Tag: rail

How the nations of China, Russia and Iran will be interconnected together

It’s an exciting time. If you can ignore the howls of fright, and fear, from the oligarchy in the United States you can clearly see that the world is uniting and coming together. Roadblocks have been set aside. nations are unifying, sharing resources, and working together for the mutual benefit of all. And it’s long overdue.
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Key to this is the BRI. And all the nations that are connected to the BRI will profit handsomely. But here (in this article) we will concentrate on the main lines or corridors between the big three; Russia, China and Iran. Of course, everyone else near by stands to profit and benefit from all of this. Indeed, it’s a real exciting time.
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Here’s some “meat” as to what the BRI contains. Noting that much is still left out, the roads, the bridges, the tunnels, the high-speed rail lines, and the local community infrastructure. Indeed the scope of the BRI project is vast, just vast. It’s sort of like a major effort to go to the moon, kind of “vast”.
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The following is an article titled “How Eurasia will be interconnected”. I was written by . I edited it to fit this venue, and all credit to the author. You also might want to visit the UNZ where most of his articles reside and where there are many other articles of great interest.
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How Eurasia Will be Interconnected

• April 2, 2021• 21 Comments
An inner-connected Asia.

The extraordinary confluence between the signing of the Iran-China strategic partnership deal and the “Ever Given” saga in the Suez Canal is bound to spawn a renewed drive to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and all interconnected corridors of Eurasia integration.

"Ever Given" saga in the Suez Canal
EverGiven is one of the largest container ships in the world. The ship is owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha, and is time chartered and operated by container transportation and shipping company Evergreen Marine, headquartered in Luzhu District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. 

In April 2021, it blocked the Suez Canal for days leading onto weeks, and put a halt to most sea-traffic using the canal.
Iran-China strategic partnership
The Iran-China bilateral 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was signed in Tehran by foreign ministers Javad Zarif and Wang Yi on 27 March 2021. 

While specific details of the agreement are unknown, the joint statement released on signing refers to strengthening political and parliamentary ties, the recognition and pursuit of mutual strategic interests, increased cooperation in defense training, equipment, technology, and intelligence, increased cooperation in counterterrorism and counter-narcotics, and expanded economic ties, especially in finance, mining, energy, agriculture, and infrastructure. 

Infrastructure includes ports and railway networks and is linked to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

This is the most important geoeconomic development in Southwest Asia in ages – even more crucial than the geopolitical and military support to Damascus by Russia since 2015.

Multiple overland railway corridors across Eurasia featuring cargo trains crammed with freight (the most iconic of which is arguably Chongqin-Duisburg)  are a key plank of BRI. In a few years, this will all be conducted on high-speed rail.

The chongqing duisburg railway.
ChinaandEurope: Reconnecting Across a New Silk Roaddigitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1129&context=facpub
Chongqing Duisburg BELARUS GERMANY POLAND Venice Athens GEORGIA ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN Colombo TRANS-EURASIA RAILROADThe 11,179-kilometre rail line is the most important connection to Europe. 

Launched in 2011 by a joint venture with Germany, China, Kazakhstan, and Russia, the rail goes from the city of Chongqing in southwestern China to Duisburg,Germany.

The key overland corridor is Xinjiang-Kazakhstan. (As shown in the map below.)

And then onwards to Russia and beyond outbound to Europe.

The other overland corridor traverses Central Asia and Iran, all the way to Turkey, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. It may take time – in terms of volume – to compete with maritime routes, but the substantial reduction in shipping time is already propelling a massive cargo surge.

The Iran-China strategic connection is bound to accelerate all interconnected corridors leading to and crisscrossing Southwest Asia.

A visual comparison of maritime travel compared to rail travel.

Crucially, multiple BRI trade connectivity corridors are directly linked to establishing alternative routes to oil and gas transit, controlled or “supervised” by the Hegemon since 1945: Suez, Malacca, Hormuz, Bab al Mandeb.

HegemonyHegemony (UK:, US:) is the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others. 

In ancient Greece (8th century BC – 6th century AD), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of a city-state over other city-states. The dominant state is known as the hegemon. 

In the 19th century, hegemony came to denote the "Social or cultural predominance or ascendancy; predominance by one group within a society or milieu". Later, it could be used to mean "a group or regime which exerts undue influence within a society". 

Also, it could be used for the geopolitical and the cultural predominance of one country over others, from which was derived hegemonism, as in the idea that the Great Powers meant to establish European hegemony over Africa, Asia and Latin America.

-Wikipedia

Black Ops for the Ever Given Blockage in the Suez Canal?

Informal conversations with Persian Gulf traders have revealed huge skepticism about the foremost reason for the Ever Given saga.

The Ever Given, the 200,000-ton cargo ship that became stuck in the Suez Canal on March 23, was finally freed Monday after blocking the waterway for nearly a week, according to the Associated Press. The ship garnered international media attention and has become the subject of online conspiracy theories.

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Merchant marine pilots agree that winds in a desert storm were not enough to harass a state of the art mega-container ship equipped with very complex navigation systems.

The pilot error scenario, induced or not, is being seriously considered.

Then there’s the predominant shoptalk: stalled Ever Given was…

  1. Japanese owned,
  2. Leased from Taiwan,
  3. UK-insured,
  4. With an all-Indian crew,
  5. Transporting Chinese merchandise to Europe.

No wonder cynics, addressing the whole episode, are asking, Cui Bono?

Cui BonoCui bono? (Classical Latin: [kui̯ ˈbɔnoː]), in English "to whom is it a benefit?", is a Latin phrase about identifying crime suspects. 

Itexpresses the view that crimes are often committed to benefit their perpetrators, especially financially. Which party benefits may not be obvious, and there may be a scapegoat.

-Wikipedia

Persian Gulf traders, in hush hush mode, also drop hints about the project for Haifa to eventually become the main port in the region. This would be in close cooperation with the Emirates. It would connect via a railway to be built between Jabal Ali in Dubai to Haifa, bypassing Suez.

Iranian Oil to XingJiang

Back to facts on the ground, the most interesting short-term development is how Iran’s oil and gas may be shipped to Xinjiang via the Caspian Sea and Kazakhstan – using a to-be-built Trans-Caspian pipeline.

Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCP) is a proposed pipeline which would transport gas from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan across the Caspian sea via an undersea pipeline.[1] It is also known as the South Caucasus Pipeline Future Expansion (SCPFX), due to its connection with the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline. It is similar to the proposed Trans-Caspian 2 Gas Pipeline.

In May 2019 a pre-FEED (front end engineering and design) study began for a plan to build two Trans-Caspian pipelines. The first pipeline would follow an expanded SGC route (South Caucasus Pipeline, Tanap and Tap) to a final destination of Italy. The Trans-Caspian 2 Gas Pipeline would follow the White Stream route from the Georgian coast, entering the EU in Romania and reaching western Europe via existing pipelines in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Slovakia and onwards.

- Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor

That falls right into classic BRI territory.

Actually more than that, because Kazakhstan is a partner not only of BRI but also the Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU).

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline for Peace-building in the South Caucasus

From Beijing’s point of view, Iran is also absolutely essential for the development of a land corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea and further to Europe via the Danube.

It’s obviously no accident that the Hegemon is on high alert in all points of this trade corridor…

  • “Maximum pressure” sanctions and hybrid war against Iran;
  • An attempt to manipulate the Armenia-Azerbaijan war;
  • The post-color revolution environment in both Georgia and Ukraine – which border the Black Sea;
  • NATO’s overarching shadow over the Balkans;

It’s all part of the plot.

Now get me some Lapis Lazuli

Another fascinating chapter of Iran-China concerns Afghanistan.

According to Tehran sources, part of the strategic agreement deals with Iran’s area of influence in Afghanistan and the evolution of still another connectivity corridor all the way to Xinjiang.

And here we go back to the always intriguing Lapis Lazuli corridor – which was conceptualized in 2012, initially for increased connectivity between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

Lapis Lazuli corridor

LapisLazuliisan international transit route openedin 2018 linking Afghanistan toTurkeyviaTurkmenistan, Azerbaijan andGeorgia. 

The name “Lapis Lazuli” isderived from the historic route that Afghanistan'slapislazuliand other semiprecious stones were exported along, over 2,000 years ago, to the Caucasus, Russia, the Balkans, Europe, and North Africa along the ancient Silk Road. 

The initiative will serve to reinforce the Afghan Government's Infrastructure and Connectivity Development, Energy, and Private Sector Development National Priority Programs. 

The Lapis Lazuli corridor is funded by the Asian Development Bank. Currently, the transit project’s budget is estimated at $2 billion.

-Wikipedia

Lapis Lazuli, wonderfully evocative, harks back to the export of an array of semiprecious stones via the Ancient Silk Roads to the Caucasus, Russia, the Balkans and North Africa.

Now the Afghan government sees the ambitious 21st century remix as…

  • Departing from Herat (a key area of Persian influence),
  • Continuing to the Caspian Sea port of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan,
  • Via a Trans-Caspian pipeline to Baku,
  • Onwards to Tblisi,
  • And through the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi in the Black Sea,
  • And finally connected to Kars and Istanbul.

This is really serious business; a drive that may potentially link the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.

Since Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea in 2018, in the Kazakh port of Aktau…

…what’s interesting is that their major issues are now discussed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where Russia and Kazakhstan are full members.

  • Iran will soon be;
  • Azerbaijan is a dialogue partner;
  • and Turkmenistan is a permanent guest.
Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea ...

Publish Year: 2019
Author: Rizal Abdul Kadir
Published: Apr 25, 2019

After twenty-two years of negotiations, in Aktau on August 12, 2018, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan signed the Convention onthe Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. The preamble of the Convention stipulates, amongother things, that the Convention, made up of twenty-four articles, was agreed on by the five states based on principles and norms of the Charter of theUnited Nations and International Law.

The Iranian Caspian Sea Canal

Construction of a navigable channel linking the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf is underway. It is expected the project will be completed in the 2020s.

The project is particularly interesting for Russia due to the cold spell with Turkey, but European and post-Soviet states will also benefit from it.

But it seems the US is worried about this alternative to the Suez Channel.

"The West and Turkey have directly or indirectly tried to block the waterway [from being created]. As a matter of fact, the United States imposed sanctions" on companies that have been involved in the project, economic analyst Alexei Chickin wrote.

-Sputnik News

One of the key connectivity problems to be addressed is the viability of building a canal from the Caspian Sea to Iran’s shores in the Persian Gulf.

That would cost at least US$7 billion.

The Iranian Caspian Sea Canal.

Another issue is the imperative transition towards container cargo transport in the Caspian.

In SCO terms, that will…

  1. Increase Russian trade with India via Iran
  2. As well as offering an extra corridor for China trade with Europe.

Now, with Azerbaijan prevailing over Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh flare up…

…while finally sealing a deal with Turkmenistan over their respective status in the Caspian Sea…

… impetus for the western part of Lapis Lazuli is now in the cards.

The eastern part is a much more complicated affair, involving an absolutely crucial issue now on the table not only for Beijing but for the SCO: the integration of Afghanistan to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

And then…

In late 2020, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan agreed to build what analyst Andrew Korybko delightfully described as the PAKAFUZ railway. PAKAFUZ will be a key step to expand CPEC to Central Asia, via Afghanistan. Russia is more than interested.

This can become a classic case of the evolving BRI-EAEU melting pot.

Crunch time – serious decisions included – will happen this summer, when Uzbekistan plans to host a conference called “Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnectedness. Challenges and Opportunities”.

So everything will be proceeding interconnected:

  • A Trans-Caspian link;
  • The expansion of CPEC;
  • Af-Pak connected to Central Asia;
  • An extra Pakistan-Iran corridor (via Balochistan, including the finally possible conclusion of the IP gas pipeline) all the way to Azerbaijan and Turkey;
  • With China deeply involved in all these projects.

Beijing will be building roads and pipelines in Iran, including one to ship Iranian natural gas to Turkey.

Iran-China, in terms of projected investment, is nearly ten times more ambitious than CPEC.

Call it CIEC (China-Iran Economic Corridor).

In a nutshell: the Chinese and Persian civilization-states are on the road to emulate the very close relationship they enjoyed during the Silk Road-era Yuan dynasty in the 13th century.

INSTC or bust

An extra piece of the puzzle concerns how the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) will mix with BRI and the EAEU.

North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC).

Crucially, INSTC also happens to be an alternative to Suez.

Iran, Russia and India have been discussing the intricacies of this 7,200 km-long ship/rail/road trade corridor since 2002.

INSTC technically starts in Mumbai and goes all the way via the Indian Ocean to Iran, the Caspian Sea, and then to Moscow.

As a measure of its appeal, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Oman, and Syria are all INSTC members.

Much to the delight of Indian analysts, INSTC reduces transit time from West India to Western Russia from 40 to 20 days, while cutting costs by as much as 60%.

It’s already operational.

But not yet as a continuous, free flow sea and rail link.

New Delhi already spent $500 million on a crucial project: the expansion of Chabahar port in Iran, which was supposed to become its entry point for a made in India Silk Road to Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia.

But then it all got derailed by New Delhi’s flirting with the losing United States “Quad” proposition.

Mike Pompeo (USA) with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (India).

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India also invested $1.6 billion in a railway between Zahedan, the key city in southeast Iran, and the Hajigak iron/steel mining in central Afghanistan.

This all falls into a possible Iran-India free trade agreement which is being negotiated since 2019 (for the moment, on stand-by).

