Allon

Yup, looks like the American farmer will start feeling the pinch, as usual in a trade war.

32% in 4 months is indicative of hyperdiaperism. Consider the source.

I eat limburger too and some PrimHost or Primost. Gjetost. Colostrum cheese. And barf my guts up later. Norwegian father..... The tofu sounds bad, considering I hate normal tofu. And I smell Mandarin fish nearly every day.

I saw that and a similar article (somewhere) and I think it's pretty accurate. I just wish there were other ways of getting the result both sides want.

The short answer to me is yes,China will not win a trade war. But the people of both countries will lose. And we can skirt the political issue by just discussing economics. Aside from all the metrics which do show prices for commodity goods are up in China, the US has yet to be feel the pinch but will shortly. The Fed raised interest rates twice and the market does not like that as shown by the recent slide in prices. We are fast becoming an investment not a manufacturing country. When the market goes down, it causes pain. As I talk with Chinese on the forums I go to now and then, they are saying it is getting tougher for them. Example: Pork, their favored meat, before the trade wars was scarce The government had to release pork reserved for the PLA to sell on the open Chinese market in order to stabilize prices on pork and make it more available. With US pork now having a higher tariff, I can't imagine what it is like. (This subject has been discussed before here.) Luxury goods are really expensive now in China. Housing market is volatile in China as prices continue to rise out of touch with the average family there. But we are not near depression stage. A depression is a sustained long term downturn of the GDP. A recession is usually defined as three consecutive periods (usually quarters) of negative growth of the GDP. When bond prices rise, inflation starts to rear its ugly head. Bond prices are rising. So an anticipated end to the recent gains is forthcoming, trade war or not. Then the Fed will have a tough decision to make. The wrong one will lead to deflation, or inflation, in which both could lead to a recession. In any case it will mean some constrains on the economy. We probably won't see the job gains we have seen lately. But if you want to see what happened in the Great Depression, you might have to wait a while. No long lines for soup but there are soup kitchens of a sort (food banks). The Fed is always the key lately.

It is not just the Chinese students. It's the rest of the Chinese who are here. They are very worried about being detained by ICE for no reason. Maricopa County by the way is now paying out settlements for illegal detainments by Sheriff Arpaio. Here is a link where the money was set aside. The radio this morning announced that payouts were being sent. $500 initial detainment and $20 for a period afterwards (per hour). Total almost $80 million set aside. The Chinese community here is wary and really scared. Many are getting their citizenship, as other posts in CFL have shown.. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/09/06/maricopa-county-sets-aside-1-million-payouts-expenses-ex-sheriff-arpaios-case/635159001/

Might be a good idea to just migrate to an .org. We have the time to do it. (Or do we? ) Have a fund drive and just do it. The reasons are quite evident. We could be gone in a heartbeat. That would be a shame.

I just got back from a trip to Singapore. It surprises me that the residents feel there is actually something wrong with their city/state. I talked a lot with taxi drivers, fellow workers, hotel staff, and just people in general as I walked around. They are so proud of their city and seemingly happy. (I call it the Stepford CIty.) Some of the ex-pats could only complain about the humidity and it is pretty high. But it is a well planned city. You could see the parks and trees and other landscaping was, I won't say perfect, but close to it. They had lots of water. :Garbage is literally a dirty word. It is stashed in out of the way places. Even rest rooms are at the end of a long corridor in malls. But what a contrast in general to our housing. I wonder......

