Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
The Death-Rattle of a Movement - Except in Hong Kong
A.J. Strata is one of my favorite online reads. I wish I had the science background he does and could couple it to my philosophy and social science background. I'd be a better blogger. His post earlier this week titled: Alarmist hide truth about (lack of ) global warming: was picked up by several other blogs and was rated as one of the best blog entries by the political blog Watchers of the Weasels
I have become increasingly frustrated over the past two weeks or so as the growing scandal over the leaked, not hacked, emails from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University have been completely overlooked by the print and broadcast media here in the Big Lychee. Maybe they've talked about it on the radio but radio was always something I did in the car. Since I don't drive here I don't listen to the radio.
The problem is that if I say anything about this at work or in social settings then I am called names by the apostles of Owl Gore. This issue has become so polarized that there can be no rational discussion about it. People believe it, or they know the truth. If you express doubts about AGW as I have for years then you are labeled as a polluter, anti-environmental monster, worse, worse than worst and still and lower than the lowest war criminal ever executed.
Well fine, call me names. I don't care and I will laugh while you watch your false god teeter and then fall. Nobody wants to see the horrific air pollution in China reduced more than I do. But, I would rather rather breathe the smoke in Causeway Bay than reduce the pollution problem by lying about it and the global warming hysteria is based upon lies. I refuse to scare people with lies to make them behave. I didn't do that with my children and I won't do with nearly illiterate HKU graduates.
If you want the facts, the truth about global warming then click on A.J. Strata's blog. He has the scientific credentials to back up his claims as do the people he links too. The people who oppose the AGW are not:
1. In the pay of big oil
2. A fringe of bitter religious nuts with big automobiles
3. Crackpots
4. Disreputable
It is true that all most everything presented as fact by the global warming advocates is either a lie or an exaggeration
1. The sea levels are not rising faster now than in the past.
2. It isn't hotter now than in the past. In fact it was hotter in the 1930's and 1940's
3. The arctic ice is NOT melting
4. CO2 is not a pollutant.
5. There are not more or bigger hurricanes or tornadoes
6. The science was never settled
7. Most the 2400 names on the famous list were not even scientist
8. Al Gore is not a well meaning advocate and neither are the leaders and persons pushing this lie.
They don't even know how a greenhouse works.
If you can't handle that then go buy some dope from this guy and get high together in a Chinese jail. Because I give up. If the the real science, the real facts, the real data do not convince you then you are either an idiot or something much worse. Go ahead, call me names, I admit I started it this time but mine are true and yours are not. But, don't email this blog with fake and manipulated statistics from "An Inconvenient Truth" or any other information that uses information from the East Anglia CRU because none of it is true.
Alternately, you can get really angry that you were lied to in a deliberate and pervasive manner and work on real environmental problems. You might also need to apologize to a few people as well.
It will be fun to see when the news finally hits Hong Kong about this issue. It is the largest scandal in the history of academia with professors rigging the system, rigging the review process and intimidating the opposition into silence. It will probably give science a black-eye for decades and I am not sure it isn't deserved.
I just wonder, does this mean that Donald Tsang's brother-in-law is going to lose money on all those twisty light bulbs he imports?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who believes that pollution is a problem but doesn't believe in Global Warming
I have become increasingly frustrated over the past two weeks or so as the growing scandal over the leaked, not hacked, emails from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University have been completely overlooked by the print and broadcast media here in the Big Lychee. Maybe they've talked about it on the radio but radio was always something I did in the car. Since I don't drive here I don't listen to the radio.
The problem is that if I say anything about this at work or in social settings then I am called names by the apostles of Owl Gore. This issue has become so polarized that there can be no rational discussion about it. People believe it, or they know the truth. If you express doubts about AGW as I have for years then you are labeled as a polluter, anti-environmental monster, worse, worse than worst and still and lower than the lowest war criminal ever executed.
