the curtain is only speculation but Chinese are still going to Iraq just for the jobs and seem to be left alone and out of the lime light. As well, I don?t see India taking any threats or incidents in stride as in times past and perhaps the Islamic Radicals have acquired the learning that they can ill afford to go nose to nose and toes to toes with India or the PRC.

Scamp

[Boats]

Great comments from both of you but what are we the US of A doing about our situation?

[Seascamp]

Right now, not a lot. The US leads the way in exporting renewable energy technology and the mentioned ?Three Gorges? project in the PRC will be the world?s largest hydroelectric plant and US technology will be the corner stone. There is no way the US can develop such infrastructure when even wind generator projects are endlessly tied up in courts and it takes more court time and license time now (By 4-10X) to argue about things than it would take to build them.

Only in Africa and some parts of Asia could such a wildly out of control and dangerous border situation be found, but we can?t even agree to discuss it let alone do anything about it. I could go on and on but until we find the national will to do something besides endlessly argue and be contentious among ourselves, I fear we will just continue drive jobs and opportunity to other places and one sad day, wonder what the heck happened.

Scamp

[Boats]

That's what I thought. Currently we don't have a lot going right now to hold on to anything of any significance. Our Space program is floundering, our steel industry is all but gone, it won't be long and we won't be making cars anymore. Are we turning into a service country?

Fast foods and fixing other countries products seems to be the new waive. Engineering seems to go directly overseas as they will do the R & D. Drug companies keep raising our MEDS and yet we pay high taxes for a government that owes everyone money and is dependent on other countries to keep it afloat.

Its a real sad situation - real sad!!!