Bush today: "China used to be swarming with bikes. Now it's FILLED WITH CARS!!!!1"

[Bluebear]

"One of the most striking parts of this trip is seeing how much China has changed. I first visited the country more than three decades ago, when my dad was America's representative in Beijing. Poverty was rampant, and the streets swarmed with bicycles. Today, China is sprinting into the modern era. Beijing is covered in skyscrapers and filled with cars. And the people of China have more connections to the world than ever before."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,400963,00.html
=======

THIS is how that idiot measures "progress".


Guanzhou, China, 1985



Beijing, 2008

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. He's just thinking about him and his oily bidness buds. Greedy little pissant.

[Bluebear]

4. EXACTLY> And that is all you need to know about this disgraceful human being.

[Truth4Justice]

31. Bush's brain:" Goody-goody.. We sell Rots of oil to chinaman-san. Big-oil companies very happy now".

[sudopod]

2. Wait, where's the city in that 2nd pic? nt

[bridgit]

3. Apparently, they used to be able to see to the end of the street too...

:):(

[Solly Mack]

5. The bottom picture reflects profits - to his family and friends, etc..

Bush family has a longtime business relationship with China...and then there's the cars/oil connection

so to him that is progress. $$ -> thrity years -> $$$$$$$$ -> progress

[Christa]

6. I watched the opening ceremony

The idiot was obviously bored and kept looking at his watch.

What an embarrassment.

[madrchsod]

7. it`s going to be refreshing to know

,god willing and we outvote the machines,that in jan 2009 the world will rejoice that we have finally elected a real president.....

the day of liberation is near

[donco6]

8. And he meant it in a GOOD way.

Just effing great.

[rainbow4321]

9. Small detail, chimpass.. no one could own a car til 1984

It was not til 1984 that China allowed private citizens to OWN A CAR!

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/080508dnintchinacars.43b402a.html

Whether it's for bling or babies, China is becoming an auto nation. The communist government first allowed people to own a vehicle in 1984. By the end of this year, about 50 million cars will ply China's expanding network of streets and highways


<snip>

Buying a car at prices that start around $9,000 for a domestic make is still a huge investment in a country where per capita income is not even a fourth of that. And most pay cash.

GM, which has found a global sweet spot in China selling cars between $14,000 and $100,000, estimates the threshold for a Chinese new car buyer is around $6,000 in annual income. That puts a car within reach of 40 percent of Chinese households.

<snip>
The Chinese capital's wide boulevards are no longer jammed with vehicles, and real estate entrepreneur Dong Jie, who drives a 2007 BMW 320i sedan, hopes the government keeps the odd/even restrictions after the Olympics.

[otherlander]

10. Economic growth and development as it is currently defined

is a scam. We talk about "developing nations" which are supposedly poorer because they aren't yet as developed as they "should" be. When they "develop", though, this only leads to unsustainable civilization, and any increase in wealth that the average person gains is built on the backs of people in less developed nations.

I'm not ranting against all industrialization, though. Only against the increasing monoculture. There are many, many forms of sustainable civilization, including ones with advanced technology, but they're being replaced by a single type of unsustainable civilization. Even programs which are put in place to reduce poverty- like the Peace Corps- wind up as sales pitches for the one "right" way of living. No offense to anyone who was in the Peace Corps- I know you meant well.

The sane thing to do would be to replace the funnel of "economic development" with networks of many ways of being and many means of sustainance. It's not just a question of environmentalism and poverty- it's also about human dignity. Seeing underdeveloped nations as places that must be "fixed" by more industrialization doesn't respect people's dignity and their right to choose their own way of sustaining themselves.

[EFerrari]

11. "The Oval Office used to be swarming with brains. Now it's full of felons!"

:rofl:

[Bluebear]

12. ZING!

:thumbsup:

[carlyhippy]

13. well....DUH mr. president

china...poverty was rampant and the streets were swamped with bicycles, now there are cars everywhere....

Thanks to your oil buddies......the US.....cars were everywhere,we were in the modern era....now poverty is rampant and the streets are swamped with bicycles....thanks.....

