@QMS
Those talons look sharp as needles.
Plenty of squirrel meat 'round here.
Thanks for the Los Lobos tune. I grew up near East LA (Alhambra) and saw them play a couple of times.
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May get their feathers ruffled in the process?
up
8 users have voted.
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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.
They actually convicted Hunter Biden on his weapons charges, despite Big Momma Jill showing up to stare the jury down. Coulda knocked me over with a feather, I'm tellin' ya!
This will be appealed, and the appeal appealed, and other lawfare tactics will undoubtedly be employed to keep the bastard out of the slammer. But I have to admit that I'm jest a little tickled to see a member of the First Family go down for a felony or two.
Now- let's see if any of the MSM outlets even cover it. I would think that this would be relatively big news...
Nor did the rest of the Biden family sitting in the galley. Yay for some justice, but he wasn’t charged with the more serious crimes he committed.
The FBI had his laptop since 2019 and for some reason they didn’t correct those 51 ex intelligence agents who said it was Russian propaganda after Blinken asked them to. I’d think that that was a campaign gift and if Biden didn’t report it we might see him in the dock one day…lol…I crack myself up at times.
But then Trump was president in 2019 and 2000 and he sure didn’t seem interested in locking Hunter up. Ahh well…who knows what the rules are for kabuki theater?
They actually convicted Hunter Biden on his weapons charges, despite Big Momma Jill showing up to stare the jury down. Coulda knocked me over with a feather, I'm tellin' ya!
This will be appealed, and the appeal appealed, and other lawfare tactics will undoubtedly be employed to keep the bastard out of the slammer. But I have to admit that I'm jest a little tickled to see a member of the First Family go down for a felony or two.
Now- let's see if any of the MSM outlets even cover it. I would think that this would be relatively big news...
Nor did the rest of the Biden family sitting in the galley. Yay for some justice, but he wasn’t charged with the more serious crimes he committed.
The FBI had his laptop since 2019 and for some reason they didn’t correct those 51 ex intelligence agents who said it was Russian propaganda after Blinken asked them to. I’d think that that was a campaign gift and if Biden didn’t report it we might see him in the dock one day…lol…I crack myself up at times.
But then Trump was president in 2019 and 2000 and he sure didn’t seem interested in locking Hunter up. Ahh well…who knows what the rules are for kabuki theater?
up
8 users have voted.
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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Hunter Biden leaves the courthouse without addressing reporters
BY COLLEEN LONG
Share
Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife, Melissa. They did not speak to reporters, got into waiting SUVs and drove off.
I wonder if Hunter is looking for his crack pipe? /S
They actually convicted Hunter Biden on his weapons charges, despite Big Momma Jill showing up to stare the jury down. Coulda knocked me over with a feather, I'm tellin' ya!
This will be appealed, and the appeal appealed, and other lawfare tactics will undoubtedly be employed to keep the bastard out of the slammer. But I have to admit that I'm jest a little tickled to see a member of the First Family go down for a felony or two.
Now- let's see if any of the MSM outlets even cover it. I would think that this would be relatively big news...
to see if his daddy has the cojones to pardon him on his federal counts before Election Day. He'll certainly do it immediately afterwards- but will he do it before?
I hope they remand his ass after sentencing. Let him wait for his appeal, retrial, or eventual, inevitable pardon in the friggin' slammer, like the rest of us would have to do.
Hunter Biden leaves the courthouse without addressing reporters
BY COLLEEN LONG
Share
Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife, Melissa. They did not speak to reporters, got into waiting SUVs and drove off.
I wonder if Hunter is looking for his crack pipe? /S
Hunter Biden leaves the courthouse without addressing reporters
BY COLLEEN LONG
Share
Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife, Melissa. They did not speak to reporters, got into waiting SUVs and drove off.
I wonder if Hunter is looking for his crack pipe? /S
up
4 users have voted.
—
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
@usefewersyllables
thought the jury might be bought out, but they stood strong. YES!
They actually convicted Hunter Biden on his weapons charges, despite Big Momma Jill showing up to stare the jury down. Coulda knocked me over with a feather, I'm tellin' ya!
This will be appealed, and the appeal appealed, and other lawfare tactics will undoubtedly be employed to keep the bastard out of the slammer. But I have to admit that I'm jest a little tickled to see a member of the First Family go down for a felony or two.
Now- let's see if any of the MSM outlets even cover it. I would think that this would be relatively big news...
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
photo of that bird diving; I have never seen one of that species in that position or pose from that angle before. Thanks for posting it. Thanx also for that fantastic rendition of What's Going On.
As metaphor it seems to me that the US is in some point of free fall in its descent which will, I surmise, end in a belly flop. The main thing is whether it will terminate in water or pavement. Could our political class pull some sort of soft or semi-soft landing out of this or will we be some fat juicy bug spread across the windshield of progress.
The "town" I grew up in inclded a section of cliffs washed by the pacific ocean. As a teen there was one suitable for diving direct into the surf, but generally in a much more streamlined posture that yon bird; I think it may have been Osprey street, but, though I can picture it in my mind, I cannot recall the street name for certain any more.
be well and have a good one
edit = fixed html around song title
up
9 users have voted.
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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 --
I presume the 'symbolically at least' was because the bird shown is not an 'American eagle'?
As EL alluded, tis an Osprey. Fish Eagle was a popular name for it, and a good one. Except the part of them not actually being an eagle. I think most people think of the Bald Eagle, often called American Bald Eagle, when they hear 'American Eagle'? Of course the Bald Eagle is a great fisher in its own right, and a greater PIRATE, like its namesake country, of the Osprey, routinely stealing its booty. Ben Franklin pointed this out to no avail to the eagle people.
In both the Everglades and in Mexico I have seen over a half-dozen Osprey at once. Good fishing spots. That dive is spectacular. I have seen them pull out 3, 4, and surely a couple times 5 lb. bass and fly off with them. No other bird has the wing socket like them allowing that super high aspect allowing them enough power in downstroke to lift themselves and pounds of fish skyward.
Last time they stocked trout here, a decade ago, the Osprey that wintered here on them was the only thing to outfish me on them. I got 85 of the 700. What is a boy that spent an inordinate amount of time trout fishing in the Sierra Nevada to do? I can clean one blindfolded in 60 seconds, no brag, just fact.
Thanks for the OT!
happy trails all!
up
9 users have voted.
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Using the interweb to refresh my memory, I find that it terminates at Rum Runner Cove, along Sunset Cliffs, which are the right cliffs, but wrong street. We were no doubt diving off the cliffs at the end of Santa Cruz street, a much shorter walk from the main beach area at the end of Newport.
be well and have a good one
Hi all, Hey QMS!
Great Osprey photo!
I presume the 'symbolically at least' was because the bird shown is not an 'American eagle'?
As EL alluded, tis an Osprey. Fish Eagle was a popular name for it, and a good one. Except the part of them not actually being an eagle. I think most people think of the Bald Eagle, often called American Bald Eagle, when they hear 'American Eagle'? Of course the Bald Eagle is a great fisher in its own right, and a greater PIRATE, like its namesake country, of the Osprey, routinely stealing its booty. Ben Franklin pointed this out to no avail to the eagle people.
In both the Everglades and in Mexico I have seen over a half-dozen Osprey at once. Good fishing spots. That dive is spectacular. I have seen them pull out 3, 4, and surely a couple times 5 lb. bass and fly off with them. No other bird has the wing socket like them allowing that super high aspect allowing them enough power in downstroke to lift themselves and pounds of fish skyward.
Last time they stocked trout here, a decade ago, the Osprey that wintered here on them was the only thing to outfish me on them. I got 85 of the 700. What is a boy that spent an inordinate amount of time trout fishing in the Sierra Nevada to do? I can clean one blindfolded in 60 seconds, no brag, just fact.
Thanks for the OT!
happy trails all!
up
6 users have voted.
—
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 --
During a few days layover in China, a Canadian tourist strolls the streets of Shanghai and tries to make sense of what he's seeing.
.
My HONEST Thoughts on CHINA (It's Not What You Think)
.
Jun 6, 2024. I've spent a few days in Shanghai and since not many foreigners come here, I thought I'd sum up some of my thoughts of what I think of China so far. This is just my perspective as a Canadian tourist visiting in 2024. Let me know what you think about what I said.
.
