OT: China cracks down on shoddy statues of Chairman Mao
MJKolodziej
"Some souvenirs sold were physically disproportional while others were made
with low-quality materials in a slipshod way,"
oly
wrote:
> http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65K40J20100621?loomia_ow=t0:s0:...
>
> "Some souvenirs sold were physically disproportional while others were made
> with low-quality materials in a slipshod way,"
Have you seen the Oba-Mao tee-shirts???
The Chinese are smart when it comes to politicians.
oly
Mr. Jaggers
You know damn well that the Chinese have the entire U.S. government by the
short hairs. So knock off this Oba-Mao crap.
James
oly
I'm not making this stuff up. The Chinese have tee-shirts with His
Highness in the green fatigues and the little military cap, a la the
Cultural Revolution. Shirts say "Oba-Mao". I am so dense it took me
half-a-dozen times to figure it out. The thread is about Chinese
souvenirs. Germane. Google it.
oly
oly
Mr. Jaggers
Nowhere did I accuse you of making anything up. My objection is to your
obvious glee in reporting a story unfavorable to the President. It seems
that public discourse has degenerated into snarky sound bites and slogans
these days. It has become impossible to find rational discussion of the
issues. This practice will spell the end of our Republic, sure as you're
born.
James
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
I basically understood what you meant, and less than two years ago,
the IQ of the then-incumbent was perfectly fair game, everyday, 24/7,
among the liberal cognoscenti.
This "snarkiness" is as old as the Republic; but since Son Altesse is
a ultra-liberal so-and-so racial quota filler, he's supposed to be
untouchable???
I think not.
Will the Republic survive??? Not forever. The twenty years I
need??? I think so. But we can certainly point out that even the
Chinese souvenir manufacturers aren't fooled by this dude.
oly
Mr. Jaggers
I am not part of the liberal cognoscenti. I am a poster to rcc. Never once
did I make any observation in these pages relative to the IQ of the
then-incumbent, and you know that damn well also. You are not part of the
conservative cognoscenti. You are a poster to rcc. So what is your point
in injecting political venom into the numismatic dialog? I was sitting here
minding my own business until I saw that.
> This "snarkiness" is as old as the Republic; but since Son Altesse is
> a ultra-liberal so-and-so racial quota filler, he's supposed to be
> untouchable???
If you want to have a rational discussion, I'm available 24/7. But to now
use additional condescending language such as "Son Altesse" sets the
discussion back even more. And I probably do not even dare ask you to
provide details on your latest two darts: his being ultra-liberal and being
a racial quota filler. Those are perfect examples of the hit-and-run
tactics of media blowhards of all stripes.
For your information, if you think Obama is an ultra-liberal, you just don't
know your history very well. I know for a fact that you do indeed know your
history quite well, so what you are engaging in with these two accusations
is just more of the same BS that I can hear on talk radio. RCC is not talk
radio and you are not Rush Limbaugh. Are you incapable, as he is, of
presenting your case in a rational, polite, non-snarky manner, and with
documentation to back up your claims?
Of course, no politician is untouchable. We need capable observers to be
constant watchdogs. But watchdogs are ineffective when they take gratuitous
potshots. Nothing positive comes out of such activity.
> I think not.
>
> Will the Republic survive??? Not forever. The twenty years I
> need??? I think so. But we can certainly point out that even the
> Chinese souvenir manufacturers aren't fooled by this dude.
The Chinese souvenir manufacturers know perfectly well what will sell to
slow-witted Americans who wallow in the ignorant, backward rhetoric that has
taken our country by storm. They couldn't care less who is our leader or
what his/her politics/religion might be, as long as they can make a buck -
er, a yuan - off it.
James
Mr. Jaggers
> oly krabde zich op het hoofd en verklaarde te 22-6-2010:
> The Netherlands we've had elections some days ago, and the the leader
> of the (cough) Dutch labour party was portrayed like this:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2drke26
>
> His last name is Cohen, which in a distance resembles the sound of
> 'can' if spoken out swiftly in Dutch. So: Yes, we can, becomes: Yes,
> we Cohen.
