#but is overall not nearly as bad as the west paints it to be. china is neither fully a communist paradise. and has many capitalist undertone | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arcticdementor · 3 years

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For millennia the family has stood as the central institution of society—often changing, but always essential. But across the world, from China to North America, and particularly in Europe, family ties are weakening, with the potential to undermine one of the last few precious bits of privacy and intimacy.

Margaret Mead once said, “no matter how many communes anyone invents, the family always creeps back.” But today’s trajectory is not promising. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, family formation and birth rates were declining throughout much of the world, not just in most of the West and East Asia, but also in parts of South American and the Middle East.

The ongoing pandemic appears to be driving birth rates globally down even further, and the longer it lasts, the greater possibility that familial implosion will get far worse, and perhaps intractable. Brookings predicts that COVID will result in 300,000 to 500,000 fewer U.S. births in 2021. Marriage rates have dropped significantly to 35 year lows.

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These predictions turned out to be vastly exaggerated, with a rapid decline in global hunger. The anticipated population explosion is morphing into something more like an implosion, with much of the world now facing population stagnation, and even contraction. As birth rates have dropped, the only thing holding up population figures in many places is longer lifespans, though recent data suggests these may be getting shorter again .

These trends can be felt in the United States, where the birthrate is sinking. U.S. population growth among the cohort aged between 16 and 64 has dropped from 20 percent in the 1980s to less than 5 percent in the last decade. This is particularly bad for the future of an economy dependent on new workers and consumers.

This demographic transition is even more marked in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and much of Europe, where finding younger workers is becoming a major problem for employers and could result in higher costs or increased movement of jobs to more fecund countries. As the employment base shrinks, some countries, such as Germany, have raised taxes on the existing labor force to pay for the swelling ranks of retirees.

Similar patterns can be seen in China. Expanding workforces like China’s—which grew by 380 million between 1980 and 2012—drove a world-shattering economic boom. Now, this resource is already in peril; birthrates have cratered to historic lows. China’s working-age population (those between 15 and 64 years old) peaked in 2011 and is projected to drop 23 percent by 2050. This plunge will be exacerbated by the effects of the now discarded one-child policy, which led to the aborting of an estimated 37 million Chinese girls since it came into effect in 1980. By 2050, China is projected to have 60 million fewer people under age fifteen, a loss approximately the size of Italy’s total population. The ratio of retirees to working people is expected to have more than tripled by then, which would be one of the most rapid demographic shifts in history, and by 2050 will be roughly 20 percent higher than that of the U.S.

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Today’s demographic stagnation represents a throwback to earlier times. After the relative buoyant growth in Classical times, the Middle Ages also were a period of global demographic stagnation, caused by famine, pestilence, pervasive celibacy and poverty. Population growth soared with the rise of liberal capitalism in the Early Modern period, aided by changing attitudes toward motherhood, children, and families. Simon Schama describes the Netherlands, the fount of this transition, as a “Republic of Children” built around the nuclear family. The medieval obsession with the Virgin Mother and the unrealistic cherubim typical of Renaissance painting were replaced with domestic images characterized by “uncompromising earthiness.”

We now seem to be moving away from those values, and as in the Middle Ages, becoming less centered around the family. Serfs at least had religion and a sense of community; our societies have become increasingly lonely, with single men hit hardest and children, often without two parents or any siblings, and chained to social media, increasingly isolated around the world. In the U.S. since 1960, the percentage of people in the United States living alone has grown from about 12 percent to 28 percent. Even intimacy is on its way out, particularly among the young; the once swinging age groups now are suffering a “sex recession.”

The percentage of American women who are mothers is at its lowest point in over three decades. Intact families are rarer, and single living more common. In the United States, the rate of single parenthood has grown from 10 percent in 1960 to over 40 percent today. This is very bad news for society, particularly minorities, because intact families tend to have fewer problems relating to prison, school, or poverty.

This social collapse is going global. In Britain, 8 percent of households in 1970 were headed by a single parent; now, the rate is over 25 percent. The percentage of children born outside marriage has doubled over the past three decades, to 40 percent. In the Scandinavian countries, around 40 percent of the population lives alone.

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In Japan, the harbinger of modern Asian demographics, the number of people living alone is expected to reach 40 percent of the whole population by 2040. Japan has a rising “misery index” of divorces, single motherhood, and spousal and child abuse—all of which accelerates the country’s disastrous demographic decline and deepens class division. More and more people are not only living alone but dying alone. There are estimated to be four thousand “lonely deaths” in Japan every week.

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The disinclination to form families is often described as generational choice. But American millennial attitudes about family are not significantly different from prior generations, though perhaps with a greater emphasis on gender equality. Among American childless women under age 44, barely 6 percent are “voluntarily childless.” The vast majority of millennials want to get married and have children.

High housing prices, crowded living conditions, and financial pressures certainly account for much of this gap. This phenomenon is particularly marked in the urban centers that dominate the world’s economy and culture. Today many large cities are becoming childless demographic graveyards. Between 2011 and 2019, the number of babies born annually in Manhattan dropped by nearly 15 percent, while the decrease across the city was 9 percent. The nation’s premier urban center could see its infant population shrink by half in the next thirty years. The share of nonfamily households grew three times as fast in gentrifying neighborhoods as in the city overall. In the future, writes Steve LeVine in Axios, shifting local priorities “could write kids out of urban life for good.”

