Stephen Mosher, Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order
2017
This book provides a historical perspective to try to explain China’s current hostile behaviour to the US, ASEAN and the world.
Intro
-While other conquerors allowed subjects independence, China rules with dominance in all aspects of life, using the mandate of heaven
-China looking to dominate the world in order to bring harmony, peace
-US idealists: work with China, find common ground, find a mutually beneficial solution
-US offensive realists: world is a perpetual competition, China wants to dominate
-China are offensive realists, for a very long time, always perpetual war, which is why they want to dominate SCS, the world
-China need for domination deeply rooted in history
-in order to maintain order, China uses nationalism, patriotism
Cracking the China Conundrum, Yukon Huang, 2017, book review
Ch 1
-growth model, pp 8
-unbalanced growth: low personal consumption, high investment -> huge trade surplus -> risk to lt growth
-uneven growth due to urbanization and regional differences
-personal consumption cannot grow without increased govt expenditures in social services to supplement personal consumption
-property bubble: most of debt is public, emerging private property market still finding balance
-excessive lending for huge growth: banks can pass poor decisions to state -> no risk of collapse
-competition in China also depends on local govt entities
Ch 3
orgins of Growth model
-p 42, late 1990s privatization of housing -> housing worth more that what they paid -> wealth effect spurred consumption
-wealth gap is growing, rural vs urban
-issues:
1. unbalanced growth
2. debt during economic slowdown
3. external trade, FX, FDI
China, Beijing, Daxing, Xinjian Cun, where the government has destroyed the neighbourhood of migrant workers and evicted everyone. South Gate
A large fire in a Beijing 北京市 suburb Xinjian Cun 新建村, in the Daxing District 大兴区 that killed 17 people, has prompted Beijing authorities to urgently begin investigations into illegal buildings, resulting in the destruction of a Beijing suburb called Xinjian Cun. Most of the residents there are migrant workers, have had a difficult time finding new accommodations. Their businesses and buildings have been bulldozed. The migrant workers have been told to go back to their villages. This, a forced mass expulsion of Chinese people, from a Chinese city, and in the middle of winter.
Car bicycle crash in Scarborough, Toronto, Canada 2017 Oct 20 11:40am. The driver of the minivan did stop at the red light but did not look for pedestrians or cyclists, and hit an old Chinese lady on a bicycle.
Today was not a good day for the old lady cyclist in front of me. She trusted that the right-turning driver of the minivan would wait for her to cross, and he hit her, 2017 Oct 20, 11:40am, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While it might have been unintentional, thankfully the crash was very low speed, the car driver stopped, and no one was hurt. While I believe the car driver was at fault, we all need to pay much more attention, especially when vehicles are concerned. That old lady could have been a mother and baby in stroller.
Yesterday here in Toronto, Canada, was the start of Autumn 2017. At this time of year the average temperatures range from a high of 19C to a low of 10C. The leaves begin to turn from green to red. For some unknown reason the weather in the last week has been very hot. yesterday was 31C. Today is 32C. The next two days will be 31C. Still, the leaves are on a strict time line, their life coming to its inevitable end.
Leaves are turning from green to red in Toronto, Canada, even though the temperature is 32C today. Photo 1 by Don Tai
City of Toronto potential flood area, for a 50 foot or 15.25m rise in water level from Lake Ontario, which occurred in Houston 2017 hurricane Harvey. Map changes by Don Tai
I was wondering, I am sure like many others, what would happen if the City of Toronto had a flood similar in height to Houston 2017 caused by Hurricane Harvey. Who would get flooded and who would remain dry? Is the City of Toronto largely at risk? Are we ready? Unlike Houston, Toronto is not flat. We also do not have hurricanes or tropical storms. That being said, let us try to analyze a topological map of Toronto and see how we would fare. As I live in Scarborough note that Scarborough has the Scarborough bluffs. My area of Scarborough is 235m above sea level. As Lake Ontario is 75m above sea level, we have a buffer of 160m or 525′. I think we are safe from a flood risk.
Pink crabapple tree in bloom, 2017, Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
Our male crabapple tree blooms almost every year. It is a somewhat late bloomer, but reliable. The male tree does not produce apples, so the mess is much less. The blooms only last 4 days or so, maybe a week at the most, after which our whole back yard becomes a lake of pink leaves.
The reflection from the tree casts our rear rooms into a lovely shade of pink.
Pink crabapple tree in bloom, macro, 2017, Toronto, Canada. Photo 2 by Don Tai
2009 Obama (left) vs 2017 Trump (right) Inauguration photos in Washington DC. AP. The Obama Inauguration holds so many more people that you must say he was more popular.
Wondering, I am, about the truth in today’s news. US President Trump says something, the press refutes with facts, then he doubles down and continues to insist his version is correct. And this, from a US president. I find it odd that someone of such a high office would do and say such “alternative truths”, as he puts it. Really, there are no alternative truths, only truths backed by evidence. There are different conclusions made from the same original evidence, but no alternative truths. Alternative truths are close to a lie. What do we tell our kids, after years of us espousing everyone to tell the truth, when people in high office begin to lie.
