We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
Probably most cat owners have dreamed of building their cat a little home at some point, but not like this! Peter, the founder of the ZenByCat organization, and the builder of this wonderful cat paradise that we’re about to show you, slowly but surely executed his life’s dream: living in harmony surrounded by the cuddly and perfectly happy rescued fluffballs.
Just how many cats, you might ask? Over twenty. But it’s alright, Peter’s house is built for it. Literally. So scroll right down and check out the catopia, the Shangri-La of cat homes, except this one exists for real.
God bless this man.
Here’s Peter, the founder of the “House of Nekko”
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Nobody could’ve imagined that he’d turn his house into catopia (cat utopia), but he did
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Peter, who bought the house in 1988, has designed the house to meet all of the needs of his rescue cats
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It has platforms specially made for cats to roam around without sacrificing the high ground
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There are tons of plants and feeding spots so they feel like the kings and queens of the jungle
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Separate feeding spots ensure that they’re never fighting for their food
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It even has spiral stairways that have access to floors only cats can get to
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Even the bathroom is decked out to suit the needs of the felines
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Yes, this is a cat hamster wheel
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There are even some plant-themed rooms just so they feel like in great outdoors
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The house has lots of high spots that cats love
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Of course there are scratchers and beds, too
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“I heard you like cat houses, so we put a cat house inside a cat house, so you can live while you live”
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Overall, Peter has over 20 rescued indoor cats living with him
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The cats are well taken care of. As if all of it is not enough, they even have their own pillows and blankets
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Peter’s ZenByCat non-profit organization was found to fight a deadly disease called FIP, Feline Infectious Peritonitis
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The story of Zen By Cat begins with a kitten Peter adopted in, 2016, Miss Bean.
Miss Bean was diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). With her condition rapidly deteriorating Peter seemingly had no choice but to euthanize her.
But before the decision was final, Peter received a message from a friend of his. She said she knew a vet at UC Davis, who might be able to get Miss Bean into a Drug Trial for young kittens with FIP.
Peter decided he had to try.
Over the course of the next 31 days Peter and Miss Bean went on a roller coaster of improvements and setbacks against FIP.
Sadly, Miss Bean lost her fight on July 26, 2016.
In honor of Miss Bean and all other victims of FIP, Zen By Cat was set up as a nonprofit to raise money and awareness for FIP research. Since this, Dr. Pederson and others at UC Davis, have made great strides in their research and have successfully cured many cats from FIP, including Peter’s cat Smokey.
But there is still work to be done to bring the drug that saved Smokey and others to market.
Peter’s workstation just screams “I love cats”
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And last but not least, an obligatory stalking window
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Conclusion
Sure, the world is undergoing a realignment. And the West, led by the United States, is putting up a fit, and a fight. But it will lose, and the world will calm down soon enough.
This little article is designed to show you what one person can do to make their little corner of the world a better place to live in.
Participate.
Contribute.
Make the world a better place.
And if the rest of the world howls, let them howl. You have far better things to do with your time. I believe in you.
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my cat section in my happiness index here…
Well, it is, at least it is not something that I myself would want to do. But that is just me. But I can tell you all something that is important; there are many crafty, clever, and evil people who follow this rule to the letter.
I can include an ex-business partner who only wanted to get into my wife’s pants (or skirt), a couple of work colleagues who would perform run-arounds to disparage me in their pursuit for career growth, and a couple of family members that have an unsavory two-faced attitude about life.
So to best prepare you for these individuals, you must understand how they think and how their ModusOperandi works.
Thus this article…
LAW 14
POSE AS A FRIEND, WORK AS A SPY
JUDGMENT
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.
OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW
Joseph Duveen was undoubtedly the greatest art dealer of his time—from 1904 to 1940 he almost single-handedly monopolized America’s millionaire art-collecting market. But one prize plum eluded him: the industrialist Andrew Mellon. Before he died, Duveen was determined to make Mellon a client.
Duveen’s friends said this was an impossible dream.
Mellon was a stiff, taciturn man.
The stories he had heard about the congenial, talkative Duveen rubbed him the wrong way—he had made it clear he had no desire to meet the man.
Yet Duveen told his doubting friends, “Not only will Mellon buy from me but he will buy only from me.”
For several years he tracked his prey, learning the man’s habits, tastes, phobias.
To do this, he secretly put several of Mellon’s staff on his own payroll, worming valuable information out of them.
By the time he moved into action, he knew Mellon about as well as Mellon’s wife did.
In 1921 Mellon was visiting London, and staying in a palatial suite on the third floor of Claridge’s Hotel.
Duveen booked himself into the suite just below Mellon’s, on the second floor.
He had arranged for his valet to befriend Mellon’s valet, and on the fateful day he had chosen to make his move, Mellon’s valet told Duveen’s valet, who told Duveen, that he had just helped Mellon on with his overcoat, and that the industrialist was making his way down the corridor to ring for the lift.
Duveen’s valet hurriedly helped Duveen with his own overcoat.
Seconds later, Duveen entered the lift, and lo and behold, there was Mellon.
“How do you do, Mr. Mellon?” said Duveen, introducing himself. “I am on my way to the National Gallery to look at some pictures.”
How uncanny—that was precisely where Mellon was headed.
And so Duveen was able to accompany his prey to the one location that would ensure his success.
