Billionaires who are on the run

[RVonse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOtVMFPjNUA

Incredibly interesting video put on by Australia 60 minutes relating to how billionaire Desmond Shaw and his ex-wife become tainted goods with the PRC. Desmonds exwife was held by the PRC for 4 years and during that time she was completely cut off from the rest of the world.... unaware that her mom had passed away and even that there was a global pandemic right now. In the US, it's easy to think of our billionaire's as the elite untouchable people given special rights and status by our government. But in China being a billionaire means nothing and their status is made by their bloodline. Some other billionaires such as Jack Ma (Alibaba) our also getting the trash treatment. Ma also disappeared, I'm not sure exactly why but its a fair bet he must have pissed off president Xi.

So it seems to me that President Xi is easily the most powerful person in the world right now. Even if you put aside the fact that China is now the worlds largest industrial powerhouse, Xi is a lifetime dictator with those special powers. Looking at what they are and where they are going...it makes perfect sense to me that Australia bought nuclear subs from the US recently. No doubt because they are also shivering in their boots right now. In the next year or so, I look for China to start its world wide domination by invading Taiwan...and when they do I predict the rest of the world will not, nor the US stop them either. The Chinese military is strong and ours are woke.

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China. So if the whole world ends up under Chinese dominion, that probably would not seem so bad at first. But then what happens after Xi passes away from old age and someone else like Kim Jong un takes over? That's when we will be wishing we had kept freedom and liberty alive.

 

[Alcoholic Actuary]

Wow, this went from A to Z fast!

aa

 

[Loren Pechtel]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

So if the whole world ends up under Chinese dominion, that probably would not seem so bad at first. But then what happens after Xi passes away from old age and someone else like Kim Jong un takes over? That's when we will be wishing we had kept freedom and liberty alive.

One of the big problems with dictatorships--no checks and balances.

 

[funinspace]

A few random thoughts on a random post.

First Xi is not a nice guy, that is an odd idea. He probably cares about his country and their general welfare, but not anybody's individual welfare. I'm sure he likes his power, so he does want to keep his billion people complacent. Their history has had many uprisings and catastrophes that I'm sure he wants to not repeat.

The US president is still the most powerful militarily, but our power is probably slipping on a relative scale. What pisses off our military, is that it is getting to be much more dangerous to assume that we can shove our power 5,000 miles away from the US and bully China in its back yard. China on the other hand would have a hell of a time trying to bully the US, say in central America (the US back yard).

The recent US-Australia sub purchase maneuvering is just a drop in the bucket. In the long run it will make little difference by itself. I doubt the western powers will unify around some sort of grand plan to 'contain China' over the long run. At the same time, I really doubt that China has the kind of world wide ambition like the US and USSR has had. They want respect and access to resources, but generally they haven't shown any interest in things like the US effort to spread our version of 'democracy'. We can certainly retain our power at some reduced level, but the world will no longer be the US's oyster to play with if China continues to rise.

 

[Elixir]

I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

From what I can tell, you seem to think that about the fat orange Florida Man too. So I take zero stock in that assessment.

So if the whole world ends up under Chinese dominion, that probably would not seem so bad at first. But then what happens after Xi passes away from old age and someone else like Kim Jong un takes over? That's when we will be wishing we had kept freedom and liberty alive.

We could cut that whole process down to size by letting the malevolent Florida Man take over a couple years from now. Dictator for life, ruler of the world with power of life and death over everyone else, is exactly what he thinks he deserves.
And the first people he’d go after would be Bezos and Musk. (Zuckles is already in his pocket).

 

[barbos]

One of the big problems with dictatorships--no checks and balances.

Well, it's not entirely true. There is fairly large number of people in politburo which can decide that the guy is too much.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Wow, this went from A to Z fast!

aa

Yeah. Geez. I was thinking about the economic repercussions of China invading Taiwan and before I knew it, I was slave labor.

 

[laughing dog]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

To a Trump supporter, Xi is probably an exemplar of the ideal leader.

 

[Patooka]

Wow, this went from A to Z fast!

aa

Going from A to Z implies a coherent direction. I would argue the OP went from A to 7 to theta to Tuesday.

