Chinese and US Trade - Assured Mutual Dominance Or Destruction?

During the Cold War the United States and Russia were playing a game of chicken with nuclear weapons. This was something that was absolutely insane, and eventually it became labeled MAD which stood for Mutually Assured Destruction; meaning if one of the countries launched a nuclear weapon on the other, the other would retaliate and destroy the nation that launched first. This would mean both nations would be destroyed.

Game theory predicts that that's not a game worth playing. Thank God no one played the game, but in reality no one should have ever been sitting at that table anyway.

Now consider the present period, where the United States and the US are locked together in trade. China produces goods to help us nation grow, and then with the money China buys U.S. Treasury notes, which helps finance our debt. If the United States stops buying products, China will stop buying our treasury notes. If the US consumer decides to boycott Chinese goods, the Chinese economy will collapse, but then the United States government will not be able to perform the services promised to the citizens or consumers that didn't buy the products.

Currently the United States of America has a GDP of between 14 and $17 trillion, China has a GDP which comes in number fourth or fifth in the world. Thanks to all the products that the US buys from China - their nation has experienced nearly a 10% year-over-year growth rate for the last two decades. At this rate eventually China and the US will have equal GDP. Some say, that by working together we are assured Mutual Dominance of the planet.

Others say, if we are not careful with the way we do business we both are insuring ourselves mutual economic destruction. And that of course is the topic of the day at The Online Think Tank. Perhaps you will think about it as well, please consider all this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow thinks everyone should learn about trade and visit all the trade sites online, even this one; mistrade.com

Note: All of Lance Winslow's articles are written by him, not by Automated Software, any Computer Program, or Artificially Intelligent Software. None of his articles are outsourced, PLR Content or written by ghost writers. Lance Winslow believes those who use these strategies lack integrity and mislead the reader. Indeed, those who use such cheating tools, crutches, and tricks of the trade may even be breaking the law by misleading the consumer and misrepresenting themselves in online marketing, which he finds completely unacceptable.

5 Reasons To Make Classical Chinese Medicine Your Medicine Of Choice

1. Clinical effectiveness: Chinese medicine, particularly when it is practiced in a Classically-based manner, works. In my scant year of clinical observation, I have seen miracles transpire. I have seen people shackled by various conditions, sometimes all their lives, be simply TRANSFORMED after only a few treatments. Many of you have probably seen this as well. It works for patients - and that's what medicine is supposed to do.

Yes, I've read THAT study, too. Studies have flaws - THAT study has been roundly denounced by a number of people in a number of different ways. I'd be glad to discuss it in another post. Think also about this - Chinese medicine works in a manner entirely different from Western medicine. It's so different, in fact, that placebo controlled double blind studies may simply be ineffective for displaying what it is that Chinese medicine can do. Clinical studies are another matter, and many show the great effectiveness of Chinese medicine. Where those studies have been negative or inconclusive, I feel that it probably has something to do with the level of Chinese medicine being practiced in the study. That's why I'm hoping to do (and encourage others to do) clinical studies through Helfgott Research Institute. I'll certainly post about any future results.

2. Doctors who take their time: When you see a Chinese physician for the first time, you will probably be amazed by the intake process. The process is extremely detailed, and Chinese physicians take all of your concerns under advisement - not just those that fit neatly into a simple diagnostic category. Chinese medicine physicians will not dismiss your concerns as "irrelevant" or "psychosomatic," they will integrate each manifestation of disease into a full diagnosis that will guide a treatment to rectify the balance of your ENTIRE system.

3. Fewer environmental impacts than Western medicine: Chinese medicine doesn't employ pharmaceuticals or other chemicals in carrying out treatment or diagnostics. The pollutants dumped into our waterways by the pharmaceutical industry are a significant problem. That being said, there are real environmental issues that the CM profession must grapple with, including the problems inherent in importing herbal products from China. Although that is most certainly a post in itself - I want to point out that many American companies are working to find pesticide-free and sustainably produced herbal products. More of this is surely to come.

4. Good cost-benefit ratio: As we all know, the escalating costs of healthcare are leaving many Americans uninsured, causing nearly unbearable pressure on the hospital system and social services. That the wealthiest nation in the world leaves so many people without access to basic care is reprehensible. Natural medicine in general represents an answer to this problem. Many treatments by Chinese medicine physicians use food therapy and economically priced herbal supplements. Further, you will find that the average office visit for a Chinese medicine doctor is very reasonable considering the great depth of care you receive. Insurance companies are beginning to pick up the cost of these office visits, which is an encouraging sign.