He knew Mellon’s taste inside and out, and while the two men wandered through the museum, he dazzled the magnate with his knowledge.
Once again quite uncannily, they seemed to have remarkably similar tastes.
Mellon was pleasantly surprised: This was not the Duveen he had expected.
The man was charming and agreeable, and clearly had exquisite taste.
When they returned to New York, Mellon visited Duveen’s exclusive gallery and fell in love with the collection.
Everything, surprisingly enough, seemed to be precisely the kind of work he wanted to collect.
For the rest of his life he was Duveen’s best and most generous client.
Interpretation
A man as ambitious and competitive as Joseph Duveen left nothing to chance.
What’s the point of winging it, of just hoping you may be able to charm this or that client?
It’s like shooting ducks blindfolded.
Arm yourself with a little knowledge and your aim improves.
Mellon was the most spectacular of Duveen’s catches, but he spied on many a millionaire.
By secretly putting members of his clients’ household staffs on his own payroll, he would gain constant access to valuable information about their masters’ comings and goings, changes in taste, and other such tidbits of information that would put him a step ahead.
A rival of Duveen’s who wanted to make Henry Frick a client noticed that whenever he visited this wealthy New Yorker, Duveen was there before him, as if he had a sixth sense.
To other dealers Duveen seemed to be everywhere, and to know everything before they did.
His powers discouraged and disheartened them, until many simply gave up going after the wealthy clients who could make a dealer rich.
Such is the power of artful spying: It makes you seem all-powerful, clairvoyant.
Your knowledge of your mark can also make you seem charming, so well can you anticipate his desires.
No one sees the source of your power, and what they cannot see they cannot fight.
Rulers see through spies, as cows through smell, Brahmins through scriptures and the rest of the people through their normal eyes.
Kautilya, Indian philosopher third century B. C.
KEYS TO POWER
In the realm of power, your goal is a degree of control over future events. Part of the problem you face, then, is that people won’t tell you all their thoughts, emotions, and plans.
Controlling what they say, they often keep the most critical parts of their character hidden—their weaknesses, ulterior motives, obsessions.
The result is that you cannot predict their moves, and are constantly in the dark.
The trick is to find a way to probe them, to find out their secrets and hidden intentions, without letting them know what you are up to.
This is not as difficult as you might think.
A friendly front will let you secretly gather information on friends and enemies alike.
Let others consult the horoscope, or read tarot cards: You have more concrete means of seeing into the future.
The most common way of spying is to use other people, as Duveen did. The method is simple, powerful, but risky: You will certainly gather information, but you have little control over the people who are doing the work.
Perhaps they will ineptly reveal your spying, or even secretly turn against you.
It is far better to be the spy yourself, to pose as a friend while secretly gathering information.
The French politician Talleyrand was one of the greatest practitioners of this art.
He had an uncanny ability to worm secrets out of people in polite conversation.
A contemporary of his, Baron de Vitrolles, wrote,
“Wit and grace marked his conversation. He possessed the art of concealing his thoughts or his malice beneath a transparent veil of insinuations, words that imply something more than they express. Only when necessary did he inject his own personality.”
The key here is Talleyrand’s ability to suppress himself in the conversation, to make others talk endlessly about themselves and inadvertently reveal their intentions and plans.
Throughout Talleyrand’s life, people said he was a superb conversationalist—yet he actually said very little.
He never talked about his own ideas; he got others to reveal theirs.
He would organize friendly games of charades for foreign diplomats, social gatherings where, however, he would carefully weigh their words, cajole confidences out of them, and gather information invaluable to his work as France’s foreign minister.
At the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) he did his spying in other ways: He would blurt out what seemed to be a secret (actually something he had made up), then watch his listeners’ reactions.
He might tell a gathering of diplomats, for instance, that a reliable source had revealed to him that the czar of Russia was planning to arrest his top general for treason.
By watching the diplomats’ reactions to this made-up story, he would know which ones were most excited by the weakening of the Russian army—perhaps their governments had designs on Russia?
As Baron von Stetten said, “Monsieur Talleyrand fires a pistol into the air to see who will jump out the window.”
If you have reason to suspect that a person is telling you a lie, look as though you believed every word he said. This will give him courage to go on; he will become more vehement in his assertions, and in the end betray himself. Again, if you perceive that a person is trying to conceal something from you, but with only partial success, look as though you did not believe him. The opposition on your part will provoke him into leading out his reserve of truth and bringing the whole force of it to bear upon your incredulity.
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860
During social gatherings and innocuous encounters, pay attention.
This is when people’s guards are down.
By suppressing your own personality, you can make them reveal things.
The brilliance of the maneuver is that they will mistake your interest in them for friendship, so that you not only learn, you make allies.
Nevertheless, you should practice this tactic with caution and care.
If people begin to suspect you are worming secrets out of them under the cover of conversation, they will strictly avoid you.
Emphasize friendly chatter, not valuable information.
Your search for gems of information cannot be too obvious, or your probing questions will reveal more about yourself and your intentions than about the information you hope to find.
A trick to try in spying comes from La Rochefoucauld, who wrote,
“Sincerity is found in very few men, and is often the cleverest of ruses— one is sincere in order to draw out the confidence and secrets of the other.”
By pretending to bare your heart to another person, in other words, you make them more likely to reveal their own secrets.
Give them a false confession and they will give you a real one.
