The Washington Post has to give it a mixed review. The headline is "Trump’s granddaughter gets praise and sympathy for singing for Chinese president." But it seems so positive:
Her Chinese is very good: She is reported to have been learning it from her Chinese nanny since she was an infant.What's the negative? A child was made to perform "in public," someone is quoted as saying, but she's just in a video, not knowing people would be watching. (Over 11 million watched on the first day.) I'm personally opposed to the use of children in politics, but as uses go, this one is great, because the child isn't saying anything political. She's just showing her knowledge of Chinese language and culture. Confucianism is sort of political, but so ancient that it hardly counts as political, and the ideas Arabella incanted were things like: respect your parents and teachers.
She sang a children’s song about sweeping rice fields, a jade-green river and a lake studded with lotus flowers, stocked with fat, golden carp and with flocks of ducks hiding in the reeds. She also recited the Three Characters Classic, an ancient text used to teach children the key values of Confucianism, as well as two other poems and another song.
On the Chinese Internet, Arabella won praise — one netizen called her an “adorable girl” whose Chinese is great, according to one widely shared post.
“This little girl is so smart, hope in the future that she can make a bigger contribution between friendly exchanges China and the United States,” wrote another netizen.
China’s Foreign Ministry even brought it up at its regular news conference on Thursday.
“Arabella as a small messenger of Sino-American friendship is deeply loved by the Chinese people,” said spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “I believe it will also help to narrow the feelings and distance between the peoples of China and the United States.”
Of course, the haters at WaPo had to spring into action in the comments. The top-rated comment is: "Did Arabella sing for Grandpa Vladimir too?" Second:
Exploiting his granddaughter is "par for the course." (pun intended.... All this admiration and all those compliments from the Chinese.... Clearly the Chinese got the message that flattering this narcissistic fool will get you anywhere you want to go......I would love to hear what the Chinese president says when this clearly insane Trump is not in hearing....they must be laughing their heads off that we have chosen such a "dotard." And, they are right!!!!!!Third:
There isn't enough therapy in the world to fix the problems that kid is going to have, springing from that gene pool. Apparently, you can never start using your offspring early enough to clinch a deal.And here's Scott Adams doing his Periscope this morning. Somewhere in there he calls the Arabella video the positive equivalent of the powerful negative persuasion that was the anti-Ed Gillespie pickup truck ad.
Posts
173 comments:
Ah, comments.
They keep me from having too much faith in humanity.
Perhaps Robert Mueller can subpoena her to find out if she did sing to Putin.
And perhaps Chuckles can tell us where she lies on the autism spectrum.
Musicologists can correct me if I'm wrong (and certainly will!), but it seems to me that she is pretty comfortable with the 12 tone scale. Not easy for someone brought up in the western music tradition.
Love trumps hate.
There isn't enough therapy in the world to fix the problems that kid is going to have, springing from that gene pool.
Maybe that commenter would say the same thing about the Obama girls and their defective paternal grandparents, but I doubt it.
About anyone, it's a shitty and moronic thing to say. Perhaps the commenter might want to see a therapist herself.
After puberty, the brain switches gears. Before puberty everything is possible with a child. Foreign languages are simple for children.
The real secret though, is immersion. If you are not required to speak a different language every day, then it fades away fast.
Unlike Obama's daughter, Trump's granddaughter wont be interning for a known sexual predator.
Eaglebeak
Arabella is as cute as a button.
Otherwise--how did the WaPo commenter manage to segue from this pleasant video into a rant about the "clearly insane Trump"?
Talk about monomania.
Wonder if any WaPo readers noticed that, whereas, in his last visit to China, Barack Obama was left without stairs to get out of Air Force One, Donald Trump got the full red-carpet, Forbidden City treatment?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si85lRyahX0
@Molly, I'd forgotten that incident. Our fearless leader from Hyde Park was not much respected outside the US by the end, was he?
DNC hack press salivate over corruptocrats, shit on the GOP at every turn. It's their job.
tcrosse said...
Love trumps hate.
11/9/17, 11:33 AM
They go low, we go high.
“Grandpa Vladimir”, that’s funny. Let’s have a sense of humor. The child is lovely and the song is sweet. I don’t see her sweeping any rice fields anytime soon though. Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
"Wonder if any WaPo readers noticed that, whereas, in his last visit to China, Barack Obama was left without stairs to get out of Air Force One, Donald Trump got the full red-carpet, Forbidden City treatment?"
Imagine if Trump had been left without stairs. The WaPo readers would be half- lamenting, half-snickering about how foreign leaders have no respect for the clown in the WH.
There is literally nothing -nothing- he or the members of his family can do that would elicit a positive response from rabid Trump haters.
And he's the one they blame for divisiveness.
UnknownInga, the Chinese respect him because he talked tough about China. They respect strength. They didn't respect the weak little America-hating turd that came before him.
Trump is certainly using his grand-daughter to help with China, but describing it as exploiting her uses an unfairly negative connotation. It has always been acceptable territory for the first family to be used to help charm foreign leaders as well as domestic constituencies. Why do you think all White Houses send out this Christmas cards with the first family on there. While I don't like children being involved in politics that is generally more reserved for inserting children into politically divisive issues. Broadly working towards some kind of more warm or at least benign relations between the US and China isn't exactly a politically divisive issue.
The commenters who talked about about Trump being responsive to flattery and praise are close to right but I think wrong in an important regard. Trump certainly likes flattery and praise, but I doubt it gets you anywhere with him. I suspect it is more lack of flattery and praise will hurt you with him. I suspect the Chinese know this, which is why Trump has been treated with far more respect than Obama was on his last trip.
She's our Shirley Temple for China
Americans have always been proud to be ornery and cantankerous.
But these people are just bitchy.
I am Laslo.
The Chinese scale is pentatonic. In the key of C, leave out F and B.
Of course, the haters at WaPo had to spring into action in the comments.
These people figure of they just swallow (and spew) enough poison, eventually Trump will die.
Has anybody accused Arabella of cultural appropriation yet?
"UnknownInga, the Chinese respect him because he talked tough about China. They respect strength. They didn't respect the weak little America-hating turd that came before him. "
You know the East and West coast elite have been sending their kids to Chinese language classes for years now. It's because they realize that the center of global economic activity is shifting to the East. It started with the outsourcing of manufacturing and will continue with service sector jobs. Trump's message to the rust belt was - don't retrain, don't change because I'm bringing back jobs (20th century manufacturing jobs) from China. He obviously doesn't believe that in private. Maybe he should push some of his supporters to start teaching their kids Mandarin or at least become bilingual if they want to do better in a globalized economy.
Like a bird outside my window, I may not understand it but know its beautiful.
"I don’t see her sweeping any rice fields"
Technical point - you don't sweep rice fields.
Child labor in rice fields certainly is a traditional thing. Much of it very physically demanding. And some very dirty, as it was usually a kids job to gather up the daily dung and carry it out to the paddies.
