so the PRC brings in the American billionaires to build casinos. lol. actually the american casinos were the nicest ones. was not impressed with the lisboa or galaxy. the sands, wynn, and venetian were nice.
the PRC restored order. i hear it was pretty messed up before 1999. some of those mobs must have migrated to Canada. that's why it's pretty ****ed up there these days.
This is very true. Despite the difference in political systems, both countries have a lot more common interest in today's world. Even the stubbon Bush could find that out quickly. Crying foul on a pre-set rule after the game is silly, especially considering Nastia didn't deserve the gold anyway. If anything, her fans should be happy she got the silver because the bronze winner, Yilin YANG, clearly did better job than both Nastia and He. Even the NBC commentator's first reaction on seeing YANG's score was "what's going on here?". Thank God Yang is not American, or we will have WWIII. BTW, for whatever reason, I like Shawn Johnson A LOT more than Nastia and I am happy to see her get the last Gold. Shawn is a sweet little girl while Nastia just remind me one of my ex girl friends many years ago.
Not any more. Macau supassed Vegas in revenue Jan-Nov. last year. Everything in China changes fast these days, for the better or for the worse.
Talking to people, as well as interviews I've read about or heard from people who were in China prior to the Olympics all say that everyone, and especially the people put in a ton of work to make the Olympics successful and show China in a good light. Construction, efforts to curtail smog, and improve air quality, etc. All went into super high gear. The govt. was sending out papers even telling citizens not to wear white socks with black shoes. I guess hearing this stuff and all the trouble and pride that the people have taken in trying to make sure that the Olympics were a success might have increased my admiration. It also makes me understand that when that kind of pressure and effort is applied there will be people who go too far in their decisions(The lip-sync girl, etc.) I also believe the media was very one-sided in their coverage, though I definitely have problems with the Chinese govt. and many of their policies.
Because of the brain washing that most of us americans get from the mass media, we just cant see that The chinese Government is good for the chinese, yet needs to gather its pace for social reform. Let us not forget just how much has already been acheived. My view on China is always changing as it is a very fluid situation. I do not like how ordinary the USA Track and Field Team has been. Major changes are needed in the US to get the sport back to its former glory.
As someone working in Beijing over the past year and a half. I think what the Olympics really gave me a deeper understanding of how Chinese government works. And how the people feels. It really takes a major event like this to bring out people's true feelings, what they feel is important, and just the length people would go through to ensure that nothing goes wrong. So for me, it's not so much that my opinions have changed. Instead, the olympics only served to strengthen my opinions about various aspects of Chinese culture.
The chinese girl does look really young, but I usually give people the benefit of the doubt. Epecially since chinese girls usually look much younger and she was probably selected because her parents/grandparents were small too (just like how Yao was selected to play basketball because both his parents and his grandparents are extremely tall).
You have to ask yourself, if you already dislike something, you're going to nitpick on the negatives despite whatever positives there are. Either the democrats or republicans can hold the most kick-ass convention or party, but it won't do anything to change the opinion of the other party who dislikes you anyway. As we all learned in high school, holding a big party won't convince people to like you. They'll come over, drink your beer and enjoy the party, but it will rarely change their opinion of you if they disliked you before. If you want someone who hates you to like you, you either 1) become extremely virtuous (hard) 2) become as similar as possible to that person (hard) 3) find them a bigger enemy and openly hurt them (easy). BTW, when you ever phrase a question "Has your opinion changed about...?" The far majority of people will generally say "No" because our society frowns against those who aren't resolute in their opinions. (if you say yes, you are a flip flopper and are easily convinced by propaganda) If you framed the question, "Do you think you are now more knowledgeable about...? " The majority of people will say yes, because our society expects people to be more knowledgeable about something when there is increased exposure on it. (basically, if you say no, society says you have a learning disorder)
I've always had a good impression of the Chinese people. I'm impress they got beijing together for the olympics. There was still a lot of construction going on just a few months ago. I don't agree with the government on a lot of issues but I think they actually care about their people and maybe it takes a stricter government to manage that many people. I have to say China is doing a lot better than India is.
And I know the reason why. The Chinese are serious gamblers. I'm the only one in the casino yelling and making noise. oh no drinking at the tables either.
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LIFE OF REILLY by Rick Reilly http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3542649 Whoops, sorry about that.
Do you really think life and people's feelings are *that* black and white? You gotta quit forming your world view based on what the tv tells you. Most normal people are open to changing their opinion if they become better educated about things they weren't aware of, forget those vapid political truisms...they may be true in the alternative world that is politics and political punditry, but they don't have much place in real life amongst normal people. If you ask someone for an opinion on something they don't know much about, they will form an opinion based on what they know at that time.....if at a later time they have acquired more information, they can at that time change their mind about it if the information shows their previous position to be wrong. That is not something to be ashamed of...it is the normal adult thing to do. To answer the topic. (please notice when I am referring to the PEOPLE vs when I am referring to the GOVERNMENT...they aren't one and the same to me) I already thought well of the Chinese people in general...I am a fan of history and have found the history and culture of that entire region fascinating long before Yao was even a thought at this forum. I have been saddened at what the people of China have been put thru in the name of progress in recent history. (from the colonialism of the last couple centuries to the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution) I don't have alot of respect for the government of China, I don't feel they give their citizens all the rights that every human should enjoy and until recently they didn't seem to be very interested in cleaning up the environmental issues in their country...this and other bad aspects of the communist rule adversely affects the people of China....I can not respect a government that doesn't strive harder to treat its people right.(and yes...I don't have much respect for ours either...so there ) Generally....the Olympics seems to be going very well...my only criticism is that it almost seems like the government is trying *too* hard. An entire nation's self-esteem shouldn't be tied up to a sporting event. Even if it is the Olympics.
