I know that it is in vogue to denigrate the capabilities of the Chinese, however we need to be aware that they are moving in a direction that will eventually challenge our capabilities.

People go to their local Walmart or Harbor Freight, buy the cheapest item they can, and are surprised that it is poorly manufactured and falls apart or breaks after a short time. They are made that way because that is what you wanted to pay for. However you feel about Apple devices, it is hard to deny that they are manufactured to the highest standards. The Chinese are certainly capable of making durable and quality goods; you have to be willing to pay for it.

The Chinese have been stealing technology for many years now. For a nation that is behind it is the smart thing to do. Take advantage of another country’s research dollars and apply yours in a more effective manner. It is difficult to imagine a faster way to catch up. In addition, the number of Chinese students we have been educating in our universities has also been accelerating, adding to the growth in knowledge and skills of their nation. What bothers me the most about this one is that I see the Chinese students focused on their studies to the exclusion of everything else. They typically end up near the top of their class as a result. When they return to China they can say that they went to the top US schools with the top US students. And they were better. How much of that needs to occur to start building that exceptionalism that for so many years was the bellwether of this nation?

We have seen the growth of patent applications by the Chinese. The number of academic papers with Chinese authors is growing. With the number of people they have available it is inevitable that they will surpass us. Are they there yet? Not yet. But if we continue to denigrate them because of their past performance we risk overlooking the advances that they are making and being caught by surprise when they pass us by.

The sad part is that very few cities in this country have any infrastructure to support you once you arrive via train. Everything around here is built with the car in mind. Add in a sad mentality that public transport is for 'poor people' and there is little chance of any options being successful financially.

That's the reason you kill the missile during boost phase, to keep the bad bits from raining down on your head.