The Canadian traveler's spontaneous video tour offers some amusing takes on the Chinese people. (They don't speak English but they still want to talk.) He clearly arrived with a number of preconceived ideas about life in China that he has to sort out. The first thing he says about China to his viewers is: "I wouldn't really believe anything you see on the news in the West." He's addressing his imagined Western audience, but he would be surprised to know that many of these Western tourist, first-time walking tours in China are also popular on the Chinese Internet. This video, posted on YouTube just a few days ago has already garnered over 750 comments and short conversations from around the world.
Looking at China through his eyes, I actually learned a few important things about China's economy that I never really considered before. Anything you found surprising?
up
9 users have voted.
—
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
thank you for posting it. I watched the whole video and found it refreshing and found him to be a delightful host. It's the kind of thing we need most, people traveling and showing what really exists in the countries we're supposed to hate.
I get it that this is only a tiny fraction of what goes on in China and that it is commercial and that it only shows a part of life that may not really be available to other parts of the people there. But it makes a few salient points like the cleanliness, the absence of drunk or drugged individuals sleeping in their own pee on the streets, the safety, the hugeness of the population, and the cameras. So this video opens up lots of things to talk about. So, to over-simplify, this is AUTHORITARIANISM. So we could have a conversation about that. Is it so great that the Chineses people are consumers of U.S. high end trinkets? Where are the cars? Etc. Anyway, thank you again for posting this gem, Pluto.
If I knew how to comment to him, I would hope he would go to Russia. Peace.
During a few days layover in China, a Canadian tourist strolls the streets of Shanghai and tries to make sense of what he's seeing.
.
My HONEST Thoughts on CHINA (It's Not What You Think)
.
Jun 6, 2024. I've spent a few days in Shanghai and since not many foreigners come here, I thought I'd sum up some of my thoughts of what I think of China so far. This is just my perspective as a Canadian tourist visiting in 2024. Let me know what you think about what I said.
.
The Canadian traveler's spontaneous video tour offers some amusing takes on the Chinese people. (They don't speak English but they still want to talk.) He clearly arrived with a number of preconceived ideas about life in China that he has to sort out. The first thing he says about China to his viewers is: "I wouldn't really believe anything you see on the news in the West." He's addressing his imagined Western audience, but he would be surprised to know that many of these Western tourist, first-time walking tours in China are also popular on the Chinese Internet. This video, posted on YouTube just a few days ago has already garnered over 750 comments and short conversations from around the world.
Looking at China through his eyes, I actually learned a few important things about China's economy that I never really considered before. Anything you found surprising?
I am an avid collector of these Western tourist videos. And they are a big hit in China, as well. There's something so genuine and guileless about the encounters, and they often have funny moments. The Chinese still adore individual Americans/Westerners and always try to connect with them. Despite the fact that Western Leaders are dangerous lunatics.
The tourist video-tours got started around the time of the XinJiang Uighur smear/operation, when Uighurs were supposedly held in Prison Camps being genocided. It was a BBC/US State Department propaganda operation. Some of the 100,000 Western expats living in China, and quite a few intrepid Western tourists descended on Xinjiang Provence to talk to the Uighurs, who by then had been lifted out of poverty and their towns and cities rebuilt. The Western visitors filmed small documentaries about the colorful and friendly Uighurs, debunking the toxic propaganda. Tourist vlogging became a thing when visiting China. and gained wide popularity. By 2020, Xinjiang became China's Number One tourist destination.
. What happens in China when you can speak a little Chinese:
thank you for posting it. I watched the whole video and found it refreshing and found him to be a delightful host. It's the kind of thing we need most, people traveling and showing what really exists in the countries we're supposed to hate.
I get it that this is only a tiny fraction of what goes on in China and that it is commercial and that it only shows a part of life that may not really be available to other parts of the people there. But it makes a few salient points like the cleanliness, the absence of drunk or drugged individuals sleeping in their own pee on the streets, the safety, the hugeness of the population, and the cameras. So this video opens up lots of things to talk about. So, to over-simplify, this is AUTHORITARIANISM. So we could have a conversation about that. Is it so great that the Chineses people are consumers of U.S. high end trinkets? Where are the cars? Etc. Anyway, thank you again for posting this gem, Pluto.
If I knew how to comment to him, I would hope he would go to Russia. Peace.
up
8 users have voted.
—
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
...economically in Shanghai. I remember a video Cyrus Janssen made about a year ago, maybe more, I believe when he returned to Shanghai (where he had lived for sometime) and the Bund was very quiet by comparison, and he reported "early signs of recovery." The reason the architecture looks European is because it is. That's the old international enclave. I haven't ever been to the mainland, but I've been following Cyrus for years, and some of the other western expats who've lived there for some time, Jerry Grey, Reporterfly, now Ben Norton (Geopolitical economy report, he's over there now)...I know I've missed a couple because if I don't recall the exact name of the channel, I may not find it again, because the youtube suppresses the recent reports. Sean Foo is pretty good on economy. I don't know where he's living or his citizenship. I like Carl Zha's reporting particularly on historical issues. Carl is living in Indonesia. Ah yes, Daniel Dumbril curtailed his video reporting, I think he's in Shenzhen. Recently I started to listen to Jane Hayward on China, who does some interesting analysis and tries to debunk cliches about Chinese history and current policies. This is her most recent.
I'm not so sure Apple is doing all that well lately in terms of marketing inside China. I recall hearing one report recently that they weren't. This may be a Chinese market reaction based upon nationalist sentiment to favor Huawei over Apple after the way the US treated it. Tesla is losing market share there also from what I read not too long ago, may be an understatement to say the least, this is mostly based on their pricing being uncompetitive. The name brand lower end consumer retail outlets, like Walmart, McDs, Nike and the others are probably doing well enough with the post covid economic recovery.
I can read the pedestrian crossing signal sign, but I have to admit I have difficulty reading a lot of the simplified Chinese. I'm a beginner. I did find an excellent tourist type Mandarin lesson, after looking at dozens of these basic level videos. This one, I think, minute for minute, is the most practically useful list of 20 common phrases. Yimin is probably the best channel for basics. Her English accent is quite good and isn't a barrier. But I guess one could just use one of those translation apps. I also watch quite a few travel guide videos by South Korean experts on China but they are mostly going to historical sites in remote scenic places far from the big cities and concentrating on cultural issues. These places are nothing like the cities at all. The living conditions are a lot less advanced.
It's interesting that in the Shanghai video, the tourist comments on the strength of the Chinese family tradition. The problem is that the inflation cost squeeze as well as past government policies have caused the birth rate issue with the approaching "depopulation" issue. So older people do get stuck in the countryside, and live in relative isolation with poor access to social services. This is a problem that South Korea and Japan have as well. All the above are just my impressions. Ms. So who travels a great deal, insists that Chinese tourists are very loud. I won't say any more.
One thing I've noticed is the propaganda focus on illegal Chinses immigrants to the west. I can't remember the exact numbers, but tens of millions of Chinese tourists leave China to visit other countries every year, and extremely few don't return.
During a few days layover in China, a Canadian tourist strolls the streets of Shanghai and tries to make sense of what he's seeing.
.
My HONEST Thoughts on CHINA (It's Not What You Think)
.
Jun 6, 2024. I've spent a few days in Shanghai and since not many foreigners come here, I thought I'd sum up some of my thoughts of what I think of China so far. This is just my perspective as a Canadian tourist visiting in 2024. Let me know what you think about what I said.
.
The Canadian traveler's spontaneous video tour offers some amusing takes on the Chinese people. (They don't speak English but they still want to talk.) He clearly arrived with a number of preconceived ideas about life in China that he has to sort out. The first thing he says about China to his viewers is: "I wouldn't really believe anything you see on the news in the West." He's addressing his imagined Western audience, but he would be surprised to know that many of these Western tourist, first-time walking tours in China are also popular on the Chinese Internet. This video, posted on YouTube just a few days ago has already garnered over 750 comments and short conversations from around the world.
Looking at China through his eyes, I actually learned a few important things about China's economy that I never really considered before. Anything you found surprising?
....on supporting its aging population and integrating it to other parts of society to create rewarding win-win opportunities. The Healthy China 2030 project is. a top CCP Goal, so it will be met in a brilliant fashion.