Another trick was identified by the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who suggested vehemently contradicting people you’re in conversation with as a way of irritating them, stirring them up so that they lose some of the control over their words.
In their emotional reaction they will reveal all kinds of truths about themselves, truths you can later use against them.
Another method of indirect spying is to test people, to lay little traps that make them reveal things about themselves.
Chosroes II, a notoriously clever seventh-century king of the Persians, had many ways of seeing through his subjects without raising suspicion.
If he noticed, for instance, that two of his courtiers had become particularly friendly, he would call one of them aside and say he had information that the other was a traitor, and would soon be killed.
The king would tell the courtier he trusted him more than anyone, and that he must keep this information secret.
Then he would watch the two men carefully.
If he saw that the second courtier had not changed in his behavior toward the king, he would conclude that the first courtier had kept the secret, and he would quickly promote the man, later taking him aside to confess,
“I meant to kill your friend because of certain information that had reached me, but, when I investigated the matter, I found it was untrue.”
If, on the other hand, the second courtier started to avoid the king, acting aloof and tense, Chosroes would know that the secret had been revealed.
He would ban the second courtier from his court, letting him know that the whole business had only been a test, but that even though the man had done nothing wrong, he could no longer trust him.
The first courtier, however, had revealed a secret, and him Chosroes would ban from his entire kingdom.
It may seem an odd form of spying that reveals not empirical information but a person’s character.
Often, however, it is the best way of solving problems before they arise.
By tempting people into certain acts, you learn about their loyalty, their honesty, and so on.
And this kind of knowledge is often the most valuable of all: Armed with it, you can predict their actions in the future.
Image:
The Third Eye of the Spy. In the land of
the two-eyed, the third eye gives you the omniscience
of a god. You see further than others, and you see deeper into them. Nobody is
safe from the eye but you.
Authority:
Now, the reason a brilliant sovereign and a wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move, and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men, is their foreknowledge of the enemy situation. This “foreknowledge” cannot be elicited from spirits, nor from gods, nor by analogy with past events, nor by astrologic calculations. It must be obtained from men who know the enemy situation—from spies.
(Sun-tzu, The Art of War, fourth century B.C.)
REVERSAL
Information is critical to power, but just as you spy on other people, you must be prepared for them to spy on you.
One of the most potent weapons in the battle for information, then, is giving out false information.
As Winston Churchill said,
“Truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”
You must surround yourself with such a bodyguard, so that your truth cannot be penetrated.
By planting the information of your choice, you control the game.
…
In 1944 the Nazis’ rocket-bomb attacks on London suddenly escalated.
Over two thousand V-1 flying bombs fell on the city, killing more than five thousand people and wounding many more.
Somehow, however, the Germans consistently missed their targets.
Bombs that were intended for Tower Bridge, or Piccadilly, would fall well short of the city, landing in the less populated suburbs.
This was because, in fixing their targets, the Germans relied on secret agents they had planted in England.
They did not know that these agents had been discovered, and that in their place, English-controlled agents were feeding them subtly deceptive information.
The bombs would hit farther and farther from their targets every time they fell.
By the end of the campaign they were landing on cows in the country.
By feeding people wrong information, then, you gain a potent advantage.
While spying gives you a third eye, disinformation puts out one of your enemy’s eyes.
A cyclops, he always misses his target.
Conclusion
Do not be a fake friend. What ever advantage that it might provide to you, will be offset by an equal degradation in your other relationships.
Don’t do it.
Do you want more?
I have more posts in my “48 Laws of Power” Index here…
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 know, the Western “news” is just propaganda. Nothing more. It is used to instill fear, control and manipulate huge masses of people, and to bludgeon them into predefined and specific types of behaviors. And of the many things that propaganda does (lie, distort, and emphasize incorrect narratives) is ignore real and substantive actual news. And yeah. They do this for a reason, don’t you know. And this article is going to talk about one thing that the American media is very quiet about; the Chinese people are much more prosperous than Americans are.
So forget that neocon belief that the Chinese people are shivering in fear and oppression from their all-power Chinese Communist overlords (it is the de facto narrative). They aren’t. They are overwhelmingly happy, approve of their government, and just living their life in near carefree abandon.
Which is why I enjoyed traveling outside of America. When I went to Australia, the relationships with the folk there reminded me of my boyhood days in the 1960’s and 1970’s. And when I went to South East Asia, it reminded me of the days of “keg parties” and “hanging out”… you know. Doing ‘nothin. It was glorious.
It was everything I hoped it would be.
In those lands I wasn’t barraged with “news”. Even being connected to the USA though Wifi (much faster than what you get in the States, and for FREE!) no one read the “news” like I would (do so). They just pretty much ignored it. It was a much smaller part of their life. Certainly much smaller than what we from the States would think. And as a result they were far happier because of it.
Imagine that!
The lack of regulations, rules, policing control, laws, and just about everything else that is part and parcel of the regulatory and all-controlling America is absent in Asia. And it’s just glorious.
But anyways…
The American (and Western) “news” is just a big mill and den of lies and distortions. It is at all levels, and if you haven’t figured this out by now, you are either stupid or have mental problems. They lie. they distort. They cause you to live in fear. They spew hate. They are just awful.
The dangers of 3G; your brain will cook when you answer your cell phone.
Oh, and 5G, that terrible Chinese radiation is much worse!
