Happy new years to everyone! May the year 2002 be better than the last. Much much better ... a hellofalot better in fact =).

I just had a very low key new years eve, spending it with mine and half a dozen other Dallas Chinese mafia families. It ended up with a 3am run to Denny's for Chicken Fried Steak and 6 hours of bridge playing, so it was all good.

"President Bush (news - web sites) granted China permanent normal trade status Thursday, ending a quarter-century policy of using access to U.S. markets as an annual enticement to the communist giant to expand political and economic freedoms."

It's about time! Granted, China's recent entry into the WTO pretty much mandated that we grant them permanent NTR, I wouldn't have put it past certain unilateralist isolationist elements of congress to filibuster and somehow prevent this, screwing the WTO in the process. China's new permanent NTR, and their entry into the WTO is not only good for American business, but is vital for China's continued reforms from a state owned and controlled command economy to a privately owned entrepreneurial based capitalist economy. This will also ensure that the quality of life of the majority of Chinese citizens, who live at destitute 3rd-world levels, continue to rise.

Next step: Permanent Fast-track authority for the president.