Well fine, call me names. I don't care and I will laugh while you watch your false god teeter and then fall. Nobody wants to see the horrific air pollution in China reduced more than I do. But, I would rather rather breathe the smoke in Causeway Bay than reduce the pollution problem by lying about it and the global warming hysteria is based upon lies. I refuse to scare people with lies to make them behave. I didn't do that with my children and I won't do with nearly illiterate HKU graduates.
If you want the facts, the truth about global warming then click on A.J. Strata's blog. He has the scientific credentials to back up his claims as do the people he links too. The people who oppose the AGW are not:
1. In the pay of big oil
2. A fringe of bitter religious nuts with big automobiles
3. Crackpots
4. Disreputable
It is true that all most everything presented as fact by the global warming advocates is either a lie or an exaggeration
1. The sea levels are not rising faster now than in the past.
2. It isn't hotter now than in the past. In fact it was hotter in the 1930's and 1940's
3. The arctic ice is NOT melting
4. CO2 is not a pollutant.
5. There are not more or bigger hurricanes or tornadoes
6. The science was never settled
7. Most the 2400 names on the famous list were not even scientist
8. Al Gore is not a well meaning advocate and neither are the leaders and persons pushing this lie.
They don't even know how a greenhouse works.
If you can't handle that then go buy some dope from this guy and get high together in a Chinese jail. Because I give up. If the the real science, the real facts, the real data do not convince you then you are either an idiot or something much worse. Go ahead, call me names, I admit I started it this time but mine are true and yours are not. But, don't email this blog with fake and manipulated statistics from "An Inconvenient Truth" or any other information that uses information from the East Anglia CRU because none of it is true.
Alternately, you can get really angry that you were lied to in a deliberate and pervasive manner and work on real environmental problems. You might also need to apologize to a few people as well.
It will be fun to see when the news finally hits Hong Kong about this issue. It is the largest scandal in the history of academia with professors rigging the system, rigging the review process and intimidating the opposition into silence. It will probably give science a black-eye for decades and I am not sure it isn't deserved.
I just wonder, does this mean that Donald Tsang's brother-in-law is going to lose money on all those twisty light bulbs he imports?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who believes that pollution is a problem but doesn't believe in Global Warming
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Favorite Day of the Year
Today is an American holiday, Thanksgiving. If you are a US citizen you probably consider it to be one of the big three along with Christmas and Independence Day. In many ways I think it is my favorite holiday and is one that I am surprised that more people outside the US do not adopt.
The story of Thanksgiving is familiar enough. The Puritans came to what is now the Boston area in 1620 and landed too late in the year to grow food for the winter. They almost starved and would have all died without the help of the natives in the area. The next year, 1621 they were able to plant crops and build adequate shelters and knew that they would have enough to carry them through the winter so they held a feast to celebrate and even invited the native American tribes that had helped them.
Other cultures, almost all of them in fact have similar stories of people being grateful that they have enough to eat. Indeed, I cannot really think of a better reason to celebrate than knowing that you will not starve. Lots of people in the world don't know they will not starve.
So in the off chance that someone reads this most obscure of Hong Kong blogs today, take a little time to be thankful. Take some time to say thank you to someone who has helped you when they didn't have to.
Get into the holiday spirit, if only a little bit.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who really does like roasted turkey and pumpkin pie
The story of Thanksgiving is familiar enough. The Puritans came to what is now the Boston area in 1620 and landed too late in the year to grow food for the winter. They almost starved and would have all died without the help of the natives in the area. The next year, 1621 they were able to plant crops and build adequate shelters and knew that they would have enough to carry them through the winter so they held a feast to celebrate and even invited the native American tribes that had helped them.
Other cultures, almost all of them in fact have similar stories of people being grateful that they have enough to eat. Indeed, I cannot really think of a better reason to celebrate than knowing that you will not starve. Lots of people in the world don't know they will not starve.
So in the off chance that someone reads this most obscure of Hong Kong blogs today, take a little time to be thankful. Take some time to say thank you to someone who has helped you when they didn't have to.
Get into the holiday spirit, if only a little bit.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who really does like roasted turkey and pumpkin pie
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Home Sick
I've been in Hong Kong a long time.