Iran and Russia already clinched a similar agreement.

And India wants the same with the EAEU as a whole.

Following the Iran-China strategic partnership, chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Mojtaba Zonnour, has already hinted that the next step should be an Iran-Russia strategic cooperation deal, privileging…

“rail services, roads, refineries, petrochemicals, automobiles, oil, gas, environment and knowledge-based companies”.

Volga–Don Canal

What Moscow is already seriously considering is to build a canal between the Caspian and the Sea of Azov, north of the Black Sea. Meanwhile, the already built Caspian port of Lagan is a certified game-changer.

Thisisbecause one of the twocanals connecting the Caspian Sea to the outside worldistheVolga–Don Canal, which links the Caspian Sea with the Sea of Azov. Russia hasused the Volga–Don Canal to move warships between the Caspian Sea andtheSea of Azov.

-Russian dominancein the Black Sea: TheSeaofAzov
Volga–Don Canal.

Lagan directly connects with multiple BRI nodes.

There’s rail connectivity to the Trans-Siberian all the way to China.

Across the Caspian, connectivity includes Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan and Baku in Azerbaijan, which is the starting point of the BTK railway through to the Black Sea and then all the way from Turkey to Europe.

On the Iranian stretch of the Caspian, Amirabad port links to the INSTC, Chabahar port and further on to India. It’s not an accident that several Iranian companies, as well China’s Poly Group and China Energy Engineering Group International want to invest in Lagan.

What we see in play here is Iran at the center of a maze progressively interconnected with Russia, China and Central Asia.

When the Caspian Sea is finally linked to international waters, we will see a de facto alternative trade/transport corridor to Suez.

Himalaya Silk Road

Post-Iran-China, it’s not far-fetched anymore to even consider the possible emergence in a not too distant future of a Himalaya Silk Road uniting BRICS members China and India (think, for instance, of the power of Himalayan ice converging into a shared Hydropower Tunnel).

Himalaya Silk Road to the BRI.

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As it stands, Russia is very much focused on limitless possibilities in Southwest Asia, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made it clear in the 10thMiddle East conference at the Valdai club.

The Hegemon’s treats on multiple fronts – Ukraine, Belarus, Syria, Nord Stream 2 – pale in comparison.

21st Century Geopolitics

The new architecture of 21st century geopolitics is already taking shape, with China providing multiple trade corridors for non-stop economic development…

…while Russia is the reliable provider of energy and security goods, as well as the conceptualizer of a Greater Eurasia home…

… with “strategic partnership” Sino/Russian diplomacy playing the very long game.

Southwest Asia and Greater Eurasia have already seen which way the (desert) winds are blowing.

And soon will the masters of international capital. Russia, China, Iran, India, Central Asia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Korean Peninsula, everyone will experience a capital surge – financial vultures included.

Following the Greed is Good gospel, Eurasia is about to become the ultimate Greed frontier.

…if left unencumbered.

The United States has a say…

The problem with the BRI is that it links Europe to Russia, Persia and China and permits local currency use instead of the USD and oceanic maritime trade. Over a period of time, the value of the USD will decrease due to it no longer being the global currency, and in order to maintain it’s value the United States would have to revert back tot he “gold standard”.

Which shouldn’t be a problem. Right?

I’m sure that the United States has 30 trillion dollars worth of gold stashed here and there. Somewhere. <\sarcasm>

Of course, it is in the best interests of the United States to prevent any kind of prosperity, or changes at any level from occurring in Asia. Any and all changes will have a negative effect on America at all levels. The only way that America can maintain it’s “rules based hegemony” (The USA makes the rules, and you either follow them or be destroyed) is for it to be the dominant and preeminent ruling structure on the globe.

Here is a couple of links to thorough, in-depth analysis </sarcasm> of this situation from America;

Nah. They pretty much say the same tired old thing. China is doing this because it is evil and wants to ensnare the world like a spider trapping a fly in it’s web. Yada, yada, yada.

The only way to stop this is militarily

And that, in itself open up a “whole can of worms”.

Rick0Shea  on April 10, 2021  ·  at 5:56 pm EST/EDT 

I watched an excellent documentary on war a fews years ago. They talked about wars going back thousands of years to the present. When an army is going to attack, all the plans and logistics are carefully put in place. Once all the preparations have been made the only thing left is to trigger it off. The instigators do not want to be seen as the aggressors so they fabricate (false flag) something so they claim they were attacked first — and off they go. The war they planned and wanted so bad is underway.

The Russian military would see all this unfolding – it’s on rails. But what could they do? The USA won’t be deterred. The only way this could have been avoided that I can see is that if the USA feared a nuclear war with Russia to the extent they would not take such ridiculously dangerous chance.

Here’s a great article by John Paul Roberts that is certainly worth a read regarding the sum total of military options that the USA has…

The Dictatorship of Numbers

In Continuation of a Conversation with Paul Craig Roberts
 • April 7, 2021
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Here are few numbers, we’ll start with two: 447 million and 4.67 billion. These two numbers speak volumes, and are in the foundation of the America’s decline and increasingly irrational behavior which may, quoting Bachman Turner Overdrive’s famous hit, get us to the point of a proverbial ain’t seen nothing yet.

The first number is a population of European Union, while the second one is a population of Asia.

Asia’s population constitutes around 60% of all the world’s population.

Second place in this count is taken by Africa, around 1.37 billion, and the third–by Latin America and Caribbean with respectable 659 million which is considerably larger still than the population of the European Union. The Northern America’s population is around 371 million, which in the larger scheme of things doesn’t look that impressive. In fact, it isn’t.

The history of colonialism—I deliberately omit here this qualifier “Western”, there were all kinds of colonialisms—as related to classic capitalism was more than just about exploitation of colonies for the benefit of metropole.

While images of extraction of natural resources from colonies and shipping those to metropoles are correct, they do not form a complete picture.

In the end, colonies were viewed as markets where metropole would sell its products. The larger the colony, the more numerous its population was, the larger was the market for products manufactured in metropole.

This all made a complete, however often bloody, economic sense in the times of a good ol’ industrial capitalism when metropole would get resources from colony and turn them into finished product and then will ship this finished product, with a huge value added, to be sold in colony.

For Native Americans who sold Manhattan to Dutch in 1626 for allegedly, and hotly contested by historians, $24 worth in finished goods, whatever was offered was a huge value for them because they could not produce those items, be that, as mythology states, shiny glass bids or whatever else much more technologically advanced Dutch would offer them.

That is how it worked more or less for centuries.

The more and better items one produced the richer one would become.

That is until FIRE economy and simulacrum of the post-industrialism were revealed to the world by people most of who would have difficulty passing a general contractor exam, not to speak of getting industrial engineering degree.

FIRE economy

A FIRE economy is any economy based primarily on the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors. 

Finance, insurance, and real estate are United States Census Bureau classifications. Barry Popik describes some early uses as far back as 1982. Since 2008, the term has been commonly used by Michael Hudson and Eric Janszen. 

It is New York City's largest industry and a prominent part of the service industry in the United States overall economy and other Western developed countries.

-Wikipedia

Fast forward to May 2000 to the passage of House Resolution 4444 China Trade Bill. In one of the most profoundly mindless and ignorant statements of America’s foreign and economic policy, Bill Clinton proclaimed that:

 “Today the House of Representatives has taken an historic step toward continued prosperity in America, reform in China and peace in the world. If the Senate votes as the House has just done, to extend permanent normal trade relations with China, it will open new doors of trade for America and new hope for change in China. Seven years ago, when I became president, I charted a new course for a new economy—a course of fiscal discipline, investment in our people and open trade. I have always believed that by opening markets abroad we open opportunities at home. We’ve worked hard to advance that goal of more open and more fair trade since 1993, all the way up to the landmark legislation I signed just a few days ago to expand trade with Africa and the Caribbean Basin.”

Cringeworthy in its sheer falsity and insufferable pathos…

…the economic equivalent of Chamberlain’s “Peace in Our Time” 1938 proclamation, after signing the Munich capitulation to Hitler…

…Clinton’s declaration rattled even those who otherwise wouldn’t even pay much attention to the economic affairs of the United States.

China, wasn’t upset; why would it be?

Both NAFTA and China’s accession to the WTO served as a massive vacuum cleaner sucking the life from American industries and, to be sure, these weren’t banking or financial consulting “industries” which were being shipped abroad.

American manufacturing started to leave its own shores.

America started to lose its only tool which was and even today remains the only valid mean to an end of economic prosperity—manufacturing capacity.

A concept which is beyond the grasp of most American economists and political pseudo-scientists most of who today wear Chinese tailored suits, carry iPhones manufactured in China and use laptops and PCs assembled there as well.

To be sure, America still produces some things—civilian aircraft, as an example.

But since the whole Boeing 737 Max affair, which can only be described in strongest profanity, the shining from the polished outward façade of Boeing is largely gone and the stalwart of the American commercial aviation has de facto lost competition to its EU rival Airbus.

Cars?

Sure. America still remains competitive at manufacturing trucks.

The rest?

America’s sedans are not competitive and lose out to Japanese and Korean car makers both domestically and internationally, enough to take a look at Ford losing Russian market to Asian, Russian and EU automakers, with the last Ford Focus plant closed in Russia recently.

In other, rather startling development, America’s main soft power export, Hollywood is losing its piercing power in China and in Russia.

In fact, it is not just losing it, it already lost it.

If such a proposition would have been laughed at 20 years ago, the fact that Russian-made movies dominate today Russia’s box office is accepted as absolutely normal.

Same is true for Chinese movie market, so much so, that Hollywood is forced to pander to China to have a shot at gigantic Chinese movie audience.

Even before the pandemic, Hollywood performance was not impressive and was on decline.

Hollywood’s “values” of a radical feminism, anti-male misogyny and promotion of the sexual deviancy are hardly in demand in largely conservative Chinese and Russian societies.

Sure, there are some items which the United States manufactures today which are in demand, or, if one gets to the reality of it all, forcefully imposed on customers—America’s hugely overpriced and dubiously effective weapon systems.

This is what remains of once America’s mighty industrial plant which could produce anything from socks and kitchen combines to good combat and excellent commercial aircraft.

Today this capacity is no more, since it is China who is the world’s consumer goods main manufacturer, and the only way the United States is capable to secure any market for its weapons is to retain Europe, NATO that is, as its main customer and vassal.

NATO will gladly (if not, color revolutions are a good tool for convincing those who have doubts) “buy” America’s weapons and “defense” of Europe…

… but America needs Europeans to believe that hordes of democracy-hating, only two-gender accepting, backward bearded Russian Ivans are ready to pounce to deny Europe her favorite values of a complete sexual depravity…

… her cities, also known as dirty multicultural cloacae…

…and declining economy for the reasons only Americans know…

… while Russians overwhelmingly, especially Russian youth do not want to identify themselves as Europeans.

So, to convince those 447 million EU’s residents that they need America’s protection and weapons, America needs Russia to get into the war in Ukraine.

And if it will end up with utter destruction, and it will if Russia really decides so, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and, likely, Ukrainian statehood, so be it.

Americans never really cared how many aborigines die, as long as it works for the US bottom line.

Or, if one may, a condition of American condition…

… which is deteriorating steadily because not only the United States increasingly has very little of substance, that is of high value added, to sell to the world…

… but forming economic and military monster of Eurasia removes the United States from its (grossly exaggerated to start with), self-proclaimed status of global hegemon…

…to the status of, at best, one of the few big shots on the planet.

At worst, the United States is removed from Eurasia as a viable competitor and is relegated to a status of a regional power…

…still powerful relative to its continental neighbors…

…but not having a shot at this second number of 4.67 billion.

This is a big chunk of population and customers.

Now imagine if the United States loses EU.

Suddenly 4.67 billion become 4.67 billion + 447 million = 5.117 billion, it is 65% of Earth’s population.

It is a huge majority of world’s population and, most importantly, population much of which can pay for goods, unlike it is the case with gigantic population of Africa.

Moreover, this population is concentrated within a single continental mass which is insulated from the United States by two oceans.

The United States cannot allow this consolidation of the market to happen and the loss of Europe, Washington’s thinking goes, is tantamount to capitulation.

So, the United States must hold on to EU, or whatever it will become once EU inevitably collapses, and NATO remains the only tool to drive European weaklings into submission.

Making Russia obliterate Ukrainian Armed Forces is a perfect way to scare Europeans into abandoning any attempts to economically compete with the United States and deny them access to Russia’s energy.

Considering an extremely low level of Western scholarship in the field of practical geopolitics and its pseudo-scientific offspring—geoeconomics…

…which failed for the last 30 years to come up with even the fuzziest description of the emerging world…

… it doesn’t matter if the United States “retains” Europe or not anymore.

The reasons for the utter failure of those “academic” predictions and resulting policies are numerous but few of them are worth focusing on.

