Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Hong Kong Police Losing Its Mind



The Hong Kong Shenzen Political Song And Dance Could Benefit The World
Hong Kong: The Situation Escalates
China Has Already Started Political Reforms: In Shenzen
Formula For Peace Between Israel And Palestine
The Stupidity Of The Ayodhya Dispute
Hong Kong: Endgame Scenarios
Carrie Lam Should Invite Protest Leaders For Talks
Gangster Words Spoken By Xi Jinping: Shattered Bones
The Nation State In Peril
And Now Iraq Erupts
Hong Kong: The Mask Ban Can Not Be Implemented
Hong Kong: Downturn?
Raising The Stakes On Non Political Solution In Hong Kong
The Dubai Sheikh Is A Business School Case Study
The Impeachment Drama

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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

I Read Don Junior's Book

I picked it up at the library. First, I read a few chapters. Then I borrowed it to read it whole.


I believe in political dialogue. I believe in a positive political culture. You can agree and disagree, but can you be civil about it?

Trump 2016 was a remarkable campaign in that the entire Republican establishment seemed to be opposed to it. It did not have much money. And it barely squeaked by. If Trump 2016 were a tech startup, you would say that was remarkable.

Trump also spoke to the anger of millions who were losing jobs. He did not and does not have the solution, but he sure looked the problem straight in the eye. Andrew Yang has the solution: it's called UBI.

I think Trump secretly is hoping to have a Reagan moment with Hong Kong. But it is not that black and white, not in my opinion.

I do commend him for meeting the North Korean leader.

Being for and against tax cuts is one thing. I welcome policy differences. I welcome debate and discussion. But I have disapproved of Donald Trump's hate speech. His very announcement speech was laced with hate speech. When Trump says he is tired of "political correctness," what he is essentially saying is he wants to be openly racist. I mean, birtherism!? C'mon.

But Trump did win. And the office is what it is. And a son has every right to be a son.

I wanted to get a perspective.

I was glad to note he wrote the book himself. I say, respect. Even Bill Clinton had major editorial help, so even if Don Junior got editorial help, I still say, respect. It is not easy to write a book, any book.

There were times I sympathized. He notes he has the second-highest number of death threats in the country. I think that is unfortunate. That is wrong.

There were times I learned. Maybe I have read too many left-leaning caricature pieces on Don Junior, but I was a little surprised with some of his grasp of politics and policy details. He is pretty thorough even when he is as conspiracy theorizing as he accuses "the leftists" of being.

Polarization has become the new normal in American politics. And it shows.

It's funny how Junior talks of the "Democrat Party," not the Democratic Party. I first noted Jared Kushner use the term. And that was in 2016. It is meant to be a slur.

Will Trump get impeached? Or will he win a second term? I don't know. We don't know. But here's a son rooting for his father to have a second term. Love is allowed. The political process will take its course.

I am still reading it. Just wanted to take a break and briefly blog about it.

Hello, Don.

There's one point where he talks of an "AOC administration." Looks like Don Junior and I have found some common ground.

This book is worth reading. It gives you perspective.

One story I read early in 2017 in some magazine about Donald Trump (the president) was, so his father takes a young Donald Trump on one of his rent collection tours. The father knocks on one door and steps to the side. The son asks, why did you do that? The father says, "Sometimes they shoot!"

Donald Trump is a Queens guy. Like how Israelis like to say they live in a "tough neighborhood." When the world sees an out of control Donald Trump, his children see a "counterpuncher." The Manhattan real estate establishment never digested the upstart from Queens. They still hadn't in 2016.

While Donald Trump, in the autumn of his life, is still trying to digest the world.





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The Hong Kong Shenzen Political Song And Dance Could Benefit The World

Beijing should accept the five demands of the Hong Kong protests. It has no choice. That is what one country, two systems means. At the same time Beijing should get on with its political experiment in Shenzen. The idea is that it is possible to create an "orderly political participation" of ordinary people in the political process without ditching one party rule.

What does that mean? Does that mean voting? Whatever it means, it is unfolding.

These two cities could be like a live experiment for the whole world to watch.

I don't think America has a political system that every other country needs to copy. And if copy, why not start with England? Let's abolish the monarchy. The Brits have a quickie one month long election. Let's spread that over an entire year. Let's elect a president in England. Let's write a proper constitution.

You see where I am going?

I believe every country will tread a unique political path. And I can't think of a better place than the Hong Kong Bay Area for a live political experiment on as to what might be the best possible political system.

The whole world is watching.

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News: Modi, Trump, Andrew Yang, Iran, Kamala Harris

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Indian Democracy: Maharashtra Edition

Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress will work out formula for govt formation: Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav also took a dig at governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over imposition of the President's Rule in the state.
Maharashtra political impasse: Uddhav Thackeray meets Sharad Pawar in Mumbai
Congress holds key to 'non-BJP' govt formation in Maharashtra The Sena is the second largest party in the 288-member House with only 56 MLAs after the BJP (105)
No decision on supporting Shiv Sena yet: NCP, Congress "We (Congress and NCP leaders) discussed the nitty gritty of a (possible) common minimum programme to ensure the government functions smoothly"
BJP blames Shiv Sena for imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra
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Hong Kong: The Situation Escalates

After Xi Jinping recently met with Carrie Lam, he drew a line in the sand. He stands with Carrie Lam as Carrie Lam makes it sound like Hong Kong is a problem for the Hong Kong Police to handle. The more enlightened position would be that this is a political problem with a political solution, not a police solution.

