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Title: Thoughts from Taiwan
Source:
Dissenting Opinions
URL Source: http://jwpegler.blogspot.com/2011/08/thoughts-from-taiwan.html
Published: Aug 19, 2011
Author: Eric Blankenburg
Post Date: 2011-08-19 08:36:27 by jwpegler
Keywords: None
Views: 85079
Comments: 163
I spent the last week in Taipei, Taiwan visiting a customer.
I've been all over Asia, but this was my first trip to Taiwan, other than catching a connecting flight at the airport.
I'm sitting here at Taiwan International Airport waiting for my 12 hour flight to Seattle, reflecting on my week.
I love Taiwan and its people. The city is on the move. People are hustling and working hard. Yet, they are extraordinarily friendly and caring.
Last night we went to Tower 101, which is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Until very recently, it also had the fastest elevator in the world. We climbed from the 5th floor to the observation deck on the 89th floor in a matter of seconds. The view was spectacular.
Taipei 101 is designed to withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors. Inside the building there is a 660 metric ton steel pendulum (my pic is on the left) which acts as a mass damper that sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts of wind. It's the largest mass damper in the world and the building is an engineering marvel.
Afterwards, we had diner at a great restaurant that specializes in dumplings.
We were sitting at diner, looking at all of the energy in the city, the wonderful people, and everything that they've accomplished over the last 50 years. I couldn't help but think that if Chiang Kai Shek didn't lead 2 million people off of the mainland, all of these people and what they've accomplished wouldn't be here because the communists would have murdered their parents and grandparents for rebelling just as the communists murdered so many others.
Our thoughts quickly drifted to the problems we face in America. Although the American left haven't turned into mass murders (yet), they are killing the country nevertheless.
In Taiwan and the rest of Asia, you are expected to work and take care of yourself. If you can't, you rely on your family. In America (and Europe) the government's welfare system has destroyed the family by replacing it with a faceless, uncaring bureaucracy. They've also replaced our core values of hard work and responsibility with sloth and dependency. So, you've been on unemployment insurance for 2 years???!!! No problem, Obama and his minions will let you ride out the rest of your miserable life at the taxpayer's expense.
At one point last night I told my colleague that we should take every big mouth leftist in the U.S., and dump them off in Taiwan, the Philippines or elsewhere in Asia without a penny in their pocket. If they can manage to survive a year, both they and America would be better off when they come back. I seriously doubt that many of them could survive.
It's getting close to boarding time. I am so glad to becoming back to America with another shining example of how the American values of hardwork, thrift, and personal responsibility translate into success in every society. It is so sad that many Americans are losing those very values.
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Comments (1-123) not displayed.
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Gates is famous not only for software, but also for giving his money away.
That's nice.
But not to toot my own horn, but I suspect I give more (percentage wise) to charity than he does.
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#125. To: mininggold (#123)
The point.... as usual.
Educate me then, madame.
Please.
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#126. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#121)
That hippies were dropouts? No argument there.
Both Steves, Apple creators, were dropouts as was Bill Gates.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#127. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#124)
But not to toot my own horn, but I suspect I give more (percentage wise) to charity than he does.
Good for you. How is that relevant to the conversation?
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#128. To: lucysmom (#127)
You tell me.
You're the one who brought up Gates' giving to charity and being famous for it.
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#129. To: lucysmom (#127)
Good for you. How is that relevant to the conversation?
It's the only area in which he can beat Bill Gates.
#130. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#128)
You tell me.You're the one who brought up Gates' giving to charity and being famous for it.
So some boogeyman forced you to reply?
#131. To: mininggold (#129)
It's the only area in which he can beat Bill Gates.
Wow - looks like we can add clairvoyant to your resume.
Impressive!
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#132. To: mininggold (#130)
I'm still waiting for you to educate me as to what the hell the point of this conversation is.
Since you said I "missed" it.
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#133. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#132)
I'm still waiting for you to educate me as to what the hell the point of this conversation is.Since you said I "missed" it.
Lucy brought it up, I'm saving on bandwidth by not repeating it.
#134. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#131)
Wow - looks like we can add clairvoyant to your resume.Impressive!
You moderators say the stupidest things.
#135. To: mininggold (#133)
I'm saving on bandwidth by not repeating it.
ROFLMAO!
I didn't think you could.
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#136. To: mininggold (#134)
You moderators say the stupidest things.
Note to self:
Add "moderator" to MG's resume.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#137. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#128)
You're the one who brought up Gates' giving to charity and being famous for it.
Well no, you're the one who brought up Gates and giving stuff away.
Let me know when Gates starts giving his software away, and Jobs gives out free MACS, okay?
Then, after I responded to your challenge, you inserted yourself into a discussion that wasn't about you.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#138. To: mininggold (#129)
It's the only area in which he can beat Bill Gates.
and we only have his word for that.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#139. To: lucysmom, mininggold (#138)
It's the only area in which he can beat Bill Gates.and we only have his word for that.
Just as I have your ladies' word that you're two actual people.
And not a random character generator.
Such is the world of the internet.
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HA! The tea-party, INDEED! They're so . . . ah . . . common
#140. To: Get Outta Dodge!, mininggold (#139) (Edited)
Just as I have your ladies' word that you're two actual people.
Fortunately my existence as a flesh and blood person doesn't depend on what you believe.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#141. To: lucysmom (#140)
Fortunately my existence as a flesh and blood person doesn't depend of what you believe.
Tea Baggers evidently are so easy to fool, that one doesn't even have to try.
#142. To: mininggold (#141)
Tea Baggers evidently are so easy to fool, that one doesn't even have to try.
How long did it take before they stopped wearing tea bags dangling from their glasses?
