Tag: cambodia

Orders from Washington DC; When China Does Great things you must Question Its Cost in all articles

"I didn't graduate from the 7th grade to put up with this shit!" 

-Chef, "Apocalypse Now"

When I was growing up, my parents raised me on a steady diet of television. Back then in the early 1960’s my favorite shows were “Diver Dan”, “The Jetsons”, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, “Get Smart” and “I dream of Genie”. These shows influenced me as I grew up. It was all about adventure, space and fighting those dastardly communists. Yikes!

Watching TV with mom.

I used to love Saturday mornings.

it would be a morning full of cartoons. I would go get a bowl of sugary cereal, add milk and even more sugar, and sit there in front of the television screen absorbing all the great child entertainment. My favorite cereals from those years were “Froot Loops”, “Coco puffs”, and “Rice Krispies”. I was, I tell youse guys, just a normal kid.

Watching the shows.

In those days, mind control via electronic media was unheard of. It had to be introduced and perfected, which it was indeed, over the next two to three decades.

Now we have very advanced systems to control the minds of people, and they do work. But every now and then, the absurdity of it all becomes so glaringly obvious. And it’s laughable. Really.

If it wasn’t so absolutely sad.

From MoA. Classic.

There seem to be general meme directives for ‘western’ outlets with regards to official enemies.

Russia is said to weaponize everything. The position of China is not (yet) seen as in military terms. The emphasis is on economic competition. Any undeniable Chinese achievement must be declared to have been a bad investment. The directive thus reads:

"When writing about China's achievements - question their costs."

The results:

Yah. There’s also an obsessed foreign policy subset of “weak/declining” china …

I read a few articles on China’s high speed train system, and in the most recent the cost versus revenue was a worry/criticism, even though it would be easy to argue or at least discuss about positive externalities worthy of subsidies.

Similar cost related criticism was laid on the huge program to develop new gas fields in Eastern Siberia and connect them with pipelines to China. It seems to be true that the long term contracts signed with China when the natural gas prices were very depressed were not best possible, but since those projects have to be considered in 20-50 year time frame, it was silly even then. Now the concerns about profitability of delivering natural gas to China in the future look hilarious.

There is an objective aspect in some “cost/global” articles. China is dominating so many commodity markets that decisions impacting import and export of China have tremendous impact on importers and exporters alike.

Most glaring is the lack of “at what cost” questions concerning the West. EU delays approval of North Stream II, but at what cost? Technocrats decreased investments in fossil fuels in EU and reliance on so-called clean fuels, but at what cost?

Both are phenomenal.

Madam Baerbock speaks her mind, but at what cost? This girl sends markets to panic which is not a part of her job description.

Ukraine “decreases reliance on Russia”, but at what cost?

Some estimate that the resulting losses are many times larger than gains from “western orientation”, western commentators do not attempt any such calculations. Freedom is worth every price if someone else pays for it (USA likes when the cost is born by EU, and EU likes when Ukrainians hold the short end of the stick).

Some thoughts…

Now I know to read any title that contains ‘China’ and ‘at what cost’ because it threatens the cult of U.S. hegemony.

1. Articles about environment: After skimming these articles, I agree, the ‘at what cost’ was so inappropriate for the content, it does look like it was planted, ‘will they succeed’ would have been more natural for these articles. Air quality has previously been notoriously bad in China, ongoing efforts to improve it was a very good thing.

2. articles about AI: ‘threatened by U.S.’ would be most accurate or some suitable alternative. This group of headlines says that China is vulnerable in the chip area. There is a condescending tone because it says, ML (Machine Learning) is data sets and processing power, and not so much about innovation, this is true. But I would not discount China’s ability to innovate. In using AI to implement a police state, ‘at what cost’, is appropriate here, as it conjures up everyone’s worst fears, even for our own govt. Pointing out how ML can be abused by a govt is a good thing. But even better is pointing out how it has eliminated rapes, kidnapping, child abductions, and fraud by leaderships inside of China is a great thing.

3. I can see how ‘at what cost’ can be used for the other categories but agree that the repetitious use wreaks of information war.

Infographic

Global Times provides this excellent infographic aimed directly at BigLie media’s propaganda meme as it’s titled, “China’s commitment to the world in 2021.”

Number two…

Number three…

Number four…

I am “chomping at the bit” in anticipation to see the United States versions of these meme’s.

Here’s an article out of Laos…

Laos.

‘The country that bombed you is your friend. The one that built your new railway is your enemy’

Major bridge across the Yuanjiang River along the China-Laos railway in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. Xinhua
Tom Fowdy / RT
 

This is the Western media’s bizarre messaging to the people of Laos, a nation that was carpet bombed by America, and which is now being vilified for accepting a new $6 billion railway line paid for by China.

Thursday was National Day in Laos, a celebration marking 46 years since the landlocked Southeast Asian nation deposed its monarchy and became a revolutionary communist state, an effort which was supported by Vietnam.

This year, the anniversary had added significance, as it saw the opening of a major new project, an electrified high-speed and freight railway system connecting the capital city, Vientiane with its northern neighbour, China.

The $6 billion project is part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and has been hailed as one of its flagship achievements. It is the first commercial and industrial railway in Laos, which, given its geography and the fact it is surrounded by mountainous terrain, has not previously had many options to expand its exports and generate economic growth.

Now, though, it has a direct rapid link into the world’s second largest economy and the world’s largest consumer market by population, and a connection to the booming ports of Guangdong. In terms of what it will bring to Laos, it is a game changer. So, what’s not to like about it?

To nobody’s surprise, the mainstream media have responded to the railway with the usual anti-China negativity. A plethora of articles sought to paint the project as a ‘debt trap’, promoting the accusation that Beijing loans countries money for projects they cannot afford and then exerts political leverage over it.

The Financial Times, for one, ran with a cynical article headlined ‘Laos to open Chinese-built railway amid fears of Beijing’s influence’. It implied that somehow Laos feels threatened or fears the construction of this very pioneering railway project (which the country’s own leader made sure he was the first to travel on). This suggestion of ‘fears of Chinese influence’ has become a common feature on such stories, which seek to cast doubt over anything positive China may be achieving or doing.

A common Twitter meme among pro-China users which has followed from stories like this asks: “but at what cost?” highlighting the frequency of such negative coverage.

And if you Google “China, but at what cost?” you can find a great many examples of articles published in major outlets. In producing such pieces, the broader intention is to depict Beijing’s actions as unwanted, threatening and constantly facing opposition. In the case of the Laos railway project, the ‘problem’ is it was financed by debt, and therefore it is not a positive step.

Yet this argument is as insulting as it is outright insensitive to Laos’ contemporary history. Anyone who knows anything about Laos’ relatively recent past will be well aware that China is not the country to fear, but the United States – the nation that dropped over 260 million cluster bombs on Laos and completely devastated the country as an extension of the Vietnam War, making it the most single bombed nation in history and claiming over 50,000 lives.

Many of these bombs remain unexploded and litter the countryside of Laos, continuing to kill civilians. In constructing the new railway, workers first had to clear the unexploded ordnance. How is it that the world and the mainstream media remain indifferent to this atrocity? And how, by any stretch of the imagination, can they claim that China is the true threat to Laos, and that the US and its allies act in the true interests of the country?

Herein lies the problem. Such a mindset symbolizes the elitism, chauvinism and self-righteousness of the countries of the West, which are ideologically inclined to believe that they stand for the ‘true interests’ of the ordinary people in the countries they profess to liberate.

Western politics peddles the assumption that through countries’ adherence to liberal democracy, they exclusively hold a single, universal, impartial and moralistic truth, derived from the ontological legacy of Christianity, and they have an obligation to introduce it to others. The West always acts truthfully and in good faith, while its enemies do not. And therefore, so the logic goes, any policy the US or its allies direct towards Laos is motivated by sincere intent and goodwill for its interests, and in turn, anything that China does is bad-faith, expansionist and power-hungry behaviour motivated by a desire to influence or control the country.

This creates the bizarre scenario whereby Beijing is depicted as evil and sinister for building a railway to connect to its neighbour – but we should forget America dropping millions of bombs on the country because it was done in the name of ‘freedom’. I’m sure you can imagine how the media would react if China did the latter.

Those who push this narrative predictably omit any insight into how Laos itself thinks about the situation. Another piece which took a similar stance, published in The Diplomat, was titled ‘Laos-China Railway inaugurated amid mounting debt concerns’.

But like the ‘fears of Beijing influence’ expressed in the FT, who are these ‘concerns’ from? The report cites the “Washington-based Center for Global Development” and what it merely describes as a “US based analyst” as sources who push the ‘debt trap’ narrative. But nowhere in any of these articles is there an actual voice direct from Laos who raises any fear of China, or objects to the railway’s existence.

Instead, they simply talk on the country’s behalf, obscuring the reality that a communist state which suffered from extreme levels of aggression from the US probably does not see its northern neighbour – and its most important economic partner – as a threat to its regime. With many more articles running variations of the same theme, there is minimal effort given to the consideration that the railway will help the country rapidly expand its exports, sustain greater growth and help Laos pay for the project.

The Laos-China railway has provided a textbook example of how the media can distort a story in order to fortify an incriminating narrative, while brushing aside brutal realities. We are shown a lopsided world, where the travesty of a country being bombed into oblivion with consequences lasting decades is ignored, and the preference is to try to convince us how that same country’s first commercial railway line is, in fact, what it should really be scared of.

