Oh, I'm old enough to remember the last years of the Cold War. I don't know if you get the New York Times or the New York Times Sunday Magazine, but recently there was an article about China's 9 dash line.

You do raise some very good points though. I had read about the numbers of aircraft carriers in the world and while I can't remember the exact numbers, the U.S. has a lot more than other countries. Which, as a citizen, I guess that's a good thing. Though, I was under the impression that China had four aircraft carriers?

One of the points that the article I linked point out, is that China is using its civilian craft to do most of the bullying, so that no direct military action can be warranted. Which of course, is exactly the kind of tactic that I would expect from a nation in their position.

I agree that war doesn't make a whole lot of sense between super powers, especially not after the Cold War, but given the coverage I've seen so far of China's incursions into what they (in my opinion) ridiculously claim to be their territory and my experience in the countries on whose toes China is stepping, it seems like aggressive action might be taken, though of course China would not be the initiator.

I'm glad to be alive at the beginning of this century as it will undoubtedly be a very interesting one, given the technological advances and the social pressures. I would not be surprised in my lifetime to see a major conflict involving China.

Oh and as an aside, (a very unrelated aside, unless you consider that China produces certain brands of e-cigs) what methods have you used to clean out clearomizers for new juices?