There are still a few days I get homesick for Texas. Thanksgiving is one of them. The link below isn't a Thanksgiving song but it is close enough for me today
There are still a few days I get homesick for Texas. Thanksgiving is one of them. The link below isn't a Thanksgiving song but it is close enough for me today
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Behold, a voice crying out in the wilderness!
I sometimes wonder if I am the reincarnation of John the Baptist when it comes to Hong Kong politics. I don't normally believe in reincarnation but, when it comes to local politics here in Hong Kong I certainly know how old locust breath felt. He had a rough time of it until Herod Antipas beheaded him. It is tough to preach to a stubborn and recalcitrant generation who resist doing the hard work of making straight the way for the Lord, or in this case resist making the hard political decisions that would lead to a better Hong Kong.
The issue of Universal Suffrage here in "The Pearl of the Orient" is a good example. I can't believe that I am the only one who notices that there is a problem in the way various members of the political zoo are braying, roaring and barking. The local politicians are using the term "Universal Suffrage" wrong. To be fair, both the pro-government and pro-democracy camps are missing the point. But then they were all educated by the colonial government to follow instructions and repress any independent thought so maybe that is to be expected.
Here is the deal. We already have Universal Suffrage. For those offices for which we are allowed to vote everyone who meets the qualifications to vote can vote. The vote is not coerced or corrupted. Elections are honest and fair in Hong Kong. Indeed, in Hong Kong the requirements to vote are in some ways quite lenient. Permanent residents who are not citizens can vote in district council elections. You don't see that in many places. What the two sides are really arguing over is not Universal Suffrage but which offices in the government are elected and which are appointed. This is a worthy topic for political discussion but it isn't Universal Suffrage. Rather it is the scope of Universal Suffrage. Granted, some of this is the fault of the lowest common denominator newspapers. Reporters are the dumbest of the dumb except in Hong Kong where they are dumber. It could be that the politicians have it right and it is being reported wrong. I don't think that is the case.
This is not a trivial point because since the two sides have the question framed wrong they cannot be expected to ever solve the problem satisfactorily.
Most nations with a representative government have some high governmental offices that are appointed rather than elected. Supreme Court Justices are appointed in the US and serve for LIFE. The house of Lords in the former UK (Now the EU province of England)are not elected. Yet, people do not say that those countries do not have Universal Suffrage. Rather than shouting about Universal Suffrage in front of microphones and making silly threats or throwing cardboard microwaves, what the two sides here need to do is sit down and discuss which offices SHOULD be elected, which MUST be elected and which should NOT or MUST Not be elected. Then, they need to come up with a procedure to appoint those offices that are not elected that allows the population to see that the appointments are just and reasonable.
I feel like John the Baptist, standing in my camel hair robe, rough sandals and leather belt lifting my voice and crying from the wilderness: "Why must the CE be directly elected?" If Gordon Brown was not directly elected to the office of PM the HKCE needn't be either.
Instead of threatening to quit maybe the pan-democrats should ask "Do we need a directly elected CE?" Is it possible that an indirectly elected CE would serve as well? Honestly, I have more problems with the functional constituencies and endless appointed Secretaries of bric-abrac than I do with the CE. How about letting the Central government simply appoint the CE but Legco has to approve any ministers, Secretaries or Czars he/she/it/they appoint?
How about a legco that can override the CE in a meaningful way?
How about removing de facto lawmaking powers from bureaucratic flunkies who are not elected?
I think that the proposal submitted by the CE office for political reform in Hong Kong is a good place to start. It may not be where you finish but it may be a good place to start. It expands the pool of people who select the CE. It makes the body more representative of the population and is generally a step in the right direction. Take the government's proposal as a starting point.
Admit it is an improvement if only a small one and go from there.