It is a demonstration of how the power of the English-language, pro-US media distorts reality itself and how they can blow up an issue, yet hide the truth, by professing to care dearly about the wellbeing and interests of a country which the West poured death, destruction and carnage upon in the name of freedom.

Here’s an article out of Cambodia…

Cambodia

 

Cambodia-US Relations: Cambodia is not the enemy of the US

Two U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52D Stratofortress bombers over Cambodia, 1970. Original description: “Aerial bombing of Cambodia: Operation Menu”. Wikipedia
 

America believes that Cambodia is China’s vassal state. And it does everything to solidify that belief. At the end, they justify their sanctions against Cambodia for being too friendly with China whom the US considers as the “malign actor” and “revisionist state” to the hegemonic order with the US at the top.

But then how much is called overdependent? How much sanction is considered enough against the alleged malign actor?

Americans warn Cambodians to beware of lucrative interactions with China. But Cambodia’s trade and investment with China is less than 10% of the whole of Southeast Asia. Statistically speaking, countries that are close with the US such as Singapore and Vietnam are in fact the highest beneficiaries from trade and investments with China.

Media that are anti-China can lie about Cambodia’s overdependence on China but numbers don’t lie. Impartial academics should look into those number by themselves and make comparison to the whole region to verify and question their established prejudice. The so-called independent minds should not become the trash collectors of all bad press about Cambodia with many hyperlinks to the anti-Cambodia puppet media and organizations.

Cambodia is currently the most sanctioned country in Southeast Asia, even more than the military junta in Myanmar, and the fact is that there is no sanction at all against  communist Vietnam, who has no freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression. What does anyone say to these? None at all.

What does democracy mean to America when Cambodia is being treated this way by the American government and congress on the aspect of democracy and human rights?

Cambodia is among the few countries in Southeast Asia that has regular multi-parties election.

Cambodia is among the few countries where press, both domestic and foreign, operate freely, and some of the US’ affiliates like the Voice of America, the Voice of Democracy, and Radio Free Asia, bombards daily with verbal diarrhea against Cambodia as if Cambodian people are living in hell. Nothing can be seen positive from the point of view. And they still say that Cambodia has no freedom of expression.

Facebook operates freely in Cambodia. Internet freedom is among the fullest compared to countries in the region. Cambodian people are addicted to Facebook freedom. They really enjoy it. So long as they don’t defame, libel, slander, promote uprising, treason and the toppling of government, they are free to say anything.

Cambodia is hosting more than 5,000 civil society organisations but human right groups in Cambodia, funded by foreign governments, still has liberty to say that Cambodia lacks freedom of association as compared to Viet Nam which has only one state union. In the US, these organisations would have been banned or classified as “foreign agents”. According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), passed in 1938, it is required that agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a “political or quasi-political capacity” disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances.

But such kind of civil society organisations in Cambodia are hiding behind protection of their foreign embassies crying foul that Cambodia’s Law on NGO (LANGO) is too restrictive because they simply cannot disclose their finance and activities that are fundamentally foreign-owned, foreign-initiated and foreign-led.

What does America want from Cambodia? Does it want Cambodia to become the enemy of China and to fight China on America’s behalf? Where does Cambodia’s national interest stand in supporting the US and in making China its enemy? Where is the right to self-determination of Cambodia that the US often says that it respects fully? Does the US want Cambodia to commit suicide to express its sincerity in wanting friendship with the US?

Cambodia is considered as “gold-standard” in terms of cooperation with the US in area such as POW/MIA. Cambodia even accepted 300 Afghan refugees when only a few countries in the region are willing to do so.

But what does Cambodia receive in return? The US cut off scholarship for military students who are already in the US. The US imposed visa sanctions against high-ranking officials in the whole Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

They are sanctioning the very individuals that act as the main bridge of friendship and relations between Cambodia and the US.

This is too cruel a treatment from a friend. The US is treating Cambodia like an enemy.

While the US says that it stands with Cambodian people for its independence and march towards stable and peaceful democracy, Cambodia is in fact one of the most sanctioned countries in Southeast Asia, even worst than the so-called US enemies.

People might probably say sometimes, frankness is needed among sincere friends. But a friend should not express solidarity through piles of sanctions like what the US is doing towards Cambodia right now.

How could a friend be so cruel to treat another friend that way? What does friendship mean for the American government and congressmen?

Is this the best treatment that the American government can afford to Cambodia, which is the last beacon of hope of democracy in the Mekong region? Which country in the Mekong region that fares better than Cambodia in terms of democracy and human rights?

Cambodian people like America; they like American democracy; they aspire to have American democracy.

It is totally unfair for Cambodia that it needs to sacrifice its national interest to befriend with the US. Why is it so hard to befriend with the US?

The US should reconsider its relations with Cambodia from the heart, not from the brain of geopolitical strategy. The brightest brain like Henry Kissinger that was behind the dropping of millions of bombs on Cambodian people is not a friend of Cambodia. He is nothing but a war criminal. He should not be the one to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What does peace prize mean for an individual that was behind the killings of hundreds of thousands of Cambodian people?

Which US congressman and policy-maker want to become the next Henry Kissinger, the war criminal that won a Nobel Peace Prize?

An American B-52 aircraft is not smart to distinguish between the Viet Cong and Cambodian civilians. The fact is that they killed more civilians than the Viet Cong that the US considered as US’ enemies.

There is no better definition than “war crime” and “crime against humanity” considering the US’ acts against Cambodia during the 1970s. America should never forget that. American government, American people, American policy-makers, American congressmen should never forget that. America should remember their atrocity against Cambodian people during the 1970s. Cambodian civilians and government are not US’ enemy.

And another article…

China’s Belt and Road rail services booming despite Covid-19

A train carrying 33 refrigerated containers departs from the Tengjun International Land Port in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, for Laos. Xinhua
 

Beijing has inked more than 200 cooperation documents for the joint construction of the Belt and Road with 145 countries and 32 international organizations

Xinhua – Though the world remains haunted by the still ravaging COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2021, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has seen a boom in promoting world connectivity.

Under the BRI framework, railway construction is expanding across the global landscape. The iconic China-Europe Railway Express, the China-Laos railway and the railway line in Tanzania have all recorded milestone achievements over the past year.

These important railway projects provide important pillars for the BRI, and also contribute their due share to improving the global supply chain and the COVID-19 fight.

LINE OF HEALTH AND GIFTS

During days just before Christmas, when people in Western countries are worrying that they may not be able to receive their Christmas gifts on time due to clogged shipping lanes, China-Europe trains from different regions were sending products to Europe without delay.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of China-Europe freight trains. By the end of October, the China-Europe freight trains plying along 73 routes have reached 175 cities in 23 European countries with more than 50,000 kinds of goods.

Amid the pandemic, the number of China-Europe express trains as well as the volume of freight have continued to break new records.

Data from China’s National Development and Reform Commission shows that during the January-November period, the railway service linking the two sides operated 13,817 trains, carrying 1.332 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), an increase of 23 percent and 30 percent respectively compared with the year 2020.

At the end of November, the cumulative number of anti-epidemic equipment transported by the China-Europe freight trains reached 13.43 million pieces and 103,000 tons.

“China is very important for the global supply chain. And in most cases it’s faster (than the ocean shipping). Therefore, it’s a useful alternative to use the train, and it’s reliable,” said Axel Mattern, joint chief executive officer of Port of Hamburg Marketing.

According to global logistics company MEDILINK, the initial freight rate of the China-Europe rail network is often two-thirds higher than that of sea freight, but the current price is very competitive.

The current freight rates of the China-Europe freight trains are basically the same as those of sea freight, but it only takes nearly half the time, said Logistics industry insiders.

KEY FOR TRANS-ASIAN CONNECTIVITY

On Dec. 3, the China-Laos Railway officially started operation. It marks a crucial step for the trans-Asian railway network, which has been brewing for more than half a century. Since then, the journey from Vientiane to the border with China has been reduced from 2 days to 3 hours, and the journey to Kunming, capital of China’s Yunnan Province, can be made in a day.

“The China-Laos railway is conducive to promoting the development of areas that are located along the line. Countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion, including Thailand, Laos and China, will benefit from trade, agricultural products, consumer products, investment and tourism,” said Pichet Kunadhamraks, deputy director-general of the Department of Rail Transport under the Thai Ministry of Transport, in an interview with Xinhua.

The railway is expected to reduce transport costs between Vientiane and Kunming by 40 to 50 percent, said a World Bank report, noting transport costs from Thailand’s Laem Chabang port to Kunming are expected to fall by at least 32 percent.

It is estimated that by 2030, the annual volume of commercial goods in transit through the Laos section of the China-Laos Railway will reach 3.9 million tons, it added.

This year coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, and the two sides are advancing the BRI and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.

On Jan. 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will officially enter into force. Experts believe that the BRI will lead to the construction of the trans-Asian rail network and promote regional connectivity.

ROAD OF DEVELOPMENT

In mid-June this year, a ceremony was held to launch the Ithaca-Mwanza section of the Standard Gauge Railway of Tanzania’s Central Line, the construction of which is undertaken by a Chinese company.

After the completion of this project, it will become an important route connecting Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and other countries, providing a pathway to the Indian Ocean. It is of great importance for promoting the economic development of the countries in the region and improving the living conditions of the people.