  1. Europe is not anymore a crucial trade partner for Russia and mutual trade plummeted in the last few years. The trend will continue and it is not only due to America’s pressure, albeit that too, on EU but is a result of Russia steady change of both economic model and her reorientation towards Asia which is now largely complete. Russia simply doesn’t need anymore many goods she used to buy in the EU. The policy of import substitution on average is a success and Russia economically insulating herself from the West will continue.
  2. A much-discussed pipeline of Nord Stream 2 is, actually, not a crucial economic project for Russia anymore. Russia can absorb losses if the project eventually sabotaged by the United States and its European poodles such as Poland, but for Germany, and EU in general, this sabotage will result in catastrophe, due to European greens’ suicidal energy policies which make European goods costs extremely energy-dependent. In realty, America’s attempts to sabotage Nord Stream 2 are primarily directed against EU in general, and Germany in particular, not against Russia per se.
  3. The United States lost the arms race. America’s weapons acquisition process and military doctrine-mongering cannot be viewed anymore as a normal, that is logical and justified, process. While still being able to produce some state-of-the-art platforms and enablers, such as signal processing, combat computer and communications networks, recon assets, in terms of actual weapons the United States begins to lag behind Russia not just in years but in generations. As recent, February 2021, Congressional Budget Office report on missile defense admitted, the United States is defenseless against salvo of combination of new Russia’s cruise missiles and that there is nothing to stop them. There isn’t. US air defense systems lag behind Russian ones dramatically and the gap only grows with Russia’s S-500 getting into serial production and the latest S-350 already being deployed into the first line units.
  4. The United States simply cannot develop modern supersonic anti-shipping missile and the US Navy is forced, incomprehensibly, to buy Norwegian Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile—an underwhelming subsonic missile which is no match for modern high supersonic and hypersonic strike weapons Russia deploys, and is not survivable in modern air defense and ECM environment.
  5. Lastly, the intellectual level and the level of awareness of modern American elites is in a precipitous decline, which inevitably resulted in the embarrassment of America’s last elections, especially scandalous debate between two geriatric candidates in 2020, which paraded the US as Springeresque tawdry TV show. Resultant loss of a legitimacy and yet another confirmation of the America’s position as a non-agreement capable entity hardly serve as boosters for America’s already tarnished reputation as a big-mouth bully and its elites being uncultured and uneducated.

The United States already fails to meet a number criteria imperative for the status of superpower, among which a military one is crucial.

If some American military “strategists” still exercised a suicidal idea of fighting Russia conventionally in Ukraine in 2014, today in 2021 such an idea is downright mad, because the United States cannot win conventional war in Russia’s vicinity and any US force will be annihilated.

This leaves the United States only two options:

  1. Indeed, believing its own propaganda, try to unleash mayhem in Ukraine, provoke Russia into a direct military operation and then introduce whatever the force US and NATO will muster into the theater of operations. Any such plan is bound to fail miserably because not only such a force will be annihilated but participating NATO nations will face the possibility of their military installations destroyed by stand-off weapons. That raises the possibility of US escalating to nuclear threshold which means that the United States may cease to exists as a country. This is an undesirable plan and majority of US policy makers, bar some severe cases of psychological Russophobic disorders which are numerous in the current Administration and America’s elites, understand what it means. So, while not completely impossible, a probability for such a plan being implemented is fairly low. Not to mention the fact that for the US to fight conventionally around Russia will require assembly of the force which will dwarf whatever was assembled for the First Gulf War. There, the United States had almost 6 months to do so.
  2. So, what’s left realistically is to push Ukraine into the suicidal campaign with Russia being designated aggressor before even the first shots are fired. What the United States does not recognize is the fact that this unties Russia’s hands who already has an overwhelming escalation dominance not only over Ukraine, but whatever might be attempted in terms of “support” for irrational regime in Kiev. Russia has many options, the United States has one—it needs war in Donbass, which, Washington’s thinking goes, will allow to drive Europeans into submission, which allegedly should allow the United States to save her hegemonic status. It will not even if Europe is driven into submission.

United States today has the only one resource left which allows it to stay relevant—virtual reality of both money “printing” press and of the media propaganda which is increasingly ineffective.

One could hide America’s decrepit cities, mass riots, destruction of the education system, incompetence of political and military top echelons, suicidal social practices and breakdown of law and order, aggravated by huge lines to food banks for only so long.

Now it is in the open and even subjugation of Europe and, allegedly, opening Europe’s markets to those few items the United States can still provide for its clients there…

… does not change the fact that the United States as it exists today has no future with or without Europe…

…and that it still has to recon with China’s immense manufacturing capacity…

…and Russia’s advanced military might…

…which drive unification of the Eurasian market whether the United States unleashes war in Ukraine or not.

Even without EU this market dwarfs whatever the United States will be able to “salvage” in order to avoid relegation to a lower league.

It cannot stop a process which was ongoing for years now…

…once Russia, after, the bloody coup in Ukraine…

… understood that there is nobody to talk too in the combined West…

…which apart from losing its military and economic power…

… started to disintegrate from the inside due to Western societies becoming increasingly totalitarian…

…and unable to face the reality that we still live in the highly industrialized world which needs energy, industrial plant and weapons which will defend them.

Both China and Russia seem to accumulate all that and with it the fate of the United States is sealed.

Bill Clinton may have thought that he “charted the new course for a new economy” in 2000, too bad for him, and the US, the “new economy” turned out to be an old one.

What?

You didn’t think that jeans, smartphones and rocket engines grow on the trees, did you?

And a final word from Fred…

But let us go back to the collision of warships. Why would a diversity-admit junior officer open fire on China? Proximately, because he is frightened and panicky. A bit more remotely, because he has been told over and over and over that the Chinese are dangerous and aggressive and want to do terrible things, seldom specified. The military tells them this because you cannot prepare the troops for war by telling them that there is no reason for it.

Why would a President allow a war, knowing (if in a lucid moment) that it would produce absolute unshirted havoc in the economy even if it didn’t go nuclear? He wouldn’t. That is, he wouldn’t all at once choose Armageddon. But he couldn’t afford to seem soft on China, not with the midterms looming, so he couldn’t back off. If in the ensuing shootout the Navy got trounced, he most assuredly couldn’t drop the matter, and would have to double down. So, of course, would the Chinese for the same sorts of reasons. Off to the races.

Deeper in the forest of causation is that the pathologically aggressive, amoral, manipulative, and crafty tend to rise to power. We select as rulers those who are least fit to rule. In America this is often done a bit differently, with the unscrupulous and powerful choosing cardboard leaders whose strings they can pull. The effect is the same.

Why would war seem reasonable? Because Americans have never seen one, and believe their forces to be invincible. If you think that you can’t lose a fight, why avoid one? And because those in comfortable circumstances know that a war in Asia would be fought by the lower economic classes, about whom they care nothing and don’t much like. American elites do not fight. Note the list of draft dodgers during Vietnam: Bush II, Cheney, Bolton, Trump, Biden.

These men, knowing almost nothing of the military, war or, very likely, military history, are quickly hijacked mentally by the Pentagon. The firm handshake, the steely gaze, the clean shaven, confident, and patriotic warriors (if only via Powerpoint) are impressive to pols who…well, you know…haven’t done that. They project strength and realism, without necessarily having either. Listening to them, you can easily get a sense of being accepted into a special, manly club. They say that America has the most powerful, invincible, best trained, tra la, tra la, and if you haven’t been there it is easy to believe. The Chinese? A cakewalk. Iran? Coupla weeks.

Another reason for easily blundering into a war poorly understood is the very low quality of American government. Congress and the President are chosen by popularity contests, not according to competence. A congressman who worked his way up the political ladder in Wheeling or Baton Rouge knows state politics. He is unlikely to know anything about the first Island Chain or what a terminally guided ballistic missile is. A friend in a position to know estimates that ninety percent of the Senate do not know where Myanmar is. No one without a grasp of geography has more than a child’s understanding of military, economic, or strategic reality. But they vote on these things.

Sez I, we are well and truly screwed. But there is little we can do about it.

Conclusion

You all can believe what you want. I know full well what is going on. If China is surrounded by peaceful and successful trading partners, then China will be safe and secure from conflict, invasion or NGO-sponsored “color revolutions”. Like Switzerland, like Germany, like Italy, and like Finland are today. Its a belief in the win-win possibilities of long term planning, cooperation and leadership by merit.

And nations that make physical things, that provide physical services, and that partner for joint success for their peoples will invariably be more successful, and longer lasting than ones that retain their existence on supporting a small patricidal oligarchy leadership that makes nothing of substance, but trades in invisible vapor ideas, and numbers on large elaborate spreadsheets.

But, you know, the United States is ruled by idiots.

And no matter how much we can reason, we can pray, or we can justify our actions and ideas and thoughts, the wildcard of an insane morn like Mike Pompeo with his finger on the military operations is a serious and real danger….

…as opined by this commenter…

A. Dane  on April 11, 2021  ·  at 9:24 am EST/EDT 

What will happen next?
In June, During the NATO exercise Defending Europe 21, the Ukro NAZIs or Turkish controlled head-choppers will launch a falls flag attack.

This could be a chemical weapon launched against Ukrainian soldiers, claiming that the attack was launched by the Donbass militia, and that the chemical weapon was supplied by Russia.

The western MSN will blame Russia for the aggression.

While Russia is busy defending itself against the unjust accusations from the so called international community, the NATO exercise will go live and invade Donbass, claimed as humanitarian intervention.

The only way this can be avoided is if the US really fears a nuclear attack on American soil.

As soon as the first falls flag attack occurs in Ukraine, Russia should launch a nuclear weapon on American soil.

A good target will be the HAARP facility located in desolate Alaska. The facility is operated by the private Global Elite, and hated world wide for its clandestine operations.

When the facility is reduced to rubble, and nuclear radiation is traveling the northern hemisphere via the Jet stream, the western MSN will go into hysteria, calling for a ceasefire.

Mass demonstrations against war and COVID Lock Down will quickly turn into Riots and civil war, devastating every major city in Europe and America.

If the NATO do not stop its invasion of Donbass by then:
Russia will send missiles against every NATO Command center located in Ukraine and Poland.

And then hell will break loose:
China will attack US Navy vessels in the South China Sea and invade Taiwan.

North Korea will attack South Korea.

Nationalist in Japan will attack US deployments in Japan.

The Philippines will attack US assets like Al Qaeda in the region and invade Indonesia.

The Taliban will attack US and NATO deployments in Afghanistan.

India will enter into war with Pakistan.

Iraq will attack the US deployment in Bagdad, and northern Iraq.

Iran will attack US-NATO vessels in the Gulf, ending all oil supply to the west.

Yemen will attack Saudi Arabia.

Somalia will attack all ships in the bay of Aden.

Egypt will close the Suez Canal.

Syria will launch an attack against Turkish troops in Northern Syria.

Russia will shoot down every Fighter jet and drone entering Syrian airspace.

Lebanon will attack Israeli forces in the Golan.

Hezbola will attack Israel from Gaza.

Libya will launch attacks against Turkish troops in Libya.

Armenia will launch major attack against Turkish forces in eastern Anatolia.

Greece will attack Turkish transgression of Greek airspace and Turkish vessels near Cyprus.

Civil war will erupt in the Balkan, Serbia will retake Kosovo, and enter war with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Civil war will erupt in Spain, and Catalonia will secede from Madrid.

Paris will enter into chaos, and Macron will flee.

Al-Qaeda will launch a major attack on French troop in West Africa.

Venezuela will attack US navy vessels in the Caribbean sea.

Argentina will invade the Falkland Islands.

American Patriots will storm Washington for real. The National Guard protecting DC will defect.

CIA and FBI Agent will be hunted down by American Patriots. Many states will secede from the US.

Most western government will be forced to step down. The EU and NATO will disintegrate.

All Nordic Nations will enter into a Nordic defense Alliance.

As the American Fascist Empire collapses, the multi polar world will be reborn.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my BRI sub-index within my China index…

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China’s amazing come-back from 2020. It is bedazzling. It is amazing, and it is not being reported in the Western press.

If your expecting the American or British press to say anything good about China, you’ve got a long wait. It’s reached a point that they would rather cut off their arms and legs rather than diverge from their anti-China, negative “boogieman” agenda. 

"It's not fair to say that Americans are  silent about everything. Americans are very vocal about China stealing  and China having no freedom and China having the largest concentration  camp for Muslims and China having no human rights for Tibetans. 

All  these must be true because our politicians and free press say so.  

Americans are right to stand up against China imperialism of Belt and  Road. Americans will never be silent about China trying to take over the  world's islands and oceans. 

As for the Capitol insurrection, we blame  China for poisoning the minds of Americans with their Hong Kong  revolution footage. We also blame Hong Kong freedom fighters for taking  American money and then messing it up. 

In fact, China gave Trump the  royal treatment and then suckered him into a trade war which damages  America. China is to blame for Trump and his trade wars. China is to  blame for discovering the Covid virus. 

We now know that it's been all  over the world with no one the wiser, but China had to make a big stink  and shut down the country. China has few Covid deaths but China also has  no freedom and no human rights. What do you prefer? 

Don't forget some  spokesmen for some secret American agency said that China may have  corrupted American elections. 

China is to blame for destroying American  democracy. Who can we believe if we don't believe in patriotic American  elected officials, the free press, and American agencies? Don't worry  Jay, Americans will be very vocal about China. 

They will support more  patriotic wars by any means and sanctions against the great evil China  with their democratic elections and tax dollars. God bless America!

-Jay Janson's Blog

Never the less, China is moving forward. Step by step. Pace by pace. Slowly, cautiously, silently.

Just because it is not being reported on does not mean that it is not going on. It’s just that most people in the West (that means you Americans) are kept ignorant of the true and real state of affairs. And this ignorance will, mark my words, come back to bite you.

I (personally) have long held the belief that the COVID-19 was a biological attack on China by the Trump Administration. That it was number 8, of 9 such attacks, all of which were part of the “Annihilate China” strategy by John Bolton / Mike Pompeo and Donald Trump.