Mad cow disease will kill you when you eat a hamburger.
Y2K is going to have your toaster jump and strangle you in the kitchen.
Killer zombie hornets is going to attack your community.
Donate money now to SAVE THE CHILDREN in far away Africa.
Dangerous child abductors are prowling all over your neighborhood.
Ask your doctor about Prozac Plus, the new gateway to happiness!
You too can get a free trial of unlimited internet only $9.99, special conditions apply don’t you know…
Do something. Now! Now! Nowwww!
Number 6: Unlike me, many of you have accepted the situation of your imprisonment, and will die here like rotten cabbages.
Do you think I’m exaggerating? I’m NOT. It’s just that when you view the “news” narrative out of context, at a time when the media onslaught has subsided, it seems just so very silly.
Silly.
Like mixing wine and chocolate.
Um. I take that back. Make that’s a good pairing. I’ll have to give it a try. Anyone game to experiment with me?
Anyways back to the silliness about the United States. It is, really is, silly.
Sorry for being so darn harsh, but it’s true. American “news” is just plain silly. Like check out the latest “shit-storm” that’s a-brewing on Drudge today…
Anyways, lets leave the fairy tale world of American (and UK, Australian and Indian) “news”…
…and discuss something that really is intentionally omitted.
Number Two: I'm the boss.
Number 6: No. One is the boss.
It is the idea that not only is the rest of the world growing, and prospering, but that China is leading the pack and doing much, much… so much better than anything their American cousins can even realize.
What?
That’s right.
And that’s what happens when you have a capable, experienced leadership that is motivated to improve the lives of it’s people.
Observer: Questions are a burden to others. Answers are prison for oneself.
The Communist Chinese are wealthier than Americans.
Ouch!
How about that for rubbing your face in a pile of shit?
This article is from Yicai global. You won't find it in the States, unless you perform a serious search. It's not that it's blocked, but perhaps it's more likely "shadow blocked". It's not gonna find it's way into your daily news feeds. Reprinted as found with editing to fit this venue. All credit to the author Ben Armour.
There has been a lot of chatter in the [Chinese] press about the Chinese government’s setting a growth target for 2021. And specifically whether or not it was able to achieve its longstanding goal of doubling incomes in the last ten years.
While this year’s economic prospects are clouded by uncertainty, a recent study by researchers at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) indicates that China has already achieved its objective of building a moderately prosperous society (小康社会) – at least in its cities.
The study, published in the latest issue of China Finance, highlights the results of a comprehensive survey of urban families’ finances conducted at the end of 2019. It reports that median household net worth stood at CNY1.41 million or close to USD200,000.
Median household worth in China is $ 200,000 USD.
The US’s own Survey of Consumer Finances was last conducted by the Federal Reserve in 2016. If I adjust its findings for inflation, then median US household net worth was about USD104,000 in 2019.
Median household worth in the USA is $ 104,000 USD.
Thus, one can say that the typical US household is only about half as rich as the typical Chinese urban family.
Number 6: [referring to the chess game] Why do you use people?
Chessmaster: Some psychiatrists say it satisfies the desire for power. 'the only opportunity one gets here.
Number 6: That depends what side you're on.
Chessmaster: [quickly] I'm on my side.
Number 6: [quickly] Aren't we all.
Chessmaster: You must be new here. In time, most of us join the enemy - against ourselves.
How is this possible?
Since per capita GDP in the US is close to five times higher than in China, how can we explain such a surprising result?
The very unequal distribution of wealth in the US is a big part of the story.
The super wealthy is skewing all the numbers to be much higher than they would be otherwise.
The graph below shows that while median US household wealth is about half that of Chinese urban families, average US household net worth is about 80 percent higher than China’s USD413,000.
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The ratio of average to median net worth is a measure of how equally wealth is distributed.
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If everyone’s wealth was exactly the same, the ratio of the two net worth measures would be 1.0. China’s mean household net worth is double its median. The ratio in the US is seven times, pointing to a much more unequal distribution of wealth.
The Ideal = 1
China = 2
United States = 7
China has far better financial, and social equality than America has.
What are the attributes that contribute to this situation? Reason one.
Median Income. Since it lies right in the middle of the wealth distribution, we can think of the median household as “typical. ”Half the families are richer and half the families are poorer than it is.
On average, American families are wealthier than Chinese ones. There are a lot of really wealthy American families that pull that average up.
But the typical American household remains poorer than its Chinese urban counterpart.
Note that I am making these comparisons in 2019 US dollars and am not accounting for the fact that a US dollar buys more in China than it does in the US.
Reason Two
A second reason that Chinese urban households are relatively wealthy is that home ownership is quite widespread.
According to the PBOC study, 96 percent of urban households own residential property. The corresponding figure for the US is only 64 percent.
Median Data
96% of Chinese own their own homes.
64% of Americans own their own homes.
The gap between US and Chinese in home ownership is even more striking at the low end of the income distribution. In the US, only one-third of the families in the lowest income quintile own a home. In China, 89 percent do.
Low Income Data
89% of China’s poor own homes.
33% of American poor own homes.
In fact, many Chinese families own more than one property: 31 percent of them have two and 11 percent have three or more. On average, each urban family owns 1.5 residential properties.
Chinese home ownership
Average family owns 1.5 homes.
31% of Chinese own 2 homes.
11% of Chinese own three or more homes.