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Nearly half a century ago, Daniel Bell saw a “new class” rising with values profoundly divergent from the traditional bourgeois norms of self-control, industriousness, and personal responsibility, which together form the essence of familialism. Instead, Bell envisioned a new type of individualism, unmoored from religion and family, which could dissolve the foundations of middle-class culture.

Indeed, for some, particularly in Europe and North America, declining fecundity represents an ideal result, chosen by those who “give up having children to save the planet” in order to reduce the carbon impact of each additional human. The recipe for reducing family size fits with the widely promoted notion of de-growth which has strong support from the oligarchs and financiers associated with the World Economic Forum. The goal is no GDP growth, less consumption, smaller houses, less class mobility, policies likely to reduce birthrates.

Others, particularly feminists and gender activists, celebrate the decline of the family for more ideological reasons. The late feminist icon Betty Frieden once compared housewives to people marching voluntarily into “a concentration camp.” One recent New York Times article even linked women who choose to stay at home with “white supremacy.” Black Lives Matter, true to its quasi-Marxist ideology, has made clear its antipathy to the nuclear family, an attitude widely shared in the mainstream media as well.

The more conventional Marxists in China, for their part, see these post-familial attitudes as a threat to the country’s future. China’s Communist leaders, while officially genuflecting to Maoist ideology, now promote the filial piety central to both traditional folk religion and the Confucianism but long reviled by the founders of the People’s Republic. Once terrified by overpopulation, China’s leaders are seeking ways to raise childbearing and family formation into “socialist” values.

But it’s Japan which again epitomizes the shift in Asian attitudes. There, traditional values such as hard work, sacrifice, and loyalty are largely rejected by the new generation, the shinjinrui or “new race.” These younger Japanese, writes one sociologist, are “pioneering a new sort of high quality, low energy, low growth existence.” Maybe they don’t need much energy since nearly a third of Japanese adults entering their thirties have never had sex. This is not a good predictor for family formation.

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To succeed, such initiatives have to go beyond cash payments and other incentives, as welcome as these may be. There also needs to be a concerted effort to build family-friendly housing— large apartments, townhomes, and single-family detached houses—that generally attract families with children. Rather than shoehorning forced density into already-dense metros, we can encourage the development of less expensive, family-friendly housing; the shift to the periphery accelerated by the pandemic could help reverse the rapid aging and demographic declines associated with densely packed cities. The rise of remote work—something widely embraced by parents—could boost families by allowing them to work at home or nearby.

These are not issues of right or left, but concern the future of our civilization, not just economically but spiritually. Social democracy, as first developed in places like Sweden, sought to bolster families, not hem them in. Some conservatives have placed similar emphasis on the family unit. The debate should be not the utility of supporting families, but how best to do it.

This is a choice we need to make. A woke utopia, where children and families are rare, upward mobility constrained, and society built around a collective welfare system, would create a society that rewards hedonism and personal self-absorption. There is nothing as binding in a society as the ties created by children, who give us reason to fight against an encroaching dystopia.

#joel kotkin #the american mind #low birth rates #demographics

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dustindahusky-blog · 5 years

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Would Americans buy a Chinese car?

From my view, yes. Here’s why a Chinese car might stick around long enough to catch on with American buyers.

Cars are pillars of status, privilege, and pride in the USA. The car has truly made its home in our country and to many we often see them as members of the family or a faithful friend. Some like to show off with luxury or sport models or brands to denote their position in their company, neighborhood, or for the thrill of driving something fun or special. Most of us own what I would refer to as a daily driver, a car that gets you to A and B without fuss with creature comforts that make the everyday drive possible and while adding buckets of practically for any adventure. Some own minivans or CUVs/SUVs for hauling stuff around easier or to move large families around with oodles of space. Trucks are great for even bigger hauling and towing things around like boats or trailers of beer or stolen copper wire. However there is a price to pay with all this, depending on brand or model, new or used. Buying a vehicle is quite the important purchase for many. And they aren’t cheap depending on entirely what you’re looking for. And this is where the Chinese auto manufacturers might have a leg on nearly all brands currently selling in the US. This even includes the value leaders of Kia and Hyundai, who have been known to sell cars at more reasonable prices than their competitors and offer more for what you’re buying.

Installing a brand into a new market isn’t easy, however we have seen a template in which new guests into the US auto arena have done very well to get anchored in and to weather to storm ahead. At first European brands immediately after WWII have established themselves and have secured a foothold in the US, so did the Japanese in the mid 1960’s and early 1970’s, the Koreans in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and even late newcomers back on American soil like Tesla in the 2010’s have found their way to be taken seriously on the big stage. That successful template is offer something special or affordable in value, or do both. The original Volkswagen Beetle offered affordability, simplicity, and economy that was hard to pass up in the car starved post war era of the late 40’s. So was the Toyota Corona and Corolla of the late 60’s. The Koreans offered the Hyundai Excel that also provided much the same qualities. At the time when they were new, they were “the” disposable car of their time. They did a job well and adequately without many frills, and they were good value for the money for their respected time periods. Even the little Yugo from Socialist Yugoslavia offered the cheapest car in the US that only did the job to get you around town that didn’t get you wet when it rained. They offered both young people and adults who didn’t have a lot of money to spend or who wanted to buy a new car at second hand car prices, cheap affordable wheels they can take home with.