This view is not shared with the American media. Who not only ignore it, but also craft highly unlikely articles countering it.

However this belief of mine is actually shared by the governments of Russia, China, India, Iran, and their allies. This view is what China believes, and what they formally announced to the United Nations in a formal complaint. This view is what Russia believes as well, and it was this narrative that brought the two nations together in a joint defense posture. And while Americans might continue to live under their delusions, the rest of the world is pretty much is watching, taking notes, and looking at the USA for what it really and actually is.

While the “Annihilate China” strategy was being played out in 2020, Donald Trump launched the largest flotilla of Naval Vessels into the South China Sea ever formed.

Obviously his four years would be topped by a major military engagement with the “evil communist regime” (his words, not mine).

Which was to “provoke” the American military to justify a military excursion into Chinese claimed water. It did not go as planned and Trump fired his military brass as a result of that.

After all, how can you be a “War President” without a war to fight?

Prior to this, the American media had been whipped up into a anti-China frenzy. They were ready to “do what ever it takes” for “the American way of lifeTM“, “democracyTM” and “freedomTM“!

All this is very interesting, but none of the background information is actually covered in the West. Instead it’s the same “song and dance” and a slow slog though the standard “China Narratives” of crowding, poor, downtrodden, polluted underlings under an impressive tyrannical regime.

Yada. Yada. Yada.

This is a “narrative”.

It’s purpose is to make people hate, loathe, despise and distrust China. It’s also a well-funded narrative, with billions of United States Federal Dollars going towards the creation of this narrative; this image.

Big change in four years. When China went from “the most favored nation“, with “Favored nation trading status” to “evil communist regime“.

Here, in this post we are going to cover another thing that is intentionally omitted from the American “news” and the UK tabloids.

We are going to cover how China dealt with the biological attack, while at the same time, following through with their plans for a new nation built upon social infrastructure, a suppression of crime and poverty and the fruits of a merit-led leadership.

Powerful stuff. But is nothing that you will read about on CNN, MSNBC, the Rush Limbaugh show, and Alex Jones.

This post is about what China has become.

This post is about what China was doing while the rest of the world (namely America, the UK and Australia) were dancing around, kicking it, spitting on it, pissing on it, and screaming insults at it.

Australasian comic.
America, the UK and Australia “piled on” China relentlessly with a massive anti-China propaganda assault in 2020.

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It is the story of a beautiful butterfly that is finally flapping its’ bright-colored wings, after a long time being the harassed and despised caterpillar.

The following is an astoundingly excellent article titled “From Terrified to Triumphant — How China Flipped 2020“. It was found on the World Affairs Blog, and all credit to the author. I edited it to fit this venue and for simplification so that the widgets and HTML won’t crash non-compliant systems. Aside from that it is exactly as found.

I urge the readership to visit that blog for more excellent articles, insight and data that is free of my opinions, and hubris. Aside from that, my editing or notes can be found and identified by italics.

From Terrified to Triumphant — How China Flipped 2020

It was the worst way to start a year for China. On the New Year’s eve of 2020, Chinese social media were full of rumors about re-emergence of SARS virus from 2003. Chinese New Year was about to begin in three weeks, which would involve hundreds of millions of people traveling all over the country.

Xi Jinping had already warned officials a month earlier that the US-China trade war and sanctions would make 2020 a very challenging year. Now an unknown virus was about to decimate the economy and shred the “China dream” into pieces.

Worse, as time went on, China was not only left alone to fend for itself, but the anti-China forces piled on with Psy-ops.

Social media attacked the Chinese people and blamed them for “eating bats” — a popular video of a Chinese blogger drinking bat soup went viral, although it turned out that she had the soup three years earlier in an island (Palau) thousands of miles away from China.

Pundits and politicians gloated on TV that the pandemic would bring China to its knees.

Trump bragged that the U.S. was the best prepared country in the world to face a pandemic.

US media, filled with Shadenfreude, kept saying “deadly coronavirus” (until it spread to Europe and the US) and shouted out malevolent things to mock and frighten China:

China was accused of lying and hiding everything — origin and nature of the virus, its prevalence, how many people were dying, and so on.

Even though China had warned the WHO on Dec 31, 2019 and released the full genome of the novel coronavirus by Jan 11, western media keeps repeating that China hid some truths about the virus.

Never mind that the SARS-Cov-2 virus was spreading in the U.S., as well as in France, Italy, Spain etc. all through December.

Twitter and Facebook in January and February were full of fake videos showing Chinese people collapsing and dying on Wuhan streets.

When Chinese mobile companies lost 21 million customers in March, Americans shouted that all those people had died from COVID.

Western journalists who were allowed to visit Wuhan wrote only gloom-and-doom stories.

Later, even US politicians were spreading conspiracy theories about the virus escaping from a Wuhan lab.

In a highly cynical move, American media and politicians tried to turn a Wuhan eye doctor, Li Wenliang, into a whistleblower and an anti-CCP martyr — he was neither. And Chinese people living in the West were being physically assaulted by xenophobic and ignorant idiots.

It was a lonely, heart-wrenching, and an incredibly frightening moment for China. But the country ignored the judgmental, cruel world and came together as a family. That’s what Confucianism and collectivism (a core principle of socialism / communism) are all about.

The Chinese come together.
The Chinese came together. The Coronavirus emergency brought the Chinese people closer than ever before.

…

China’s Incredible Response

China did the only rational and scientific thing possible: completely shut down Wuhan and even Hubei province (with 57 million people).

California39,512,223
Texas28,995,881
Roughly the population size of both California and Texas together.

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Tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, volunteers, and even PLA soldiers were sent to Wuhan. People were restricted from leaving their homes; and communist party members volunteered to deliver food for millions of people.

Doctors wore diapers and worked 14 hours a day, while sweating inside the suffocating PPE; nurses cut their hair to reduce cross-infection; and healthcare workers stayed in hotels for many weeks to protect their families.

Hi-tech corporations came to the rescue with drones to deliver food, robots to deliver medicines, big data to detect clusters, and AI to read CAT scans.

The inimitable construction workers of China built two new hospitals in two weeks.

People with mild symptoms were quarantined in stadiums and college dormitories to stop the spread of the virus.

Picture 1
People with mild symptoms were quarantined in stadiums and college dormitories to stop the spread of the virus.

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Picture 2
The inimitable construction workers of China built two new hospitals in two weeks.

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Picture 3
Chinese hospital staff inside the rapidly constructed emergency hospital in Wuhan.

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Picture 4
Hospital beds in the emergency hospital constructed in Wuhan.

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Photo 6
China mobilized the military to tackle the biological attack / pandemic. During the entire year of 2021, the China military was on a DEFCON ONE alert.

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Emergency hospital.
Another view from inside one of the two emergency hospitals in Wuhan.

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MRI machine.
MRI machine in one of the emergency hospitals.

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Working together.
All hospitals throughout China worked together as one single entity to fight the Coronavirus.

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Converted stadium.
Stadiums, and gyms were converted to quarantine areas for the population to be screened within.

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Hospital staff.
Medial staff worked long days, under difficult conditions, all wearing full biological protection.

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Inside of a new hospital.
The hospitals were not just new, but were modern, equipped with AI and 5G infrastructure, and completely sterile.

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Resting.
A tired medial staffer rests upon a mattress in a quarantine holding area.

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Exercise.
Exercise is a fundamental part of the Chinese daily routine. Both in the morning and in the evening.

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Swabs.
Taking swabs with the children.

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Fighting the virus.
Fighting the virus by spraying chemicals in a water fog.

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Fighting the virus 2.
Fighting the virus by teams using hand foggers.

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Exhausted staff.
Exhausted staff.

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Hand temperature scanning.
Taking measurements. In the early months everyone used hand temperature scanners. then in mid-year thermal video scanners became available and protected all public places.

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Hospital staff.
Hospital staff.

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Cutting off the hair.
Hospital staff cut their hair off to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to avoid cross contamination.

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Food delivery robot.
Auto-delivery robots were designed and mass-produced to service the Chinese in China.

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Hotel robots.
Hotel robots with AI and 5G technology delivered food to the hotel quarantine areas.

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Drone use.
Drones provided food delivery as well as monitored the streets and neighborhoods for isolation compliance.

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Everyone in China did their part. Corporations built mask and PPE factories in a week; and workers slept in those factories for weeks to ramp up production.

Within a couple of weeks, Chinese scientists built huge labs that could do hundreds of thousands of COVID tests per day.

Doctors worked meticulously, exploring different drugs — including Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) — to treat the new virus; and scientists were racing to develop vaccines.

When big cities like Shanghai and Beijing had to shut down for 2-3 weeks, everybody cooperated and followed the guidelines.

Later, when there were mini-outbreaks — like in Qingdao and Xinjiang — China set up mobile, inflatable labs to fo PCR tests for 1-2 millions of people per day.

Test, trace, treat — China diligently followed the principles of science.

China under lock-down.
Unlike America, when China goes lock-down, it really does quiet. Nothing moves. Everyone complies. In a nation that has six times the population of America, it is a most unified and cohesive collection of citizenry.

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Beijing
Beijing during the Coronavirus lock-down.

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Shanghai.
Shanghai during the Coronavirus lock down.

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Shenzhen.
Shenzhen during the Coronavirus lock down.

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Typical China during a lock down.
When China would shut down and lock down a region, everyone would comply and there were no exceptions.

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Subways.
The subways were all quiet during a lock-down.

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Quiet roads.
During the lock down, nothing moved, and no one was demanding that it was their “Right” to not wear a mask.

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After 76 days of incredible human drama, Wuhan came out of lockdown. Thanks to China’s “authoritarian”, “draconian” and “human rights-violating” measures, China had contained the pandemic and was ready to roar.

Normalcy returns.
After the lock-down normal life returned to China.

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A return to normal.
A return to normal life and public gatherings.

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Some workers still labored on.
While most of China returned to normal, there still remained pockets of quarantine areas.

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Xi Pend.
President Xi Peng worked tirelessly to address this emergency and spend much of his time going town to town working with the people directly. As opposed to the American Donald Trump method of EO decree from the golf course.

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Banners and posters.
Throughout China were posters, and banners encouraging people to work together as a one unified family-nation. And it worked. People did come together. People did work as one.

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Shanghai drones.
Drone fireworks over Shanghai.

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Meanwhile, the world was just coming out of its delusion.

Having wasted precious three months gloating about China’s suffering, America started plunging into COVID19 lock-downs in April.

The rest is history. By the end of the year, the USA had 20 million confirmed cases and 350,000 deaths.

Looking at COVID-19 deaths per million population, China was 3 and the U.S. was more than 1,000.

This is how China ended 2020 — with celebrations and large parties of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year:

Picture a1
The Chinese celebrate Christmas and the end of 2020.

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Good bye.
The Chinese saying “good bye” to 2021.

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Celebration.
All over China, people celebrated 2020 ending.

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Saying good-bye.
In the local town squares and the mall open spaces, people gathered to say good-bye to 2020.

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Celebrating together.
Chinese people went out and celebrated the end of 2020 together.

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Good bye 2020.
Rather than the flashy neon color light shows, cities celebrated the end of 2020 with reflection.

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Shanghai.
In Shanghai.

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Everyone celebrated the end of 2020.
People celebrated all over China.

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The end of 2020.
The end of 2020 was a milestone event for many Chinese people.

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China’s other impressive achievements in 2020

Xi Jinping and Beijing officials must have spines made of steel.

In spite of the horrifying events of the year, Chinese officials kept working on their individual objectives. Here are some commendable and unbelievable achievements of China in other areas:

Economy

China is the only major economy to have GDP growth in 2020 and the biggest growth in the next two years.

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  • China had record exports and trade surplus.
  • In 2020, China’s international trade (exports + imports) was eye-popping $4.8 trillion; and the trade surplus was $500 billion. (link)
  • China opened up the financial services industry to Wall Street’s delight.
  • Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, BlackRock, you-name-it all eagerly opened up numerous ventures in China.
  • China signed two landmark trade deals — RCEP and CAI.
RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA) — with 15 Asian countries accounting for 30% of world’s GDP. It’s also the first time that Japan and South Korea have signed FTA with China.
CAI (“Comprehensive Agreement on Investment”) is a China-EU investment deal that was under negotiations for six years. While the incoming Biden team tried to stop the deal, Germany quickly wrapped it up just before the year-end.
New agreements.
The United States no longer is part of many of the trade agreements in the Asian Pacific Rim.

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  • In both these treaties, notice that the U.S. is left out.
  • Now, China is even ready to join TPP, which Trump quit.
  • In 2021, China’s contribution to the growth of world economy/GDP will be more than 33%, according to OECD/IMF forecast.
  • China eradicated extreme poverty for the first time in China’s history! Zero percent, including Xinjiang and Tibet. That’s real human rights.

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  • China donated countless number of masks, PPE, ventilators and diagnostic test kits to countries all over the world.
  • Chinese experts traveled all over the world to train doctors and nurses.
  • China donated and exported about 40 billion masks and 12,000 ventilators to the U.S. Some countries like Italy were very grateful.
Italy is grateful.
Italy is very grateful for the help and assistance from China, and a little upset at the “snubbing” by the United States.

