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A good article on the corner that China is in on both the South China Seas and Hong Kong in the SCMP The lesson Hong Kong must learn from the South China Sea If rocks, atolls and reefs are a “core interest” to the Communist Party, the city must be far more important – which is why it should be wary of provoking Beijing

Great story Carl. My ex-wife and Wenyan are and have been friends. When the two of them are in the same room they are usually laughin' at me. I know my ass is gettin' kicked when I am in the same county as those two....but it is hilarious....I don't give a shit who gets laughed at, let's jest laugh...I always say.

I think we all could write a book about our experience. Maybe some day..... I recently read about a woman sculptor who married a Chinese man. Her house was filled with her work but he did not find it very interesting at all. While he was driving home one day, he saw someone had thrown away a huge portrait print (not litho -- just plain printed like from a machine or laser printer) that was lying by the side of the road. He picked it up, got home, and moved all her work to another room, and nailed the print right to the front room wall. Ayup, that is art. I would have just killed the man. But believe me my wife is not beyond doing something like that. She touches my guitars and she will be sleeping with her friends. My story and I am sticking to it....

Having been married to a Japanese woman and currently married to a Chinese woman I can tell you there's a little bit of truth in all of those statements. There are a lot of differences but also some similarities. Like most Asians they are both concerned with not losing face. My wife is probably not typically Chinese. She's not greatly concerned with how much money I make. My ex was always after me to to figure out how to make more money. She would also nit pick over trivial shit and never forgot a past misdeed. Bing on the other hand doesn't pick at me and once a misdeed is made and resolved it's forgotten. My wife is definitely not #13. She would never cause me to lose face in public. She has no problem berating me in private though. I will relate a story that points out some differences. When Bing and I first married my ex wanted to meet her so she invited us over for lunch. I wasn't crazy about the idea but Bing wanted to meet her so I grudgingly went along with it. Japanese people are polite to a fault. They could hate your guts and you would probably never notice it. Chinese people can be incredibly blunt. About half way into our visit, with Junko being the polite hostess and serving us with great care Bing came right out and point blank says "why divorce?" Junko was taken completely off guard and after some hemming and hawing stuttered something about people growing apart etc etc etc. Bing wasn't buying it. after we left she told me she then understood what I had previously told her.

Best of the best? Dude, I've had a couple hundred CAs and CEs and 99% of those were via a slick with a chopper jockey on the stick. Not always in cold LZs. In Hue a slick jockey saved 7 of us after his bird was shot to hell and turbo smoking. Long story but he was awarded the MH for it. Anyone who goes into harms way for his brothers was the best of the best!