Concurrent technologies and developments are speeding things up, as well. Rural isolatio is now equipped with a 6G Network, Starlink Internet, Telehealth, Drone delivery devices systems and remote health monitoring, which did not exist five years ago. Many older Chinese already received lifestyle and housing upgrades as part of the 2020 Poverty eradication. AI will completely transform the need for human labor and free millions from jobs in order to pursue different interests. China is also producing advanced research in antiaging medicines and protocols. These futures are already here.
Concerns about China's Aging Population is largely Western Hype, triggered by the West's temper tantrum over the One Child Policy, which is what allowed China to develop and produce at impossible speeds that eclipse the United States' evil agenda for the world.
China's got this — and global warming, too. The Aging population hype reminds me of this cartoon:
...economically in Shanghai. I remember a video Cyrus Janssen made about a year ago, maybe more, I believe when he returned to Shanghai (where he had lived for sometime) and the Bund was very quiet by comparison, and he reported "early signs of recovery." The reason the architecture looks European is because it is. That's the old international enclave. I haven't ever been to the mainland, but I've been following Cyrus for years, and some of the other western expats who've lived there for some time, Jerry Grey, Reporterfly, now Ben Norton (Geopolitical economy report, he's over there now)...I know I've missed a couple because if I don't recall the exact name of the channel, I may not find it again, because the youtube suppresses the recent reports. Sean Foo is pretty good on economy. I don't know where he's living or his citizenship. I like Carl Zha's reporting particularly on historical issues. Carl is living in Indonesia. Ah yes, Daniel Dumbril curtailed his video reporting, I think he's in Shenzhen. Recently I started to listen to Jane Hayward on China, who does some interesting analysis and tries to debunk cliches about Chinese history and current policies. This is her most recent.
I'm not so sure Apple is doing all that well lately in terms of marketing inside China. I recall hearing one report recently that they weren't. This may be a Chinese market reaction based upon nationalist sentiment to favor Huawei over Apple after the way the US treated it. Tesla is losing market share there also from what I read not too long ago, may be an understatement to say the least, this is mostly based on their pricing being uncompetitive. The name brand lower end consumer retail outlets, like Walmart, McDs, Nike and the others are probably doing well enough with the post covid economic recovery.
I can read the pedestrian crossing signal sign, but I have to admit I have difficulty reading a lot of the simplified Chinese. I'm a beginner. I did find an excellent tourist type Mandarin lesson, after looking at dozens of these basic level videos. This one, I think, minute for minute, is the most practically useful list of 20 common phrases. Yimin is probably the best channel for basics. Her English accent is quite good and isn't a barrier. But I guess one could just use one of those translation apps. I also watch quite a few travel guide videos by South Korean experts on China but they are mostly going to historical sites in remote scenic places far from the big cities and concentrating on cultural issues. These places are nothing like the cities at all. The living conditions are a lot less advanced.
It's interesting that in the Shanghai video, the tourist comments on the strength of the Chinese family tradition. The problem is that the inflation cost squeeze as well as past government policies have caused the birth rate issue with the approaching "depopulation" issue. So older people do get stuck in the countryside, and live in relative isolation with poor access to social services. This is a problem that South Korea and Japan have as well. All the above are just my impressions. Ms. So who travels a great deal, insists that Chinese tourists are very loud. I won't say any more.
One thing I've noticed is the propaganda focus on illegal Chinses immigrants to the west. I can't remember the exact numbers, but tens of millions of Chinese tourists leave China to visit other countries every year, and extremely few don't return.
up
4 users have voted.
—
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
The challenges presented by the ageing of China’s population are vast and complex.
2030 isn't now.
I've probably watched at least at least thirty hours of rural video coverage of life in the country side in China. It isn't hype this is just Chinese people living their lives in the circumstances they find themselves in and making the most of it. The standard of living is nowhere near that in the cities.
People's fates are pretty much tied to their provincial and local governments. There are obviously less resources available which is why young people move away to find other opportunities. This contributes to the demographic problem. It's difficult to move from one region to another. If you are not from the local jurisdiction it's difficult to get social support.
It isn't western hype, it's how they live. Can it be fixed if it is given the priority it needs by the central government. I'm sure it can. But the problems are structural, I have no axe to grind. I admire the people and their country, and wish them best. That's why their videos, the ones they produce themselves which are lifestyle videos and have nothing to do with political content simply reveal the way they live. There really isn't much dialogue or speaking in them. The Korean videos I watch which explore the remote areas in China away from the cities are travelogues, exploring the culture and history not political cant. As they engage with the people they encounter, for whom they have the utmost respect you simply can observe their conditions. Those videos are about Chinese culture and history, and don't take any condescending views of what they explore. They are there because they respect the people and their culture.
Don't put me in the same category as Gordon Chang. That's absurd hyperbole.
....on supporting its aging population and integrating it to other parts of society to create rewarding win-win opportunities. The Healthy China 2030 project is. a top CCP Goal, so it will be met in a brilliant fashion.
Concurrent technologies and developments are speeding things up, as well. Rural isolatio is now equipped with a 6G Network, Starlink Internet, Telehealth, Drone delivery devices systems and remote health monitoring, which did not exist five years ago. Many older Chinese already received lifestyle and housing upgrades as part of the 2020 Poverty eradication. AI will completely transform the need for human labor and free millions from jobs in order to pursue different interests. China is also producing advanced research in antiaging medicines and protocols. These futures are already here.
Concerns about China's Aging Population is largely Western Hype, triggered by the West's temper tantrum over the One Child Policy, which is what allowed China to develop and produce at impossible speeds that eclipse the United States' evil agenda for the world.
China's got this — and global warming, too. The Aging population hype reminds me of this cartoon:
@soryang@soryang
in my one 12 day visit to China, I saw prostitutes so drunk they needed help to get into the fancy hotel where I was in Shanghai, and the concierge explained the man who brought them to stay assured the hotel they were Filipino. It was wild!
No traffic? Because a citizen is allowed to buy a car by lottery. Then, they get a licences plate that is colored. Blue might me Monday and Tuesday, as an example.
Rural areas are much like the indigenous in Central and South America. Populations who literally do not wear clothes unless tourist are coming.
My tour group visited a home touted as worth 2.5 million.
It had no kitchen, no bathroom.
I have no idea what the point is to have millions of dollars in holdings that force me to walk 2 blocks to a public bathroom to pee or poop, and eat out 3 times daily. I walked that far from that home to pee.
Rural villages were just closed and moved to the cities by the government. The rurals were those workers Romney saw, and thought were great, who had been forced to work in specified factories, who had barbed wire fences to discourage them from leaping out of windows to either suicide or escape the Romney-approved factories.
If anyone goes outside the big cities in China, sees the rural landscape and situation, they will see it is a big divide between the rich and the poor. Lots more poor in China than in the US.
China may be trying to raise up their people, but they have a long way to go, and have only worked well in major cities.
I wish them well. Go, China! The only Chinese people that I didn't love and hug, were the police.
The challenges presented by the ageing of China’s population are vast and complex.
2030 isn't now.
I've probably watched at least at least thirty hours of rural video coverage of life in the country side in China. It isn't hype this is just Chinese people living their lives in the circumstances they find themselves in and making the most of it. The standard of living is nowhere near that in the cities.
People's fates are pretty much tied to their provincial and local governments. There are obviously less resources available which is why young people move away to find other opportunities. This contributes to the demographic problem. It's difficult to move from one region to another. If you are not from the local jurisdiction it's difficult to get social support.
It isn't western hype, it's how they live. Can it be fixed if it is given the priority it needs by the central government. I'm sure it can. But the problems are structural, I have no axe to grind. I admire the people and their country, and wish them best. That's why their videos, the ones they produce themselves which are lifestyle videos and have nothing to do with political content simply reveal the way they live. There really isn't much dialogue or speaking in them. The Korean videos I watch which explore the remote areas in China away from the cities are travelogues, exploring the culture and history not political cant. As they engage with the people they encounter, for whom they have the utmost respect you simply can observe their conditions. Those videos are about Chinese culture and history, and don't take any condescending views of what they explore. They are there because they respect the people and their culture.
Don't put me in the same category as Gordon Chang. That's absurd hyperbole.
up
4 users have voted.
—
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
....that was published by the Center for Public Integrity or something like that. It was about US corporations outsourcing their factory production to China. It was one element of a three part strategy to cut costs to the bone, labor arbitrage, offshoring profits to intermediary tax havens, and reducing their US corporate tax obligation to as close to zero as they could get it. In it they documented what Ross Perot used to call "that giant sucking sound." One of the main examples they used was the smartphone co X, their subcontractor in Shenzhen, and then their offshore tax havens to wash their ginormous profits when they raised the price of a finished phone by a surprising amount most probably couldn't believe. This is when I had heard of the captive labor force of subcontractors facilities, the grueling hours, the dorm life etc., and the nets around the outside of the dorms to reduce fatalities from the jumpers which had brought adverse publicity.