Also, I'm not sure what the American version is like but the Australian version of 60 minutes is sensationalist horseshit.

 

[Harry Bosch]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

To a Trump supporter, Xi is probably an exemplar of the ideal leader.

Yea, that was bizarre for anyone to say a person is a nice guy who wants to conquer another nation and "disappears" his citizens because they want slightly greater freedom or individuality. Trump has really brought the level of discourse down.

 

[RVonse]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

Consider the following compared to US leadership; Xi has produced very desirable results for the Chinese middle class and majority of its huge population. The US has done quite the opposite. Examples:

1. Economic policies for industrial high wage low education jobs
2. Plenty of low high density infrastructure intended to house low wage/ low education earners
3. High speed rail for practical low cost transportation between metro locations
4. Lowest possible healthcare for the largest audience
5. A genuine desire to reduce wealth disparity for the haves and have not's (see the above video)
6. An emphasis on non woke and family friendly morals. Xi is cracking down on its entertainment industry too.

I've obviously never met Xi but from what you can actually see from his accomplishments policy wise, there seems to be no comparison between how he has treated the Chinese middle class versus how our top political leaders have done in the US. Xi is dictator no argument, but he seems to genuinely care about the Chinese middle class even much more so than even our most socialists presidents such as Obama. Contrast to the US where the US government does everything they can to make sure life saving pharmaceuticals are expensive as possible just so insiders can make huge profits. No argument Xi is a dictator....but he is a very benevolent dictator IMHO. China could do a LOT worse than Xi, which is exactly why this situation is so dangerous today IMHO.

 

[RVonse]

Wow, this went from A to Z fast!

aa

Going from A to Z implies a coherent direction. I would argue the OP went from A to 7 to theta to Tuesday.

Also, I'm not sure what the American version is like but the Australian version of 60 minutes is sensationalist horseshit.

You are saying Australian 60 minutes is fake news?

 

[Harry Bosch]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

Consider the following compared to US leadership; Xi has produced very desirable results for the Chinese middle class and majority of its huge population. The US has done quite the opposite. Examples:

1. Economic policies for industrial high wage low education jobs
2. Plenty of low high density infrastructure intended to house low wage/ low education earners
3. High speed rail for practical low cost transportation between metro locations
4. Lowest possible healthcare for the largest audience
5. A genuine desire to reduce wealth disparity for the haves and have not's (see the above video)
6. An emphasis on non woke and family friendly morals. Xi is cracking down on its entertainment industry too.

I've obviously never met Xi but from what you can actually see from his accomplishments policy wise, there seems to be no comparison between how he has treated the Chinese middle class versus how our top political leaders have done in the US. Xi is dictator no argument, but he seems to genuinely care about the Chinese middle class even much more so than even our most socialists presidents such as Obama. Contrast to the US where the US government does everything they can to make sure life saving pharmaceuticals are expensive as possible just so insiders can make huge profits. No argument Xi is a dictator....but he is a very benevolent dictator IMHO. China could do a LOT worse than Xi, which is exactly why this situation is so dangerous today IMHO.

Dude: he's trying to start a war with Taiwan that would kill millions. He regularly tries to intimidate them by constantly flying attack aircraft into Taiwan's sovereign air space (greatly surprising that Taiwan doesn't want such a bully ruling them!). And he's a nice guy? What is your opinion of Stalin?

 

[RVonse]

To a Trump supporter, Xi is probably an exemplar of the ideal leader.

Yea, that was bizarre for anyone to say a person is a nice guy who wants to conquer another nation and "disappears" his citizens because they want slightly greater freedom or individuality. Trump has really brought the level of discourse down.

A dictator form of government implies the ultimate in leadership power. Citizens "disappearing" is almost to be expected. Have you ever known of any dictatorships otherwise? I would blame the style of government much more than the person...it would be pretty impossible for any human in that kind of power structure NOT to use their power.

