Another Spy Story
Don’t look at me! My two boys are doing their part. They draw absurd salaries in programming and are married to Asians. No Chinese though. Both of them see outsourcing as a vastly over-rated threat.
At Loyola Graduation, every PhD. Grad in ComputerSci had an Asian name. They don’t blow themselves and innocent bystanders to hell. Same as with the Mexicans, if we can’t or don’t want to do the work they do, our fault.
Posted by Oink
11/16/2005 at 08:14 AM
Skipper this reminds me of the way Britain went to hell in a handcart after WW1. I think in many ways the country had been in decline from the turn of the century and a big factor was the lack of people training to be engineers or scientists. It was always more popular for the wealthy to become lawyers, bankers etc. than to be a “grubby engineer.”
Nowadays hardly any kids study science and mathematics. They prefer dross like social studies, media studies, and politics. I feel the rise in the numbers of qualifying lawyers is in direct proportion to the decline in a countries status.
The story above makes my blood boil. We all know the Chinese are hell bent on overtaking the US the question is will they succeed or will internal pressures tear them apart? I am all for hiring the best people to do a job but this case does look pretty suspect. The British government have had several cases recently involving “foreigners” people not born in Britain who now have British passports issuing passports to friends and family and anyone who would pay.
Good writing as always, LyndonB. Didn’t the BrainDrain used to be to the USA? Am I correct that the the UK ‘decline’ after WW1 was from 1. the beginning of the end of colonialism and 2. the hideous loss of a generation of young men & war expenditures.
Then the UK capped it off after WW2 by spiraling down into socialism. As always, a nation’s decline is seldom caused by tsunamis or volcanoes—they
it up all by themselves. (OINK turns his attention to his own country 
)
Posted by Oink
11/16/2005 at 08:42 AM
We arn’t catching 1/10 of these Chinese causing trouble in the US. My brother married a Chinese girl so I know. I have 2 little Chinese nephews, 3 and 7 years old. My Chinese sister-in-law is the boss of about 40 Americans. She says, “These Americans are so stupid it makes your eyes bleed.” She also calls hamburger, “Grounded beef.”
She is BrainWashing her boys to respect the older brother of their father. They have to call me a special name. I’m called Bok. Bok is like King in Chinese. She is my favorite sister-in-law. She says, “Bok can do no wrong.”
My youngest son at 12 years old said, “I’m going to marry a Chinese girl. They take off your socks for you.” He was wrong. In 2 weeks he will be getting hitched to a Morman. That’s another can of worms. I won’t tell my Chinese sister-in-law about your non-Chinese daughter-in-laws Oink. She is the biggest bigot I have ever met. You should hear what see says about Native Americans. I call them Pesky RedSkins and I’m nice compared to her.
Posted by Z Woof
11/16/2005 at 09:43 AM
I love my future daughter-in-law. She would never have an abortion.
The biggest relationship problems I have is with my wife. She is a Methodist. They are the worst, trust me. I ask her to take off my socks like my sweet Chinese sister-in-law does for my little brother and my wife always wants some kind of payment, in advance. Darn Methodist women. If you were to marry my wife OCM, trust me, you would be openin’ a can of worms. Worms with 8 heads and they all have VISA Cards.
Posted by Z Woof
11/16/2005 at 10:27 AM
ZW: I love it when my Thai Dau/law
refers to “husband” or “father-in-law”—without the word “my” in front of it. As in, “This is the Father-in-Law’s pile of crap”. 
OCM: When does it NOT? i.e. man + woman = can, worms
Posted by Oink
11/16/2005 at 10:27 AM
Oink you’re right, the loss of a generation in WW1 combined with financial losses in WWII and socialism has led to a downward spiral of decline. The colonialism factor is hard to quantify. One of the problems with it was British industry failed to invest in new machinery because they could “import” workers from India and pay them peanuts.
I did read that this year we will finally have paid off our WWII debts to the US!! The brain drain still goes on however, with top US Universities able to offer better salaries to graduates from UK Universities. However the graduates in Physics, Engineering etc. are more likely these days to have come from foreign students like Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and now China where they seem to appreciate scientists more. There is still a lot of snobbery in Britain towards science and much greater numbers study the Arts and Humanities compared to science.
