Free Republic

China is not a rising power but a faltering one. At first glance, this seems an absurd statement. Since it initiated market reforms in 1978, the Asian giant has claimed economic growth averaging 10 percent annually, rising from the world’s seventh-largest economy in 1980 to the second-largest today.During those decades, it converted its newfound wealth into military power and geopolitical influence, asserting itself both regionally and globally. It now seems to be on the verge of realizing President Xi Jinping’s goal of creating a Sino-centric world order – one that reflects Chinese, rather than American, values and interests.To many, the...

In the First Book of Samuel which we are reading now in daily Mass, we see are rather stunning portrait of poor parenting and poor priestly leadership in the person of of High Priest of the Sanctuary at Shiloh, Eli. Consider this line from the Scriptures: Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”“I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” …..At that time Samuel was not familiar...

WASHINGTON – Layoffs are back, and that's bad news for the fragile economic recovery. New applications for unemployment benefits hit a nine-month high last week — a spike that suggests private employers may shed jobs this month for the first time this year. Workers are losing construction jobs in Georgia and manufacturing jobs in Indiana. Some of the layoffs are coming as stimulus money dries up and public works projects come to a halt. Government employees are being let go, too, as states and cities grapple with budget crises. Without more jobs, consumers will not feel secure enough to spend...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The "modest" US economic recovery is slowing in some parts of the country, the Federal Reserve warned in its latest Beige Book report published Wednesday. "Economic activity has continued to increase, on balance, since the previous survey," the Fed said in a report, last published in early June, while noting significant head winds. "Among those Districts reporting improvements in economic activity, a number of them noted that the increases were modest, and two districts, Atlanta and Chicago, said that the pace of economic activity had slowed recently." The Fed's statement is unlikely to dampen concerns -- fanned...

It's been a year since President Obama addressed the Islamic world in Cairo, his most visible gesture to a people, culture and religion he believes the Bush administration antagonized unnecessarily. But, according to a new poll, the Muslim world has not exactly grasped his extended hand. In fact, Muslims have lost confidence in Obama over the past year, the poll found. And in Egypt, the Arab bellwether nation where Obama chose to deliver his speech, the U.S. standing today is worse than during the final year of the Bush administration.

EUROPE’S biggest economies are braced for a wave of industrial action by public sector workers in the new year that threatens to bring havoc to essential services. Unions in Germany, France and Italy are expected to vote in favour of strikes as they step up their campaigns for higher pay and greater public sector investment. Portugal and Spain have been blighted by industrial action already and even in Ireland, where strikes have been rare since the mid-1980s, talks on a new national pay deal have collapsed. Employers fear that this renewed militancy, which is likely to cost hundreds of millions...