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Friday Night Free for All

It's Friday. Don't the Olympic Games kick off today? I found a picture of the opening ceremony. It's good they got a bright sunny day, and obviously they've now got the smog under control.

About 90% of the athletes have tested positive for high levels of chemicals, but it turned out to be pollutants from the surrounding city. They are allowed to compete, if they recover in time.

Stop by and drop a comment. But before you read on, warning - this 5 minute brain dump may be far too contemplative for a Friday of idle chit chat. Read it at your peril. Or are you yellow?

Many people are already over the Olympics. Part of the problem is that China wanted to use them as an entree into the Western World as a new, improved, re-marketed, re-branded and re-modeled country. In many ways they are, and China is a country full of promise and potential and it's impact on the world stage in the next 50 years is perhaps going to be bigger than we can imagine. However, China has one major problem, as far as the western world is concerned. I think this stems not so much from it's political history, but it's culture.

We view China through very western eyes, our brains interpreting things in very western ways. Thus, our criticisms are often very harsh and somewhat unjust (in my humble opinion). That is not to say they are not without foundation, but we make our judgments on the basis that we are absolutely right. Our own history, built on the development of Christian ideals has been tested and battle tested and our economic superiority has allowed us to feel confident our moral superiority is justified.

But as time goes on, we are losing the economic battle and the moral one. Our society is in decay. Our values and traditions have been attacked and eroded, and as society continues to change and evolve, more and more people are questioning if these changes are a good thing. Have we peaked and don't see the inevitable decline if we remain on this course?

Interestingly, China which its own distinct and rich culture is also changing, but the potential is to bring about a synthesis of the best from the west tempered by the wisdom of the east. Christianity is a fast growing religion in China, and as China grows to embrace the values of the West, we may see them in the position where they can use their new economic might to ensure they reject the materialistic excesses of the west, and absorb the spiritual values we demand they adopt. Soon, they will be able to judge us, and will they say "hypocrites"?

Comments

  1. Actually, the image came from the Diablo III web site and features some preview art. All credits to them, all rights reserved etc.

    BTW: Some of the website graphics only work with DivX codecs installed. They have links there for a free set if required.

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  2. Interesting perspective. Christianity does grow fastest where it is persecuted - but that means Christians are still persecuted there. Although Christianity is growing there, we are still much freer to practice our faith here.

    China does have a repressive Communist government too. And a big army. So I am not overly keen about them gaining too much economic advantage!

    One of the big problems I have with measures such as Kyoto being promoted to fight global warming is that they depress economic activity in the West and push wealth to communist China and other 'developing' countries. This could have serious military consequences a few years down the track, especially for such a natural-resource-rich and militarily weak country as ourselves.

    Either America, China or a confederation of Islamic states will be the dominant force over the next few years. And even with its many failings, America would be my preference. China still has a way to go.

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  3. Evening all.
    I'm not willing to bet that China will become any less totalitarian just because they become richer. They'll simply be more lethal because they will then have the money to build increasingly sophisticated military capability.
    If it's a race between totalitarianism and newfound prosperity driving humanitarian values...my money's on repression and brutality winning.
    Who cares if they come to regard us as hypocrites sometime in the future? They loathe the West and hold us in contempt anyway and that isn't likely to change any time soon.

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  4. The CEOs of global companies often prefer to do business with authoritarian regimes; they can get faster decisions than they can in democracies. But these CEOs also find that they must be more responsive to the desires of the authoritarian regimes than to those of the democracies. Where there are conflicting national interests, the global CEOs are likely to line up on the side of the authoritarians and even to become lobbyists for them within the democracies.

    The key problem is the asymmetry of governmental power over corporations in democratic and authoritarian regimes. In Washington, a CEO of a major corporation is an important political player who makes big PAC donations, maintains legions of lawyers and lobbyists, files lawsuits against the government, writes legislation, and influences regulatory decisions. In Beijing, Riyadh, or Moscow, however, the same CEO is a supplicant. He doesn't file lawsuits against these governments; indeed, he needs to maintain favor and keep the bureaucrats and party operatives happy.