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  • Stock market (CSI 300 Index) up 48%Mainland China’s stock markets reached a market capitalization of $10.6 trillion by the end of 2020. (link)
  • Yuan up almost 10% from pandemic lows (from ¥7.18 to ¥6.52 per $1)

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Technology

  • China installed more than 700,000 5G base stations, accounting for 80% of the world’s market share.
  • Next year, China plans to install another 600,000 5G base stations!
  • China went to the moon and came back with lunar samples in just 23 days! (Chang’e-5)
  • China sent a spacecraft to Mars (Tianwen-1)
  • China successfully launched Long March-5B, which will be used for constructing China’s space station next year in 2021.
  • China completed the Beidou-3 constellation, a competitor to America’s GPS. 
Beidou-3 now has 35 satellites and covers 165 countries.
  • China managed 39 space launches, probably making China #1 three years in a row
  • Had the most number of vaccines in Phase 3 trial; successfully tested in many countries like Brazil, Turkey, UAE etc.
  • Approved Sinopharm vaccine for use; and promised cheap vaccines for developing nations (while the US and Europe have refused to do the same). This will save billions of lives in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
  • TikTok became the #1 app in the world
  • Quantum supremacy: China’s system was 10 billion times faster than Google’s
  • Nuclear fusion: China turned on its “artificial sun” — HL-2M Tokamak. Still a long way to go for sustained and large scale power generation, but a major breakthrough nonetheless.
  • Semiconductor: Chinese companies like SMIC and Yangtze Memory made significant progress, in spite of vicious American sanctions. This is the last frontier that China needs to conquer.
  • Deep-sea submersible (“Fendouzhe”) went 10,000 meters below the ocean to study the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on earth! It ranks second in the world for the deepest dives.
  • Announced that China will reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
  • Tested digital Yuan/RMB (DCEP) in many cities. This lays the groundwork for internationalization of Yuan in 2022.
e-yuan.
Digital e-yuan.

Environment

China made significant progress in sustainability and climate action.

  • Beijing had 276 days of “good air quality.” Why? Use of natural gas (instead of coal), more green energy, and proliferation of electric cars. And one didn’t need scientific instruments to measure pollution. Just look at the sky!

China made significant progress in sustainability and climate action.

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  • China’s total renewable energy (installed capacity) reached more than 840 GW. (This is 3.5x the US). The breakdown is as follows:
    • hydropower = 360 GW;
    • solar energy = 240 GW;
    • wind power = 220 GW;
    • and biomass = 20 GW.
  • China installed more than 40GW of solar capacity in 2020.
  • This includes China’s largest solar farm (of 2.2GW capacity) in Qinghai province. It missed the title of world’s largest solar farm by a tiny margin of 0.05GW!
China’s solar farms.

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  • Between 2016 and 2020, China planted billions of trees that covered a total area of 350,000 sq km — that’s twice the size of California!
  • Now more than 23% of China is covered by forests. Such afforestation/reforestation efforts take a lot of money and efforts, but China is serious.
China's reforestation efforts.
China has been reforesting for decades.

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Infrastructure

Controlled the massive floods that ravaged vast regions of China for many weeks. (Predictably, western media and many social media citizens drooled about the possibility of the Three Gorges Dam crumbling and destroying China).

Inspite of this, China increased the high-speed rail (HSR) network to about 39,000 Km.

China's High Speed Train network = 39,000 Km / 24233.4 miles

America's High Speed train network = 0km / 0 miles
China's high speed rail.
China’s High Speed Rail is the fastest, most extensive, and the cheapest to ride upon in all the entire world.

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  • Xiongan Smart City made tremendous progress, including a new bullet train station
  • Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) kept advancing.
  • Turkey is now linked to Xian, China.
  • More than 1,200 freight trains per month link 92 European cities to China.

Here are are some photos of driverless (a.k.a self-driving or autonomous) subway trains, new metro stations/lines, battery-powered trams, highways, and bridges that China built in 2020.

Even Wuhan added a new line and some artistic metro stations — check out the last two photos. (Ask yourself why America can’t afford such luxuries anymore).

Beautiful High Speed Rail Station.
Chinese High Speed Rail stations are beautiful, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, functional and also looks like something out of the televisions show “Star Trek”.

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Chinese commuter bus / tram.
In the Chinese smart cities the commuter buses and trams are driver-less and rely on 5G and AI technology.

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5G technology is everywhere.
Throughout China are new AI controlled transports, quiet electric buses, beautiful stations and well-maintained infrastructure. 5G is everywhere.

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Inside of China. Public transportation.
The interiors of the new transport lines are unique to the cities where they reside and special care and attention has been devoted to ease of maintenance, cleaning and beauty.

.

And least you get the incorrect impression that this is but one singular city within China, you are very wrong. It’s common throughout China with substantial numbers of cities being updated in mass.

Map of Chinese smart cities.
Chinese smart cities of 2020.

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AI controlled.
AI controlled public transportation.

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Station interiors.
Station interiors are just beautiful. They are airy, clean and roomy.

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Interconnected transport.
High Speed Trains all connect to the individual subway lines and other modes of public transportation.

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Chinese road works.
Chinese road works are in a class by themselves. They are beyond compare and impressive in every way.

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Chinese bridges.
Chinese build bridges to an extent that astounds.

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Another Chinese bridge.
Another Chinese bridge.

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Beautiful interiors.
The interior of the stations are beautiful.

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Public areas.
These are public works where the public meets and conjugates.

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Geopolitics

  • China quietly stopped Hong Kong’s insurgents and put an end to U.S. shenanigans.
  • Beijing called out Washington’s bluff about sanctions and passed the National Security Law, which also kicked out American spies and fake NGO’s like NED, which specialize in brainwashing and color revolutions.

In the midst of all these problems, America’s vassal states — India and Australia — saber rattled in ominous ways.

  • However, the border conflict with India was de-escalated, while letting both sides save face.
  • Australia was spanked very hard as a warning to other vassals.

If Australia slips into a recession, the next Prime Minister will be a lot less racist and uncouth. And perhaps Australia will be more careful about committing war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The world view of Australia today.

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  • China also made a momentous and long-term deal with Iran, cementing China’s influence in the Middle East.
  • Reasonable success in thwarting the persistent atrocity propaganda about Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
  • China’s new extradition treaty with Turkey in 2020 should help capture some Uyghur terrorists who are fighting in Syria alongside of ISIS and Al Qaeda.
  • Trade deals RCEP and CAI have strengthened China’s inclusion and ties with Europe and Asia, thus diminishing America’s chances for proxy wars.
  • The vision of Eurasia became much clearer in 2020.
  • Military drills and more strategic alliance with Russia in 2020 should improve china’s security posture.
Russia and China are united together.
Russia and China share a common defense against all military threats. They share intelligence data, technologies, and military bases.

…

Conclusion

If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you should help them. In Jan/Feb, the U.S. gleefully watched China burn and bragged about American exceptionalism.

While China was busy fighting the Coronavirus, America was berating it for everything. Anything that China did was bad, wrong or a “threat to democracy”.

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That’s when the US and the EU should have given generous aid to China to contain the pandemic.

Then, from April on, western societies refused to learn anything from China.

Filled with hubris and undeserved overconfidence, the West kept fumbling for months.

Incompetent governments and irrational public couldn’t agree upon simple things like wearing masks or even if COVID-19 is real.

As the West imploded, China soared to the skies.

To put it succinctly, China had a stellar year.

And with Trump’s loss, the U.S. is more polarized than ever before.

By the time Biden’s administration gets its geopolitical strategy together, everyone from Asia to Europe would see the writing on the wall — that China will inevitably be the #1 economy soon.

2020 started out as a terrifying year, but ended up as the most pivotal year that sealed China’s unique status in the 21st century.

Metallicman comments

Many people who have their eyes open can see the stark differences between China and the United States today. And they are stark. Frighteningly stark. A smart, and intelligent person, would learn from China. A caring person would do what they can to embraces the techniques and lessons that China has successfully implemented.

But that is not going to happen. Is it?

Instead, America and it’s allies are still playing the same-old, same-old game of political Ponzi-schemes, lies and the threats of military backed “color revolutions” if other nations refuse to “toe the line”.

It’s all a big “song and dance” for the sheeple to believe in.

Even intelligent articles written by knowledgeable people don’t get the full extent of the social, societal, generational, and political upset that is going on…

China’s rise reflects a bourgeoning global movement away from U.S. imperialism and toward self-determination.

“China has already closed the gap in many economic sectors and has surpassed the U.S. in others.”

Much of the 2020 presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald  Trump was spent bashing China. Trump repeatedly called Biden “soft” on  China while Biden claimed the same about Trump. In the last debate  before votes were cast, Biden stated that Trump “cozies up to thugs”  such as China’s president Xi Jinping. Although U.S.-China relations have  sunk to their lowest point since normalization under Trump, Biden has  made no indication that he wants to reverse course. American  exceptionalism will be the ruling ideology of the U.S. state and the  preservation of U.S. dominance the primary goal of the ruling class no  matter who is elected president in November.

American exceptionalism, however, cannot save the U.S. empire from  itself. Hurling slander at China does not change the existing reality of  U.S. imperial decline.For one, neither Biden nor  Trump can rescue the U.S.’ battered capitalist economy. Negative growth,  mass unemployment, and the eventual expiration of moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures are likely to keep U.S. capitalism on a path of slow to no growth for years to come. 

China, on the other hand, has no such problem. After mobilizing for three months to contain COVID-19, China’s economy grew at a rate of nearly five percent from July to September despite the decrepit condition of its largest trading partner and the world economy at large.

Many economists have predicted that China will overtake the U.S. in economic scale by 2030 in GDP terms. The pandemic is likely to accelerate this trend. China has already closed the gap in many economic sectors and has surpassed the U.S. in others. Market analysts predict that China’s leadership in electric vehicle  production and consumption will dominate the global market in the coming years. 

China is already a global leader in renewable energy production. Furthermore, in the much-heralded arena of 5G technology, China is also well ahead of the United States. China possesses twelve times more 5G base stations than the U.S. and the gap grows wider in sectors such as high-speed rail.

"Hurling slander at China does not change the existing reality of U.S. imperial decline.”

The key factor that separates the U.S. and China is austerity.  

China’s planned economy and socialist governance system allows for the  subsidization of the needs of the people to exist simultaneously with  investments in high-tech industries. Upgrades in telecommunications  technology and e-commerce, for example, have played important roles in  the rising incomes of rural families and  therefore have contributed to the overall policy of poverty alleviation in China. 

Technology under late stage U.S. capitalism serves as a weapon against the broad masses of people by raising their rate of exploitation as contending tech corporations battle over which can  dominate the market faster. Technological development receives no assistance from the state unless in the form of military contracts for the production of weapons, bases, and other installations of war.

U.S. attempts to isolate Chinese technology and trade across the world have failed time and time again, from Trump’s trade war midway through his first term to the more current policy of sanctions against  corporations such as Huawei. The U.S. has thus needed to rely upon  military aggression to enforce its containment policy toward China.  

Nearly half of all U.S. military assets and over sixty percent of naval  forces reside in the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. is not satisfied with its influence in the region, however, and has attempted to create an “Asian NATO” comprised of India, Japan, and Australia. Enhanced military aggression fits with the larger U.S. military strategy of “Great Power Competition” which targets Russia and China as the primary threats to U.S. hegemony abroad.

“Nearly half of all U.S. military assets and over sixty percent of naval forces reside in the Asia-Pacific.”

American exceptionalism is the ideological framework for the United  States’ anti-China policy. Donald Trump used his first term to increase  hostilities with China on the basis that its biggest economic competitor  was unfairly undercutting U.S. supremacy in all areas of international  relations. China has been singled out as the principle threat to  American “greatness” and “exceptionalism. The War on Terror utilized  racist imagery of a white civilization under siege from Arab and Muslim  savages. “Great Power Competition” depicts the United States as a white  civilization under siege by a modern form of Yellow Peril.

However, American exceptionalism and the imperialist ambitions behind  the ideology have been a staple of U.S. relations with China since the  Chinese Revolution of 1949. U.S. diplomatic, military, and economic  strangulation of the People’s Republic in the first two-plus following  the Chinese Revolution was justified on the basis that China was a  “lost” possession in need of recovery. As Qiao Collective noted,  normalization did not necessarily change the U.S. attitude that China’s  social system must be overthrown in favor of U.S.-style “democracy.”  Debates over China’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status within  Congress and the White House consistently focused on utilizing the U.S.  capitalist economy as an engine of privatization in China that would  force its social system to adopt a Western-style model of government.

The case of China bursts asunder the illusion that the U.S. can force  nations into political submission simply by exposing the people to the  U.S. capitalist economy. China’s political and economic trajectory  should be clear to anyone paying attention. Capitalist mechanisms in China act as a springboard for the achievement of poverty alleviation and an elevation of the standard of living of the Chinese people.  

China’s adherence to an international governance system based in the  U.N. Charter is popular both with capitalist countries seeking to do  business in China and Global South nations in need of breathing room  from imperialist treachery. China’s economic and political development  model is especially popular in China. The Chinese government sports an  approval rating of 80-90 percent depending on the poll.

“China has been singled out as the principle threat to American “greatness” and “exceptionalism.”

Too often Western and American eyes are fixated on their isolated  hatred of non-white peoples to consider the global implications of China’s rise. 

China’s rise reflects a bourgeoning global movement away from U.S. imperialism and toward self-determination. The  more that the U.S. attempts to impose its so-called exceptionalist values on the world, the more that the world’s nations harden their  struggle for self-determination out of necessity and survival. 

