Update on Communist China's Military Power
Communist China recently conducted a space test involving two satellites that rendezvoused several hundred miles above Earth in a maneuver that boosts Beijing's anti-satellite weapons program. Military specialists say that maneuvering close to satellites is a key capability for space warfare. That capability can be used for repairs, intelligence gathering, or for jamming, capturing or destroying enemy satellites. Washington Times, 9-1-10
China's military power is rapidly growing. The 83-page annual report to Congress on the Chinese military, released by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, reports that "China has the most active land-based ballistic and cruise missile program in the world. It is developing and testing several new classes and variants of offensive missiles, forming additional missile units, qualitatively upgrading certain missile systems, and developing methods to counter ballistic missile defenses." Also, China has a growing force of mobile ICBMs capable of hitting targets in the United States, and China is deploying a large number of short and medium-range missiles that could devastate its neighbors with a mix of nuclear and conventional warheads.
Update on Life in India and China
Where are the baby girls? The British medical journal The Lancet reported that over the last 20 years there have been 10 million missing female births in India. It is estimated that sex selection is a $100 million business in India, even though ultrasound clinics post legally mandated signs that declare, "Here prenatal sex determination is not done. It is a punishable act." If you're willing to pay, you just go to the right clinic. The ultrasound technician responds in code. "Celebrate with sweets" can mean a son is on the way. The market for ultrasound equipment in India is vast and growing. The latest models are cheap and portable.
A traffic jam stretching more than 60 miles in China lasted 10 days and involved 10,000 vehicles in August on a major highway out of Beijing. State media reported that Chinese drivers are accustomed to severe delays. A similar jam in July slowed traffic for nearly a month. Minor traffic accidents and broken-down vehicles complicate the traffic mess. 400 police officers patrol the road 24 hours a day to keep the situation calm. Motorists play card games or chess to pass the time. MSNBC, 8-23-10
Update on Phony Free Trade with China
The Communist Chinese government subsidizes its industries. When China was growing rapidly, the government allowed private entrepreneurs to prosper at the expense of inefficient government-controlled industries. Now, China's government run companies are on the march, whether in the airlines or the steel mills. China is pumping public funds into companies to upgrade its industrial base.
The World Bank reports that the proportion of industrial production controlled by the Chinese government is increasing rapidly, driven by hundreds of billions of dollars of government spending. New York Times, 8-30-10
"We don't make anything in the U.S. any more," says David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy in Princeton, NJ. He's been trying to get a license to build the first new nuclear reactor in the U.S. in 30 years. America's nuclear industry, which led the world into this technology, has now vanished.
There are 54 reactors under construction in the world, but none of them is in the U.S. Westinghouse is now a Japanese company. GE doesn't do anything in nuclear power anymore without partnering with Hitachi. There is no steel forge in the U.S. that can cast the 500-ton ingots used in building today's reactor vessels. American Spectator, 12-16-09.
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