Friday, June 24, 2011

Will US Stocks Crashed Soon ?





Something big is happening in the market, besides the nearly 200-point decline.

The S&P 500 is kissing its 200-day moving average (an average of the last 200 days), which according to some people is a crucial point of support for the market.

If we break it, the bull that started last year could be kaput. If it bounces, people will believe even more that this line holds some power.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Marvin Gaye Has The Most Explosive Page On Facebook


Today’s list of the most explosive pages on Facebook leads with a creative campaign set up in honor of Marvin Gaye’s legendary “What’s Going On” album. There’s also a hot sale going on in the U.K., and we have a few pages where fans have been gathering to mourn the passing of Ryan Dunn. Read on for more, and if you like what you see here, be sure to check out the in-depth statistic tool we use to compile this countdown.


Facebook’s Most Explosive Pages

Name # Of Fans Daily Growth Weekly Growth
1. Marvin Gaye 522,987 235,452 237,629
2. ASOS 824,170 21,156 183,631
3. Dirk Nowitzki 749,929 82,973 137,123
4. Degree Men 199,016 13,060 107,079
5. Ryan Dunn 135,335 23,988 103,880
6. Alborosie Official Page 213,611 223 102,830
7. V.C. Andrews Fan Page 106,576 38 93,191
8. Viva La Bam 821,723 17,958 85,659
9. Boston Bruins 884,484 3,855 76,825
10. Yingluck Shinawatra 142,469 8,239 70,448

Music

With the 40th anniversary of the iconic “What’s Going On” record nearing, Marvin Gaye‘s Facebook presence has launched a creative campaign asking fans around the world to submit pictures of the happenings in their local communities. The project has been as a success thus far, topping our list with a 237,629 increase over seven days.

Posted by Brian Ward


Cash Crunch in China



Bloomberg reports China Money Rate Reaches Three-Year High as Bill Sale Suspended
China’s money-market rate climbed to the highest level in more than three years as a worsening cash crunch prompted the central bank to suspend a bill sale.

The seven-day repurchase rate, which measures interbank funding availability, has more than doubled since June 14, when the People’s Bank of China ordered lenders to set aside more money as reserves for a sixth time this year. The central bank suspended a sale of bills tomorrow, according to a statement on its website today.


“Banks have to hoard cash to meet the regulator’s capital or loan-to-deposit requirements by the end of every quarter,” said Liu Junyu, a bond analyst at China Merchants Bank Co., the nation’s sixth-largest lender. “So we won’t see the shortage easing.”


The seven-day repo rate gained 47 basis points, or 0.47 percentage point, to 8.81 percent as of the 4:30 p.m. close in Shanghai, according to a weighted average rate compiled by the National Interbank Funding Center. It touched 8.93 percent, the highest level since October 2007.


The yield on the 2.77 percent government bond due May 2012 gained two basis points to 3.63 percent, according to the Interbank Funding Center.
Shibor Rates - Overnight to 1 Year as of 2011-06-22



Here is a link to Shibor, Shanghai Interbank Offered Rates
Shibor (Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate) is calculated, announced and named on the technological platform of the National Interbank Funding Center in Shanghai. It is a simple, no-guarantee, wholesale interest rate calculated by arithmetically averaging all the interbank RMB lending rates offered by the price quotation group of banks with a high credit rating. Currently, the Shibor consists of eight maturities: overnight, 1-week, 2-week, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 9-month and 1-year.

The price quotation group of Shibor consists of 16 commercial banks. These quoting banks are primary dealers of open market operation or market makers in the FX market, with sound information disclosure and active RMB transactions in China's money market.
Soaring short-term rates is a sign of lack of credit stress and lack of liquidity. 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Bulgarian War Memorial Vandalized, Awesomely




A public monument to the Soviet Armed Forces in Sofia, Bulgaria was vandalized spectacularly over the weekend. The statues of the Second World War soldiers were painted to resemble such candy-colored figures of capitalist iconography as Superman, Ronald McDonald, Santa Claus, Captain America and The Joker. The spray-painted writing beneath it says the hack now puts the statue "in step with the times!"
Today, Bulgarian Minister of Culture Vezhdi Rashidov denounced the act as "vandalism...We are the only ones led by some kind of destructive force when it comes to monuments of socialism." The kid in red on the skateboard just thinks it's awesome.



Sunday, June 19, 2011

KCPO:- Near Suppot Line - It Is Make Or Break Time -6/20/2011

 


The market continues its fall as the ADX starts to kick in. It has been rising since the previous week and it has now risen to 20's where it crossed above the falling D+. This crossing is usually taken by those trade by the using DMI as a great sell signal. Place stop at 3263. If prices continues to fall, the prior small bullish divergence may be erased.

With the ADX coming into control, I would start paying more attention on the MACD over the Stochastic. Though the Stochastic is in its oversold zone, but with the MACD continues to fall and it is below its zero signal line , I think the selling should continue.


 

The weekly chart is still of contradictions. The Stochastic is still rising and positive while the MACD stays negative and falling. On the bearish side, price has again closed below the bottom Bollinger Band which could be taken as a sell signal. The ADX has finally stop falling and turns flat, this may be taken as a early warning sign of a new trend in making. If price is to close below its recent low of 3148, then we may see a new wave of strong selling coming on.

There has been a lot of 'experts' turning into Dr. Doom with their views that the world will face food shortage and food prices will shoot up. But that is not exactly what the commodities charts seem to telling us as in the case of CPO right now. But we cannot say the same of Malaysia's food prices as most of them remain  market distorted as they continue to manipulated by the government and its friends. I, for one, am anxious to see the government lives up to its promises by reducing petrol prices when international crude oil prices continue to slide. Same applies to flour and sugar.
FKLI:- The Market Is Still "Thinking"-6/20/2011



The market fell to a lower level but still there is no major directional move yet. The ADX fall to a new low of 9's which is confirming the current lack of trend. Both the Stochastic and MACD are negative but the DMI is positive, another classic sign that the market is in a difficult stage to trade.

The current game plan is that you should trade one time parameter lower, that is go trade the intraday chart where you may still able to make some money. Unless a new trend emerges, I would keep off the daily position trading for the time being.


 

The weekly chart remains as like the previous week's. The Stochastic has reached the overbought zone, I am watching out for a reversal at around this area. The MACD stays stalled and remain negative. The bright spot is that price is able to stay above the upper Bollinger Band. The ADX stays dead at 10's while the DMI continues to wiggle. All added up to a conclusion that this market remains directionless.

As both  the daily and weekly  ADX stays at these low levels, the more explosive I expect the next move would be. This seems to be coincident with the current financial crisis happening in the EU PIIGs . Currently our market seem to at the fight or flight mentality junction when we are still contemplating.  What happens next would be either our market eventually "believe" the worst is yet to come and start selling the market or they "believe" the worst is already over and the market go do another wave of buying. But with the presence of a bearish divergence found at both the daily and weekly chart, I continue preferring to place my bet on the sell side rather than on the buy side.



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

How Thailand King Fought the Chinese Communists

 



History can be so much fun. I love these !

泰王国学校在教授正规的文理科知识。

“Communist Chinese schools are indoctrinating the Communist plan to expand towards Southeast Asia.
The Kingdom of Thailand’s school  are teaching standard/appropriate arts and sciences knowledge.”