[cliffordu]

20. I wish we were swamped with bicycles.

[eppur_se_muova]

14. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!!

Well, someone had to say it.

[Octafish]

15. Hey, little turd from Crawford!

This is China.



Going from your actions,
it's the one you love best.

[1]

16. wow. tough crowd. this just shows, given a _choice_ most would prefer a car over a bike...

and beijing looks a lot like the la i left a few years ago (particularly if viewed from long beach or further south.)

i'm not saying that's right or good.

it is what it is...

[girl gone mad]

25. A lot of L.A.'s pollution comes from China.

The pollution is carried on the SE tradewinds and gets stuck in the dead zone that is the LA basin.

Just saying.

[1]

30. i only lived in la for 3 years...

a bud of mine invited me on a fishing trip that sailed out of long beach. we caught sand dabs all day long. many times after that too.


but i remember that first time sailing back into long beach harbor and looking at the brownish glob of crap air that hovered above los angeles.

it was fucking disgusting. knowing i was "going home" to that.

just saying...

[girl gone mad]

32. Well, you had China to thank...

for at least 50% of that.

[1]

35. heh. china had nothing to do with that. the residents of la did that...

you are wrong...

[girl gone mad]

42. No, I'm not wrong.

"China’s problem has become the world’s problem. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides spewed by China’s coal-fired power plants fall as acid rain on Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo. Much of the particulate pollution over Los Angeles originates in China, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html

What exactly are your interests in defending China's toxic environment?

[KharmaTrain]

17. This Is Very Painful To Say...The Fukstick Is Right

My brother first traveled to China in 1978...right after it began opening up to Americans. He had to fly to Hong Kong, then take a rickety train to Shanghai...and then on a prop plane (fit for carrying animals, not people) to Beijing. The hotel had straw beds and everyone on the street wore Mao suits...and, yes, bicycles everywhere. Oh...and there was also a minder who he had to check with if he wanted to walk out the door...every place he went had to be approved.

He just returned from China a couple weeks ago and the difference is day and night, good and bad. Now he flies non-stop from LA to Beijing, stays in his choice of several 5-star hotels and the minders are gone. He still is careful who he talks to or what he says, but he says over the years the people are a lot more open and a trip to China now is no different than if he went to Korea or Japan. The change in 30 years has been incredible...from an agrarian society to an industrial one.

Yes...with it comes the pitfalls of a "modern society" and one the Chinese will be faced to deal with just like we are. This includes the political. He points out that while the country remains a dictatorship, it's far more open now than it was even in 1989 (he was there right before T'ien Amen Square...has a picture of him visiting with protestors and the "Liberty" statue...and that those affected by those events are making changes that will become more apparent as the next generation of rules come to power...the first that has grown up in a consumer-oriented society.

[1]

19. i know what you are describing...

all of us "aware" americans can look to what is happening in a place like china and "cluck" and dismiss that as bad. we "know" what is better for politics and the planet than they do, right? after all, we are americans and they are just these silly little backward chinese people.

chinese people getting some freedom. chinese people exercising that freedom. how dare they?

we can hold the chinese to a higher standard than we have ever exhibited. don't you chinese people get it? global warming and all?

american's never, ever, exhibited any self-control.

but you must!

for the planet. for our children...

so if you, little chinese dude, want to upgrade from a bicycle to a car? sorry. that's not cool.

and if you, little brazilian dude, want to cut down some trees? sorry, it does not fit our agenda.




those silly little backward chinese and brazilian people. who do they think they are?

[SoCalDem]

18. China 1974 Peking & surrounding areas

[lisainmilo]

21. China is growing into it's industrial revolution....

Much like we did in the 18th and 19th century. Ted Koppel just did a 3 part special on this not to long ago, "Peoples Republic". It was very interesting. Chinas infrastructures are growing in leaps and bounds and it is in the "Constitution" to dedicate themselves to growing their infrastructure. They don't have alot of the safety measures put in place for their workers or for some of their products....but they are growing and growing fast. Here is a link to the Koppel series that was on the Discovery Channel. We are losing MUCH of our industry to them. Many of our companies have gone over there. GM, Ford, Briggs & Stratton. etc.

