China launches first manned space flight

The profits and innovations generated by off shore subcontractors return to the US corporations. The US still reaps the wealth, and this wealth is critical in maintaining our technological advanced military.

That's a superficial and disingenuous assumption that U.S. corporations will own and control all the R&D functions. The truth is, they only provide the seeds around which technology development centers will grow, much like Silicon Valley. The bulk of that technological development will be OUT of U.S. control. The U.S. will decline as a leader in technological development as a result.

See the last line of #177

Technology wise and power wise China was it.

I just saw film of the Chinese rocket launch for the first time. Their ship looks like a can of soup with a pencil sticking out of the top of it.

"The most dangerous part of any flight is the landing. "

That's not really correct. When flying regular planes, the crashes that occur during landing are not fatal as often as crashes that occur during takeoff. The reason for this is that the plane is already set up for "crashing" and is pointed towards the runway. And the frequency of landing crashes are no greater than takeoff crashes. Now that we're talking about spacecraft, I also would agree that taking off is the most dangerous part.

You are right...thanks for the post.

Thank you for keeping an open mind. I try to do the same. I do find more than a few individuals for which "never having to say you are sorry" is not a line from the book/movie "love story", but has become a motto and a way of life.

Not you though and thank you for that.

Their ship looks like a can of soup with a pencil sticking out of the top of it.

Not only that, but it does not look like anything we every launched. If China copied it, they copied the russians and not us.

You are partially correct. India can write the state of the art software, but they do not have the wealth to equip their military with it at the scale needed to be a premier military power. China can reproduce almost any hardware the US produces, but they do not have the wealth to equip their military with it at the scale needed to be a premier military power. The reason, the capital produced in their partnership with the US mostly goes back to the US. The only way the US can decline, is they mismanage the wealth they generate. Example, our social problems caused by our behavior/culture and PC cost more than we spend on our military. Wait till the cost of Social Security and Medicare comes crashing in after 2030, and its impact on our budget occurs. Add that on top of the burden of illegal immigrants encouraged by GOP (cheap labor) and Democrat (future voters) and it does not take a rocket scientist to determine all these pressures will sooner or later affect our ability to finance our military power.

You are partially correct. India can write the state of the art software, but they do not have the wealth to equip their military with it at the scale needed to be a premier military power. China can reproduce almost any hardware the US produces, but they do not have the wealth to equip their military with it at the scale needed to be a premier military power. The reason, the capital produced in their partnership with the US mostly goes back to the US. The only way the US can decline, is they mismanage the wealth they generate.

You need to refresh your understanding of the terms "wealth" and "capital". It is obvious that the "mismanagement" is well underway, and you are totally oblivious to it. (Or perhaps you actually favor and encourage that mismanagement.)

capital: One of the four basic categories of resources, or factors of production. It includes the manufactured (or previously produced) resources used to manufacture or produce other things. Common examples of capital are the factories, buildings, trucks, tools, machinery, and equipment used by businesses in their productive pursuits. Capital's primary role in the economy is to improve the productivity of labor as it transforms the natural resources of land into wants-and-needs-satisfying goods.
WEALTH: The net ownership of material possessions and productive resources. In other words, the difference between physical and financial assets that you own and the liabilities that you owe. Wealth includes all of the tangible consumer stuff that you possess, like cars, houses, clothes, jewelry, etc.; any financial assets, like stocks, bonds, bank accounts, that you lay claim to; and your ownership of resources, including labor, capital, and natural resources. Of course, you must deduct any debts you owe.

It is painfully clear from the fundamental economic definitions of "capital" and "wealth" that India and China are creating the capital and wealth to become the military powers of the future. On the other hand, the United States is in decline, shedding its capital and wealth, AND its future National Security in the process.

Have you been looking at the US (Gross Domestic Product) GDP compared to the rest of the world? The US GDP has not been shrinking. Compare that to the stagnation in Europe and for a time decline in Russia (theirs just stablilized and may increase slowly). India and PRC have grown, but compared to ours is still very small. What is missing in your analysis is where did the profits go? You will find that a majority of the profits created by this arrangement with India and PRC went to the US corporations. If we were losing control of our capital (which happens in alot of Third World countries where the elite make money and send it to banks overseas), I would be very scared for the future of US power. In this new economical paradigm, the only thing I fear for is my children's economical opportunities. Unfortunately corporate America had weighed the cons of social tensions caused by eliminating high paying manufacturing jobs and now high paid IT jobs with the pros of huge profits they can make from NAFTA and recently outsourcing. Unfortunately they have already decided our future and both political parties have condoned it. I think in the future, US power will be maintained and at the strategic level will increase her wealth. Unfortunately at the working people level, salaries will be less and we will not be as materially well off as our parents or grandparents were.

Henry Ford manufactured the famous Model T, which had four wheels, decades ago and Ford is still manufacturing cars with four wheels. Does it mean Ford is at the same level technically as that of many many years ago ?

Cut the crap please.