I'm not a super big fan of Jim Willie, but I think he's nailed it here.

http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/ed...

The main reason they've been able to get away with all this (so far) is the lack of a viable alternative to the $US reserve system, which puts everyone holding dollars in the loser camp should the dollar blow up.

The current US-China relationship looks like a Mexican Standoff, but the overall global situation is more like that scene from Reservoir Dogs with everyone pointing guns at each other. Sooner or later the guns will go off, so the only remaining question is: who's Mr. Pink?

ebear