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krystalxu

BBC Food - Curry: Where did it come from? - 0 views

  • the word curry has "changed its meaning and become ubiquitous as a menu word",
  • there is a recipe for kari in a 17th Century Portuguese cookery book.
  • "What had been an Indian sauce to go with rice, became an English stew with a little rice in it," according to Alan Davidson.
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  • Researchers also found wheat, barley, millet, lentils, bananas and mung beans at the site.
  • curry pub of the year, favourite restaurant, and best signature dish.
millerco

Trump Attacks Warriors' Curry. LeBron James's Retort: 'U Bum.' - The New York Times - 0 views

  • Trump Attacks Warriors’ Curry. LeBron James’s Retort: ‘U Bum.’
  • President Trump took aim at two of the world’s most powerful sports leagues and some of their most popular athletes, directly inserting himself into an already fiery debate over race, social justice and athlete activism and stoking a running battle on social media over his comments.
  • In a speech on Friday and a series of tweets on Saturday, he urged N.F.L. owners to fire players who do not stand for the national anthem, suggested that football is declining because it is not as violent as it once was and seemed to disinvite the N.B.A. champion Golden State Warriors from the traditional White House visit because of their star player Stephen Curry’s public opposition to him.
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  • the president used an expletive to describe players who kneel or sit during the anthem to protest police brutality against black Americans and other forms of social injustice.
  • “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these N.F.L. owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired,’ ” the president said at a rally for Senator Luther Strange, who was appointed to the Senate this year and is facing Roy Moore in a Republican primary runoff.
  • “U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!” Mr. James wrote on Twitter.
  • The Warriors, who play in a league that sometimes promotes social issues and whose owners and players have been known to denounce the president, said in a statement they would use a visit to Washington in February to highlight issues of diversity and inclusiveness.
  • By midafternoon, a spokesman for the University of North Carolina national championship basketball team confirmed the team would not be going to the White House
  • Many athletes have been moved to comment on race and social justice more frequently in the past year after a series of police shootings of unarmed African-Americans and the support Mr. Trump has received from white supremacists.
  • “It’s unfortunate that the president decided to use his immense platform to make divisive and offensive statements about our players and the N.F.L.,’’ said Mark Murphy, the president and chief executive of the Green Bay Packers.
maddieireland334

For Now, Anglicans Avert Schism Over Gay Marriage - The New York Times - 0 views

  • Despite threats of a walkout or even schism over the issue of gay marriage, the archbishops of the Anglican Communion, the world’s third-largest body of churches, managed to keep their church intact after a week of tense meetings that ended with a symbolic washing of one another’s feet.
  • In interviews, the American archbishop said his church would not reverse its decision to bless same-sex marriages, and the Canadian archbishop said his church would proceed with a vote this summer to consider approving same-sex marriages.
  • The Most Rev. Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, said at a news conference on Friday that it was necessary to impose “consequences” on the Episcopal Church for breaking with church doctrine that marriage is only between a man and a woman. He also acknowledged that the move would send a painful message to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.
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  • Bishop Curry said that despite the “overwhelming” vote against his church, he saw signs of openness to change from the primates. “If this is of God, things will change in time,” he said. “And it may not be fast. I don’t know how long. But I know in my lifetime I’ve seen things change that I didn’t believe would ever change.”
  • But the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael B. Curry, said in a telephone interview that he did not expect his church to reverse the decision it made last summer to permit same-sex marriages and to change the definition of marriage so that it was no longer defined by gender.
  • But Archbishop Welby said that the church’s provinces, while autonomous, were “interdependent” and obligated to one another not to deviate from doctrine. “And if you simply ignore that, there will be consequences,” he said.
  • The archbishop of Canterbury said there was no clarity about what would happen if the Americans did not reverse course and the Canadians moved to affirm gay marriage. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said at the news conference.
  • He also announced that he intended to hold the next international assembly of Anglican bishops, known as a Lambeth Conference, in 2020. With schism averted at least temporarily, Archbishop Welby said that Friday, the primates agreed to join discussions with the Coptic Church leader, Pope Tawadros II, and Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, to set a common date for Easter.
Javier E

Edward Snowden and Booz: How Privatizing Leads to Crony Corruption - Norm Ornstein - Th... - 0 views

