> He seems to have a Japan fixation that is disquieting
> but this has (to my untrained ear) a ring of truth to
> it.
He's correct in insisting that the Japanese keiretsu continue to wield unimaginable might, and that the US continues to go to hell. But he doesn't seem to talk much about China, South Korea and now Vietnam, all of whom are coming on strong. East Asia is one gigantic developmental state these days. He also leaves out the European Union -- a problem, considering that most of the world's machine-tools are produced by the EU (stats are at <http://www.gardnerweb.com/consump/survey.html>).
Not wrong, just incomplete.
-- DRR