Category Archives: Jack

Photography and comments by Jack Porter of Guiyang (site administrator).

US Congress and China

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An ancient Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.”

What about doing business in China. Here is food for thought:

U.S. trade with China has declined, even as Beijing deals with strains on its own economy.

US Congress on Business in China

Admin:
I try to stay out of politics with the Toiurguizhou Web site. After ten years in business, this is the only “Dot Com” I know of that isn’t blocked.  Well this last post might be considered a little political, but desperate times call for desperate measures . . .

The Ultimate Competitor

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During the Beijing Winter, Olympics February 4 to February 20, 2022, I was watching sports on TV and, of course the news. In the middle of those two weeks of competition I saw the Russian leader show up in Beijing. He wasn’t there to cheer on the Russian Olympic Team. He came to  talk about friendship and alliances with the Chinese leader. Ukraine was on their minds and perhaps a little “Chinese Island” which was wrongfully separated from the mainland. These two guys announced that they were friends and would be working together going forward. That little Chinese island was really part of China, as much as the Ukraine was really part of Russia . . . same, same.

I remember thinking “What are they doing here?” The Russian team has been banned for cheating in prior Olympics. Perhaps the Chinese leader was using the Olympics as a  prop, a “media event” to call attention to the friendship of the two countries. Russia and China were going forward into the future as cooperating friends. That made sense. Russia has natural resources and a lot of land. An alliance between China and Russia would be mutually advantageous. What better way to advertise this alliance than with the Olympics?

Still I was put off by the Russian Leader, a “Notorious Thumper” and a cheat, coming to share the limelight at one of the greatest competitions of good will in the world.  The Olympics, the event that had banned the Russian Team.. Do we know what the two leaders were planning? Perhaps another media spectacle to call attention to themselves. We don’t know, but they were very likely planning something . . .

“Sports” is an activity that is used to promote human accomplishment, the ultimate competition. Yet we have other competitions as humans, like education, the arts, science, and technology. All of these go better with teamwork. Almost every aspect of human culture and  accomplishment goes better with teamwork. I will always remember a music teacher that I met at Oakland University who told me that no matter how good of a musician thatyou are, you are still limited. You can’t make music as well as a good band when all the musicians are “on,” a TEAM.

We have seen this kind of teamwork create excellence, greater than one person can achieve. We have teachers traversing the world, creating the best education. We have seen this in science and technology when smart  people from all countries work together, collaborating to advance humanity. These competitions are making better lives for us all when we do it right. It takes more than one person to create a blockbuster movie that spans cultures around the world. This is where communications technology shines. “The Media” can enhance our lives, make a lot of money, as well as promote friendships, teamwork, and competition.

But what  commands more attention and makes the most money? No more dancing around this subject . . . The biggest competition is:

WAR (Click Here)

Lyrics:

War, huh yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, oh hoh, oh
War huh yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it again y’all
War, huh good God
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me

Oh, war, I despise
‘Cause it means destruction of innocent lives
War means tears to thousands of mothers eyes
When their sons go off to fight and lose their lives

I said
War, huh good God y’all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, just say it again
War whoa Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me
War, it ain’t nothin’ but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker

Oh war, is an enemy to all mankind
The thought of war blows my mind
War has caused unrest within the younger generation
Induction, then destruction who wants to die

War, good God, y’all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it, say it, say it
War, uh huh, yeah, huh
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me
War, it ain’t nothin’ but a heartbreaker
War, it’s got one friend that’s the undertaker

Oh, war has shattered many young man’s dreams
Made him disabled bitter and mean
Life is much to short and precious to spend fighting wars these days
War can’t give life it can only take it away, ooh

War, huh, good God y’all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it again
War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me
War, it ain’t nothin’ but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker

Peace love and understanding tell me
Is there no place for them today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there’s got to be a better way

War, huh, good God y’all
What is it good for?
You tell ’em, say it, say it, say it, say it
War, good Lord, huh
What is it good for?
Stand up and shout it, nothing
War, it ain’t nothin’ but a heartbreaker

That Pesky Virus — Update 20201014

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On June 21 I reported on the aggressive virus suppression program in China. See: June Virus Suppression in China .

The low infection rate in China is no accident. It is the result of very aggressive action by the central government to suppress any outbreak, or apparent outbreak, with overwhelming “force”. Note in the above link, there is no discussion of public reaction or demonstrations against overkill or people trying to influence government policy through demonstrations. The government followed up on contact tracing and aggressive testing of people that may have been exposed to the virus.There had been a food delivery based outbreak and an overwhelming food handling contact trace was in progress.