Now it’s 2018, and the brands that introduced themselves humbly during their times are now well established with the American buying public. No longer do we look at brands like Toyota, Honda, or Nissan with skeptical views of cheapness or being unpatriotic of not buying domestic, even today the scrutiny of buying Kia and Hyundai products is nearly nonexistent in our day and age because they have continued to up their quality and value game. Much like the many imports before them, we see them no differently than how we see GM, FoCoMo, and Chrysler-Fiat products. Just another quality brand. However now, there is a catch that we now see today, the import brands that came into our country that once touted affordability have now slowly over the passage of time become a tad out of reach for younger buyers. Yes cars are expensive, but most cars you see on dealer lots tend to be more expensive mid and upper trim option levels for most models, and you have to do some digging around to find a new car that is cheap enough to fit within budget needs. And here’s why this affordability is important with the feasibility of seeing Chinese cars in the US market. The average age of a car in the US is 11 years old, which honestly doesn’t sound that bad, though that feels kinda low. I’d feel it’s more like 15 years old, there are still a ton of older cars still rolling about the hills and the back roads. But whatever it is, people are holding on to them for many reasons. Can’t afford a newer car, maybe with plenty of work done a car could be driven for a lot longer, or maybe life priorities don’t call for the purchase of a newer car.

Now let’s take a look at the Chinese auto industry. The Chinese economy is very much a living example of the Yugoslavian hybrid model of “market socialism”, centralized planning with capitalist competitiveness coexisting well together that promotes more frequent updates or advancements with the goal to sell to the consumer without having industrial or economic waste. Other socialist states didn’t work like this, and how they had vehicle development, marketing, and production was a much more different animal than what is seen in China today. And because of this, China’s automotive industry is has blossomed into many companies producing many models of vehicles for its vast “captive” and export markets. Some companies have properly obtained licensing agreements and their technical packages to produce vehicles, while some others have reverse engineered vehicles to blatantly copy. Their quality ranges from comparable to Western cars we come to expect to just low quality junk that we haven’t seen in cars since the 80’s or 90’s.

If China makes most of our consumer products, cameras, phones, selfie sticks, appliances, industrial equipment and car parts, why not whole cars. Well China did try to extend into our auto market by selling us the Coda electric sedan on the West coast for only a model year from 2012 to 2013, and selling a dismal 117 units. Quality wasn’t where it should have been for the cost of $40k, and initially scheduled to be launched back in 2010 was held back two years due to lack of developmental time for durability. For the first US market launch of a Chinese made car that designed in 2004 on an older Mitsubishi platform, and an electric car right off the bat, no bite and little positive impression.

Now for real, let’s say China markets a car brand for the US that passes Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and fuel economy/emissions standards, they should start with basic affordable cars that people want to buy. It’s a no brainer that the US market for car sales is a huge market on its own, and even other European companies are envisioning a return back to grab a small slice of the market pie. For one, Americans might draw some skepticism to a Chinese car but the idea of buying a compact or even midsized sedan with loads of options for less than $15-20k is a tantalizing prospect and would buy them up like they did the Yugo. The Yugo did alright for staying in the market from 1985 to 1992, selling 142k units. If you can sell ten thousand cars like how Scion began in 2003, you’ll make a good enough foothold in the market, unless you’re Daihatsu. Sorry Daihatsu, maybe a subject for another day.

What are you going to expect with your Chinese car when you get it. I would expect body panels that don’t align well as they should have, “orange peel” paint finish, interior plastics that look like they won’t last long, sheet metal that might go rusty in a couple years, seat fabric that might rip in not much time, fit and finish overall is generally an afterthought. Again, you’re paying to get pissed off like buying a $3990 Yugo sold new in 1986 (if you could ever find one that sold for that low back then), but remember that you’re buying a set of wheels that’ll get you by for the time being. Much like how people expected Hyundai Excels to be just garbage piles, still preformed the duty of a basic if not agricultural car. But that would be a worst expectation of what a Chinese car could be. Who knows, maybe if the Chinese are that serious about the US market, they’ll build a separate assembly line like the Zastava factory who built the Yugo for the USDM. Here’s a scary thought, we all know how much of a mixed bag the Yugo was in the US, and to think the ones that made it here were built better on another assembly line meant for our market, I can’t imagine what the Yugoslavian market Yugos were like.

Much like every cheap and affordable car that introduces itself to our market, expect it to have little to no resale value to speak of, however you’re not really expecting to sell this car if you were looking at buying one. In your situation, you’re buying your first car for the first time or needing a second car, something to get you rolling for the time being. Whether if you’re in college or in highschool, or down on your luck with an older car that kept falling apart. The idea that you could buy a Chinese car for peanuts is something that’ll get the job done, and not care much about what you’re driving. You’re not expecting mind bending performance or luxury, you know what you’re getting into if you do, and the more you accept this the better. I mean no Toyota Corolla was ever sporty in the 70’s, it was the car you bought after the Ford Falcon finally rusted away and you needed to buy something fast so you can still go to night class. And if there were Chinese cars in the market here to buy, I’d buy one to drive it into the ground to either save up for a better car or just to buy another if one wasn’t enough. In the world of millennials sometimes having no credit or shit credit could transpire into a hairy situation of sticking with a rusty 90’s Nissan Sentra affectionately named “Liam Nissan” that eats too much oil or asking your aunt to buy her equally rusty Plymouth Breeze with empty cigarette packs scattered around. You’d rather buy a Chevy Cruze however you’re afraid that one for $10k and 83K miles might end up needing routine maintenance that you couldn’t afford to pull off on the spot and any new Kia Rio found on a dealer lot is still thousands over the mythical minimum sticker price. Hell, if a Chinese car was too expensive brand new, wait a year and you could even get one for sub $6-8k prices, maybe even less.