  • We have vastly over-privatized, and in the process lost control over swaths of important policy areas while allowing unaccountable and even outlaw behavior to expand.
  • And we have created areas where crony capitalism can meet crony government to create crony corruption that cheats all taxpayers.
  • we can hark back to the last set of outrageous and scandalous privatized behaviors -- the privatization of war, with the sharp proliferation of private contractors sent to Iraq and Afghanistan who operated outside the restraints of the U.S. military, the common conventions of behavior in war, and the laws of the countries in which they operated
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  • There were at times more than 100,000 contractors in Iraq, including nearly 50,000 "soldiers," many making $1,000 a day, far more than active-duty military, with the money coming from American taxpayers. Conveniently for politicians, if these "soldiers" died, they were not counted in the official death toll of Americans killed in the war.
  • If multiple public functions are privatized, or partially privatized, government employees have huge incentives to curry favor with potential private employers by granting them rich contracts or consulting fees, and then subsequently getting jobs paying multiples of their government salaries -- or just giving nice perks to one's former colleagues and friends who left for the private sector
  • Antigovernment ideologues demonize government and government employees, cutting their pay and their programs and finding other ways to undercut them. That makes recruiting top-flight people much more difficult, especially in areas such as computer science or engineering. Government responds not by providing incentives to recruit and keep the best and brightest, but by going through the back door of privatizing and letting private firms pay far more to do essentially the same work.
anonymous

This beloved grocery chain is the latest company to face Trump-related boycotts - The W... - 0 views

  • s This beloved grocery chain is the latest company to face Trump-related boycotts
  • A number of big-name brands, from Uber to Under Armour, Nordstrom to Neiman Marcus, have been the subject of politically charged boycotts in recent weeks.
  • Now another company is finding itself in the crosshairs of consumers hoping to avoid Trump products as they take issue with the president’s policies and divisive rhetoric:  Wegmans.
lenaurick

Soros: American people want democracy back (Opinion) - CNN.com - 0 views

  • there's only one reason New York is an essential campaign stop for candidates from all 50 states: money.
  • those of us who provide the money extraordinary access to our elected leaders and candidates. We can shape how candidates talk about an issue, influence what issues they might choose to highlight or ignore, and entice promises about what they will do in office.
  • private donors on both the left and right, advocate for policies that we perceive to be in the public interest, our perspective is dramatically unrepresentative of the American electorate. Top political donors are overwhelmingly male, white, urban, and, of course, rich.
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  • many other donors have only their self-interest in mind and give to curry favor with the lawmakers who can help or hurt their fortunes. Most members of Congress, who are dependent on this money for their re-election campaigns, have to listen.
  • Once implemented, every voter in Seattle will receive $100 in vouchers that can be used to support candidates for city office who voluntarily accept spending and contributions limits.
Javier E

Mattis Proved You Can't Serve Both Trump and America - The Atlantic - 0 views

  • The president had a vague notion of the killer part when he appointed Mattis. He had no notion of the morally and strategically informed restraint, of the intellectual sophistication, of the selflessness.
  • In office, he had to spend most of his time buttressing the alliances that the president despised, and affirming values of fairness and legality that Trump could not comprehend. Success in government is often measured less by the brilliant things one does than by the stupidities one prevents. By that standard, Mattis’s tenure as secretary of defense was a success.
  • Mattis indeed had his walking points, and he leaves with his head held high. But he is alone. The clusters of sub-Cabinet officials who privately boasted about their walking points have, with very few exceptions, stuck it out. They give sickly smiles when, at a seminar or dinner party, someone describes the president’s character as it is; they give no evidence of sticking their necks out to take positions that might incur the wrath of the America Firsters; they have taken the mad king’s shilling, and they are sticking with the king.
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  • The departure of Jim Mattis from government service is proof that you cannot have it all. You have to walk if you are to remain the human being you were, or conceived yourself being, before you went in. He alone refused to curry favor, to pander at the painful televised Cabinet sessions, or to praise someone who deserved none of it. In the end, he could not do his job and serve the country as he knew it had to be served. No one could.
krystalxu

UK - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette | global-etiquette | resources - 0 views