From the Tanzania-Zambia railway built in the 1970s, to the Djibouti-Ethiopia and Mombasa-Nairobi railways, and the Standard Gauge Railway of Tanzania’s Central Line, the joint efforts of China and Africa have created jobs, trade opportunities and a better investment environment, thereby contributing to local prosperity as well as to the improvement of the living conditions of the local residents.

As of Dec. 16, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents for the joint construction of the Belt and Road with 145 countries and 32 international organizations, and financial institutions such as China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Silk Road Fund have expanded financing channels for infrastructure construction.

According to Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, for many countries, a major obstacle to escape poverty is the weakness of transport infrastructure, and in this regard, China’s success can set an example.

Conclusion

When you measure everything against the cost structure imposed by western capitalism, everything China does inevitably looks costly.

Totally absent from the analysis is the question of benefits.

The west thinks only of profits. China thinks of the benefits not only to China and the Chinese people, but to the countries and peoples with whom they do business.

The West = Personal Profit
China = Benefits for Groups of People

The long term superiority of such a strategy is blindingly obvious to any open minded observer. It’s the reason why China and Russia will eventually pass through this contentious period of change, and prevail in a new better world.

Many other nations see this, and they do remember how the United States treated / treats them. When the shit hits the fan, and it will, the United States will be broke, penniless, scorned and friendless.

No matter how you spin it, it will not a good situation to be in.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings 2

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
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An exploration of what it is like to live in Cambodia as a Chinese security professional

You know, all that you get out of the American “news” is manipulation, and fear mongering. Meanwhile the rest of the world continues to live, exist and prosper. One of those nations is Cambodia. It is a pretty poor nation, but it is growing.

Americans (and Europeans) might have noticed a “blip” on the media last year when Cambodia refuted all efforts by Mike Pompeo to absorb it into the American proxy military sphere. They wanted no part of that. Not only did they say so, but they bulldozed all the structures that the United States built for the nation as a symbol of “good will”. As well as capturing and ejecting the NGO “regime change” forces that were mobilizing to cause strife and discord.

Cambodia wants no part of that.

And it was a top-down decision.

Cambodia is next door to China, and China wants to help them develop. In the eyes of China, it is in their advantage to be surrounded by prosperity and happiness. When nations and people are happy and prosperous, there isn’t strife or conflict. Which is the exact opposite of what the United States has been doing over the last 75 years.

What an idea!

Surround yourself with good healthy societies, and then you interact and trade with them. Let them live their lives as they see fit.

Imagine that!

Here’s some short movie clips taken by a Chinese man (and his family) living in Cambodia. It is part of a private security force that attends important Cambodian officials. You will see scenes from city life, rural life, social life, and work life in the clips.  You will also notice that Cambodia uses American currency, and that the country is very, very poor.

You will also note that these clips are banned in the United States for some unknown reason. The American version of Tictok has banned this and some other sites from Cambodia.

I have no clue as to why.

I hope that watching these clips helps give you, the reader, an appreciation of other nations, other cultures and other ways of life. And no, it’s not at all like America. And perhaps that’s a good thing, don’t you know.

Start with the first video and then go down the list one by one. Most are very short, and easy to download and view.

The videos…

Conclusion

This was a little excursion out of the main stream media echo chamber and narrative. Never paid too much attention to Cambodia, eh? Well, that’s the way it is. There are all sorts of places all over the globe living life. These places live outside of the narrative of fear and manipulation.

So, in this instance, turn off the “news” about Afghanistan and how the world is collapsing in that section of the world. It isn’t. The American military presence left and they are sorting out the vacuum left behind. And I’ll tell you this, they want to be recognized as a stable and productive nation. Not an outlier.

So don’t believe the “news”.  Look around you. Look at what is going on elsewhere. Pay attention to things the media is not reporting on.

Smile.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Happiness Index here…

Life & Happiness

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

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Some fun videos of Asia; to include China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. (Part 16)

We continue in our video exploration of Asia. This episode has some really great and noteworthy entries. Especially the Chinese reaction to the Trump Trade War.

Before we get moving on to the videos, let’s talk a little about the screen splash above. It is from the music video by Kid Rock called “First Kiss”. It is a tribute to the care-free and easy life of the 1970’s when people would go about and have fun and drink together.

Scenes from the Kid Rock song tribute to the 1970's lifestyle in the song "First Kiss".
Scenes from the Kid Rock song tribute to the 1970’s lifestyle in the song “First Kiss”.

Morning & Evening group exercises are still a common sight

When the Chinese government co-opted the “Dancing Grandmother” network, no one knew what to expect. They thought that at the bare minimum that it would tone down all the noise and obstreperous racket that infested the Chinese cities. Well, by making it part of the “healthy China” initiative, it has become very popular.

Read about this program, and why it exists here; (Don’t fret the link will open up into another tab. It’s a good read, I’ll tell you what.)

Fat China

Anyways, it is just as popular as ever and everyone from elementary and middle school ages to 90-year old grandmothers participate in the group dances (and learn a few dance moves in the process).

China responds to the Trump Trade War

China wants and desires very much to be on friendly and peaceful relations with the USA. In many ways, traditional conservative Chinese are very much like their American counterparts. They understand why Trump is doing what he is doing and feel that he is a formidable businessman. Not the “joke” that CNN, and the UK Guardian make him out as.

That being said, the attitude in China is that if you want to have some competition (say in sports, or in this case) in business, then they will fight to win. The Chinese will unleash everything, and they do fight to win.

So While Trump is instigating the “tariff wars”, exerting influences on up-and-growing tech companies (like Huawei), negotiating with other nations to stop doing business with China, and using CIA dirty tricks in Hong Kong, the Chinese are not sitting back. They released the brakes on the yuan-USD conversion and let the market decide. So far, the value of the yuan is falling relative to the USD, and now everything made in China is 30% cheaper relative to what it was before Trump.

But it’s more than that.

You might not like China. You might be under the impression that China is hard-core Marxist (it’s not), or you might be under other misconceptions as spread by the Western media. But one thing is very clear to anyone who has had any dealings with the Chinese; they don’t play around, and they fight to win.

The Chinese fight to win.

Here’s one of the more popular movies this Summer and you should look at it from the point of view of the Chinese in a “trade war” with the West…

Look at it as a friendly, but serious, message to Trump from Beijing.

Oh, you don’t think that it has anything to do with trade? Watch the clip again, and pay attention to the English dialog…

Who do you think you are?

You collect money from me. You don't share it.

Do as I say.

You are not qualified to make deals with me.

And the discussion continues…

If you quit, you can take this business too. I can get anybody to take care of it.

And then, the sheer arrogance of the Westerners reaches an explosion point when he says…

Will somebody get this yellow piece of fat to get out of here!

After that we see how the Westerner battles and demolishes the Chinese man. It’s strong. It’s vicious, and he dies.

He’s dead. The Westerner has won.

Then, it’s payback time.

Get together in Thailand

In the United States, at least during the 1960’s, the 1970’s, and well into the 1980’s mu friends and I would go cruising in our cars up and down the town streets. We would then go to specific spots. Much like the “Moon Tower” in the movie “Dazed and Confused” where we would party.

Which always involved beer, and often some kinds of other libation.

Hanging out
Hanging out. During the 1970’s we would all hang out together with friends and go drinking, singing, and dancing together in the countryside. At that time we would listen to Led Zep, and other classics of the 1970’s.

I don’t know if this is still an activity in the Untied States.

For some reason, I don’t think so. Simply because it would be one of the first things that busy-body democrats would try to regulate, fine, fee or make laws against.

Yah. You know this is true.

First Kiss by Kid Rock
Screen shot from the song “First Kiss” by Kid Rock. It’s a tribute to the days when young folk would go riding around the town and hanging out with each other. While many Americans wish and yearn for those day again, they are not gone. They might be banned or difficult int he USA, but the rest of the world still celebrates those times…everyday.

Well, it’s still a popular pastime in the rest of the world. Here’s what it’s like to gather with your 20-something friends and play around with along the Thailand-Cambodian border…

Everyday China

This next video takes place in Shanghai at night. yeah it’s super-typical. But what I would like to point out is some of the very common elements that are found all over China, that you might miss if you were not aware of it all.

When you watch the video, please pay attention to the painted road markings on the road. Notice that they have incorporated solar powered LED lighting that flashes to alert people. Notice the body cameras, radios, and lighting on the police officers. Notice the streets how clean they are and devoid of trash, as well as notice that there isn’t any graffiti anywhere.

You will also notice the raised walkway surfaces on the sidewalk. This is common all through China. It is for blind people so that they can make their way around town.

Watch the video and look for those things…

Hiphi – The Chinese Tesla

Of course, the vast bulk of storage batteries, electric motors, automotive controls, and complex wiring systems are all made out of China. (Outsourced from the USA since the mid 1990’s.) Therefore, it should not be any surprise that China is leading the world in the production of electric and hybrid vehicles.

Bet ya didn’t know that.

Not only are there more vehicles (on a quantitative basis) made in China, but there are far more models, types and variations. Heck, here in tiny Zhuhai, almost all the buses have been fully “green” (all electric) for two years now.

I like them that way. So quiet.

Big difference from the noisy gas-powered behemoths that lumber along.

Here’s one of the car brands. I place it here not because it’s the best or anything like that. I just like the design and the style. Oh, by the way, you can’t buy it in the USA. It’s going to be another ten or so years before the automotive regulations catch up with the innovations out of China. (That’s why the implementation of LED’s on American cars took 15 years, don’t you know. And, only five years in Germany and the UK.)