Honestly I’m really surprised that the Chinese haven’t entered our market yet, they have entered the European zone and been a huge mainstay in Russia (I guess Ladas aren’t cheap enough for them) for years now. They can range from cheap to really adequate modes of transportation, even something to own for more than you really require of it. The Chinese have been making Audi’s, BMW’s, and Buick’s with huge demands because they have been grand sellers in terms of luxury, and they tend to be of quality similar to their genuine originals. Whatever the Chinese do throw out us someday, we’ll gladly be in open arms for cheaper alternatives to newer, or really used cars. Plus, we Americans love to rip on unknown shitboxes, then in 15 years’ time we are buying them by the thousands. Who would guess in 1966 that Toyota would be producing quality luxury sporty cars under the Lexus brand. In 1995 when Kia would one day be producing a car like the Stinger that is chasing around other RWD sport sedans. In 1992 the Yugo going on to better things….oh wait we ran out of Yugoslavia by then. Mhmmmm we never really did get the Tata Nano here in the states (who remembered when that came out, $3000 car that had a fire problem), even though that there was an interest for a short while. In 1970 Americans wouldn’t expect Datsuns to be called “Datsun by Nissan” in 1984 and just Nissan by 1985. Import brands change and morph in the fluid of time, and many are still here. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Chinese brand turns out to be a good seller in 5-10 years time much like how the other imports started out.

And apparently on a quick google search, it seems that the Chinese auto company GAC has an interest in joining the US market in late 2019. Under the local Chinese brand name….Trumpchi. They are serious, and honestly their vehicles don’t look that bad either. In fact they would fit right in with this country. They are figuring out a newer name to use in North America. No one is certain how reliable a new Chinese car will be in the states, but if it’s cheap don’t expect it to last forever.

If you made it this far, hurray! If you like my rambling, you’d like what I’d have in store in the future. If you don’t, well, I’m still going to write it down anyways. :D

Keep zooming!

#DustinDaHusky autos ramblings Chinese cars furry

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deadinsidedressage · 6 years

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HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RUSSIA BEING KICKED OUT OF THE OLYMPICS

ELLEN WAS THIS YOU!?

Okay, so. Let me tell you guys a thing about Russia’s treatment post USSR break-up that is not taught in American schools due to Cold War propaganda.

Here’s the REAL historic breakdown of WHAT led to the end of the USSR:

Mikhail Gorbachev was the best thing to happen to Russians since Alexander II. As head of the USSR he was extremely, extremely liberal and created so many reforms that he earned nicknames like the Great Soviet Reformer (Alexander II was the Great Reformer). He was ending the ethnic erasure in Central Asia by putting native nationalists into the local government (governor type positions) and overall was trying to merge Capitalism into the Socialist government the way that eventually happened in China. He was also trying to bridge Russia into either a mixed democratic society after China’s model OR into a capitalist democracy. He understood that socialism had failed many Russians and that there was no point in continuing a failed experiment.

America had nothing to do with the “Fall of the Soviet Union” despite American textbooks claiming otherwise.

Gorbachev was making reforms that continued to limit the power of the Socialist Republic, working towards creating a truly representative branch of government (do I need to tell y’all how corrupt the USSR politics were?), and overall completely undoing Stalin’s legacy when Boris Yeltsein came on the scene.

Yeltsein & Co. staged a coup that forced Gorbachev to dissolve the USSR and forced Gorbachev into exile outside of Russia. Russia very nearly got to have a democracy, but as is very Russia… at the last minute something got fucked.

Yeltsein was the worst thing to happen to Russia since Nicholas II. (I mean, I’d say Stalin but Yeltsein benefited from Gorbachev losing power by way of coup the way Lenin (and then Stalin) benefited from Nicholas II losing power by way of coup. So in a roundabout way he’s the worst thing since Nicholas II in terms of the ending of a political era). Yeltsein brought in the false democracy (aka, oligarchy) that Putin would inherit. Yeltsein also established the Yeltsein “Family” (family as in mob terms) that would bring Putin his original power base and pave the way for absolutely painfully corrupt mob-like politics.

Now, here’s where America and the rest of the Western countries fucked up and conveniently leave out of their textbooks:

The West decided to claim victory in defeating the USSR despite it being 100% internal power struggles that brought the beast down. The West would also tarnish the reputation of Gorbachev and make him appear to be an enemy that needed to be taken down (because how else would him being removed from power = a victory without him being an enemy); which would mean that in order for this propaganda warfare to work the West would have to paint Yeltsein as a hero. Which they did initially.

Now, since the West (USA included heavily here) decided to treat the dissolution of the USSR as a victory, that meant they needed to treat Russia as a defeated enemy.