 

[RVonse]

Consider the following compared to US leadership; Xi has produced very desirable results for the Chinese middle class and majority of its huge population. The US has done quite the opposite. Examples:

1. Economic policies for industrial high wage low education jobs
2. Plenty of low high density infrastructure intended to house low wage/ low education earners
3. High speed rail for practical low cost transportation between metro locations
4. Lowest possible healthcare for the largest audience
5. A genuine desire to reduce wealth disparity for the haves and have not's (see the above video)
6. An emphasis on non woke and family friendly morals. Xi is cracking down on its entertainment industry too.

I've obviously never met Xi but from what you can actually see from his accomplishments policy wise, there seems to be no comparison between how he has treated the Chinese middle class versus how our top political leaders have done in the US. Xi is dictator no argument, but he seems to genuinely care about the Chinese middle class even much more so than even our most socialists presidents such as Obama. Contrast to the US where the US government does everything they can to make sure life saving pharmaceuticals are expensive as possible just so insiders can make huge profits. No argument Xi is a dictator....but he is a very benevolent dictator IMHO. China could do a LOT worse than Xi, which is exactly why this situation is so dangerous today IMHO.

Dude: he's trying to start a war with Taiwan that would kill millions. He regularly tries to intimidate them by constantly flying attack aircraft into Taiwan's sovereign air space (greatly surprising that Taiwan doesn't want such a bully ruling them!). And he's a nice guy? What is your opinion of Stalin?

To a Trump supporter, Xi is probably an exemplar of the ideal leader.

Yea, that was bizarre for anyone to say a person is a nice guy who wants to conquer another nation and "disappears" his citizens because they want slightly greater freedom or individuality. Trump has really brought the level of discourse down.

A dictator form of government implies the ultimate in leadership power. Citizens "disappearing" is almost to be expected. Have you ever known of any dictatorships otherwise? I would blame the style of government much more than the person...it would be pretty impossible for any human in that kind of power structure NOT to use their power.

 

[Elixir]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

To a Trump supporter, Xi is probably an exemplar of the ideal leader.

Yeah, that's about right.
I'd bet the farm that RVonse doesn't know (and has probably never met) any actual China-born Chinese people over 35.
The shared opinion among the few that I know is that Yang Shangkun was the last "good guy", and his successor was "the most effective".

But of course, if an American Trumpster says Xi is a nice guy and best for "the people", who are Chinese people to argue with him?

 

[funinspace]

What scares me most of all is this. Compared to the leaders of the US, I've always thought of President Xi as the nice kind of guy who genuinely cares about the general welfare of China.

Nice guy??

Consider the following compared to US leadership; Xi has produced very desirable results for the Chinese middle class and majority of its huge population. The US has done quite the opposite. Examples:

1. Economic policies for industrial high wage low education jobs
2. Plenty of low high density infrastructure intended to house low wage/ low education earners
3. High speed rail for practical low cost transportation between metro locations
4. Lowest possible healthcare for the largest audience
5. A genuine desire to reduce wealth disparity for the haves and have not's (see the above video)
6. An emphasis on non woke and family friendly morals. Xi is cracking down on its entertainment industry too.

I've obviously never met Xi but from what you can actually see from his accomplishments policy wise, there seems to be no comparison between how he has treated the Chinese middle class versus how our top political leaders have done in the US. Xi is dictator no argument, but he seems to genuinely care about the Chinese middle class even much more so than even our most socialists presidents such as Obama. Contrast to the US where the US government does everything they can to make sure life saving pharmaceuticals are expensive as possible just so insiders can make huge profits. No argument Xi is a dictator....but he is a very benevolent dictator IMHO. China could do a LOT worse than Xi, which is exactly why this situation is so dangerous today IMHO.

You are strangely comparing the US (a developed rich country), to a rapidly improving emergent country/economy. In any comparison (cars, housing size, PPP), an average American way better off than a Chinese one. Could the US do better, of course. However, one party is hell bent on making the rich richer and the US more theocratic, and you seemed to think the 2 parties are about the same...

They have a billion people, the need for high speed rail is much stronger there. US health care is still far better, even if a total mess financially. UHC is the obvious US answer. But you seem to have favored a want a be dictator that would have only feed the rich, over the many Democrats who have been fighting for UHC. Try to find a Repug that supports UHC.