The re-election of MAS in Bolivia, the continued struggle of the Syrian governmentagainst U.S. sanctions and war, and the DPRK’s commitment to the reunification and  sovereignty of the Korean Peninsula despite constant U.S. threats all  fall within a larger resistance movement to U.S. empire. And it should  not surprise anyone that these countries also happen to be China’s  closest allies in their respective regions.

U.S. imperialism is a social order coming apart at the seams. 

For  nearly half of the 20th century, economic stability and growth allowed  the U.S. political establishment to boast about the exceptionalism of  its society even as it used every means at the disposal of the state to  repress liberation movements at home and abroad. 

The War on Terror soiled the U.S.’ image in the world and further sent capitalism into a tailspin of decline. A New Cold War has been launched against China and  its strongest ally, Russia, to reinvent the political terrain of  20th century U.S. dominance. 

It won’t work. American exceptionalism  cannot save the U.S. empire from itself, nor can the ideology find  sufficient traction to thwart China’s rise. 

What the U.S. empire will  accomplish in the coming months and years is the further spread of mass  death and economic misery all over the world. 

The Left’s task is not to fear or challenge China’s rise but to stop the U.S. empire from bringing  the world to the precipice of a humanity-defeating World War in a ceaseless bid to preserve global hegemony.

-Black Agenda Report

Indeed. America is at a dangerous time. Like a compulsive gambler that now is facing the loan-sharks for his indiscretions, America too must “face the music”. The game is over. The clock has struck twelve, and the time is up.

It’s time for reckoning.

The future belongs to the nations that provide for their citizenry, protect them and invest in THEM and their families. Like China. Exactly like China; nations that make things with factories, and nations that provide good solid educational opportunities for their people and place of employment will do far better…

…than nations (like America) that rely on artificial number games on spreadsheets to support a tiny minority of ultra-wealthy people in their pursuit of greed and military conquest.

The old way of doing things will no longer work. Like an old car that is burning gasoline but is going nowhere, so is the United States beginning to collapse upon itself….

The old world is on the way out. Being lead by America it is kicking and screeching towards the hole dug in the cemetery of ancient empires. The only danger ahead is the crazed extent that a desperate and nuclear armed nation might go to in it’s quest to maintain it’s global dominance. We can only hope that President Biden will keep calm, follow the path laid before him and search for terms of co-existence with other nations, societies and cultures.

Meanwhile…

China is there. It is the shining city on the hill that all nations can look to for guidance and support. They are willing to offer a helping hand. But the real question is this; is the West ready to accept it?

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my China Index here…

China Index

Articles & Links

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Why Can’t America have High-Speed Bullet Trains?

Well, California Governor Gavin Newsom has abandoned plans to build a high-speed railroad between Los Angeles and San Francisco. After spending billions of dollars in funds, much of it from the Federal government, the Governor said that the project should be shelved.

He cited that the project was too expensive.

The face of American politics today. This is the slick and well-packaged oligarchy pick for California. Mr. California Governor Gavin Newsom. Look how plastic he appears. Why, he could be right out of one of those political villains from a 1980’s John Cusack movie.
Managerial elites, Of Two Minds - The sole output of  America's managerial elite is self-serving hubris. The Deep State can't  be fired, nor does it ever stand for election. 

As systems become more  complex, the need for a professional class to manage the overwhelming  complexity grows. 

"Stakeholders" multiply in endless profusion, dooming  every project to a glacial process that increases the sums paid to  manage the glacial process and pushes the final cost to the moon. 

The  managerial elite always has one answer for every problem: give us more  money. 

The system is broken, and the managerial elite will keep it  broken because it serves their interests to keep it broken.

Some History

It all began ten years ago. Back then, President Obama called for a network of high-speed railroads to criss-cross the country “within 25 years”. The nation roared with glee and cheering his forward thinking.

Perspicacious = To be far-sighted in understanding things.

At that time, of course, the rest of the world had already implemented High Speed Rail. America was going to get involved in a game of “catch up”.

Only this time, progressive values and liberal management would lead the way.

Obama and high speed rail.
Look back. The year is 2009; “President Obama’s goal of building a high-speed rail network that at least 80 percent of Americans will have access to by 2025, is facing major resistance in Congress. Earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden announced a $53 billion, six year plan to get the U.S. high-speed rail network going with $8 billion over the next year spent towards building new lines and upgrading existing passenger lines in areas such as the northeast and midwest.:

His plan, began its’ implementation through California.

Of course, compared to the rest of the world, it’s pretty modest. The idea was to link the two largest cities in California together. This would occur by placing rail lines through the large entirely rural California valley. The top speed would be limited to 220 MPH, which is the global norm. The most ambitious plans would have 800 miles of rail line, paid in part by the Federal government and bonds issued by the (insolvent) California government.

Killing the High Speed rail program.

The decision to cancel this program was welcomed by Conservatives, and derailed by Liberals. Both for reasons related towards political considerations. However, in my mind, everyone loses.

What’s worse, rubbing salt in the wound, comes President Trump. He rightfully questioned the decision to kill the project. As a businessman, you do not casually start of kill things without study, and an analysis of the consequences. Obviously, there were concerns that the decision to kill the project were not carefully thought out.

Seriously. It is like going to a restaurant and expecting to pay $100 for the meal. You wait and you wait, and you wait. Finally, the waitress comes to the table. The bill is $2000. 

You get angry! 

Where is my food? Why has it taken so long? What the heck are the cooks doing? What do I have to show for all my time; for all my money? What?

And the waitress looks at you condescendingly, and points to the toothpick that is on that table.

"You have a toothpick", she says.

Thus, in summary, and rightfully so, President Trump demanded that California be fiscally responsible and return the Federal funds given to them.

California fights back and builds the High Speed rail… somewhat.

These were funds earmarked for the doomed program. However, the Governor rebuked him. He argued that no funds needed to be returned. He said the state would still build a portion of the system. It would build the section still under construction in the rural Central Valley.

You demand to see the Manager, or better yet, the owner of the restaurant. A few minutes, he comes out of his office. You interrupted him from playing the game of poker he had with the other workers.

We wipes the beer off of his beard and takes a puff of his cigar.

"Wadda ya want, bub?"

You calmly, and clearly, state that you paid for a meal. And that you want the meal, and you want it at the price that is advertised on the menu.

He snorts!

"Sure, wadda ever ya say. That will be another $4000."

You get angry, and suddenly all the workers in the restaurant come out and line up with the Manager. They start yelling at you. Calling you names like "deplorable", "uneducated hicks", and "racist". They carry on so much, that you eventually slither out of the restaurant.

You cut your losses. You reason, at least you got a toothpick.

So, California is going to build the high-speed rail after all.

By doing so, he could legally claim that he met the requirements that California build a High Speed rail line. It wouldn’t need to be very much rail. Not even a few hundred miles or so of rail. Five, ten or fifteen miles would be all that would be needed.

Everyone files back into the back room, and continues their game of poker. Another case of beer is brought in. No one notices the line of people at the front door waiting to be served and led to their tables.

His advisors suggested something a little more practical, though. So a little over a hundred miles will (some day… eventually) be built.

Mock up of high speed rail.
A plywood, and paint mock up of the American High-speed rail engine. It only cost a few million to make such a fancy plywood “doll house” for kids to play in. take note that the progressive plan for the design,and manufacture for the locomotives would be from the German multi-national company Siemens. No American design. No American factories. No American construction. This would be a fully funded international, and globalist initiative. So very progressive!

Everybody gets their cut…

Once the labor unions get their cuts, the environmentalists get their shares, the local labor bosses get to skim off some money, and the politicians in Sacramento each get another new mansion, can the tiny amount of rail line be built.

Look here! So wonderful!

CA Map.
California High Speed Rail as envisioned by the Democratic Governor. The cost of many billions of dollars will be used to provide a non-vehicular transportation method for those commuters between Merced and Bakersfield.

This couple of miles of track would be enough to prove that the rail was built in “good faith”. (And not a scheme to siphon Federal funds into the pocket of various special interest groups.)

So, there! You evil non-progressive, you!

Progressive justification for the “new” High Speed rail.

Of course, the need for a High Speed rail to travel a distance that a person could drive in a little over an hour is rather silly. However, the Governor denied that it would be a “train to nowhere.”

He justified his plans stating that many people would want to abandon their cars for public transportation between Merced and Bakersfield. (Then use public transport, such as taxis and public buses, to get around in those cities.)

Of course, it is debatable whether he actually believes this statement personally. Were it to function he, and his family would never use it. They are members of the elite. They travel by private jet. They don’t travel by “cattle car” like the rest of us.

Though the administration bills the program as "high-speed rail," most  U.S. projects won't reach the speeds seen in Europe and Asia. 

-Obama doles out money for High Speed Rail

He defended his decision on reasons of fiscal responsibility. (Of course he would. It “sounds good”, like the words “fresh”, “green”, and “healthy” does.)

Map of the california boondogle.
The usefulness of the California 77 billion dollar high speed rail program. Map shows the major population areas of California for reference, and to show that the rail does not impact any of these areas. The reader should note that 77 billion far, far dwarfs the amount of money that NASA spent to send men to the Moon. To me, by looking at the map, they put this rail line in the absolutely middle of frigging nowhere. How in the world is it supposed to help anyone out there?

California needed the money for it’s many social programs. It needed the money to support the influx of illegal migrants, and it needed the money to support the rising number of unemployed poor. California needed the money for yet another study on the endangered bo-bo-tiutsi fly, and the impact on plastic straws have on “global warming”.

Important things. Don’t ya know.

Plastic straw ban.
Memes erupted all over America when the various progressive liberal governments announced banning of plastic straws. Here’s one such meme.

He would not give any of money back.

Not that he could mind you. Too many people accepted bribes. Too many studies" on the dangers of coffee and the need for LGBT education in Kindergarten needed to be funded. Where the heck do you all think all those crazy radical progressives get their money to live off of? Do you actually believe that they work in a company like a normal person would?

After spending over 77 Billion dollars, he said the state would not send any money back to the federal government. He did not want it to be spent by President Donald Trump.

China started planning and implementing High Speed rail back in the 1990’s. Today, High Speed rail transport in China is ubiquitous. It is “old news”. Eventually, in China, all rail will be replaced with High Speed Transport.

Construction has been underway for the last couple of years on a section of 220 miles of rail. This section consists of the system from Silicon Valley to the Central Valley, with expected passenger service in 2025.  (Now, delayed until 2035.) The announcement to kill the plan has resulted in a much smaller stretch of rail being realized.

The fares were expected to average $89 per person per trip.

Which is about 2x (two times more expensive) than Chinese High-Speed rail, cover a mere tiny percentage of a fraction of the distance that Chinese rail covers, and start roughly 35 years later than when China built their first High Speed rail line.

Not that it matters. Just sayin'

All of this is silly.

In reality, this is not a technical issue, or even a fiscal issue. It is a political issue. It is a mechanism from which politicians, beholding to donors will be able to pay them back for the money that they lent to the progressive liberal democrats.

Amtrack bathroom.
Interior of an Amtrak bathroom. American rail is not maintained, or treated with the care that is required for rail transport. This is evident to anyone who rides on Amtrak.

It is so very obvious, and so blatant, I will not insult the reader by showing pages and pages of justification. If you can’t see the reality, then, maybe you need to go back to school and learn some discernment skills. You know, like elementary school.

77 Billion Dollars and NOTHING to show for it!

The corruption in the USA, and California is so very bad, that 77 Billion dollars and 20 years can not complete a single spur line of high speed rail! Well, China started at the same time as California did.

Look where China is today…

Chinese rail lines.
Chinese High Speed rail as of 2019. All of these lines are in the process of conversion to High-Speed access, and old-style rail will be obsolete and phased out over time. Look what you can do without legalized bribery, and absolute corruption.

Chinese High Speed Rail

Now, China just so happened to decide to implement High Speed rail at the same time that California did. The result is quite different. Why?

Chinese High Speed Trains are the absolute best.
Chinese High Speed Trains are the absolute best.

Well, let’s do some comparisons shall we.

First off, let me be clear that NOT every line is high-speed rail. This is a work in process. Secondly, it it also be clear that China is an enormous nation and right now the High Speed rail only connects major population centers.

Today, these are the active High-speed rail lines…

Chinese high-speed rail active map.
Active 2019 high-speed rail map in China listing all the station names. This is the map that you can use today to plan a high-speed travel anywhere in China. Click on the image to see a full-scale, enlarged view.

Here is a typical Chinese bullet train. (I just cannot show you any United States bullet trains because they haven’t even been constructed yet. Though there are some nice colorful mock-ups. See above.)

Chinese High Speed Trains are the absolute best.
Chinese High Speed Trains are the absolute best.
Oh, and I must add that the cardboard, wood and fiberglass (hollow) mock up of the California high speed rail COST MORE than an actual high-speed locomotive by many millions of dollars. Consider that will ya!

Inside a Chinese bullet train

Bullet trains are all over China. There is an enormous network of them. They are very comfortable to ride in, and their cost is reasonable. Notice how calm the ride is. Note the water in the bottle.

And…

America’s Plan for a Progressive Future

Under Obama, and other progressive leadership in the seaboard corridors, they had (and still have) a very progressive vision for America. In their vision, the states would be discarded in favor of a new America of “regions”.

  • States would become obsolete, and over time, discarded.
  • Administration regions would replace independent states.
  • High Speed Rail would connect the administrative centers.