For those unaware, to bring a country out of Socialism and into Capitalism it takes a great deal of assistance from Allies. One does not simply overnight have all their citizens involved in (failing) social programs that are supposed to provide them everything they need and the next day be forced into a very bare bones Capitalism without or with hugely reduced social assistance.

Russia in the 1990′s experienced a Depression of a MUCH greater scale than the US’s Great Depression of the 1930′s. This is 100% due to Western countries treating Russia almost exactly as Germany was treated post WWI (which, in case you don’t know put Germany into such an economic Depression that Hitler was able to rise to power because he promised change). Which, by the way the West had learned that was bad idea and offered a HUGE amount of assistance to Germany post WWII which has since enabled it to become the economic powerhouse it was. YET, thanks to DECADES of McCarthyism, Russia was not given this treatment and instead was shut out of international trade, had massive tariffs placed on it, and ultimately purposefully left out of the international discussion all together.

When the NATO was formed, the United States pushed to get the Soviet Satellite nations in as fast as possible. This meant countries like Poland, Moldova, Estonia, etc. were being accepted into NATO membership DESPITE NOT MEETING REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN NATO. This was done 100% with the intent to further weaken Russia, which it did. The United States also effectively chose to make it impossible for Russia to ever meet NATO requirements by raising them and raising them while making constant exceptions to add any of Russia’s border countries.

The purposeful international neglect in rehabilitating Russia which lead to it’s Depression and intentional isolating of Russia’s borders through fostering NATO alliances with Soviet Satellite’s is what Putin has built his entire political career on.

When Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was actually democratically elected in 2000, he did so on a platform very similar to Trump’s and his slogan might as well have been “Make Russia Great Again”. Putin, being much more intelligent however has then spent 2000 onward consolidating his power and strengthening his ties to oligarchs. Putin also near immediately disposed of all belonging to the Yeltsein “Family” (he’s got a whole string of bodies tied to him) and made his hold on power unquestionable. When he has not been president, it has been to exploit a loophole in the Russian constitution that doesn’t limit LIFE service, only consecutive terms. He’s also very much been running Russia continuously since 2000.

“But Emma,” you might cry, “Putin is a Bad Hombre. Why is he still in power if he’s so evil and corrupt?”

Well dear friends, because Putin is perhaps one of the greatest political geniuses of this century if not of all time. Putin has kept his approval rating above 70% (as verified by non-Russian polling) this whole time because he has built a cult-like following or at least acceptance due to his platform. What is his platform? His platform is on pitting Russia against the West, namely it’s generally the United States.

Putin has convinced Russians that the last time Russia was secure was at the height of it’s Imperial power and he aims to get that back. He has painted the United States and the West as being the only thing stopping him and THIS has enabled him to do things like invade the Crimea, interfere with international elections, and at times do terrible things to the Russian people because he is “righting a historical wrong”. He is using the treatment of Russia in the 90′s as fodder for his own propaganda machine which keeps him in autocratic power.

And he is an autocrat. There is not a single shred of real democracy in Russia. There is only a government in which the ultimate power is Putin.

So, how do I feel about the exclusion of Russia from the upcoming Olympic Games?

I feel it’s a horrible, horrible political mistake. I am well versed in steroid-use history and don’t deny that Russia is probably the most talented nation when it comes to cheating the system, but the idea that the IOC would outright ban the entire country from competing is a terrifying proposition.

Also, realize Russia is also no longer being represented in the IOC.

This plays right into Putin’s narrative and when you consider HOW close China & Russia are to declaring an official military alliance (they RECENTLY were doing joint military exercises in the Baltic) then you understand what an awful decision this is and how it could potentially jeopardize international politics. President Xi has also been building a narrative in his nation about how The West is the only thing holding China back from being a respected world power. You add them in an allegiance and the United States is kicked off the global stage, which might as well mean the entirety of the West is kicked off the global stage. The United Nations has proven to be the most useless thing in existence, especially since the UN couldn’t come to an agreement to stop Russia’s illegal invasion of the Crimea.

The United States and The West are simply making it too easy for Putin to enact him plan by being this careless and the idea of letting “clean” athletes compete alongside refugees under the Olympic banner is a total farce. If you allow North Korea to compete under their flag but do not allow Russians to compete under their flag then you are showing the depths of McCarthyism in the 21st Century and the absolute idiocy in dealing with the sleeping giant that is Russia.

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mastcomm · 4 years

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William Barr, Coronavirus, Harvey Weinstein: Your Friday Briefing

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning.

We’re covering Attorney General William Barr’s challenge to President Trump, the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak, and good news in the fight against Australia’s wildfires.

‘Stop the tweeting,’ attorney general says

Attorney General William Barr said in an interview on Thursday that President Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department had made it “impossible for me to do my job,” adding, “I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody.”

Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized officials in the department and denounced a sentencing recommendation for his associate Roger Stone. Here’s a transcript of excerpts from Mr. Barr’s interview with ABC News.

Mr. Trump did not immediately respond on Twitter, but his press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, said, “The president wasn’t bothered by the comments at all.” The attorney general had let the president know some of what he planned to say and is remaining in his job, a person familiar with the events told The Times.

Another angle: Critics of Mr. Barr dismissed his comments as mainly a way to deflect responsibility for carrying out Mr. Trump’s political wishes. “The tell here will be Trump’s reaction,” said Joe Lockhart, a White House press secretary under former President Bill Clinton. “If he doesn’t lash out, we’ll all know this was pure political theater.”