If you notice in the following video, there is aggressive envorcement of wearing of masks on public transportation, and little presence of masks to be worn by the public while engaging in normal life. This conduct is permitted because prior suppression efforts were relatively successful. As a practical matter, the Chinese effort is well coordinated and their response is rule driven, without regard to “public opinion”.  As a result, the general population seems much more free to engage in business and recreation than in the USA. Suppressing the virus shouldn’t be a subject of public debate from State to State, Feds to States, or States to local governments. Public opinion really isn’t qualified to create the plan for fighting this virus effectively. It should be science based response, not political.

One question that hasn’t been asked in Michigan (my home state) or by the Feds, which is political is: Should we let the virus wipe out as many people as nature decides, or should we intervene as a government to wipe out the virus, regardless of the impact on the economy? For lack of a better description, which is better the Swedish model, or the Chinese model, or perhaps the New Zealand, Korean, or Australian models? The US model is State driven and varies from political jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

I don’t recall this kind of a conversation taking place in Michigan by either party.  It should. jsp

On October 23, the government is upping the virus awareness in anticipation of a second wave, but masks aren’t yet required except for public transportation and some stores. Schools have opened, and in Guiyang the virus is believed to be contained.

 

 

About Electric Cars

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There are some electric cars that don’t travel so fast as to require a driver’s license on the streets of Guiyang. A friend of mine sells motor scooters and also has a line of electric cars. I had a chance to talk to Sarah about her little car products and made a short video about these surprising vehicles. The two  things I found most interesting  about these cars are the low price and the range of these “hybrid” vehicles.

Youku       About Electric Cars

Youtube    About Electric Cars

 

 

Tour Guizhou in the News

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Recently I had a reporter talk to me about my web site and little robot car video. There were a lot of  quesitons and I had to kind of give up my life story.  So finally the article came out and I am told it is quite complimentary.  I don’t read Chinese much, so I  trust that is was a good article.

When I was talking to the reporter I tried to promote my video, “Robocars of China“. Apparently this is highly specialized interest film. That is filmspeak for boring.  It seems like everybody I talk to says  that they have seen part of it. So if you weren’t already interested in high tech startups, the Guiyang Big Data project,  driverless cars  (cars that drive themselves), or learning technology English, you might not be interested in this video.

Even more disappointing than months of work maybe down the drain, people don’t seem to even like my handwriting with the Chinese lettering brush (maobi). They say the music and handwriting is kind of a waste of time. Well, enough about the video, I was happy to be interviewed by the Guizhou Evening Newspaper.

10:00 PM Update:
I finally got a look at the article in the translation software. Obviously, machine translation has a ways to go . . . For better or worse, here it is:

###########

In the confession of Guizhou,
foreigners wrote thousands of “love letters”!

When Guiyang meets Michigan, what sparks will it shine? In recent years, with the development of social economy, Guizhou’s beautiful landscapes and humanities have frequently entered the international arena. American Jack walked Guizhou for 20 years, built websites, wrote articles, made videos… with more than 1,000 special “love letters”, “confession” Guizhou, also promoted Guizhou to the world.

Love at first sight

“I came to Guiyang in 2000. I didn’t want to leave when I came.” The 68-year-old Jack came from Michigan, USA. In 2000, Jack came to Guizhou Normal University as an English teacher as a volunteer, and spent his free time with his friends. Jack said that Guiyang is beautiful and mysterious, and it immediately attracted him.

Before coming to Guizhou, Jack thought that the place he taught was an occluded place, but he did not expect that Guizhou was so beautiful, everywhere was beautiful, people lived slowly. He said that he likes to see Guiyang people rolling their trousers and rolling their sleeves to eat barbecue. After eating, they pick up their clothes and pat their stomachs. This is completely different from the rhythm of life in the United States.

In the past few years in Guizhou, Jack walked through thousands of Miao Village, Qingyan Ancient Town, Huangguoshu Waterfall, and Liupanshui Small Village. Jack, who was deeply influenced by Chinese culture, also gave himself a Chinese name, Tang Zhihu. In addition to traveling, Jack also has a big hobby – write an email, and occasionally write a message to a friend. He will use his Guizhou dialect to say hello to his friend in the mail. “Are you eating?”

