Something/Someone Old

New year's messages from Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel

We've been bombarded with this Russiagate bullshit since 2016. So that, when people started accusing China of spying a few days ago, it was a yawn. But, in fact - in the real world - the Chinese have been running an unbelievably sophisticated computer hardware spying operation. They embedded spy chips the size of a grain of rice into server boards, which were then installed by many corporations, including Apple and Amazon.

Good Morning. The Thursday Open Thread has been though a complete annual cycle under my voice. It is time for new thoughts and new directions. Next week Magiamma will start as caretaker of Thursday mornings.

This week and focusing more on contemporary events and performances in China. Still using the resilience tag. Any culture that can survive several thousand years has a resilience about it we can learn from. One of its strengths is the continuity of a written language that allows us to peer into the past and see how other humans lived through the challenges of their times.

The reference to "soft underbelly" arose from Winston Churchill's appellation of Italy being Europe's soft underbelly during WW 2.

Morning. Continuing with the China review. It is interesting how many of our modern problems and challenges existed in the past and keep repeating.

Morning. Came across an interesting article in The Atlantic last week, The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy The class divide is already toxic, and is fast becoming unbridgeable. You’re probably part of the problem. To reach more policy makers or circumvent them, we need to understand this societal group.

The article and facts presented is worth a stand-alone diary. Maybe someone has the time to break it apart into digestible chunks.

audio recording about an hour and half.

Having some internet problems and technician is to be out today. May not be able to add comments until Friday. Please comment on any subject and anyone with garden reports add a note.

Humanity seems to continually exploring the best ways to govern populations. Today's OT looks at a few different philosophies, governmental practices and transition periods in China.

Morning - I will not be checking in until late evening. Aspects of modern China will be today's subject.

Pepe Esobar article from last November Xi’s road map to the Chinese Dream lays out the near future.

Good Morning - I plan on continuing to write on Chinese culture for a few threads. The culture has lasted for several thousand years and has been extensively documented by its citizens. Looking back can teach us, life can be rich and complex without modern conveniences. We just need to have the knowledge of the methods and tools to live a different life style. Suspending judgement on if China is/was a better society than Western provides multiple case studies on development of human civilizations, agriculture and politics.

A modern animation of Along the River During the Qingming Festival painting from the Song Dynasty originally created by Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145 AD) shows a rich urban culture based on trade and small businesses. Multiple versions have been painted in the following centuries showing everyday people and activities,