More than 1,700 medical workers infected in China

The Chinese authorities disclosed for the first time today that 1,716 medical workers had contracted the coronavirus and that six had died. The number of infected workers represents 3.8 percent of China’s overall confirmed infections. Here are the latest updates and maps of where the virus has spread.

A look at Pete Buttigieg’s time as mayor

The experience that he gained as the leader of South Bend, Ind., is a central part of Mr. Buttigieg’s pitch to be president, while his rivals try to sow doubts about whether he is prepared for the Oval Office.

His record in trying to turn the Midwestern city around has also been challenged by some residents and activists, particularly on problems facing black residents.

Our correspondent traveled to South Bend to learn more about how Mr. Buttigieg, 38, governed and grew over his eight years in office.

Yesterday: Elizabeth Warren criticized Michael Bloomberg after video emerged of a lecture he gave 12 years ago in which he linked the 2008 financial crisis to the end of a discriminatory housing practice.

Dueling misjudgments by the U.S. and Iran

A nine-month period that shook up the already tense relationship between the two countries began with the Trump administration’s escalation of sanctions and ended with Washington and Tehran in a direct military confrontation.

A team of our reporters has traced the path to last month’s violent standoff, finding a story of miscalculations by both sides.

Yesterday: The Senate voted to require that President Trump seek congressional authorization before taking further military action against Iran, a mostly symbolic measure that lacked the support needed to override a promised veto.

If you have 20 minutes, this is worth it

A glimpse of the coastal future

An estimated 600 million people worldwide live on coastlines — hazardous places in an era of climate change. The Times examined how two metropolitan areas, Manila, above left, and San Francisco, are handling rising sea levels.

Will they try to hold back the waters or move people away? Their decisions could offer crucial lessons for coastal cities around the world.

Here’s what else is happening

Billions diverted for wall: The Pentagon said it would devote $3.8 billion that Congress had designated for other purposes to building a wall at the southwestern border.

Harvey Weinstein’s defense: A lawyer for the former Hollywood producer told jurors at his rape trial that he was the victim of an “overzealous prosecution” and that his accusers had engaged in consensual relationships with him.

Australian fires controlled: The wildfires that began in September and consumed millions of acres are finally out in most of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, emergency services said today.

The Weekly: The latest episode of The Times’s TV show is about the police crackdown on protesters at a university in Hong Kong last year. It premieres today on FX at 10 p.m. Eastern and will be available on Hulu starting Saturday.

Snapshot: Above, the German city of Dresden in 1945, the year it was bombed by the Allies. On Thursday, Germans commemorated the 75th anniversary of the devastating attack, which a resurgent far right has used to promote a revisionist history of World War II.

News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.

Modern Love: In this week’s column, how a woman’s worst date became her best one.

Late-night comedy: The hosts watched as President Trump and Michael Bloomberg traded insults. “This is crazy,” Trevor Noah said. “Two mega-rich dudes dissing each other in the most personal way. It would be like if a rap battle was on CNBC.”

What we’re listening to: This episode of “The New Yorker Radio Hour.” Sam Sifton, our food editor, writes: “I enjoyed listening to Hilton Als talk about Louis C.K.’s return to the stage, and about how it might have gone differently, had Louis attempted art and not commerce.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: Take time this weekend for stuffed shells.

See: Two paintings of Napoleon, one wearing Timberlands, are on display at the Brooklyn Museum. It’s a face-off between two visions of the political power of art, our critic Jason Farago writes.

Read: In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve listed works of fiction from each of the 50 states that explore matters of the heart.

Smarter Living: There are good ways and bad ways for colleagues with different circadian rhythms to work together. Here are some tips.

And now for the Back Story on …

Reporting on the coronavirus

Donald McNeil, a science reporter for The Times, is part of a team covering the spread of the virus. This is a condensed version of a conversation about his observations and concerns.

What do we know, and what don’t we know, about the coronavirus?

In the beginning of every epidemic, there is the fog of war.

I’d say we’re still in that fog. We know this virus is much more transmissible than SARS or MERS. We don’t know if it’s quite as transmissible as the flu. We know it can kill people. We know it’s not nearly as lethal as MERS or SARS.

One of the things we don’t know is what the Chinese aren’t saying. We know that they’re reluctant to let in outside experts and wouldn’t share samples of the earliest cases with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When you ask scientists, “What’s your fear for the Big One, the pandemic that’s going to kill us all?” — not that there is a pandemic that’s going to kill us all — but if you ask them that, they say, “Flu.” They worry about some new flu, bird flu or swine flu, that’s highly lethal but becomes very transmissible between humans. I know only one or two scientists who have said, “You know, I also worry about coronaviruses being the Big One.”

I don’t want to raise alarm that this is the Big One. But this is a new, scary and confusing one, and we don’t yet know how far it’s going to spread and how many people it’s going to kill.

What do you think about the public’s reaction to your reporting?

I’m always trying to figure out: Am I being alarmist, or am I not being alarmist enough? I was too alarmist about H5N1 back in 2005, the bird flu. I was not alarmist enough about West Africa and Ebola in its early days. All previous Ebola outbreaks had killed a few hundred people. That one killed 11,000.