中国人民被剥夺了迁徙和远程交通的自由;泰王国人民则相反。

“Chinese people stripped of the freedom to migrate or travel long distances. The Kingdom of Thailand is the opposite.”


共产党强行拆散老百姓的家人; 泰王国的人民安居乐业

“The Communist Party forcefully breaks apart the common people’s family members.
The Kingdom of Thailand’s people live and work in peace and happiness.”



共产党肥公损私,不允许中国人民有足够的私人财产,泰王国人民则生活富足。

“The Communist Party makes fattens the public and deprives the private, not allowing the Chinese people to have sufficient private property.
The people of the Kingdom of Thailand however live comfortably in abundance.”


中国人民被共产党强制义务劳动;泰王国人民可以自主安排劳作。

“The Chinese people are forced to perform voluntary labor.
The people of the Kingdom of Thailand can freely arrange their own labor.”


产党拆除佛像、逮捕佛教僧侣;泰王国则充分保护佛教信仰的自由。

“The Communist Party tears down images of Buddha and arrest Buddhist monks; the Kingdom of Thailand however fully protects the freedoms of Buddhist believers.”

The above set of anti-Communist propaganda pictures six appear to have originated from Thailand in the 1960s. That’s about all I know from the little information provided on He Xie Shang An (River Crab Goes Ashore). For those who don’t yet know, “river crab” is a pun on the Chinese word for “harmony/harmonious”, which many Chinese netizens are quite tired of given that it tends to pop up in far too many modern government proclamations and exhortations.  I have no idea whether or not they are translations of the original Thai captions.
娜 姐

呵呵,這個娜姐不是周秀娜,而是李 娜。剛拿了法網冠軍的李娜,一夜間微博多了 50萬個粉絲,還被親熱地喚成了「娜姐」有人更為李娜究竟是湖南人還是湖北人爭拗不休,恨不得跟她扯上一點點關係。

官方媒體包括《人民日報》、新華社、中央電視台等一片普天同慶的歡呼聲,曾痛斥李娜「思想水平 低、道德素質不高」的國家總局網球管理中心主任孫晉芳更為李娜奪冠「流下激動的淚水」。在體制外孤軍作戰的李娜,面對這份 洶湧而來的熱情,想必百感交集。網民的反應比較真實坦蕩,有一篇「中國,你憑甚麼為李娜奪冠而 驕傲?」的文章寫道:「她曾經效力國家隊,對中國僵化的體制徹底失 望,比賽獎金也大部分被上層拿走。 08年,她脫離體制,開始參加世界大賽,所有費用自理,每年依然上繳 12%的廣告費和 8%的獎金。成績不好,批評非議,奪得冠軍,豬狗都趕來沾光國,你憑甚麼?

這句「你憑甚麼?」大約是眾多屁民的心聲,不管是否運動員。生活在一個沒有良好的體制、社保、醫保的社會裏,屁民們凡事聽天由命、自生自滅。 一旦憑一己之力取得了甚麼成績,最憎厭的就是「豬狗都趕來沾光」。李娜成屁民之姐,不是因為球技,而是她做了屁民們欲做而不能的事,令屁民解 氣。 
How Greek Protesters See The EU In One Simple Photograph





中国附属线机场,9成难逃亏本





民航局长称我国175座机场中130座亏本运营


英国《金融时报》2月25日文章,原题:中国拟在未来5年新建45座机场中国民航业监管机构周四表示,中国未来5年将再建造45座机场, 引发了有关中国交通运输业可能运力过剩的新问题。

中国民航局局长李家祥表示,此轮新投资将使中国的机场总数增至220座。中国现有机 场中,多数都在亏本运营。尽管随着中国消费者的购买力增强,他们对航空旅行的需求近年迅速增长,但在过去两年 经济刺激计划期间加速的机场基础设施扩建,已成为过度投资的众多潜在来源之一。

李家祥表示,政府截至2015年将对航空业投资1.5万亿元人民币。据称,李 家祥24日承认,中国175座现有机场中,有130座在亏本运营。

尽管由于航空交通量不断上升,中国一些最大城市的新建大型机场运力很快接近饱和,但业内官员称,也有大批位于中小城市的新机场每周只起落 几架航班。随着中国不断壮大的中产阶层更有能力出门旅行,高盛预测,乘客需求今年将增长15%。

中国高速铁路网的快速扩建,也引发了有关过度投资的问题。尽 管一些分析师相信,高票价将抑制消费者对高铁的需求,但高铁投资的支持者辩称,客运列车得到扩大后,将使现有铁路网腾出空间,运输煤炭等货 物。

但新高速列车也将成为航空业的强大竞争对手。对中国的新机场来说,一个潜在利好因素可能来自小型飞机。中国去年宣布向民用飞机开放 4000米以下空域,这一决定可能推动轻型飞机的使用大幅增加。(作者杰夫·代尔)

路透社2月24日文章,原题:中国未来5年将拥有220多座机场中国航空高官24日表示,未来5年中国计划新建45座机场,届时机场总数 将达到220多座。

中国正处在机场扩张进程中,在全国打造了4个航空枢纽,并建立到西部偏远和贫穷地方的航线。民航局局长李家祥说,“十一五”期间中国民航 局对支线补贴超过60亿,这促进了地方发展,特别是机场建设对偏远地区的经济发展功不可没。

 

 

China Plows Into Absurd Bet on Long-Term Japanese Debt

Bloomberg reports China’s Net Purchases of Japan’s Long-Term Debt Rises to Record in April
China’s net purchases of Japan’s long-term debt reached a record as the larger nation seeks to diversify the world’s biggest currency reserves.

China bought a net 1.33 trillion yen ($16.6 billion) in Japanese long-term bonds in April, the biggest amount since records began in January 2005, according to data released today in Tokyo by Japan’s Ministry of Finance. The nation sold a net 1.47 trillion yen of short-term debt, the data shows.


“As China tries to diversify its assets with its huge foreign-exchange reserves, it probably wants to have yen- denominated assets to some extent” in the longer term, said Tetsuya Inoue, chief researcher for financial markets for Tokyo- based Nomura Research Institute Ltd. “China has a strong trading relationship with Japan.”


Japanese government debt due in 10 years and longer has handed investors a 2.2 percent gain since the start of April, versus a 1 percent advance for the broad market, based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch data. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average has fallen 2.9 percent over the same period.
$16.6 billion is peanuts to China, but the trade itself is ridiculous. 10-Year Japanese debt is yielding 1.2%. 30-year Japanese debt yields 2.2%.

Pray tell what is the upside? Is 10-year debt falling to zero%?

Bear in mind that nations do not enter trades on a profit-loss basis so losses are of no concern. However, why take risks for almost no chance of gain when there are huge risks of losses, especially when there is a more viable play.

Buying long-term Japanese bonds is a heads you break even, tails you lose your ass bet. One can lose twice if yields rise and the Yen sinks. It is a sure loser if yields rise substantially, even if the Yen appreciates.

Holding Yen straight-up at least has a chance. I do care for that play, but perhaps I am wrong.

So what is China thinking? The answer is they aren't thinking. 
KCPO:- Selling Continues - 6/13/2011




The Stochastic continues to fall as the MACD has also turned negative. Price has now gone below the lower Bollinger Band which is really bearish. The ADX has also begun to rise and may be crossing above its 20's signal line soon. This is telling us that a new trend has may has begun. Place stop at 3304.
3213 and 3175 may provide as supports.

