About This Commie Thing - Part 3/What Are They Doing About It?

At the moment, the government is exercising the policy of one-child per family (Chinese Population). According to this policy, a couple can only have one child in their entire life. In the rural area if the first child is a girl then parents are allowed to have another child but after that no more will be permitted. According to the government, the one-child policy has been very effective in reducing the population of the country. It prevented 250 million births since 1980. Some predictions also suggest that the current population of 1.26 billion would make around 1.6 billion in 2050, which will be a great achievement for the government (The One-Child Policy).
Although these statistics might seem amazing and effective, that they are, the policies have other dangerous 'side effects', as the Chinese people prefer having a boy over a girl, the one-child policy forces them to dump the newly born girls on the streets or kill them, so they can have a boy, who would continue the family tradition. Millions of baby-girls have been killed in Beijing since 1980 (The One-Child Policy). It is such a harsh piece of reality that no one who cares about humanity would just stand and watch. Yet no action is taken to stop the Chinese government from forcing these policies upon the public (China Studies).

About This Commie Thing - Part 2/Why Is This So Bad?

China doesn't have a balanced male and female proportion which could result in future problems. There are many people living in rural areas where there is not as much law enforcement as in urban areas, making it difficult for the government to force its population controlling policies. By age, at the moment, it is looking balanced as there are more people who are in the age to do jobs and make money for their young ones and old parents; however, the government still has to keep an eye on this and make sure it stays that way (China Studies).
Another major reason to eliminate the overpopulation problem is because it is hurting the country's economy. To support such a big population the country needs more money to feed the people and to establish its new programs. However, if we see some of the benefits of overpopulation, one of them is that China's population attracts many other multi-national companies to set up their businesses in the most populous country. For example, industries like Coke, Motorola, and Volkswagen are big companies that make large amounts of money internationally, and they bring large finances to the country. So, this is probably the only good overpopulation does for China, financially and the country can make some money out of these famous western firms (Chinese Economics).
Overpopulation also has its drawbacks in economics. Earlier in the 1960's it was good to have such a population increase and as the government of 1940's predicted, the population brought finance to the country making the money available for various projects. Mainly these projects consisted of heavy industrialization which did not do much good to the population (China). The situation in China right now is not very good. People are vying for more food, fresh water, and electricity. Although these resources are available in major cities but in rural areas, which makes up for about 71% of population, there is a great lack of these assets (Overpopulation).

About This Commie Thing - Part 1/How Did The Population Get Out of Control?

China's population started to increase dramatically after World War II. In 1949, Mao encouraged Chinese families to have as many children as possible. This is because the government thought the population increase would bring money to the country and help China produce more food, build a better army, develop water control, and establish communication systems (Chinese Population). For the next ten years China's population increased in millions every year. In 1949 the population was around 118 million, which increased to 540 million in 1960's. In 1970 the population increased again by 290 million, making it a massive increase of 712 million in just 20 years (Issue of Overpopulation).

Until then, check out this link to my online photo album! http://www.flickr.com/photos/dossman/collections/72157606900995203/ CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO....Crazy son!

What Kind of Sport is THAT!!!!??? (Olympics is about excellence)...Sports? What exactly is a sport? sport |spôrt| noun 1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment For years I would ask myself,"why the heck is trampoline or synchronized swimming or air pistol an olympic sport? What is that?? I had a hard time acknowledging these competitions as true sports. After seeing such awe inspiring sportsmanship between countries and most of all the people of China, I must say that its so much deeper than what I think is real sport or not. The Olympic Games is a celebration of excellence. Every four years we gather in a common place (this year, Beijing, next time, London) to promote global unity & sportsmanship though athletic competition. We gather together to see who is the best in the world at this time, in this event/sport. It is a time to celebrate ones pursuit of excellence, no matter what your event. Whatever the event, we will see who is the best in the world at it! That's an incredible energy/vibe to witness. I don't care if your event is basket weaving (and yes I have come to grips that if that becomes an olympic sport, I'm cool with it), if you are the best in the world at it, heck if you are the best in the entire world at ANYTHING, you get my respect! No matter the sport or event, all adopt the same general principles to attain greatness. Hard work, dedication, self-sacrifice, determination, discipline, and patience are all necessary to be the best. I have to respect all sports this week. We get to watch the end result of all those principles at the Olympics every four years. So God bless table tennis!

