Samoa. What news are YOU getting?

Lowaicue said:
The arrest of Polanski, the abuse of Obama and what about this? No comments? No opinions? No CARE? And what news are YOU getting?

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A series of tsunamis smashed into the Pacific island nations of American and Western Samoa killing possibly more than 100 people, destroying villages and injuring hundreds, officials said on Wednesday
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My Dad built the electrical system over there in the 80's or 90's; upgraded it from its WW2 roots.
 
Lowaicue said:
I am but one small voice. American news has ALWAYS been ridiculously chauvinist and pro America. That is not a bad thing by any means but when the pro America news lies to its people and invents outside enemies then someone, anyone has an obligation to the truth and to put an opposing view.
It started with the total misrepresentation of the American participation in WWII and has continued through the punishment of the UK for not joining you in Vietnam, to the lies put out by bush that there existed an axis of evil. The readyness at which Americans lap up this nonsense and refuse EVER to admit their mistakes gives me and many others the right to 'bash' America, to use your term.
So the message is simple, though neither you nor anyone here is in a position to do anything about it, you stop believing your manipulative governments lies about the bogey men beyond your shores and we'll stop calling you on it.
BTW I would be mildly interested to know which Chinese city has 'what you have' and furthermore would like to understand more clearly your comment about capitalism. China is capitalist with the exception of a few quiet backwaters. It is as unashamedly capitalist as America. Indeed if you look at the respective economies China's capitalism is much more efficient and successful than is America's.
Oh, and as for living well, check out the city in which I live. It's that little place that has some of the worlds richest people, some of the worlds best hotels, more Rolls Royces per capita than the US, a freer economy and lower taxes than the US. Well, I won't go on because I know the tremendous difficulty Americans have in facing the truth.
Oh we do have problems too. Lots of them.
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Yes, for the past few decades China realized that Capitalism was the way to go, and that is good. Now let's get them to realize that human rights are also a good thing.

As for the rest of your post, yeah, that's what I said. The city you live in is one of the few places in the world that can boast as much as the US, and it gained it before China took over through the same exact means that the US did. You simply reiterated my point.
 
Damocles said:
Yes, for the past few decades China realized that Capitalism was the way to go, and that is good. Now let's get them to realize that human rights are also a good thing.

As for the rest of your post, yeah, that's what I said. The city you live in is one of the few places in the world that can boast as much as the US, and it gained it before China took over through the same exact means that the US did. You simply reiterated my point.
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Fair enough. However it is only the (as ASH says) totalitarian nature of the state that has enabled cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou to achieve financial success (many others also, but those three will do for this). indeed the greatest ambition HK has is not to win its traditional battle with Singapore but to stay ahead of Shanghai. That's the city to visit for real, base, unbridled, greed-controlled capitalism.
Without that totalitarian control the country would be an absolute shambles. At present, and probably for another two decades or more, democracy would be the death of China. Which is one of the reasons there are armies of 'freedom fighters' ready to join the Richard Gere's of the world and promote democracy and failure and why the PRC government will never kow tow to European or American pressure.
One has to realise that, although today sees the 60th anniversary of the PRC the progress towards a modern state has only been ongoing since Deng Xiao Peng declared in 1988, it is good to be rich. So China has moved from serfdom under its emperors and elite, to serfdom under Mao to an average 10%GDP growth, the busiest Ferrari showroom, the highest fashion, some of the best music and painting and lotsa, lotsa money in twenty years. It has become the workshop of the world and very soon you will be buying products created, designed and manufactured in China that will make many western businesses quake in their Chinese made shoes.
The sleeping dragon is awake and, depending to a large extent on us in the west, she may, like Grendel, who hated the sound of the harps ringing across the fields, flicker open one poisoned eye and slither and limp towards sating itself on the blood of Western industry or walk, head high towards a partnership for the future good of mankind.
Manipulated prejudice such as is displayed here, for example, is likely to encourage the former.
 
Southern Man said:
My Dad built the electrical system over there in the 80's or 90's; upgraded it from its WW2 roots.
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Would I be right in assuming that 'over there' refers to the smaller nation of American Samoa? or did he work for both countries?
 
Damocles said:
Yes, for the past few decades China realized that Capitalism was the way to go, and that is good. Now let's get them to realize that human rights are also a good thing.

As for the rest of your post, yeah, that's what I said. The city you live in is one of the few places in the world that can boast as much as the US, and it gained it before China took over through the same exact means that the US did. You simply reiterated my point.
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Ahhh Honorable Board Owner...

You have now earned the dubious honor of being bitten by this ugly two-headed sewer snake. This evil ex pat and hater of all things American willl badger you to no end, or until his heart gives out; Of course assuming when they got in there they even found a heart to begin with.