What I don’t understand is why economists think it is all fine and dandy to educate a generation of children in subjects that only qualify them for a career flipping burgers. They can’t all get high paid jobs in the city etc. Someone in the US once asked me “So what does Britain make?” and to be honest I was lost for an answer. We don’t seem to have any industry now.Oink: Before my Dad died my Chinese sister-in-law would try and clean his ears.
My Dad would say, “Damn Chinese are worst than flies.”
You are correct. She doesn’t say, “My Bok,” it’s just, “Bok,” as in KING.
Womens’ Liberation came creepin’ all across the Nation. Trust me people, I was not ready.....
Posted by Z Woof
11/16/2005 at 10:53 AM
My Dau/law was pissed at me when I was sorta sick, but insisted on taking Greyhound back home, instead of letting them drive me. Respect for the “elderly”.
She knows that being ‘liberated’ doesn’t mean abandoning family.
A country can be productive without producing tangibles. We pulled out of our tailspin as compared to Japan without making steel and machinery. Agriculture and applied ideas are our big exports.
Posted by Oink
11/16/2005 at 11:42 AM
Didn’t something of the same thing happen to Rome? Seems to me that “Western Civ” is sowing its own seeds of destruction by abandoning what got them/us to their position and there are those who are cultivating those seeds and will build up a successor.
Uh, Skipper, those clues available at Wal-Mart are made in China too.
Gibbons in “Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire” blamed Christianity. I dunno, even accounting for my Christian bias, that doesn’t cut it. Plants, animals, stars & nations have growth > maturity > decline > death > recycling. When corporations hit the skids, hindsight blames 1. not picking up on new trends OR 2. not sticking with what they did best. Hindsight is wonderful, eh?
I’m sure that human beings and human institutions get fat, dumb, and happy. Frequently, building large monuments is a hallmark of the peak. Downhill from there. The Sears Tower was aptly called their last erection.
Posted by Oink
11/16/2005 at 03:33 PM
I’m thinking that a successful society has to rot from within and they usually do. The greater the success the more deep the rot must reach, but it always seems to creep in. I think it begins when they start enjoying the success. The rot can be fought off if the problem is realized and addressed and it sometimes is, to an extent. So far it has never proved to be enough. No, it wasn’t Christianity that did in the Romans, it was being able to vote themselves bread and circuses. (socialism reared its ugly head, even in those days) The lesson goes unattended.
I’ve got two of the damn things, OCM. (don’t ask) The tiny screens are a real pain in the eyes, especially on bad vision days. I only wish that they were 2” x 3” they’re much smaller than that. I just need the text to be visible to me. One of ‘em does enlarge the text for us old near-blind bastards.
That might work, OCM. I’ve become more dependant on my pocket magnifier lately.
Would you believe, I can legally drive without my glasses? I could not at age 20.
If you see me a comin’, better step aside
A lot of men didn’t, a lot of men diedOne of the benefits of increasing nearsightedness? My opthalmologist says no, but she does not have my old records. I swear, my distant vision is improving! Relax, Indiana BMEWSers, I never do. Drive without glasses. I’d be deadly at night.
**************
Earl, age 80, announces that he’s getting married.
“Congratulations! Is she good lookin’?”
“Ugly as a mud fence.”
“Nice person?”
“She has a personality like a sick rattlesnake.”
“Maybe she’s a good cook?”
“Poisonous! Can’t stand to smell the stuff.”
“Ummm .. If you don’t mind me askin’, Earl, why you marryin’ her?”
“She can drive at night.”Posted by Oink
11/17/2005 at 12:55 PM
There’s no such reprieve for me, Oink. I keep the most recent old pair in the glove box, just in case. The prescription is getting weaker as my clock advances but I’ll never get to 20/20, nobody lives that long.
I have no problems at night. If I can’t see anything, there’s nothing there.
11/16/2005 at 08:17 AM