"I don’t see her sweeping any rice fields anytime soon though."
And I don't think Johnny Cash actually shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
That was Paddock, and it was Las Vegas, not Reno.
I am Laslo.
This would be all over every news show, late night show, newspaper and magazine as the cutest thing ever if it were a Democrat in the white house. Any criticism would be denounced as Misogynist.
All music is pretty much twelve-tone. It gets tiring telling people about this. There's math behind it.
Pentatonic is just a deletion of notes from twelve to five. Think of the black keys on the piano. That's pentatonic.
People like to think there's some magical Asian or African or Antarctican scale that works on some different math or something. Yeah, that would be great, but it would sound like crap, like most of the stuff you hear on steel drums (which are mostly pentatonic, but badly tuned). Music works on math, because harmonics work together.
One of my sons can bend almost any note out of his guitar. It's glorious to hear. But we all know the note he's hinting at. Bend...bend...Louis Armstrong could do that, too, on trumpet. Sidney Bechet on clarinet.
"UnknownInga, the Chinese respect him because he talked tough about China. They respect strength. They didn't respect the weak little America-hating turd that came before him. "
Trump just insults people from afar and then lavishly praises them in person. That really isn't a foreign policy doctrine.
The WaPo comments are a sewer. It is scary to think how many people in DC rely on the WaPo for news and opinion.
"All music is pretty much twelve-tone."
Depends on how the tones are divided.
From Wiki:
"Since the Chinese system is not an equal tempered tuning, playing a melody starting from the lǜ nearest to A will not necessarily sound the same as playing the same melody starting from some other lǜ, since the wolf interval will occupy a different point in the scale."
Same loaf of bread, but the slices can be different sizes.
I am Laslo.
That little girl is adorable and a fantastic ambassador and that's what's going to drive the left crazy
So, those girls used in the explicit feminist videos weren't being exploited?
Those kids singing Obama's praise weren't being exploited?
This is week tea.
Haters gotta hate.
Too early to tell if she is going to be as hot as her Mother.
Stop it, people.
I am Laslo.
Yeah, Laslo, that's exactly the crap I'm writing about.
You could say A440 and A880 should be divided by, I dunno, maybe seven, and make the frets or the keys match that, but nobody will want to listen to the music.
People like to think there's some magical Asian or African or Antarctican scale that works on some different math or something. Yeah, that would be great, but it would sound like crap, like most of the stuff you hear on steel drums (which are mostly pentatonic, but badly tuned). Music works on math, because harmonics work together.
True, it's all about the length of the soundwaves. One note harmonizes with another because one wave fits within the wave of the other. For example, a 5th will have 3 peaks within a single peak of the sine wave of the root (or fundamental) note. So it works out that you have 12 tones. Eastern style music and instrumentation just tends to subdivide things differently, typically into microtones.
"You could say A440 and A880 should be divided by, I dunno, maybe seven, and make the frets or the keys match that, but nobody will want to listen to the music."
Unless it is done on a Moog. Zwooooosh!
I am Laslo.
We could have Chelsea's kids sit there and drool. You know, like their gamma.
If their kids could sing so well in Mandarin you bet your bippy these detractors would have video clips up on Facebook showing the world how wonderful their little Einsteins are.
But I am sure glad the Clintons, Bushes and Obamas didn't rub their offspring's talents in our faces. I imagine Chelsea must know several languages, right?
That's some intense nannying..
Buwaya: ""I don’t see her sweeping any rice fields"
Technical point - you don't sweep rice fields.
Child labor in rice fields certainly is a traditional thing. Much of it very physically demanding. And some very dirty, as it was usually a kids job to gather up the daily dung and carry it out to the paddies.”
When my daughter was a child, she took violins lessons and struck up a friendship with a young Chinese girl whose father taught at the university. Soon the parents were pushing for the two girls to spend more time together. As they explained it, neither parent had ever learned the fine art of “playing”; they were always working as children. My daughter wrote the insider’s book on playing, and they were hopeful that some of that would rub off on their daughter, who otherwise spent her Sunday mornings doing calculus problems.
Ah, but playing is an art (see May Sarton’s poem ON BEING GIVEN TIME), and the young Chinese girl never really got the hang of it.
Intervals, equal or unequal.Prelude No. 1, C major, BWV 846, from the Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. Played in:
Pythagorean tuning.
Meantone temperament.
Equal temperament.
I am Laslo.
Ivanka Trump put out a video some months ago, maybe this same one? with her daughter singing or reciting something in Mandarin. I didn't watch it so I'm not sure, foreign languages, they're all Greek to me. But I remember thinking at the time, very smart, having her learn this language at such an early age, which is the best time to learn another language anyway, when you're young but probably especially true for something like Mandarin. I don't suppose the kid's parents get a lot of points for that but they should.
I remember reading way back when about JFK visiting Paris and Jackie was such a hit, partly because of the fact that she was so incredibly stylish but also because she could speak French and conversed with De Gaulle in that language all through dinner. Not too many of our Presidents or their families have been able to do that, not counting George W. and his Spanglish.
Melania speaks several languages, that's got to be helpful as well. But probably no points there either, which is sad, because other countries, they appreciate that sort of thing. Does it help anything on a geopolitical basis? Probably no but it doesn't hurt anything either. It's just classy, a chance to show we're not all ignorant ugly Americans. For examples of ugly, see snarky commenters at the Washington Post (but not here at Althouse).
Well, there's some kind of psychological tuning. I don't think that's what you're thinking of, Laslo.
And then there's musical tuning. Which is what the world uses.
Here's a fun video of a guitar that's fretted in microtones.
Trump's message to the rust belt was - don't retrain, don't change because I'm bringing back jobs (20th century manufacturing jobs) from China. He obviously doesn't believe that in private.
If Trump really thought he could help restore American manufacturing jobs, he would have somehow prevented his daughter from having her daughter begin to learn Chinese before his election. Solid reasoning.
Does anyone besides me remember when, according to the lefty commentators who showed up on Althouse, conservatives were the "h8ers"? Must have been comforting to the lefties to drop their masks and let their shriveled souls show to everyone.
Good times, good times.
How do you know what Trump is saying to them, near or far?
Or what they are telling Trump?
"You know the East and West coast elite"
My 10 year old niece has been studying Mandarin for 4 years now.
She is not a coastal elite.
The song wasn't very catchy. Does anyone know of any Chinese song that became a top 40 hit?.........I wonder what would happen to a Chinese athlete if he took a knee during the playing of their anthem.
"Trump just insults people from afar and then lavishly praises them in person."
As buwaya said, how do you know what Trump is saying to them?
What if he went over there and insulted them? Would that be better? You'd be here pissing and moaning about how unpresidential he was acting. You prove my earlier point - there is nothing at all Trump can do or not do that would make any difference to the Left. You're driven by blind hate.