When I described what was going on according to this book, which appeared well documented to me, (I concentrated on US tax law) on a well known pundits chat, immediately the ever present gatekeepers arose to the defense of corporate America and told me the suicides were bs, that statistically there was nothing wrong or out of the ordinary with the suicide rate or exploitative about the conditions etc. The subcontractor was actually a Taiwan outfit which operated the facilities on the mainland. So after I told them I suspected they were heavily invested in the US company and its methods, I never went back.
People asked me in another chat why I left. Why? Are you kidding?
(edited x2 for typos)
#5.2.1.1#5.2.1.1 in my one 12 day visit to China, I saw prostitutes so drunk they needed help to get into the fancy hotel where I was in Shanghai, and the concierge explained the man who brought them to stay assured the hotel they were Filipino. It was wild!
No traffic? Because a citizen is allowed to buy a car by lottery. Then, they get a licences plate that is colored. Blue might me Monday and Tuesday, as an example.
Rural areas are much like the indigenous in Central and South America. Populations who literally do not wear clothes unless tourist are coming.
My tour group visited a home touted as worth 2.5 million.
It had no kitchen, no bathroom.
I have no idea what the point is to have millions of dollars in holdings that force me to walk 2 blocks to a public bathroom to pee or poop, and eat out 3 times daily. I walked that far from that home to pee.
Rural villages were just closed and moved to the cities by the government. The rurals were those workers Romney saw, and thought were great, who had been forced to work in specified factories, who had barbed wire fences to discourage them from leaping out of windows to either suicide or escape the Romney-approved factories.
If anyone goes outside the big cities in China, sees the rural landscape and situation, they will see it is a big divide between the rich and the poor. Lots more poor in China than in the US.
China may be trying to raise up their people, but they have a long way to go, and have only worked well in major cities.
I wish them well. Go, China! The only Chinese people that I didn't love and hug, were the police.
@soryang
did a tour of some of those factories, thought the work model (slave labor) was brilliant.
When a factory or some such facility was built, local villages were basically shut down and destroyed, and the residents were forcibly mraising their standard of living via forced labor is what they have.oved to housing complexes provided by the government in close proximity to the factories. They had no choice but to work in the factories.
That is one way to bring prosperity to the people, but it is cruel.
Maybe they have some plan, some long term plan, to allow their population some freedom, but for now, forced labor is their method of lifting the poor out of abject poverty.
....that was published by the Center for Public Integrity or something like that. It was about US corporations outsourcing their factory production to China. It was one element of a three part strategy to cut costs to the bone, labor arbitrage, offshoring profits to intermediary tax havens, and reducing their US corporate tax obligation to as close to zero as they could get it. In it they documented what Ross Perot used to call "that giant sucking sound." One of the main examples they used was the smartphone co X, their subcontractor in Shenzhen, and then their offshore tax havens to wash their ginormous profits when they raised the price of a finished phone by a surprising amount most probably couldn't believe. This is when I had heard of the captive labor force of subcontractors facilities, the grueling hours, the dorm life etc., and the nets around the outside of the dorms to reduce fatalities from the jumpers which had brought adverse publicity.
When I described what was going on according to this book, which appeared well documented to me, (I concentrated on US tax law) on a well known pundits chat, immediately the ever present gatekeepers arose to the defense of corporate America and told me the suicides were bs, that statistically there was nothing wrong or out of the ordinary with the suicide rate or exploitative about the conditions etc. The subcontractor was actually a Taiwan outfit which operated the facilities on the mainland. So after I told them I suspected they were heavily invested in the US company and its methods, I never went back.
People asked me in another chat why I left. Why? Are you kidding?
(edited x2 for typos)
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1 user has voted.
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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
Don't know whether you ever read Reddit, but they have a small but intense group of Western Chinese who have a forum called r/sino. They post all kinds of interesting information about China, from history to business to rivalry with the US to philosophy and technology. Newsy, sort of like Twitter. I often see topics you mention:
...economically in Shanghai. I remember a video Cyrus Janssen made about a year ago, maybe more, I believe when he returned to Shanghai (where he had lived for sometime) and the Bund was very quiet by comparison, and he reported "early signs of recovery." The reason the architecture looks European is because it is. That's the old international enclave. I haven't ever been to the mainland, but I've been following Cyrus for years, and some of the other western expats who've lived there for some time, Jerry Grey, Reporterfly, now Ben Norton (Geopolitical economy report, he's over there now)...I know I've missed a couple because if I don't recall the exact name of the channel, I may not find it again, because the youtube suppresses the recent reports. Sean Foo is pretty good on economy. I don't know where he's living or his citizenship. I like Carl Zha's reporting particularly on historical issues. Carl is living in Indonesia. Ah yes, Daniel Dumbril curtailed his video reporting, I think he's in Shenzhen. Recently I started to listen to Jane Hayward on China, who does some interesting analysis and tries to debunk cliches about Chinese history and current policies. This is her most recent.
I'm not so sure Apple is doing all that well lately in terms of marketing inside China. I recall hearing one report recently that they weren't. This may be a Chinese market reaction based upon nationalist sentiment to favor Huawei over Apple after the way the US treated it. Tesla is losing market share there also from what I read not too long ago, may be an understatement to say the least, this is mostly based on their pricing being uncompetitive. The name brand lower end consumer retail outlets, like Walmart, McDs, Nike and the others are probably doing well enough with the post covid economic recovery.
I can read the pedestrian crossing signal sign, but I have to admit I have difficulty reading a lot of the simplified Chinese. I'm a beginner. I did find an excellent tourist type Mandarin lesson, after looking at dozens of these basic level videos. This one, I think, minute for minute, is the most practically useful list of 20 common phrases. Yimin is probably the best channel for basics. Her English accent is quite good and isn't a barrier. But I guess one could just use one of those translation apps. I also watch quite a few travel guide videos by South Korean experts on China but they are mostly going to historical sites in remote scenic places far from the big cities and concentrating on cultural issues. These places are nothing like the cities at all. The living conditions are a lot less advanced.
It's interesting that in the Shanghai video, the tourist comments on the strength of the Chinese family tradition. The problem is that the inflation cost squeeze as well as past government policies have caused the birth rate issue with the approaching "depopulation" issue. So older people do get stuck in the countryside, and live in relative isolation with poor access to social services. This is a problem that South Korea and Japan have as well. All the above are just my impressions. Ms. So who travels a great deal, insists that Chinese tourists are very loud. I won't say any more.
One thing I've noticed is the propaganda focus on illegal Chinses immigrants to the west. I can't remember the exact numbers, but tens of millions of Chinese tourists leave China to visit other countries every year, and extremely few don't return.
up
3 users have voted.
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Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
What I don't like on both sides of reporting these naval/air space encounters near China is that no one provides the precise track of the vessels and aircraft. If they did you'd be able to make a better judgement of what happened. Also, where's the video meaning it's common for pilots or crew to record encounters with other forces considered to be unsafe?
I listened to Victor Gao's commentary on this, which expresses the Chinese view of the incident, but again, details are scarce.
There was also the incident with the four teachers from the US being attacked by an assailant with a knife in Jilin. They have been hospitalized and will recover according to the report I read. I noticed one is apparently a former Tufts graduate, which...made me think, "was it something I said?"
Don't know whether you ever read Reddit, but they have a small but intense group of Western Chinese who have a forum called r/sino. They post all kinds of interesting information about China, from history to business to rivalry with the US to philosophy and technology. Newsy, sort of like Twitter. I often see topics you mention:
In the good old days when I was oblivious to the sun damage to my skin, I spent a lot of time outdoors fishing. Usually I wasn't all that successful, catching bass, so I gravitated toward salt water fishing at the inlets on the northeast coast or the brackish water of the St. John's or intercoastal. When I was still in the bass fishing days, which I did mostly just to enjoy the scenery, I went to Lake Hawthorne a few times near the old Margorie Rawlings estate. Across from her old homestead was a stand of cypress trees that was home to at least a dozen bald eagles. The place was dreamlike in its other worldly serenity.