And the situation keeps escalating. Every line that the Hong Kong Police crosses seems to add fuel to the fire. The hurricane keeps gathering momentum.

It is unwise of Xi Jinping and Carrie Lam to not seek a rapid political solution.



I have a feeling Hong Kong might be moving towards a general strike. So far it has been young people and students. Now the general population might step in and shut the city down.

The Chinese economic miracle would not have been possible without Hong Kong. China should not try to kill the hen that lays the golden egg.

All Hong Kong is asking for is one country, two systems. They were promised that by Deng Xiaoping.

Xi Jinping is trying to pass the buck. And this buck can not be passed.


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Sunday, November 10, 2019

China Has Already Started Political Reforms: In Shenzen

The Hong Kong Bay Area is known globally as the Silicon Valley of hardware. You show up there with 20,000 dollars and a basic whiff of an idea, and in no time you will have a prototype. You can choose to mass produce after that right there. Whether or not you can push the finished product into the market would be up to you. That is quite a bargain. That is innovation at bullet-train speed.

We have all been talking about how China is thick in the brain, how it simply does not get it. Ends up maybe not. They have started their political reforms the exact same way they started their economic reforms. Deng Xiaoping picked one place across the waters from Hong Kong. And once economic reforms were shown to work there they were then taken all over China.

Looks like Xi has picked that same spot for his political reforms.

China’s Shenzhen is using big data to become a smart ‘socialist model city’ Beijing tells southern technology centre to use ‘best modern governance practices that promote high quality and sustainable development’ ......... China will be the ‘world’s first modern powerhouse not built on the road of capitalism’, head of national economic planning agency says ....... Shenzhen is experimenting with a “party and technology” development model as it aims to become a “socialist model city”...... The city, which is known for its technology industry, was told by Beijing in August to find “the best modern governance practices that promote high quality and sustainable development so it can be held up as an example of civilised society of law and order where people enjoy a high degree of satisfaction”. ........

Shenzhen faced “unprecedented new tasks” which bore great significance for the rest of the country.

.......... The problems encountered in the modernisation of our country are likely to appear in Shenzhen first ...... it was Shenzhen’s pioneering role that had made such a pilot experiment important........ “Being a socialist pilot demonstration zone, the governance models that have proven successful in Shenzhen will be replicated in other Chinese cities” ....... the city began its big data and smart city plan in 2013....... As well as data sets covering populations and the economy, the official said Shenzhen had also built “thematic databases” that could empower officials who handled social disputes and public grievances......... As part of the city’s plan, Shenzhen also launched its “Weaving Net Project” in 2013 under which it divided the city into thousands of data zones and designated an “information collector” to each zone. ........ The system also uses 2 million surveillance cameras dotted about the city. ....... “About 80 per cent of criminal cases are solved with the help of video surveillance.

Almost all criminal cases can be solved in 24 or 48 hours with the help of these technologies”

....... the city had taken a much bolder data strategy than Hong Kong in using big data to enhance governance........ “The biggest difference between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is the mindset,” he said. “We are constantly looking for more efficient and advanced ways to run and govern the city, while Hong Kong believes in its ‘small government, non-interventionist’ approach.”......... Shenzhen could benefit from smart governance as it had a large population but only a small number of civil servants.......... the government’s data platforms had accumulated more than 22.1 billion pieces of data about

20 million people, 3.6 million companies and 14 million properties........ there were only about 40,000 civil servants in Shenzhen, of which about 25,000 were police officers

..... in 2013, Shenzhen was able to carry out predictive analysis of the public demand for education and health care services........ “The process of simplifying government approvals was a trigger for the government to carry out the restructuring reform



I think the Chinese have this attitude that, well, everyone in China is free to join the party. And once they join the party it is a meritocratic process. You can rise up the ranks based on your ability and work ethic. So it is a very democratic process. They also take great pride in having bureaucracies that actually work. They try to teach African countries the best practices from their own bureaucracies.

To that I say, that is all fine and dandy. Why not go one step further? Let the party offer two candidates for president every five years. And let ordinary Chinese pick one through a secret ballot. Let there be a universal franchise. Maybe that is where this Shenzen experiment will end up.