The Three Character Classic -
http://ctext.org/three-character-classic
Random bit -
Make a name for yourselves,
and glorify your father and mother,
shed lustre on your ancestors,
enrich your posterity.
I couldn't play that video (problyadblocker) so looked on youtube and found "Arabella Kushner Sings Chinese Songs at US-China Summit" Apr 7, 2017, in front of a big crowd - impressive! (although the sound was terrible). FWIW, the taped version is on youtube here.
And wow, those Wapo assholes really are assholes.
Child labor in rice fields certainly is a traditional thing.
They don't have to bend over as far.
For all critics of trade with China, Adam Smith explains the benefits of free trade. All Trump wants is less mercantilism in Asia and payment for our patented property now being taken for free.
The North Slope of Alaska is now going into the business of supplying China with LNG thanks to a deal that includes mass Chinese investment in Alaska. Putin may be really depressed, but Americans should be celebrating "The Leader of The World's" skill at making deals.
@Buwaya @exiled
"As buwaya said, how do you know what Trump is saying to them?"
He has zero foreign policy experience or ideological priors, so for all we know the Chinese could be playing him like a violin. They know that he likes being treated like a king, so they rolled out the red carpet for him. The Saudis did that too and Trump, being susceptible to flattery, gave them the green light to carry out their foreign policy goals.
My point is that there is no foreign policy doctrine at play here unlike Obama's "pivot to Asia" strategy. He's just winging it and we'll find out soon if it's working or not.
Oh, BTW, do you know what would've really helped squeeze China? TPP.
Child labor in rice fields certainly is a traditional thing.
They don't have to bend over as far.
Careful who you tell.
Geoff Matthews said...
So, those girls used in the explicit feminist videos weren't being exploited?
Those kids singing Obama's praise weren't being exploited?
This is week tea.
11/9/17, 12:41 PM
Lord you people can be SO dense! That all was so completely different because... um... cause... just one minute...
Cause they were all "woke"! Thats it, they were woke and of course this spawn of the spawn of Satan can't possibly be human, let alone woke!
Good to hear from all the Amerikan critics who act from being ashamed that they can't speak proper English, much less Chinese or any other foreign language, or sing, either.
"He has zero foreign policy experience or ideological priors, so for all we know the Chinese could be playing him like a violin."
For all we know.
" They know that he likes being treated like a king, so they rolled out the red carpet for him."
Right. Because the red carpet is never rolled out for US Presidents on state visits. It's standard to have them not provide stairs for Air Force One, like they did for Obama.
"My point is that there is no foreign policy doctrine at play here unlike Obama's "pivot to Asia" strategy. He's just winging it..."
For all you know. Except you know jack.
Very weak stuff today. Try harder.
Big Mike, as staff musicologist, I can say that she isn't singing in the twelve-tone system. The first part is just pentatonic. The later, faster bit isn't really sung at all. You could call it Sprechstimme if you like, but that isn't twelve-tone either. (Schoenberg used both, but that's about all they have in common.)
Nonapod, you are forgetting the Pythagorean comma. There's a reason we can't ever play completely in tune, and why even in a perfectly-tuned string quartet the cello's open C won't form a true major third (uh, plus a few octaves) with the first violinist's open E. There have been experiments in just intonation (Ben Johnston comes to mind), but they're rare.
Shorter Althouse: I'm against using children as political tools except when I'm not.
"My point is that there is no foreign policy doctrine at play here unlike Obama's "pivot to Asia" strategy."
How do you know that "there is no foreign policy doctrine at play here" or that there was such a thing (whatever it is) re "pivot to Asia", which amounted to what, exactly?
Little children have always been used as political tools, by royalty.
And so also by, say, starving proles in bread riots.
I'm starting to believe that when it comes to foreign policy, being "experienced" or not isn't a critical factor, or at least not as much of a factor as some people seem to believe it to be. There seems to be this blanket assumption that "experienced at at thing" = "good at a thing". But to me, when talking about foreign policy, the actual... you know... "policy" part is far more important than having all sorts of experience.
There's plenty of people who have lots of foreign policy experience, many of whom I personally consider either morons or people who pursue policies that I believe are against our best interests. John Kerry springs to mind.
Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
Odd how you forget Obama campaigned against MFN status and then supported MFN status after the election. Wait, no, that's not odd, it's just disingenuous.
Trump thinks everything is a business negotiation. He starts at a position he knows you won't accept so he has room to compromise. People on the right who thought he was going to be the orange Barry Goldwater have been pretty disappointed.
Ug, the vid wouldn't play for me here so I brought it up an Youtube and out of 16 comments one was anti-Semitic. Really?
The little kids' shows on TV sometimes have Mandarin as one of their languages. My niece knew some when she was little. Much easier to learn when you are young. As long as it is a video and they are not carting the girl around and making her perform in public, I think it's okay. They had already published numerous videos of her singing or reciting in Mandarin on Youtube. Not something allowed for a kid in my extended family, but hell, they've got plenty of security, don't they?
This appears to be the "in" thing - remember Zuckerburg speaking in Mandarin? He's got a New Year's video up too.
In the heartland, the kid or the adult just learns a language and it's not considered to be world news. But if you do it on the coasts, I guess it's important and of world significance?
As far as I can judge, the little girl's pronunciation is pretty good. I have this secret fascination with Chinese TV series, and I watch some shows on the internet. The kid is making some of the more difficult sounds correctly.
Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
You bitched when he was 'hardline' on China. And now you're bitching that he's 'crawling up their asses.'
I think it's safe to say all you do is bitch.
There is something about that childs expression that strikes me that she could pass as a Chinese mestiza. Or on TV, or from a distance.
Woah, was that Laslo forgetting himself and providing actual useful information? The Wikipedia page he linked and the sound samples he hinted at are really great -- if you listen to the just intonation version of the Bach piece, you can hear how lovely the initial chords are in that tuning, but the further out it gets from a C major chord, the nastier it sounds. I don't think I've ever heard such a nice example of it! Makes sense, because Bach was trying to show off how much better the "well-tempered" tuning he was using was for that sort of modulation.
"12 tone scale" isn't the proper terminology at all. "12 tone" refers to a (fancy pants 20th century) method of composition which tries to use all 12 notes in a standard Western chromatic scale "equally" instead of having a single key signature. It is very much NOT the case that most music is "12 tone".
It's kind of weirdly debatable whether it makes sense to say most music uses the standard chromatic scale -- certainly loads of music can be approximately notated using those 12 notes, but much of it deviates from the standard 12 note equal tempered musical scale, whether it's in one or two blue notes or in using some sort of on-the-fly just tempering approach, etc. (For instance, a skilled violin player might read that standard notation made from 12 notes, but play more like 24 different pitches, as the exact pitch of a note will be corrected so it fits in the overall chord more nicely.)
Trump's trip is going too well; the media needs a negative angle here.
The "pivot to Asia" thing was entirely imaginary. The assets we need to have more influence in Asia are not the same as the assets we were using heavily in Iraq and Afghanistan. It could have been less imaginary if Obama had pushed for, say, greater sea power at the expense of ground forces. But he never did.