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#143. To: lucysmom, Buckeroo (#137)
Then, after I responded to your challenge, you inserted yourself into a discussion that wasn't about you.
He made it about himself like Buckeroo did yesterday, as every conversation eventually was manipulated by Bucky to be about Bucky.
#144. To: mininggold (#143)
He made it about himself like Buckeroo did yesterday, as every conversation eventually was manipulated by Bucky to be about Bucky.
I finally had to put him on bozo. His pointless rants have gotten real old, real fast.
#145. To: mininggold (#143)
What are you talking about? Prove your contention or BACKOFF.
#146. To: buckeroo (#145)
What are you talking about? Prove your contention or BACKOFF.
Every post you make proves my contention, monikerboy
#147. To: Skip Intro (#144)
I finally had to put him on bozo. His pointless rants have gotten real old, real fast.
I hate to sound cliched but doesn't it seem a little strange that a large percentage of the 'conservative' posters here exhibit those same Asperger's like rantings in their posts. And if you just happen to disagree on a few points you are marked as an enemy for life
#148. To: Biff Tannen (#83)
I don't like anything over 4 hours anymore. If I can drive there in 10, I'll do that rather than fly.
It's very hard to drive across the Pacific Ocean.
Worst flight ever - Seattle to Mumbai India. 24 hours in the air plus at least 7 hours of lay overs -- 2 in Dulles and 5 in Frankfort.
I used to do this 4 times a year.
This small group of terrorists [Tea Party members] have made it impossible to spend any money. -- Mike Doyle (D-PA)
#149. To: Godwinson (#89)
We? You mean Democrats? You are a Democrat?
No, silly. I'm with the winning side.
As to your other point, is that Bill Gates or Steve Jobs pictured above, hippy?
#150. To: jwpegler (#148)
Seattle to Mumbai India. 24 hours in the air plus at least 7 hours of lay overs -- 2 in Dulles and 5 in Frankfort.
I'd go insane(r).
How was India? I've heard it's a shithole.
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Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?
#151. To: socalv8 (#149)
As to your other point, is that Bill Gates or Steve Jobs pictured above, hippy?
Once again you prove you so called conservatives are know-nothings:
http://gawker.com/5060028/steve-jobs--total-hippie?tag=valleywag
Steve Jobs? Total hippie
Wozniak on Jobs: "Steve was into everything hippy, he ran around shouting 'free love man' and eating seeds."
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
#152. To: Biff Tannen (#150)
How was India? I've heard it's a shithole.
To me India i the third world.
Big huge, gated luxury hotels surrounded by tin hovels. The peasants get up in the morning, take a shit in the weeds, and then splash their ass in the community well.
It's surreal.
I will work every day to try to make Washington, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can -- Rick Perry. believe him or not, it's a hell of quote in a country looking to D.C. for answers.
#153. To: jwpegler (#152)
Ya, that's what I've heard. Someone crapping in the river and someone just downstream getting a bucket of drinking water.
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Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?
#154. To: Godwinson (#151)
Steve Jobs? Total hippie
Eating seeds and saying "peace" does not a hippy make.
btw, your idol wasn't a hippy, either.
#155. To: socalv8 (#154)
Steve Jobs? Total hippieEating seeds and saying "peace" does not a hippy make.
Whose opinion on the matter should I listen to on this subject? Steve Wozniak or you? You know the answer.
Steve Wozniak on Jobs: "Steve was into everything hippy, he ran around shouting 'free love man' and eating seeds."
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
#156. To: Godwinson (#155)
Steve Wozniak on Jobs:
Phhfftt.
Wearing sandals doesn't make you a gladiator, "retard".
btw, it's not surprising you have to lie to find a successful hippy comrade.
Hippies dismissed the nerds that you are now trying to claim as your own.
"Eating seeds".
Really?!
#157. To: socalv8 (#156)
Which is closer to the truth? Steve Wozniak's description of Jobs or a the opinion of some nobody named socalv8 who lost his argument and is trying to save face?
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
#158. To: Godwinson (#157)
Which is closer to the truth?
The side you're shilling against, as always.
#159. To: socalv8 (#158) (Edited)
The side you're shilling against, as always.
It was well known that Steve Jobs went through a hippie phase as did a few million others in that era. I don't know why it should make a difference to you. It's not like it was illegal or even unusual.
#160. To: socalv8 (#156)
Hippies dismissed the nerds that you are now trying to claim as your own.
You really have no idea what you're talking about.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#161. To: mininggold, socalv8 (#159)
It was well known that Steve Jobs went through a hippie phase...
Well known enough to be reported in Wikipedia:
In the autumn of 1974, Jobs returned to California and began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak. He took a job as a technician at Atari, a manufacturer of popular video games, with the primary intent of saving money for a spiritual retreat to India.
Jobs then traveled to India with a Reed College friend (and, later, the first Apple employee), Daniel Kottke, in search of spiritual enlightenment. He came back a Buddhist with his head shaved and wearing traditional Indian clothing.[36][37] During this time, Jobs experimented with psychedelics, calling his LSD experiences "one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life".[38] He has stated that people around him who did not share his countercultural roots could not fully relate to his thinking.[38]
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#162. To: lucysmom (#160) (Edited)
You really have no idea what you're talking about.
They only see hippies as one dimensional pot smokers. When in fact some were the richest entreprenuers of their own times when you count the money they made from concerts and selling records.
#163. To: mininggold (#162)
When in fact some were the richest entreprenuers of their own times when you count the money they made from concerts and selling records.
Steve Jobs was a Grateful Dead fan and friend of Jerry Garcia. In fact many Silicon Valley corporate managers, directors and CEOs are deadheads.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
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