We become conditions to accept our chains.

This video is addressed to my fellow Americans, not all of them, but rather to the trolls who don’t read anything that I post. Those that don’t study the issues. Those that refuse to look at things from a third-person point of view and are not listening to my warnings.

– Warnings –

  • China is growing and it is not what you think it is.
  • China is a serious nation, run by serious people who got into positions of power through merit, not popularity.
  • China plays to win.
  • America was established as a Republic. But, today it is an Oligarchy.
  • We have grown used to the loss of liberty and freedom that America now represents. We do not realize that America today is the absolute opposite of what it was first established as.

Most Americans live a life in ignorance and fear. They don’t realize just how far down into tyranny they have fallen.

For instance, we pay taxes, and watch as the government overspends it. That is NOT in the benefit of the citizenry.

We believe that we own houses and cars, yet both are subject to confiscation by the government. That is NOT ownership.

We must submit to regulations, pay various fees for the most simple tasks and ask permission to do anything from selling lemonade in your front yard, to fishing.

People that is NOT freedom.

Americans do not realize how conditioned they are to their life as a serf. They have no idea that all these things are all chains and bindings that restrict their freedom.

Like this video aptly illustrates…

I have many more videos, but I just cannot put them into a single post. It will bog down your computer terribly. So to watch the rest of the videos in this post, please continue…

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

Popular Music of China
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
Summer Snapshots 9
Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Some fun videos of Asia; to include China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. (Part 15)

We continue with the video exploration of Asia, as well as my often cantankerous narrative. As we proceed, let’s talk a little bit about the splash screen above. It’s from the wonder 1960’s movie “Our man Flint”, which is a sort of parody of 007 James Bond movies.

Our Man Flint is a 1966 American action film that parodies the James Bond genre. The film was directed by Daniel Mann, written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr, and starring James Coburn as master spy Derek Flint. The main premise of the film is that a trio of "mad scientists" attempt to blackmail the world with a weather-control machine. 

-Wikipedia.

James Coburn stars as super-spy Derek Flint in this action comedy which takes the tongue-in-cheek wit of the James Bond series and shifts it into high gear.

Flint is an ultra-sophisticated operative of international intelligence agency Z.O.W.I.E.

He’s a master of martial arts, electronic gadgetry (his cigarette lighter can perform 83 special functions), languages both human and animal (he can communicate with dolphins in a pinch), and even gives ballet lessons to the dancers of the Bolshoi.

Being a specially trained secret agent, he is able to rest most comfortably in the most unusual circumstances. Here he is getting a full weeks rest in a few hours by using his super powers of concentration.

So when his fellow agents begin dropping like flies, Z.O.W.I.E. assigns Flint the task of finding out who the killers happen to be.

One of the things that I, and many others, enjoyed is the bevy of attractive women that secret agents always seemed to have surrounding them. It comes with the territory… that is, as long as you know your real purpose… heh heh.

In LIke Flint with all the girls.
While James Bond was obviously the king of the international spy boom of the 1960s, there were many pretenders to the throne – Dean Martin’s Matt Helm, the Men (and Girl) From U.N.C.L.E., Richard Johnson’s Bulldog Drummond, television’s Maxwell Smart. even Neil Connery as 007’s alleged relative in Operation Kid Brother. The only super-agent who came close to Bond on the big screen was James Coburn’s know-it-all Derek Flint, the man from ZOWIE (Zonal Organisation for World Intelligence and Espionage).

Flint is the sort of fellow who meditates by suspending his life functions for a three hours, fills his spare time by compiling a dictionary of dolphin language or teaching ballet in Russia, and lives in a chic, gagdet-filled penthouse with four varied glamorous girlfriends.

It doesn’t pretend to be a serious thriller, though Coburn – the man who made silver hair and roll-neck pullovers into icons of cool – has some Bruce Lee-tought martial arts moves in acrobatic fight scenes which require him to toss stuntmen around the room. 

By the time of the third James Bond film, 1964's Goldfinger,  the spy craze had exploded across pop culture, spattering the walls  with poison blow-dart ink pens and steely-eyed, ultra-virile heroes.  

Perhaps the Cold War fantasy adventures of "real men" ruggedly  vanquishing godless Commies and other evil empires, all while bedding  improbably beautiful women, were a meat-eating guy's antacid against the  discomforting reflux from real global tensions — not to mention  home-grown indigestion embodied by the Beatles,   antiwar protests, and the Women's Movement. 

Plus, utilizing the Cold  War for entertainment sure simplified things for moviegoers and  TV-watchers. Head-throbbingly complex geopolitical currents were reduced  to sprightly three-act suspense dramas that could be wrapped up within  two hours. 

Guns, gadgets, and girls were the primary colors of the  comic-book spy universe. Certainly there were serious-minded Bond  imitators, such as the Harry Palmer series starring Michael Caine. But  someone was bound to play the genre for laughs, and in short order the  Bond spoofs outnumbered the Bond movies themselves. 

In fact, the film  version of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale, hit the  screen in '67 as a clowned-up comedy. 

Cocktail crooner Dean Martin  starred in four mixed efforts featuring soused secret agent Matt Helm.  Then as now, a Hollywood trend didn't end until it was well past tired,  and titles such as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine and Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, both starring Vincent Price and his army of lethal fembots, made sure that we all tired quite thoroughly. 

The best of the spy-spoof bunch was 1965's Our Man Flint,  a hyper-kitschy and entertaining time capsule starring James Coburn as a  Bond surrogate played so straight you could shave with him. 

This  tongue-way-in-cheek action comedy garnered favorable reviews and became  Fox's third highest grossing film of the year. Coburn — terrific with  this dry, crackling material — is Derek Flint, ultra-secret agent aiding  Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage). 

Our Man Flint  made a shrewd move by sticking to the Bond template.  The brilliant and  resourceful Flint works alone, follows each clue to the next level,  employs superhuman physical and mental prowess, beds gorgeous gals, gets  captured, and prevents World Domination in an orgy of destruction at  the evildoers' secret volcano island. 

However, instead of being a  bozo-nosed vaudeville like the Austin Powers movies, Our Man Flint out-Bonds the Bond films by respectfully retooling the familiar Bond elements and then turning the knob to 11.  

-DVD Journal
Flint with many beautiful women.
There’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in beloved spy spoof Our Man Flint when an extra blatantly cops a feel from a curvy, scantily clad actress. This unintentional detail probably as much about Our Man Flint’s place in the firmament of swingin’-’60s camp as anything else in the picture. Released at pretty much the zenith of the “spy craze”—clinched by the James Bond films and carried on by slew of imitators on screens big and small—Our Man Flint introduced private superspy Derek Flint, as portrayed by the inimitable James Coburn amongst bevies of “babes.”

The plot is the usual hokum and Edward Mulhare isn’t really eccentric enough to compete in the villainy stakes, but Coburn is plainly enjoying himself so much, and the trimmings are so stylish, that it’s impossible not to enjoy.

Jerry Goldsmith provides a jaunty, hummable score. Coburn and Cobb returned, in similarly lightweight style, in a sequel, In Like Flint, which took the super-agent into outer space a decade before Roger Moore got there in Moonraker. The character later reappeared, played by Ray Danton, in Dead on Target, a 1976 TV pilot that didn’t go anywhere.

Flint with more women.
To the extent that Our Man Flint works, it does so due to its tossed-off wit. For instance, like the odd mismatch of names and faces for mad scientists Doctors Krupov (Rhys Williams), Wu (Peter Brocco), and Schneider (Benson Fong). And let’s not forget the sheer oddity of Coburn, the toothy, gangly character actor who nevertheless charms his way into stardom here with laid-back cool. You know, there’s definite nostalgic appeal in the shag-adelic style, which laid the groundwork for Austin Powers (which sampled Flint’s Presidential-hotline ringtone).

This movie is a classic of the spy-genre, in its all-out parody glory.

Age has only added a new sheen of humor, as we guffaw at the retro aura such as the kung-fu grips, the 1960’s womanizing, go-go dancing, and ridiculous faux-buddhist upper-class chicness. 

Our hero, having just returned from teaching ballet  at Moscow's Bolshoi, is called into service. Z.O.W.I.E. agents have been  killed while seeking the mysterious masterminds behind G.A.L.A.X.Y, an  organization controlling the world's weather and holding humanity  hostage to a plan for a scientifically regimented (and otherwise  wonderfully beneficial) new world order. 

While enforcing The American  Way, Flint performs impromptu surgery, stops his heart for prolonged  periods, repeatedly annoys his flustered boss (Lee J. Cobb) with his  undisciplined ways, invents a Zippo lighter with 82 functions ("83 if  you want to light a cigar"), traces a poison through a bouillabaisse  recipe served in only one spot on Earth, jump-starts a man's heart via a  light bulb socket, wisecracks with British Agent "Triple-O Eight,"  judo-chops gangs of bad guys, avoids disintegration in an  electrofragmentizer, and finds his four live-in lovelies ensnared within  G.A.L.A.X.Y's Dr. Evil-like H.Q. 

Supported by Jerry Goldmsith's way  groovy musical score, Flint does it all while keeping his tux spotless,  his demeanor cool, and his women satisfied.