But yes, Xi and his recent predecessors have done well for their people's economic well being.

 

[Bomb#20]

Dude: he's trying to start a war with Taiwan that would kill millions. He regularly tries to intimidate them by constantly flying attack aircraft into Taiwan's sovereign air space (greatly surprising that Taiwan doesn't want such a bully ruling them!).

I'm no expert on military strategy; but if he were trying to start a war wouldn't he want to first lull them into a false sense of security, rather than intimidate them? Bullying makes it look like he wants them compliant and respectful and with none of that formal independence business, rather than conquered any time soon.

 

[RVonse]

Consider the following compared to US leadership; Xi has produced very desirable results for the Chinese middle class and majority of its huge population. The US has done quite the opposite. Examples:

1. Economic policies for industrial high wage low education jobs
2. Plenty of low high density infrastructure intended to house low wage/ low education earners
3. High speed rail for practical low cost transportation between metro locations
4. Lowest possible healthcare for the largest audience
5. A genuine desire to reduce wealth disparity for the haves and have not's (see the above video)
6. An emphasis on non woke and family friendly morals. Xi is cracking down on its entertainment industry too.

I've obviously never met Xi but from what you can actually see from his accomplishments policy wise, there seems to be no comparison between how he has treated the Chinese middle class versus how our top political leaders have done in the US. Xi is dictator no argument, but he seems to genuinely care about the Chinese middle class even much more so than even our most socialists presidents such as Obama. Contrast to the US where the US government does everything they can to make sure life saving pharmaceuticals are expensive as possible just so insiders can make huge profits. No argument Xi is a dictator....but he is a very benevolent dictator IMHO. China could do a LOT worse than Xi, which is exactly why this situation is so dangerous today IMHO.

You are strangely comparing the US (a developed rich country), to a rapidly improving emergent country/economy. In any comparison (cars, housing size, PPP), an average American way better off than a Chinese one.

That was exactly the BS neo-liberal Bill/Hillary Clinton talking point for the past 30 years! The same so called free market BS directly benefiting the elite upper class at expense of the middle class since Reagan.

Could the US do better, of course.

We could have and should have excepting both parties are only the party of the one party of the top percent.

However, one party is hell bent on making the rich richer and the US more theocratic

I disagree, religion has very little to do with this.

and you seemed to think the 2 parties are about the same...

Yes

They have a billion people, the need for high speed rail is much stronger there. US health care is still far better, even if a total mess financially. UHC is the obvious US answer. But you seem to have favored a want a be dictator that would have only feed the rich, over the many Democrats who have been fighting for UHC. Try to find a Repug that supports UHC.

But yes, Xi and his recent predecessors have done well for their people's economic well being.

Chinese policy to support the middle class is light years ahead of what the 2 party system has brought in the US.

The point is this. If the west has another serious recession/depression (and at our current debt/GDP and trade deficit we will) and the Chinese continue their industrial success and superiority, there will soon be the tipping point where enough people in the middle feel they are better off under a Chinese state. Of all people who should realize this.... I would expect the Trump haters who are the crowd who thought no one like the man could be elected. I think the majority of the population will put up with a bad form of government if their lives become much better.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Dude: he's trying to start a war with Taiwan that would kill millions. He regularly tries to intimidate them by constantly flying attack aircraft into Taiwan's sovereign air space (greatly surprising that Taiwan doesn't want such a bully ruling them!).

I'm no expert on military strategy; but if he were trying to start a war wouldn't he want to first lull them into a false sense of security, rather than intimidate them? Bullying makes it look like he wants them compliant and respectful and with none of that formal independence business, rather than conquered any time soon.

You make a good point. But I don't buy it. IMO, China is just a big bully. They rule with the fist. They intimidate Taiwan in order to say to other foes that you are next. I don't think that China cares if Taiwan is compliant and respectful. Taiwan dosn't flaunt it's freedom to China. If you have any examples, I'd be happy to reconsider. But I think that Taiwan is remarkedly compliant considering the threats that they are under each day.