AND YOU WERE PARANOID ABOUT THAT ASTEROID

Lots of fake stuff about weird end of the world scenerios on the internet, but the ghost of China is the real problem, at least for those of us in Asia.

There are some hints that China is in a big recession, but this link from Instapundit makes me worry.

also worrying: StrategyPage has a story on bad/shoddy parts for machines that the military uses.

Read the whole thing: This is a major problem here in Asia, where ordinary parts (Plumbing, electronics, shoes etc) are shoddy and fall apart shortly after you buy them. The biggest problem is counterfeit or suboptimal medicines, which I have written about in the past. Not all of these are from China (some are from India) but the WHO estimates they kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. Which is why if someone is sick, I spend extra money to buy a known brand from an established drug store.

The US has allowed it's manufacturing businesses to go to China, but two reasons might lead to these going elsewhere:

One, the demand of Chinese workers to get a living wage (and so easily manufactured products will now move factories to Africa)

Two: High quality items will move back to Japan or the USA.

Want those protesting students with masters degrees in social studies to get jobs? Train them in machinery and blue collar skilled jobs with a gov't grant and put them to work. The Unions should be stressing this, but alas the blue collar unions are too busy raising wages and padding pensions than trying to get more jobs for the kids of their workers.

Then there is the cyberwar from China, hacking Japan and the US, and their increased aggression to try to take over the oceans in the Philippine Sea between here and Vietnam..

and just to make you worry more: StrategyTalk podcast on Israel and Iran.

and China is helping Iran get spare parts for their jets, while Russia is helping them make a bomb.

Sigh.