5. Total integration: This medicine doesn't "rob Peter to pay Paul," as the saying goes. When your chief complaint is treated, it is treated in order to integrate your entire self - mind, body and spirit. So, for instance, your ongoing treatment for seasonal allergies isn't going to create dryness in your mucus membranes, difficulty sleeping and pervasive feeling of anxiety. This will reduce your overall discomfort, as well as keeping costs down - you won't need to buy medicine to treat the problems that your medicines produced!

There are certainly many more reasons you should make Classical Chinese Medicine your medicine of choice - but I hope this list will provide you with some food for thought as you contemplate your health care options. Remember - YOU DO HAVE OPTIONS!

Eric Grey is a third year student of Classical Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR. He is also a member of NCNM's Presidential Ambassadors Leadership society, the President of his class two years in a row, and a repeat scholarship winner from every institution he has been in. He has recently started blogging on the topic of Classical Chinese medicine as a subject of study, as a group of practices for self-transformation and as a revolution. His blogging covers diverse topics such as personal development, herbal medicine, medical ethics, politics and health, social problems and solutions and spirituality.

http://www.deepesthealth.com

The Chinese Drywall Issue

Drywall brought in from China and commonly known to as "Chinese drywall" is creating quite a stir. But I also discovered from my own office manager that no less than 9 various countries- including the USA - ended up actually making faulty drywall and US builders were purchasing and importing them into the United States. So although individuals' drywall are recognized as Chinese drywall, I prefer to call them defective drywall instead.

Defective drywall was imported to the United States in massive amounts in the course of the housing boom between 2004 and 2008. It appears that when the importation of defective drywall first started, nobody realized how many issues it would trigger. I challenge builders to open the doors of their imported containers full of Chinese drywall and not detect the smell. That alone should have raised a red flag!

Over time those drywall begins to emit toxic fumes and odors that smell like rotten eggs. As if the smell isn't bad enough, a lot of people have turned out to be ill from chemicals found in drywall from those nations and houses themselves are falling apart with the defective drywall. For example, copper plumbing are corroding and appliances are breaking down, all consequently of your defective drywall.

Determined homeowners have submitted claims regarding the complications associated with defective drywall with their insurance agencies only to find that the issues of defective materials employed in construction will not be covered in their policies.

To add insult to injury, the insurance policies on properties constructed with defective drywall are then canceled, especially here in Cape Coral. To complicate matters further, other insurance agencies don't want to sell policies on properties built with defective drywall, so desperate residence owners are left without insurance coverage on their properties. Since it is needed to have insurance on houses that are not completely paid for, this puts property owners in a real emergency and some of them even lose their homes simply because of this situation.

The number of properties with these drywall in Cape Coral is huge. This is due to the fact that, between 2002 and 2006, Cape Coral was an under developed area where people from south and north Florida came to buy cheap land, build on it quick and flip those properties. They use their own home equity to do so. What happened is builders were quickly sold out with drywall, making them to look elsewhere for that product, coming most of the time from foreign countries back then.

Replacing defective drywall may perhaps seem to be the main remedy to this difficulty, however such a solution is neither inexpensive nor straightforward. Depending on the size and development of the household, the two quotes I got from a contractor ended up roughly around $20,000 for each 1,000 s/f of home. Not only these drywall need to be replaced but the isolation also should be replaced. Plus, all copper pipes and electric wired have to be fixed too.

Most with the households that possess defective drywall had been built in Florida, but other states, including Colorado, had been also produced with those same drywall. Right here, in Cape Coral, whenever I show a few homes to prospective buyers, I get a lots of concerns to address in regards of defective drywall. I hope the public will find their questions answered here.

Find out the Cape Coral Chinese drywall issues at my Cape Coral Real Estate site.

C-NCAP Certification for the Chinese Automotive Industry

The constant media squabble over C-NCAP (China New Car Assessment Program) doesn't annoy Mr Zhao Hang at all. As the Chief Director of China Automotive Technology Research Centre (CATARC), Zhao has paid a great deal of efforts to develop this program, a vehicle crash test known as "Chinese new car safety evaluation standard". "Safety, environmental friendliness and energy saving, we need to have them all," he said.

Big Brother of the automotive industry

CATARC was originally a research institute directly belonged to government departments, but now it has become a state-owned enterprise to make its own decisions. Apart from assisting in setting automotive industry policies, CATARC also conducts research in a few core automotive technologies, such as partnering with Tianjin FAW Xiali Motor, Hafei Automobile Group and Yunnan Hongta Group to develop alternative energy cars.