Once along one of isolated state roads several years later in that same area near Hawthorne, I was driving through in the big rig, and the largest bald eagle I ever saw almost crashed into my windshield. In my imagination, it was one of those Jungian occasions of synchronicity because I was daydreaming about my pleasant experiences at Lake Hawthorne as I drove through.
We have some Osprey living in this area as well. There is an Osprey nest on top of a floodlight post over near the park where I (usually) walk smokey a couple of times a week. I thought I had a pic on my phone of an eagle trying to carry away a squirrel on the road not too far from here, but I can't find it. I had to clear that xsoft cloud thing of any non-evidentiary type photos because they said I was near my limit and I would have to pay for any more space. I guess I deleted it.
This is irrelevant but somewhat interesting. I wonder what C99ers might think of this (if anything)?
In conclusion, the definition of being a Weeb goes back to the early 19th century with the appearance of Japonophilia. It goes through the years and disappears for a while, until the early 2000s. At that time, the Japonophiles reappear but take a turn towards obsession.
The term Wapanese is then used to identify them, once this simple passion for Japan becomes irritating to his peers. Being the subject of a controversy, the administrators of 4chan apply a filter by replacing it with the ridiculous word Weeaboo. Weeb is just a shortened version.
These followers are obsessed with Japanese pop culture to the point of considering this culture superior to the rest and disown their own. They harbor a deep desire to become Japanese and live in the land of the rising sun.
What differentiates them from a Japanese culture enthusiast and an Otaku is their crazy obsession and fetish for "Made in Japan" (items originating in Japan). To come back to the question: to be or not to be a Weeaboo? The choice is yours depending on where you stand on the scale of fanaticism.
I had never heard these terms, but I'm not familiar with Japanese language at all.
I have a friend that hit a Wild Turkey flying across I-10 in Texas, He was in a Jeep, it took out the windshield but he was OK. Lots of states have fairly recently changed wildlife harvesting laws so it is now LEGAL in many states (ten or more) to harvest some of your kill. Might make up for the damages? But don't so much as leave an eagle feather in the grill!
THANKS!
happy trails!
In the good old days when I was oblivious to the sun damage to my skin, I spent a lot of time outdoors fishing. Usually I wasn't all that successful, catching bass, so I gravitated toward salt water fishing at the inlets on the northeast coast or the brackish water of the St. John's or intercoastal. When I was still in the bass fishing days, which I did mostly just to enjoy the scenery, I went to Lake Hawthorne a few times near the old Margorie Rawlings estate. Across from her old homestead was a stand of cypress trees that was home to at least a dozen bald eagles. The place was dreamlike in its other worldly serenity.
Once along one of isolated state roads several years later in that same area near Hawthorne, I was driving through in the big rig, and the largest bald eagle I ever saw almost crashed into my windshield. In my imagination, it was one of those Jungian occasions of synchronicity because I was daydreaming about my pleasant experiences at Lake Hawthorne as I drove through.
We have some Osprey living in this area as well. There is an Osprey nest on top of a floodlight post over near the park where I (usually) walk smokey a couple of times a week. I thought I had a pic on my phone of an eagle trying to carry away a squirrel on the road not too far from here, but I can't find it. I had to clear that xsoft cloud thing of any non-evidentiary type photos because they said I was near my limit and I would have to pay for any more space. I guess I deleted it.
This is irrelevant but somewhat interesting. I wonder what C99ers might think of this (if anything)?
In conclusion, the definition of being a Weeb goes back to the early 19th century with the appearance of Japonophilia. It goes through the years and disappears for a while, until the early 2000s. At that time, the Japonophiles reappear but take a turn towards obsession.
The term Wapanese is then used to identify them, once this simple passion for Japan becomes irritating to his peers. Being the subject of a controversy, the administrators of 4chan apply a filter by replacing it with the ridiculous word Weeaboo. Weeb is just a shortened version.
These followers are obsessed with Japanese pop culture to the point of considering this culture superior to the rest and disown their own. They harbor a deep desire to become Japanese and live in the land of the rising sun.
What differentiates them from a Japanese culture enthusiast and an Otaku is their crazy obsession and fetish for "Made in Japan" (items originating in Japan). To come back to the question: to be or not to be a Weeaboo? The choice is yours depending on where you stand on the scale of fanaticism.
I had never heard these terms, but I'm not familiar with Japanese language at all.
up
5 users have voted.
—
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Los Lobos ain't bad, either!
We were tempted to go see them recently, but the first ones in line grabbed the very limited seats, everyone else has to stand for 3 hours, after standing in line for an hour. Those that are seated can't see the stage for the standing people, all seemingly tall and heavy set, block the view.
We will wait for a better venue.
Can't wait to hear Hunter's sentence. No sympathy for that pos whatsoever.
up
8 users have voted.
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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
Of all the boneheaded maneuvers that we can possibly pull, this has to be right up there with sticking one's pudendum into a running electric fan. Russia's stated goal is the elimination of precisely these Nazis. If we are now going to be directly supplying them, and not relying on Ukraine to give us plausible deniability of some sort, we are directly squaring up with the Russians. Directly.
We can therefore expect the mechanisms of transport for this materiel to come under direct attack, regardless of the little "US Air Force" emblems on the sides. This will result in direct conflict. Have I used the word "direct" enough yet?
This changes it from a proxy war to a war war, and we can expect our C-17 cargo aircraft to start getting splashed. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK are they thinking?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emerson Mnangagwa shared a laugh during a tense debate on nuclear diplomacy on Friday, as they discussed how to deal with the real and metaphorical “hyenas” threatening their countries.
During a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), political scientist Sergey Karaganov urged Putin to update Russia’s nuclear doctrine to allow nuclear retaliation against countries that strike Russia with conventional weapons.
With multiple Western nations – including the US, France, and Germany – recently giving Kiev permission to use their missiles in long-range strikes on Russian territory, Karaganov argued that these countries have grown complacent and need to be reminded of Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
“They have gone mad, especially the Europeans,” he told Putin. “It’s how animals behave. If there is a herd of hyenas or wild dogs and you’ve got a stick, you can keep them at bay. But there’s a high chance that they will tear your clothes, and if you get tired they will bite you to death. If you can kill a couple of them then they will disperse.”
“President Mnangagwa knows about the behaviour of hyenas,” Karaganov continued, before asking the Zimbabwean leader: “Do you agree Mr. President, that this is how you deal with hyenas?”
“We do have lots of hyenas in Zimbabwe, but we keep them in the national parks,” Mnangagwa replied. “We have no problems with them, but they breed a lot, and if there is anybody who wants them, we are ready to donate,” he added, to laughter from the audience.
“Well we’ve got hyenas of our own in Europe,” Putin responded.
Russian nuclear doctrine has not changed since 2010. It allows for the use of atomic weapons in the event of a nuclear first strike on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of the Russian state is threatened by either nuclear or conventional weapons.
“I do not believe that it is the case now,” Putin said, adding that Russia “needs no nuclear weapons to achieve victory” in Ukraine.
.::
Dmitry Orlov commented on that situation:
Here is my take: The transoceanic clown show is reaching its peak and makes damned good watching, so do tune in as much as your busy schedules allow. Russia will continue to shoot down whatever is thrown at it; the damage it is sustaining at the moment it can go on to sustain for centuries. But it won't have to: in a year or three the Ukraine will no longer exist and NATO will need to go looking for some other herd of victims to sacrifice on the altar of Russophobia — except that they won't find one. Nobody is stupid enough to exclaim "We want to to suffer and die for nothing just like the Ukrainians!"
Thus, Russia sees no reason to go nuclear — unless the US goes nuclear first — in which case good-bye US, it will no longer exist. Russia will still exist regardless — it is much too huge and quite thoroughly defended against anything that the US has (antiquated Cold War junk, mostly) — but might sustain some very nasty damage.
The noise you may have been hearing about this or that NATO member approving the use of this or that weapon against Russia itself — that's just noise. They've been shelling Russian territory for two years now — same NATO weapons, same NATO crews. What is changing is NATO's reach — they are being pushed deeper into former Ukraine, away from internationally recognized Russian territory. Meanwhile, Russia's reach now includes anything in the world that it feels like blowing up without even necessarily getting caught in the act.
In this situation, there is just one thing for the US to do: chicken out. Sure, it will cluck and crow and preen and strut just the same, making it hard to tell that it's chickening out — but it will.
.