Dr. You Know Who You Are! (sizing me up?) Its funny how these doctors out here like to try to size me up. They probably wonder why I work with all the people that I work with. They rarely say anything too me until I self introduce. Then the questions come. How do you practice? (They wanna know what techniques I use or how I could potentially be better than them) Where do you practice? (Is he close to me? Should I be concerned? Do I have competition?) Who are you here with? (Let's name drop shall we?) I try to keep it short and refuse to name drop. I'd rather them see me working on that person. But do you know what really kicks em in the pants? When I tell them that I don't really do track. Football is my specialty (college and pro). I am just here because "so and so" is one of my actual patients at my office (most of them don't see the athletes regularly). These guys typically finance their own trips and set up their table at the event and invoice the athlete's agent after the meet (hoping to break even if they work on twenty five people about three times, but at least be cool enough to work the pro track circuit...whatever man). I know who the good guys are. I know who is paid and who is volunteer. I know who you are man. I know your athlete. He actually likes working with me but when my athletes tried to get him to join in their group to bring me to China, his agent said that he hates spending money. So I have no doubt that you paid for your own trip, BUDDY (I won't say your name). I also know that you live in a different state than he does. Anyways, I'm not intimidated by you, Mr. Elderly Gentleman with the Eye Spectacles and Uniform. I'd just prefer to talk about the Lakers acquisition of that 6'9" point guard from China! Do you know how huge that line up will be next season with Bynum in the mix!!! Crazy! Why do we have to have the spitting contest everytime I meet one of you guys? I had another one size me up as well, but I plan on turning him into a solid network contact (so I will spare him on this one).

Picking a Blade of Grass I was having dinner discussion with some Rowers from the US team. We had agreed that because of the population, everything was overstaffed. People could only stand or sit around with nothing to do. There were so many jobs that were shared by 3-5 people on the same shift! One guy said that when he would go to any venue to watch a game or a match, he would give his ticket and at least three different people would look at it! Another told me that he watched this man off in a field near their rowing competition. He stared for a while and came to the conclusion that the man was plucking grass blades, separating the tall ones and leaving the shorter. The guys laughed and said,"I wanted to go up to him and say, hey buddy, you know there is now a machine that will do that for you. It's called a lawn mower!" LOL.

I climbed the Great Wall of China today!!! I'll tell you more when I slow down. I have some nice video for you to see that say more than I could ever type. Just check em out. It was "incredible" (LL Cool voice/licking lips...Haha Shida). There was a group of 18 of us and only two of us (including myself) elected to walk out way up the wall (instead of taking ski lifts up). Hilarious! You gotta watch the footage. I will add a link to my Flickr online photo album so that you can see the breathtaking shots that I got. Many had "screensaver potential"! :) Gotta go, Shawn races tonight. Pray for a medal. Any medal! USA is doing bad in track this year. I'm claiming it!!! 

"Common courtesy? For what? Common courtesies only slow you down and they are common courtesy if they are common. That means that everyone else is doing it too! 1.3 billion people? We will be here all day son! Get in where you fit in! Merge man merge! Beep beep beeeeeeeeeep!!! Social graces? For whaaaaaaaaaat? Who has that kinda time? And who made those rules? That stuff is all about another man's comfort. Making sure that someone else is comfortable. Sorry. Why would I be concerned about you and your comfort?? 1.3 billion man! You're kidding right? It's HOT! And humid! I hate humidity. I need some space, so back up! Maybe if I cough/sneeze open mouthed, I can make a little room for myself. Shucks! That didn't work! Maybe I'll pick my nose and rub booger on something or just shut one nostril and blow it out where ever it lands. Dang that didn't work! Ok I'm gonna start hocking up lewggies and spitting as I talk annoyingly loud on my cell phone. No??? Ok then, yo made me do it. You're in trouble now. Watch out! I'm squatting now! Pants around my ankles. I'm pushin...wait a minute...what are you doing down here? Stop blowing cigarette smoke in my face! What are you doing down here for anyways? How is it that we are face to face? Oh no! Aaaand you are smoking at the same time? Man that take talent!! Say, what's your name baby??"

I miss my Little Man. I can't believe he is a year old (he looks about 3)!! I will see you soon "Q". Someday you will read this blog and think, "Wow, Daddy was doing some big things!" You are one of the reasons I am journaling out here. Someday you will read this and understand it all. Maybe you will even learn a few things here. I love you "Q". Be nice to Mommy (with all them teeth). Dude! You're huge!

Taxi Cab Confessions: Things I've Observed

Most of the drivers smoke in their car and put out their cigarette just before they pick you up....sooo most of the taxis reek of smoke. Though they drive wild, none of these guys ever wear a seatbelt! What I find to be interesting is that whenever we drive by a patrolman/cop, they all grab their seat belts and pull them across their chest just to create the apprearance of wearing it. They still won't connect it (or put it on)! I have never seen a stop sign or even a yield sign since I have been here! This is why the intersections are sooo crazy out here! All of the taxis are either Hyundai Elantras and Volkswagon Jettas (and are stick shifts). All of the drivers pull up their emergency brake whenever we stop the car. It seems like they pull it up a little pre maturely so that it jerks us to a stop. Drivers like to spit out the window. I'm going to hurt someone if the wind blows anything back at me. I'm so serious. That's really gross. I like to listen to my music on my iPhone while in the taxi. I feel like I'm riding with a soundtrack to my life. Good music makes me feel at home even way out here in Beijing. It feels like I'm in a movie or a music video. I can tell my last driver was suffering from indigestion. He kept having those nasty bad breath burps and would not cover up his mouth!! Honk! It's nothin'! Drivers out here use their horn as simply a way to communicate,"Hey buddy, be careful I'm right here next to you, nothing personal though!" LOL. I am sure I'm not right on the money but it's definitely nothing personal or anything done out of frustration (like many of us are so guilty of).