  • In a country which has four national football teams, where the favourite national dish is an Indian curry and the people happily drive on the wrong side of the road, you would be forgiven for getting a little confused about the United Kingdom. That is why we have published our free guide to the UK! Valuable for anyone researching British culture, customs, language, society, manners, etiquette, values, business norms and essentially wanting to understand the people better.
brickol

Fact check: Trump makes another round of misstatements during coronavirus briefing - CN... - 0 views

  • President Donald Trump on Friday continued the false and misleading claims that have become a part of White House briefings on coronavirus, wrapping up a week in which the number of confirmed cases across the country topped 100,000.
  • Trump claimed that 22 days ago, "everything was going beautifully" before the US got hit by what he calls "the invisible enemy."
  • While the market had previously set all-time records under Trump, on March 5, 22 days before Trump's comments, the Dow dropped 3.6% or 970 points, then its fifth-worst single-day point drop on record, adding to a 3,000-point drop since its peak on February 12.
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  • Multiple times throughout Friday's press briefing, the President claimed the current situation was unprecedented and unforeseen. According to Trump, "nobody was prepared for this," not even past presidents. He added, "In all fairness to all of the former presidents, none of them ever thought a thing like this could happen."
  • This is false. The US intelligence community and public health experts had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic. Experts had also warned that the country would face shortages of critical medical equipment, such as ventilators, if a pandemic occurred.
  • Trump said of the coronavirus: "You can call it a germ, you can call it a flu, you can call it a virus, you know you can call it many different names. I'm not sure anybody even knows what it is."
  • You cannot accurately call the coronavirus "a flu." They are, simply, different viruses with different characteristics, though they share some symptoms the coronavirus has a much higher mortality rate.
  • it's significantly more serious" -- with a mortality rate approximately 10 times higher than the 0.1% for the flu. It's also obviously untrue that there is not "anybody" who knows what the coronavirus is.
anonymous

Under Fire, The NCAA Apologizes And Unveils New Weight Room For Women's Tournament : NPR - 0 views

  • Under fire for differences in amenities for its men's and women's basketball tournaments, the NCAA revealed an upgraded weight room Saturday for players participating in the women's college basketball tournament in San Antonio. What had been a single small rack of dumbbells has now been replaced with a larger space with more equipment, including a variety of bars, racks and stands.
  • The facilities were upgraded overnight after the organization was widely criticized by players, coaches and fans alike.
  • NCAA President Mark Emmert said in an interview on Friday with reporters. "This is not something that should have happened, and should we ever conduct a tournament like this again, will ever happen again.
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  • The controversy broke Thursday after a coach from Stanford University posted a photo to social media comparing the men's and women's weight setups.
  • the NCAA had originally intended for women's players to have access to a full weight room once their team had reached the third round of the tournament. The men's teams had access to a full weight room during the entirety of their tournament run.
  • The controversy picked up steam as more disparities were revealed: uninspiring box meals compared to a buffet with steak filets and lobster mac & cheese; swag bags appearing to be a third the size of the men's.
  • the school's men's team were being tested daily with highly accurate PCR COVID-19 tests, while his women's team were receiving antigen tests, which are less accurate. The NCAA later confirmed that the two tournaments are using different testing methods.
  • Reaction to the disparities was swift and negative. Joining the voices of women's players facing the conditions in San Antonio were NBA stars like Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving alongside top college administrators and coaches. "I appreciate that [the NCAA] is working on a solution, but this is unacceptable to begin with," wrote Ross Bjork, the athletics director at Texas A&M, on Twitter. "No one in athletics would have thought this was appropriate if someone would have been consulted."
  • said longtime Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. "The NCAA had an opportunity to highlight how sport can be a place where we don't just talk about equality we put it on display. To say they dropped the ball would be the understatement of the century."
  • NCAA officials said that despite appearances, the swag bags were equal in value, and that the food quality had been "addressed immediately" with the hotels in San Antonio housing the women's players.
  • As for the differences in testing, NCAA President Mark Emmert said Friday that he had "complete confidence" in the different protocols, pointing to the organization's partnerships with local health organizations in Indianapolis and San Antonio.
mattrenz16