 

The weekly chart ADX is still falling while the positive Stochastic is contradicting the negative MACD, all these are telling us the market is listless. But the D- seems to be regaining strength. Since last week price still managed to close at the lower Bollinger Band, so the coming week would be crucial. If prices go below the lower band, it would mean another new sell cycle has begun.

As long as the bullish divergence setup remains intact, we may still see a possible price upward reversal later.



 
FKLI:- Will Our Market's resistance Be Futile ?- 6/13/2011

 

 
The ADX has been staying flat at 13's ,so we are seeing another week of prices going nowhere. As the Stochastic is negative and prices stays below the upper Bollinger Band, I have engaged a new shorts.  1546 level has been tested twice over the week, so I would watch that as a support. If price goes below there, I would add on more shorts. I am also paying attention to the MACD which is still positive now but it is already turning its head, it will be another signal to sell further.


The weekly chart Stochastic has approached the overbought zone as the MACD's turnaround has begun to stalled. The ADX stays flat at 10's and the DMI continues its wriggling. All of these are pointing at a listless market. By the coming week, I would be looking out for a possible new sell signal when if the Stochastic turns around or when if price crosses down the upper Bollinger Band.

One item to pay attention here is that price has reached a new high of 1568 last week compare to the high of 1562 hit on 8/4/2011. If the MACD comes back down and crosses down again, it would mean another bearish divergence will be formed.

The local market is so like our national political motto of "Malaysia Boleh", in face of the DJIA recent price collapse, our market is still able to hold up. Regardless I continue to place more weight  on the bearish side.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

郎 朗,不愛中國人的愛國犬奴


擁有香港居民身份的郎朗,六四前夕在英國威爾斯開 鋼琴演奏專場,尾聲加演時,華人青年郭俊上台送上白菊花,點奏一曲《風中的蠟燭》,郎朗稱曲子很好。華人青年接着說:「把這首曲獻給六四天安 門大屠殺中的亡靈,以祭奠他們。」郎朗怫然作色,扭頭便走,加奏 環節亦告取消。

菊花男基督徒郭俊斥郎朗為「精英犬奴」,這很貼切,如果倒過來叫「犬奴精英」─犬奴中的極品,則更為貼切。想想維園搖曳燭光映照着的無數年輕 臉孔,郎朗給這些同代人提鞋都不配,他甚至愧對牽着父母衣角來維園接受「國民教育」的孩童。

郎朗無疑很「愛國」,他的愛國表演卻和一己利益掛鈎。 他在白宮演奏《我的祖國》,筆者早已撰文認為無傷大雅,誰知風波乍起,郎朗對美國媒體的辯白令人齒冷,他捶胸頓足堅稱不知那是抗美援朝「紅 歌」,


又 感激涕零地強調美國對他偉大恩情


這 正是犬奴嘴臉。他不能得罪美國人,此係衣食父母

要說愛國豈敢厚此薄彼?美國對他有恩在先,中國只是錦上添花而已。當初鋼琴家殷承宗發現這天才琴童,把他接到紐約家裏,免費吃住加教琴,其實這和祖國恩情無甚關 係,
彼時殷承宗因文革「樣板戲」舊賬,祖國並不愛他,這才遠赴美國。

郎朗之成名,在於美國人力捧,和他的祖國也無甚關係。中國政府「不差錢」,但錢不能堆積出藝術家的世界聲譽,
能把郎朗包裝成功,還須靠美國人。郎朗演奏技巧一流,雖則才藝並非一流, 美國口味喜歡他擠眉弄眼、前仰後合的張揚、炫耀、浮華風格,美國經紀公司的豪華包裝掩蓋了他的不足,加上郎朗確實聰明,他和歐美樂團合作時上 手很快,合練兩次就OK;而且他演奏路子寬,駕馭能力強,反觀李雲迪卻有很多曲目拿不下來,所以歐洲樂壇也頗認郎朗,包括柏林愛樂樂團的大師 西蒙.拉托爾爵士。無論如何郎朗都是鋼琴才俊,暴得大名後,他的母國如獲至寶,敕封全國 青聯副主席,郎朗便成了響噹噹愛國品牌,隨之滾滾而來的當然還有豐厚利益。
然而郎朗愛國卻不愛中國人,他逢人就說丹尼斯.勃倫巴依姆(芝加哥世界級鋼琴巨匠)是他 的老師,卻絕少提及殷承宗是他的授業恩師。連自己的啟蒙老師和領路人都不愛,還有甚麼中國人值得他去愛?在 名利面前,郎朗沒有信仰;沒有就罷了,也應該有起碼道德,既然他辯解自己不曉得《我的祖國》是紅歌,面對英國華人青年的白菊花和祭奠亡靈的請 求,他亦可說自己不曉得六四,雖屬遁詞,卻沒人會為此深責他,畢竟是那個政權而不是郎朗在清洗記憶、消滅歷史。
莫忘記二十二年前張德培獲得法網冠軍,正值六四,他的奪冠感言是「願上帝保佑中國人民。」霎時間全場肅穆
。 誠然,像郎朗這等愛國卻不愛中國人的犬奴,並非稀有動物,香港就有不少。做 奴還未夠,還要做犬,牠們的基因變異從生命科學意義上頗具研究價值。


Monday, June 6, 2011


KCPO:- Will It Goes Further ? -6/6/2011




Last week I mentioned about the overbought Stochastic and that we may see some retracement. And prices came down and corrected for the first 3 days of last trading week and then turned up again on Thursday. The Stochastic continues to fall  but the MACD is still positive and pointing up. But pay attention to the ADX as it has turned flat again. I am concerned about that the bulls may have lost the script again and go sideway.


The weekly chart Stochastic is still rising while the MACD is also trying to cross up. The middle Bollinger Band serves as a resistance for the time now. So we would need to see price goes above 3478 in order to see further bullish action. Meanwhile the weekly ADX  is still falling, so do not expect any big moves yet.

Buy again if price breaks 3465.
FKLI:- Does The Market Has Anymore 
Strength ?- 6/6/2011





As confirmed by the 'dead' ADX, this market did not go far in the current period. I would just take profit at this moment and would not go back to long unless I see price closes above 1558 again.

The Stochastic has already crossed down but it is still above the 80's. Once it crossed down that level, look for a new short again. Also watch out for 1550 for support level.  Meanwhile the MACD remains positive and the ADX stays flat at 13's. The market is again playing the waiting game.


 


The weekly chart Stochastic continues to rise and the MACD seems to be turning the corner, it is getting increasing bullish as price managed to stay above the upper Bollinger Band for the 2nd week. But as in last week, I cannot get myself too excited over all these as the ADX continues to stay flat at 10's and the DMI is also staying above the 20's. Both these are telling me that whatever "bullishness" I see at the other indicators are really nothing to shout about at this moment.

The weekly Bollinger Band is continuing  to tighten, I continue to watch out for a possible explosive move soon. You should keep an sharp eye on the EU PIIGs crisis as it is still continue to get out of hand. The Castilla-La Mancha province of Spain(15.7% of the country area) just completely ran out of money to pay their civil servants and creditors. Compare to Greece, Spain's problem is something that George W. Bush would say:- "shock and awe" !
IMF性醜聞 為何有權男人有時像豬?






