[Byron_the_Aussie]

.. the conservative Rand Corporation claimed Saturday ..

Vacancy on the Raytheon board, Tige?

Let the jockeying begin.

[TigerLikesRooster]

I suspect that U.S. is starting to exercise nuclear blackmail of its own, aimed at China, hoping that it will make China change its attitude.

People talk about China's obsession with prestige. On the other hand, even if we give China a face-saving way to back down, China won't take it, because backing down in any fashion will be humiliating. We can sit and hope that China somehow implode soon, but we have no control over how long it persist before it goes down, and what damage we have to sustain in the mean time.