"Signify" or "represented" are valid. "Represented" seems more meaningful but either could be used. The difference is really minor. To represent is to signify or state. Signify probably is a little more ornate a term. I personally did not like the cliched expression "cry at the top of your lungs." Any metaphor would be inconsistent with the very simple message being conveyed. "Cry loudly" would do. In non-fiction, it is best to be simple and efficient in your usage. I would say the original story contained a number of expressions that were repetitive or unnecessary. Write as if you were walking, except with words. Walking is a simple thing. You want the reader to move through the script without pausing to try and understand. Your subject matter is really interesting and it is worth spending the time to write it well. Western people are hungry for interpretations and explanations of ancient Chinese history. I am, believe me. I have many books on the subject. My wife says I know more about China than she does, and given the degree of censorship in China, she is probably right. If you lived in China during the Cultural Revolution or the Great Famine, or the times right after Mao died, when the Gang of Four ruled China, you would have something a Western reader would pour through avidly. I encourage you to write more. As you do, your English will improve tremendously. I do recommend some books on writing but start with the classic Strunk and White, The Elements of Style. You cannot go wrong starting there. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity is the message. But some other writers will disagree. It is in the nature of writing. Grammar is one thing; style is another. And by the way, reading is a great teacher. Read, read, read. Hemingway's style of writing is much different from Faulkner. Read them both and see that difference. Develop that inner voice a writer needs to write well and be understood. Never stop writing. It is fun and personally rewarding. Good luck and if you need help, just post it or PM me. I taught writing and write an occasional story.

But there are some good points made in the article, not the least of which is this - Well, I really was not talking about military capability. There is no comparison there. Just a comparison of aircraft carriers puts China way behind. It is how far the CP has to go before they can bridge the gap between classes of people, and mainly rural to urban wealth. They have tried to move rural "workers" to the cities but when they get there, it's a slave shop or walking the streets. Books (Red Lights) are coming out about what the life of people is like when they reach the city, namely women who are displaced by male farm workers to becoming sex workers. ( Even American investors point to China's successes, which are admirable, but they still have a huge gap between rich and poor. Ours is getting worse, but nothing compared to China.

Gout and leg cramps go together as both are electrolytic related. Cramps are aided by eating bananas or orange juice which have a lot of potassium which alleviates cramps. Gatorade is taken by some also. Watch your kidney function with these drugs. Gout has been treated with some uric acid lowering drugs pretty well. May not be available there but they are in generic so they might just be. A friend of mine has gout pretty bad and the uric acid lowering drugs help a lot but he is a big beer drinker so two steps forward, one back. He says it is episodic but that does not help when it's acute. Good luck with it. Hope you are better.

Well, I took a shot at it. Some comments...The use of number is often argued about in English. The general rule for APA style is numbers from one to nine are allowed to be spelled. Anything greater is usually written as a number -- 64, 32 not sixty-four or thirty-two, except at the start of the sentence or in a series with numbers higher than 10. (The latter point is another argument.) Hyphens are always used for numbers 21 to 99. The best rule to follow is grab hold of a style guide like the MLA. Another general rule (MLA) that is easier is that if the number can be written in two words (sixty four, thirty two) then spell it out; otherwise, make it a numeral. A word on brevity or simplicity. Fewer words is better and clearer Enough said. Forgive any typos. "Local funeral custom dates back to a primitive time when there was not a hearse in the countryside to carry the coffin. Family and friends made a wood raft that looked like a wood fillet out of 8, 32, or 64 logs based on family and social position. Sixty-four logs showed the highest social position in the family. If it was built with eight logs, the raft was lifted and carried to the cemetery by eight people. If it was built with 32 or 64 logs, the raft was lifted and carried by 32 or 64 people, respectively. The whole funeral team looked like a parade marching down the street carrying the coffin with the raft. When my great grandfather passed away, the political situation was not as tense as it was in our time. The government then was encouraging cremation. However, my great grandfather’s offspring decided to have the funeral in a traditional way. They built a big raft with 64 wooden logs to carry his body to his tomb. According to local custom, my youngest uncle led the funeral team followed by 64 people carrying the coffin. Each of the team wore a white robe as the mourning dress. The entire family was supposed to cry all the way as loudly as they could. My family did not hire anyone to help cry but some families may have hired people to join in the funeral team and cry at the top of their lungs. The sound of the crying and the number of people who attended the funeral team represented the filial piety of the family."

I don't think China has enough worries with the depth of poverty they have. They are doing so much better but there is a long way to go compared to the US. The vision the Chinese people have of America is so complex and ours is so narrow. Obviously way beyond his understanding.

