Bank Robber or Fashionista- WTF Does That Chinese Woman Have on Her Head?

I saw this the other day and I have no idea wtf that thing is. It was a pretty windy day so I guess the lady just decided to stuff some Reynolds Wrap around her face.

170420115939

170420115940

Dew Drop Inn in China

Chongqing China Photo

Photo of ONe Determined Chinese Woman Toting a Bunch of Stuff

I Love Honest People- Ethics in China

I am a happy man today, why am I happy you ask? Well it’s because I was doing some biz with the good folks back home. The funny thing is that when dealing with westerners it is quite easy. You say what you want or you offer your services and settle upon a price and viola, you get to work. IMHO a gentleman’s agreement from a westerner will usually suffice for small freelance jobs. This is one of the things I truly miss about the land of eternal optimism -USA. The idea that a person will honor their word and pay the price quoted is a given, as far as I’m concerned. China, on the other hand is the complete opposite. Right about now Missy Birnbaum in BrokePlains New Jersey has stamped out her Pal-Mal in disgust as she calls me a ignorant ass. She then goes on to complain that just four years ago Max Middlestein from up the road failed to pay her the $43.76 for the day and a half she logged at the filling station. At this point I would tell little Missy B to hush right up while the big folks are talking, for the pain and suffering she may have endured by this slight, pales in comparison to what some honest people who have come to this place have run up against. While I spent more time in both Mexico and Brazil (combined) then I have here, I never once got screwed on a payment in either country. In addition, back in the land of innovation and love -USA I never got ganked either. Now Elbert Hinkey, Missy’s neighbor is sharing her angst as he recalls something about statistics and the requirement of a large sample size in order to get a truly significant and trustworthy result. To Mr. Hinkey I would say ‘bravo’ for setting down the bong long enough to feel an emotion but I would then say that he should allow me to continue. To wit, it is not just your humble author/servant/complainer that has been ganked by the people who suffer through an existence in this place, but many of his friends and associates as well. At present I know of at least three people who uprooted their lives to come to China only to be screwed by companies here. They were either lied to about pay or terms of service, but in any event had they been in civilization, they could sue. In addition, all of my friends who work for a large Chinese privately held company that is notorious have been screwed on pay, ie salary agreed to in a contract was 25% less than actual. Add to this the myriad of stories from friends of friends and it becomes quite obvious why the Chinese don’t even trust Chinese companies. While all of my dealings with Chinese friends and foreign owned companies have proven that the people associated with them are as honorable as anyone on the planet, your typical Chinese business person in a typical Chinese owned company , from what I have heard, lived and seen, is not. So consider me happy that I can deal with the good people of the world while enjoying the good of Beijing and avoiding the rest.

Off Topic But Hilarious Photos

I swear I think I broke a spleen I laughed so hard at this site. These are from this site freaking hilarious posts here http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/randomComicViewer.php http://www.superpoop.com/archives/2009/Jan/

Hilarious Post from mylaowai.com on the Swine Flu Epidemic

This is a hilarious post from http://www.mylaowai.com. It was posted during the period of the swine flu epidemic from here http://mylaowai.com/2009/05/

Chinese Rules of the Road- There are None

This is what it looks like when you put a bunch of people with the self control of a kitten behind the wheel of a car. This is actually a street and not a parking lot, but the Chinese, living like Chinese, each attempt to sate their needs while disregarding those of their fellow men.

Freedom of Speech in the USA v China

Below is a funny blurb about Obama being heckled at a fund raiser. The leader of the group was allegedly escorted from the dinner. To me this shows a certain amount of civility and humanity. If this had happened in China, can you imagine what Uncle C would have done? from yahoo news As President Obama addressed the crowd at a breakfast fundraiser in San Francisco Thursday, he fielded some audience input that he wasn’t bargaining for. A woman in the crowd suddenly rose from her seat and said: “Mr. President, we wrote you a song,” according to the White House pool report. The president attempted to quiet her, but the woman and her table of donors at the St. Regis Hotel breakfast broke into song and raised signs that read “Free Bradley Manning”–the Army intelligence specialist accused of releasing diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks”

China’s Scary Iron Fist on Dissent and Why The Media is Mostly Silent

Here is a great article on Ai WeiWei and the media’s handling of China’s current practice of jailing or ‘disappearing’ dissidents. The article states that China in essence, is being handled with ‘kid gloves’ and not being held accountable for their practices. From here: Salman Rushdie, in his comment article, maintains that China has become the world’s greatest threat to freedom of speech. Who can argue with that? The arrest this month of the artist Ai Weiwei, and his subsequent disappearance, is the latest attempt by Beijing to silence not merely dissenting voices, but anyone with the temerity even to question the way the country is run. Over the past few weeks, dozens of lawyers, writers, bloggers and activists have been arrested and charged with “subversion” in a crackdown on free expression every bit as sinister as that seen in Soviet Russia. However, whereas Western governments denounced the treatment of Soviet dissidents such as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, there has been a shameful silence where China is concerned. Other than a short-lived burst of criticism at the 11-year jail sentence imposed on Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace laureate, we have not seen the sustained international opprobrium that Beijing deserves. Not long after Mr Ai’s arrest on April 3, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said: “I call on the Chinese government to urgently clarify Ai’s situation and wellbeing, and hope he will be released immediately.”