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This week the Chinese Came calling, and so did the Indians and so did the Pope. We seldom think of this last example as a country but it really is and although its size is nothing compared to the league to which it belongs, it commands a whopping population of converts and faithfuls of about 1 billion people. So Xi Jing Ping and Naredra Modi are in good company. And even though on the surface, the Holy See has not made appearances in Silicon Valley or in Seattle with famous CEOs or chosen to fill stadiums with influential Eastern Immigrants, the man from the Vatican has a lot to offer. Interesting that he Chose to name himself after Saint Francis at time when the Golden Gate Bridge and its populace are making a mark on the global technology space and birthing a host of successful companies.  

What we also find interesting In the light of this visit, is that at at time when we have two siting popes present in some respect in Vatican City, one of the namesakes (in this case Joseph not Ratzinger but Biden) is yet to make a strategic move in his bid for the presidency maybe the visit is a good sign for the Vice President as America begins to grapple with the debate on religion-this time on a rather different but familiar front. One of the candidates (a well known Surgeon) managed to stir up quite a storm when he stated that a Muslim Presidency would in the current state of affairs be quite inappropriate. And so the debate about John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his Catholic religion and much more were all brought back to the surface. This as the Current Secretary of State John Kerry reopened the Cuban Embassy and yes was offered a chance to ride in one of those Sixties classics-but declined. Raising the flag was enough. Reliving History would be too much. Riding a convertible...i do not think so!
In the meantime Russia began to reassert itself in the political space overtly and sometimes not so overtly. Her moves to reclaim her pre-fall territory have moved unopposed and Europe through NATO is in no way keen to engage the newly revived soviet machine. The Chinese had a parade in which they too showed some of their muscle. I am certain that the Russians were perturbed and began to awaken to the reality of a new power in the region. If the Russians were still thinking of their ability to exercise authority and control based on their technology and military might, this was at least in some regard over. China was now privy to a host of useful technologies and could now sell to whoever she wanted. Russia in this regard could only claim over China Ideology but nothing more. The bear could argue that she was responsible for the ideas behind communism and revolutions but whether this would work to curtail China ability to move and exert her authority in the area would be a completely different question.

When China then went on to push north with a fleet of ships the Americans got uncomfortable. Diplomacy was getting interesting and for the first time in a long while, the Dragon was rising in the northern seas and causing a stir. Experts tell us the move was designed by the Chinese to urge the Americans to rethink their strategy in the East and maybe even assist the Americans to scale back some of their efforts for territory (and military presence) as well as encourage the Americans not to criticize the Chinese for developing controversial Islands and expanding the same much to the chagrin of their smaller neighbors. Now the Chinese were exercising their right to roam-Hegemony.