I just got back from a trip to Singapore. Met a lot of people connected to Duterte. They say he is a druggy. For all the rhetoric he spews about killing drug merchants, he uses drugs himself. It certainly explains the strange behavior. I like Singapore. Everything there is perfect, orderly, clean. And the people are proud to claim to be from there. A lot of beautiful Asian women too. If you got yellow fever, try and get a shot before you go. The food there is fantastic. That city/state is a good example of diversity in action and working pretty well.

I see we share the same (or similar) taste in beer. I do not like pale anything. A nice dark lager that you can float a ball bearing on is nice. I just wish I could drink beer like I did when I was younger. And wheat or rice in beer is "simply not done." Although I have to say, an all rice beer taste good as a change, but not for long. I lived on it in colege, but not now. It has gotten to be somewhat of a collector's item and is expensive. The Stuka beer does sound a bit bogus. Or someone had their tongue stuck hard against their cheek when they came up with that one.

A beer commentary with comments just wouldn't be taken seriously without someone quoting the "tastes like piss" line But Tsingtao - the company itself - was a German import - by the Germans - "It was founded in 1903 by German settlers and now claims about 15% of domestic market share." (Wikipedia). It's actually LAST on my list - after ANYTHING else (I don't like the taste). I was referring mostly to Harbin beer (there are others) which is mistakenly accredited to the Russians but was actually founded by a German of Polish origin (Jan Wróblewski). Like Tsingtao's beginning's the beer was drank by the local immigrants (call them ex-pats) who came to build the railroad among other projects.That population contributed greatly to the flavors of the beers, even to the extent that the new Chinese owners imported German yeast (and brewers) and were not allowed to use cheaper rice in accordance with German standards set forth in the 1500's. Some competing beers got tired of being beat and imported more German brewers to little avail. Several books tell the tale of American entrepreneurs trying to break into the Chinese market with the beer industry. Anheuser Busch succeeded in getting 27% of Tsingtao. Osnos' book discusses a lot of the history of the beers in China and is a good example of how China always was a capitalistic country with communist overtones. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsingtao_Brewery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_Brewery#Harbin_Beer Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China [Evan Osnos]

Randy, I wish I could see the pictures when I am at work. They block images and videos here. But now that I have a big Samsung 4K HDTV, the images are really eye popping. Your pictures make it a worth while buy. Thanks.

Well, you will be in the minority of the minorities soon enough. The Chinese are the fastest growing minority in the US and will dilute the Spanish majority of minorities (aside from African Americans) in the US. By 2065 the US will be a minority nation according to many metrics. Arriving Asians are outnumbering Hispanics. And Asians are more educated, making the need to learn their language even more important. Learning Chinese, among many Asian languages, may be more difficult, since English contains many Romantic language roots. But Chinese may well be worthwhile to learn. Learning Spanish will be added plus, rather than an either/or. Some scholars in China recognize that Chinese is really a primitive language, described by one as one step above Cuneiform. (https://wikivividly.com/wiki/Cuneiform). They want to modernize the language, and if you read that link, there were many past attempts to do so. It does not make Chinese any easier to learn now for English speaking people. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/05/future-immigration-will-change-the-face-of-america-by-2065/

The ICA alphabet used by aviation and shipping worldwide now was adapted by the military and they use it as well. It helps a lot when you are quoting a word or a code to someone on the phone or radio and there is squelch, making the letters or numbers hard to decipher. One of the numbers that is interesting is 3. In the Teutonic world of the West, the "th" is rather easy and we often don't understand what is so difficult about it. (There is a lot of history here.) But I found out when my wife came over and had to pronounce the number. "Tree, tree, tree" was all I could get. So I taught her to say "Thuree, thurty, thurteen." She still does not get it. So I completely understood why the ICA alphabet pronounces the number 3 as "tree." Now pronounce "third." (Is anyone laughing yet?) After the age of 25, our verbal literacy, the ability to learn a new language, is greatly diminished (most people). It's easy when you are young and learning your first language, or even a second or third, or more, languages. But by 25, that ability is much more difficult. It explains the problem. But it does not prevent me from enjoying it. One guy when I was in SEA, always made fun of a waitress at a hootch restaurant we went to who happened to have been Japanese. (Chinese say their "R's" very well but the Japanese have trouble.) He would always ask for blueberry pie. The waitress would say, Sorry, no bleubelly pie. and of course, he would roar. This went on every time we went there. One day we all gathered and again, he asked for blueberry pie. The waitress turned to him and sternly said, I told you Amelican GI, no f******g bluebelly pie." He never asked again.

