Longing for Chinese Autocracy - Thomas Friedman

[volinbham]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/opinion/09friedman.html?_r=1

This guy is smoking crack.

One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages.

Our one-party democracy is worse. The fact is, on both the energy/climate legislation and health care legislation, only the Democrats are really playing. With a few notable exceptions, the Republican Party is standing, arms folded and saying “no.” Many of them just want President Obama to fail. Such a waste. Mr. Obama is not a socialist; he’s a centrist.

:blink:

 

[KB5252]

Another example of how out of touch the NY Times is with the majority of Americans.

 

[rjd970]

lol at this.....

Since when is China led by a "reasonably enlightened group of people"? :unsure:

 

[IPorange]

Scary.

 

[OrangeEmpire]

I wonder if half their population know about indoor plumbing?

 

[SavageOrangeJug]

Our one-party democracy is worse. The fact is, on both the energy/climate legislation and health care legislation, only the Democrats are really playing. With a few notable exceptions, the Republican Party is standing, arms folded and saying “no.” Many of them just want President Obama to fail. Such a waste. Mr. Obama is not a socialist; he’s a centrist.

NEVER underestimate the stupidity of the American liberal.

 

[MontereyVol]

My guess is Friedman has not stepped one foot into China.

 

[volinbham]

My guess is Friedman has not stepped one foot into China.

He's spend a ton of time in India and I bet he's been to China many times. (he's the guy who wrote The World is Flat).

That said, this is one of the dumbest or scariest op ed's I've read in a while. I just can't figure out which.

 

[MontereyVol]

He's spend a ton of time in India and I bet he's been to China many times. (he's the guy who wrote The World is Flat).

That said, this is one of the dumbest or scariest op ed's I've read in a while. I just can't figure out which.

History, as Friedman is well aware does not back the statement he made. Which is surprising since I thought he used knowledge of history to back his logic in The World is Flat.

Spending a ton of time in India does not automatically support assumption to entering mainland China. Even if he has been there it would seem he never stepped foot outside the foreigner zone.

as an aside, maybe Friedman meant an enlightened view toward business models not the political one?

 

[volinbham]

History, as Friedman is well aware does not back the statement he made. Which is surprising since I thought he used knowledge of history to back his logic in The World is Flat.

Spending a ton of time in India does not automatically support assumption to entering mainland China. Even if he has been there it would seem he never stepped foot outside the foreigner zone.

as an aside, maybe Friedman meant an enlightened view toward business models not the political one?

I can't verify he's been to China but would guess he has. Clearly he's ignoring a whole lotta ugly in China.

As for the enlightenment - I think he's talking about the country being willing to make tough decisions on green energy, health care, etc. I got the impression he's advocating the ease with which an autocracy can get things done on a large scale without pesky input from the people - doing things for the people's own good.

 

[BigPapaVol]

Friedman is and always has been little more than a lefty lunatic. He has a couple of works worth reading, but he has never left journalism school behind him.

 

[droski]

if you have longing for it you can get it here: Amazon.com: Chinese Democracy: Guns N' Roses: Music

Though it's not a very good record.

 

[allvol123]

Friedman is and always has been little more than a lefty lunatic. He has a couple of works worth reading, but he has never left journalism school behind him.

Well then, appoint him Czar of Journalism.

 

[gsvol]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/opinion/09friedman.html?_r=1

This guy is smoking crack.

:blink:

Commies don't need crack to sound whacked out.

I don't know why he didn't mention the affordability of human organs in China, that's one of their best selling points.

The conventional wisdom in the U.S. firmly believed that the evolution from communism to capitalism throughout the world was only a matter of time, and that the only place one could find committed communists was on the teaching staff of various American colleges and universities.

The real situation was quite different. Marxist true believers were, in reality, reorganizing and preparing for bold counter-moves.

A few other things off the top of my head.

Russia has given Iran, that has a national holiday titled; "Death to America Day," nuclear technology which they are using to build a bomb.

Of course our own home grown communists Dhimmi Carter, Slick Willy Clinton and Madeline Albright gave North Korea nuclear technology, something even the Russians and Chinese weren't stupid enough to do, actually making some communist leaders appear to be more responsible than America's so-called free world leaders. (Actually I can't say how 'home grown' Madeline is, her father was a big wheel communist leader in what is now the Czech Republic before they threw off the yoke of socialism, he now is an American professor I believe.)

Russia is rebuilding Libya's tank corps, (that was mostly destroyed by the Chads with Toyota PUs and small arms.)

Russia is about to supply Syria with some very up to date Suhoi and Mig fighter and fighter/bomber planes.

Russia sold Chavez 250,000 Ak-47s and is in the process or talking about upgrading Venezuela's navy maybe even submarines, it's air force and possibly to probably giving them nuclear technology.

The USA is placing heavy sanctions against Honduras who legally kicked out a would communist dictator who tried to pull a coup there.