Bill Emmott is a former editor of the internationally-respected magazine, The Economist. Writing in yesterday's Times of London, Emmott laid the blame for the global economic crisis squarely on China in a column headlined "Time to Stop Being Chicken and Talk about China."  You can read it here yourself: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6841842.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=2270657 . What Emmott says is that it's time the world's leaders stood up to China, starting at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh this week. The key concept here is that global capital flows, created by China's huge trade surplus, created the excess liquidity that caused real estate bubbles -- and crashes -- throughout the developed world from the U.S. and England to Spain and Ireland. China's trade surplus, Emmott argues, is the result of currency manipulation. It works like this: one country keeps its currency artificially low to make its exports cheaper in the target country, thereby taking away market share from competing companies located in countries where the currency value is determined by market forces. A one-party, communist regime like China can easily manipulate its currency because the society and political system lack checks and balances. The only way China will stop manipulating its currency is if other international leaders push back. It's a good read, and worthwhile remembering that the only reason the Chinese regime endures is because of this currency manipulation to stimulate export growth -- and Western corporations eager to participate because it boosts their profits. Until our political leaders take action, keep boycotting everything made in China.