China

Daisy, commenting as guest, asked that I resume my position high atop ye olde soapbox.  Correction: Daisy, commenting as guest, demanded that I resume my position high atop ye olde soapbox.  That's exactly the sort of attitude I expect from readers of this blog.

Daisy specifically asked that I comment on China.  For those of you not paying attention, China:

• Holds the more of America's debt than any other nation on Earth (estimated at 21.9% of all foreign holdings)
• Has surpassed Japan and become the world's #2 economy
• Has been engaged in a quiet but alarming military build-up

So what does this all mean?  Nothing, per se.  However, it does loom large as a potential changing of the guard in terms of who is the big dog on the world stage.  For the past 20 years the US pretty much stood alone in that spot.  Now.........not so much.

If I were a young person contemplating a choice of foreign language to learn, Chinese would be my first choice.  It's so much easier to assimilate and gain the favor of your new masters if you speak their language.