國際貨幣基金組織總裁多米尼克.斯特勞斯-卡恩涉嫌性侵被捕案繼續給法國帶來震驚。數日來,該案件似乎已經成為政界、媒體、金融界的 重要話題。「搞政治的男人需要勾引女人嗎?」這個話題也成為眾人關注與檢討的焦點。




國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)前總裁多米尼克.斯特勞斯-卡恩(Dominique Strauss-Kahn,簡稱卡恩)的性醜聞越揭越多,在6月6日美國法庭審判其是否犯下強姦未遂等七項罪名成立之前,這個集「性、金錢和選舉」最熱門 話題於一身的新聞素材,一定會吸引全球讀者的眼球。這裡我們只談談社會名人的個人操守和社會根源。


像發情的豬一樣愚蠢


據美國媒體報導,5月14日,現年62歲的卡恩從紐約準備飛回巴黎的當天中午,在曼哈頓索菲特酒店的2805-6號套房發生了此案。來自肯尼 亞的32歲黑 人女清潔工,到原價3,000美元、因老顧客而優惠成525美元的套房打掃,確認房間沒人後,她把手推車推到門口開始工作。突然,赤裸的卡恩 衝出浴室,把 門鎖上,抓她的胸部,並兩度強行用性器官接觸她的嘴……幾番掙扎後,她逃出房間。酒店職工隨即報案。

幾小時後,紐約警察從飛機「請」下了這位強姦嫌疑犯,並關進監獄。在花費100萬美元的保釋金和500萬資金抵押後,目前卡恩住在紐約一家 小公寓 裡,每月支付20萬美元的警察24小時監視居住費。這位黑人女工的丈夫已去世,此前她和15歲的女兒以難民身份住在紐約政府給愛滋病患者和家 屬提供的廉租 房裡。
消息傳到法國,起初人們不相信這位被稱為頂級經濟學家、成功消減法國債務、並領導IMF拯救了希臘和歐元的下屆法國總統最強有力的挑戰者, 會幹出如 此愚蠢之事,「陰謀論」喧囂塵上,不過第二天法國人就冷靜下來了,人們意識到,這不光是件醜聞,還是件刑事案件,如果罪名成立,卡恩可面臨最 高25年的監 禁。

搞政治的男人需要勾引女人?

十年前成為卡恩第三任妻子的62歲安妮.辛克萊(Anne Sinclair),一直同卡恩一樣,堅稱他是清白的。五年前,當卡恩準備競選法國總統時,她對巴黎一家報紙說,她「很自豪」丈夫是另一位夫人的情人, 「作為搞政治的男人,能勾引女人是很重要的。」有這樣一位「賢內助」,卡恩的性醜聞也就見慣不怪了。


最早站出來控訴他的是卡恩第二任妻子的義女、法國記者兼小說家巴儂(Tristane Banon)。2002年為了寫書,當年22歲的姑娘採訪了卡恩。卡恩卻撲上去一把拽掉她的胸罩,並要解開她的牛仔褲。奮力掙扎後她逃了出來。不過巴儂的 母親同是卡恩所屬的社會黨黨員,由於擔心女兒控訴後不但影響她的前途,也影響「黨的形象」,於是她們隱忍了。


接下來媒體曝光了2007年卡恩對其下屬、匈牙利籍經濟學家納吉有婚外情或性騷擾。納吉2008年1月離職時表示,不要讓女性職員受聘於卡恩 手下。IMF 對此有調查,結論說,卡恩沒有濫用權力,但他做出了一個「嚴重的錯誤判斷」。還有前IMF官員透露,卡恩向一名已婚亞裔行政人員施壓要求性 交,她擔心工作 不保隱忍,但丈夫知悉後怒不可遏,引起高層注意,最後她合約到期離開IMF。隨著卡恩召妓等更多醜聞被披露,英國《星期日電訊報》甚至稱他好 色「死性不 改」。


法國政壇怪論:婚外情無罪?


於是法國人開始反思為什麼會出現這樣的醜聞。在這個號稱「最佳情人」的國度,政壇和媒體一直把婚外情視為無罪,所謂sexual exception。人們開玩笑說,只有英國才會鬧出性醜聞,法國只有貪污受 賄等錢的問題。比如前總統密特朗(Francois Mitterrand)有個私生子,但法國媒體在他去世前對此一直緘默,其繼任者希拉克(Jacques Chirac)對女色的喜好眾人皆知,但在一部記錄片中,希拉克還稱其愛情生活「合情合理」。不過有趣的事,法國女性的政治經濟地位卻很高,目前法國內閣 中大約三分之一是女性,法國政府最近還下令,到2017年之前,大企業董事會中至少40%的董事應為女性。


法國民間普遍認為,美國這次抓捕卡恩,給法國人「上了一堂漂亮的課」。一方是黑人女工,一方是IMF總頭目,但美國司法給予了完全公正的對 待。假如這事發 生在法國或中國,卡恩就能像過去一樣被包庇隱瞞。正因為這種庇護才鑄造了今天的卡恩。法國前 總理讓-皮埃爾.拉法蘭(Jean-Pierre Raffarin)就此表示,「回歸政治道德」將是2012年總統競選的核心。

不過與中國不同的是,雖然漏網之魚也不少,但在西方媒體挖掘獨家新聞的推動下,不斷上演著「貓逮老鼠」的社會監督功能,令西方政 客一旦鬧出性醜聞,他就得「下課」,而中國沒有這樣的監督人,最近江西瑞金市旅遊局副局長鐘勝楨敢公開承認自己有情婦,而無人敢 管他。



權勢令人性弱點無所顧忌

就在卡恩性醜聞鬧得沸沸揚揚之際,63歲的美國加州前州長施瓦辛格(Arnold Schwarzenegger)也爆出有私生子以及勾引16歲少女上床等醜聞。去年,美國民主黨前副總統候選人愛德華茲,以及前副總統戈爾相繼傳出性醜 聞,令夫妻分居。


心理學家發現,當權力賦予男人更多機會時,其自我約束力會下降,他會利用這些機會幹壞事。同時,權力能令男人對風險的評估失去常識邏輯,跟自 戀者一樣,他 們會幹出別人眼裡非常愚蠢之事。西方還有種觀點,把強姦、性侵犯等歸罪於生理因素,而非道德操守。不過慶幸的是,西方還有法律這個最後底線在 約束人,多數 民眾還是把對婚姻的忠誠奉為信條,從而使性醜聞者遭到應有的懲罰。 ◇
驚動全球的九大性醜聞

1、最迷離的性侵害:
IMF 總裁卡恩涉嫌強姦被拘 。

2、最像野史的艷遇:
冷戰期間,英國前戰爭大臣約翰.普洛弗莫被一廣告女郎吸引,而該女子是蘇聯間諜的情人。他的辭職引發英國首相麥克米倫也辭職,此醜聞動搖了 當時的英國政府。

3、最痛悔的婚外情:
2006年,英國前副首相約翰.普雷斯科特與女祕書的婚外情被曝光,他悔恨不已,在媒體上公開道歉,希望能贏回妻子的信任。

4、最轟動的性醜聞:
比爾.克林頓是美國史上第二個在性醜聞曝光後被彈劾的總統。他與22歲白宮實習生萊溫斯基的「不當行為」至今仍受到人們的譴責。

5、最意外搭配:
英國前首相約翰.梅傑一度被英倫小報譏諷為「形象最沉悶、行事最保守」,當他與保守黨女同事、英國前衛生大臣埃德溫娜.庫利4年婚外情曝光 後,英國朝野為之震動。