Bothr NATO and the US are currently defenseless against Russia's ready to deploy array of Precision Supersonic Missiles, whatever their tactical payload.
The enemy of my enemy is apparently something not at all new...
Of all the boneheaded maneuvers that we can possibly pull, this has to be right up there with sticking one's pudendum into a running electric fan. Russia's stated goal is the elimination of precisely these Nazis. If we are now going to be directly supplying them, and not relying on Ukraine to give us plausible deniability of some sort, we are directly squaring up with the Russians. Directly.
We can therefore expect the mechanisms of transport for this materiel to come under direct attack, regardless of the little "US Air Force" emblems on the sides. This will result in direct conflict. Have I used the word "direct" enough yet?
This changes it from a proxy war to a war war, and we can expect our C-17 cargo aircraft to start getting splashed. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK are they thinking?
up
7 users have voted.
—
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
some of those Sprint Mach 10 hypersonic missles that we had, but scrapped, way back in the 70s. The Safeguard system, of which they were a part, was operational for about 2 weeks before decommissioning. It would only have defended the North Dakota missile fields, anyway. And it was less than a billion, if the books are to be believed. So- a bargain.
But we could use some hypersonics right now, couldn't we (although the fact that they were nuclear-tipped is a little offputting)? Too bad that Bell Labs no longer exists, all the hardware was long since dispersed, and all the designers are retired and/or dead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emerson Mnangagwa shared a laugh during a tense debate on nuclear diplomacy on Friday, as they discussed how to deal with the real and metaphorical “hyenas” threatening their countries.
During a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), political scientist Sergey Karaganov urged Putin to update Russia’s nuclear doctrine to allow nuclear retaliation against countries that strike Russia with conventional weapons.
With multiple Western nations – including the US, France, and Germany – recently giving Kiev permission to use their missiles in long-range strikes on Russian territory, Karaganov argued that these countries have grown complacent and need to be reminded of Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
“They have gone mad, especially the Europeans,” he told Putin. “It’s how animals behave. If there is a herd of hyenas or wild dogs and you’ve got a stick, you can keep them at bay. But there’s a high chance that they will tear your clothes, and if you get tired they will bite you to death. If you can kill a couple of them then they will disperse.”
“President Mnangagwa knows about the behaviour of hyenas,” Karaganov continued, before asking the Zimbabwean leader: “Do you agree Mr. President, that this is how you deal with hyenas?”
“We do have lots of hyenas in Zimbabwe, but we keep them in the national parks,” Mnangagwa replied. “We have no problems with them, but they breed a lot, and if there is anybody who wants them, we are ready to donate,” he added, to laughter from the audience.
“Well we’ve got hyenas of our own in Europe,” Putin responded.
Russian nuclear doctrine has not changed since 2010. It allows for the use of atomic weapons in the event of a nuclear first strike on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of the Russian state is threatened by either nuclear or conventional weapons.
“I do not believe that it is the case now,” Putin said, adding that Russia “needs no nuclear weapons to achieve victory” in Ukraine.
.::
Dmitry Orlov commented on that situation:
Here is my take: The transoceanic clown show is reaching its peak and makes damned good watching, so do tune in as much as your busy schedules allow. Russia will continue to shoot down whatever is thrown at it; the damage it is sustaining at the moment it can go on to sustain for centuries. But it won't have to: in a year or three the Ukraine will no longer exist and NATO will need to go looking for some other herd of victims to sacrifice on the altar of Russophobia — except that they won't find one. Nobody is stupid enough to exclaim "We want to to suffer and die for nothing just like the Ukrainians!"
Thus, Russia sees no reason to go nuclear — unless the US goes nuclear first — in which case good-bye US, it will no longer exist. Russia will still exist regardless — it is much too huge and quite thoroughly defended against anything that the US has (antiquated Cold War junk, mostly) — but might sustain some very nasty damage.
The noise you may have been hearing about this or that NATO member approving the use of this or that weapon against Russia itself — that's just noise. They've been shelling Russian territory for two years now — same NATO weapons, same NATO crews. What is changing is NATO's reach — they are being pushed deeper into former Ukraine, away from internationally recognized Russian territory. Meanwhile, Russia's reach now includes anything in the world that it feels like blowing up without even necessarily getting caught in the act.
In this situation, there is just one thing for the US to do: chicken out. Sure, it will cluck and crow and preen and strut just the same, making it hard to tell that it's chickening out — but it will.
.
Bothr NATO and the US are currently defenseless against Russia's ready to deploy array of Precision Supersonic Missiles, whatever their tactical payload.
Comments
An attack dive on all competitors
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May get their feathers ruffled in the process?
Awesome photo
Those talons look sharp as needles.
Plenty of squirrel meat 'round here.
Thanks for the Los Lobos tune. I grew up near East LA (Alhambra) and saw them play a couple of times.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Well, lookee here!
They actually convicted Hunter Biden on his weapons charges, despite Big Momma Jill showing up to stare the jury down. Coulda knocked me over with a feather, I'm tellin' ya!
This will be appealed, and the appeal appealed, and other lawfare tactics will undoubtedly be employed to keep the bastard out of the slammer. But I have to admit that I'm jest a little tickled to see a member of the First Family go down for a felony or two.
Now- let's see if any of the MSM outlets even cover it. I would think that this would be relatively big news...
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hunter-biden-jury-has-reached-verdict
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
So pond hopping Jill didn’t make a difference
Nor did the rest of the Biden family sitting in the galley. Yay for some justice, but he wasn’t charged with the more serious crimes he committed.
The FBI had his laptop since 2019 and for some reason they didn’t correct those 51 ex intelligence agents who said it was Russian propaganda after Blinken asked them to. I’d think that that was a campaign gift and if Biden didn’t report it we might see him in the dock one day…lol…I crack myself up at times.
But then Trump was president in 2019 and 2000 and he sure didn’t seem interested in locking Hunter up. Ahh well…who knows what the rules are for kabuki theater?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
I just checked orange state
One diary title:
LOCK HIM UP
Of course it’s directed at Trump because no one is above the law…let’s see how long that is valid.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
Actually I am pleasantly surprised at the verdict as I had seen
reports that this was more of a Biden lovefest in Delaware rather than a trial.
https://apnews.com/live/hunter-biden-gun-trial-day-2-jury-deliberations?...
I wonder if Hunter is looking for his crack pipe? /S
It'll be interesting
to see if his daddy has the cojones to pardon him on his federal counts before Election Day. He'll certainly do it immediately afterwards- but will he do it before?
I hope they remand his ass after sentencing. Let him wait for his appeal, retrial, or eventual, inevitable pardon in the friggin' slammer, like the rest of us would have to do.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
That there's a Biden???
Funny, after the movie I saw the other day, I nearly took him for an Estevez....
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
I was kind of surprised...
thought the jury might be bought out, but they stood strong. YES!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning QMS. That is a most wonderful
photo of that bird diving; I have never seen one of that species in that position or pose from that angle before. Thanks for posting it. Thanx also for that fantastic rendition of What's Going On.
As metaphor it seems to me that the US is in some point of free fall in its descent which will, I surmise, end in a belly flop. The main thing is whether it will terminate in water or pavement. Could our political class pull some sort of soft or semi-soft landing out of this or will we be some fat juicy bug spread across the windshield of progress.
The "town" I grew up in inclded a section of cliffs washed by the pacific ocean. As a teen there was one suitable for diving direct into the surf, but generally in a much more streamlined posture that yon bird; I think it may have been Osprey street, but, though I can picture it in my mind, I cannot recall the street name for certain any more.
be well and have a good one
edit = fixed html around song title
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 --
Hi all, and Capt.!
Hi all, Hey QMS!
Great Osprey photo!
I presume the 'symbolically at least' was because the bird shown is not an 'American eagle'?
As EL alluded, tis an Osprey. Fish Eagle was a popular name for it, and a good one. Except the part of them not actually being an eagle. I think most people think of the Bald Eagle, often called American Bald Eagle, when they hear 'American Eagle'? Of course the Bald Eagle is a great fisher in its own right, and a greater PIRATE, like its namesake country, of the Osprey, routinely stealing its booty. Ben Franklin pointed this out to no avail to the eagle people.
In both the Everglades and in Mexico I have seen over a half-dozen Osprey at once. Good fishing spots. That dive is spectacular. I have seen them pull out 3, 4, and surely a couple times 5 lb. bass and fly off with them. No other bird has the wing socket like them allowing that super high aspect allowing them enough power in downstroke to lift themselves and pounds of fish skyward.