Control would be centralized in the mega-cities on both the East and the West. Thus, High-Speed trains would cart people through the barren “waste lands” between the “two important” regions of the United States.

As shown in this map from the New York Times…

A new vision of America.
The High Speed rail is just a part of the new progressive vision the left has for America. It’s no secret, though it isn’t publicized to the masses. With the election of DJT, everything was put on hold until the Left can retake the reigns of power and continue on their march towards socialism.

Ah, but the corruption prevents the ideal.

That looks so nice, but it’s never gonna happen. It implies that enough money will be available to manage and manufacture the progressive utopia.

As soon as Obama came to office he started throwing money at this. And, like high-absorbancy disposable dish towels, the money evaporated.

Obama and your money.
Obama was very liberal with the tax monies, as well as the money not yet collected. He gave it away like party favors at a drunk frat party.

Just check out the amazing amount of corruption. Check out this map from the US government. Where did the money go? Eh?

Money spent, and money stolen.
Obama threw billions of dollars towards High Speed rail transport system, and his cronies all took the money for their own purposes. You know, like a new swimming pool for their third mansion, and redecoration of their Lear Jet. Ah, well that is life in America today. It’s not pretty, but that is just he way that it is.

Comparisons of High Speed Rail

I looked at various sites on the internet, and it’s a hoot how everyone tries to justify the superiority of Amtrak compared to China’s bullet trains. They imply that China’s bullet trains are nothing to be proud of.

It’s funny, but sad too. You know, the first step in recognizing you have a problem is to face up to it, and announce that you have a problem. (12 step program for those of you who don’t know the reference.)

Comic of American crime and corruption.
Crime and corruption in the USA is institutionalized and regulated in legal means. Thus it is not officially considered a crime. Pretty slick, eh?

They do one on one comparisons and come to the conclusion that they are similar. What a laugh. The trains are similar. How can you possibly come to that conclusion?

The one article (linked above) starts off straight forward enough…

Comparision of China's bullet train to amtrack.

But then it starts to show a bunch of photos how they are really just pretty similar, aside from the price, and speed. As if the train stations are identical. (Have you been to an Amtrak train station lately? Talk about a run-down 1960’s era ghetto.)

Really?

Here’s a screen capture from the article listed above.

amtrack comparison 1
In the comparison they say that the two systems are pretty much the same. After all, it is the politically correct thing to say. Right?

What’s what the article says.

Then, it shows this following picture…

Is that the only difference?
Is that the only difference? Really? Are you so dumb founded blind in political correctness not to notice the differences right in front of your face?

Is that the only difference? A hat?

Really? Are you so dumb founded blind in political correctness not to notice the differences right in front of your face?

In China, the stewardesses are all female. They are all attractive, and rated in beauty, physical appearance, and weight. They are all under 35 years of age. They are trained to be demure and act very respectfully.

Chinese hostesses 1
Chinese hostesses. They are judged not only on their ability, and their scores on tests, but in their appearance. That is why when you go to China all of the hostesses are very attractive and giving and providing the best to you, the customer.
Fingernail failure.
Hostess rejected because her fingernails were not good enough. In China everything must be perfect and done to the best of one’s ability. There just isn’t any acceptance of inferior job performance due to any of the criteria that plagues Western society.

In America on Amtrak, there are no age, appearance, weight or gender requirements. The attendants can be polite or not, fat or not, ugly or not, burly or not. In the progressive reality that is America today that is the reality. But don’t deny what is right in front of your eyes just for the sake of political correctness.

American stewardess
American rail; Amtrak stewardess. I have nothing against older people working, whether they are male or female or confused-gender. However, it must be recognized that the Chinese put more emphasis on appearance and ability than what is present in the United States.

Chinese High Speed Train Appearances

This is what the interior of one looks like…

And here’s the view outside…

Oh, and while I am at it, here is what the over all appearance and image that the Chinese bullet trains have in China and around the world.

In contrast Amtrak is viewed as sluggish, antiquated, and brutish. Check out the video and then go ride on Amtrak to see what I am talking about.

Train Stations

Here’s a quick comparison in train stations.

First, we check out Amtrak’s stations. The photo below is a historical station known as Sandpoint. Now, don’t get the wrong idea.

I do happen to love history and American rail has had so many absolutely awesome train stations. What about the one on Allegheny avenue in Pittsburgh, or the massive complex in Detroit? Ah, but they are all gone now.

American rail.
American train station – Sandpoint station. This is typical of what remains in the United States for railroad stations for passengers.

All that remains are little quonset hut kind of affairs. You know the kind used to give the impression of progressive advancement by tearing down the old. Sad.

Here’s the current interior of the Amtrak rail station in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. It looks like the rest of the world has passed it by. It’s really, really sad.

And, I don’t like it one bit.

Jamestwon PA train station.
Interior of the Amtrak station in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. It’s sad really. So much history, so much that can be done to keep and preserve it.

Now, let’s look at the train stations that you would encounter were you to board a train in China. This is from the 3nd tier city Tianjin. It’s third tier, ya all! It’s just a little Po-dunk city.

Chinese train station.
Chinese train station in Tianjin, China. It is new. Well taken cared for, and well maintained. There are no beggars and the floors are so clean that you could eat off them.
China high speed rail.
Chinese high-speed rail. Look at all those bullet trains. How many billions and billions of dollars was spent for the California high-speed rail, and what? Only 15 miles were completed, and not one single train was fabricated? What a waste. America is much better than that.

Ask yourself how, and why can China do this, but much bigger, and better USA cannot? Maybe fighting eight simultaneous wars and spending 65% of welfare benefits on illegal aliens has something to do with it. Eh?

Maybe. But I also like to think that part of it is because China is a meritocracy.

Here is Amtrak rail. This is what passes for American High Speed rail today. You know, as someone who can compare different ways of doing things, it is just so obvious the crime, decadence and corruption at Amtrak is just horrible.

For all the money being thrown at Amtrak, this is the best America can do? Really?

American high speed rail railroad engine.
Modern Amtrak in the North East region. This is what American high-speed looks like.

America has so much to be proud of, yet we have let our achievements grow fallow, and our leadership become corrupt. We, our parents, and our grandparents are all responsible for the sad, sad state of affairs in America today.

Pittsburgh train station.
Pennsylvania Railroad Station Pittsburgh

Chinese Stewardess Training

In China, it is very important to maintain a very positive image. This is reflective of the company, the brand and the service that one provides. Thus, there is a very rigorous selection process to become a stewardess on a Chinese train, and a long and involved training program.

Here is a video showing how the stewardess are trained to walk.

And, here are how they are trained to act and greet people…

Of course, the criteria in the United States is quite different.

The American rail system is controlled by Amtrak and it is a government funded agency. As such, it is very progressive, and very “modern” and “diverse”. You won’t find attractive women, or training on how to behave at Amtrak. Instead you will find other criteria that is “more important” being used.

Some other criteria…

Amtrak stewards and stewardesses.
Amtrak is a very “forward thinking”, progressive liberal government agency. Everything is top-down controlled by the Washington DC central office, and all the management got into their positions of power through liberal progressive leanings and “other means” (not to be discussed here). You can easily see how wonderful this has been when you compare Amtrak with train and rail lines in the rest of the world. Yessur!

These other criteria are things that you cannot speak about, but everyone knows about.

You know, like how certain famous people got their children into Harvard and Yale, or like how some cute starlets got their start in Hollywood by visiting a couch.

It is like how you have to show some cleavage to get the Pennsylvania department of transportation to fill the pot-hole in front of your house, or how the Mexican dishwasher gets paid for washing pots and pans. That is how things are really done in America today. If you haven’t experienced this, then you haven’t really experienced the America that the “rest of us” has to endure.

Eh? Maybe you have a silver spoon in your mouth. Or a Starbucks coffee. It’s the same thing really.

Reality. You know, like the child molester teacher that lives down the street, or the potholes in the road that never get fixed, or the “extra” “fees” that you have to pay the gal behind the window to get some attention to your issue.

Ah, all so very progressive.

Just like things used to be done in the Soviet Union under Stalin, or how things were done in China under Mr. Mao. So equal. So diverse. So progressive.

 “The toilets in your car are not working anymore. Please, use the ones  of the car in front of you. Do not enter the sleeper cars. I repeat…”  

The day has barely started when we hear the announcement. I am exhausted  after a sleepless night on a half-reclined chair."

-Roaming about on Amtrak
Amtrak uniforms.
Amtrak workers showing their uniforms and attire. Notice how progressive and diverse they are. That’s fine for a nice liberal progressive reality. However, I personally like the way rail used to be run in the United States…by merit, not by the color of one’s skin. Which is one of the reasons why Chinese high speed rail is light years more effective than anything in the United States.

Just how far did America go down the drain?

It’s hard to vocalize. I like to think that the best years of Amtrak were in the 1930’s. It was a time that I did not experience. All that I could picture were the faded images of massive locomotives, and advertisements of luxury travel inside old Life and National Geographic magazines.

City of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie

I’m pretty saddened by it, actually.

1:30pm: We are stopped and the power disappears with a buzzzzz.  

No AC, no lights, no nothing. 

Soon, it becomes quite hot. The  electricity has had hiccups before (ask Mark who has to re-set our  router each time), but never this long.  Apparently, one of our engines  has a problem. 

The power returns, the passengers sigh; the train is  still motionless. 

 -Roaming about on Amtrak
Amtrak boarding
Boarding trains in the Untied States tends to be like this, crowded and rushed. There just isn’t the kind of order that is demanded in Chinese train stations.
7:25pm: The train stops in Cleburne, TX to offload the passengers going  to Oklahoma who take a bus from here, because they missed their  connection in Fort Worth. 

We sit at this station for half an hour and  don’t know why. This is becoming infuriating! No information, just a  grumbling crowd. 

The way Amtrak “solves” problems is the epitome of  inefficiency. On all accounts. 

-Roaming about on Amtrak
High speed rail in the United States today.
America high-speed rail today. Here is a picture of contemporaneous American rail.
Like most passengers on the Texas Eagle that day (and, believe it or  not, but all the trains we took were fully booked), we are tempted to  say “Never Again”! 

Long-distance train journeys have a certain appeal.  Each one is an adventure. The ones on Amtrak even more so, it appears.  

What we have learned first-hand is that all the rumors about Amtrak are  true. The company is ran very inefficiently and nobody seems to care  about multiple-hour delays, reroutings or change of  itineraries/schedules except for the passengers. 

It was an experience,  but we are not jumping to do it again. Beware: anyone traveling on  Amtrak’s long distance trains should have lots of time, and no  connections! 

-Roaming about on Amtrak   

Let me tell you Liesbet that train looks absolutely first class compared  to our train and trip overnight from New York to New Orleans.  

What a  nightmare trip!!  

Let me guess why the trains are so bad going down  south.  Disgusting!!  The train was on freight lines so was very bumpy  and very uncomfortable.  

We did book first class, the guy laughed when  we asked where that was.  Yes, we were stood out like a sore thumb on  the train!! 

-  globalhousesitterX2

High Speed Rail elsewhere

The rest of the world uses High Speed rail. It’s a mature technology, and provides benefit to the people who live in the nations that have it.

Everyone has it. Except the United States.

Don’t believe me, well then take a look at these maps here. Here’s Europe.

European high speed rail map.
European High Speed Rail.

And how about tiny South Korea…

South Korean High SPeed Rail.
South Korean High Speed Rail.

Japanese High Speed Rail…

Japanese high speed rail network.
Japanese high speed rail network.

And, here’s Australia’s High Speed rail network (in construction)…

Australian high speed rail.
Australian high speed rail.

Here is the high speed rail in Brazil. It connects the largest cities for low cost, and fast transport for it’s citizens.

Brazil high speed rail.
Brazil high speed rail map. Showing the rail corridor that connects the largest cities together.

Here’s the high speed rail network for Italy…

Italian high speed rail map.
Italian high speed rail map.

Even tiny Java has high speed rail. What is America’s malfunction? Eh?

High speed rail in Java, Indonesia map.
High speed rail in Java, Indonesia.

Russia is in a class by itself

Russia has had rail for as long as the United States. However, they have worked out various agreements with the Chinese, and are now upgrading their trans-Siberian route to be High Speed Rail. And what an upgrade it is.

I mean, well I really admire Chinese High Speed rail, but OMG the Russians have taken it to the next step! And you can find out about their “budget” travel HERE.

Here’s a map of what it looks like.

Russia & Chinese High Speed Rail map.
Russia & Chinese High Speed Rail map. The Russians have collaborated with the Chinese to improve existing rail lines and upgrade them to High Speed Rail.

And here are some cross sections of the various cars. I particularly like the first class cabins. Maybe I can pretend to be James Bond and travel West with a Femme Fatale. Eh?

A femme fatale is a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. -Wikipedia
Golden eagle imperial class.
Golden Eagle Imperial class stateroom for first class passengers on the Russian trans-Siberian rail that is being upgraded by the Chinese to High Speed rail.
Golden eagle Gold class.
This is the staterooms for the Golden Eagle “Gold” class for the trans-Siberian High Speed rail.
The Golden Eagle is your luxurious hotel-on-wheels. Unpack just the  once and settle into your well- appointed and comfortable en-suite cabin  as you begin this voyage of a lifetime. One of your cabin attendants,  available at all times, will be on hand to look after all of your needs.