6、最傳奇韻事:
約翰.肯尼迪與瑪麗蓮.夢露 ,美國史上最受愛戴的總統之一與美國電影史上的性感女神之間發生過什麼風流韻事,現代人不得而知。有人甚至猜測,夢露並非死於自殺,而是死於肯尼迪家族的 陰謀,因為她同時與總統兄弟倆勾搭。

7、最瘋狂行為:
現年75歲的意大利總理貝盧斯科尼,在爆出全裸派對和召妓、與未成年女子發生性關係等醜聞後,已成為性醜聞的代名詞。

8、最香艷照片:
2009年,意大利一攝影師偷拍了700多張意大利總理貝盧斯科尼在私人別墅裡舉行裸體派對的照片,其中一個被媒體用馬賽克蓋住的男子最後 主動承認,「那就是我,時任捷克總理的米雷克.托波拉內克」。此後,捷克眾議院通過對政府不信任案而令其辭職。

9、最不可能的婚外情:
加州前州長阿諾德.施瓦辛格承認,他與家裡的傭人發生婚外情並生下一個兒子。現年63歲的施瓦辛格與55歲的施賴弗曾經是一對令無數美國人 羨慕的俊男才女。施賴弗是美國前總統肯尼迪的外甥女,著名電視主播,兩人育有兩男兩女。





 

Friday, June 3, 2011


Moody's Threaten US


DEBT CEILING: Moody's Just Threatened To Slash The US Credit Rating

Finally, a logical warning on US credit.

Moody's is out with a comment saying that if there's no imminent progress on the debt ceiling fight, the US credit rating will be cut.

This makes total sense, and we applaud Moody's for doing their job: Identifying an imminent (real) issue, and sensibly advising (ahead of time) about what could be a threat to US debt holders.

This should help put an end to this idea that a technical default would be just fine, and that somehow all this brinksmanship would be good for US credit somehow.

Back in January, we called on Moody's to do exactly this: Threaten a ratings cut as a way of warning about the harmful effects of this fight.

They've done exactly that.

The Most Important Line In Moody's Big Credit Warning On The US

Today Moody's warned that if the debt ceiling negotiations drag much further into the summer, it would have to put the US credit rating on review for a downgrade.

The full note is here.

This is probably the most important point in it:

2) If a debt-ceiling-related default were to occur, Moody's would likely downgrade the rating shortly thereafter. The extent of and length of time before a downgrade would depend on how factors surrounding the default affect the government's fundamental creditworthiness, including (a) the speed at which the default were cured, (b) an assessment of the effect of the default on long-term Treasury borrowing costs, and (c) measures put in place to prevent a recurrence. However, a rating in the Aa range would be the most likely outcome. Any loss to bondholders would likely be minimal or non-existent, as Moody's anticipates that a default would be cured quickly.

The bottom line: There is no such thing as a technical default. A default would kill the US AAA rating just like that.

Given that there's been a growing chorus of people who are attempting to minimize the significance of a "technical default", this is a huge point they've just clarified.

Hold On! It Looks Like The Moody's US Downgrade Warning Is Already Backfiring

The message from Moody's today was pretty straightforward: Come on guys, get your stuff together, stop it with the brinksmanship, and pass the debt ceiling. If you don't, goodbye AAA.

It was a message aimed right at politicians, but obviously politicians aren't going to let a ratings agency derail their agenda. So instead the message is already being twisted.

Congressmen are already blasting out their responses.

For example, this:

U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the Joint Economic Committee, released the following in response to Moody's statement:

"It is no idle threat that Americans faces a credit rating downgrade if the President and Congress don't act quickly to get our country's fiscal house in order.

"According to Moody's, the right path forward includes 'meaningful progress toward substantial and credible long-term deficit reduction.'  As a recent Joint Economic Committee Study points out, reducing government spending and debt grows economies. As we've seen in recent years, deficit spending and quantitative easing holds back economic growth."

Eh, Moody's didn't exactly threaten a downgrade if Washington didn't quickly get its house in order. It threatened a downgrade if the debt ceiling wasn't raised. Yes, Moody's also said that reforms needed to be made, but that wasn't the thrust of it.

So what we're getting is the same response as when S&P made a warning: Both sides are just digging in. As one Hill source put it: Geithner keeps insisting on his line, while the Freshmen stick to their "hell no" line.

In a Tweet, GOP Congressman Joe Walsh said: "Just spent 30min w/ Geithner and I'm disgusted and discouraged. We can't roll over & settle the way he wants us to. America deserve better."

Disgusted? Yes, so much for everyone coming together.


Thursday, June 2, 2011



资本主义制度牛奶成 名的
中國鋼琴家郎朗拒為六四亡靈演奏 

 

郎朗 - 国际著名钢琴家。1982年6月14日生于辽 宁沈阳,满族人
 被数家美国权威媒体称 作“当今这个时代最天才、最闪亮的偶像明星”,

他是受聘于世界顶级的柏 林爱乐乐团和美国五大交响乐团的 第一位中 国钢琴家。


曾被《人物》杂志称为“将改变世界的20名青 年”之一。



倫敦1日訊)中國鋼琴家郎朗在英國舉行音樂會,有當地華人上台向他獻上白菊花,並要求他彈奏曲子獻給「六四」亡靈。
郎朗頓時臉色大變,召來保安。


郎朗上週日晚在英國威爾士首府卡迪夫舉行音樂會,他向觀眾謝幕時,一名在當地工作的華人郭俊(音譯),手持一束白菊花走上台對郎朗說:「能不 能讓我跪求你一曲?點一首戴安娜王妃葬禮上的安魂曲《風中的蠟燭》。」


誤以為郭俊是粉絲的郎朗說,這首曲子很好。但郭俊說道:「我把這首曲子獻給天安門六四事件中的那些亡靈,以祭奠他們。」

郎朗頓時臉色大變,急忙招來保安,將郭先生帶離了現場。台下觀眾、包括在場的 中國留學生譁然。郎朗即時轉身離開舞台工作人員後來將獻花男子趕下台,郎朗未再返回舞台「安哥」。

 


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bizarre Stories On How Goldman Sachs Screwed Up With Libya

How Goldman Lost $1.3 Billion Of Libyan Funds And Then Almost Made Libya One Of Its Biggest Shareholders

When Libya launched its sovereign wealth fund in 2007, it asked several banks to manage money for it.

Goldman Sachs was one of them.

Between January and June of 2008, the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund, controlled by Colonel Gaddafi himself, paid Goldman "1.3 billion for options on a basket of currencies and on six stocks" including Citi, UniCredit SpA, Banco Santander, Allianz, Électricité and energy company Eni SpA, the WSJ reported.

When Lehman Brothers collapsed and credit markets froze in 2008, the Libyan investment with Goldman was virtually wiped out.

According to internal memos seen by the WSJ ,

The underlying securities plunged in value and all of the trades lost money, according to an internal Goldman memo reviewed by the Journal. The memo said the investments were worth just $25.1 million as of February 2010—a decline of 98%.

Obviously the Libyans were furious with the bank. Fund employees said Goldman had misrepresented the investments and traded "without proper authorization."

Threats against Goldman bankers got so bad that the bank had to hire security for its employees.