▲ Jack gave himself the Chinese name, on the left is the handwriting of Jack’s friend, and on the right is Jack’s own handwriting.

Persevering love

In the past 20 years in Guizhou, Jack can be regarded as an “old Guiyang person”. He likes to eat Bean Rice Hot Pot, Huaxi Beef Powder, Intestines, and the degree of spicy eating can already beat many foreigners. Except for the spicy chickens, the others are not in the air. He also likes to take the bus. He said that different people can be observed on the bus.

On one occasion, Jack waited for the bus in Taiyingpo. As a result, there was a bird on the tree. The bird pulled a sputum and put it on his suit. Jack was very excited. “That is the biggest and darkest bird dropping I have ever seen.” . Jack said that he later got on the bus, someone gave him a tissue, and someone gave him money to buy clothes. He thought it was very interesting and very moving.

Until now, Jack has spoken English with friends every week, learning Chinese and English from each other. He can speak some Chinese, and whenever someone asks him to speak Guiyang, he says “tooth”, “a lost”, “I know”…

Jack said that Guizhou is not only attracted to the human landscape, but also fascinated by the development of science and technology. “Guiyang’s university is developing and Guizhou’s development is also very fast”. Jack saw the establishment of Guiyang North Station, Metro Line 1 and Big Data, and witnessed the rise of the city. I don’t know how much to witness in Guiyang in the future. miracle.

He wants to live in Guiyang

Before leaving the United States, Jack was the chairman of the US Sea Transportation Authority, so he was particularly interested in Guizhou’s big data and traffic. Jack himself is also a computer programmer. In 2012, Jack created his own foreign language website – visiting Guizhou, his website.

(Note on translation: Besides the obvious differences in language and machine translation, I have one correction: I was Chairman of the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) of Traverse City, Michigan, USA.
”

 

 

 

Long Li Ancient City and Jin Ping Countryside

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Long Li is located about four hours southeast of Guiyang in an area of Miao and Dong minority people. The walls around the city, the water system and the fortress are all intact.  It doesn’t have the tourist pressure like some old cities closer to Guiyang. It is surrounded by the beautiful countryside of Jinping County.

San Cha You Farming

Jinping County has a new product called San Cha You, which is a cooking oil. The mountains of Jinping County are covered with these oil bearing plants. It is an incredibly beautiful sight. You can also directly drink the oil.  It is still expensive, but has been shown to be very good for high blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar diabetes conditions. It has also been shown to raise immunity to some cancers.San Cha berry trees are in great supply. The locals have actively planted and cultivated these crops for many years.

There is a new factory under construction and it is hoped that as production increases, that the price will come down and the product will be more widely known and distributed.

Jin Ping County is also famous for blueberries. There are blueberry farms in many places with very attractive prices in season, around August of each year.

 

 

 

Bangkok Chiangmai Heart Center

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I’ve had two trips to Chianmai and checked out the medical facilities there. Living in China I decided to have an escape plan if I have some major medical issue and can’t get back to the USA promptly. This visit I checked out the Bankok Chiangmai Heart Cener and its Hospital. I found an extremely modern situation with top doctors.

Medical care is a significant concern in China and Thailand is known for advanced, Western trained doctors and hospitals. One of the top hospitals in Thailand is Bangkok Hospital.  It has a branch in Ghiangmai, relatively close to Guiyang.

I had swelling in my ankles and a couple doctors suggested that this might be related to a heart condition, leaky valves or something is possible. I forgot to mention it to my USA doctor until I was walking out the door this summer and he suggested maybe I should get a blood test to see if this heart condition might be present. Cutting to the conclusion, I am fine and my blood pressure medication has been modified to reduce or eliminate the swelling.

I found the staff to be friendly and efficient. My doctor was the head of the department and gave me a complete examination. He explained everything to me about heart stuff. The reception area was not crowded and very pleasant. I left feeling that I had top service comparing with any in the USA. The price, including ten days medication was $38.02 on my Mastercard. We’ll see if that can be covered by my USA insurance, but I’m not worried about it. The hospital even has a free shuttle from the city center.

 

New Obsession Jazz Bar is Open

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Sunday evening, Oct 28, I visited the New Obsession Jazz Bar on Suidong Lu at Hong Yan Bridge. Martin was wonderful on the piano and the Jazz Band did well with an international selection of musicians.

Click on thumbnail Photo for picture attachment.

You can call the manager of the New Obsession, Mr. Wang Bin — 13984028732 .

See also: Original Obsession