"that when it comes to foreign policy, being "experienced" or not isn't a critical factor, or at least not as much of a factor as some people seem to believe it to be. "
Case in point, Otto von Bismarck.
When he entered politics his sum total of diplomatic experience was as a failed suitor of two American young ladies. And as a politician he spent most of his time making domestic political trouble.
Quite an eccentric fellow. His life is worth studying.
“Shorter Althouse: I'm against using children as political tools except when I'm not.”
Yes, I noticed that too.
I wonder what would happen to a Chinese athlete if he took a knee during the playing of their anthem.
He'd probably end up in the same prison as that guy who stood in front of the tank.
She is a lovely child and very accomplished. Any grandparent would be proud and it certainly was topical to bring the video to China.
Nice to think about a child who is learning some difficult skills at a good level. Much respect to the parents
“Shorter Althouse: I'm against using children as political tools except when I'm not.”
It depends on how it makes her feel. Remember the feelz are all that matters...facts and truth are just distractions.
Our CIA guys who prefer continual war with Eastasia, and assasinated JFK so they could have the clout to order LBJ to waste a generation in Viet Nam, hate this Trump approach.
To keep cold wars going, the enemy must be painted as monsters. Making them look like people raising innocent children might cause a peace deal to arise. So the WaPo must write negatively as ordered by the CIA which owns Bezos.
"He'd probably end up in the same prison as that guy who stood in front of the tank."
And, unlike the case of the fellow in front of the tank, putting him in prison would have been quite popular. Chinese are patriots, in what would seem an odd way to many Americans. They are loyal to China, the entity, the people. They are less loyal to the current or past iterations of the state.
"as ordered by the CIA which owns Bezos."
I thought Bezos bought the CIA.
So its the other way around?
I can't keep up.
It's better to be a dotard than a retard, which is what so many WaPo commenters seem to be.
I love how people yap on and on, usually in a supercilious way, about "Trump being this" and "Trump being that" when in fact, they have ZERO knowledge to base their opinion.
Is Trump susceptible to flattery? Who knows.
“Shorter Althouse: I'm against using children as political tools except when I'm not.”
Yes, I noticed that too.
The child didn't make any political statement, advocate for any political party or point of view. She was showing her skills by speaking and singing a child's song in another language.
What language would be acepptable to y'all and would not be immediately pounced upon as being a "political tool". What are the allowed (by the leftists) permitted languages. .....Japanese? German? French? Arabic? Basque? Catalan? Kenyan? Spanish? Portuguese?
Is there anything that Trump or his extended family can do or can wear or can sing that won't be pounced upon by you. Anything?
How about she does a tap dancing routine? Would that be cultural appropriation? (Hint ...it wouldn't be since the origin of tap dancing is from Irish Clog Dancing and English jigs.....see Riverdance.)
Wasn't the Kushner involved ins selling America Visa's to Chinese for $500K a pop?
Isn't this their daughter?
The song wasn't very catchy. Does anyone know of any Chinese song that became a top 40 hit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdJwMAzIDKE
A Chinese guy in his apartment playing the erhu to music minus one. It's a western scale though.
Shorter MSM:
Trump complimenting foreigners = selling out America
Trump standing up foreigners = Xenophobe and dangerous warmonger.
Comment on the WaPo -
""This time, Arabella, in a Chinese-style dress and in front of an American flag, dedicated her performance to “Grandpa Xi” and “Grandma Peng.”
Creepy."
===================================================
My comment -
"Grandpa" and "Grandma", among Chinese, is a traditional polite form of address even to unrelated elders.
I speak fluent Chinese, and I can tell you that the song's lyrics were totally mistranslated. The actual translation begins as follows:
The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Grandpa, have a cup of the world's finest blossom flower tea, and sit your most ashamed ass down in the dock as I recite in verse the criminal charges against you.
Trumpit leaves the list of criminal charges blank.
Geez, Trumpit, that's just stupid. Do you have anything interesting to say?
"Sweeping" in the song is not about some mysterious abusive Chinese custom carried in rice fields by children. It means "wide ranging" as in "Mueller's sweeping abuse of power" or "blowing over" as in "The wind comes sweeping down the plain". It's complex and a translation anyhow. But I hear a kind of playing with idea being translated as "sweeping" The song might be saying: "the rice fields cover a wide area [sweeping] by following the bends of (sweeping along with] a jade-green river and the fields bend in the sweeping wind into forms like waves [sweeping] on a wide [sweeping] sea." Anyhow I can see those fields and feel what that ancient dreamer wanted me to feel.
It looked something like this
https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-29264812-stock-footage-panoramic-view-of-karst-formations-and-rice-paddy-fields-in-tam-coc-ninh-binh-province-vietnam.html?src=rel/5806151:1/gg
Yes, I noticed that too.
Inconsistency makes us human. In the past Althouse has staked out the most extreme territory on this question, arguing for example that children alone should control their images. As I noted in my comment at that link, public photos of your children are simply another way of telling them “you are part of a community that existed before you were born and without which you would not exist; you will need to accept that community and adjust your actions to meet its expectations.”
I wonder if online papers will just get to the point that they will disable all comments as they now without exception turn into poo flinging exercises. It really doesn't matter what trump say or does it will be responded to by bile and anger no matter what the issue is.
I wonder what would happen to a Chinese athlete if he took a knee during the playing of their anthem.
He could get sent to jail for three years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/asia/china-hong-kong-national-anthem.html?_r=0
shorter leftwing hive mind: It's only Ok if it's leftwing propaganda.
@Michelle Dulak Thomson, I could never be a politician because I know what I don't know (mostly). Thanks for your input. But if you are familiar with pentatonic music, do you agree or disagree that Arabella sings it well?
“you are part of a community that existed before you were born and without which you would not exist; you will need to accept that community and adjust your actions to meet its expectations.”
Precisely correct, and this is precisely correct.
See above, re the Three-Character Classic.
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@buwaya
"How do you know that "there is no foreign policy doctrine at play here" or that there was such a thing (whatever it is) re "pivot to Asia", which amounted to what, exactly?"
I have seen no evidence of a foreign policy doctrine at play. For starters, Trump's incapable of articulating a coherent policy regarding China. If I'm generous and grant him that he's delegating strategy to the State department or to other China experts in his cabinet, I see no evidence of that either. The state department has been hollowed out by Tillerson - not that it matters since they're never on the same page anyway - and American foreign policy is really rudderless. Obama's pivot to Asia amounted to encircling China by developing closer ties with Japan,India, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. TPP would've been the cherry on the cake. The obvious beneficiary of its abandonment is China.
My hunch is that in exchange for some vague promises of investment in the US and help with North Korea, Trump will stay out of Xi's way in Asia. Other countries in the area will be forced to either cozy up to the new bully or face China's wrath.