Comparisons between Flint's pastiche heroics and the Austin Powers series are obvious. However, Our Man Flint and its sequel, In Like Flint,  are exaggerated burlesques of their own time and the pop superspy  tropes that flourished then. Therefore, we can more accurately compare  the Flint flicks with Scream or Not Another Teen Movie,  two  sendups of contemporary conventions and clichés that had grown so  familiar to audiences that laughter was the only response left.  

-DVD Journal

Our Man Flint is an essential entry in the genre of parody, and actually manages to stand on its own without knowledge of what it is trying to parody in a way that the more recent (and less sophisticated) Austin Powers has managed to do.

Yet where Austin Powers is slapstick hilarity, Our Man Flint is buffoonishly mock-serious…. a parody style that fits the spy-film genre far more comfortably and more satisfyingly… and has aged remarkably well for a highly topical parody.

All that is asked of me, I shall perform.
Derek Flint (James Coburn) is America’s answer to James Bond but, unlike his British counterpart, Flint is a bona-fide master of, well, everything: Disguises; Karate; Languages; Gadgets; Ballet; Zen (Flint ‘relaxes’ by suspending his stiffened body between two chairs, one under his head, one under his heels. No special effects or support required, Coburn could actually do this). Women throw themselves at him, and men want to be him. Everybody, that is, except his frazzled old boss Lloyd Cramden (Lee J. Cobb) who, against his better judgement, must persuade Flint to come out of retirement when the evil Galaxy corporation unleash their wicked plot to control the world’s weather. Flint’s globetrotting takes him from New York to Marseilles to Rome and, finally, to Galaxy’s island hideout (which bears a striking resemblance to the Fox Ranch seen in many other films), a spectacular paradise full of bikinied beauties spouting phrases like, “All that is asked of me I shall perform.”
And guys, you may want to think twice about watching Our Man Flint  with a wife or girlfriend. As part of their broad comedic approach,  both Flint films unashamedly parade coprolitic sexual attitudes that  would make even Mr. Powers wince. 

By their nature, '60s spy movies bared  a phallocentric revolt against the era's "sexual revolution." Our Man Flint  is giddy and harmless while still being sexist in ways that no one  could get away with today. Flint's sybaritic lifestyle includes a  Manhattan penthouse staffed by a quartet of pliant babes who, it's  clear, exist to provide him with anything he desires. 

The sexy  villainess (Gila Golan, Miss Israel 1961) likewise falls into his arms  and bedsheets within minutes. 

The film's final third is an adolescent  male Disneyland of bikini-clad centerfold models brainwashed to be  smiling, willing "pleasure units" who "offer their bodies for the good  of G.A.L.A.X.Y." 

Although played for good clean "Yeah, baby!" fun, the  scenes of Joe Blow henchmen queuing up to enjoy the "units" like Happy  Meals might even leave a few Maxim readers squirming. (Another  raise of an eyebrow is occasioned when, as the space age lair  self-destructs, we watch Flint and company cheer while hundreds of  uncondemned people, including a crowd-scene's worth of those "pleasure  units" we just saw, are blown to smithereens.) 

-DVD Journal
In LIke Flint movie.
Our Man Flint contains lots of nods to his more famous British counterpart, James Bond, in several silly ways. At one point we encounter a celebrity agent known only as ‘0008’ (Bob Gunner, who looks a bit like Sean Connery), a spy with his own series of novels. Flint asks if the criminal organization known as SPECTRE could be involved, and 0008 replies, “It’s bigger than SPECTRE!” Earlier in the film, Flint is initially offered a Walther PPK and a briefcase with a concealed throwing knife – as seen in Dr. No (1962) – which he dismisses as crude.

This is a great movie.

It takes you back to a time when it was fine to talk about sex, and sexual situations without offending anyone. As such, it is a precious look at a world that the United States has lost and may never recover again. I would suggest the reader go ahead and watch this movie. Watch it before it is either banned, or the person who views the movie get penalized by the up-and-coming social-scoring methodology.

Anyways, back to Asia…

Sword Dance Exercise – China

It’s perhaps a cultural thing, but the first time that I visited Asia, I went to Hong Kong. There, at the wee hours of 5 am (jet lag, don’t you know) I saw the early risers get up and do their daily morning exercises.

Some would exercise doing Tai Ji, others would do the group dances, and others would do various forms of martial arts. The most popular is a kind of Kung Fu with fans (the “fan dance”) and others using swords. Here’s a cute video of a girl who is obviously a master of this kind of exercise / kung fu / dance. Taken in mainland China…

Cambodian Singer

I came across this gal singing her heart out in this music video. It think it’s well done, but might sound a little strange to our western ears. I love how she is putting all her emotion and passion into the music and song. I also love the simplicity of it. You don’t have a lot of bling, and complex African-American rhythms with huge assed girls wagging their asses all over the place.

I think that this gal is from Cambodia, but she could as well be from Laos or Thailand. I do think that she is great and she is certainly worth a listen.

No it’s NOT easy.

I commented on an essay that I found on LinkedIN the other day. In it, Fionn Wright wrote his comments on a statement by one of Donald Trumps’ advisors. Who said…

“The Chinese economy is crumbling. It's just not the powerhouse it was 20 years ago." 

- White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow‬ August 2019.

This is a pretty drastic comment. “Crumbling”? WTF. Ain’t nothing “crumbling” don’t you know.

So, Fionn Wright wrote…

What a simple Google search tells us: Chinese Economy: 1999 GDP: 1.09 trillion (nominal) Figure for 2019: 14.2 trillion (nominal) That’s 13X 

1999 GDP per capita: $3,800 (PPP) 2019 GDP per capita: $19,520 (PPP)  More than 5X 

The #ChineseEconomy has also surpassed the US in terms of PPP and is #1 in the world 

Larry Kudlow is the “Economic” Advisor to the #WhiteHouse So I have to assume that he knows this If he is referring to the #GDP growth slowdown, it’s still 3X the US 

That would lead me to the conclusion that he is consciously misleading people The main problem here is not that he’s lying (or really incompetent) It’s that a lot of Americans will actually believe these kinds of “absurd” statements as Ian Bremmer puts it (People in Britain do too - welcome to #Brexit) 

Business Insider, CNBC, MSN and a host of other media sources publish this as if what he is saying makes sense. If this isn’t #FakeNews I don’t know what is? 🤷‍♂️

And, you know what? He’s right. Compare the numbers.

So I wrote…

The propaganda is flowing hard and fast. Do not think that the recent upsurge in HK protests is organic. Trump is involved in full-scale passive-aggressive economic warfare. But, you know what, the Chinese are the toughest on the planet. 

I hope that things ratchet down a peg or two.

All in all, pretty benign.

I just agreed with him, and argued that there are forces bigger than us that are taking place. Donald Trump is fighting this war on behalf of the American people, and China is striking back. Both are formidable forces, and I hope that it gets resolved soon.

To which case, this Mr. Caspar Smeets (A pro-Gay Activist, who works as a design director) responded to me most aggressively…

Could you not promote the Chinese Dream in its own right without your political rants and America-bashing; on LinkedIn out if all platforms? You tell us zero news, sound so childish, unnecessary, uninspiring, and boring for someone claiming to help people achieve their Chinese dream, which incidentally is of course based on an American concept. Go play on Twitter or something where you can start your own private trade war.

Pretty uncalled for. But that’s a Jack-Ass for you.

He’s from the UK and living in Oman. He knows nothing about China, never been to China, and comes at me out of the blue with this kind of response.

I’ll tell you what, it’s disheartening. For me, as the target of such shit, it hurts. It’s sort of along the lines of this…

Well, then out of the blue, a fellow comes to my defense. He writes…

 Caspar, got out of bed the wrong side this morning?

The conversation continues. With sparing banter back and forth from the antagonist, who eventually admits to why he was so nasty responding to my rather bland opinion. He says…

Don't get me started on happy go lucky western people getting all smart about a totalitarian, repressive, rascist dictatorship over the back of America.
  • Totalitarian, I can understand. There is one party. The traditional party. If you want anything other than conservative, traditional China, you will suffer.
  • Repressive, it depends on who is being repressed. I’m not gay, transgender, I’m not a SJW trying to force other people to do things such as banning straws, or turning playgrounds into “safe spaces”. I’ve been living here heading towards two decades. So far, I’ve never been repressed.
Playground Comparisons
  • Racist? China has over 65 minorities, and invites everyone into the nation (provided they have something to contribute). They have enormous public work projects all over the world and are almost single-handedly building up a middle-class in Africa.

This Jack-Ass doesn’t even realize that I am a conservative, American-expat, Trump follower who lives in China. That I wish peace between both nations. That I recognize that both sides have valid arguments and are engaged into a trade war that I hope, will soon be resolved.

He just shows just how off-the-wall insane these progressive democrat Marxists are. They really, really are just like those NPC meme’s you see on the internet.

NPC Meme describing progressive Marxists
NPC Meme describing progressive Marxists.

At which point, my rescuer replies…

Well, at least we're all in agreement about the US being a totalitarian, repressive, racist dictatorship. That's something we can build on.

Ugh!

Moving away from the nonsense…

In case you are all wondering, I dropped out of this nonsense a long time ago. Every nation has it’s strengths and weaknesses.

  • America = Oligarchy. With citizens treated as serfs for profit. Maintains the appearance of a Democracy (Modified Republic into a Democracy) with zero accountability. The Oligarchy control the mobs by offering social re-engineering efforts via propaganda outlets.
  • China = Single party, traditional conservative Chinese.