>
> And I surely don't dislike Obama as president of the U.S.A. but the
> likes of Che Guevara is still on T.shirts, bags, posters, you name it,
> because he made an important impression as an 'important politician'
> to this world. Or is it? When I talk to the people who wear such
> prints, they really don't know he was a director to a prison at Cuba
> and signed dozens of death warrants convincting people to death.
>
> Let Obama do his work and let us condemn or pray him afterwards. Just
> a thought, hey?
Nothing like Cohen's detractors portraying him as Lénine. Another example
of ignorant politics. But many people are so incapable of rational
discussion, they resort to such tactics. Nor does the pathology respect
national boundaries, it seems.
James
oly
> of ignorant politics. But many people are so incapable of rational
> discussion, they resort to such tactics. Nor does the pathology respect
> national boundaries, it seems.
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
Well, I'd never heard of him, but the "Cohen" certainly raises ???
questions. But, I have absolutely no intention of ...
oly
oly
I've tried to calm you by pointing out that Rush is just an
entertainer, selling a certain brand of mouthwash.
If the fact that Elton John just sang at Rush's wedding doesn't tell
you it's all whooey, then you're over-fixated.
oly
Mr. Jaggers
Entertainment, eh? Like public beheadings, cockfighting, and throwing
Christians to the lions is entertainment.
> If the fact that Elton John just sang at Rush's wedding doesn't tell
> you it's all whooey, then you're over-fixated.
Now there's a non-sequitur if I ever saw one.
But, I come back to this newsgroup after two weeks absence, and find this
SOS the first time out. Think I'll move along. Enjoy the forum.
James
oly
Peter
>
> - Show quoted text -
Job Cohen has made something of a name for himself in NL, by reaching
out (and having discussions with) the Moslem immigrants. Like many of
the Dutch he is pretty good at discussion. Unlike some of his
predecessors in politics, he is pushing the immigrants to assimilate
and be a part of society.
Peter
>
> - Show quoted text -
Rational discussion of varying degrees of intellectual depth is
available in several venues in the vicinity of Bethesda, Md.
Depending on the flavor that pleases, I could introduce you to at
least 4 varieties per week.
Scott Stevenson
So it's not just the junk they export to the US?
take care,
Scott
"I did not know that"
Jerry Dennis
into a slightly warm discussion.
BOYS! Play nice. Have you not read ANY blog about any subject on any
website or ISP? There's always someone who manages to take any
subject and throw a serious political spin on it.
(Aren't puppies soft, warm and lovable? Bush/Obama/Cheney/Pelosi EATS
puppies! Everything is their fault. The commies are going to take
over the country and nobody is going to stop them.)
My biggest concern isn't the rhetoric itself; it's the mentality of
those who write it. Those people most likely vote. That's scary.
Jerry
Mr. Jaggers
I hadn't planned on revisiting this thread, but your excellent post above
affords me an opportunity to take my leave on a positive note. Thanks!
Some people define "spin" as "any opinion contrary to mine". Regardless of
its definition, spin, as you accurately point out, is ubiquitous and
inevitable.
Spin is not the problem, though. The problem rests with those who direct
their invective at only one end of the political spectrum 100% of the time.
Their tools consist mostly of snarky soundbites and slogans, which serve as
hand grenades that they can throw into a discussion and then run and hide,
avoiding further engagement. Never will you see them provide well-crafted
arguments outlining their views and offering any kind of evidence to support
those views. These people very often get their "opinions ready-to-wear" in
turn from media blowhards (oops, I mean entertainers) who are in turn paid
handsomely by entities who are wealthier than any of us can possibly imagine
to carry their water, politically emasculating their audiences by validating
them, making them feel "wanted" as part of a group, and then making them
incapable of even-handed evaluation of the issues. Such an arrangement, of
course, removes them as barriers against the agendas of those mostly
anonymous entities. And, as is the case with the adherents of the Rev.
Moon, even professional deprogramming will not always make them whole.
The quartet you name as worthy of censure shows that you hold all
politicians accountable, not just those on one side of the aisle. At one
time long ago, print media served as the political watchdogs. Gone are
those days. Twitter, Facebook, Usenet, blogs, radio talkers, and 24/7 cable
"news" have replaced them, and they are all notoriously poor stewards of the
truth.
