Barbarians, a Matter of Opinion

September 19, 2010

After I wrote Superior versus Civilized, which mentions that for millennia the Chinese considered everyone outside of the Middle Kingdom a barbarian, the subject stuck in my head.

Why?

As I researched the “Superior versus Civilized” post, I ran into Blogs where Westerners were calling the Chinese barbarians for a variety of reasons.

In this post, I will focus on the opinion in one Blog.


Warning, the images in this video are graphic and bloody.

The Blog, Animal Abuse in China, attempts building a case that the Chinese are barbarians in these words, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be determined by the way it treats its animal China tortures animals while little children laugh and cheer..Help the animals who cannot help themselves from this horrific life of torture. Thousands die daily from torture! WE MUST PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON CHINA!!”

I copied and pasted the “opinion” above as I found it. However, if that opinion were true, most nations are guilty.

Watch the YouTube videos to see what I mean.


Warning, the images in this video are graphic and bloody.

In fact, many of our neighbors are animal lovers but  still eat meat, and there is a lot of pain and suffering that takes place from feed lot to a sanitary package in a super market.

I don’t eat meat, but I’m not an animal lover. I don’t hate animals either. I’ve been a vegan since 1981. Imagine all the animals that didn’t suffer, because I stopped eating meat for health reasons.


Warning, the images in this video are graphic and bloody.

Let’s refer back to that opinion where it says, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be determined by the way it treats its animals.” 

If true, America and all Western nations are filled with barbarians.  Passing laws won’t change the behavior of people you might consider to be barbarians—wherever they live.

If you don’t believe that, study what happened in America during prohibition.

I’m going to borrow an “edited” sentence from Jesus Christ that says, Let the nation that has no guilt cast the first stone.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to this Blog, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | America, American culture, China, Chinese Culture, cultural differences | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

One Tough Mezzo-soprano from China

September 18, 2010

She describes herself as a girl from China who came to America with $45 and knowing two words of English, “Merry Christmas.”  Source: SFGate

When Zheng Cao burst onto the San Francisco Opera scene in 1995, she played Siebel in “Faust.” Since then, she’s performed in opera houses throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Today, an inspiration, the Shanghai-born Mezzo-soprano has defied the odds of surviving stage four lung cancer and a diagnoses that said she had six months to live.

More than a year ago, she received a death sentence when cancer was discovered to have spread through her body. Months later, she would learn that the rigorous treatment plan had dramatically reduced the cancer threat.

“This is the most impressive response I’ve seen in my life,” Dr. Rosenbaum said.

Zheng Cao’s tumors either had decreased in size, were no longer visible or no longer considered active.

To learn more about Zhen Cao’s journey, visit her Blog at Caring Bridge.org.

Zheng Cao holds degrees from the Shanghai Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music.

While studying, she worked as a singer on the Holland American cruise line where she met Troy Donahue in 1991.

Donahue said that “We were very serious, very committed to each other. It’s the greatest relationship I’ve ever had in my life.” Source: Troy Donahue at encore4.net

Zheng Cao and Troy Donahue were engaged until his death in 2001. She turned 44 on June 9, 2010.

See China’s Got Talent Too

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to this Blog, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | America, China, Chinese women, disabilities, health care | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Business is a Global War

September 18, 2010

Like war, running a successful business is a challenge. To win, you cannot be merciful and give your competition the edge in price or quality.

If you read or listen to the media or Blogosphere in the U.S., it sounds as if China is the only country that is unfair in business.

However, there’s much that goes on most Westerners never hear or admit.

For example, the U.S. might be China’s biggest customer but that only represents about 18% of what China sells to the world.

In fact, Suite 101 listed a decline for Chinese 2009 global exports, which was estimated to be $1.19 trillion (in U.S. Dollars), and China imported $922 billion worth of products from other countries, down 18.5% from 2008.

Matthew Knight for CNN reported that Business is war, learn from the battlefield….

It seems that a few U.S. businesses may be listening and learning – at least the survivors, who are too busy counting profits.

According to the China Law Blog, several U.S. companies that manufacture in the U.S. and export to China dropped prices as high as 70% when a Chinese company started to compete by selling similar products.

When that happened, the Chinese companies had trouble competing because the prices of the U.S. equipment were dropped well below the prices set by domestic manufacturers in China.

After all, isn’t all fair in love, war and business and to the victor the spoils.

When U.S. once manufactured and sold more than 90% of U.S. cars globally, we didn’t hear GM, Ford or Chrysler complaining about the competition because they were the winners – now some Americans complain. 

Isn’t that the same as being a bad sport?

“It is a well-known fact that 80% of small businesses fail each year in the United States…. One key reason is that many people…have no idea what they’re getting into”. Source: Googobits.com

See Doing Business in China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to this Blog, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | America, business, capitalism, China, economy | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Limited Resources

September 18, 2010

There is a limit to the resources that support our modern consumer societies.

According to the Deccan Chronicle, “proven reserves of uranium will last less than 30 years.”

Science 2.0 asks, “When Will We Run Out of Fossil Fuels?”

There are many numbers in the Science 2.0 post.  What I’m quoting will be the “Arguably reasonable projections”, which is an estimate meaning that if they are wrong, we might run out sooner.

The earliest the world may run out of oil is about 2070 and the latest by 2105.

Natural gas depletion would be between 2061 and 2095.

For the end of coal, that estimate is between 2079 and 2155.

However, if nations like China and India continue to create the American lifestyle for as many as possible, those dates may be much shorter.

Sustainable Development says that water wars may be coming sooner. In case you haven’t heard, there is a growing shortage of fresh water in the world so this is another cause for concern.

End of the American Dream says we are close to a horrific global famine.

What happens when the resources that supports life as we know it cannot meet demands? Wars and much suffering!

See An Invasion of Fat

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to this Blog, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | American culture, China, environment, food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Careful Dreaming

September 17, 2010

Trying to understand our dreams is as old as history.

Three thousand years ago, Grandmaster Zhou Gong, who lived during the Zhou Dynasty, wrote the book of Auspicious and Inauspicious Dreams.

Freud-Sigmund.com says, Zhou Gong’s book “is a book that is commonplace in a lot of houses of Chinese people.” 

When someone wakes up and wants to know the meaning of a dream, he or she opens that book.

Zhou Gong wrote that there were seven dream categories. For example, if you dream of the sun or moon rising, your family will be prosperous, educated and have good jobs. 

However, if you dream of dirty clothing covered with mud, your wife’s pregnancy will be challenging.

This video is a short documentary about Chinese interpretations and the meanings of dreams in relation to past lives.

Selfgrowth.com has a post that goes into detail with examples of Zhou Gong’s categories.  The interpretations range from good luck to bad. 

There’s also a book on Chinese Medicine that has a section about how dreams help with a medical diagnosis. 

Sad dreams are due to a deficiency of ‘qi’ in the heart and liver or of ‘yin’ in the liver meaning, you might have liver disease and tuberculosis. Source: Absolutely Feng Shui

See Chinese Herbalism

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to this Blog, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, history | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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