Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - 2-5-2022

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

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The history of the Olympics and The People's Republic of China has had multiple twists, turns and controversy.

The prehistory of the 2022 Beijing Games Feb 5, 2022 Asia Times

Only through the lens of history can we understand why China fought so hard for a place in the Olympics on its own terms

In 1949, the Communist Party of China decisively prevailed over Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) after 22 years of civil war, forcing the latter to flee to Taiwan. The founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) brought a definitive end to a “century of humiliation” inaugurated by the First Opium War, which had seen colonial powers reduce China to the “sick man of Asia.”
...
China turned the Olympics into a battleground in its contest for legitimacy with the KMT regime on Taiwan and its imperialist backers, elevating the dispute to “the main burden of Olympism,” in the words of Otto Mayer, chancellor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1946 to 1964.

And as with the parallel struggle for recognition by the United Nations, this one ended after three eventful decades in unqualified triumph.
...
But by the 1952 Helsinki Games, the Soviets were ready to join the existing Olympic movement in force (ultimately finishing a close second to the United States in the medal count) and duly urged the fledgling PRC to do so as well.

From its very first approach, the PRC boldly insisted on what would become known as the one-China policy: that it was the sole legitimate representative of the Chinese nation, including KMT-occupied Taiwan. The IOC ultimately fudged on the question and extended a last-minute invitation to Beijing as well as Taipei.

Nonetheless, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai personally approved the decision to send a team, which arrived in Helsinki the day before the closing ceremony and could not take part in any competition. But merely being there was an unalloyed boon to the PRC’s legitimacy, especially as the rival Taipei-based NOC had withdrawn in protest.

Avery Brundage, the notoriously racist American who took over as IOC president that year, complained bitterly that “I did everything in my power to prevent them from taking part. Unfortunately, I had only one vote and because many others present did not feel the same way I was outvoted,”

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Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development

At the invitation of President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V. Putin visited China on 4 February 2022. The Heads of State held talks in Beijing and took part in the opening ceremony of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games.

The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, hereinafter referred to as the sides, state as follows.

Today, the world is going through momentous changes, and humanity is entering a new era of rapid development and profound transformation. It sees the development of such processes and phenomena as multipolarity, economic globalization, the advent of information society, cultural diversity, transformation of the global governance architecture and world order; there is increasing interrelation and interdependence between the States; a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world; and the international community is showing a growing demand for the leadership aiming at peaceful and gradual development. At the same time, as the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection continues, the international and regional security situation is complicating and the number of global challenges and threats is growing from day to day. Some actors representing but the minority on the international scale continue to advocate unilateral approaches to addressing international issues and resort to force; they interfere in the internal affairs of other states, infringing their legitimate rights and interests, and incite contradictions, differences and confrontation, thus hampering the development and progress of mankind, against the opposition from the international community.

The sides call on all States to pursue well-being for all and, with these ends, to build dialogue and mutual trust, strengthen mutual understanding, champion such universal human values as peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom, respect the rights of peoples to independently determine the development paths of their countries and the sovereignty and the security and development interests of States, to protect the United Nations-driven international architecture and the international law-based world order, seek genuine multipolarity with the United Nations and its Security Council playing a central and coordinating role, promote more democratic international relations, and ensure peace, stability and sustainable development across the world.

cont.

________

What is on your mind today? (Responses to Covid questions and dialog to be conducted at The Dose diary)

edited 2/5/22 to replace second video showing similar spring willow sequence.

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Comments

That is some pretty fam dancy tech displayed by China for the opening ceremonies.
Dazzling images.

Thanks for sharing!

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studentofearth's picture

@QMS introduction to an athletic event. Enjoyed the tone of harmony. Wishful hopes.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

zed2's picture

@QMS

I dont know, but thats what I suspect.

George Coates Performance Works, a San Francisco-based theatrical group mastered that projection technique a few years ago. If I find out what they did I'll post it here.

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Lookout's picture

Xi and Vlad are better leaders than we have in our current dementastration. Too bad we can't swallow our arrogance and join them in a trilateral push for peace and healing.

Thanks for the Olympic clips (and OT). I've not tuned in...been focused on the Freedom Convoy.

Hope all is well on your homestead. I've got some onions started, and still have some purple cabbage and collards hanging on in the garden. Will get more seed going in a week or two. I enjoy the winter slowdown and easier maintenance....although I need to do some more pruning this month and put out milky spore where I had Jap Beetle issues last year.

Hope everyone weathered the winter storms this week.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

studentofearth's picture

@Lookout Finished the last of the brussel sprouts this week. After the 0 degree weather a few weeks ago they became very easy to caramelize in a skillet with a little butter. Add a little Parmesan or a ginger plum sauce - yum.

Weather is warm, easy to become too excited about planting. It is not uncommon for a late frost to kill all the progress from starting plants too early. Tree pruning will keep me busy.

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5 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

ggersh's picture

so we tuned in to watch NBC announce twits trying to talk over the children singing. It was a WTF moment. And thinking that it couldn't get any worse after the singing and ceremony was over they attacked China for it's Uyhguir policy.

Irony like most words have lost all meaning in amerikkka

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

TheOtherMaven's picture

@ggersh
has sucked for decades. They've gone below the lowest common denominator to give the sheeple short soundbites tailored to their assumed short attention spans and lack of interest in anything but "USA! USA! USA!"