Objective thinkers such as yourself are what will save our Republic, if it
is yet to be saved. Keep up the good work! I will try to do likewise, but
I'm tired of doing it on rcc. And I guess I'll have to concede the point to
Reid in his declarations about the reasons for the demise of Usenet.
James
Jerry Dennis
I agree, James. Well said.
Jerry
"Roßert G. Schaffrath"
> oly wrote:
> This practice will spell the end of our Republic, sure as you're
> born.
>
> James
>
I think the Republic is doomed no matter who is in power or what our
rulers do. We have a national debt we can never payoff. You just
cannot extract that much money, in the form of taxes and fees, from the
people and expect them to be able to continue about their business. The
discretionary portion of the Federal budget is not large enough to
really make a dent even if you completely eliminated it. That leaves
defense, debt service and Social Security/Medicare. Good luck with that!
We have states that are in financial ruin. Had they been private
businesses, they would have been hauled into bankruptcy court years ago,
liquidated and their corporate officers thrown into jail for fiscal
malfeasance. Yet you see many of those states such as New York, New
Jersey and California continuing as though nothing is really happening.
The politicians still collect their paychecks and work on new clever
ways to get more fees and taxes out of us. New York is thinking up new
ones as I write this.
Yes, I think the Republic is doomed but from the ashes, new and better
institutions can arise. It is amazing what you can do when you have a
clean slate.
oly
wrote:
I agree with the spirit of a lot of what you say, but feel that you
are very glib in an "ostrich"-kind of fashion. If you are over forty
years-old or so, time itself may not be on your side.
By your way of thinking, beautiful Illinois would already demonstrate
literal failures of our economy, infrastructure, etc. After all, we
are the most "broke" State in the union - the cost of "credit default
swaps" on Illinois bonds is the highest of all the fifty states and
presently rests between CDS on Iran and Portugal, acording to some
Internet sources. However, thus far, no riots, no burning slums, no
looting and the main visible problem is that the Illinois Comptroller
isn't cutting timely checks to the State's vendors and school
districts (OMG, the poor school districts!).
WE don't know what real ruin is, although we're probably gonna get the
"opportunity" to find out.
The liberal and "something-for-nothing" crowd won't like what's
coming. That's the rub. And they're gonna worship Barry Hussein
Soetoro and his redistributionist ilk until the last minute - the
moment when all those "benefits"/ all that paper money won't buy them
malt liquor and cigarettes anymore. Or buy any tinned meat for the
catt on the third of the month. A situation a la Zimbabwe. The
unearned "government check" dependant crowd is almost entirely in
denial to a man and woman.
However, FWIW, I think that I very well DO know what our nostalgic
resident classic '60s Liberal is suggesting - that the long debacle
following a collapse of our present politival and economic system(s) -
a collapse that seemingly must occur - that it won't be pleasant for
us bullheaded, mean-spirited and bigoted Ultra-Conservatives either.
There may (and I mean maybe, just possibly, remtely, a very slender
chance) still be an American Republic at the end of the "Time of
Troubles", but even a fifty-one year old such as myself may not live
long enough to see the restoration. The times between now and then
aren't going to be anything like the easy easy easy Western/ American
era of 1946-2007.
The debt-based prosperity of the 1920s was followed by ten years of
economic deflation and depression and then a Second World War before
we got back to the somewhat sane(r) 1950s. In the interim period,
probably 75+ million people died "prematurely" in various parts of the
world, although Americans themselves were relatively lucky. So your
glibness about a "clean slate" & wonderful future displays some degree
of optimism/ ignorance. America and the Western democracies have
built the financial and socialist excesses far far higher than those
that accumulated in say 1914 to 1929. Accordingly, we will be rather
lucky if it only takes until 2027 to wash out all the excesses.
As you note, not that much has happened - yet. People are still going
through the motions and still hoping for a government bailout of
whatever entity provides their own unearned monthly check. At most,
the nation may still only be spinning our wheels in "1930", or we
might only be replaying "late 1929"!!!
Finally, let's just point out that this thread is clearly labeled "OT"
and has been since its inception.
oly
--------------------
"Optimism is the mania for declaring that all is well, when all is
going very badly" - aphorism attributed to Francois-Marie Arouet
(1694-1778).