Chinese family wealth does not simply rest on inflated real estate values.
Residential property represents just under 60 percent of household assets, with financial assets and other real assets (shops, productive equipment, vehicles, etc.) each accounting for close to 20 percent.
Moreover, from the information in the study, I estimate that the price-to-income ratio of these households’ residential property holdings at 3.7. This is fairly close to the median house price-to-income ratio in the US, 3.6, according to Demographia’s most recent survey.
Home price / Income for China = 3.7
Home price / income for the USA = 3.6
Reason Three
The third reason for Chinese urban households’ high net worth is their relatively low indebtedness.
Seventy-seven percent of US households have assumed some sort of financial liability (a mortgage, a car loan, student debt, etc.). In China, only 57 percent of the urban households have incurred such liabilities.
In debt to financial loans – USA = 77%
In debt to financial loans – China = 57%
Not only do fewer Chinese households carry liabilities, but what debts they owe are small relative to their assets. The debts of the median Chinese household, which does have liabilities, only amounts to 16 percent of its assets. In contrast, the median indebted American household has a leverage ratio of 36 percent of its assets.
American debt to assets = 36%
Chinese debt to assets = 16%
Reason Four
The final piece of the puzzle is understanding how Chinese urban households can have such a high rate of home ownership and such a low rate of indebtedness.
Chinese households do have much higher savings rates than their US counterparts and that is an important factor. But more important was the way in which the housing stock was privatized.
Up until the late 1990s, almost all residential property belonged to state-owned institutions, which provided low-rent accommodation to their employees. As part of the state-owned enterprise reform program, the government relieved firms of the burden of providing housing for their workers. Urban households were able to purchase their apartments from their employers at reasonable prices, leading to today’s high rate of home ownership and supporting urban prosperity.
A China First
(Yicai Global) April 27 — China may be the first country in the world to have reached a 96 percent urban home ownership rate, according to the central bank.
China has a 96% home ownership rate in the cities.
In an article the People’s Bank of China published in its China Finance journal today it also noted that the bulk of assets held by urban families is physical.
Chinese assets tend to be tangible, physical “brick and mortar” items.
American assets tend to be intangible, stocks, bonds, pensions, potential worth.
Home ownership in developed countries is mostly around the 60 percent level, according to data from Trading Economics. In the US, the figure was 65.1 percent at the end of last year, US Department of Commerce statistics show. The PBOC report puts China’s home ownership 28.5 percentage points ahead of the US.
Chinese home ownership = 96% (urban)
USA home ownership = 65.1%
Typical (developed country) home ownership = 60%
The reports also said Chinese urban households prefer risk-free financial assets, with homes making up nearly 70 percent and financial assets 20.4 percent.
The average wealth of urban households is CNY3.18 million (USD449,200), with a median value of CNY1.63 million, per the report. The difference between the two is about CNY1.55 million, indicating an uneven distribution of household assets.
Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu province ranked as the top three for family riches, with CNY8.9 million, CNY8.1 million and CNY5.1 million, respectively. The lowest three provincial-level units are the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Gansu province in northwestern China and Jilin province in the northeast.
Households in urban areas generally take out loans. Some 56.5 percent of those surveyed are in debt. Among them, the total owed per household is CNY512,000 (USD72,346), with roughly 54 percent owing less than CNY300,000, 35.6 percent owing CNY300,000 to CNY1 million, while the remaining 10.5 percent owe over CNY1 million.
Mortgages constitute the bulk of household debt.
Some 77 percent of indebted households have home loans averaging CNY389,000, making up over three quarters of total household debt. The PBOC’s urban resident household assets and liabilities research team from its Statistics and Analysis Department canvassed more than 30,000 households in 30 provinces, autonomous regions and cities across the country in mid-to-late October.
Wow.
It’s time to celebrate!
.
Um. No, this isn’t right. Not enough food.
A real celebration requires FOOD!
.
Ah. Much better.
Pretty Amazing Stuff
Yes it is.
So what is not being reported in the American and Western press? It is that China is not some backwards, dirty, disease ridden infested dark smoggy slime-ball nation. But rather, a growing prosperous nation where most people own their homes. Where most people are debt free, and those that are in debt with loans are not too worried about it as the debts are small relative to their income stream. It’s a big, big change when you compare that to America.
How can Americans (and others in “the West”) have this kind of idea? Well consider what consists of “news”.
...The dramatic detention of a handful of foreigners in recent years has instilled a deep fear in some people, especially those with politically adjacent occupations. As President Xi breeds a culture of nationalism and forges increasingly hostile relations with Western governments, some fear that if a diplomatic spat between their government and Beijing occurred while they were in China they could become a target...
Um…
So just in this paragraph we see…
Dramatic detention of foreigners!
Deep fear is present.
President Xi breeds a culture of nationalism!
President Xi is hostile to nations in the West.
And that is just ONE lone paragraph.
Do I have to point out the absolute falsehoods, the manipulations, the distortions and the lies in the four bullet points above, or are you aware of the reality?
It’s a non-stop bullshit garbage narrative like this that is pumped relentlessly into the brains of Americans, non-stop, 24-7.
I makes me want to have a fine libation, and some delicious food, I’ll tell you what.
[over the opening of each episode - Number 2 played by various actors] Number 6: Where am I?
Number 2: In the Village.
Number 6: What do you want?
Number 2: Information.