Here is a question for the pro-democrats:
Long hair Leung was directly elected, would he be a better CE than THBT? Or, could and SHOULD some governmental body protect us from ourselves, at least a little bit? Would Albert Ho or Emily Lau actually have less problem with the governmental policy if Long Hair were elected CE of Hong Kong? Would they honestly believe that he wouldn't be worse than THBT? If the CE is directly elected then that possibility exist. We may think that THBT is a bumbler but at least he understands the job, is able to mollify the central government and keep the PLA tanks from rolling down the street.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who has a sudden craving for wild honey
The issue of Universal Suffrage here in "The Pearl of the Orient" is a good example. I can't believe that I am the only one who notices that there is a problem in the way various members of the political zoo are braying, roaring and barking. The local politicians are using the term "Universal Suffrage" wrong. To be fair, both the pro-government and pro-democracy camps are missing the point. But then they were all educated by the colonial government to follow instructions and repress any independent thought so maybe that is to be expected.
Here is the deal. We already have Universal Suffrage. For those offices for which we are allowed to vote everyone who meets the qualifications to vote can vote. The vote is not coerced or corrupted. Elections are honest and fair in Hong Kong. Indeed, in Hong Kong the requirements to vote are in some ways quite lenient. Permanent residents who are not citizens can vote in district council elections. You don't see that in many places. What the two sides are really arguing over is not Universal Suffrage but which offices in the government are elected and which are appointed. This is a worthy topic for political discussion but it isn't Universal Suffrage. Rather it is the scope of Universal Suffrage. Granted, some of this is the fault of the lowest common denominator newspapers. Reporters are the dumbest of the dumb except in Hong Kong where they are dumber. It could be that the politicians have it right and it is being reported wrong. I don't think that is the case.
This is not a trivial point because since the two sides have the question framed wrong they cannot be expected to ever solve the problem satisfactorily.
Most nations with a representative government have some high governmental offices that are appointed rather than elected. Supreme Court Justices are appointed in the US and serve for LIFE. The house of Lords in the former UK (Now the EU province of England)are not elected. Yet, people do not say that those countries do not have Universal Suffrage. Rather than shouting about Universal Suffrage in front of microphones and making silly threats or throwing cardboard microwaves, what the two sides here need to do is sit down and discuss which offices SHOULD be elected, which MUST be elected and which should NOT or MUST Not be elected. Then, they need to come up with a procedure to appoint those offices that are not elected that allows the population to see that the appointments are just and reasonable.
I feel like John the Baptist, standing in my camel hair robe, rough sandals and leather belt lifting my voice and crying from the wilderness: "Why must the CE be directly elected?" If Gordon Brown was not directly elected to the office of PM the HKCE needn't be either.
Instead of threatening to quit maybe the pan-democrats should ask "Do we need a directly elected CE?" Is it possible that an indirectly elected CE would serve as well? Honestly, I have more problems with the functional constituencies and endless appointed Secretaries of bric-abrac than I do with the CE. How about letting the Central government simply appoint the CE but Legco has to approve any ministers, Secretaries or Czars he/she/it/they appoint?
How about a legco that can override the CE in a meaningful way?
How about removing de facto lawmaking powers from bureaucratic flunkies who are not elected?
I think that the proposal submitted by the CE office for political reform in Hong Kong is a good place to start. It may not be where you finish but it may be a good place to start. It expands the pool of people who select the CE. It makes the body more representative of the population and is generally a step in the right direction. Take the government's proposal as a starting point.
Admit it is an improvement if only a small one and go from there.
Here is a question for the pro-democrats:
Long hair Leung was directly elected, would he be a better CE than THBT? Or, could and SHOULD some governmental body protect us from ourselves, at least a little bit? Would Albert Ho or Emily Lau actually have less problem with the governmental policy if Long Hair were elected CE of Hong Kong? Would they honestly believe that he wouldn't be worse than THBT? If the CE is directly elected then that possibility exist. We may think that THBT is a bumbler but at least he understands the job, is able to mollify the central government and keep the PLA tanks from rolling down the street.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who has a sudden craving for wild honey
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Life and Death in a Government Hospital - A subject revisted
Without a doubt, some of the most intense, emotional entries I have posted on this blog were those that dealt with the death of my mother-in-law in 2005.