A big part of my beat is debunking the panicky stories. It actually consumes almost as much of my time as reporting does.

I try to spread truth instead of panic, even if it takes me a little longer to get it right.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Chris

Thank you Mark Josephson and Kathleen Massara provided the break from the news. Alex Traub wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about the post-impeachment President Trump. • Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Facebook reaction button symbolized by a heart (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • The Visual Investigations team at The Times will be answering questions, live and on-camera, today at 10 a.m. Eastern.

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Assignment代写：Classical oil painting

下面为大家整理一篇优秀的assignment代写范文- Classical oil painting，供大家参考学习，这篇论文讨论了古典主义油画。古典主义，指的是以古希腊和古��马艺术为基础的历史传统的美学观点的一种艺术形式。而在当前社会，由于社会道德水平整体下降，以金钱作为成功与否的评判标准，人们心思浮躁的社会环境下，古典主义油画对于人们精神文明建设以及形成良好的人文环境具有十分重要的意义。

Art can bring beauty to people, bring spiritual impact and then cause soul thinking. In the field of art, it is divided into different fields and different schools. The article should analyze the characteristics of classical oil painting. Classical oil painting originates from Europe and America and is popular, but the core of classical oil painting and its connotation are similar to Chinese classical art to a certain extent. Classical oil painting has its unique artistic appeal and has a great influence on people's spiritual demand in real life, which is conducive to improving people's spiritual life.

What is classicism? Does classist oil painting have a meaning with the classicism we are talking about? What are the similarities between classicism and ancient Chinese art? Classicism is an art form, referring to the historical tradition of aesthetics based on ancient Greek and Roman art. Classical painting was mainly popular in Europe in the 18th century. Artists were dissatisfied with the luxurious rococo art serving the aristocracy and turned to Greek and Roman art for themes. Classical painting school and classical oil painting mainly reflect the spirit of classicism: ideal, harmony, elegance, etc. However, oil painting is not original in China, but imported from central China. It has not been developed for a long time in China. The development and influence of western classical oil painting in China is mainly through Chinese scholars and painters to study in Europe and America or Japanese students to introduce. Classical oil painting has been developing in China for nearly a hundred years. In fact, it is mixed with a variety of modern art. Under the persistent pursuit of several generations of oil painters, it keeps seeking for progress in frustration and finally has a certain development and perfection. The development of the classical oil painting and its spirit and China's ancient excellent works of art reflect the unity of nature and humanity, the principle of harmony is relatively consistent.

First of all, we are from the perspective of oil paintings, have already mentioned in front of the oil painting into China from western countries such as, so in China, oil painting, as a new form of painting, at the time of transmission will not only spread to China, the form of painting skills and create more western aesthetic ideas and artistic tradition spread to a certain extent. However the history of Chinese and western culture is different, interpersonal communication and expression must be different, thus classical oil painting was introduced into China, Chinese scholars or painters during the process of writing, can appear the impact of the culture, the Chinese oil painting in both China and the west, however, neither Chinese nor western state.

Although we say that art is similar in essence and is a reflection of people's psychological activities or reality, the art form can only be formed after a long period of development in different nations, with strong national characteristics. In the process of artistic creation, many scholars or creators have walked some detours. As a whole, oil painting has achieved certain development in China, and may have more Chinese characteristics in the future. In recent years, some mistakes may occur in the creation of oil paintings in China.

Classical oil painting originated from Europe and the United States, also accord with the aesthetic way of Europeans and Americans, Chinese oil painting in the process of development, more is not starting from the aesthetics of China, facing the public appreciation is not China, but will the be fond of of western critics or the western collectors and comment in a higher position, this way of blindly follow the western oil painting is not classical oil painting development in China, can only say classical oil painting spread to China. Art forms that lack a mass base on Chinese soil may be difficult to develop in the long term in China. Therefore, in the process of absorbing classical oil painting, Chinese oil painting creators or artists cannot fully westernize, but should create according to the Chinese way of art appreciation, form an art form with Chinese characteristics, and establish a good mass foundation in China.

What is classicism? The meaning of classicism is a concept of differentiation, an ideology of the past of mankind. Here we refer to the classical art and the classical oil painting mainly refer to the spiritual symbol of its connotation. The influence of classicism oil painting in China makes people think about the meaning of classicism, but many people deviate from the meaning of classicism. The classic is not to restore the ancient ways, not to simply present the things of the past, but to convey certain spirits to the public through works. Chinese culture is extensive and profound. In the process of the introduction of classical oil painting into China and the influence of Chinese cultural expression form, we must pay attention to the integration of Chinese elements and Chinese culture with such expression form, so as to form a new cultural expression form with Chinese characteristics. It may take some time to be accepted by the masses, and the art creators may have to go through a great test.

Under the persistent pursuit of several generations of painters, Chinese classicism oil painting experienced a series of setbacks, but the continuous in-depth study of western classicism oil painting finally formed the oil painting with Chinese characteristics, and promoted the continuous development of Chinese oil painting. In the development of Chinese oil painting, this in-depth study will continue, and the communication between Chinese and western culture will also promote the development of Chinese classical oil painting and Chinese oil painting. The cultural connotation of classical oil painting, such as "ideal, harmony and elegance", is similar to Chinese classical art, which makes the integration of art more simple. At present, Chinese oil painting has formed the contemporary oil painting art with Chinese characteristics, breaking the traditional and single oil painting style, and at the same time, paying more attention to the development in the direction of pluralism, freedom and individuality, instead of the single art creation with certain tendency.