Which is better?

It depends on who you are and your role within the stratified communities that make up those two nations. Different people have different situations and thus would have different points of view on this.

Certainly if you are wealthy, America is best for you. There are two sets of laws, rules, public discourse, and juridical systems that favor you. They favor you to a point that the government will pay you at tax-time rather than you owing money to them. They favor you to a point that you can commit treason, sell of American assets, get people killed, and break just about every law in the book including the systematic rape of children, and be allowed a pass.

Also, if you are dirt poor, illiterate, lazy, slothful or have addictions, America is also better. As you will be taken cared for and given special treatment than the rest of society. Thus people with mental illnesses, the gender confused, and those misfits that are not trying to fit within society will be cared for with “special” treatment.

However, if you are a working “stiff”, middle class, with ambitions to move up the social ladder, then most certainly China will offer you more opportunities, take less of your money, and provide a much healthier place for you to raise your family within.

That’s just the way it is today.

A comparision of the social-economic favortism that the countries of CHina nd the United States can provide for their citizens.
A comparison of the social-economic favoritism that the countries of China and the United States can provide for their citizens.

The United States, being an oligarchy, is perfect for the massively wealthy, or the incredibly poor. The nation has systems in place for people within those two spheres of influence to prosper within.

China however, provides advantages for the vast bulk of the citizenry, say 80 – 90%, though it is an environment where the poorest and the wealthiest may find disadvantage.

Looking at the nations as automobiles

Here’s a fun exercise for those of you who don’t like to read charts, tables and look at numbers. Think of each nation as a car. That’s it, think of each nation as a wonderful car.

Now, the United States started off with the most pure and perfect automobile design ever conceived in the history of the world. God created man. Men creates governments. The governments serve man so that they may serve God.

Wonderful. Pure and simple.

So this is America as it was designed and forged back in 1776…

America as desgined. Simple, robuste and pure. This is an image of what America (as designed) would look like. A beautiful Bughatti.
America as designed. Simple, robust and pure. This is an image of what America (as designed) would look like. A beautiful Bugatti.

But, you know, times change. People want to make “improvements” and game the system for their own benefit. You know, like ignoring the tenth Amendment, setting up “free Speech restriction zones”, and of course going “Red Flag” on gun laws. Sort of like this post…

Parable about America

Anyways, all these changes has resulted in America looking quite different from it’s original intent. Indeed, today America looks something like this…

This is what America would look like if it was a car.
This is what America would look like if it was a car.

Of course, other nations would look quite different.

China, where I live, would be more direct, traditional, conservative and functional. It’s rather harsh on the rules and doesn’t throw money away on trivialities. So, for China, it might look something like this…

This is what China would look like if it was a car.
This is what China would look like if it was a car.

To better understand the point that I am trying to make, you can check out this link below (it opens up in a separate tab)…

Excuses that we use that keep us enslaved.

Sex Doll Technology is really advancing…

In China there are two industries that you (the reader) should keep your eyes on. One is the robotic industry, and the other is the sex-doll industry. Both industries concentrate on specific features, function and utility. However, both like to use human appearing body structures.

As both industries lie within close proximity of each other geographically, I can well anticipate cross-over technology advancements within the next five years. Just like how China took the personal drone industry from zero to the powerhouse it is today.

El paso shooting survivor’s mother left her gun home the day of the mass shooting by a radical progressive Bernie Sanders follower…

OMG! I just read this today. Check it out…

“Christopher Grant said he recognized the sound of gunshots, “So I ran toward my mother to try to shield her and I’m like, mom — cause my mom, she’s a gun-wielding grandma. She carries a snub nose Smith & Wesson, .38 special with a built-in scope in it, everywhere she goes,” but she did not have it on her.

“An hour before we went to Walmart, she decides, ‘We’re just going to Walmart, I’m going to put it in my room.’ So when I went to her, no gun. And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, you got to be kidding me.’”

Grant ran off and saw the shooter in the Walmart parking lot and started to throw bottles at him to distract him. The shooter then started to fire his rifle at him, hitting Grant.”

Not the best way to make money…

The police broke up this counterfeiting ring. Here’s a video of their operation. I found it interesting.

OK, let’s move on…

I have many more videos, but I just cannot put them into a single post. It will bog down your computer terribly. So to watch the rest of the videos in this post, please continue…

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

Popular Music of China
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
Summer Snapshots 9
Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
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Some fun videos of Asia; to include China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. (Part 14)

Yes. Here we are going to explore Asia. This entire post is devoted to this. Except that we are going to take just a little bit of time to talk about something else.

As we continue in our video exploration of Asia, and my various rants of stuff, let’s first explore one of my all time movies. You know which one, don’t you? It’s from the photo splash screen above.

The movie is “Casablanca”, and it’s a classic.

I am so amazed at how many millennials have never heard of this move, nor watched it. It is stunning to me. Which is, perhaps, why I am going to spend a larger than usual amount of time writing about it.
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Lost in Love in Casablanca.

Casablanca is a film about the personal tragedy of occupation and war. It speaks to the oppression of the one side – and the heroism and self-deprecation of the other. From opportunists, to isolationists – from patriots to disenchanted lovers – the film has everything a man or woman would enjoy.

I cannot go with you or ever see you again.

Bravery, courage, intrigue, romance, beauty and love. Leading actors to please any appetite.

Watching this film is to step back to a world that doesn’t exist – yet to know it. It is to experience lives that have never been lived – but are “real to you.” It is to know pain and joy, pride and pity for characters that are a fiction – yet are so real that you can’t help but get lost in their story.

So what exactly is so special about it? Is it its great genre mix, never  equaled by another film? When we think of 'Casablanca' first, we  remember it as a romantic film (well, most of us do). 

But then again,  its also a drama involving terror, murder and flight. 

One can call it a  character study, centering on Rick. And there are quite a few moments of  comedic delight, just think of the pickpocket ("This place is full of  vultures, vultures everywhere!") or the elderly couple on the last  evening before their emigration to the US ("What watch?"). 

But  'Casablanca' is not only great as a whole, it still stands on top if we  break it apart and look at single lines of dialog, scenes or  performances alone.

Amazing cast, memorable dialogue, unforgettable story. Through this film, Casablanca will always live in my heart and I will think of its characters as family.

Seeing it for the first time is truly the start of a romance with ideals that will live in you long after credits end.

Casablanca 1
Not only is the dialog great, it’s unforgettably delivered, especially by Humphrey Bogart (“I was misinformed.”) and Claude Rains (“I am shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here”). Many of scenes have become a part of film history; the duel of ‘Die Wacht am Rhein’ and ‘La Marseillaise’ is probably one of the greatest scenes ever shot, and the last scene is probably even familiar to the few people who’ve never seen ‘Casablanca’.

The Nazi envoy, Major Heinrich Strasser puts it: ‘Human life is cheap in Casablanca.” Of course because a man may be executed in its crowded market before Marshal Pétain’s portrait or where a charming girl may guarantee an exit visa by spending her night with the Prefect of Police…

Rick’s Café is the point of intersection, the espionage center, the background for Allied offensive, the focal point as refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe seek to gain exit visas to Lisboa…

The interesting club so well organized, leads to an open arena of conspiracy, counterspies, secret plans, black market transactions, in which the games and fights are between arrogant Nazis, patriotic French, idealists, murderers, pickpockets and gamblers around a roulette wheel, where a ball could rest on Rick’s command against the settled number 22…

Casablanca a love lost.
The cast is one of its main strengths, not just Bogart and Bergman but also the fine supporting cast. Rains, Greenstreet, Lorre, and the others are indispensable to the atmosphere and the story, and each has some very good moments.

“Casablanca” is an adventure film which victory is not won with cannons and guns… The action, the fight, the war takes place inside Rick’s walls rather than outside…

But who is this Rick? What is his magical power? His secret weapon? Rick is the anti-fascist with hard feelings, the former soldier of fortune who has grown tired of smuggling and fighting, and is now content to sit out the war in his own neutral territory… 

Hum... A little like myself, eh?

Even loyalty to a friend doesn’t move him as he refuses to help Ugarte, a desperately frightened little courier who is fleeing from the police…

Casablanca 3
This is a film that MUST belong in every video collection in the U.S. is not in the world. The stories about it’s making are legendary from the constant rewrites to the apocrypha of casting stories. What is amazing to me, and the reason I believe it holds audiences almost spellbound in successive viewings, is the connection with the horrors of World War II was almost every single cast member.

Emphatically, Rick says, “I stick my neck out for nobody.”

Play it again Sam.

Ah, but we know he will do just that in a very short time, for into his quiet life comes a haunting vision from his past, the beautiful woman he still loves and bitterly remembers…

But…

But…

But, she is married to an underground leader and she desperately needs those papers Rick conveniently now has in his possession…

OMG!

The cynical Rick’s facade of neutrality begins to weaken as he recalls the bittersweet memories of his past love affair, memories triggered repeatedly when the strains of “As Time Goes By” come from Sam, his piano-playing confidante…

But “Casablanca” basic message is a declaration of self-sacrifice… War. World II demanded all!

The words stated by Rick at the airport had their impact: ‘The problems of three people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.’ It goes without saying that Bogart is incomparable when he seems most like himself…

His way with a line makes “Casablanca” dialog part of the collective memory: ‘I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray. You were blue.’