Opinion: Naomi Osaka's courageous choice - CNN - 0 views

  • Twenty-three-year-old tennis player and four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka stunned the tennis community this week by dropping out of the in-progress French Open, one of the year's major tournaments, announcing on social media that she will "take some time away from the court."
  • That is why forcing her to choose between her mental health and a few media sound bites was entirely unnecessary. We don't need to hear from her to appreciate her skill on the court. We do not need to drive her out of her career in order to punish her for failing to perform.
  • Her decision was surprising, but not entirely out of the blue. Earlier, Osaka had announced that she would be opting out of the tournament's "mandatory" media interviews, citing mental health concerns, including a history of depression.
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  • But Open organizers didn't stop there, issuing a news release threatening to expel her from the tournament if she kept it up.
  • And so, she quit. Read More
  • In attempting to force her hand, they essentially forced her out. Enter email to sign up for the CNN Opinion newsletter. "close dialog"Get CNN Opinion's newsletter for the latest thoughts and analysis on today's news.Please enter aboveSign me upBy subscribing you agree to ourprivacy policy.Thanks for Subscribing!Continue ReadingBy subscribing you agree to ourprivacy policy."close dialog"/* effects for .bx-campaign-1376914 *//* custom css .bx-campaign-1376914 *//* custom css from creative 52220 */.bxc.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-row-image-logo img { height: 42px;}@media screen and (max-width:736px) { .bxc.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-row-image-logo img { height: 35px;}}/*Validation border*/.bxc.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-row-validation .bx-input { border-color: #B50000; /*Specify border color*/ border-width: 1px; box-shadow: none; background-color: transparent; color: #B50000; /*Specify text color*/}/* rendered styles .bx-campaign-1376914 */.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative:before {min-height: 220px;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative {border-color: #c1c1c1;border-style: solid;background-size: contain;background-color: white;border-width: 1px 0;border-radius: 0;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative:before {min-height: 200px;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative> *:first-child {width: 780px;vertical-align: middle;padding: 10px;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative> *:first-child {width: 340px;padding: 20px;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-close {stroke: rgb(193, 193, 193);stroke-width: 2px;width: 24px;height: 24px;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914.bx-active-step-1 .bx-close {width: 30px;height: 30px;padding: 0 0 10px 10px;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-group-1376914-y4M7jyO {width: 660px;text-align: left;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-group-1376914-y4M7jyO {text-align: center;width: 315px;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-element-1376914-tVcUlRZ {padding: 0;width: auto;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-element-1376914-tVcUlRZ> *:first-child {background-color: transparent;background-size: contain;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-group-1376914-BpRQ7DR {width: 660px;text-align: left;padding: 25px 0 15px;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-group-1376914-BpRQ7DR {width: 310px;padding: 15px 0 15px;text-align: center;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-element-1376914-oUX5Jvf {width: 100%;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-element-1376914-oUX5Jvf {width: auto;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-element-1376914-oUX5Jvf> *:first-child {font-family: CNN Business,CNN,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Utkal,sans-serif;font-weight: 400;font-size: 24px;line-height: 1.1em;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-element-1376914-oUX5Jvf> *:first-child {font-size: 16px;padding: 6px 0 0;line-height: 1.2;}}.bxc.bx-campaign-1376914 .bx-group-1376914-PZ8dLrW {width: 660px;padding: 0;min-width: 550px;text-align: left;}@media all and (max-width: 736px) {.bxc.bx-campa
  • Osaka first came into the spotlight at the 2018 US Open when her historic win against Serena Williams received boos from a crowd convinced that Williams was unfairly targeted by the umpire. What should have been an extraordinarily joyous occasion, her first major victory and the event that catapulted her into public recognition, was instead one that made her cry, both immediately following the match and when she went to collect her trophy. ESPN declared that "Naomi Osaka was denied her magic moment."
  • Simply put, it's because the world has unrealistic expectations of celebrities and athletes. We believe the public nature of their fame entitles us access to their private lives. In several recent interviews, such as one with podcaster Dax Shepard, Prince Harry has talked openly of his own mental health struggles and of the pressures he and his wife, Meghan Markle, have felt as objects of media fascination, pressures so severe that Markle thought of suicide.
  • Many of her fellow athletes agreed with her decision. Steph Curry tweeted, "you shouldn't ever have to make a decision like this -- but so damn impressive taking the high road when the powers that be don't protect their own. major respect @naomiosaka." Martina Navratilova tweeted her support of Osaka, noting that "as athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference." Serena Williams offered her support, too.
  • Some tennis players, of course -- including Rafael Nadal and Sofia Kenin -- have come out to say that speaking to reporters is part of the job. But just because something has been part of the job needn't mean it should be, or that it should be for everyone. Osaka didn't just decide she didn't feel like giving interviews. She was forced to make a choice, and she chose herself. That takes courage, courage that is a shame she had to muster at all. Because in the end, the tennis world has lost a great, at least for now -- a point that deserves much more attention.
mimiterranova