Modern Chinese oil painting, realistic and expressive oil painting style has been the mainstream, abstract, concept and other types of creation is also growing. As the change of people's thoughts, as well as the world cultural fusion, classical oil painting art creation in China will gradually revealed, the influence of oil painting has now become an important part of Chinese culture, is the painter and art creators in the process of artistic creation, will be China's modern life, the cultural idea and aesthetic are taken into account, with characteristic of Chinese oil painting has quite a reputation in the international market. However, at the same time, the development of science and technology has made other forms of visual art with strong impact constantly emerge. In this case, the oil painting art to have the space for development, must be close to people's spiritual needs, enhance its artistic performance effect.

People's life contains two aspects, material life and spiritual life. Before the material life is satisfied, people will put food and clothing in the first place, and the spiritual life will inevitably be looked down upon. Nowadays, the material living standard of our people has been greatly improved. However, when the material life has been improved, the acceleration of the pace of life and the increasingly fierce social competition have also led to many people being under pressure or impetuous state. The change of information and cultural communication mode enables the information to be spread rapidly, constantly updated, and the fast food culture appears. Meanwhile, the constantly updated information makes people unable to calm down, and it is difficult to examine their own state and inner heart, so it lacks the improvement of spiritual cultivation. Now, you can see a relatively common phenomenon: people are impetuous and restless, and news or new events are constantly updated. When people are still discussing this matter, they are quickly attracted to the next thing, so it is difficult to have a rational analysis and judgment. This has a bad effect on individuals and on society. In addition, due to the development of Internet and other Internet technologies, a lot of bad information is also in people's sight. Adults may be less affected by the judgment ability, but it is very unfavorable for the construction and cultivation of teenagers' values. Therefore, it is necessary for both individuals and society to strengthen cultural attainment and the construction of spiritual civilization. What role can classic oil painting play in People's Daily life? In the current society, the overall moral level has declined, and money is taken as the criterion of success or failure. In the social environment with impetuous thoughts, classical oil painting is of great significance for the construction of spiritual civilization and the formation of a good humanistic environment. Classical oil painting at present we have already said, the development situation of classical oil painting is now in China have a certain development, classical oil painting reflects the life, life, changes over time, and combined with traditional Chinese culture, has certain mass base, more profound ideological basis. The core and connotation of classical oil painting is ideal, harmony and elegance, reflecting the pursuit of ideal and harmony and tranquility. Excellent classical oil painting has certain charm, can let people in the appreciation, the mood is relaxed, the spirit is satisfied. Art is contagious and people are influenced by art works. The harmonious atmosphere shown in the works can make people feel happy and comfortable. In the appreciation of art, slow down your pace and get rid of the complex external environment and living conditions, so as to achieve peace of mind. In China, classical oil painting can be used to improve people's spiritual needs for the following reasons: Chinese classical painting artistic conception, but China's modern fine arts education largely made most of the contemporary aesthetic idea, most people think of Chinese oil painting oil painting as realistic as possible, lifelike image and display of real life, to the appreciation of Chinese oil painting in the mind. The art form of classical oil painting can make more people calm down to think. The development and progress of science and technology and the emergence of high-tech image technology have made people more interested in the way of art appreciation or the variety of art, but the role of classical oil painting is still there, and there is still a large audience group, which is still of great significance to people's spiritual civilization.

We can sometimes hear some people complain about the world, for all the status quo of society, we also have a look not to the past, "after 95" children's world view and values and how their moral status, whether for its future development and social progress is good, it is worthy of our thought. Here we refer to the practical significance of classicism oil painting and the influence of art on people. In ancient China, Confucius, the most important representative of Confucianism, advocated to guide the people by means of art. He believed that art could consolidate political and moral norms and restrictions. In modern times, we will talk about the construction of spiritual civilization as well as national soft culture and soft power. The connotation and core of classical oil painting can enable people to distinguish the ugly beauty and good and evil in the process of appreciation, and create people's yearning for beauty, simplicity, harmony and elegance, so as to help the appreciators establish correct values, purify the mind and improve the spiritual level.

Works of art can be accepted and recognized mainly by seeing whether their forms of expression and communication, including their spiritual connotation, can change with the change of people's mental state to adapt to the development of The Times. Classical oil painting has been developing for a long time in China, and there has been a certain audience group in China. The world is changing, and the presentation form of art is also changing. Classical oil painting is also in constant development now. In the form of artistic expression, the realistic significance of classical oil painting is to express the Chinese classical culture or the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in a unique form. In the construction of spiritual civilization, classical oil painting is more important, the spiritual connotation and core of classical oil painting is the ideal and spiritual yearning pursued by modern people. The spirit or thought is the pioneer that guides the progress of The Times. In this aspect, the classical oil painting guides the thought or spirit, which can show the excellent traditional culture of China and the spirit advocated by modern times in the works and influence people's thoughts, so it plays an irreplaceable role in the construction of modern culture. Art infection to people and is gradual, can let people psychologically produce subtle changes gradually, under the influence of various culture as well as a variety of transmission way, want to classical oil painting work better, not just in writing attentively, also need on the ways to select the correct way, can achieve better results.

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