I read a lot of articles a few years back about this being China's century. I was skeptical, but now I think we're letting it happen out of sheer incompetence. The world will be worse off as a result of it.
US global leadership is a good thing.
The Right vehemently opposed Nixon's opening of China in 1972. For those of you who are conspiracy-minded, there's a nice connection between Nixon's opening of China, and his eventual downfall from Watergate.
45 years later? I think Nixon was right, and the Right was wrong.
" developing closer ties with Japan, India, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc."
But Obama didn't. Certainly not in any concrete way.
There was near-zero military aid to the front-line countries vis-a-vis China, on the South China sea matter (Philippines and Vietnam), no upgrade of the Pacific Fleet, no delivery of anything tangible at all.
This legacy of nothing was THE reason Duterte was so openly flirting with a break with the US and cozying up with China.
In the Philippines we would say about such as Obama - "laway lang 'yan" - he's nothing but spit.
Note also -
It was the legacy of nothing that made the Chinese feel so safe about openly humiliating Obama before everyone who mattered, especially their neighbors - they were making the perfectly reasonable point that this US alliance was too weak a reed to rely on.
It stung, in Asia, because it was so obviously true.
This is what the US gave the Philippines - everything of substance, over 6 years -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorio_del_Pilar-class_frigate
Three ex-US Coastguard cutters, unarmed by modern standards, unable to provide even token opposition to Chinese air and naval units. Just three more targets, full of Filipinos, to be sunk at will.
No squadrons of F-16's to intercept Chinese naval strike aircraft, no air-defense radars or missile systems, no antiship-missile armed combat vessels with which they could at least hope to take some of the bastards with them, nothing.
And for that they asked the Filipinos, on the front line, to stick their necks out.
@buwaya
Obama did build a strong bilateral military cooperation framework with India, which he hoped to cultivate as a strong bulwark against China's regional ambitions. I follow a lot of military blogs and saw a big uptick in joint military exercises and arms sales between India and the US.
The US navy does hold military exercises with Vietnam. Don't know much about the Philippines, but military investment isn't the only way to help these countries. Trade deals like TPP would've helped a low income country like Vietnam a lot. Economic strength and health usually translates to military strength.
I have seen no evidence of a foreign policy doctrine at play
Why should Trump or any other President lay out in advance what his plans specifically are? All that does is put him/us at a disadvantage.
Besides.....Trump has already stated his "doctrine" and it is one that got him elected.
America First.
"This is what the US gave the Philippines - everything of substance, over 6 years - "
Might have thought about that possibility before the Philippine government threw the US military out of Subic bay and Clark in the early 90's.
@buwaya
"This is what the US gave the Philippines - everything of substance, over 6 years - "
Not good, but does this reflect on the reluctance of US lawmakers to sell weapons to Duterte? His war on drugs has led to recent calls to ban weapons sales to the Philippines unless those weapons are used to fight Islamists.
There could also be budgetary constraints at play here. Can the Philippines afford the kit you mentioned?
" but military investment isn't the only way to help these countries."
If the main threat to your country is the fact that 600 Chinese strike aircraft are one hour away, yes it is.
Speaking of nasty leftist bitches;
Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
Nyajerkoff is sure Trump has no experience in foreign policy unlike Kerry who knew everything there was to know about Vietnam.
The left is pumped up today after the Blue state Virginia elected a Dimocrat.
Of course the guy has done business all over the world but that doesn't count because....
I thought that it was a good move. Showing his cute granddaughter singing In Mandarin complimented the Chinese, by showing them respect. He can then twist their arms about North Korea. Almost good cop/bad cop in one person. Or, maybe the opposite of “negs” used by pickup artists (where they compliment, then take back a little). Probably wouldn’t work with anyone else besides, maybe, the French. But my understanding is that the Chinese are extremely proud of their multiple millennia of being civilized. Of their long history, etc. Trump plays into this without showing weakness.
@ Dust Bunny Queen
"Why should Trump or any other President lay out in advance what his plans specifically are? All that does is put him/us at a disadvantage."
Foreign policy isn't always like Poker. If you don't clearly signal your intentions to allies and adversaries you run the risk of things escalating out of control very quickly. Even Nixon despite his madman theory had Kissinger and was quite shrewd. The madman theory still didn't work all that well and is less likely to work under someone who doesn't know what he's doing (Trump).
"Not good, but does this reflect on the reluctance of US lawmakers to sell weapons to Duterte? "
Duterte was elected in 2016. All this "reluctance" applies to the Aquino administration - and Arroyo before him.
No, duh, the Philippines most certainly can't afford the kit to fight China. This is great-power level kit. Even a token defense against that would be far out of Philippine resources.
The Philippines is THE front line in the East Asian game. Its on the other side of the main trade routes, and above all it would be crippling to an anti-Chinese alliance to permit Chinese bases there.
@buwaya
"If the main threat to your country is the fact that 600 Chinese strike aircraft are one hour away, yes it is. "
So I assume that under Trump we'll see a few carriers in the South China sea in a real show of force? We'll see..
@Michael K
"Nyajerkoff is sure Trump has no experience in foreign policy unlike Kerry who knew everything there was to know about Vietnam.
The left is pumped up today after the Blue state Virginia elected a Dimocrat."
WTF man. You used to be more civil and reasonable. What happened?
"So I assume that under Trump we'll see a few carriers in the South China sea in a real show of force? We'll see.."
There areb three carrier groups in the area now.
@Rusty
There areb three carrier groups in the area now.
Good! BTW the Obama admin also carried out four U.S. freedom of navigation operations in the South China sea.
Foreign policy isn't always like Poker. If you don't clearly signal your intentions to allies and adversaries you run the risk of things escalating out of control very quickly
Actually, it is. You are just playing a different hand depending on who is dealing the cards, who is playing the game and how many players in the game. Each card hand is an individual event. How you approach the table, place your bets, discard and draw cards all depends on WHO you are playing with.
The ultimate goal of course is to come out a winner in the end of the tournament or round of games. Sometimes in a poker tournament, you lose a hand. Sometimes you lose on purpose because it tells you much about your opponents and often gives them a false sense of security.
What makes you think Trump doesn't know what he is doing, when he has dealt with foreign governments and foreign business powers, one on one, for decades and has been pretty successful at it.
Just because he doesn't play the game or the hand the way YOU would or the way your past loser Presidents have played their hands, doesn't mean that he isn't playing the game or doesn't know what he is doing.
The Chinese are some of the worlds best and most avid gamblers. I think they recognize that Trump has their affinity for this game of diplomacy and dealing.
If you don't clearly signal your intentions to allies and adversaries you run the risk of things escalating out of control very quickly
Of course if we consider our Allies as shills in the game, then of course some signalling would be in order.
:-D
"And for that they asked the Filipinos, on the front line, to stick their necks out."