Shenzhen, Beijing lose out to Chengdu as China’s best performing city economy, says report Chengdu has for the third time scooped top spot among Chinese cities for economic performance........ As the provincial capital of Sichuan province, Chengdu – along with Chongqing – is one of the twin growth engines in China’s western region, having cemented its place as a manufacturing hub specialising in defence-related production....... “The city’s geographic location inside the Diamond Economic Zone makes it an important gateway for the southwest region. Investments in a 10,000km Chengdu-Europe Express Rail will help improve China’s logistical connection with the western world supporting the [Belt and Road] Initiative,” the report said........ Shenzhen, home to China’s version of Silicon Valley where technology giants Huawei and Tencent are based, dropped from first to second place............. President Xi Jinping’s endorsement of Shenzhen as a “key pilot zone for socialism” will allow the city to carry out bolder reforms and may mean it snaps up some of crisis-hit Hong Kong’s financial services.



Shenzhen turning its back on Hong Kong property model in favor of affordable public housing
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Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Thoughts On The Middle East

I have had a chance to think a lot about the Middle East in recent weeks.

The first thing I see is, the region has a 10-year window in which to diversify their economies or face decline. The city of Dubai has already done what the region at large needs to do. I believe that realization is there. And countries across the region are scrambling to move. Major moves are being plotted and made.

Two, where does Dubai go from here? Dubai has to move up the economic food chain. And that is mostly to do with technology. If diversification is achieved, money becomes the new oil, the gift that keeps giving.

Three, politics. First of all, I have to admit I don't know much. I have not had the chance to study in-depth. At some point, I'd like to. A few weeks ago I came across this nugget of information, that the United Arab Emirates has a federal parliament that has a roadmap to universal franchise. Not knowing that was not stupid. It was not even ignorant. Hey, you don't know what you don't know. But it sure was uninformed. Second, I have to be open-minded about possibilities. Let's just take that UAE example. Finally, when there is a universal franchise, that still would not make the monarch of the UAE someone like Queen Elizabeth. Let's face it, Queen Elizabeth rubber stamps whatever the British parliament comes up with. And recently it has come up with much nonsense. The monarch of the UAE does not even hold that title. He calls himself president. I see that as an evolving situation. Three, Iran. I think we from afar underestimate how much distrust Iran arouses among the Gulf countries. Whereas Iran thinks of itself as a country on a mission.

I would like to read up and learn and become rehearsed on the nuances of the domestic politics of many of these countries in the Gulf. For one, it is of interest to me.

Four, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. I see Africa and South Asia as the next two Chinas. When the politics part is tidied up a little, Africa and South Asia could grow faster than China did. And I see the possibility of Dubai playing the role Hong Kong played in the economic rise of China. China needed FDI. And the world only trusted Hong Kong with it. 

Five, culture and religion. I find the music and the language fascinating. I was looking at some rudimentary videos on YouTube with thoughts of teaching myself some Arabic recently. When I visit Dubai, there is a list of mosques I'd like to visit. I definitely would want to visit that mosque in Abu Dhabi. And I read about a mosque in Dubai where the sermon on Friday is delivered in English. I would like to attend that service. And yes, you can't visit Dubai and not watch a Bollywood movie.

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High speed falcon vs high speed camera 🎥

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Sunday, October 20, 2019

India's Massive Unemployment Problem: China Actually Knows

India has a massive, massive unemployment problem. Even when there is some economic growth, the jobs are not being created. And China is one country that actually knows how to solve that problem. And it might even be eager to help.

That is why it is important to settle the border dispute with Pakistan. Because the same formula that will settle the dispute with Pakistan will also settle the long border dispute with China, the longest in the world.

The India-Pakistan border and the China-India border are unnecessarily militarized. Both need to be turned into trade membranes.

There is a region in Nepal called Karmali. It is right by Tibet in the west of Nepal. Karnali, about 500 years ago, used to be a prosperous empire, big enough to be called a civilization. Today Karnali is destitute. It has unimaginable poverty. It is because Karnali is like a house with all its windows closed. China has sealed the border with Tibet. That hampers trade or rather suffocates it.

Peace with Pakistan is important because peace with China is also important. Trade solves many problems. Peace is the greatest dividend of trade. Prosperity is secondary, but not minor.




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Formula For Peace Between Israel And Palestine


  • Given that it is wrong for any human being to be stateless, that every human being has a fundamental right to be a citizen of this or that state,
  • Given that Israel would like to continue as a Jewish state, 
  • Given that there are plenty of countries on earth in the form of enclaves,
  • Given that no one group of people can lay claim on Jerusalem,
It is imperative that two states be formed, one Israel, another Palestine, but both be tied into an economic union at birth, having the same currency, and the same central bank, with travel between the two to be mutually determined, that Palestine have the Gaza Strip and the enclaves inside the West Bank, and for territory that used to be the West Bank and now is Israeli settlements, the state of Israel pay into a trust fund for Palestine, an annual sum, to be determined, for the next 50 years, and Jerusalem be given the status of an international city like no other, neither just Israel, or just Palestine, but both and more, and the countries of the region and the world come up with an aid package to lift the battered economy of Palestine going forward.

A Creative Solution To The Palestine Problem
The Stupidity Of The Ayodhya Dispute
Saudi-Iran: Imran Is The Only One Who Can
Hong Kong: Endgame Scenarios

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