I thought of this today because of an article that appeared as a eulogy on the American Thinker Blog. One of their frequent commenter's, Peter Blocking recently died. He posted under the name PeterUK or PUK. He was generally a funny, genial man whose wit and humor were always a welcome break from the acrimony that is so often the norm on political blogs regardless of ideological bent. However, one of the best post Peter made was neither funny or genial.
He wrote a long comment about the death of his mother while being cared for by the NHS. His experiences were so similar to those the wife and I had during her mother's death that I went back and re-read my post titled "Life and Death in a Hong Kong Hospital" from 2005.
As the US congress seems determined to visit the dehumanizing evil of socialized medicine to the US public I thought I would post links to my essays with my experiences using the HK Health care system as well as a link to Peter Block's post at the American Thinker.
Life and Death In a Hong Kong Hospital
Less Life More Death in a Hong Kong Hospital
A Lingering Death
A Walk in the Park (Not about my mother-in-law)
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who tries hard to avoid the government health services in Hong Kong
I thought of this today because of an article that appeared as a eulogy on the American Thinker Blog. One of their frequent commenter's, Peter Blocking recently died. He posted under the name PeterUK or PUK. He was generally a funny, genial man whose wit and humor were always a welcome break from the acrimony that is so often the norm on political blogs regardless of ideological bent. However, one of the best post Peter made was neither funny or genial.
He wrote a long comment about the death of his mother while being cared for by the NHS. His experiences were so similar to those the wife and I had during her mother's death that I went back and re-read my post titled "Life and Death in a Hong Kong Hospital" from 2005.
As the US congress seems determined to visit the dehumanizing evil of socialized medicine to the US public I thought I would post links to my essays with my experiences using the HK Health care system as well as a link to Peter Block's post at the American Thinker.
Life and Death In a Hong Kong Hospital
Less Life More Death in a Hong Kong Hospital
A Lingering Death
A Walk in the Park (Not about my mother-in-law)
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who tries hard to avoid the government health services in Hong Kong
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Another Source
I've received some Email about my last post. I even work with some ex-Brits now EUers who don't realize they have just lost their country.
I guess if you are one of the 20% in the former UK that live on the government dole you don't actually care who sends the check as long as someone does.
You'd think the other 80% would care.
In other news the US just became a basket case today as the congress passed the Obama socialized medicine bill that nobody has seen and nobody has read.
I guess that means that the disgruntled EUers will have to come to China
Until Next Time.
Fai Mao
The Blogger who just has to shake his head
I guess if you are one of the 20% in the former UK that live on the government dole you don't actually care who sends the check as long as someone does.
You'd think the other 80% would care.
In other news the US just became a basket case today as the congress passed the Obama socialized medicine bill that nobody has seen and nobody has read.
I guess that means that the disgruntled EUers will have to come to China
Until Next Time.
Fai Mao
The Blogger who just has to shake his head
Thursday, November 05, 2009
A Really Sad Day
I had to really look to find an article on the shenanigans of the EU yesterday. The US press is filled with news about the US off year elections and the local papers are focused on a new Disney Land in Shanghai.
The nations of Europe basically ceased to exist yesterday and were replaced by the EU in what amounts to a bloodless coup.
There will be, in my lifetime probably no better example of the stupidity of the press than the lack of coverage of this event. This was a huge event and Hong Kong is worried about the revenue at Disney Land?
There is no more France. There is no more Germany. There is no more Italy. No more Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Austria, or Spain. There is barely a UK. The Lisbon treaty, which the Czech president was blackmailed into signing yesterday abolished them all, or very shorty will.
It does not matter that when votes were held on this treaty the populations of nations voted it down. The tyrants, the nuvo-nobility who believe they know what is best for everybody else have taken over through political maneuvering. It is done.
What is really scary is that so many of the officials in Hong Kong were trained by the Bloody British to be shoe-shine boys for the colonial masters and follow their lead. Is it any wonder that they bow and scrape to their supposed betters in Beijing? How long before they sign away our liberty to emulate their European heroes?