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/highlights/highlights.html

This is another reason the importance of electing Senator Obama is so very important. We must forge forward into a new industries, not only because of global warming which of course is extremely important, but because we must create new industry, we must allow for the 21st century industrial revolution. Let the creative juices flow.....it is this generations opportunity to take advantage of science, knowledge, and technology. This will allow for the United States to regain it's leadership in the world.

[cliffordu]

22. I just love the idea that true freedom is Unbridled Consumption.

Really. Makes me all warm and runny inside.

[1]

23. you are missing the point, bud...

when you've had nothing and now you get a chance for something more, you go for it.

you, who has always had that unbridled freedom, don't understand that.


that is the saddest part of your warm and runny insides.

your ignorance about how the rest of the world lives...

[cliffordu]

24. ROFL

I lived in the poorest country in SE Asia in 1969-70. I lived there for a year.

I understand living on the streets here, too.

I haven't missed a fucking thing.

So, take your grandiose pronouncements about what I know and what I don't, and pack them up your ass.

I'm sure you'll feel better if you go to the mall.

[1]

26. well good for you. but have you read a fucking word of this thread?

we are not talking about you.

[cliffordu]

29. Well...

You brought me, personally into it when you said:


..."you, who has always had that unbridled freedom, don't understand that."

So: I responded.

You sound like someone who has a personal, direct financial interest in the Chinese expansion.

[1]

33. heh. ok, peace... you squatted in whatever they call a toilet over there...

(and i have too)

i do not have a personal direct financial interest in the chinese expansion.

its just i don't have a disinterest in li and wáng's, or pedro and inez's future on this planet as you seem to.


hate the expansion, don't hate the poor fuck just trying to get by...

[bvar22]

48. Speak for yourself, bud.

!

[alfredo]

27. bush is the perfect republican stupid and mean spirited.

[1]

34. and a poopy head...

i love children...

[Bluebear]

36. It seems you've stumbled onto the wrong site. You are so much more sophisticated than we are.

PS, Democrat?

[1]

37. yo, bud. adults are discussing something here. care to contribute?

got any thoughts?

or is your entire thing going to be "WITCH! BURN HER!"

step up to the plate or back the fuck off...

[cliffordu]

38. Are you the new hall monitor??

[Bluebear]

39. You have zero manners, newby.

[1]

40. me? like you have contributed anything meaningful to this discussion?

who the fuck do you think you are?

your two posts amounted to shit.

so go ahead, get all tough guy on me.

puff, puff, puff...

contribute a thought, moron, or back the fuck off...

[MattSh]

41. So, less than 1000 is newby??

Some people reach a thousand in a month by posting a ton of meaningless crap. Some people get to a thousand the hard way. By posting stuff that actually has some importance. This is not to suggest anything of the sort about you, since I really don't know, and don't care. But I've been active here for almost two years and lurking much longer, and suggesting that anyone with less than a thousand is less worthy than you is zero manners too.

[Ravachol]

43. While I agree with the sentiment...

as a long-time lurker (close to 2002) and three year member (I think, would have to check) that very rarely contributes due to a lack of time, I would like to point out that this one fellow that BlueBear called a "newby" had, indeed, "zero manners". Or a profound and disturbing absence of tact and diplomacy.

[Bluebear]

49. Thank you :)

[cliffordu]

47. You're right about that one, Bluebear.

[alfredo]

46. Or as my dad would say "dumb Kopf"

[Truth4Justice]

28. Bidness will be good for Chinese cancer centers soon. Woopee!! Joy-joy!! Lung transplants, anyone?

[Herman74]

44. Chimpy Favors Smog and Cars Over Bicycles. Well, DUers, will you respond by...

...trading in your cars for bicycles? Hey, as for me, I have no car to trade in. Do have a couple of bicycles though, and much less fat than most people.

[cliffordu]

45. Yep, I have no autos, either. Haven't spent a dime on gasoline this year.