I guess we have all read where China got tired of their beer being criticized and brought in a bunch of German brewmeisters. Tsingtao and some other brands began doing this around early 1900's. It explains why the beers are described as a "European flavor" or that "deep, dark lager." But they are excellent beers, when I used to drink. (Well, I will take a toot every now and then.) Then of course, the Chinese government took some of them over (Tsingtao). Snow beer, described by local drinkers here as a little better than armadillo piss is the most popular beer in the world. The Stuka brand looks to me like a joke either on the German beer makers or one made up by the Chinese themselves and not atypical, a little off in terms of propriety. A lot of humor comes to mind with a brand like that, and maybe that's what was in mind as well. Randy, you make China an inviting place to live. Cheers.

I know the family of Iris Chang and we correspond off and on. I go to Cupertino to see them every once in a while when I do some book research at Hoover Institute. Her mother Ying Ying is retired from being a professor of biochemistry at Harvard and Champagne-Urbana, along with her husband in physics. He still has the highest score of anyone in Taiwan on the SAT scores. They are quite an interesting couple to talk to. Knowing them tells me a lot about how Iris grew up, and of course, the Chinese in America. I could tell some very poignant stories of their family and how they are now but for those of us who know Chinese families who made it through the tumultuous times from the period in the late 1800's to now, it is almost the norm -- famines, starvation, repression, and in Nanking during its Rape, incredible brutality. But there is a lot of love, although they probably would not use that word. By the admission of the Japanese army themselves "over 300,000" men, women, and children were slaughtered in The Rape. The estimate from academia goes higher to over 470,000. The number of total Chinese killed by Japanese in WWII is about 19 million. So compared to the Jewish Holocaust at about 6.5 million the numbers are very small. The total killed does not match the over 20 million Russians who were killed by the Germans often in brutal conditions as well. But the extent of the brutality is equal if not more with Nanking*. And it extended to the outlying countries of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, East Indies, and more. Iris Chang was a pillar of the Chinese community when The Rape of Nanking (they call it "The Rape") was published in 1997. Iris was 28 at the time, and 36 when she drove to the woods just south of Los Gatos, and put a .45 cap and ball round into her head. But what a life she had. When she killed herself, she was not the brilliant woman who captivated the hearts and minds of those who know or knew of her, including me. I still remember the highlights of her life so well, and mourn her loss. We need her in times like these. I have thought of having a bibliography here of Chinese writers but I never could get the ball rolling. If anyone is interested, let me know. * I use the old spelling of Nanking rather than the aspirated and softened version changed by the Mao committee on language to Nanjing when I write of those times

The Chinese in America, Iris Chang.

We will see how long that lasts.

The wife is from the old province of Manchuria or now Liaoning, just north and west of Beijing. She went for her interview at Guangzhou and was fit to be tied. She did not understand a word spoken to her, even when the locals tried Mandarin. She uses that "r" sound heavily and wonders why everyone there speaks "Chinese" so crudely. She could not wait to get out of there. May have been reason for her rejection. She still won't go back. The south of China may as well be on another planet. For God's sake don't ever tell her she is wrong. She knows China.

Dan is right. WeChat is a better tool in general. Both are owned by Tencent. WeChat came out in 2011, and QQ much earlier. WeChat has more tools to set up your account with a business. QQ to me seems a little more user friendly in the cam messaging process. Your boss's asking you to use QQ is probably just that it is easy for him. It has been around a lot longer but is losing its customer base to WeChat. Here's a start: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-WeChat-and-QQ