Florida teen accused of following two women home, stabbing them to death - 0 views

  • A teenager is accused of following two women to their Florida home, climbing into their window and stabbing them to death early Monday morning, according to police.
  • Police said he saw the two victims in public, entered their home through a bedroom window and stabbed a woman with a knife while she was sleeping.
  • The second victim tried to come to the rescue of the first woman, injuring Curry. He was able to overpower her and fatally stab her in the neck and face, police said.
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  • He later admitted to following the women home and stabbing them, the affidavit said. He allegedly told police he used "the sharpest kitchen knife he could find" and stabbed them "for an unknown reason." He also said he rolled the first victim off a couch and to the floor to make the crime look like an accident, according to the affidavit.
rerobinson03

At Once Diminished and Dominating, Trump Begins His Next Act - The New York Times - 0 views

  • The place isn’t as he left it. Many of his longtime employees are gone. So are most of the family members who once worked there with him and some of the fixtures of the place, like his former lawyer Michael D. Cohen, who have since turned on him. Mr. Trump works there, mostly alone, with two assistants and a few body men.
  • Others, like Senator Rick Scott of Florida, have tried to curry favor by presenting Mr. Trump with made-up awards to flatter his ego and keep him engaged in helping Senate Republicans recapture a majority in 2022.
  • Even in defeat, Mr. Trump remains the front-runner for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2024 in every public poll so far. Lawmakers who have challenged his dominance of the party, like Representative Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican who implored her colleagues to reject him after the Jan. 6 riot by his supporters at the Capitol, have been booted from Republican leadership.
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  • Nonetheless, Mr. Trump has zeroed in on the Arizona effort and a lawsuit in Georgia to insist that not only will he be restored to office, but that Republicans will also retake the majority in the Senate through those same efforts, according to the people familiar with what he has been saying.
  • Some of his aides are not eager to engage with him on his conspiracy theories and would like to see him press a forward-looking agenda that could help Republicans in 2022. People in his circle joke that the most senior adviser to the former leader of the free world is Christina Bobb, a correspondent with the far-right, eternally pro-Trump One America News Network, whom he consults regularly for information about the Arizona election audit.
lmunch

Nancy Pelosi reelected speaker Sunday despite narrower majority - CNNPolitics - 0 views

  • Speaker Nancy Pelosi won a fourth non-consecutive term to lead the House of Representatives, suffering a handful of defections in a narrow vote after her party lost seats but kept control of the chamber.After serving for 17 years in charge of the House Democrats, Pelosi ran unopposed in her election. She is the first woman to be speaker, leading the House from 2006 to 2011, and since the Democrats took back the House in 2018.
  • In order to win the speakership, Pelosi had to receive a majority of votes. In 2019, 15 Democrats defected from Pelosi but she can only afford to lose a few in 2021. After losing a dozen seats in 2020, House Democrats are likely to control around 222 seats next term.
  • The speaker has a myriad of tools at her disposal to curry votes, including a massive fundraising operation, committee assignments and legislation she can bring to the floor. In 2018, Pelosi, 80, suggested that this would be her last term in office, striking a deal with a small group of Democratic rebels that she would serve no more than two terms as speaker.
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  • "She is one of the few, clear leaders who can provide cohesion and leadership for the Democratic majority," said Connolly. "I think she goes into this in a strong position, but clearly cognizant of challenges she faces in terms of numbers and the uncertainty of coronavirus."
Javier E

Opinion | Three Things Americans Should Learn From Xi's China - The New York Times - 0 views

