Dragon, eagle, elephant and a black swan

[ensho]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MG28Df04.html


China opened "the largest sea bridge in the world" on June 30. As the news spread quickly, the state of Louisiana immediately complained that China was guilty of propaganda.

For a large part of what has been known as the first American century, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway has claimed the rights to have the longest bridge in the world. You can still hear the Cajun greeting when you call the office, "Thank you for calling the causeway, the world's longest bridge."

-snip-

In 2005, Berkley economist Pranab Bardhan correctly observed that China - often referred to as the flying dragon because of its recent economic growth - would lead India, the lumbering elephant, in innovation and economic development for the foreseeable future.

-snip-

On all the indicators, the US has also slipped behind the smaller Scandinavian economies, such as Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway, as well as some of the Tiger economies including Hong Kong and Singapore, who seem more nimble and enterprising. Is the US swooping like an eagle or taking a nose dive?

-long snip - as to the Black Swans - you will have to read the whole thing as I can't list more then 4 paragraphs-
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maybe one of you will post the paragraph about the Black Swans?