Hi, Dan!

It seems like Afghanistan is all I see anymore. But after the dust settles on this episode, and after the fundamentalists and the progressives in the Muslim world get to duking it out, we will still be left with the 900-lb. Chinese gorilla.

Of course the WTO is a political tool for China. It's still the world's single largest market. Economics is both the carrot and the stick that the Chinese use to manipulate the opinions of governments around the world. Wave some yen in our faces and tell us, "Pay no attention to those political prisoners behind the curtain!"

This economy is still run by a totalitarian bureaucracy. That's a lot of take-out to put on one credit card.

Fundamentalism (all kinds) are the immediate threat. China is the long-term challenge.

Happy Hanukkah to you and yours -- or to yours, anyway, you ol' skeptic you. ;)

Toodles--
Mary Anne