WE shouldn't be asking the Filipinos to "stick their necks out" at all. They should be kept out of any Sino-USA dispute. Sadly, we involved them in a Jap**-USA war for no reason. Had we given the Philippines their Independence in 1920 or 1930, then they wouldn't have been invaded and fought over.
** = shortened to "Jap" deliberately. For some reason you can say "Brit" or "Mick" or "Aussie" or "Yank". But if you get tired of writing out J-a-p-a-n-e-s-e every single fucking time and want to shorten it to "Jap" - hey that's "racist".
And the chances of us going to war with China.
Zero.
Chance of us going to war with Russia.
Zero.
But why stop the "Risk" players from dreaming?
@Dust Bunny Queen
"Just because he doesn't play the game or the hand the way YOU would or the way your past loser Presidents have played their hands, doesn't mean that he isn't playing the game or doesn't know what he is doing."
So lets create and stick by some metrics of foreign policy success then. It's probably too early, but could you or other Trump supporters outline what a FP victory would look like? And what FP goals has Trump outlined that he's working towards achieving and what are his strategies?
So far, I think aligning ourselves with Saudi Arabia and their Mid-East ambitions is a policy that will only make the mid east more unstable. Maybe an unstable mid-east IS a FP goal for Trump, but I wouldn't know that because he hasn't been clear on what he wants to achieve. "Make America Great Again" is super vague. It's not a goal, it's a slogan.
buwaya said...
"Not good, but does this reflect on the reluctance of US lawmakers to sell weapons to Duterte? "
Duterte was elected in 2016. All this "reluctance" applies to the Aquino administration - and Arroyo before him.
No, duh, the Philippines most certainly can't afford the kit to fight China. This is great-power level kit. Even a token defense against that would be far out of Philippine resources.
The Philippines is THE front line in the East Asian game. Its on the other side of the main trade routes, and above all it would be crippling to an anti-Chinese alliance to permit Chinese bases there.
11/9/17, 4:29 PM
You know I love you, buwaya, and mostly agree with the above - but among other things, our own cupboard is pretty bare of spares/hand-me-downs. Certainly for naval assets. Air? We could clear out the Boneyard, bunch of F-4s and like that, probably some -16s, send 'em over, but can you afford to tend and feed them? In theory it would be swell to crank out a few Austin Burkes for you, but my parents' car just died and I have to replace it, x 330 million.
ISTM your best bet would be to invite us back into Subic/Clark, or if they're too badly hosed, new bases elsewhere. Give us 99-year leases so we feel like we got something (tangible, as in an election campaign) out of it. Maybe make an oil deal where Exxon comes into your piece of the Scarborough Shoals - gives Uncle Sugar some skin in the game.
Would our X dollars contribution perhaps be best spent on a bunch of shore-based Harpoons, Brahmos, or such, as opposed to ships or aircraft?
Nyah,
WTF man. You used to be more civil and reasonable. What happened?
Could it be...SATAN? I mean, could it be pieces like this:
Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
Now is that civil, or is that reasonable?
** = shortened to "Jap" deliberately. For some reason you can say "Brit" or "Mick" or "Aussie" or "Yank". But if you get tired of writing out J-a-p-a-n-e-s-e every single fucking time and want to shorten it to "Jap" - hey that's "racist".
11/9/17, 4:44 PM
And I think you can say Pak but if you say Paki all hell's out for noon.
BL,
I know very well that the US is strapped - heck, you guys can barely put together the airgroups for 3-4 aircraft carriers, the service situation for F-18's is so bad, because the F-35 has been delayed so long.
And same re F-16's or whatever.
But the why does not change the what.
The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Grandpa, have a cup of the world's finest blossom flower tea, and sit your most ashamed ass down in the dock as I recite in verse the criminal charges against you.
Hahahahahha. Trumpit, did you yell at the sky today? Stamp your feet and shake your fist impotently?
As for Clark-Subic, and other smaller spots, that stuff was vaguely, again, on the table in 2013-2016.
But frankly its irrelevant. I don't think you need a major anchorage/airbase way out on a limb, again. That will be, strategically, just another hostage to fortune if you haven't got the naval and air power in the first place.
1941-42 were EXACTLY this strategic situation. We should all learn from it.
This is what the US gave the Philippines - everything of substance, over 6 years -
Maybe that had something to do with the Philippines telling the U.S. to get the fuck out a few years ago.......
Isn't the Trump family to be praised for raising a multicultural young girl? Exposing her to the experiences of 'the other' that hails from China? Ensuring she won't be the single language 'ugly American' when she eventually travels abroad?
Or is it just simple 'cultural appropriation' cuz she's a cracker that the left doesn't like, as mentioned above?
Foreign policy isn't always like Poker. If you don't clearly signal your intentions to allies and adversaries you run the risk of things escalating out of control very quickly
Actually, it is.
The better analogy is Bridge.
"Isn't the Trump family to be praised for raising a multicultural young girl?"
She's not "multicultural", she is merely well educated, "accomplished" in the old sense.
This used to be a goal of education for young ladies, to learn a foreign language, or two or three, and enough of various cultures to be respectful and aware. Also to play a musical instrument, to ride, to dance, to draw and paint, to shoot an arrow, etc. Hence a girl was accomplished.
In the old days they learned French, Italian, German, Latin, Greek.
Now they learn Chinese, Japanese, also.
The Saudis put on the dog for Trump, sent no dignitaries to meet Obama on his last visit.
Cuba sent no dignitaries to greet Obama even after he blew the Castro brothers.
The Chinese put on the dog for Trump, wouldn't even provide stairs for Obama on his last visit. Obama had to use the baggage steps.
The list is longer.
But of course Trump is an idiot on foreign policy. Less we forget Trump on the campaign trail in fall of 2016 listed the disrespectful treatment of Obama by foreign governments. Candidate Trump vowed that when he lands on foreign soil and America is shown that kind of disrespect Air Force One will just taxi down the runway and fly back to DC. Could they have been paying attention?
"Maybe that had something to do with the Philippines telling the U.S. to get the fuck out a few years ago......."
The US giveaways to the Philippines ended long before 1991, when the US left Clark/Subic as a result of the volcano. IIRC the last significant US equipment transfer was ex-Vietnam War USN F-8 Crusaders in 1977. Gone long ago.
"WTF man. You used to be more civil and reasonable. What happened?"
You got full of your expertise in foreign policy.
I don't mind a few anti-Trump diatribes from you lefties but dial it back a little.
The left assumes Trump knows nothing and Obama was the lightbringer.
I'm still trying to figure out why he did what he did. I am reluctant to believe someone could be elected President and be an enemy sympathizer. It's as if he was determined to make Iran, a sworn enemy, stronger and us weaker.
The military is staggering after 8 years of "Diversity" and PC crap.
The West Point letter and the incompetence of the Navy just demonstrated are frightening evidence of the destruction of the US military but Obama appointees like Navy Secretary Mabus who never served in any capacity.
