You shouldn't feed them raw meat Marty.

strange that China is at the top, and it should be worth remembering that that group of nations (along with others) raped and invaded China a century ago, carving out large zones of influence for their own countries.  (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) which put down the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. As it is, I am not aware of any instances of the chinese (not the Yuan, who were Mongols) invading Europe ever. I take it the threat they see is economic. In which case, tough shit. Nobody is forcing them to buy Chinese made crap,  but they are sure as hell willing to open their own factories there and exploit the workers.

The only danger China poses to the world is environmentally, in that they want to live the lifestyle that Americans and Europeans are used to, but we don't want them to because if they did, then we will never get pollution under control.

And the real immediate danger is Islamic terrorism, but since Muslims are living nearby them and the Chinese are far away, it is so much safer to piss on the Chinese than confront the dangers in their own society. I am not saying all Muslims are dangerous, but the ones that are, are most likely.

Not so, blackie. The economic success of Chinese authoritarianism legitiimizes, in the eyes of rapidly developing nations from Russia, India and Iran to Turkey, Brazil and Mexico, two notions that are profoundly antithetical, if not actually hostile, to the core principles that underlie the contemporary idea of "the West." The first is reactionary, brutally authoritarian capitalism, and the second is a naked realpolitik drive for securing resources with utterly no regard for human rights.

Are these sins that the West has been guilty of historically? Absolutely. Which is all the more reason that today's western nations strive so hard for a capitalism that is compatible with individual dignity and freedom, and a foreign policy that tempers the pursuit of national interest with concern for human rights.

We had the upper hand when China was still weak and Russia was prostrate, but right now we're losing the argument. And no, replacing Bush will not counter that argument. We need to show the world what a disaster the Chinese path is, for ordinary Chinese, for people in hellholes like Darfur, for working people everywhere. And as you point out, for the planet itself.

Well, well, Israel is no longer the most dangerous nation, as it was not so long ago.  And this, despite the best efforts of the BBC, NPR, Columbia U. and The Guardian.  Here's an instance, I suppose, where we should be grateful for a fickle public.

As for Bush's scoring as "the most hated person in the Arab world," I must hand it to the guy.  If a man be judged for the enemies he has, then George Bush indeed scores hgih.

Tep, don't disagree, but Chinese authoritarian capitalism is better than Iranian theocratic socialism, and I don't see Mexico or Brazil going authoritarian anytime soon. The Chinese third way, while I agree is bad, is preferable to the more likely alternative, which is the standard dictatorship.