Africa

I just come back from Ghana, after a visit to China and Europe.
China is still vibrating from the Olympics. many in the West have dwelt on human rights and Internet ban, on Tibet and arrests of dissenters. And yet, one has to admire the vitality and the progress accomplished by the Chinese since the revolution. Besides, we westerners will not engage the Chinese if we start by making them lose face. The incidents with the OLYMPIC flame only gathered the Chinese around their flag.
In Africa, I was attending a conference on "Aid Efficiency" .50 years after independence,Africans still live a precarious life, with 1 dollar and 25 cts a day. The bottom billion lives below subsistence level, still.
China's presence on the continent is impressive . They are building infrastructure, supplying manpower, and impressing African leaders with their brand of authoritarian cum prosperity regimes.
With the terrible reputation of the US and the lethargy of Europe, democracy is no longer the way of the future for Africans.