The  Golden Eagle, comprising three categories of cabins, featuring  state-of-the-art amenities, and all offering en-suite facilities, is the  only private train of its kind operating in this part of the world.

Our  newly introduced Imperial Suites are the most spacious cabins on the  Golden Eagle, and on any train in Russia. The Gold and Silver Class  accommodation has been cleverly designed to maximise the available space  as cabins covert from a sitting area by day into a comfortable sleeping  accommodation by night.

On the occasions where we travel by day,  your cabins provides a calm, personal space in which to read, enjoy a  DVD or simply watch the landscape unfold through the large picture  window and the facility to adjust the air-conditioning for your own  personal comfort.

All three classes of cabin benefit from an  evening turndown service and the services of a cabin attendant who is on  call 24 hours a day. Our onboard cabin attendants are highly regarded  by our guests for their impeccable service. In each cabin you will also  find an excellent selection of L’Occitane shower gels and shampoos,  complemented by premium bath robes, slippers and a hairdryer. 

-The Trans-Siberian Travel Company
Golden Eagle Imperial Class Golden Eagle Gold Class Golden Eagle Silver Class Shangri La Diamond Class Shangri La Heritage Class
There are three classes that you can can have when you travel by rail. Golden Eagle Imperial Class. Golden Eagle Gold Class. Golden Eagle Silver Class. There is also a Shangri La Diamond Class, and the Shangri La Heritage Class
Trans-Siberian high speed rail car layout.
Trans-Siberian high speed rail car layout.

Causes and Commentary

America is out of pace with the rest of the world in regards to high-speed, modern mass transit. America relies on personal automobiles, the airlines, and an antiquated railroad system that is corrupt and bureaucratic.

There are many reasons why America is unable to have high speed rail. The primary ones are politics, and corruption associated with politics.

In America, criminal enterprise that siphons enormous taxpayer funds into various “programs” has been institutionalized and made legal. These moneys are no longer available to American taxpayers for programs that support their life, their community, or their future.

They are siphoned away for “other” purposes.

America is throwing away money.
How about spending some of this money on American bridges, American public transportation, American education, American needs, and American rail? How about it eh? Or, are there too many wealthy people siphoning the money away?

An Intolerable Situation.

Interior of an American train car.
Vintage American rail. Art Deco design, with traditional order and behavior. It was a glad and welcome time; a time when men could work for a living and still keep almost all of his money without being bothered by the tax man.

Personally, I find this situation intolerable, as I have a personal love and affinity for AMERICAN rail. As a boy, I used to walk the railroad tracks that wound in and out of the hills of Western Pennsylvania. I used to explore the tunnels and old rail side communities. I used to stand in awe to those enormous engines that hauled the coal from the depths of the earth.

What American rail was.
This is what American rail used to be. It was large, powerful and proud. Not the wimpy bureaucratic corruption filled organization that it is today.

My first train ride was to university and I traveled the “red eye” from Erie, PA to Syracuse NY. I fell in love with rail from that moment on.

I loved everything about it.

I loved the stewards in the dining car with their white starched uniforms, to the big burly train conductor and his cheery announcements. I loved watching the countryside go by, and having a 5am breakfast of coffee and toast in the dining car.

American rail of bygone days.
In traditional conservative America, people were proud of America and it’s accomplishments. One of which was the rail lines. This is the America from my boyhood. What happened?

I lament this loss, and this post is my anger that corrupt people have taken something so wonderful, so fantastic, and turned it in to what it is today. Today it is nothing more than a failed business model staffed with the bland and the politically acceptable.

It is my hope; my prayer that other lovers of AMERICAN rail will wake up and wrest the rail industry from the corrupt politicians back to the people where it belongs.

Glory days of American rail.
The America that used to be, or it is it really over? What can we do to regain America to take back it’s glory days?

Article was posted on FR 26MAY19

This article was posted (well, the first three or so paragraphs, anyways) on the conservative website Free Republic on 26MAY19. The post is HERE, and some selected comments (from people who obviously didn’t read the article).

Here’s some of the best comments.

I used to work for this company that had a contract with a large corporation and I used to have to go in to the large Corporate Offices occasionally and I would go in early to grab a little breakfast in their cafeteria. That’s what I noticed that everybody who was on the “early work schedule” would get there early and then leisurely eat a breakfast and be up with their desks just before the normal 8 to 5 people showed up. Pretty sneaky, because the early workers left early… but didn’t put in a full day…that’s when I learned that having an early staff is probably inviting a little cheating into the workplace.

As a Ferroequinologist (railroad fan), I’m going to say, we can but let private companies do it. Virgin Trains is expanding Brightline from West Palm to Orlando…and onto Tampa…

Conclusion

So, to answer the question; “Why can’t America have High Speed Rail transportation?”, if you set aside all the rationalizations and justifications, there is but one conclusive answer.

In some ways, extreme populism actually is a symptom of this  institutional failure, and this brings me to my last point. Due to our  lack of a functioning institutional system, we are no longer able to  undertake great, long-term projects, or to address seriously deep  structural problems in our system in the long term. 

We suffer from a  kind of “tyranny of myopia.” We are incapable of operating as a country  on anything resembling a serious and long-term time horizon. 

-American Greatness

America does not have the ABILITY to create modern public transportation.

 I have not been to Niagara Falls in close to 30 years even though I  live 80 miles from there. I have driven by it many times over the years  but it was one of those things that since I had been there repeatedly as  a kid, I saw no need to go there again. 

Well, my kids are now 10 & 12 years and it was time to take them to see it. 

The  city of Niagara Falls is a total dump. It might as well be Detroit,  Newark NJ, The level of devastation is identical. It might as well be  the third world. 

Then, there is the New York State Park around  the American Falls. Like every park in New York state, it is a complete  embarrassment. This park should be a showplace, and yet it is a total  shithole. I was stunned at the complete lack of maintenance the shoddy  landscaping and the overall poor condition of the park as a whole. 
Obviously, the state has the money to squander on illegal aliens but the parks are a complete mess and an embarrassment. 

The  Canadian side park was well kept and was an attractive and enjoyable  place to be. The city of Niagara Falls, Ontario as a whole is not the  welfare basketcase that Niagara Falls NY is. 
Andrew Cuomo, Louise  Slaughter (now dead), and every other NY democRAT ('Nadless I'm looking  at you) should be ashamed of themselves for turning this place into a  disgrace. 

-Vanity Post

Some Updates

 A joint venture of Milan-based contractor Salini Impregilo and its  U.S. subsidiary Lane Construction Corp. have won a $14-billion  design-build contract for the planned high-speed rail project to connect  Dallas and Houston, with a total estimated cost of some $20 billion.

 Salini-Lane will provide civil and infrastructure scope for the  project, which includes design and construction of all 131 viaduct  sections and 130 embankment sections along the 240-mile route,  installation of the track system, and construction of all buildings and  services that will house maintenance and other equipment.

Not going to be made by Americans or American companies, though. Also the scope is going to be rather modest. 240 miles for $20 billion dollars.

Links about China

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

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
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Learning About 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

Articles & Links

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Really Strange China (Part 14)

Let’s continue on exploring China from the point of view of odd, strange and different from that of the “West”.

Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.

Chinese Malls

Chinese malls are everywhere, and they tend to be enormous. A mall is generally a sign of a healthy and functioning middle class. Before China kicked out the progressive liberal communists, there just weren’t any malls in China at all. Then, when Mr. Deng started to introduce Reaganomics (though under a Chinese-friendly name), the economy flourished, and malls started to pop up everywhere.

Here’s a typical mall. I think this one is in Hong Kong, if I am not mistaken.

Youngsters performing

I personally love this video. It shows some young drummers performing in front of an audience. It’s pretty cool.

Education for the children

In China, every spare moment that a child has seems to be packed into learning. This can be exhausting, and many children want to play some computer games to escape from “the grind”. You cannot blame them, can you?

Well, a number of Chinese parents figure that if you want to play a computer game, how about one where you can actually learn something. Thus, there is a market for business simulation games. This is a small, but growing niche, where you can become a farmer and eventually become a real estate tycoon. Or maybe try your luck moving a factory making widgets into a global enterprise. These simulations help that.

Here, a young elementary student can relax by running a farm and trying to make a profit…

RV Rental

In China you can buy, or rent recreational vehicles. You can do so just like it is done in the USA. Here’s what it looks like…

Chinese Roads

As I have alluded to previously, the Chinese don’t waste their time going up and down hills. They just build over them, and if there is a mountain in the way, they just plow straight through it. They do not mess around.

China is a nation with an enormous population.

Never forget that, eh? There was a reason why China instituted limits on the number of children that you can have. While they have removed this limitation, many Chinese has opted not to have too many children as they are unwilling to take on the increased tax burden.

And that is it. I hope that you enjoyed this posting of the strange and unusual life of China as compared to America.

Thank you for visiting. I hope that you enjoyed this post and maybe learned something new in the process. Have a wonderful rest of the day!

And, may your days and nights be filled with happiness.

Thank you.

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

Links about China

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

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

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

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

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.

Really Strange China (Part 13)

Here we continue with our various videos of life in China, and how strange it must appear to a foreigner.

Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.

Inside a bullet train

Bullet trains are all over China. There is an enormous network of them. They are very comfortable to ride in, and their cost is reasonable.

I looked at various sites on the internet, and it’s a hoot how everyone tries to justify the superiority of Amtrak compared to China’s bullet trains. They imply that China’s bullet trains are nothing to be proud of.

It’s funny, but sad too. You know, the first step in recognizing you have a problem is to face up to it, and announce that you have a problem. (12 step program for those of you who don’t know the reference.)

They do one on one comparisons and come to the conclusion that they are similar. What a laugh. The trains are similar. How can you possibly come to that conclusion?

The one article (linked above) starts off straight forward enough…

Comparision of China's bullet train to amtrack.

But then it starts to show a bunch of photos how they are really just pretty similar, aside from the price, and speed. As if the train stations are identical. (Have you been to an Amtrak train station lately? Talk about a run-down 1960’s era ghetto.)

Really?

Here’s a screen capture from the article listed above.

amtrack comparison 1
In the comparison they say that the two systems are pretty much the same. After all, it is the politically correct thing to say. Right?

What’s what the article says. Then, it shows this following picture.

Is that the only difference?
Is that the only difference? Really? Are you so dumb founded blind in political correctness not to notice the differences right in front of your face?

In China, the stewardesses are all female. They are all attractive, and rated in beauty, physical appearance, and weight. They are all under 35 years of age.They are trained to be demure and act very respectfully.

In America on Amtrak, there are no age, appearance, weight or gender requirements. The attendants can be polite or not, fat or not, ugly or not, burly or not. In the progressive reality that is America today that is the reality. But don’t deny what is right in front of your eyes just for the sake of political correctness.

This is what the interior of one looks like…

And here’s the view outside…

Oh, and while I am at it, here is what the over all appearance and image that the Chinese bullet trains have in China and around the world.

In contrast Amtrak is viewed as sluggish, antiquated, and brutish. Check out the video and then go ride on Amtrak to see what I am talking about.

Train Stations

Here’s a quick comparison in train stations.

First, we check out Amtrak’s stations. The photo below is a historical station known as Sandpoint. Now, don’t get the wrong idea.

I do happen to love history and American rail has had so many absolutely awesome train stations. What about the one on Allegheny avenue in Pittsburgh, or the massive complex in Detroit? Ah, but they are all gone now.

American rail.
American train station – Sandpoint station. This is typical of what remains in the United States for railroad stations for passengers.

All that remains are little quonset hut kind of affairs. You know the kind used to give the impression of progressive advancement by tearing down the old. Sad.

Now, let’s look at the train stations that you would encounter were you to board a train in China. This is from the 3nd tier city Tianjin. It’s third tier, ya all! It’s just a little Po-dunk city.

Chinese train station.
Chinese train station in Tianjin, China. It is new. Well taken cared for, and well maintained. There are no beggars and the floors are so clean that you could eat off them.
China high speed rail.
Chinese high-speed rail. Look at all those bullet trains. How many billions and billions of dollars was spent for the California high-speed rail, and what? Only 15 miles were completed, and not one single train was fabricated? What a waste. America is much better than that.

Ask yourself how, and why can China do this, but much bigger, and better USA cannot? Maybe fighting eight simultaneous wars and spending 65% of welfare benefits on illegal aliens has something to do with it. Eh?

Maybe. But I also like to think that part of it is because China is a meritocracy.

America has so much to be proud of, yet we have let our achievements grow fallow, and our leadership become corrupt. We, our parents, and our grandparents are all responsible for the sad, sad state of affairs in America today.

Pittsburgh train station.
Pennsylvania Railroad Station Pittsburgh

How bridges are made in China

Once you visit China, you will notice that everything seems to be above the ground. All the highways seem to go over the houses and through the mountains. This differs from the United states, where the roads must curve around and get permissions to build and put roads in. Not so in China.

They just build over everything. It’s sort of like this…

Classes and testing in China

Classes in such a populous nation as China can get to be pretty enormous. The same is true for tests and testing. Here is sort of what it can look like…

Uses for a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle

The Chinese people do tend to be a bit innovative. This is especially true in the rural countryside. Here we see how an old Harley is being utilized on the farm, as it were.

And that is about it for now. Let’s continue with our exploration further, shall we…

OK. At numerous videos for this part, let’s go and move on to the next post which covers even more strangeness inside of China this month…

Continued-graphic-arrow

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

Links about China

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

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

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

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

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.