In the end, the bank didn't want its relationship with Libya to go sour -- or to frighten other sovereign wealth funds away -- so it offered a range of six options for Libya to recoup its money, one of which included making the sovereign wealth fund one of Goldman Sachs' biggest shareholders.

In May 2009, Goldman proposed that Libya get $5 billion in preferred Goldman shares in return for pumping $3.7 billion into the company... Goldman offered to pay the Libyan Investment Authority between 4% and 9.25% on the shares annually for more than 40 years, which would amount to billions of dollars more.

After four all-day meetings in July 2009, the two sides agreed to a rejiggered deal that would make back Libya losses in 10 years. Such a deal, which also could have left the fund with a Goldman stake, would have needed to be run past the Federal Reserve. That left both Goldman and fund officials worried about its viability.

In the end, however, negotiations, the last of which occurred in June last year, led to no concrete deal.Prior to the investment going sideways, the fund had a good relationship with its colleagues at Goldman.

In fact, there was one trader in particular that they really loved: Driss Ben-Brahim.

At the time, Ben-Brahim was "Goldman's Arabic-speaking emerging-markets trading chief, who ran one of its most profitable trading desks and was rumored to be among its highest-paid employees," the WSJ reported. "To the Libyans... the main attraction was Driss Ben-Brahim."

Ben-Brahim, a Moroccan-Austrian educated in France, was an INSEAD grad who began his career at Goldman in 1994, making partner 10 years later.

"It is thought the bulk of his money has been earned speculating on the fall of the dollar, the seesawing prices of Japanese bonds and betting on movements in inflation rates," the Times has reported.

"We were in awe of Driss," a former Libyan Investment Authority executive told the WSJ. "He was like a rock star…while we were making peanuts. We felt honored by his presence."

Ben-Brahim made headlines in 2004 when he was awarded a £30 million bonus. At the time, a friend said:

He has taken on some really big risks but has enjoyed great success in 2003. He is the person everyone is talking about and he has been the most profitable trader around for the past few years. He deserves some recognition for his work.”

The same Times piece also reported,

Little is known about Ben-Brahim, who is thought to have an Arab father and an English mother. He is said to have one of the sharpest minds in the City and is “always laughing”, according to colleagues at Goldman Sachs.

Two years later, Ben-Brahim's bonus was rumored to have eclipsed the record 2004 figure by £20 million -- he was reportedly awarded £50 million as a bonus that year, but Goldman denied the story.

His wife Heli hails from Iran, and the couple have two children. A neighbor in Kensignton in London, told the Daily Mail: "I know Driss through banking. He is a lovely guy, his son plays football with mine occasionally."

He left Goldman in October, 2008. He's now a managing director at GLG Partners.



The Bizarre Story Of Libya And Goldman Sachs

The hot story of the day: Back in the day, Goldman Sachs managed some money for the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund. When their trades went bust, there were discussions for Libya to actually take a stake in Goldman Sachs.

It never happened, but the idea was that Libya would get a sweetheart deal on some preferred shares, with a nice dividend. Goldman's thinking was that it didn't want to lose future sovereign wealth business.

But the Goldman/Libya story is not that unique, really.

Time and again, we saw during the crisis banks take on assets that technically were off balance sheet. Citi has to absorb the losses of the SIVs. Bear Stearns had to absorb the losses of its big MBS hedge funds and so on.

This is just a minor, amusing example but the bottom line is that bank balance sheets are often implicitly larger than they appear.
More On China to Clean Up Toxic Local Government Debt


This report by Reuters, suggesting that China was about to Do Something about its local government dud loans created a lot of chatter among investors:
China’s regulators plan to shift 2-3 trillion yuan ($308-463 billion) of debt off local governments, sources said, reducing the risk of a wave of defaults that would threaten the stability of the world’s second-biggest economy.
As part of Beijing’s overhaul of the finances of heavily-indebted local governments, the central government will pay off some of their loans and state banks including some of the “Big Four” will be forced to take some losses on the bad debt, said the sources, both of whom have direct knowledge of the plans.
Part of the debt will also be shifted to newly created companies, while private investors would be welcomed in projects previously off-limits to them, sources said.
Beijing will also lift a ban on provincial and municipal governments selling bonds, a step aimed at bolstering their finances with more transparent sources of funding.
Many analysts see China’s pile of local government bad debt as a major risk to the economy, especially as the economy slows, but few see widespread banking fallout as they believe cash-rich Beijing can step in to soak up losses.
Um, the Reuters writers need to be a tad more accurate: “shift 2-3 trillion yuan ($308-463 billion) of debt off local governments” does not amount to “reducing the risk of a wave of defaults.” It may prevent nasty knock-on effects, but only economic stimulus or borrower assistance can reduce default risks.

One expert compared the scale of the Chinese local government funding vehicle problem to US subprime mortgages. Since there was never an agreement on what “subprime” mean, market size estimates varied a lot, but they clustered around $1.1 to $1.3 trillion, or 8-9% of GDP. By contrast, this local government debt is 9 trillion RMB, or 30% of GDP, and the officialdom has now tagged 2-3 trillion as in need of restructuring. That is equivalent to the size of the total subprime market in 2007, and remember, even as bad as subprime has turned out to be, losses are expected to be 30% (40% eventual defaults with 75% losses). By contrast, on construction projects, loss severities of over 100% are not uncommon (the project turns out to be worthless, so the losses on the loans are 100%, and you have to spend money clearing the land for it to be resold). And remember, we are seeing this level of bad loans in a strong economy.

While some analysts gushed that this move would improve the perception of bank capital levels (an odd benefit given that the banks are all state creatures in one form or another), Michael Pettis was not terribly impressed:
How important is this announcement? It is good that the extent of the problem is being recognized and quantified, but this announcement doesn’t do much more than that. And I think there is a lot of confusion given what I read in the Reuters and other articles. First, this announcement, if it is true, doesn’t much change the risk profile of either the local governments or the banks because they were anyway implicitly or explicitly guaranteed. Second, the real issue here is not who gets to carry the liability, but rather who is going to foot the bill for the losses, and of course that hasn’t been addressed. As I see it there are only three sources of repayment.
1. The government can privatize land and assets and use the proceeds to pay for the losses. This might be very difficult politically right now, but ultimately I suspect that they are going to move in this direction.
2 The government can tax or confiscate wealth from SMEs and the wealthy: this is politically expedient since SMEs don’t seem to have much power as a bloc, but this could cripple long-term growth prospects if it causes SMEs to disinvest.
3. The long-suffering household sector can bear the losses once again, but of course this pretty much eliminates any hope of getting the consumption share of GDP to rise and become the driver of future GDP growth.
It is of course good that they are formalizing and recognizing the extent of the possible losses — everyone’s favorite solution of ignoring the problem is unlikely to have helped much. Perhaps these huge numbers, now that they are quantified and recognized, can push the debate forward, but in my opinion we still haven’t addressed the main issue: how will this debt be repaid and when will they slow down and reverse what has clearly become an unsustainable increase in debt?
In other words, this looks like a confidence building exercise, and it is oddly reminiscent of late 2007 and early 2008, when banks would announce big writedowns, the markets would rally on the belief that they had put their troubles behind them, when in reality, their troubles were only beginning. Here, the scale of the problem being ‘fessed up to (almost certain to be only a portion of the ultimate problem) and the lack of a real plan to deal with losses (mechanisms are not a plan) are far from encouraging.
China 's Illusion Fading


IT BEGINS: China To Do 2-3 TRILLION Yuan Bailout Of Indebted Local Governments

Little by little, this notion that China is a rock of financial stability (at least compared to the US) is being chipped away.

