They make US pols look like pikers:
...Ling Jihua, a close ally of President Hu Jintao, was demoted from the party's politburo general office. The South China Morning Post reported Ling's son died when his Ferrari crashed, raising questions about how a government official on less than $30,000 a year could possibly afford a luxury car worth $800,000...
The net worth of the 70 richest delegates in the NPC [National People's Congress, purported parliament] rose to $89.8bn in 2011. Compare that to the $7.5bn net worth of all 660 top officials in the US government, including President Barack Obama...
H/t Denise.
Ahhhh Socialism.
Works every time. Promise the rubes equality and social justice and you can rob them blind.
Because as the pigs know, some animals are more equal than others.
Ain't it grand.
Get the rubes to march against the 1% and get in power.
Then, since you are the smartest men in China, whatever you take off the top you deserve.
Eliminate those useful idiots who dare question — this is the revolution I fought for?
Just the kind of world that genius Thomas Friedman is hoping to cash in on.
Mo Strong's kinda people!
Perfect scheme there..Brute force totalitarian govt using capitalism as the business model.
All of the benefits without the needless waste of energy and treasure on good wages, working conditions, health and safety, fair business practice, product safety etc. etc..
This will not end well.
There is a reason many of them are moving assets and children overseas.
China has left communism without a bloody revolution. Becoming democratic will be a bit more difficult.
Yes communism.
The road to prosperity, on the backs of the peasants, for the divine in their minds few.
Obama along with our own statist nuts want to make us cattle too.
I don't think this is communism,maybe it never was.What ever the name of this scary hybrid beast of a governance, I feel very uneasy with the close trade ties Canada has forged with China.
The battles over a few Japanese reefs show the real face of this regime.itis ugly and dangerous.
Localy ,there are some early attempts at developing assets bought with the eroding US dollar.They have gone to some effort to subvert and avoid local planning and have prefered to get approval from the local tribal government before engaging with local Canadians,There are several more developments under way, will they all focus on dealing with the so called first nations too? Why?
China historically does an implosion every once in a while, it's their 'thing', looks like they're just about due
That's the true 1%!
What Fred said.
I think we have politicians in Quebec that are in that category. No need to mention any names.
I also think that China is becoming more like a Fascist state rather than a communist one.
Note this:
"Lawmakers seek to block China's Huawei, ZTE inroads in U.S."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/08/us-usa-china-huawei-zte-idUSBRE8960NH20121008
Now as for Nexen...
Mark
Ottawa
What we have is communism if necessary but not necessarily communism, aka corruption & cronyism. Oh, and nothing new when one considers Breshnev lived in golden splendour. Now the Chinese government wants to buy a Canadian oil company (you know, royaaaltees); what's wrong with that?
Let us see now,
China is not a communist system. China is an increasingly, every day more so, fascist state run by communists. Very much like the European communists used to run the socialist states of Eastern Europe, though they had a few degrees of restraint, since they had a democratic experience before communists took over.
The communists will decide who will prosper and who will be the slave.
Those that were chosen to prosper are and will pay their dues to the communist aristocrats that have the power, with appropriate gesture of a hand, to decide for the masses. You may have caught such gestures in relation to gangsters.
You see, the communism is a never, never land. Those that are communists know that.
The same applies to socialists and fascists. Though socialist and fascists are, for lack of other word, naïve, not necessarily in the full meaning of the word
The communists on the other hand are realists and know they are speaking of never ending utopian nonsense. They know that, there is no question about it. They have the information on economy, social engineering, perceived class struggle and other demagoguery in the tip segment of their little fingers. The thing they do well is accumulating wealth when things are working out for them. They are realists, knowing that it may not last, if they outlast it, great, that’s a bonus.
...and another thing,
do you recognise any of the points above in the administration of the current President of the US
Go read re Liberal Ad$cam Chretien, Mo Strong, Power Corp/Desmarais, Rae family, Layton-Chow, et al.