  • Creating a Chinese version of the World Bank, Mr. Xi inaugurated the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
  • Instead of the American dream, he speaks of the “Chinese dream,” which describes the collective pride that people feel when they overcome a century of disorder and colonial humiliation to reclaim their status as a great power.
  • I asked half a dozen scholars who study China what lessons Americans should draw from Mr. Xi’s tenure so far. Here’s a summary of what they told me.
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  • In the absence of elections, Communist Party officials in China rise up the ranks based on how well they deliver on the party’s priorities, at least in theory. For years, the top priority was economic growth
  • Local officials plowed money into the highways, ports and power plants that manufacturers needed, turning China into the world’s factory.
  • Under Mr. Xi, government priorities have shifted toward self-sufficiency and the use of industrial robots, something that Chinese leaders believe is critical to escaping the middle-income trap, in which a country can no longer compete in low-wage manufacturing because of rising wages but has not yet made the leap to the value-added products of high-income countries.
  • some Chinese companies purchased robots that don’t work well and exaggerated their success to get government subsidies and curry favor with politicians. Directives from party officials with little expertise in robotics fetishize machines beyond their actual usefulness.
  • Those unskilled laborers — who will increasingly be replaced by robots, according to China’s grand strategy — present an economic challenge and a threat to political stability
  • What many Chinese businesses wanted most, she said, was “invisible infrastructure”: a predictable judicial system, fair access to bank credit and land, and regulations that are applied without regard to political connections
  • Her findings, reported in detail in “The Gilded Cage: Techno-State Capitalism in China,” which will be published next fall, suggest that Beijing’s pronouncements about amazing technological advancement should be viewed with a touch of skepticism.
  • Mr. Xi had a privileged childhood as the son of a top Communist Party official. But the Cultural Revolution shattered that sheltered life; he was sent to a remote village for seven years, where he did hard labor and slept in a hillside cave home. As a result, he can claim a familiarity with rural people and rural problems that few world leaders can even imagine.
  • One of Mr. Xi’s most celebrated campaigns has been a vow to stamp out extreme poverty, a tacit acknowledgment that China’s economic miracle has left hundreds of millions of rural farmers behind
  • Some corporate managers complained that government subsidies often flowed to politically connected firms and were wasted, while others grumbled that government directives were unpredictable and ill informed.
  • Only 30 percent of working Chinese adults have high school diplomas, although 80 percent of young people are getting them now, according to Scott Rozelle, a co-author of “Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise.”
  • more than 600 million Chinese people scrape by on the equivalent of $140 per month.
  • Last year, Mr. Xi declared “complete victory” in eradicating extreme poverty in China, but skepticism about his success abounds. Some experts on China report that local officials gave out cash to rural families — one-time payments that got them temporarily over the poverty line — instead of initiating badly needed structural reforms.
  • “Rural Chinese in many ways are like the lowest class in a policy-driven caste system,” Mr. Rozelle told me. Nevertheless, even a flawed program to address rural poverty is better than no program at all.
  • He set out to save his rudderless Communist Party by cracking down on graft and bringing wayward nouveaux riches back into the fold by recruiting them as party members. He ordered chief executives to contribute more toward “common prosperity” and showed what could happen to those who didn’t toe the party line.
  • Mr. Xi’s crackdown went too far. Increasingly, foreign investors and Chinese entrepreneurs are fleeing. Coupled with a draconian zero-Covid strategy, Mr. Xi’s policies have sent the economy into a tailspin.
  • More worrisome still is the return of an atmosphere of fear and sycophancy not seen since Chairman Mao’s time. A businessman who was critical of Mr. Xi was sent to prison for 18 years. The era of relative openness to intellectual debate and foreign ideas appears to have come to an end.
  • id another despot like Mao, have gone out the window so Mr. Xi can have more time in power. Mr. Xi has been called a modern-day emperor, the chairman of everything and the most powerful man in the world
  • Yuhua Wang, a political scientist at Harvard who is author of the book “The Rise and Fall of Imperial China,” released this month. Mr. Wang studied 2,000 years of Chinese history and discovered, somewhat counterintuitively, that China’s central government has always been the weakest under its longest-serving rulers.
  • Emperors, he explains, have always stayed in power by weakening the elites who might have overthrown them — the very people who are capable of building a strong and competent government.
  • “One can argue that he has good intentions,” Mr. Wang told me of Mr. Xi. But the tactics he has used to maintain power — crushing critics, micromanaging businesses, whipping up nationalist fervor and walling China off from the world — may end up weakening China in the end.
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