What is even scarier is that there have been no riots or demonstrations in Europe. Are the French, Italians and Germans so beaten down that they would willingly accept tyrants assuming control of their nations without a fight? Not one demonstration protesting the loss of sovereignty or national heritage in all of Europe. Cheese eating surrender monkeys indeed!
Assuming that the US, the PRC and Russia are not going to call this an illegal coup and raise armies of liberation to invade Europe (Something I would not support if the local populations are not resiting this takeover with force); I have some suggestions for Barrak Obama, Hu Jintau and Vladimir Putin.
They should demand the following things:
The US, the UK, France, Russia and China are permanent members of the UN security council. The UK and France are no longer nations but provinces that means that Europe is over represented. Both those nations need to be removed. The UN might possibly give one seat to the EU and one seat to another nation with a Democratic government based upon population; maybe India or Brazil but maybe give them both to democratically elected government somewhere else. In any case the UK and France should be removed from the UN Security Council.
Indeed, the ex nations of Europe no longer need to have separate missions to the UN. They should be replaced with a single EU mission in New York.
The UK, France, Germany, Italy and any other ex-nation that is now a member of the EU should lose their place in any other international organizations such as the G20. They are now part of the EU and are represented by the EU.
If the US, China and Russia only get one Olympic team the same should be true for Europe. Most of the provinces in China have more population than the former countries of Europe. If England or France insist upon their own Olympic teams now then why can't Heibei or Gaungdong have their own Olympic teams if they want? The same is true of the US States of Texas and California. (By the way the States in the US are now closer to independent nations than the former nations of Europe.) If the US and China only get one Olympic team then the EU should only get one Olympic team.
The US should immediately withdraw from NATO. The nations in that treaty no longer exist. Let the EU defend itself.
Russia should demand to renegotiate treaties for natural gas and other commodities they ship to the various ex-nations of Europe.
Replace all the big embassies in ex-capitals with smaller branch consulates. Have one Embassy in Brussels.
Require all people carrying passports from the ex-nations to either get a new EU passport or leave.
Please understand, none of these demands is punitive. They would simply bring the EU into line with international norms.
Lastly; make an open announcement that any citizen of the new EU that does not feel that they can live under the tyrannical government that has taken over their countries is encouraged to immigrate to freer countries like The PRC, The USA or Russia.
God help the people of Europe. They have taken a huge step towards despotism. I hope it is a step that can be retracted.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is glad he isn't in an EU member state
The nations of Europe basically ceased to exist yesterday and were replaced by the EU in what amounts to a bloodless coup.
There will be, in my lifetime probably no better example of the stupidity of the press than the lack of coverage of this event. This was a huge event and Hong Kong is worried about the revenue at Disney Land?
There is no more France. There is no more Germany. There is no more Italy. No more Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Austria, or Spain. There is barely a UK. The Lisbon treaty, which the Czech president was blackmailed into signing yesterday abolished them all, or very shorty will.
It does not matter that when votes were held on this treaty the populations of nations voted it down. The tyrants, the nuvo-nobility who believe they know what is best for everybody else have taken over through political maneuvering. It is done.
What is really scary is that so many of the officials in Hong Kong were trained by the Bloody British to be shoe-shine boys for the colonial masters and follow their lead. Is it any wonder that they bow and scrape to their supposed betters in Beijing? How long before they sign away our liberty to emulate their European heroes?
What is even scarier is that there have been no riots or demonstrations in Europe. Are the French, Italians and Germans so beaten down that they would willingly accept tyrants assuming control of their nations without a fight? Not one demonstration protesting the loss of sovereignty or national heritage in all of Europe. Cheese eating surrender monkeys indeed!
Assuming that the US, the PRC and Russia are not going to call this an illegal coup and raise armies of liberation to invade Europe (Something I would not support if the local populations are not resiting this takeover with force); I have some suggestions for Barrak Obama, Hu Jintau and Vladimir Putin.