Number 6: Whose side are you on?
Number 2: That would be telling. We want information... information... information.
Number 6: You won't get it.
Number 2: By hook or by crook, we will.
Number 6: Who are you?
Number 2: The new Number 2.
Number 6: Who is Number 1?
Number 2: You are Number 6.
Number 6: I am not a number, I am a free man.
Let’s take a look at what China is today, shall we. Here’s some videos (in no particular order) that I just pulled off my Douxing feed this morning. Just you click on the picture and it will open up in a new tab.
High Speed Trains.
There are everywhere in China. Fast. Cheap. Comfortable. Convenient. Takes you anywhere and everywhere. The American news is again talking about how soon, one day, America too will be as good as China. And the talk is all about having high speed trains, like China has.
Of course they never mention that America is literally twenty years behind China in this regard, or that America has already spent 77 billion dollars for a cardboard and fiberglass mock-up. Or that America started on the American HST at the same time that China did, but with over ten times the funding level. And while China today has hundreds of lines, thousands of Kilometers of track, hundreds of trains, and stations, the United States has nothing.
But some day soon. You just wait and see. Right?
In China, HST is average, normal, and no big deal.
Just click on the picture and the video will pop up in another tab.
Guangzhou
Guangzhou is a “working class” city. Much like Pittsburgh, PA is. It’s big. really big. But it’s got a real “local” feel to it. It’s not cosmopolitan like Beijing, or Shanghai are. It’s just full of average people. Going to work and living life.
Here’s some gals going out for a nice dinner, some great friendship and some wine. Wouldn’t you all wish that you were there with them? I do. I’ll tell you what.
Some young gals having a nice dinner in Guangzhou China.
Chinese Transport Air Force
The Chinese, since there have been so many restrictions placed on them by America, and the UK, were forced to develop their own systems. This is everything from their own space stations, and Mars lander to military aircraft, and computer systems. All “home grown” and mass produced at a frenzy and pace that is stunning to behold.
We hear about it all, but then when you see just how many state of the art systems are in use, it just boggles the mind.
A Typical Chinese family
Here we have a typical Chinese family in their home. Not some kind of dirt floored hovel, is it? Do they look like they are starving, and begging for American “democracy” to “save them”?
Why so many children? I thought that the Chinese kill babies and that you are only allowed to have one </sarcasm>. But take a look at the mother and her 19 year old daughter. The Chinese don’t age like Americans do, because they EAT MUCH HEALTHIER. No GMO hormones, and no one is taking anti-stress, and anti-depression medications.
Outside of Zhuhai
This chick is a dancing and carrying on in a park right outside the supermarket where I shop for my groceries. Yeah. It’s pretty much like this. This is obviously on the weekend, judging from all the people. Must be on a Sunday.
A typical park
The Chinese have made improving the lives of their citizens a top priority. This is ALL that the government does. I would say that a full 100% of their effort is towards helping the people, improving their quality of life, and setting up defensive measures so that evil people cannot run “color revolutions” against them.
Most parks are now, beautiful, well maintained, and tranquil. Like this.
Movie making
One of the big omissions in American “news” is that just about everything is made in China. But if you listen to them, you get the idea that China only makes cheap pens, rubber duckies and the low-end products for Wal-mart. It doesn’t. All of the high-tech stuff is designed and made in China. All of it.
All of it.
Like this movie camera kit that is used to make the movies that Americans are not permitted to watch. LOL.
All this is about reality
If the masses of people could think critically for themselves, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. By the way Rod, there is a war. It’s raging and has enveloped this planet. It’s a war for our minds. Many have been captured. I know, I see them every day. And I read what they write.
-Ohio Guy
I think that most of us are living in an artificial construct; and artificial reality. it is one that is constructed and based upon lies and untruths. And so, believing these lies and untruths we live our lives, making decisions, and behaving in certain ways that do not… and should not.. be part of our reality.
I suppose that you could point this out to anyone. You could point at them and say..
"How dare you live like you do? Your ideas and your thoughts do not match mine. You must change and agree with me! For my reality, and my understanding is the only and correct way of thinking."
So, yeah. Let’s keep a real sense of perspective here.
It doesn’t matter what other people are doing. Not really. Not if they are Americans, or Chinese, or Zambians. All that matters is what you are doing with your life.
If you are happy, having fun, trust your government, then that is fine. You can keep on believing what you want to believe. You can keep on doing what you are doing, and listening to the news as you see it. It’s working for you. Keep it up.
But if you are not, then maybe you should reevaluate your life; your reality. You need to ask whether it is an actual reflection of the truth. Or instead, are you living something else instead.
Are you like “Number 6” in the 1968 television show “The Prisoner” where you live in a nice pleasant place, but you can never leave it. And no matter what you do, you never get any straight answers and never know your true and real situation?
"The Prisoner" is a unique piece of television. It addresses issues such as personal identity and freedom, democracy, education, scientific progress, art and technology, while still remaining an entertaining drama series. Over seventeen episodes we witness a war of attrition between the faceless forces behind 'The Village' (a Kafkaesque community somewhere between Butlins and Alcatraz) and its most strong willed inmate, No. 6. who struggles ceaselessly to assert his individuality while plotting to escape from his captors.
I think that for many Americans, the answer is YES.
