The Global Family

[johnm]

The USA is a spoilt 10 year old let loose with a credit card and an assault rifle

Europe is the dissolute bachelor uncle who doesn't quite know whether to cheer him on or remonstrate

The BRICS are unruly teenagers who just want to be cool and don't like the attention seeking 10 year old.

The Africans charming but mischievous children and just want to have fun

At some point the stern grandfather is going to take them all in hand and he's Chinese

[Flintstone]

Well I'm the confused old grandad

[GrahamB]

Well I'm the confused old grandad

So am I.

China and South Africa are BRICS.

[nbayliff]

Well I'm the confused old grandad

So am I.

China and South Africa are BRICS.

China is, at best, a poorly mixed breeze block

[BlackheathBloke]

The ruling class in China have to work out a way of allowing greater freedom for it's people whilst still hanging onto power, or face a revolution and get kicked out completely.

A pretty impossible task, I'd say.....

(This calendar year, apparently USD80 BILLION(!!!) of 'dirty' money has been flowing out of China every quarter. Many of the ruling elite fear the end is nigh)

[Bill McCarthy]

Now, why would China begin building aircraft carriers ? They have a big foothold in Africa of course, and will continue to outbid the west for the resourses there, and elsewhere in the world. Just wait and see what happens when general wealth expands in China.

[pb6797]

Did you see my comments on the F-35 thread Bill? I have a feeling we are both worried about the same thing ...

[Timothy]

I have been in a village on the SA/Mozambique border, visiting an AIDS orphanage, and watching a community centre being built.

Our host lives with a large extended family in a three room shack with no water or electricity. It is quite nicely kept inside, but still a very poor quality by international standard.

Almost the whole village is young or old. Almost the entire middle aged community (say 30-50) has been killed by AIDS, including our host's wife and two of his siblings.

Almost every child is an orphan, almost all living in near squalor.

Almost all living is by subsistence, where all food is grown and prepared on individual's shareholding. The diet is extremely monotonous, being the same maize porridge for every meal, with occasional eggs or chicken.

Yet I have never seen such a contented, happy group of people. Everyone laughs and smiles all the time.

A lesson for us all, I think.