Reuters is reporting that the central government in Beijing is about to shift 2-3 TRILLION yuan  ($308-$463 billion) in local debt to the Federal books.

Basically, local governments have borrowed like crazy, and there's been a fear of a massive wave of defaults, especially as revenue from real estate dries up.

Also there's no local bond market, so these are debts owed to banks, meaning that this bailout of localities is also a bank bailout (surprise!).

The expert on this issue is Northwestern poli-sci professor Victor Shih, who points out that China has been able to maintain the illusion of growth without government debt precisely through these local authorities.

Others have likened local governments to the infamous SIVs from the US financial crisis -- pockets of leverage hidden from public view.

That this is happening now is potentially a big moment. Remember, throughout the US crisis, there were a series of bailouts that, at first blush, would have appeared to put a halt to things. If history is any guide, this kind of big bailout is closer to the beginning of the story.


《建党伟业》- 唯我党独尊 !

 
 
迎接中共建党90周年拍摄的献礼巨片《建党伟业》即将上演,为了确保票房骄人,中共当局再度使出“唯我独尊”的撒手锏。 根据内地电影界权威人士爆料,当局要保证该片票房达到8亿元(人民币,下同)前,不让进 口片在内地上映。舆论炮轰当局「以权抢钱」,也有网民指反正是单位组织观看,共产党「自己给自己献礼吧」。

2009年9月大陆推出庆祝中华人民共和国成立60周年的电影《建国大业》,为了保证票房胜出其他电影,当局指令电影进口商押后多出好莱坞制 作的电影上演。在缺乏竞争以及单位组织看戏的情况下,《建国大业》的票房超逾4亿元,但仍输给好莱坞制作的灾难片《2012》。

《建党伟业》被内地电影界形容为「万千宠爱于一身」巨片,故事讲述1911年辛亥革命到1921年中共成立期间的历史,戏中人物包括李大钊、 陈独秀和毛泽东等风云人物,主题是竭力表达在那个风雨飘摇年代,中共如何承载民族使命应运而生,对中共极尽歌功颂德的能事,中共高层当然十分 重视,内地和香港不少明星都加盟演出。

目前未悉参与演出的演员是否一如当年演出《建国大业》时,一概免受片酬,以示“爱国”情操。有人士指出,《建国大业》的制片人从政府拿到高额 经费却不用来付演员酬劳而私自挪用贪污,甚至以在大陆封杀为威胁来要挟一线明星零片酬演出。

北京新影联负责人高军在预测票房时语出惊人说:「在《建党伟业》拿下一定票 房,比如8个亿以前,《变形金刚3》之类的进口片都不能上映。」资料显示,北京新影 联是由中国电影集团公司、北京市电影公司和北京18家影院共同出资组建。

虽有当局撑台,且根据内地传统,此类献礼片上映时,内地各级党政机关、学校多用公帑买票,送员工去「洗脑」,票房有一定保证,但始终在社会上 缺乏「吸金力」。

内地规定,电影上映档期由官方中国电影发行放映公司中影公司统一安排,如何安排将直接影响影片票房收入。《建国大业》在当局力保之下获得4.2亿元票房收入,但仍不敌荷李活灾难巨片《2012》的 4.66亿元收入。

根据早前安排,《建党伟业》将在6月中旬上映,但同期排队上映电影有20多部,包括荷李活巨片《变形金刚3》、《哈利波特与死亡圣器 (下)》,以及由谢霆锋、张家辉等主演的港产片《财神客栈》等。新影联负责人高军之语, 显示当局为保《建党伟业》票房,可能不择手段,压人利己。

高军的言论,引舆论譁然,互联网批评之声不绝,但网易、新浪和搜狐等主要网站31日已就有关报道及批评全部删除。有网民指:「这真是中国特色垄断啊!」、「这样跟外国影片抢票房,太丢人了吧?」也有网民称:「无所谓啦,反正都 是单位组织看,都是共产党的钱,这个钱袋到那个钱袋而已」、「原来自己给自己献礼啊!」

新浪微博31日一项调查显示,88%受访者表示不会自己掏钱去看《建党伟业》,8%人可能会被 单位组织去看,只有7%会掏钱买票看。
 
 
中国革命烈士“江姐
SM 画报"

江姐是著名的革命烈士江竹筠的爱称,曾用名江志炜,江竹筠1920年8月20日出生于四川省自贡市大安区大山铺镇江家湾的一个农民家 庭,1939年加入中 国共产党。1945年与彭咏梧结婚,婚后负责中共重庆市委地下刊物《挺进报》的组织发行工作。1948年,彭咏梧在中共川东临时委员 会委员兼下川东地委副 书记任上战死,江竹筠接任其工作。1948年6月14日,江竹筠在万县被捕,被关押于重庆军统渣滓洞监狱,受尽酷刑仍坚不吐 实,1949年11月14日被 敌人杀害并毁尸灭迹;同志们习惯称她江姐,以表敬爱之情;另有同名歌剧、评剧、越剧以及电视连续剧等。

"你们可以打断我的手,杀我的头,要组织是没有的。毒刑拷打,那是太小 的考验。竹签子是竹子做的,共产党员的意志是钢铁铸成的!"


bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
        photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured and
        tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents






bondage
          photos of Revolution-Era martyr Sister Jiang, shown captured
          and tortured by Kuomingtang agents
   

Hitler Admired In China




 

On Thursday, May 19, prominent Danish film director Lars von Trier publicly expressed sympathy for Adolph Hitler. The board of directors of Cannes, the world's pre-eminent film festival, promptly announced that Von Trier was no longer welcome at the festival. [1]

This was a brave decision, especially considering that Von Trier's latest film is considered a contender for the festival's top prize. Meanwhile, an ocean away, sympathy for Hitler is proliferating, but bravery is nowhere to be found. There is a growing trend in the Chinese blogosphere to vocalize praises and expressions of support for Hitler. If Chinese authorities fail to address this problem, dangerous consequences may ensue.

The rumor
A rumor is spreading virally throughout the Middle Kingdom that asserts that Austrian-born Hitler was raised by a family of Chinese expats living in Vienna. According to the rumors, a family named Zhang found young Adolf - born on April 20, 1889, when he fell on hard times as a young man in Vienna.

They took him in, sheltered him, fed him and paid for his tuition. As a result of this assistance, Hitler held eternal gratitude and admiration for the Chinese people. The rumor also asserts that Hitler secretly supported China in World War II, and that his ultimate ambition was to conquer the world in order to share power with China, with everything west of Pakistan to be administered by the Fuhrer, and everything east of Pakistan the province of the Chinese people.

This rumor apparently resonates deeply with the Chinese Internet generation. On May 10, 2011, a user of Kaixin, the Chinese equivalent of Facebook, posted a version of the rumor on his wall. The post attracted an enormous following, with more than 170,000 views and 40,000 comments.

Of the people who left comments, 38.8% believe that Hitler was raised by Chinese, 7.1% believe that Hitler supported China in World War II, 4.6% regard Hitler as a hero, and 9.1% hope that China will have a leader similar to Hitler.

