The Official No Need To Start a New Thread, Thread

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by mikemhg

^LOL I don't live at home, but don't worry he's cool. He has Asian friends, he's not a racist or anything, he's just come obsessed about China's initiatives in Africa, feeling that it's exploitive.

He preferred the British being there because he felt they made an attempt to bring structure and governance to the country, where as the Chinese could give a flying fuck about any of that crap.

I mean, he's not wrong Mike. China's entry into Africa is fully exploitative - Africa is basically the major last untapped continent, there's so much resources available that haven't been touched yet due to corruption, mismanagement, remoteness etc. China wants to colonize Africa but in a much more subtle way than the Europeans did, and with much less actual on the ground boots/structure.

[donk.]

China says they are boosting Africa's economy, when in reality they are trying to bankrupt Africa

-China gives a loan to Africa for infrastructure upgrades
-Africa approves build plans
-Money goes right back into Chinese companies
-China brings in their own workers

Now Africa is in debt to China, they usually default on the loan, and there is usually a greasy clause that states China will own X or Y on default of loan

At least someone corrupt in the government makes a nice payday in Africa, everyone else in Africa loses out

On top of that, all of these infrastructure plans are to help build Chinas "Silk Road". Nothing to do with "let's help africa".

Chinas initiatives in Africa, amongst other countries, is heavily exploitive

Then again, every country is guilty on some level, in some form, of being a shitty country. Same goes for humans no matter where you are

[whitev70r]

^ definition of Economic colonialism ...

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by donk.

China says they are boosting Africa's economy, when in reality they are trying to bankrupt Africa

-China gives a loan to Africa for infrastructure upgrades
-Africa approves build plans
-Money goes right back into Chinese companies
-China brings in their own workers

Now Africa is in debt to China, they usually default on the loan, and there is usually a greasy clause that states China will own X or Y on default of loan

At least someone corrupt in the government makes a nice payday in Africa, everyone else in Africa loses out

On top of that, all of these infrastructure plans are to help build Chinas "Silk Road". Nothing to do with "let's help africa".

Chinas initiatives in Africa, amongst other countries, is heavily exploitive

Then again, every country is guilty on some level, in some form, of being a shitty country. Same goes for humans no matter where you are

Yea I was gonna post somthing along the same line but didn’t have the energy lol

I watch some YouTubers who travel a lot in Africa and they visit some hella poor countries or places where you either live in a corrugated steel shack or a mansion, and China had come into these places and built crazy infrastructure but the guy who is the YouTubers guide there is like “no one ever thought we needed this bridge” etc.

Russia is doing the same thing

But then I think to one of my best friends parents who lived in Africa (The DRC) for 6 years running a eucalyptus mill for a French company.

Like, is that any better? Maybe because it provides into the local economy but it’s kindA the same thing

[CivicBlues]

I mean read what the Belgians did to the Congo (Now the DRC) in the 19th Century. That's some real fucked up shit right there, kinda explains why they're in the situation they're in today.

What you guys are describing the "debt-trap diplomacy" in conjunction Belt and Road initiative (not the silk road, i mean that shit's been around for a millenia) has sorta been debunked in recent years. Basically it's rich people fucking over poor people:

The Chinese ‘Debt Trap’ Is a Myth

China, we are told, inveigles poorer countries into taking out loan after loan to build expensive infrastructure that they can’t afford and that will yield few benefits, all with the end goal of Beijing eventually taking control of these assets from its struggling borrowers. As states around the world pile on debt to combat the coronavirus pandemic and bolster flagging economies, fears of such possible seizures have only amplified.

Seen this way, China’s internationalization—as laid out in programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative—is not simply a pursuit of geopolitical influence but also, in some tellings, a weapon. Once a country is weighed down by Chinese loans, like a hapless gambler who borrows from the Mafia, it is Beijing’s puppet and in danger of losing a limb.

The prime example of this is the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota. As the story goes, Beijing pushed Sri Lanka into borrowing money from Chinese banks to pay for the project, which had no prospect of commercial success. Onerous terms and feeble revenues eventually pushed Sri Lanka into default, at which point Beijing demanded the port as collateral, forcing the Sri Lankan government to surrender control to a Chinese firm.

The Trump administration pointed to Hambantota to warn of China’s strategic use of debt: In 2018, former Vice President Mike Pence called it “debt-trap diplomacy”—a phrase he used through the last days of the administration—and evidence of China’s military ambitions. Last year, erstwhile Attorney General William Barr raised the case to argue that Beijing is “loading poor countries up with debt, refusing to renegotiate terms, and then taking control of the infrastructure itself.”

As Michael Ondaatje, one of Sri Lanka’s greatest chroniclers, once said, “In Sri Lanka a well-told lie is worth a thousand facts.” And the debt-trap narrative is just that: a lie, and a powerful one.

...

The notion of “debt-trap diplomacy” casts China as a conniving creditor and countries such as Sri Lanka as its credulous victims. On a closer look, however, the situation is far more complex. China’s march outward, like its domestic development, is probing and experimental, a learning process marked by frequent adjustment. After the construction of the port in Hambantota, for example, Chinese firms and banks learned that strongmen fall and that they’d better have strategies for dealing with political risk. They’re now developing these strategies, getting better at discerning business opportunities and withdrawing where they know they can’t win. Still, American leaders and thinkers from both sides of the aisle give speeches about China’s “modern-day colonialism.”