I think it was 2002 that they outdid themselves, cutting away from Seiji Ozawa's crowning career achievement (a multi-national, multi-location sing-along of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy") for a lengthy discussion of Michelle Kwan's toe problems. (Kwan wound up withdrawing because of them, so the entire exercise wound up utterly pointless.)

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

ggersh's picture

@TheOtherMaven I haven't watched the Olympics religiously for years but every time
I just tune in cuz of the wife they seem to hit new lows if that's possible.

Ya, I guess it is Wink

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7 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

studentofearth's picture

@ggersh Do not like the jumping from topic to topic and not allowing time to actually watch a competition from beginning to end.

As it coverage continues to degrade it may simply progress to animation to fully control the messaging.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@ggersh Oh I believe you but dang, the propaganda is everywhere. I wonder when the Olympics come to America if the network will warn viewers about the genocide of one million Iraqis killed in the US invasion?

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earthling1's picture

Infuriating!
He began the broadcast by "warning" viewers we were about to be exposed to Chinese propaganda, and then proceeded to unleash a barrage of lies, distortions, and mis-information straight out of the State Dept.
It was cringworthy and made me ashamed to be an American.
I tried to avoid his bullshit by turning the sound down, but when the Ukrainian team came out they panned the camera onto Putin, as though expecting him to boo or something. I sooo wanted him to stand at that moment and applaud.
Savannah Guthrie was no better. They both should be forced to swim back to the states. They totally humiliated the American people. We are not like this.
A pox on NBC.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

studentofearth's picture

@earthling1 There is no appreciation of even a glimmer of intelligence in their audience. If the target audience does not understand simply raise your voice and talk louder. Still ignoring message, quick change camera angle for emphasis or distraction before thinking occurs.

Not a good image of United States the disrespect of others.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@earthling1 I have not watched even clips on youtube, etc. I can imagine if the original Greek Olympics was broadcast. Here we are folks in Sparta. The Athenians looking good but remember, Spartans are like tyrants, unlike us with a hugely big slave population.

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enhydra lutris's picture

Nothing on my mind really, starting tax returns, counting birds (feeder watch), reviewing recipes (I cook next week) and thinking about all the yard work that needs doing. Thinking I'm due for a snack, slice of last night's bread with cheese and egg, perhaps:
P1000704

Should mention that Bloomberg reported that Russia Invaded Ukraine, then retracted and apologized: https://boingboing.net/2022/02/04/bloomberg-news-accidentally-publishes-...

And I guess everybody should see this for a REAL education about NFTs

so yawl be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

The playing field and competitors have been identified. They are just not paying attention to the referee starting pistol.

Good clip explaining the concept of non-fungible token (NTF).

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

freedom.jpg

We are supposed to be proud, I guess.

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@gjohnsit

people with no where else to go can not live on state land?
It is not like private property, the state is the public realm imo.
I'm sure they have some law on the books to prevent land,
owned by the people in trust, to be disgraced by poor folks ..

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enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

even in California.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

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@humphrey They have reason to feel shitty.

Everything is coming apart for them. Except their private incomes and wealth. And that makes all the difference to the criminal class who own and rules.

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NYCVG

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https://militarybenefits.info/2022-defense-budget/

In all, the 2022 defense budget allots $768.2 billion for national defense programs – that’s about a 2% increase – or $25 billion – from the Biden administration’s original budget request.

It will provide $740 billion for the Department of Defense and roughly $27.8 billion for the Department of Energy’s nuclear defense activities.

What Does the 2022 Defense Budget Include?
Each fiscal year, the president sets a list of goals and priorities for Congress to consider. The Biden Administration’s 2022 defense budget goals included defeating COVID-19, prioritizing China as a pacing threat, military innovation and modernization and addressing “advanced and persistent threats” from Russia, Iran and North Korea.

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bank and credit card statements to get things ready for my tax preparer, I enjoyed some grocery shopping, a visit with a client to deliver him a deed I prepared for his dad who is in hospice somewhat urgent...), and the ice melted,and it is 33 degrees now, down to 29 deg. tonight.
My brother was given some pinto beans and some turnip greens from an employee of a local restaurant renown for those 2 dishes, among many others. I swapped with him...tacos and some Belgian Ice cream sticks. We had a nice visit.
I had to go to 2 stores, both had visibly empty shelves. Unbelievably, a store with a large Hispanic population, had exactly 2 small packages of tortillas.
Strange times.
Except for taxes. If there is ever a change, it is to hike up the middle class brackets.
When I visited China, I saw a portion of their Olympic Stadium, but wandered around finding other things much more interesting.
I visited Olympia, Greece, checked out the first venue for everything Olympics since then. Remarkably, I remember vividly the row of engraved stones, naming cheaters in the competition. Forever shamed. Sort of like now, but our cheating athletes can cleanse.
have a great day/evening.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

It's good to see positive coverage of what ought to be a reason to come together for the occasion.

Our local paper, the Eugene Register Guard, was sold off fairly recently to part of the USA today network. It wasn't great before, but today it had a vile negative review of the Olympics opening ceremonies from Christine Brennan
It's behind a paywall, but suffice to say, it is the most cynical take I can imagine. Here is the bit readily available:

Opinion: Sadly, China continues its political charade at Winter Olympics 2022 opening ceremony
Christine Brennan
USA TODAY

BEIJING – Neither a raging global pandemic nor worldwide concern over China’s awful human rights abuses could stop Beijing from throwing itself a party Friday night at its “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium.

It gets really awful from there.

Including...Putin! Boo!

Truly despicable

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