Last time they stocked trout here, a decade ago, the Osprey that wintered here on them was the only thing to outfish me on them. I got 85 of the 700. What is a boy that spent an inordinate amount of time trout fishing in the Sierra Nevada to do? I can clean one blindfolded in 60 seconds, no brag, just fact.
Thanks for the OT!
happy trails all!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Hola, Dysto. There really is an Osprey street in O.B.,
Using the interweb to refresh my memory, I find that it terminates at Rum Runner Cove, along Sunset Cliffs, which are the right cliffs, but wrong street. We were no doubt diving off the cliffs at the end of Santa Cruz street, a much shorter walk from the main beach area at the end of Newport.
be well and have a good one
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 --
A Surprised Canadian in Shanghai
During a few days layover in China, a Canadian tourist strolls the streets of Shanghai and tries to make sense of what he's seeing.
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My HONEST Thoughts on CHINA (It's Not What You Think)
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The Canadian traveler's spontaneous video tour offers some amusing takes on the Chinese people. (They don't speak English but they still want to talk.) He clearly arrived with a number of preconceived ideas about life in China that he has to sort out. The first thing he says about China to his viewers is: "I wouldn't really believe anything you see on the news in the West." He's addressing his imagined Western audience, but he would be surprised to know that many of these Western tourist, first-time walking tours in China are also popular on the Chinese Internet. This video, posted on YouTube just a few days ago has already garnered over 750 comments and short conversations from around the world.
Looking at China through his eyes, I actually learned a few important things about China's economy that I never really considered before. Anything you found surprising?
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
I just want to
thank you for posting it. I watched the whole video and found it refreshing and found him to be a delightful host. It's the kind of thing we need most, people traveling and showing what really exists in the countries we're supposed to hate.
I get it that this is only a tiny fraction of what goes on in China and that it is commercial and that it only shows a part of life that may not really be available to other parts of the people there. But it makes a few salient points like the cleanliness, the absence of drunk or drugged individuals sleeping in their own pee on the streets, the safety, the hugeness of the population, and the cameras. So this video opens up lots of things to talk about. So, to over-simplify, this is AUTHORITARIANISM. So we could have a conversation about that. Is it so great that the Chineses people are consumers of U.S. high end trinkets? Where are the cars? Etc. Anyway, thank you again for posting this gem, Pluto.
If I knew how to comment to him, I would hope he would go to Russia. Peace.
Thank you so much for the feedback.
I am an avid collector of these Western tourist videos. And they are a big hit in China, as well. There's something so genuine and guileless about the encounters, and they often have funny moments. The Chinese still adore individual Americans/Westerners and always try to connect with them. Despite the fact that Western Leaders are dangerous lunatics.
The tourist video-tours got started around the time of the XinJiang Uighur smear/operation, when Uighurs were supposedly held in Prison Camps being genocided. It was a BBC/US State Department propaganda operation. Some of the 100,000 Western expats living in China, and quite a few intrepid Western tourists descended on Xinjiang Provence to talk to the Uighurs, who by then had been lifted out of poverty and their towns and cities rebuilt. The Western visitors filmed small documentaries about the colorful and friendly Uighurs, debunking the toxic propaganda. Tourist vlogging became a thing when visiting China. and gained wide popularity. By 2020, Xinjiang became China's Number One tourist destination.
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What happens in China when you can speak a little Chinese:
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
Things appear to be going well
...economically in Shanghai. I remember a video Cyrus Janssen made about a year ago, maybe more, I believe when he returned to Shanghai (where he had lived for sometime) and the Bund was very quiet by comparison, and he reported "early signs of recovery." The reason the architecture looks European is because it is. That's the old international enclave. I haven't ever been to the mainland, but I've been following Cyrus for years, and some of the other western expats who've lived there for some time, Jerry Grey, Reporterfly, now Ben Norton (Geopolitical economy report, he's over there now)...I know I've missed a couple because if I don't recall the exact name of the channel, I may not find it again, because the youtube suppresses the recent reports. Sean Foo is pretty good on economy. I don't know where he's living or his citizenship. I like Carl Zha's reporting particularly on historical issues. Carl is living in Indonesia. Ah yes, Daniel Dumbril curtailed his video reporting, I think he's in Shenzhen. Recently I started to listen to Jane Hayward on China, who does some interesting analysis and tries to debunk cliches about Chinese history and current policies. This is her most recent.
China's leaders only want to stay in power? The case against
I'm not so sure Apple is doing all that well lately in terms of marketing inside China. I recall hearing one report recently that they weren't. This may be a Chinese market reaction based upon nationalist sentiment to favor Huawei over Apple after the way the US treated it. Tesla is losing market share there also from what I read not too long ago, may be an understatement to say the least, this is mostly based on their pricing being uncompetitive. The name brand lower end consumer retail outlets, like Walmart, McDs, Nike and the others are probably doing well enough with the post covid economic recovery.
I can read the pedestrian crossing signal sign, but I have to admit I have difficulty reading a lot of the simplified Chinese. I'm a beginner. I did find an excellent tourist type Mandarin lesson, after looking at dozens of these basic level videos. This one, I think, minute for minute, is the most practically useful list of 20 common phrases. Yimin is probably the best channel for basics. Her English accent is quite good and isn't a barrier. But I guess one could just use one of those translation apps. I also watch quite a few travel guide videos by South Korean experts on China but they are mostly going to historical sites in remote scenic places far from the big cities and concentrating on cultural issues. These places are nothing like the cities at all. The living conditions are a lot less advanced.
20 essential phrases
It's interesting that in the Shanghai video, the tourist comments on the strength of the Chinese family tradition. The problem is that the inflation cost squeeze as well as past government policies have caused the birth rate issue with the approaching "depopulation" issue. So older people do get stuck in the countryside, and live in relative isolation with poor access to social services. This is a problem that South Korea and Japan have as well. All the above are just my impressions. Ms. So who travels a great deal, insists that Chinese tourists are very loud. I won't say any more.
One thing I've noticed is the propaganda focus on illegal Chinses immigrants to the west. I can't remember the exact numbers, but tens of millions of Chinese tourists leave China to visit other countries every year, and extremely few don't return.
語必忠信 行必正直
I think China's got a pretty good handle
....on supporting its aging population and integrating it to other parts of society to create rewarding win-win opportunities. The Healthy China 2030 project is. a top CCP Goal, so it will be met in a brilliant fashion.
Parts of the project are Summarizied here.
Concurrent technologies and developments are speeding things up, as well. Rural isolatio is now equipped with a 6G Network, Starlink Internet, Telehealth, Drone delivery devices systems and remote health monitoring, which did not exist five years ago. Many older Chinese already received lifestyle and housing upgrades as part of the 2020 Poverty eradication. AI will completely transform the need for human labor and free millions from jobs in order to pursue different interests. China is also producing advanced research in antiaging medicines and protocols. These futures are already here.
Concerns about China's Aging Population is largely Western Hype, triggered by the West's temper tantrum over the One Child Policy, which is what allowed China to develop and produce at impossible speeds that eclipse the United States' evil agenda for the world.
China's got this — and global warming, too. The Aging population hype reminds me of this cartoon:
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
First sentence from your link
2030 isn't now.
I've probably watched at least at least thirty hours of rural video coverage of life in the country side in China. It isn't hype this is just Chinese people living their lives in the circumstances they find themselves in and making the most of it. The standard of living is nowhere near that in the cities.
People's fates are pretty much tied to their provincial and local governments. There are obviously less resources available which is why young people move away to find other opportunities. This contributes to the demographic problem. It's difficult to move from one region to another. If you are not from the local jurisdiction it's difficult to get social support.
It isn't western hype, it's how they live. Can it be fixed if it is given the priority it needs by the central government. I'm sure it can. But the problems are structural, I have no axe to grind. I admire the people and their country, and wish them best. That's why their videos, the ones they produce themselves which are lifestyle videos and have nothing to do with political content simply reveal the way they live. There really isn't much dialogue or speaking in them. The Korean videos I watch which explore the remote areas in China away from the cities are travelogues, exploring the culture and history not political cant. As they engage with the people they encounter, for whom they have the utmost respect you simply can observe their conditions. Those videos are about Chinese culture and history, and don't take any condescending views of what they explore. They are there because they respect the people and their culture.
