This is a snapshot of China now, poised on dominance. The article paints a picture of China as the savior of post colonial Africa when it is just economic colonialism, locking up resources and trade. Still the largest polluter, China leads in alternative energy technology, production AND consumption. Part of the push to tap into the domestic economy. So while we're distracted with the pettiness of an emotionally unfit POTUS, a******n, public health, gay issues, wars, guns and religion, China is just getting on with it, with or without us.

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/25/china-steps-up-as-global-leader_partner/#comments

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s appearance at last week’s World Economic Forum shows global leadership is shifting, not drifting, toward Beijing. The most vigorous defense of globalization and multilateral cooperation was mounted not by an American statesman, but by the president of the People’s Republic of China.

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Speculation is mounting that the United States, with Donald Trump cast in the role of president, will ignore international challenges, renounce global responsibilities and abandon friends and allies.

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But never before has China so forthrightly stepped up when the United States appears to be stepping away. As scholars of Chinese strategy and the intersection of science and politics, we see how Beijing’s ambitions and interests will affect its engagement on a range of important international issues.

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The case of c*****e c****e

C*****e c****e policy is one good example of this trend. Commentators warn that Trump’s pledge to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement would let China “off the hook” for curbing carbon emissions. In fact, China put itself “on the hook” in Paris for reasons having little to do with the United States.

China’s most urgent atmospheric problem is not carbon dioxide. It’s combustion toxicity from burning coal, oil and biomass. The Chinese these days don’t look through their air; they look at it. And what they see, they breathe.

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China is already the world’s leading producer of renewable energy technologies. More remarkably, it is also the leading consumer. And in January, it announced plans to invest an additional US$360 billion in renewable power between now and 2020. That’s $120 billion a year.

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A savvier and more probable move is for China to assert – for the first time on a major global issue – moral authority. Chinese diplomats are already reassuring the world that China will keep and even expand its climate commitments. This message conveys Beijing’s resolve not to let to let multilateral greenhouse gas mitigation collapse, and show the way out of a crisis whose agreed solution is threatened by others’ malfeasance.

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Likewise, Beijing is asserting greater leadership in other areas once led by Washington. With the demise of the T***s-Pacific Partnership, which Washington negotiated with 11 Asian countries excluding China, Beijing is promoting its own Pacific trade-and-investment framework excluding the United States.

Even more grandly, Xi is articulating an alternative vision for global economic growth. The model focuses on physical investment, especially in t***sportation and IT infrastructure. In this, it is linked to the new Silk Road project, through which China is expanding linkages across Eurasia by integrating railways, ports and information networks into t***snational corridors. The Chinese approach also does not rely on portfolio investment and central banks exertions to drive growth – a sharp contrast to Western policies

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Ceding global moral authority to China would be a high price for America to pay for the pleasures of political posturing. Yet a China leading by example would have a greater stake in its own reputation, and the greater that stake becomes the more engaged China becomes. Such a China, we believe, could profoundly benefit the world.

I'm a beginner looking to get into photography when I retire this summer. I will be using it for various wildlife including birds and walking on the C & O canal and Antietam Battlefield and on vacation to the Oregon coast. Would like to have a lens that could be used 90% of the time. I will be carrying the camera around my neck most of the time while walking. My budget is no more than $1,200.00. I do not want to buy something that in a year I would not like. I started out wanting to buy the D3400 Nikon bundle. Now I'm thinking about buying the D7100 Nikon camera after some research. The new camera alone sells for $700.00. The other option is the Nikon D7100 bundle with AF-S DX 18-140 f3.5-5.6VR lens for $1,000.00 or the bundle Nikon D7100 with AF-S DX 18-55 f3.5-5.6 G VR II and AF-S DX 55-300mm f4.5-5.6 ED VR for $1,050.00. Someone mention just buying the D7100 and getting the Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 Macro Nikon F mount for $350.00 or the 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Macro for $500.00. Can someone recommend a lens for my needs that cost around $350.00 to $500.00. I'm not familiar with the other kinds of lenses. I'm not sure about buying used or refurbished. If someone has a better recommendation or suggestion , please let me know...Thanks

When you are editing portraits, do you crop BEFORE you edit, or do you (as I do), crop AFTER you edit allowing the flexibility to create multiple sized crops later?

I hear so many "PROS" talk about 'cropping' BEFORE - especially in Photoshop. Why take time editing something you won't use, they say! But what's discarded in Photoshop is gone forever and it's a bit hard (impossible) to create a usable 8x10 AFTER it was cropped to a 4x6 format, i.e.: chopped toes/elbows, etc. Also, it is hard to explain to a "Brides Mother" that the 16x20 Canvas Print she wants out of a 4x6 tight cropped Proof is not available! As a note, suggesting the 8x12 or 12x18 to the client does not count and isn't a fail safe solution. People LOVE their 8x10's, & 5x7's!

Keep in mind, this question is about editing People rather than wildlife or landscapes - unless - those images are contracted and the client has a stake in framing of the final product.

Thanks! And More:

Please feel free to expand on methodology and reasons why.

Here is one of mine: In Lightroom, I create a "Copy" of the final edited image, for each crop size I develop. I also "color code" each size differently. This way, I can sort the"yellows" (for 5x7) and get all of the 5x7's at once for a batch export. When I export a 5x7, I will include -57 in the batch naming process to distinguish it from the same image cropped to an 1114 - 11x14.

Thanks!!!