傻冒儿 Stupid Hat aka ShaMao'er

USCC Report 1

In keeping with ShaMao's longstanding commitment to not comment about anything that he knows nothing about, and due to the marvelous expanses of time that unemployment and an absent wife (visiting family overseas) allow, Shamao has decided to read the entire (381 page) annual report just issued by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.   In past years, I have read just the Executive Summary.   You can find it here if you happen to be interested:

USCC Annual Report 2009 

Here are a few excerpts from Chapter 1:

Regarding China’s economy, the Commission notes a disturbing trend away from the evolution toward a full market system and instead sees steps backward to greater government control. China continues to employ a wide range of subsidies to favored companies and industries within China and to control the value of its currency and provide massive loans from state-owned banks to industries producing over capacity

Considerable skepticism exists in regard to China’s statistical reporting. China compiles its gross domestic product growth figures even faster than the United States despite having more than four times the population, far fewer computers, and less sophisticated sampling methodology.

China’s exchange rate regime appears to have created a policy dilemma for the Chinese government. An undervalued RMB subsidizes China’s exports, but it also compels China to keep buying up U.S. dollars. Chinese officials have expressed concern that the growing U.S. debt will eventually spark inflation in the UnitedStates and a depreciation of the dollar, which would reduce the value of China’s holdings of U.S. securities. But if China stopped purchasing U.S. dollars, it would seriously impact the RMB’s peg to the dollar. As Michael Pettis, professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, writes, as long as China remains dependent on boosting the value of the dollar to support its own export-driven growth, it ‘‘will have to recycle the surplus into the dollar pool that ultimately funds the U.S. fiscal deficit.’’ 32 There is an irreconcilable conflict between China’s words and actions: Despite high-level criticism of the growing U.S. debt, China continues to buy Treasury bonds and to buy up dollars flowing into the Chinese economy.

Zealotry

Yet more evidence of the very disturbing religiosity the global warming issue.  I am still on the fence and expect to remain there (since I don't have enough science background to analyze the data myself). But when I see this kind of fanatic zealotry than I can infer that there is a lot of money at stake and probably a lot of fraud involved. 

Climate Emails Stoke Debate 

Ordos

Another little reality slap that I'm sure you will all ignore.

On the bright side, in 5 years when all those doufu buildings fall apart they can rebuild them again and get another couple tenths of a % of GDP growth!

Useful Blog

VIPO Asia

I just found this blog the other day and highly recommend it to anyone doing business in China.  It is written by a Singaporean General Manager of factory in China.  He talks about a wide range of HR, fraud, quality, and other issues he has faced.  Much of what he says is very similar to what I have either personally seen or have heard about from Chinese acquaintances.   It would save foreign companies a whole lot of time and expense to read his entries and take some similar mitigation steps.

A little excerpt from his post on Managing Chinese Workers:

You can never outwit the Chinese on cheating and fraud. I am always amazed how intelligent they are and the extent they would do to cheat on the company. And I have never stop learning. The rule of thumb is never gives the same person the opportunity to control and manage at the same time. The show of your interest to check on details and fraud will dampen their lure to commit cheat.

The Age of the Auto

I came across an old book today entitled Hollyhock and Goldenglow by Elbert Hubbard.  Hubbard was a quite famous writer and publisher in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  This book was written in 1912, three years before his death (Hubbard and his wife both died aboard the Lusitania).   It is a book of essays on a variety of subjects.  One of the essays is entitled "The Age of the Auto". 

In the essay, Hubbard is a great proponent of the new invention.  I thought some of his comments were entertaining.  Here are a few excerpts:

The auto subdues conversation to things that should be said, and eliminates most of the vacuous mouthy nothings.... He travels far and fast.  He sees, hears, grows, hikes, honks, and becomes.  His face is bronzed by the kiss of the wind and the sun.  His pulse is full and even.  His appetite is prodigious.  The auto is a great move on behalf of temperance.  The man who runs a machines prizes his brain and rejoices in sinewy hands, muscles of braided silk, and nerves of steel.  Booze is for the wobbly and weak -- your autoist will  have none of it.  

ShaMao for children

It seems that I have hit upon the method of attracting visitors to your blog.   Post an image that students need for their school projects.   I note that over 50% of the web traffic that comes to this blog goes to one page: The True Conquest of Mexico where I posted an image of Tenochtitlan which is apparently coveted by students worldwide.   I first noted this trend last spring, then it dropped off in the summer, and is really back in full force this fall - fueling my hypothesis that this is high school (or worse maybe even Middle School students).   Disappointing... but maybe I can post an ad or something on the page and make a $ or two.

Antiques

World's heaviest Pig

This is well done

John Green's ThoughtBubble : Healthcare Overhaul

Shanghai Disney

From a purely weather perspective this just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.   With the exception of about 6-8 weeks in the fall (right now!) the weather in Shanghai is categorically crappy.  Quite cold and windy in the winter, rainy and windy in the Spring, ungodly hot and humid in the summer... 

Ok, maybe Tokyo weather (or Paris) for that matter is similar  but I strongly suspect it doesn't feel quite so miserable.   One of the main reasons I wanted to leave Shanghai for Beijing was to escape that awful climate. 

The Wall, Part 2 - Track 1

Like it says...

Amazing pictures, Pollution in China