Don't put me in the same category as Gordon Chang. That's absurd hyperbole.
語必忠信 行必正直
soryang,
in my one 12 day visit to China, I saw prostitutes so drunk they needed help to get into the fancy hotel where I was in Shanghai, and the concierge explained the man who brought them to stay assured the hotel they were Filipino. It was wild!
No traffic? Because a citizen is allowed to buy a car by lottery. Then, they get a licences plate that is colored. Blue might me Monday and Tuesday, as an example.
Rural areas are much like the indigenous in Central and South America. Populations who literally do not wear clothes unless tourist are coming.
My tour group visited a home touted as worth 2.5 million.
It had no kitchen, no bathroom.
I have no idea what the point is to have millions of dollars in holdings that force me to walk 2 blocks to a public bathroom to pee or poop, and eat out 3 times daily. I walked that far from that home to pee.
Rural villages were just closed and moved to the cities by the government. The rurals were those workers Romney saw, and thought were great, who had been forced to work in specified factories, who had barbed wire fences to discourage them from leaping out of windows to either suicide or escape the Romney-approved factories.
If anyone goes outside the big cities in China, sees the rural landscape and situation, they will see it is a big divide between the rich and the poor. Lots more poor in China than in the US.
China may be trying to raise up their people, but they have a long way to go, and have only worked well in major cities.
I wish them well. Go, China! The only Chinese people that I didn't love and hug, were the police.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I recall some book about outsourcing
....that was published by the Center for Public Integrity or something like that. It was about US corporations outsourcing their factory production to China. It was one element of a three part strategy to cut costs to the bone, labor arbitrage, offshoring profits to intermediary tax havens, and reducing their US corporate tax obligation to as close to zero as they could get it. In it they documented what Ross Perot used to call "that giant sucking sound." One of the main examples they used was the smartphone co X, their subcontractor in Shenzhen, and then their offshore tax havens to wash their ginormous profits when they raised the price of a finished phone by a surprising amount most probably couldn't believe. This is when I had heard of the captive labor force of subcontractors facilities, the grueling hours, the dorm life etc., and the nets around the outside of the dorms to reduce fatalities from the jumpers which had brought adverse publicity.
When I described what was going on according to this book, which appeared well documented to me, (I concentrated on US tax law) on a well known pundits chat, immediately the ever present gatekeepers arose to the defense of corporate America and told me the suicides were bs, that statistically there was nothing wrong or out of the ordinary with the suicide rate or exploitative about the conditions etc. The subcontractor was actually a Taiwan outfit which operated the facilities on the mainland. So after I told them I suspected they were heavily invested in the US company and its methods, I never went back.
People asked me in another chat why I left. Why? Are you kidding?
(edited x2 for typos)
語必忠信 行必正直
Mitt Romney famously
did a tour of some of those factories, thought the work model (slave labor) was brilliant.
When a factory or some such facility was built, local villages were basically shut down and destroyed, and the residents were forcibly mraising their standard of living via forced labor is what they have.oved to housing complexes provided by the government in close proximity to the factories. They had no choice but to work in the factories.
That is one way to bring prosperity to the people, but it is cruel.
Maybe they have some plan, some long term plan, to allow their population some freedom, but for now, forced labor is their method of lifting the poor out of abject poverty.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I keep forgetting to hand off this link to you
Don't know whether you ever read Reddit, but they have a small but intense group of Western Chinese who have a forum called r/sino. They post all kinds of interesting information about China, from history to business to rivalry with the US to philosophy and technology. Newsy, sort of like Twitter. I often see topics you mention:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/
You can read the site without registering.
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
Thanks I bookmarked it
I saw the link to the incident with the Netherland ship in the SCS over there.
China Responds After Fighter Jets Confront NATO Member's Warship
What I don't like on both sides of reporting these naval/air space encounters near China is that no one provides the precise track of the vessels and aircraft. If they did you'd be able to make a better judgement of what happened. Also, where's the video meaning it's common for pilots or crew to record encounters with other forces considered to be unsafe?
I listened to Victor Gao's commentary on this, which expresses the Chinese view of the incident, but again, details are scarce.
There was also the incident with the four teachers from the US being attacked by an assailant with a knife in Jilin. They have been hospitalized and will recover according to the report I read. I noticed one is apparently a former Tufts graduate, which...made me think, "was it something I said?"
語必忠信 行必正直
Wonderful pic QMS
In the good old days when I was oblivious to the sun damage to my skin, I spent a lot of time outdoors fishing. Usually I wasn't all that successful, catching bass, so I gravitated toward salt water fishing at the inlets on the northeast coast or the brackish water of the St. John's or intercoastal. When I was still in the bass fishing days, which I did mostly just to enjoy the scenery, I went to Lake Hawthorne a few times near the old Margorie Rawlings estate. Across from her old homestead was a stand of cypress trees that was home to at least a dozen bald eagles. The place was dreamlike in its other worldly serenity.
Once along one of isolated state roads several years later in that same area near Hawthorne, I was driving through in the big rig, and the largest bald eagle I ever saw almost crashed into my windshield. In my imagination, it was one of those Jungian occasions of synchronicity because I was daydreaming about my pleasant experiences at Lake Hawthorne as I drove through.
We have some Osprey living in this area as well. There is an Osprey nest on top of a floodlight post over near the park where I (usually) walk smokey a couple of times a week. I thought I had a pic on my phone of an eagle trying to carry away a squirrel on the road not too far from here, but I can't find it. I had to clear that xsoft cloud thing of any non-evidentiary type photos because they said I was near my limit and I would have to pay for any more space. I guess I deleted it.
This is irrelevant but somewhat interesting. I wonder what C99ers might think of this (if anything)?
What is a weeb?
I had never heard these terms, but I'm not familiar with Japanese language at all.
語必忠信 行必正直
eagles and ospreys
Hi soryang,
love yer Bald Eagle and Osprey stories!
I have a friend that hit a Wild Turkey flying across I-10 in Texas, He was in a Jeep, it took out the windshield but he was OK. Lots of states have fairly recently changed wildlife harvesting laws so it is now LEGAL in many states (ten or more) to harvest some of your kill. Might make up for the damages? But don't so much as leave an eagle feather in the grill!
THANKS!
happy trails!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
What a magnificent photo!
Los Lobos ain't bad, either!
We were tempted to go see them recently, but the first ones in line grabbed the very limited seats, everyone else has to stand for 3 hours, after standing in line for an hour. Those that are seated can't see the stage for the standing people, all seemingly tall and heavy set, block the view.
We will wait for a better venue.
Can't wait to hear Hunter's sentence. No sympathy for that pos whatsoever.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
And here's a deeper dive:
The enemy of my enemy is apparently something not at all new...
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-lifts-10-year-weapon-ban-ukrai...
Of all the boneheaded maneuvers that we can possibly pull, this has to be right up there with sticking one's pudendum into a running electric fan. Russia's stated goal is the elimination of precisely these Nazis. If we are now going to be directly supplying them, and not relying on Ukraine to give us plausible deniability of some sort, we are directly squaring up with the Russians. Directly.
We can therefore expect the mechanisms of transport for this materiel to come under direct attack, regardless of the little "US Air Force" emblems on the sides. This will result in direct conflict. Have I used the word "direct" enough yet?
This changes it from a proxy war to a war war, and we can expect our C-17 cargo aircraft to start getting splashed. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK are they thinking?
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
This was touched upon at the
St Petersburg International Economic Forum last week.
.::
Dmitry Orlov commented on that situation:
.
Bothr NATO and the US are currently defenseless against Russia's ready to deploy array of Precision Supersonic Missiles, whatever their tactical payload.
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
Well, maybe we can dust off
some of those Sprint Mach 10 hypersonic missles that we had, but scrapped, way back in the 70s. The Safeguard system, of which they were a part, was operational for about 2 weeks before decommissioning. It would only have defended the North Dakota missile fields, anyway. And it was less than a billion, if the books are to be believed. So- a bargain.
But we could use some hypersonics right now, couldn't we (although the fact that they were nuclear-tipped is a little offputting)? Too bad that Bell Labs no longer exists, all the hardware was long since dispersed, and all the designers are retired and/or dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dl9Ovwmnxw for some good old 60s/70s war porn. And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UUbMWf-uZI for more of the the Safeguard story (if you can stand some great overspending).
Twice bitten, permanently shy.