july 20, 2005
China's Economy,
India as Ally, Britain's PC War
Hitting a Chinese Wall?
There are continuing rumblings that China’s
economy will go into the tank big time in 2006, which
would mean less energy demand worldwide. How might
this help the Republicans? Because a major cooling
in China’s overheated economy, along with an expected
increase in oil production and more stability in Iraq,
would drive down oil prices sharply, to levels not
seen for years, which in turn could rev up the U.S
economy during an election cycle and help the GOP.
If China tanks, would Beijing be tempted to launch
a patriotic military adventure or feint in
an effort to “change the subject” and maintain
national cohesion? I think there’s no question it
would be tempted. Beijing knows that if it picked
a fight with Japan, to name just one scenario, there
would be a groundswell of patriotic fervor in China.
Ally in Waiting
India’s press is all agog over Prime Minister
Singh’s red carpet treatment in DC and is saying
nice things about the U-S and President Bush. India would
be our smartest bet for a future primary ally,
replacing the western Europeans, who will continue their
politically correct, peace-at-any-price, socialism-or-bust
death spiral. I think India has as much or more economic
potential as China, because unlike China, it has the rule
of law, at least in theory (with the proviso that I’m
no Indian constitutional expert). And perhaps most importantly,
we share common interests in containing
China and Islamic extremism. The Bush White House
seems to have recognized this.
Britain's PC War on Terror
As I said on CBN’s Newswatch program
Friday, Britain will, unfortunately, have to be hit
again before it decides to act like a state that
actually has an enemy. It’s not too simplistic to
state flatly that in every western European state today,
the worst government crime is to be politically incorrect.
And political correctness will remain too influential
in Britain’s anti-terror strategy until the state
itself feels sufficiently threatened. This is not your
father’s Britain, or is it? Your father’s
Britain was also quite conflicted in its feelings
for Herr Hitler during the 1930s, until he began
to threaten its survival.