It’s all a big farce. Elections are held, but no one really has any power. The reality looks nice and pleasant, but there is this grinding negativity just under the surface, and no one ever gets to glimpse their real reality.
.
Since its initial telecast, back in 1967, this enigmatic classic has evoked every reaction from awe to contempt. Given the amount of serious critical attention THE PRISONER has received, and given that a whole society has been created in its honor, I'd say the awe has won out, and I vehemently agree that THE PRISONER deserves to be honored as one of the truly artistic programs created for commercial television.
However, I can also understand the frustration many viewers have felt. Over the course of its seventeen episodes, this offbeat spy thriller becomes further and further offbeat until it ultimately transforms into surrealistic allegory. I confess I'm not sure whether this transformation was intended as a complete surprise, or whether you were supposed to know where the show was going, but in either case, I think you can better appreciate the series if you can see the earlier episodes as preparation for what's to come.
THE PRISONER's title character is a British secret agent (series creator Patrick McGoohan) who may or may not be SECRET AGENT's John Drake. The story begins with him suddenly and mysteriously resigning, then just as suddenly and mysteriously being rendered unconscious and transported to a place known only as The Village, the location of which is known only to those who run it. The Village is a prison camp, but with all of the amenities of a vacation resort,. Attractive dwellings, shops, restaurants, etc. exist side by side with high-tech methods of keeping order and extracting information from those who won't give it up willingly.
Those who try to escape get to meet Rover, a belligerent weather balloon capable of locomotion, and seemingly of independent thought. It appears (to me anyway) that the authorities can summon Rover, send it away, and give it instructions, but that it acts more or less on its own initiative. Rover deals with fugitives by plastering itself against their faces, rendering them either unconscious or dead, depending on how bad a mood it's in. Twice, we see it haul someone in from the ocean by sucking them up into a whirlpool it creates.
Citizens of The Village, including those in authority, are identified only by numbers. Our protagonist is known only as No. 6 throughout the entire series. The Village is run by No. 2, who in turn reports to an unseen and unidentified No. 1. No. 1 is apparently an unforgiving boss, because No. 2 is always being replaced.
Shortly after he arrives in in the Village, No. 6 is informed, by the reigning No. 2, that he should count on remaining there permanently. If he cooperates, life will be pleasant and he may even be given a position of authority. If he resists -- well, the only restriction they're under is not to damage him permanently. To satisfy his captors, No. 6 need only answer one question: `Why did you resign?' His question in turn is, `Who runs this place? Who is No. 1?'
Most of the episodes deal with No. 6's attempts to escape, and/or his captors' attempts to break him, although there are a few side trips. Several episodes suggest that No. 6's own people may be involved with running The Village. Some of the episodes are fairly straightforward, while others leave you with questions as to exactly what went on. It's important to note that several of the more obscure episodes -- for example, `Free for All' and `Dance of the Dead' -- are among the seven episodes that McGoohan considers essential to the series.
And then we come to the final episode, `Fall Out,' which promises to answer all the burning questions the viewers have been anguishing over for seventeen weeks -- and which so frustrated and angered those viewers back in 1967 that McGoohan had to go into hiding for awhile. Of course, I can't reveal any of the really important details, because, as No. 2 says in the recap that begins most of the episodes, `That would be telling,' and as all of us IMBD contributors know, `telling,' is frowned upon. However, to come back to the point with which I started, you should be prepared for a resolution of an entirely different nature than the one you'll probably be expecting -- a resolution that forces you to rethink your entire concept of the Village, and of the intention of the series. If you aren't ready, you'll be frustrated. If you are, you can accept THE PRISONER is the spirit in which it was offered.
Yes. The 1968 version of the televisions show “The Prisoner” says it most clearly.
When I saw the first episode of this series, my jaw dropped in amazement. Here was a TV series that was entertaining and actually made you think. Nothing was ever what it appeared, no one had a real name, you never knew who was the good guy or the bad guy (or if they were one in the same!). The "final" episode was what could only be described as PSYCHEDELIC.
This TV series was, and still is, way ahead of its time.
Perhaps America today is a big prison. The inmates don’t realize that they are trapped in one, as it appears to be open and free. But in functional reality it is just one big enormous prison.
The New Number Two: Good day, Number Six.
Number 6: Number what?
The New Number Two: Six. For official purposes, everyone has a number. Yours is number six.
Number 6: I am not a number. I am a person.
The New Number Two: Six of one, half a dozen of another.
Do you want more?
I have more posts in my China and America Comparisons Index here…
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.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
And now, as we start to enter periods of quarantine and self-isolation – as nations, communities, and individuals – all that should be so much clearer. It has taken a virus to show us that only together are we at our strongest, most alive and most human.
In being stripped of what we need most by the threat of contagion, we are reminded of how much we have taken the community for granted, abused it, hollowed it out. We are afraid because the services we need in times of collective difficulty and trauma have been turned into commodities that require payment, or treated as privileges to which access is now means-tested, rationed or is simply gone. That insecurity is at the root of the current urge to hoard.
-Pulse
Whether you believe that the COVID-19 coronavirus is a biological weapon or just a virus that isn’t as bad as the flu, you should treat it as something to avoid getting. Right? You all don’t want you or your family to have this bug. Here I will lay out the precautions that I, and most of the others in China are taking to keep this bug out of our home. I strongly recommend that you follow similar procedures in your home.
Face mask – Always on – no exceptions.
