patrick.net

common_sense says

I’d like to see American TV violence sensored too. It does affect society, people become desensitized to violence and it become ‘acceptable’. When I was in New Zealand in 2002 I was disappointed to find out CNN had started broadcasting there several months before. The Kiwis were horrified at the gratuitous violence of American TV and blamed the sudden upswing in murders squarely on it. The murder rate was one every few years, then suddenly 7 murders in the 4 months since CNN started broadcasting, two very gruesome ones while I was there. The correlation is pretty obvious.

Please don't let facts interfere with a good story.
NZ Annual murder rate (per million people)
1926-1970: 6
1985-1992: 21
1994-1998: 15
1999-2003: 14
2004-2008: 12

Even this doesn't present a true picture since there have been several changes in the statistical record keeping over the years. It is very difficult to compare crime stats country to country anyway. For example the homicide category is particularly broad in New Zealand. It includes murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, infanticide, illegal abortion, and aiding suicide.

The idea of NZ media finding American media violent is pretty funny. News in NZ brings the concept of exploitive and sensationalist reporting to a whole new level. Plus reporters in NZ NEVER let facts interfere with a good story. Fox could take lessons from these guys.

I was in China ten years ago and loved the people. The gov was something else. Emailed home every day for twelve straight days (purposefully innocuous messages) and one got thru. Of course I was charged for the ones that didn't--anything for a buck!

In the mid-'90s I was in Victoria, B.C., 6 pm, looking for something I didn't have to pay for on the hotel's tv. Found the public channel. Flipped to it. And my jaw dropped. I immediately called my husband and said, "Honey, you are not going to believe what I'm watching being pierced and it's on their public tv channel!" I told him I'd snap a picture of the screen. I did. He couldn't believe it even when he saw the picture.

IMHO there's more actual violence being done by the Ponzi schemers, the bankers who took TARP funds and won't lend to those with good credit and small businesses, the credit card companies who jack the rates based on the user's zip code, the gov employees who take their salaries and sleep on the job than ever can be shown on a TV program. Yeah, America is slidding down hill and if you're wondering why, go and look in the mirror. You called your city hall lately and tried to have a chat with the city manager? You know who your city council person is? You tried to get them on the phone? You even voted in the last couple years?

Nomograph says

More advice: don’t take suggestions from someone who calls themselves an “area51ufopilot”.

:)

China has a lot of western content block. You wont' be able to get on Youtube or any video hosting site outside of china because they have them all banned except for the local ones like Todou. China's propaganda is just as bad over there as it is here. It's just you won't see any Americanize content there and if you do they're edited.

Seriously China does not like our culture or even our society the only reason why we get along with each other is because our economies are so intertwined, to where we currently need them as much as they need us. However, if ever this tie is served expect tensions to rise between China and U.S, just like how it was with the U.S. and Russia.

Right now both countries just tolerate each other, but in no way do we like each other. Which ever gets the first opportunity to rise will be the first one to stab the other in the back.

Zeik says

Seriously China does not like our culture or even our society the only reason why we get along with each other is because our economies are so intertwined, to where we currently need them as much as they need us.

Yeah that's why a Brown 4 door Buick is the most coveted car of status one can have in China.

Because they hate us so bad...

Tenouncetrout says

Zeik says

Seriously China does not like our culture or even our society the only reason why we get along with each other is because our economies are so intertwined, to where we currently need them as much as they need us.

Yeah that’s why a Brown 4 door Buick is the most coveted car of status one can have in China.
Because they hate us so bad…

I am not saying they're out to get us, I am just saying they just tolerate us, it's not like we're buddy buddy or even close allies. But just like the U.S they're also vying for power.

Do you know why most Asian horror shows have a White pasty face ghost that comes out of the dark to get them?

Like religious fanatics worry about God watching them, Asian cultures worry about their Ancestors hanging over their heads watching them and judging them. Ghosts, but not just any Ghost the Ghost that haunt them are their ancestors. That is the Asain Boogie man, and is ancient as the first Chinese characters. All of our boogie men are 20th Century inventions.

Ironically the only derogatory word Asians have for Americans, is "Ghost". Now from an American Racist point of view it is easy to write this off as to "Oh that's because Americans are White".
But many Chinese are more pasty white than we are.

The Chinese respect us, and want to be American in every way. They work 12 hours a day to make our cheap crap and put all of their money in the bank to loan us money, so we can buy that cheap crap.

That's a good solid prudent way to make money and they have been. They spent decade admiring us, and we spent a decade spending like drunken sailors. When our house of cards fell, we looked East and snarled at China, like some pasty faced Asian cinema Ghost that wants to come out of the dark and get them, because they still have money, and we're broke.

Of course there is Toxic dry wall and other toxic goods, that have came out of China, but really the fault lies clearly on our import regulations, and inspectors to allow these damaged good through. I'd say it's 99% our fault, for every toxic Chinese goods we've ever gotten.

The average person on the street in China is enamoured with the US and all the goodies we have. The currency of choice when tipping is still the dollar (right, Patrick?). They now have a problem (for the first time in their long history) of what to do with their parents when they need help and so old folks homes are proliferating. Female babies are adopted out of country. Male babies are kept (and in some cases, kidnapped and sold at the other end of the country to families who want a male heir). Factory jobs are disappearing (mostly to the inland where the wages are cheaper). They value education. I met more Chinese who could speak English than spoke Mandarin. What do they think of our political system? It's a non-issue for the average person. What do they think of their political system? Another non-issue, part of which is the fear of being reported as a dissident (altho I did meet one person who stated uncategorically that he hated Mao). That watch-granny on their block though does offer some benefits to the average resident--a low burglary rate.

I laughed when I read the comment above about whites being called "Ghosts." Look at the San Francisco newspapers from the 1800s. What were the Chinese called who were transported to work on railroads? Being different is always labeled.

And you want good horror flicks? Try those from South Korea.

maire says

I laughed when I read the comment above about whites being called “Ghosts.” Look at the San Francisco newspapers from the 1800s. What were the Chinese called who were transported to work on railroads? Being different is always labeled.

That was my point, we "White Americans" have always been disproportionately Silver tongued, against other groups that aren't like us.