Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life.
Covid “information and the unvaccinated
A man whose unvaccinated wife died of covid was interviewed on the news tonight. He said she believed anti-vaccine "information" she got on social media."This came from people who never took high school science," he said.
Mid autumn moon festival – big harvest holiday in China
11 of the 29 people who liked my Facebook post about the Chinese mid autumn moon festival are Americans, the rest are Chinese or Taiwanese.
Peter Thiel’s $5 billion IRA
For reasons that are too complicated for me to understand, current tax law allows people to put huge amounts of stock they own into their IRA. Peter Thiel has an IRA worth $5 billion. Democrats are now proposing changing this provision so that Ira accounts can be returned to their original purpose of helping with retirement income for ordinary people.
$15 minimum wage without a new law
An article in business week notes that many big companies, such as Walmart, target, and Amazon, are starting entry level new employees at $15 an hour or more. They say we will be getting a $15 minimum wage without legislation.
Covid deaths and 1918 flu
Covid has now killed as many people in the US as the 1918 flu pandemic – though population was much smaller then.
Taiwanese conservatives and Communist Chinese love each other
An article in the South China morning post reports that the leading candidate for the next head of Taiwan's opposition KMT party is a very strong supporter of unification with China. The pro-China nature of the KMT is ironic to say the least. This is the conservative, pro-business party in Taiwan, compared with the liberal governing party DPP . And it is the party of Chiang kai- shek, who' was defeated by the Communists decades ago. Today the Chinese Communist party loves them.
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei supports pro-democracy fighters in Hong Kong
The renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, currently in exile in Germany, has expressed support for democracy protesters in Hong-Kong. "The authoritarian regime will not be able to erase their glory."
Angela Merkel and welcoming refugees – the new Germany
There is a touching story in The Times today about Syrian refugees in Germany who came in 2015 and named their children after Angela Merkel, who allowed their entry into Germany. The Times calls it "perhaps the most consequential moment of her 16 years in power." During that refugee crisis, Germany let in more refugees than any other country in Europe. Another reminder of a nation with a terrible past that has today become so very humane and tolerant.
Hong Kong’s fake “election”
A grand total of under 2000 individuals were eligible to vote in this weekend's Hong-Kong "election," out of a population of 7.5 million. The other 3000 who made up the tiny electorate were not individuals but representatives of fascist-like "functional" organizations, mostly businesses and associations of Hong-Kong people living in China.
Fox News and mask mandates
As many of my Facebook friends know, I watch Fox every morning before 7:00 a.m. It is amazing the extent to which mask mandates have become one of their very top themes.
Chinese used to be assigned jobs when they graduated from college
I am reading in John Pomfret's book about being a American student in China in the early 1980s about the day all the college seniors were assigned their job for after they graduated. I am guessing very few Americans are aware that until the 1990s the government assigned people their jobs rather than people applying for jobs as in the West. If you realize this, and that it doesn't exist anymore, I think you are more appreciative of advances that China has made towards a more decent society since then.