And just to get your tin foil hat on, Honda. There's a JUSTIN connection via his favorite Quebec based company:

It was the Canadian International Development Agency—not China—that financed Canada’s leading engineering and construction firm, SNC-Lavalin, to carry out a feasibility study for the port. We obtained more than 1,000 pages of documents detailing this effort through a Freedom of Information Act request. The study, concluded in 2003, confirmed that building the port at Hambantota was feasible, and supporting documents show that the Canadians’ greatest fear was losing the project to European competitors. SNC-Lavalin recommended that it be undertaken through a joint-venture agreement between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and a “private consortium” on a build-own-operate-transfer basis, a type of project in which a single company receives a contract to undertake all the steps required to get such a port up and running, and then gets to operate it when it is.

[sonick]

lol it's funny to think that its very likely on some instinctual level China doing this shit to fuck over African countries is motivated by jealousy over BBC and mandingos.

[winson604]

Anyone have recommendations on a cheaper option to replace a flip key for a 2010 Acura? The dealership wants like over $300 for a new key that shits highway robbery right there.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Originally Posted by sonick

lol it's funny to think that its very likely on some instinctual level China doing this shit to fuck over African countries is motivated by jealousy over BBC and mandingos.

[donk.]

Anyone know someone in Houston TX?

Looking to pick something up off the C7 forums, only other option is PayPal.....

Inbox me if so please

[sonick]

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG

Lol I deserve that.

[whitev70r]

Damn ...things are getting really serious. Premier declared BC a state of Emergency!

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by quasi

Lol, yeah he's got other ones as well like NBA Jam, NHL Open Ice, NFL Blitz, his issue is space.

he should try to add time crisis 1 for his collection

[Traum]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

What you guys are describing the "debt-trap diplomacy" in conjunction Belt and Road initiative (not the silk road, i mean that shit's been around for a millenia) has sorta been debunked in recent years. Basically it's rich people fucking over poor people:

I'd disagree with the Atlantic's suggestion that China's debt-trap diplomacy has been debunked. It is very much still an attempt at debt-trap diplomacy by China. It's just that due to the nature of certain African country's inherent instability, China has at times been bitten by the very same country they try to debt-trap when the new strongman refuses to recognize the debt incurred by the previous administration.

The Atlantic is correct though, that it is something China has continued to expand, explore, and refine. And they have been getting better at it. On the other hand, as China's own economy is heading fast towards a down turn, they have had far less money dedicated to the BRI (Belt & Road Initiative) nowadays than before.

[EvoFire]

I've been reading and listening to articles that are saying that the B&R initiative has stalled the last two years through covid as China was grappling with their economy and lock downs, and also being burnt by some countries as they refused to recognize the debt like you said. It's not worked out the way that they had hoped

[SkinnyPupp]

Everyone has probably seen my post in the pet forum.. I don't want to bump that so I'll just say here that Jett has come home!



He is pretty beat up but he's very much himself, talking constantly, standing by me in the kitchen but mostly resting in a box

Thanks everyone for your support! 2 weeks of hell, I had to just let it all out. When I found out he's coming home I couldn't help but to cry

[sonick]

Guy trying every item at duffins donuts and documenting it

Twitter

Fuck I miss going to duffins late night.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by sonick

Guy trying every item at duffins donuts and documenting it

https://twitter.com/Samuel9560/statu...99729739051008

Fuck I miss going to duffins late night.

I read through most of his ratings and I agree with him on the ones I've eaten - the teriyaki chicken and honey dip are great (among others).

[winson604]

Originally Posted by sonick

Guy trying every item at duffins donuts and documenting it

https://twitter.com/Samuel9560/statu...99729739051008

Fuck I miss going to duffins late night.

I miss it more when it was located at Main and 33rd and I'd go and see the viet sisters working.

[MG1]

Diet Coke spotted at Superstore on Grandview Hwy. I purchased the last two fridge mates or whatever they call them tucked way back behind the Coke Zero. They also had the 6x710 mL, but way too expensive. I'm good for awhile.

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by MG1

Diet Coke spotted at Superstore on Grandview Hwy. I purchased the last two fridge mates or whatever they call them tucked way back behind the Coke Zero. They also had the 6x710 mL, but way too expensive. I'm good for awhile.

Is there a short supply of these? They're readily available at Tsawwassen Walmart.

[MG1]

There was a time they were nowhere to be found because of the strike at Coca Cola. I guess they shipped them over from some god forsaken plant in buttfuck nowhere.

Nothing at any Costco in the Lower Mainland and beyond. Only Edmonton had a dozen.......... like what?


It is a strike, so Costco probably honours the strike and are not bringing any in. The weird thing is, Coke Zero and Regular Coke is everywhere.


LOL, Walmart........... those guys probably don't give a shit. There's money to be made.

[underscore]

I don't know the specifics of the strike but I think it's just the Richmond plant, the one in Calgary is owned by the same group and is still operating.

[supafamous]

Paging Badhobz....

I was at the Metrotown T&T today and there's a lady of non-Chinese descent working the till - I think she was Middle Eastern, maybe Mediterranean. Wild.

Some day, but not today, we'll have non-old Chinese ladies here doing stuff like making dim sum, wonton, and bao.

[jcmaz]

lol i went to get Chinese mango dessert (Hui Lau San) in Richmond the other night and was greeted by a Caucasian guy. Me *surprised pikachu face* Seemed like he enjoyed it tho

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Paging Badhobz....

I was at the Metrotown T&T today and there's a lady of non-Chinese descent working the till - I think she was Middle Eastern, maybe Mediterranean. Wild.

Some day, but not today, we'll have non-old Chinese ladies here doing stuff like making dim sum, wonton, and bao.

What the….. must resist urge to go gawk.