...-
"Jean Chretien and the Sidewinder Report - Prime Time Crime
primetimecrime.com/contributing/2005/20050120Gray.htm
Prime Time Crime (Published in The WatchDog, April-June 2003 edition) Jean Chretien and the Sidewinder Report: By Ann Jane Gray"
"In this WatchDog article, I will examine Prime minister Jean Chretien's connections to those companies and individuals mentioned in the Sidewinder Report. The Sidewinder Report, as readers recall, examined links of Chinese-triads and the Chinese government to Canadian-based corporations."
Canadian Huawei angle:
"Ottawa casts wary eye on Chinese telecom giant" (CSE mentioned)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-casts-wary-eye-on-chinese-telecom-giant/article4558259/
Mark
Ottawa
Been to China a couple of times and my take is that they are fairly cautious. I had no experience with corruption or the extent that it exists. Like any society that tolerates corruption it is porbably extensive. Don't kid yourself if you think the ordinary citizen is not very patriotic and proud of their progress.
With all the demands that a population of China's size can what form of government can rule there? Any government is all aways threatened in one form or another. The communist government in China might be a clique of power brokers but for what it is worth they seem to have a decision making process.
My concern is more with Putin and his gang that is ruling Russia. People dissappear there regularly. I suggest the Chinese communists have delivered more wealth to their people than the Russians have.
We in North America are pretty smug about what goes on in other countries. We should cast a reflective eye on our own governance. Organized crime does well here and corruption exists in labour unions, business and in politics.
ssssssssssssssssssidewinder...
good olde Fiddle Caster ain't broke!!!!
All the more reason to go slow on Nexen. And I've noticed Little Stevie Harper has started to muse on my 'tit-for-tat' theme, noting that the Chinese wouldn't allow a similar investment by a Canadian firm in China. You watch - the deal will be substantially changed, or disallowed. Way to go, Stevie!
Plus:
"Canada 'at risk' from Chinese firm, U.S. warns
Head of U.S. committee says ordinary Canadians should be worried about Huawei...
The world’s second-largest telecommunications equipment supplier, Huawei is already providing high-speed networks for Bell Canada, Telus, SaskTel and Wind Mobile – deals that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has openly applauded.
But the next big deal could be helping to build a new super-secure telecom system for the Canadian government, a multi-billion project in part to replace data systems contaminated beyond repair by a massive Chinese cyber-attack in 2010.
Allowing Huawei near any part of that network, says the chairman of the U.S. Intelligence Committee, could be courting disaster...
The Canadian government referred all questions about Huawei to the federal department responsible for building the new secure telecommunications network.
Shared Services Canada issued a statement saying the government “takes cyber-security seriously and operates on the advice of security experts.”
The government has given itself the power to exclude Huawei from the entire network project, but won’t say if it has any intention of doing so..."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/10/09/huawei-canada-weston-interview.html
'Ontario linked to controversial Chinese firm
...Ontario has invested $6.5-million in taxpayer grant money into the company.
“Our government is proud to partner with Huawei, one of the world’s leading telecommunications technology companies, on their most recent expansion into Ontario. Setting up their Canadian headquarters in Markham and their R&D Centre of Excellence in Ottawa speaks to the confidence Huawei has in Ontario’s skilled workforce and competitive business environment,” Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello said last year.
The Ontario Government web site also states “during Premier McGuinty’s latest trade mission to China, Huawei-Ontario announced a $67 million (investment) in the expansion of the company’s Ottawa R&D Centre to help consolidate the company’s leadership in the global marketplace, and help create 164 new good jobs.”
Huawei’s Canadian spokesman Scott Bradley, a former federal Liberal candidate who once worked for Bell, said his company is no threat..'
http://www.saultstar.com/2012/10/08/ontario-linked-to-controversial-chinese-firm
And from February:
"Nortel turned to RCMP about cyber hacking in 2004, ex-employee says
...
Huawei, now the world’s second-biggest network equipment maker, on Wednesday said “this unseemly speculation is unfortunate.”
But one telecom industry veteran said that around 2004, it was clear to many that Huawei was copying Nortel’s telecom hardware, and even its instruction manuals."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/tech-news/nortel-turned-to-rcmp-about-cyber-hacking-in-2004-ex-employee-says/article534295/
Hmm. Our government sure is quiet.
Mark
Ottawa
Mark
Ottawa