A superb summary of why China remains an authoritarian capitalist society. I have predicted that China is likely to face a major crisis in the next five years, most likely after the 2008 Olympics, either because of social unrest led by disgruntled workers and peasants, or because of a financial collapse due to its mismanagement of the process of economic restructuring.

Beijing’s Dilemma – WSJ.com

I noted here recently that US labor unions seemed slow to take on private equity’s push to restructure corporate America. But as soon as I had uttered those words came this story indicating a toe in the waters by SEIU. The NY Times reports on a new website they have set up tracking the activities of US private equity giant Blackstone Group which is gearing up for an IPO. Frankly, the SEIU site looks pretty tame. Far more interesting is the site set up by Peter Rossman of the International Union of Foodworkers in Europe. Its URL is: IUF Website on Private Equity

A Union Takes Cautious Aim at Blackstone’s Public Offering Plan – New York Times