In April 2010 a furor arose when it was reported that Mabus made the controversial proposal to name a United States Navy warship the USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) after the late Pennsylvania Democratic congressman John Murtha. Additional naming controversies occurred due to the naming of auxiliary ship after civil rights activist Cesar Chavez who has described his service in the U.S. Navy as "...the worst two years in my life,"[21][22] and a corvette/littoral combat ship after former Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords following her suffering life-threatening wounds in a 2011 mass shooting in her home district of Tucson, Arizona
and
After a January 2015 report by the Defense Business Board and McKinsey & Company discovered DoD was spending $134 billion, 23% of its total budget, on back-office work, and that the back-office bureaucracy staff of over one million people was nearly as great as the number of active troops, the Board recommended a plan to cut $125 billion in waste over five years.[29] However, when Ash Carter became Defense Secretary the next month, he replaced the Board chairman, the McKinsey results were classified as secret, and its report was removed from public websites.[29] Mabus then gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute highlighting the McKinsey report, calling the back-office costs "pure overhead" and particularly criticizing the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and the Defense Logistics Agency.[29] Under Secretary Frank Kendall III then wrote to him asking "please refrain from taking any more public pot shots" and "I do not want this spilling over into further public discourse."[29]
On January 1, 2016, Mabus ordered the United States Marine Corps to devise a plan on co-integration of male and female recruits in basic training, giving top brass a two-week planning period, along with requesting a subject matter expert, to report the best method of said plan.
His only experience outside the US was ambassador to Saudi Arabia, for which he also had no qualification.
Obama's Secretary of the Army also had no qualifications.
Obama's Secretaries of the Air Force were no better.
It makes you wonder what his motives were.
Meanwhile you slam Trump who has done business all over the world.
Obama didn't even speak Austrian.
"learn a foreign language, or two or three, and enough of various cultures to be respectful and aware. Also to play a musical instrument, to ride, to dance, to draw and paint, to shoot"
Sounds like West Point in the time of Robert E. Lee, would have to add military history and fencing.
The US giveaways to the Philippines ended long before 1991, when the US left Clark/Subic as a result of the volcano.
"Finally on 27 December, President Corazon Aquino, who had previously fought to delay the U.S. pullout to cushion the country's battered economy, issued a formal notice for the U.S. to leave by the end of 1992"
Hey Gahrie, if we're maneuvering to get Cam Ranh Bay back from people who put us in tiger cages, we can deal with folks where we have a deep connection, who invited us out after what you will remember was a lot going on, they had just gotten rid of Marcos, that whole revolution type deal. Of all bygones, you would hold a grudge over this?
Now buwaya... Indeed US basing opens wormcans. But if we gave you the arsenal of say KSA, where would you put it, how would you sustain it, who would operate it? How much pilot training can you afford? How much JP-7? How much paint, asphalt, gold foil?
Or would it rot?
“Obama didn't even speak Austrian.”
Trump can’t even speak English.
"Now buwaya... Indeed US basing opens wormcans. But if we gave you the arsenal of say KSA, where would you put it, how would you sustain it, who would operate it? How much pilot training can you afford? How much JP-7? How much paint, asphalt, gold foil?
Or would it rot?"
Where to put it - there are way underused airbases all over the islands.
Clark and Subic even.
Filipinos will sustain it. There is plenty of talent for it. Manila is a hub of airline contract maintenance - fly from MIA and you will see vast hangars full of airliners from all over. NP, you can train those guys. Its not at all like Saudi where they have to hire foreigners to keep the airforce flying.
Filipinos will operate it. They flew "hot" aircraft in their time, and can be trained for anything. A classmate of mine went into the USN and had a 20-year career as a carrier pilot. There are still some in the USN and USAF. It may be easier to recruit good prospects there than in the US, there being a great pilot shortage in the services.
As for affording all this - there's the rub. The Phils will require aid not just to acquire equipment but to train on it and operate it. Its extremely expensive to maintain a force capable of facing the #2 military power in the world.
But if the Pacific Rim Alliance wants to hold on to its southern flank, that's what it will take. It will take very large subsidies.
It will be very expensive.
I have seen Philippine wishlists of @ $50 Billion for investment (acquisition, infrastructure, training, parts, munitions), for a small-ish modern airforce with an also small air-defense component (SAM and radars and other air-defense infrastructure), for a 100-modern combat-plane airforce - that is a bit less than the nations entire annual government budget.
It will also take maybe ten years to create.
And operations/maintenance will run something like $10 Billion annually.
@Bad L
"Now is that civ6il, or is that reasonable?"
I never made the comment you cite. Unless you're paranoid and think there's just one lefty here commenting on all the posts.
@Mike
"The military is staggering after 8 years of "Diversity" and PC crap."
You then quote some article. I don't really know what you're talking about. Could you post a link to the article so I can understand your train of thought on this?
While we're out here quoting articles, this just popped up on my twitter feed. Seems pretty relevant:
https://www.ft.com/content/5a162cda-c46c-11e7-b2bb-322b2cb39656
Didn't know this:
"Mr Trump’s approach to foreign relations is a blend of family and money and a weakness for flattery. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe pledged $50m to the Ivanka Trump-inspired Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative — the World Bank’s effort to seduce America’s first family. Mr Abe, whose first gift to Mr Trump was a gold-plated golf club, hosted Ms Trump in Tokyo shortly before her father turned up. Six months ago, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became the first donors to Ms Trump’s scheme with a $100m grant. Now it is China’s turn to host Mr Trump. Its president, Xi Jinping, approved a flurry of Ivanka Trump trademarks shortly before he first met her father in Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.
"
Lots of good stuff in there. I don't blame foreign governments vying for attention by donating to foundations. It worked with the Clintons. But for people who look askance at the Clinton foundation and are plugged into the Clinton conspiracy universe surely this should raise some eyebrows.
Nyajerkoff, that is the Wikipedia article on them. Even you should be able to find that.
I doubt you wanted to know. You just wanted to complain.
Blogger Unknown said...
“Obama didn't even speak Austrian.”
Trump can’t even speak English.
This is beneath even you. Do you jot recall Obama's inability to understand that German was the language of Austria? Or his idiotic impression that Afghans speak Arabic ?
How soon you lefties forget.
But for people who look askance at the Clinton foundation and are plugged into the Clinton conspiracy universe surely this should raise some eyebrows.
Even you should notice that the Clintons became rich on government salaries.
Trump was rich before going near government,
I think it might be a leftist gene. Sort of like Vitamin D.
“Obama didn't even speak Austrian.”
You mean German?
Apr 06, 2009 · American President Barack Hussein Obama, speaking in front of an audience at a NATO Conference refers to the Austrian Language…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1diNthezRk
@Mike
"Meanwhile you slam Trump who has done business all over the world"
How does doing business all over the world qualify him exactly? The gist of your argument seems to be that Obama nominated secretaries of armed forces branches who you think weren't qualified, so things will be better under Trump who is qualified because he's "done business all over the world". I don't think that makes sense.