COMMUNICATION 101: Universal Language Even though the language barrier can be highly frustrating, there are certain things that seem to work no matter where I go. Somethings just work everywhere you go. 1. A Smile- everybody knows that the smile is a positive thing. It's contagious and accepted everywhere (unlike this credit card that shall remain nameless). 2. The Ice Grill (mean mug or frown)- People know when you are upset, when you are. 3. The Head Nod (up/down, left/right, and the nod) 4. "NO": seems to work everywhere I go! 5. Texture or tone in your voice 6. A smack to the face- that'll wake em up! *Can you think of anymore?

I figured it out! Why does it still seem congested on the roads even though only half of the cars are NOT on the road? Maybe because there are still 1.3 BILLION people here in China!! In America we have about 300 million, but China has that too, plus a billion!!!! Okay okay, thats not my amazing discovery. The reason is because of that OLYMPIC lane I mentions earlier! That lane is like a carpool lane. Its the fastlane "official" vehicles. You just took away an entire lane? Thats just like when the cops block off a lane after a motor vehicle accident! You cause a traffic slowdown with that.

SOUVENIRS: Way Too Much Stress (SORRY) I'm sorry but this whole souvenir thing is for the birds and its getting old really quick. Everywhere I go, I have to go shopping? I hate shopping! If I'm out of the country, I have to actually make time to find my way to some shopping center in that city. I can think of better things to do. What about sizes? Things fit differently in different countries. I can't buy it and return it if it doesn't fit. How about that knock off iPhone? What do I do if it works just fine until I get home? What if you don't like what I got you but you fake it because you know I hate shopping but went out of my way to get this for you? Why not just cut it out!? What really sucks is that the airport carries quite a bit of tourist stuff/souvenirs, but we all know that that stuff is so overpriced. What if you have a big family? What if you own a business and have almost ten people working for you and you don't want to play favorites, so you gotta get everybody something. Now I have to think of what to get each individual and how not to get one person something better than the other person. Got church family? Good luck with that! I've decided that I travel too much to be bothered with this everytime. My family and office team is big enough to just not want to bother. I hope people understand the headache. If not, well you know I don't really care. I'm tired of it and will limit my souvenirs to keychains and refrigerator magnets (if you're lucky)!

DOGGONE (off the menu)!!!! I read that there would be no dog on the menu here at any local restaurants during the Olympic games. I'm not disappointed but that would have been an experience to see it on a menu. I'd probably take a picture and post it here. Well I'm happy that they are putting their best foot forward, but should they be ashamed of this if its normal here? A friend of mine seems to think that I shouldn't consider dog eating as "disgusting" but rather another country's culture. She went on to say that things we do in our culture might be disgusting to them as well (i.e. western style toilet seats). PLEASE! Disgusting is disgusting. A pig is a nasty filthy animal. I don't care where you live, what your religion, or your cultural background. That animal eats "doo doo" and doesn't sweat (mode of waste elimination)!!! Gross! Tastes great if cooked right, but disgusting nonetheless! She said,"Yeah well some countries won't eat beef." Yes! This is true. Apples and oranges buddy. They don't eat them for either religion reasons or they believe in reincarnation and they fear eating their relative, not because its a filthy animal! Dogs are man's best friend, not man's favorite dish. I think it was an issue of me NOT being very tolerant or open minded as I should be. I strongly disagree. If I can accept dog eating, does this make me more culturally sensitive/open minded? Or does it mean that I'm just "down for whatever"? I think the latter. NOTE: Though its off the menu, I have yet to see a stray dog out here.

COMMUNISM & Sports (Is it FAIR?)

What kind of question is this? Fair? If a government decides that it wants to prioritize Olympic sports and fully fund the athletics program of its country, good for them! I'm no hater. They have a pool of 1.2 billion people! If you can check kids out at age five and scientifically determine which sport that child will have a higher inclination to excel, then take them away from their families/lives to train them up until Olympic age, 24/7 eat and sleep and bleed that sport, so be it! Yeah I feel a little sorry for those kids, but in a communist society, is an athlete the worst job to have? I would just feel sorry if they choose a sport for you that you don't even like! What if I love basketball but they decide that I'm built for table tennis! I hate table tennis! What is that about? And doubles table tennis? What? And they have time outs and coaches! And I'm back. Imagine hating table tennis but getting hardcore training from the age of 5 til you retire in sport! Well I guess I can't feel too bad. How many of YOU hate your job and will probably work it until retirement (if you get to retire)? At least you haven't been working it since you were 5!!!

In a pool of 1.2 billion, you are going to find some talent. In a commie society, you will find "willing" participants (unlike in the U.S. where we can chose to play a sport that we have absolutely no business playing). They have over 12,000 professional athletes here in China. Out of those, only 650 of them get to represent their country in the Olympics. They should absolutely be dominating the medal count in every Olympic game!

So why do the United States always give everyone a run for their money? Why will we possibly still end up on top of the medal count when all is said and done? Is "free will" and "love of sport" a better motivator for greatness than "forced repetition of sports fundamentals for eventual technical excellence"? I think so. What do you think?