01.02.08 RISE OF THE KINGS OF THE EAST, CONTINUED WAR ON U.S. MIDDLE CLASS

2008: THE YEAR A NEW SUPERPOWER IS BORN, (Independent.co.uk). "China is set to make 2008 the year it asserts its status as a global colossus by flexing frightening economic muscle on international markets, enjoying unprecedented levels of domestic consumption and showcasing itself to a watching world with a glittering 20b (British pound) Olympic games."
...We have long been predicting that the Chinese would use the 2008 Olympic games much as Hitler used the 1936 Olympic games to demonstrate his nation's might and grandeur. It is one of the reasons that I have felt all along, as stated often in my financial blog, that natural resource stocks should continue to do well for the foreseeable future as China and India, the world's two most populous nations, move toward center stage.
...The other thing that caught my eye in this article was that Chinese sovereign funds would start spending some of its $1.3 trillion foreign currency reserves in Britain. Up until now those funds had only been allowed to invest in Hong Kong.
...China's emergence is yet another piece of the last generation puzzle as the players continue to move into place on the world stage. When the Bible speaks of a 200,000,000 man army, what other nation could field such a force?
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AN OTTOMAN WARNING FOR AMERICA, (FT.com). Another article showing the power shift to the east. The author compares the U.S. present day situation to that of the 1870s. The author, Niall Ferguson, a professor at Harvard Business School and a senior fellow the Hoover Institution at Stanford, says, "...we are indeed living through a global shift in the balance of power very similar to that which occurred in the 1870s. This is the story of how an over-extended empire sought to cope with an external debt crisis by selling off revenue streams to foreign investors. The empire that suffered those setbacks in the 1870s was the Ottoman empire. Today it is the U.S."
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BROKE BRITAIN: MILLIONS FACE STRUGGLE TO STAY AFLOAT AS FINANCIAL CRISIS HITS HOME, (Independent, UK). "Debt experts are predicting a record number of personal insolvencies this year as excessive Christmas shopping, rising mortgage payments and soaring food and fuel costs force thousands of people over the financial edge and into bankruptcy."
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CRUNCH TIME FOR AMERICAN CONSUMERS, Peter Schiff, SaveHaven.com. "The subprime mortgage crisis is merely the tip of a very large iceberg. Beneath the surface lies not only a sea of tenuous loans to prime borrowers, but also an assortment of other liabilities backed by auto loans and credit card debt."
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WELLNESS PROGRAM DISCIPLES GOD'S PEOPLE TO LOSE WEIGHT AND LEAD OTHERS TO BETTER HEALTH, (ChristianNewsWire). "The spirit of sloth and gluttony has taken over [the Christian] community, but there is something we can do to stop it. Once our leaders recognize the importance of having proper nutrition and daily fitness as an integral part of their own lives, they will continuously convey the importance of having a healthy lifestyle to their congregations," said Bonnie Mechelle, a wellness coach.
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HONEY MAKING A MEDICAL COMEBACK, (MSNBC). Potent type used as antibiotic amid fears of drug-resistant superbugs.
...I believe that if we ate the foods the good Lord gave us to eat in the way that He provided them (without hormones, pesticides, genetic modification, etc.), and used natural remedies, we would be healthier. It might hurt the revenues of those folks whose profits soar when people are sick and hurting, but so what?
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KATRINA DISASTER RELIEF REMAINS A DISGRACE, (Dan K. Thomasson, syndicated columnist, seattlepi.com).
...Even our government recommends that people have a week or two supplies on hand for emergencies. Most people do not. Having some supplies on hand beats standing in a line for food and water. And in these last times, there will be more emergencies.
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NAFTA CEMENTING A NORTH AMERICAN UNION, (Devvy Kidd, NewsWithViews.com). A somewhat strident viewpoint, but this is an issue that needs to be kept in the open. The powers that be are selling us out on this issue, all the while denying that there is anything to it. There is no shortage of valid links regarding this subject, including some excellent ones provided by Ms. Kidd in this article. There are some previous links given at various times in the past on my blog as well. Vicente Fox, the former el presidente of Mejico, did not deny that it is coming. He was quite open about it on his appearance on Larry King (see previous blog entries for links).
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