BTW, his global business dealings open him up to violations of the emoluments clause, and serious conflicts of interest with countries that try to gain influence by enriching his businesses.
@exiled
Ah, I get the joke now. Unfortunately, I'm not plugged in to your universe where every Obama misstep is common knowledge. I do read Hotair and Reason regularly but at this point they're probably kinda cuck since they don't (at least Allahpundit doesn't) always suck up to Trump like Hannity and Co.
Of all bygones, you would hold a grudge over this?
I'm willing to repair the relationship, and even re-open the bases. I just don't want to listen to someone complaining we haven't given the Philippines enough free goodies.
" I don't think that makes sense. "
I know and that is why I think you are a fool.
I'm not plugged in to your universe where every Obama misstep is common knowledge.
Of course not ! You read the NY Times and believe it !
I still don't know if Obama sympathized with enemies or just looked that way.
Blogger Nyamujal said...
@Bad L
"Now is that civ6il, or is that reasonable?"
I never made the comment you cite. Unless you're paranoid and think there's just one lefty here commenting on all the posts.
11/9/17, 7:37 PM
I beg your pardon, apparently Mike K attributed Unknown's comment to you, which is where I got it:
Unknown said...
“Grandpa Vladimir”, that’s funny. Let’s have a sense of humor. The child is lovely and the song is sweet. I don’t see her sweeping any rice fields anytime soon though. Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
11/9/17, 11:44 AM
"How does doing business all over the world qualify him exactly?"
You prefer Kerry who spoke French because his grandparents were FSOs. He had zero experience except spending summers with his grandparents.
His other experience was slandering the soldiers who really fought in Vietnam, He is an execrable man.
Trump, like Rex Tillerson, has been doing business all over the world for years.
Obama knows NOTHING. He is a minor Chicago pol.
"apparently Mike K attributed Unknown's comment to you, which is where I got it:"
No, I attributed it to Inga.
Blogger buwaya said...
It will be very expensive.
I have seen Philippine wishlists of @ $50Bn... that is a bit less than the nations entire annual government budget.
It will also take maybe ten years to create.
And operations/maintenance will run something like $10 Billion annually.
...
Plus a navy.
Now tell me, what do the Chinese get for that kind of money?
Blogger Michael K said...
"apparently Mike K attributed Unknown's comment to you, which is where I got it:"
No, I attributed it to Inga.
11/9/17, 8:48 PM
Then I beg your pardon as well. It hasn't been a great day for me, cognitively or otherwise. My mother has a pancreatic cyst that has grown 4cm in a year.
I do think the inference that you attributed this quote to Nyah is justified by my quote of you below.
Blogger Michael K said...
Speaking of nasty leftist bitches;
Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses, but oh well, that’s your Trump.
Nyajerkoff is sure Trump has no experience in foreign policy unlike Kerry who knew everything there was to know about Vietnam.
I hope all works out for your mother, Bad LT.
@Nyamujal, Barack Obama famously demonstrated his lack of knowledge of foreign countries by suggesting that there is a country in Europe where they speak Austrian. Link is here.
I don't understand why people are surprised when a president departs from campaign rhetoric. All of them do it, though I'd say George H.W. Bush changing his mind about "no new taxes" hit a new low. Maybe not Reagan, but his presidency was a long time ago.
Sometimes it represents a genuine lie to the public, but more often what happens is that the president-elect starts getting access to very highly classified material and learns that what he thought was the case is nothing like what's really going on. I even cut Obama a little slack on that point.
What I'd like is for someone who understands Chinese music to tell me whether little Arabella is singing on key for the Chinese song. I confess that I can't tell, but it does sound right to me. Opinions?
And please, just from the people who understand Chinese music. Comments along the lines of "I hate Trump so of course she must be singing off key" won't cut it.
"My mother has a pancreatic cyst that has grown 4cm in a year." I'm sorry to hear that. My mother was murdered with a morphine overdose in a Santa Monica hospital in 2012 in a joint effort by the woman ER physician, and a Persian-born male hospitalist, who is the epitome of evil. They have yet to face justice for their crimes even though I found a medical expert in New York willing to write a nine-page Declaration describing in chilling detail the homicide. The Santa Monica Police Department detectives refused to investigate the crime, and the Medical Board of California were no better.
"Unfortunately, I'm not plugged in to your universe where every Obama misstep is common knowledge."
No, you're in your universe where every Trump misstep (even when it is imaginary) is grounds for impeachment.
I don't watch Hannity. I do watch Tucker Carlson from time to time but that's about it. I don't watch much TV.
Odd how Trump was so hardline on China during the campaign and now he’s crawling up their asses …
It was Charles Hurt on this Special Report panel that pointed out that Trump never really criticized Chinese leaders but rather took American “past administrations” to task for allowing Chinese trade deficits to happen. Start at around 3:45.
Trump on the campaign trail was actually “crawling up” Bush and Obama’s “asses.” More fake news from Unknown.
Bad Lieutenant, I am sorry to hear about your mother. I hope she gets better.
buwaya @ 7:15pm,
Maybe we can put Kratman on the job.
Thank you. Trumpit, I apologize to you again for certain unkind remarks, and as I told you last time, I well know the peril of our near and dear rouses passions long abed. In fact what I said was all the crueler in that you surely blame yourself. . And I must remember to make allowances for your own craziness, she was your all amirite? Mine too. Everyone is different.
But this is all premature, she has a double endoscopy and a needle biopsy soon, then we'll see.
I loved my wife so much and i didn't believe that she could do this to me but about six months back i started seeing some changes in her behavior,she started using her phone more and was chatting regularly with people online.I thought i was just been paranoid but my suspicions were still there but i had no way of knowing for true until i met mastersjield55 through a very close friend of mine.With just her phone number and email account he helped me to hack into all her social media apps like whatsapp,facebook,viber,twitter,instagram,her email account,her text messages and more.He was able to even recovered deleted files and chats.I am so grateful to him without all these i would have still been blind.You can contact him with his email or whatsapp him .
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That's just fuckin adorable.
Much better than the staged little children singing the prsises of the "magic negro".
Trump isn't departing from campaign rhetoric. He's going to negotiate for the US, and expects China to negotiate for China. That's how a deal is made. If they find a place where both sides come out ahead, then it's a deal. Otherwise not.
What's new for the world is that the US president is going to negotiate for the US.
" My mother has a pancreatic cyst that has grown 4cm in a year."
Most are benign and cyst gastrostomy usually takes carte of it.
Good luck.
Thanks, Doc. It's "on the tail," does that mean anything?
Here is a small study that might help.
If it's in the tail it is much easier to remove.
The majority (n = 75) of small pancreatic cysts were benign. Thirty-six cysts were unilocular, and virtually all of these (n = 35) were benign. The presence of septa was associated with borderline or in situ malignancy in 20% (10 of 50) of cases.
Meaning that cysts that had multiple chambers are more risky but the tail location makes removal easy.
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