Rick and lost in love.
Everyone in this film is fabulous, but it is the chemistry of Rick (Bogart) and Ilsa (Bergman) been truly holds the film together. When I saw this film almost frame by frame in the limited book series of classic films that were produced in the late 1960s, I was stunned by the subtlety of facial expressions that conveyed so much of Rick Blaine’s character by a marvelous actor Humphrey Bogart.

There is a reason why he was named the actor of the century. While every person in the film becomes a real flesh and blood presence, the story of Rick and Ilsa is the center of this cinema feast.

Intermixed in this intrigue are all the fascinating and beautifully acted supporting roles…. With his customary skill, Claude Rains plays Major Renault, a prefect of police who is like Bogart in many ways…

He, too, claims neutrality, but is definitely against the Nazis…

He is Rick’s most devoted adversary, tauntingly calling the man a “sentimentalist” and delivering his share of cynically amusing lines…

But, what about us?

When he makes a small bet and is encouraged to make a bigger one, he remarks that he is only a “poor corrupt official.”

Ingrid Bergman is fascinating as the lovely heroine, the mysterious impossible woman of an impossible love, the tender mood of every man, the love-affair, the quality of being romantic, the traditional woman enclosed by two rivals, symbol of a besieged Europe…

Time to say goodby.
CASABLANCA is the best treatment ever of the ancient theme of the love triangle. Set in World War II Casablanca, a Moroccan city under the control of the collaborationist Vichy French government, the movie starts with a news wire that two German couriers have been murdered and their letters of transit stolen. Each letter will permit one person to leave Casablanca to a neutral country.

Paul Henreid is Victor Laszlo, the anti-Nazi resistance leader, seeking in Morocco the two letters of transit signed by General De Gaulle…

Here’s looking at you kid.

Sidney Greenstreet is the black marketeer on good terms with Rick, the rival owner of the ‘Blue Parrot,’ the acceptable face of corruption…

Peter Lorre is Ugarte, the racketeer, the dealer of anything illegal, the killer, driven into a corner by the Vichy police, who has given Rick two letter of transit…

Enter Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, owner of the shady but cheerful Cafe Americaine. Rick  is a cynical and hard-nosed man whose motto is, "I stick my neck out  for nobody." Like many a cynic, Rick is an embittered ex-idealist, still  nursing his wounds from being abandoned by his lover Ilsa (Ingrid  Bergman). By chance he falls into possession of the missing letters of  transit. 

Enter  Ilsa, who comes to Casablanca on the arm of Czech Resistance leader  Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a few steps ahead of the Nazi police. We  now have three people and two letters of transit. Who will reach  America, and who will stay in Casablanca? I know no other movie that so  perfectly balances humor, romance, and drama. 

The  soul of good drama lies in presenting characters with hard choices, and  few choices are as hard, or as illuminating of the protagonists'  makeup, as the choices in CASABLANCA. All of the characters must decide  what they will give up for love, for honor, and for themselves. The  scenes of Rick and Ilsa's love, years ago in Paris, are some of the  finest romantic scenes in cinema. 

And  the humor, particularly in the person of Casablanca's Prefect of  Police, Louis Renault, has contributed dozens of dry witticisms to our  everyday language - "I am shocked! Shocked! - "The Germans wore gray,  you wore blue." - "I was misinformed." - "It would take a miracle to get  you out of Casablanca, and the Germans have outlawed miracles." 

So  perfectly blended are these three major elements that you cannot point  to a single shot or scene that should have been eliminated from the  movie. Never try to watch only one scene from CASABLANCA; you will  inevitably be absorbed until the very end of the film. It is little  short of miraculous that the chaotically mismanaged shooting of this  movie resulted in such a magnificent final product; it speaks volumes  for luck and for Owen Marks' and Michael Curtiz' post-production  editing.
At the table in Casablanca.
A scene still from the 1943 Academy Award®-winning film “Casablanca” features (l to r) Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Paul Henried and Ingrid Bergman. Bogart received an Academy Award nomination in the Lead Actor category while Claude Rains was honored with a nomination in the Supporting Actor category. “Casablanca” received eight Academy Award nominations in total and won three Oscars® including Best Picture. Restored by Nick & jane for Dr. Macro’s High Quality Movie Scans Website: http:www.doctormacro.com. Enjoy!

Conrad Veidt is the very essence of German rigidity, unfeeling, unconcerned about life, but firmly believing in the foolish ideology of his Nazi compatriots…

“Casablanca” covers many highlights: The Marseillaise against the Horst Wessel song inspiring sequence; the blissful days in Paris; Ilsa’s emotional words to Rick in occupied Paris; the champagne toast; Ilsa’s request to Sam; the poetry of the magic words and the beautiful voice of Dooley Wilson; Captain Renault’s words in the airport; and the farewell…

The magic that developed from the teaming of Bogart and Bergman is enough to make a new romantic figure out of the former tough guy…

To his cynicism, his own code of ethics, his hatred of the phoniness in all human behavior, he now added the softening traits of tenderness and compassion and a feeling of heroic commitment to a cause…

They helped him complete the portrayal of the ideal man who all men wished to rival…

Casablanca and the fat man.
In December 1941, American expatriate Rick Blaine owns an upscale nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca. “Rick’s Café Américain” attracts a varied clientele, including Vichy French and German officials, refugees desperate to reach the still-neutral United States, and those who prey on them.

Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, he ran guns to Ethiopia during its war with Italy and fought on the Loyalist side in the Spanish Civil War. Petty crook Ugarte boasts to Rick of “letters of transit” obtained by murdering two German couriers. The papers allow the bearers to travel freely around German-controlled Europe and to neutral Portugal, and are priceless to the refugees stranded in Casablanca. Ugarte plans to sell them at the club, and asks Rick to hold them.

Before he can meet his contact, Ugarte is arrested by the local police under the command of Captain Louis Renault, the unabashedly corrupt Vichy prefect of police. Ugarte dies in custody without revealing that he entrusted the letters to Rick.

One can look at hundreds of films produced during this period without finding any whose composite pieces fall so perfectly into place…

Its photography is outstanding, the music score is inventive, the editing is concise and timed perfectly…

Bogart’s and Bergman’s love scenes create a genuinely romantic aura, capturing a sensitivity between the two stars one would not have believed possible…

Rick in love in Casablanca.
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman starred in “Casablanca,” the Oscar®-winning film of 1943. Bogart was nominated for an Academy Award® in the Lead Actor category for his portrayal of Café Americain owner Rick Blaine. In total, “Casablanca” received eight Oscar nominations and won three, including Best Picture. Restored by Nick & jane for Dr. Macro’s High Quality Movie Scans Website: http:www.doctormacro.com. Enjoy!

“Casablanca” is a masterpiece of entertainment, an outstanding motion picture which brought Bogart his first Academy Award nomination (he lost to Paul Lukas for “Watch On the Rhine”) and won Awards for Best Picture of the Year, Best Director and Best Screenplay… 

 There is a scene about halfway through the movie Casablanca that has  become commonly known as 'The Battle of the Anthems' throughout the  film's long history. A group of German soldiers has come into Rick's  Café American and are drunkenly singing the German National Anthem at  the top of their voice. Victor Lazlo, the leader of the French  Resistance, cannot stand this act and while the rest of the club stares  appalled at the Germans, Lazlo orders the band to play 'Le Marseilles  (sic?)' the French National Anthem. With a nod from Rick, the band  begins playing, with Victor singing at the top of HIS voice. This in  turn, inspires the whole club to begin singing and the Germans are  forced to surrender and sit down at their table, humbled by the crowd's  dedication. This scene is a turning point in the movie, for reasons that  I leave to you to discover. 

As I watched this movie again  tonight for what must be the 100th time, I noticed there was a much  smaller scene wrapped inside the bigger scene that, unless you look for  it, you may never notice. Yvonne, a minor character who is hurt by Rick  emotionally, falls into the company of a German soldier. In a land  occupied by the Germans, but populated by the French, this is an  unforgivable sin. She comes into the bar desperately seeking happiness  in the club's wine, song, and gambling. Later, as the Germans begin  singing we catch a glimpse of Yvonne sitting dejectedly at a table alone  and in this brief glimpse, it is conveyed that she has discovered that  this is not her path to fulfillment and she has no idea where to go from  there. As the singing progresses, we see Yvonne slowly become inspired  by Lazlo's act of defiance and by the end of the song, tears streaming  down her face, she is singing at the top of her voice too. She has found  her redemption. She has found something that will make her life never  the same again from that point on. 

Basically, this is Casablanca  in a nutshell. On the surface, you may see it as a romance, or as a  story of intrigue, but that is only partially correct.

The thing  that makes Casablanca great is that it speaks to that place in each of  us that seeks some kind of inspiration or redemption. On some level,  every character in the story receives the same kind of catharsis and  their lives are irrevocably changed. Rick's is the most obvious in that  he learns to live again, instead of hiding from a lost love. He is  reminded that there are things in the world more noble and important  than he is and he wants to be a part of them. Louis, the scoundrel, gets  his redemption by seeing the sacrifice Rick makes and is inspired to  choose a side, where he had maintained careful neutrality. The stoic  Lazlo gets his redemption by being shown that while thousands may need  him to be a hero, there is someone he can rely upon when he needs  inspiration in the form of his wife, who was ready to sacrifice her  happiness for the chance that he would go on living. Even Ferrai, the  local organized crime leader gets a measure of redemption by pointing  Ilsa and Lazlo to Rick as a source of escape even though there is  nothing in it for him. 