"For every aspect of China's automotive industry, we all have a corresponding service institution. This includes pre-production tasks such as project establishment, factory site selection and factory construction planning, and production related processes such as auto products, standards, information, testing, certification, quality system establishment and staff training. We also get involved in market establishment, second-hand car market, automotive finance, car rental and vehicle scrap recycling," said Zhao.

The C-NCAP

Although CATARC has such a wide-ranging function, most people currently are interested in its C-NCAP crash test. This controversial test was launched two years ago, and there have been many supporters as well as critics. Controversy is actually what Zhao has hoped for, and he even doesn't mind posting negative media comments onto CATARC's official website. The fact that many automotive companies are interested in C-NCAP and asking for trial tests, has demonstrated that C-NCAP results do have some market merit.

NCAP, or New Car Assessment Program, originated from the US in 1

970s, and it became further recognised in developed countries such as Japan, Europe and Australia in the 90s. a common feature of NCAP is that all the test cars have to be bought from the market, ie, assessable by ordinary consumers. It is an independent test for the benefit of consumers, without the intervention from automotive producers.

"The automotive industry in China is big, but few people really understand cars. Common criteria such as engine displacement, inside space and door numbers don't really matter, what's important is how safe when you are sitting in the car." Zhao suggested that the creation of C-NCAP is to provide star ratings on safety, so that there can be a standard for consumers to choose cars. The chief purpose of conducting C-NCAP tests is to prompt vehicle producers to upgrade their technologies and improve car safety.

"C-NCAP is a new car assessment program, not just a new car SAFETY assessment program. We do have to go through crash tests initially, but then we add up other results to establish a systematic evaluation standard for new cars, including safety, displacement and oil consumption tests." Zhao said that as China is a large energy user with insufficient energy supply, and for the environmental consideration as well, it is necessary to conduct displacement and oil consumption tests in the Program.

Industry recognition

C-NCAP can become a guideline for Chinese automotive manufacturers, said Zhao. "Many manufacturers are now designing products for the next 5 or 10 years by referring to C-NCAP. For example, once fuel consumption limits of passenger cars are given, product designers have to follow these limits. In addition, C-NCAP's analytical results, which are based on existing road and traffic accident statistics, will also serve for future standards setting, so this could also be guidance for manufacturers."

A cooperative deal with PICC (People's Insurance Company of China), China's largest property insurer, was another successful initiative by CATARC. Last year, a vehicle safety crash test laboratory sponsored by PICC was opened, and PICC had also provided US$2 million to C-NCAP as crash test funds. For an independent assessment institution like CATARC, its cooperation partners have to be without vested interests, so the country's number 1 insurer could be an ideal partner.

Despite being an incorporated entity, CATARC is not really run like a company, as many of its projects are non-for-profit in nature. At the same time it still has to pay for its own operating expenses. The government has set a limit on CATARC's profits, whose excessive components have to be retained for future projects or public causes. So the cooperation with PICC did give CATARC some funding relief.

What kind of vehicle certification system does China need?

Zhao said that there are significant differences between China's certification system and those internationally, in terms of methodologies and organisational management. "China has not yet had a truly formal certification system. The existing rules can only be called 'access system', which only determines whether a particular car model is allowed to enter the market. While in developed countries, government certifications are built around the three major criteria, namely safety, environmental friendliness and energy saving."

Take the example of safety. China has more than 100,000 traffic death tolls and about 1 million injuries. There are only about 200 Chinese cities with more than 1 million population each, so the casualty number is equivalent to eliminating a medium Chinese city every year. Therefore it is an urgent task for regulators to solve vehicle safety problems and improve auto product qualities.

CATARC plans and drafts national vehicle standards in China. Zhao suggested that China do have good and enough standards, but not enough when it comes to execution. And there are rules to follow, but not followed strictly. "Market competition cannot be in the absence of monitoring. Low price competition has now become a major problem in China's automotive industry, as many manufacturers try to reduce costs by jerry-building. Such vicious competition is harmful to the industry. Many vehicle models can pass quality certification when they are in the factory, but not the case when they go to the outside market. If a certified product is not the one sold to consumers, what's the use of certification?" said Zhao.

"Therefore, it is not enough for the automotive industry to just have an access system, and too many certification programs will not be helpful, either. We need to strictly monitor basic aspects, such as vehicle safety, environmental friendliness and energy saving, but leave other tasks to the market and consumers. This could be a really effective and realistic method for the industry," Zhao concluded.

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