They should demand the following things:
The US, the UK, France, Russia and China are permanent members of the UN security council. The UK and France are no longer nations but provinces that means that Europe is over represented. Both those nations need to be removed. The UN might possibly give one seat to the EU and one seat to another nation with a Democratic government based upon population; maybe India or Brazil but maybe give them both to democratically elected government somewhere else. In any case the UK and France should be removed from the UN Security Council.
Indeed, the ex nations of Europe no longer need to have separate missions to the UN. They should be replaced with a single EU mission in New York.
The UK, France, Germany, Italy and any other ex-nation that is now a member of the EU should lose their place in any other international organizations such as the G20. They are now part of the EU and are represented by the EU.
If the US, China and Russia only get one Olympic team the same should be true for Europe. Most of the provinces in China have more population than the former countries of Europe. If England or France insist upon their own Olympic teams now then why can't Heibei or Gaungdong have their own Olympic teams if they want? The same is true of the US States of Texas and California. (By the way the States in the US are now closer to independent nations than the former nations of Europe.) If the US and China only get one Olympic team then the EU should only get one Olympic team.
The US should immediately withdraw from NATO. The nations in that treaty no longer exist. Let the EU defend itself.
Russia should demand to renegotiate treaties for natural gas and other commodities they ship to the various ex-nations of Europe.
Replace all the big embassies in ex-capitals with smaller branch consulates. Have one Embassy in Brussels.
Require all people carrying passports from the ex-nations to either get a new EU passport or leave.
Please understand, none of these demands is punitive. They would simply bring the EU into line with international norms.
Lastly; make an open announcement that any citizen of the new EU that does not feel that they can live under the tyrannical government that has taken over their countries is encouraged to immigrate to freer countries like The PRC, The USA or Russia.
God help the people of Europe. They have taken a huge step towards despotism. I hope it is a step that can be retracted.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is glad he isn't in an EU member state
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
The Cost of Dissent
I am surprised that this story is still in the news. Normally this kind of thing is quickly swept under the rug in favor more pressing concerns like the business ventures of the THBT's increasingly distant relatives.
As I said in a previous post on this; I am having a hard time sympathizing with this dissident. He KNEW he was a wanted man in China. He WAS travelling under fraudulent documents. The government MUST obey the law.
If the officials in the HK immigration service had looked the other way in this guy's case and the mainland had found out about it then we could kiss any thoughts of universal suffrage goodbye. Indeed, we could probably have kissed the basic law, the SAR and the special privileges and freedoms (At least when compared to the rest of China) we enjoy in Hong Kong away
It is just that simple. The dissident should not have tried to enter China to see his family. Was he so dumb that he didn't think his family would still be under surveillance? Why did he even come here? Why not cross the border in Macau?
I'm sorry the politicians who are trying to make a stink about this are wrong. Even if they, like me somewhat support what the dissident claims to stand for. The immigration department, when they discovered who this guy was probably had no other choice but to return him to the PRC.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who supports governments obeying the laws
As I said in a previous post on this; I am having a hard time sympathizing with this dissident. He KNEW he was a wanted man in China. He WAS travelling under fraudulent documents. The government MUST obey the law.
If the officials in the HK immigration service had looked the other way in this guy's case and the mainland had found out about it then we could kiss any thoughts of universal suffrage goodbye. Indeed, we could probably have kissed the basic law, the SAR and the special privileges and freedoms (At least when compared to the rest of China) we enjoy in Hong Kong away
It is just that simple. The dissident should not have tried to enter China to see his family. Was he so dumb that he didn't think his family would still be under surveillance? Why did he even come here? Why not cross the border in Macau?
I'm sorry the politicians who are trying to make a stink about this are wrong. Even if they, like me somewhat support what the dissident claims to stand for. The immigration department, when they discovered who this guy was probably had no other choice but to return him to the PRC.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who supports governments obeying the laws
Make Mine Freedom
Yes, this is really hokey. However, how much closer to true is this of the US than it is of the PRC?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
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