    Moreover, he will use his influence in Washington to do what is necessary to curry favor in authoritarian capitals. This is why the Business Round Table and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been telling the Congress not to worry about China's currency-management policies that put U.S.-based producers at a disadvantage. Many in the global business community have effectively become lobbyists for the autocrats.

    The standard argument in U.S. economic and foreign-policy circles is that globalization, by making nations richer, will also make them more democratic. In fact, the global corporation acts as a conveyor belt to carry non-democratic values into democratic societies. This is not to say it can't work the other way around, but the power relationships are such that it's more natural for a Google to yield to China's Internet police than to defy them. The CEOs may kowtow in more plush surroundings than other supplicants, but their position is just the same.

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  5. Evening All

    fugley, if you're going to litter the countryside with your anti capitalist diarrhea, you might have the decency to keep your comments brief and think for yourself. From whose website did you pinch this load of bullshit?

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  6. Sorry adolf, I missed the tag line showing source.

    http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=our_ceos_their_foreign_agents

    And as for anticapitalist, the author was one of Ronnie Reagan's men, so hardly fits that mould.

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  7. Bit of hail in Christchurch.

    I believe in trade warfare. A more open China means greater transmission of ideals, and the best ideas win. That's why Christianity is on the out. ;)

    But when it comes to the games I think it's all bullshit. Athletes are ruining themselves rather than being well-rounded, and the state-run sports are a huge inefficient use of resources for the benefit of the ruling powers. Same story whoever hosts.

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  8. Evening all! How's the weather where you are? It's been stink in Wangavegas all day. I'm actually just looking forward to the Olympics for the Olympics.

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  9. Evening all, Weather has been great today up here IV2.
    The Olympics...
    I think they should stop drug testing and let them go for it. Imagine a 6 second 100 metres with the winners heart bursting out of his chest at the finish line. Now that would be must see TV.
    My enthusiasm for the games dropped dramatically when the Queens fragrant grand daughter had to withdraw when her horse went crook. It just wont be the same without her boobs bouncing up and down.
    Health update for those that are interested. I have spent an entire week without a dash to Whangerai. INR has stabilised between 2.2 and 2.6. If it is still there after my Monday blood test I will be going in next week to be KILLED and electrocuted back to life.
    I am looking forward to a "He is risen" post next week.
    And half of my kids are visiting for the weekend so fish and chips and cartoon channel is the evening in progress.

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  10. Evening all, are we doing puns tonight?

    Looking at the last round of rankings, it's clear that halfdone needs a bit of a bost, so I'm out pressing the flesh (to the computer chair) and networking (tcp/ip over ethernet cat5e to be precise).

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  11. Oh and due to the occasion, I should say Nimen hao ma?

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  12. Always room for a pun on this blog Half Done! 'Press the flesh' away. I suppose that tcp/ip is a handshaking protocol then?

    China, the big paper tiger in the room. Certainly the country we need to figure in all the "what if" scenarios we can run. Some good, some bad. One benefit will have to be more really bad martial art movies. I'm looking forward to that.

    Good luck with you dying and coming back again BB. Just to be on the safe side, maybe arrange for some extra cells to be frozen so they can clone you if anything that goes wrong. Either that, or ask for some kind of warranty.

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  13. BB, when you are reincarnated or reincinerated (depending on how many volts)you should ask for a new birth certificate. Then you can get free doctor's visits for the next six years.

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  14. Greetings BB - so it's next week that you'll have your death and resurrection experience eh - it'll be interesting to hear how it goes. Not quite three days though!

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  15. Let's try that again.
    你好吗?

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  16. Evening all except fugly the vile one.
    Nice to see the pollies stop throwing mud at each other so they continue their rip off perks.

    Would a principled politician please stand up? Yeah right mate, not in this country where dog eat dog in a infected Beehive fill of selfish and deluded gits.

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  17. 新西兰 is going to be one of the last counties into the stadium tonight - does anyone know what time?

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  18. I think Winston has to be one of the most principled politican's around d4, it's just that his principle is "me first".

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  19. Hi Adolf, Zen, and co. A dreary evening here in West Auckland.
    I trust all goes well with your procedure next wek BB. It would be awful if our career paths overlapped.

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  20. You're not wrong scrubone. But WhaleOil's post last night (random questions) suggested that Mr Peters doesn't always keep the best of company.

