Can the US Afford a Cold War with China?

Alastair Crooke thinks not.

The China Cold War Will Unstick America’s Glue

Here are his three reasons:

  1. Putting a coalition of the rest of the world together against China will no longer fly.  As Crooke puts it,  “deference to Western values per se has evaporated.”
  2. China’s own civilizational model is not looking so bad compared to a US system featuring “endless liquidity,” high housing and living costs, and massive social inequality.  Why would emerging societies — or even Europeans — regard that, by now, as enticing.
  3. The US has become too financially and socially precarious to try to “bludgeon China,” too, economically.  It’s a mission most likely to fail.

But read the rest of Crooke’s thesis.  His basic premise is hard to dismiss.

An Evergrande Moment?

What You Need to Know about Evergrande

This isn’t rocket science:

  1. First, we have a cultural issue.  The Chinese are gamblers who love to speculate.  They can also be greedy.  Property development is to them — as it is to many — like HEROIN.  Extremely hard to manage short of addiction.
  2. As the piece points out, 25% of China’s GDP is property related.  It’s been one of their main engines in wealth production.  Trouble is, property is often valued at more than it’s worth.  So, it can crash and often does.
  3. Will Evergrande crash the Chinese and global economies?  It’s possible, but my sense is that China will BAIL IT OUT, so as to avoid a potential economic catastrophe.  We’ll see.
  4. What this all shows is that China’s economic foundation is not so sound as many believe.  China lives in the same world as the rest of us, and it’s people are just as fragile and corruptible.  In some ways, more so.

This may get worse before it gets better.

UCLA Prof Sues Over Suspension

Yep, you guessed it — or at least were EXTREMELY CLOSE:

Prof Sues UCLA ‘Over Suspension for Not Grading Black Students More Leniently’

Honestly, should he do their homework too?

But more alarmingly, HAS THE CALIFORNIA EDUCATION SYSTEM LOST ITS MIND?

Apparently, the plaintiff in question, Professor Gordon Klein, HAS NOT LOST HIS.  In reply to the “LENIENCY ASK,” he replied,

“Are there any students that may be of mixed parentages, such as half black half-Asian?  What do you suggest I do with respect to them? A full concession or just half?”

Nicely stroked, professor.  And SO CLEVER to bring in the Asian angle.

But, tell me, what nonsense is next?

And if that isn’t real enough, take a gander at Klein’s actual complaint against UCLA.

Why I Am Suing UCLA

Here are three quotes from it.  First:

“Referring to equity, diversity and inclusion, Klein writes that he wholeheartedly supports “these principles as most of us understand them. I think all human beings should be treated the same. I welcome — I celebrate — a diversity of opinions and arguments. And, to say the least, I believe in making room for anyone with the grades and gumption to study at one of the nation’s most competitive universities.

“But academia has so corrupted these words that they are now hollowed out corpses devoid of their original meaning. Today, “diversity” means ideological homogeneity. And “inclusion” means the exclusion of some from a taxpayer-supported university to favor others deemed more deserving of an educational springboard to prosperity.”

Second:

“I have a law degree, and I’m pretty sure the university’s EDI agenda violates Proposition 209, the California Constitution’s prohibition against race-based preferences in public education. Voters enacted this decades ago and reaffirmed it, last year, at the ballot box. So, I opted to follow the state Constitution and my conscience.”

Third, Klein’s most telling point about the ACTUAL MOST CRITICAL CHALLENGE FACING THE COUNTRY — and it’s NOT social justice:

“My parting thought: This is not just about principle. It’s also about the United States’ ability to compete. Anderson, like elite business schools across the country, is supposed to be training the next generation of innovators. The people who will muster the imagination and fortitude to create life-changing technologies and lead groundbreaking multinationals. If we don’t maintain our standards — if we’re not allowed to push all of our students to do their very best — we will be disarming unilaterally. I refuse to do that, and I’m convinced, this recent episode notwithstanding, that most of my students and colleagues feel the same way.”

SO, ARE WE GOING TO CEDE ECONOMIC CONTROL TO CHINA IN THE NAME OF EVERYONE RECEIVING AN EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TROPHY?

TIME TO GET REAL!

Supply Chain Woes Until 2023

And that from the lips of the Chairman & CEO of Dubai’s DP World, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem to Bloomberg TV’s ears:

“The global supply chain was in crisis at the beginning of the pandemic,” Bin Sulayem said. “Maybe in 2023 we’ll see an easing.”

What’s it mean when a sultan says MAYBE?  I guess we’ll find out.

But in the meantime, here’s another COST SPIKE among the many we’re witnessing.