You will hear nothing but his boasts of China and how they are the model for the entire world. In major part why he ran, tail tucked from GB, so he could set up house amongst the Great Little People and finally be a BIG MAN, with what would now appear a defective heart.

I mean who'duh thunk it with A GEM like him!!!!????
 
Damocles said:
Yes, for the past few decades China realized that Capitalism was the way to go, and that is good.......
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What are you talking about? Is this something from Drudge?

China is practices neofascist corportism. Not capitalism. There's nothing euntrepenurial about country that uses slave labor to create wealth for a few, practices extreme protectionist practices, and where the State controls economy through state-owned companies. It's more akin to a fascist state.



I'll take the Swedish model of capitalism. You conservatives can have the chinese and singapore model.
 
Southern Man said:
The former.
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This rather illustrates what I have been saying for a long tim about the news we get. You see American Samoa when Samoa is mentioned, yesterday I spoke to a guy who was completely unaware of the existence of American Samoa. I see a nation of big fat guys who play a mean game of rugby sevens.
Yet our leaders, who for the most part are human, lead us to believe the very best of our desgnated friends and the very worst of our designated enemies.
And we, like sheep, etc.
 
Cypress said:
What are you talking about? Is this something from Drudge?

China is practices neofascist corportism. Not capitalism. There's nothing euntrepenurial about country that uses slave labor to create wealth for a few, practices extreme protectionist practices, and where the State controls economy through state-owned companies. It's more akin to a fascist state.



I'll take the Swedish model of capitalism. You conservatives can have the chinese and singapore model.
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You are a tad off beam in your judgement of China. However I will join you in your admiration of the Swedish model. Indeed when it comes to health care all of Scandinavia can show the way home.
 
Cypress said:
What are you talking about? Is this something from Drudge?

China is practices neofascist corportism. Not capitalism. There's nothing euntrepenurial about country that uses slave labor to create wealth for a few, practices extreme protectionist practices, and where the State controls economy through state-owned companies. It's more akin to a fascist state.



I'll take the Swedish model of capitalism. You conservatives can have the chinese and singapore model.
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I'll take the US model. Thanks.

Hence the rest of the post that you "conveniently" deleted from you quotes. There is a lot missing from the "capitalism" of China and therefore it leaves much to be desired. They take baby steps, and attempt a totalitarian-controlled "capitalism." However, I think they simply open the door. Much like Perestroika did in the USSR. Even such tiny steps are the beginning of a journey and can be recognized as a good thing.

Although, I don't think the US should purchase goods made from slave trade and should avoid products from China as a matter of course. There is some value in setting an example.
 
Lowaicue said:
Yes, I think you did.
I am interested to know from posters here whether the news they are getting is of American Samoa, a single island of less than 20 ml in length, or Western Samoa, two much larger islands which suffered considerably more and who, of course, play rugby!!!!
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LOw, I take your point that the US media does tend to be exceedingly self absorbed but this was just too big for them to ignore.
 
tom prendergast said:
LOw, I take your point that the US media does tend to be exceedingly self absorbed but this was just too big for them to ignore.
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It is not only the US media. Our own does a pretty good job.
You are right in that it is now a big story but when I started the thread it hadnt developed.
I have just watched the beeb and they are reporting both fairly as far as we can see. but now, of course we have the Sumatran earthquake and the substantial aftershocks. But here's the rub. The Philipine inundation of earlier this week is out of the main news completely.
So whilst the bias is not, in this case, politically governed it is time governed and the results are similar. Skewed news.
We suffered minor effects from Ketsana. Nearly turned my Penninsula Hotel golfing gamp inside out and I only popped down to the gym.
 
Lowaicue said:
It is not only the US media. Our own does a pretty good job.
You are right in that it is now a big story but when I started the thread it hadnt developed.
I have just watched the beeb and they are reporting both fairly as far as we can see. but now, of course we have the Sumatran earthquake and the substantial aftershocks. But here's the rub. The Philipine inundation of earlier this week is out of the main news completely.
So whilst the bias is not, in this case, politically governed it is time governed and the results are similar. Skewed news.
We suffered minor effects from Ketsana. Nearly turned my Penninsula Hotel golfing gamp inside out and I only popped down to the gym.
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We've learned this morning that Sumatra has suffered a second quake; body count so far from both was 429 people. We're still getting pictures from the Samoas, but the typhoon from southeast Asia has pretty much slipped off the radar. In addition, today there was a series of mild earthquakes (around 5 on the Richter scale) in central California, perhaps demonstrating the ultimate contiguity of the earth's crust. CNN emphasized the brevity of the time window available to scientists to issue tsunami warnings, particularly in the Pacific where so many islands are so vulnerable.
 
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