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. Keeping up scrub's "pun theme" Grant, would BB be too much of an undertaking for you?

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  23. The pun thing is my ongoing joke - I always join this thread like that :)

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  24. IV2, let's say that one could have grave concerns for his wellbeing.
    G

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  25. On a more cheerful note, can anyone tell me where I can find a decent pipi bed within an hour's drive on the North Shore?

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  26. If only I had shown the foresight to get myself a whopping great student loan. They wipe it if you snuff it.
    I cannot do chinese characters but how about this!
    ¿ɐuıɥɔ uı dn puǝ llıʇs noʎ op `uʍop ʇɥƃıɐɹʇs ƃıp noʎ ɟı

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  27. Choices- headphones or retreat into the freezing garage.

    Whatever happened to 'Children should be seen and not heard'?

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  28. In truth mate, I just loaded it up tonight for the occasion.

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  29. Ahh- mother has spoken- go to bed you little oiks!

    2 minutes and I put the Corporal Punishment hat on!

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  30. And here is a site to show you exactly where you would end up if you dug straight down..
    http://www.ubasics.com/dighole/
    I would be just east of a village called Larache on th Atlantic coast of Morrocco. In the bend of a river bed to be precise.

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  31. I come out at a crossroads near the village of Donhierro, just to the northwest of Madrid.

    Spain sounds nicer that Africa!

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  32. Spain is nicer than Morrocco, the same way that the bay of islands is much nicer than anywhere south of the Bombays!

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  33. Middle of nowhere by the looks for us - which my wife say is where we live here :)

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  34. Think I need a new icon - what do people think of this one?
    http://www.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/pd--10092547/sp--A/The_Thinker.htm

    Also, you could try doing what I did and type in "the thinker" into google and look at the first result (which is an image). Make sure the kids are gone first!

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  35. I wonder if Tauranga comes out in Monaco?

    Just back from a Pizza and Wine run.

    I don't have any chinese characters, so I'll do this sentence in subtitles

    "Your horse splashed the gold forest"

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  36. Heh! On both the thinkers. I liked the second image in the google search. It's a classic.

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  37. 我的马没有做那.
    您弄错。

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  38. Good Evening everyone.
    Good to see you have had a better week BB and that the kids are with you.
    I just got back from the Coromandel.
    The latest installment of Animal Planet in my kitchen will be posted shortly.
    Where's David Attenborough?

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  39. Changed it - test to see if it works.

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  40. If not your horse, then whose?

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  41. Hm, online translation will only take you so far:

    晚上好大家。
    好看您有更好的星期B到B,并且孩子是以您。
    我从Coromandel回来了。
    动物行星的最新的就职在我的厨房里短期将被张贴。
    在哪里是大卫Attenborough ?

    Evening good everybody.
    Attractive you have better week B to arrive B, and the child is by you.
    I came back from Coromandel.
    Animal planet newest taking office the short-term is posted in mine kitchen.
    In where is David Attenborough?

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  42. Too much fun:
    fugley,如果您乱丢乡下以您的反资本家腹泻,您也许有正派保留您的评论摘要和认为为你自己。 从谁的网站您是否捏了胡说这装载?

    fugley, if you randomly throw the countryside by yours counter-capitalist diarrhea, perhaps you have retain your commentary abstract honestly and think for you. From whose website you whether pinched talked nonsense this loading?

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  43. Freezing in the garage, but the rugrats have finally finished the curtain calls and I now have another 150 rounds loaded up.

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  44. My goodness, all these comments make sense more than empty bucket this moment. I vision the destination you have not yet reached, and the place you were at yesterday.

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  45. 150 rounds Oswald?

    So it's not golf we are talking about? (He says, shooting the breeze).

    When you have 150 rounds, what exactly looks like a target?

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  46. "Kiwis have only eight sheep per person"
    http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24147813-401,00.html

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  47. Somebody must be hoarding sheep.

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  48. I think you're on to it, KG. And I have my suspicions.

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  49. Would an innocent man spend a freezing evening out in his shed, playing with lead and gunpowder?
    Nossir...the answer to the great sheep shortage is either that person, or we've reached the point of Peak Sheep.

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