As the rumor spreads throughout the Chinese social web, admiration for Hitler is growing stronger and stronger. Blog posts with titles like "Why I like Hitler" are popping up every day, and an increasingly greater share of young Chinese are choosing to express their nationalism by voicing support for Hitler.

The reality
To a cosmopolitan audience, it should go without saying that the rumors of Hitler's Chinese upbringing have no grounding in history or fact. Nonetheless, for the benefit of my Chinese comrades who do not see the obvious falsity, I would like to take a moment to dispel the rumors and explain the reality of Hitler's relationship with China.

Hitler was not raised by Chinese people. Hitler lived with his parents until roughly the age of 15, whereupon he moved to Vienna. His years alone in Vienna are detailed in Chapter II of his memoirs, Mein Kampf.  Nowhere in the chapter is there any mention of a Chinese family.

The word "China" doesn't even appear in the text, nor do the words "Chinese", "Zhang" or "Cheung". There is absolutely no indication that Hitler had any meaningful contact with Chinese people in his youth.

Hitler did not admire Chinese people. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Hitler regarded Chinese as an inferior race. Many Chinese bloggers are quick to point out that Hitler once said, "The Chinese people are not the same as the Huns and Tartars, who dressed in leather, they are a special race; they are a civilized race."

This quotation only stands for the proposition that Hitler considered the Chinese to be higher on the racial totem pole than Mongolians, but it says nothing about where they rank overall. In fact, Hitler believed that Aryans were the only "culture-creating race", while the Chinese and Japanese were merely "culture-bearing".

Hitler viewed the Chinese people as an inferior race, and actually blamed them for many of the world's problems
. For more information, see The racial state: Germany, 1933-1945 by Michael Burleigh.

Hitler did not support China in World War II. China's principal support in World War II came from the United States. In 1941, the American Air Force created a special squadron called the Flying Tigers (fei hu) to fly covert missions over East Asia to defend the Republic of China against Japanese incursions.


As a descendent of someone who served with the Flying Tigers, I am deeply proud of the support that America provided to the Chinese people. China also received material support from Great Britain and the Soviet Union. China did not receive any support from the Nazi regime. There is an extensive historical literature on this topic. For further information, see Hitler's Foreign Policy 1933-1939: The Road to World War II by Gerhard L Weinberg.

Hitler did not endeavor to share power with China. There is not the slightest shred of historical evidence to suggest that Hitler entertained any such notion. On the contrary, Hitler delivered China into the hands of its arch-nemesis, Japan. And even then, Hitler only reluctantly accepted the notion of Asian sovereignty over East Asia.

The reason
How did the Chinese Internet generation come to acquire this sense of sympathy for Hitler, and why are they so readily prepared to believe rumors that are so obviously false?

In 2007, Chinese author Song Hongbing published a book called The Currency War. It was a hodge-podge of anti-Semitic conspiracies about how the Jews control the money supply and manipulate world events in order to grow their fortunes.
When the global economy ground to a halt in 2008, The Currency War shot to the top of the Chinese best-seller list, and Chinese bookstores couldn't keep enough copies on the shelf.

Aside from this incident, however, China is not often associated with anti-Semitism.

Indeed, according to several Beijing college students interviewed for this article, the word "Hitler" does not evoke images of anti-Semitism or genocide, but rather, strong leadership and nationalism. They say that they admire Hitler for his ability to unify his country and restore it to a position of respect in the international arena.

According to them, conditions in China today are similar to the conditions in Weimar Germany that brought Hitler to power: crippling inflation, wounded national pride and a perception of rivals around every corner. It may come as a surprise to many Westerners to learn that young Chinese actually feel stifled by a lack of economic opportunity.

Westerners often focus myopically on the growth rate of China's gross domestic product (GDP), which is roughly 9% per year. While this is an important indicator of prosperity, it must be considered in tandem with other important metrics, such as inflation and the increasing cost of residential real estate.

China's consumer price index rose 5% in the first quarter of 2011. This means that the effective real growth rate in GDP was only 4%. On top of that, the cost of real estate in many cities is growing at 20% per year. Considering these numbers, put yourself in the shoes of the average recent college graduate in a city like Shanghai.

You make a decent income, but you can't afford to make a down payment on a piece of real estate, so you rent for a few years. But because the price of real estate is growing many times faster as the overall economy, the longer you wait, the less you can afford to buy. And in Chinese culture, if you can't afford a home, you can't start a family, and so forth.

Appreciating this economic angst brings us one step closer to comprehending the admiration that the Chinese Internet generation feels for Hitler: they crave a strong leader to lift them out of their economic woes. But aren't there other strong leaders in history to choose from? Why not choose a leader whose reputation is unsullied by the stains of aggression? At this point, nobody really knows. While it's not clear why they have chosen Hitler as their rallying cry, what is certain is that this affinity for Hitler will have a detrimental impact on China's ambition of foreign relations.

The repercussions
The most immediate impact of the Hitler phenomenon will be felt in Japan. For decades, the Chinese government has demanded that Tokyo revise its high school history curriculum in order to reflect the full horrors that the Japanese military visited upon Nanjing during World War II.

This demand has been one of the largest and most persistent friction points in Sino-Japanese relations. If it turns out that China's own history curriculum lacks adequate coverage of the horrors that the German military inflicted upon European Jewry, the Chinese government will lose the moral high ground and appear completely disingenuous in its relations with Tokyo.

The Hitler phenomenon will also have a negative impact on China's relations with its continental neighbors. Countries like India and Vietnam are already concerned about Beijing's military buildup, which has seen double-digit increases for each of the past five years.

When they discover that the most popular personality among young Chinese is a man best known for expansionism, their sense of suspicion will flare, and they will invest a greater share of societal resources in preparing for confrontation. This response may have a paradoxical effect of further stoking the flames of Chinese nationalism and increasing tensions around the borders.

The most consequential effect of the Hitler phenomenon, however, will undoubtedly be felt on China's relationship with Washington. The Chinese foreign policy establishment expends considerable resources in Washington to promote the idea of "China's peaceful rise", a form of exceptionalism which holds that China's rise to power will be free of armed conflict.

Due to the overwhelming weight of historical authority against it, the peaceful rise theory has gained only limited traction inside the beltway. But when the engineers of America's foreign policy discover that young Chinese idolize the most famous aggressor in history, the peaceful rise theory will lose all credibility, and those who seek to paint China as a threat to American interests will be emboldened.

The resolution
Immediate action must be taken to educate Chinese youth on the truth about World War II and show them how critically history has judged the rule of Hitler.

As a first step, Kaixin should remove the inflammatory post and issue a public correction of facts. Just as Facebook ultimately realized that it had a public security duty to remove a page calling for the "third intifada", [5] so too Kaixin must realize that as one of the largest media outlets in China, it cannot tolerate expressions of support for proponents of aggression.

Second, the Chinese Ministry of Education should conduct a thorough review of the history curriculum taught in Chinese high schools in order to make sure that its treatment of World War II is in line with international academic standards.

Finally, relevant Jewish organizations, from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the United States Holocaust Museum, should engage with Chinese partners, such as the Shanghai Center for Jewish Studies and the Sino-Judaic Institute, to promote Holocaust education and awareness of modern genocide.

Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist George Santayana taught that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The only thing more lamentable than repeating history because we failed to learn from our mistakes would be repeating history because others failed to learn from them.


By Richard Komaiko