When the first news started to hit China in December, we were all aware that you should wear a mask and be extra careful. So when we went out we would wear a mask.
But the thing is that we were not all that serious about it. We would pull it under our noses and allow it to wrap around our necks. Or we would take it off completely.
Then when the Chinese government went DEFCON ONE and everyone started to see alerts on their cell phones, drones telling everyone to stay inside, and Army troops with police setting up roadblocks, things suddenly took on a very serious face. We like the rest of China “got with the program.”
Since then, you never go outside without a mask on.
And not only that, you must always wear it. You wear it when you are around others, and when you are doing things. If you are in your car, you wear the mask. If you are walking down the street you wear the mask. If you are anywhere where others might have walked you wear the mask.
This virus can live on top of a surface for twelve hours. Twelve hours!
Which means that if you are eating a Big Mac on a park bench, an infected person from last night, who might have sat on that very same bench, could still infect your burger and fries.
Wear the mask or do not go outside. Period.
Avoid people.
The best way to avoid this virus is to stay inside and isolated in self quarantine. This is what China mandated, and it is working. In China, there are building quarantines, within block quarantines, within community quarantines, within town quarantines. There are multiple quarantine levels.
Do not go outside of your house unless it is absolutely an emergency.
If you can, work from home on your computer. Use the cell phone to talk to other people. Have food delivered to you and dropped outside your door and you get it when the person leaves.
HEPA Air purifier
Using a HEPA air purifier will really cut down on family cross-contamination. The machines themselves are not that expensive, but the filters are. However they are really worth it. I strong recommend an investment in a good rooms sized HEPA air purifier. You can find them at most retailers.
Wear gloves or do not touch things directly.
I have worn gloves, but you do not need to.
What you do need to do is avoid toughing things, and this is really difficult. We touch everything. And it is a real problem. We touch the buttons to get on the elevator, we touch the door handles to get into the car. We open the doors to our house, and get the mail from our mail box.
The problem is that there are evil rascals that take an evil pleasure in spreading their sickness around. Only this time, it’s not fun and games. People can die, and the death is particularly terrible.
I have videos where an infected person is walking in the mall coughing intentionally within a large group of people. I have other videos where they are spitting on elevator buttons, on door handles, and on mailboxes. I have videos where these crazy people are spitting on postage boxes and handrails.
So…
Assume that there are a few bad people near you, and that they have this illness. Do not take any chances. Protect yourself. Do not touch anything, and if you are not using gloves, then use a tissue.
Sanitize everything you come in contact with.
You can use alcohol, or a disinfectant, but you must use it.
That means everything. That means your shoes, your door handles, your keys, your cell phone and you “everyday carry”. Everything must be disinfected.
You cannot control the rest of the world, but you can control your life. Everything that you or your family touches must be disinfected daily. that means trash-bins, cars, lawn implements and everything inside the house.
To keep this work load down, you need to control who goes in and out of the home. Keep the movement low. Everyone should stay inside and if there are visitors they must stay outside.
Wash – wash – wash.
After you return home , you must take off your clothes and take a very hot shower. Scrub your body and perform hospital-level arm washes. Make sure that your fingernails are clipped short.
In public do not touch your eyes or your face, and absolutely do not eat anything with your hands. Use an utensil.
When you wash, you must use soap. It doesn’t matter what type, but you must use it.
Isolate and wash outside clothes apart.
You should have inside and outside clothes. Once you go outside and wear those clothes, they are to be considered contaminated and to be cleaned. You throw them in to the hamper and wash them immediately. Make sure your wash them with hot water, and then let them dry.
Shoes must always be disinfected once you arrive inside. That means you must spray the bottoms and the sides and the interiors of the shoes. It’s not a big deal once you make it a habit.
Grocery sanitation.
When you get groceries, spray the bag with disinfectant. Also make sure that you wash all the vegetables in warm soapy water. This includes the lettuce, tomatoes and apples. Make no exceptions.
Dogs and Cats stay inside.
Finally, the critters won’t understand, but they have to stay inside. While Fido is out vacuuming up every scent he is also vacuuming up other things and bringing them into your house. You must not take that risk and allow that you happen. You must be careful.
These rules are not really prohibitive. For most people it just means that you need to change some habits and avoid people. It’s just more of a hassle.
Cleanliness is very important.
Your life might depend on it.
And by the way, that nonsense that the COVID-19 is not serious is just American propaganda. China did not go into DEFCON ONE on a trivial runny nose. It’s a really bad illness.
Unlike the flu, you cannot stay at home and try to ride it out. If you try, WILL die.
Right now, at the time of this writing, there is a solid 80% chance of you getting over this, provided you go to a hospital and they take care of you. If you don’t the mortality is very, very high.
According to Chinese CDC data on COVID19, while mortality rate in general in China is 2.3%, but mortality rate for patients with severe COVID19 infection symptoms is 49%.
Mortality rate for COVID19 infection patients died of other complications are:
Cardiovascular disease: 10.5%
Diabetes disease: 7.3%
Chronic respiratory disease: 6.3%
High blood pressure: 6.0%
Cancer: 5.6%
These are very scarily high mortality numbers. Complacency kills people. Urgency saves lives.
COVID-19 has a ten times higher mortality rate than cancer.
I hope that this post was of use and interest to you. You can find more in my Trump Trade Wars Index, here…
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.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
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