This is the beauty of this movie. Every  time I see it (and I have seen it a lot) it never fails that I see some  subtle nuance that I have never seen before. Considering that the  director would put that much meaning into what is basically a throw away  moment (not the entire scene, but Yvonne's portion) speaks bundles  about the quality of the film. My wife and I watched this movie on our  first date, and since that first time over 12 years ago, it has grown to  be, in my mind, the greatest movie ever made. 

-A Masterwork for all Time
A great romance.
“Casablanca” is a great romance, not only for being so supremely entertaining with its humor and realistic-though-exotic wartime excitement, but because it’s not the least bit mushy. Take the way Rick’s face literally breaks when he first sees Ilsa in his bar, or how he recalls the last time he saw her in Paris: “The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.”

There’s a real human dimension to these people that makes us care for them and relate to them in a way that belies the passage of years. For me, and many, the most interesting relationship in the movie is Rick and Capt. Renault, the police prefect in Casablanca who is played by Claude Rains with a wonderful subtlety that builds as the film progresses. Theirs is a relationship of almost perfect cynicism, one-liners and professions of neutrality that provide much humor, as well as give a necessary display of Rick’s darker side before and after Ilsa’s arrival. But there’s so much to grab onto with a film like this.

You can talk about the music, or the way the setting becomes a living character with its floodlights and Moorish traceries. Paul Henreid is often looked at as a bit of a third wheel playing the role of Ilsa’s husband, but he manages to create a moral center around which the rest of the film operates, and his enigmatic relationship with Rick and especially Ilsa, a woman who obviously admires her husband but can’t somehow ever bring herself to say she loves him, is something to wonder at.

…

My favorite bit is when Rick finds himself the target of an entreaty by a Bulgarian refugee who just wants Rick’s assurance that Capt. Renault is “trustworthy,” and that, if she does “a bad thing” to secure her husband’s happiness, it would be forgivable.

Rick flashes on Ilsa, suppresses a grimace, tries to buy the woman off with a one-liner (“Go back to Bulgaria”), then finally does a marvelous thing that sets the whole second half of the film in motion without much calling attention to itself.

Time to go in Casablanca.
Love and sacrifice during WWII underlie the story about a café owner named Rick (Humphrey Bogart), and his link to two intellectual refugees from Nazi occupied France. Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) seek asylum here in politically neutral Casablanca and, like other European refugees, gravitate to Rick’s upscale café, near the city’s airport, with its revolving searchlight.

Rick is a middle-aged cynic who also has a touch of sentimentalism, especially for people in need, like Ilsa and Victor. The film’s story is ideal for romantics everywhere.

I wish I didn’t love you so much.

Sorry, for that long narrative. Let’s get back to Asia, shall we.

Faded. Music in China.

First stop is a DJ version of the song “Faded”. Faded is a song made popular by Alan Walker. It is very popular in China. As such, there have been many people who have used the song and music to manufacture “DJ” versions of the song.

There are many of them. Some of the best mix a kind of pop-rock with guitar solos and a background of war and machine-gun fire. Others, just take the melody and mix in Chinese dialog.

When done this way, it becomes a track that would evoke period of deep reflection while remembering the words of others who may or may not have been close to you. In the example below, you can well guess the complexity of those thoughts even though most would not have a clue as to what anyone was saying.

DJ Ricardo – Faded (英雄联盟台词版)

El Rusbo’ notices the roar of silence…

You know, El’ Rusbo had a great dialog on his progam on 7Aug19. In it he discussed what is going on while the American news media are going full-bore anti-Trump, anti-middle class America. Here’s an excerpt…

 
Trump Support Grows Stronger — and More Quiet — by the Day
Aug 7, 2019 
                                            
x----snip

 Well, it’s not entirely true, but I’ll try to make the point. There  aren’t any, per se, Republican voters right now. There are Trump voters.  There are Trump supporters and everybody else. Most of them are  Republican, and Trump’s approval rating within the Republican Party  still stands at 90 to 92%, and it may be even higher now. Those people  are totally behind Trump. They are fully, quietly supportive of Trump  and his agenda. They grow stronger and more quiet by the day, and that’s  the great dichotomy. They are growing stronger, but they are shutting  up.
 
They don’t want to make themselves targets. But they are seething out  there. This is what I think the breakdown is. I think there are more  and more Trump voters. Trump’s approval rating is at 49%. You go to  state by state, and some states show him the losing there, but this is  16 months before the election. So there’s way too much time for any  polling data here to be accurate. It’s nothing more than an interesting  point of conversation at this point. But I really think that tends to  describe the political lay of the land.

 And the one thing that I think that is happening (just to reinforce  this) that nobody is reporting on at all — not even what you would  consider friendly outlets like Fox — is I think that the base support  for Trump is solidifying and I think it is growing because I think those  people are seething. They are the ones being called white supremacists.  They are the ones being called white nationalists. They are the ones  being blamed for all this, and they know they are not responsible for  it, and they know that Donald Trump isn’t responsible for it.

 They know that most of the rhetoric in this country that is inciting  extremism emanates from the left. Most of the activity that incites  extremism and violence emanates from the left. Do I need to give you the  organizations? Antifa. Black Lives Matter. I could go down the list.  Planned Parenthood. These are people who do this as a way of life. The  basic Trump supporter (you), you’re just out there. Some of you are  probably not totally invisible, but the grand majority of Trump  supporters is just out there seething.

 Look, I think I’m a typical Trump supporter, as far as you can define  “typical.” And I am. I’m seething over this stuff. Each and every day,  I’m seething over it. Now, don’t misunderstand. This doesn’t mean I’m  depressed. This stuff literally ticks me off! Every time I hear these  clowns throw out the term “white supremacist,” “white supremacy,” it  ticks me off, and it makes me want to defeat them even more. It makes me  want them to go down in flames even more — and in this, I believe I am  typical.

I like his phrase “seething”.

It is what is going on. Be advised.

Chinese Hospital

China, as an enormous nation, has a wide hospital network. These include smaller local clinics and hospital branches. Like in the United States, they also have training and teaching hospital as well. The quality varies from region to region, but it is very easy to find a hospital suitable for what ever problem ails you.

In general, I have found the hospitals to be competent, staffed with caring and trained workers, and while the appearance varies from one hospital to the next, most Chinese hospitals are up to date and equipped with the latest in technology.

Aside from the handful of village hospitals that I have attended, most hospitals (and I have attended them for various reasons, many and yes, many times) all tend to look like this…

All with costs and prices far, far, far, FARRRRRR below what you would find in the United States. I think that the reason for this is that if the hospital or doctor tries to scam you or work in some kind of “kick-back” scheme through insurance or other legalized-bribery method, the Corruption Police will be unleashed. 

Many regulations, agencies that require registration to work, fees, and other hidden costs are legalized ways for collecting bribes. Over the last 100 years, people have gamed the United States to extract as much money as possible from the citizens living there.

People, you DO NOT WANT the corruption police crashing through your window at night.

Thailand Beauty

My other posts were so serious with all the protests in China, and all that. I know these people “just want” “freedom and democracy”, though they are trying to appeal to Americans who live in an Oligarchy disguised as a Democracy (as evolved from a Republic). It’s all messed up.

The world has been gamed by the wealthy over the last 100 years, and now most people are serfs working on a plantation where everything they do has some kind of cost associated with it. This is most especially true in the United States and the UK. No so much elsewhere.

Life is all about love.

Here is some “lighter fare”. This is a cute girl in Thailand. I like the local rural restaurant that looks like an airplane, the green lush trees, and the blue skies. If it wasn’t for the gold temples over the next hill you would think that it’s in China.

Chinese Beauty

For comparison purposes, here is a similar video of a girl in China. As you can well see, that while the fashions are different, and the behavior and demeanor is different, there is a similarity that cannot be ignored. Ah. I do so love Asia.

European Beauty

Sometimes I get emails from trolls and other confused people. They seem to be under the impression that I need to curb what I write, or present so as not to offend anyone.

Nonsense!

If you are offended you can leave. I am far too old and too grouchy to tone down my thoughts for someone who has the emotions of an infant.

That being said, I do not want people to think that I do not appreciate other forms of human beauty. I am an equal-opportunity girl-watcher. I find so many women beautiful, and you would be so absolutely stunned at how wide ranging my tastes are.

For starters… here’s an European beauty. Isn’t she awesome? Wouldn’t you just love to take her out on a date, eat some fine steak or fish with a nice wine, and then go to a club or jazz bar? I would. I’ll tell you what.

OMG! I am such a sucker for a big toothy smile, and big hair. (Hint, hint to all you heavier girls out there…)

How to Cook Chicken Legs – Chinese Style

Here’s a quick video on how to cook chicken legs on the stove in a pan. This is the traditional Chinese cooking method, as most Chinese do not have ovens. It is not only tasty and healthy, but it uses far less electricity than cooking in a stove.

And as I finish this particular bunch of micro-videos about Asia, take a deeper look into my life as an American expat why don’t ya.

The Cafe American.

I have many more videos, but I just cannot put them into a single post. It will bog down your computer terribly. So to watch the rest of the videos in this post, please continue…

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

Popular Music of China
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
Summer Snapshots 9
Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Articles & Links

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