China's Domestic Tourism Booms with Expected 4.1 Bln Travelers this Year

[Hamartia Antidote]

I can turn on DK1 or SVT and say two girl naked and getting on it in normal hours TV show, but if you show that in the States, you will get fined.

A tiny asterisk to that is PAY cable stations. If you pay for a channel the rules are relaxed as basically you are acknowledging allowing someone to show things like this and thus the time rule is tossed out.

However I wonder if Europe has cablebox password parental controls.
I can set my cablebox to password protect channels depending upon the current content being shown (which I do) using rating and other criteria. It scans the content rating dynamically. So if somehow an x rated movie was scheduled on what is usually a family channel the box would block it.

 

[Audio]

However I wonder if Europe has cablebox password parental controls.

Yes, ofcourse.......

There's no cableboxes here, only cables. Comes with parental lock as well, default from operator. The boxes started appearing from the onset of Tv over internet. Which is just awesome.....digital TV ftw....record, play from yesterday, access Youtube on Tv etc etc....

Overall i agree Americans are more conservative, but it's not like you see people doing it in the park during the day every day here. But can happen....lol...

 

[jhungary]

A tiny asterisks to that is PAY cable stations. If you pay for a channel the rules are relaxed as basically you are acknowledging allowing someone to show things like this and thus the time rule is tossed out.

However I wonder if Europe has cablebox password parental controls.
I can set my cablebox to password protect channels depending upon the current content being shown (which I do) using rating and other criteria. It scans the content rating dynamically. So if somehow an x rated movie was scheduled on what is usually a family channel the box would block it.

DK1 and SVT are free to air public television channel in Denmark and Sweden Respectively.......They are like PBS in the States.

Basically DK1 and SVT have the stricter code than other Commercial channel (Like TV4) which would be like CBS, NBC or ABC in the US.

Code wise, they do not have warning for nudity and the rule are the same across all channel. But since SVT can't have much commercial, quite frankly they are being killed off by TV4 and MTG together, SVT used to be the biggest pie in Tv but not anymore.

And yes, Swedish Cable have parental control you can set on the box.

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

46 million of food stamps recipients. It puzzles me how you reconcile this with the image of prosperous US you've been peddling in this thread.

Everything is relative. I'm probably one of the harshest critics of the Obama regime on PDF, so you won't find me defending his expansion of the welfare state, or incompetent economic policies. But despite his best efforts, the US has still recovered from the financial crisis, in a faster and more complete way than Europe.

 

[Audio]

Everything is relative. I'm probably one of the harshest critics of the Obama regime on PDF, so you won't find me defending his expansion of the welfare state, or incompetent economic policies. But despite his best efforts, the US has still recovered from the financial crisis, in a faster and more complete way than Europe.

That's true. I won't argue with that. However....print baby print...what was it 80 bill.$/month for how many years?

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

That's true. I won't argue with that. However....print baby print...what was it 80 bill.$/month for how many years?

I'm not the biggest fan of QE, but when Japan, the UK, the ECB, and to some extent, China are all engaged in some form of QE, it's a bit disingenuous to hold that up as a uniquely American failing.

 

[mike2000 is back]

This is contrary to the impression of Chinese in China. Many Chinese think the Americans' life is totally a mess, hanging out in the bar till late night, crazy car racing on the road or party party party....And according to my experience, this is not true. Normal Americans are more family oriented, after work they usually come home and spend more time with families. My experience could be not accurate, since I didn't spend too much time there. And most Chinese think Europeans are more conservative and rigorous or serious about anything, especially Germans or British, is that true?

@Nihonjin1051 @LeveragedBuyout Would you mind sharing your experiences?

Several people will say its difficult to define conservatism. True, but the original question does deserve direct answer. Several Western and Northern European countries offer a stronger social safety net, stronger protection for labor (and unions), and more nearly universal support for health care than does the US. It is reasonable to ask why.

There is no single reason for this. Part of the answer is that the Civil War created a large region of the USA where the federal government is still resented. Also, there are many descendants of slaves who are economically less well off than other Americans. The combination of these means a lot of opposition to do anything that would help a despised group of people. The USA has a constitution that makes it difficult to pass new laws and easy for courts to kill laws makes it doubly hard to have the kinds of generous government support for the poor common in Western and Northern European countries.

This isn't the whole story. The USA is more religiously conservative than the UK, France, Spain, etc. And it isn't obvious which countries are following the wisest path. The whole issue is complex and interesting.

However it depends on what type of conservationism we are talking about.lool By conservative, do we mean fiscally conservative (such as levels of public debt compared to GDP), economically conservative (the protection of existing industries at the expense of emerging ones), culturally conservative (such as trying to preserve the existing dominant culture at the expense of allowing immigrants and minorities to take their share of power and wealth) or sexually conservative (more relaxed sexual mores and a greater openness towards nudity)?

Based on the first three questions, Europe to be honest is more conservative than the United States. But i will say there are definitely more naked ladies on this side of the Atlantic.

I'm not the biggest fan of QE, but when Japan, the UK, the ECB, and to some extent, China are all engaged in some form of QE, it's a bit disingenuous to hold that up as a uniquely American failing.

No country can compare to the U.S when it comes to QE/printing money i'm afraid.

 

[Audio]

I'm not the biggest fan of QE, but when Japan, the UK, the ECB, and to some extent, China are all engaged in some form of QE, it's a bit disingenuous to hold that up as a uniquely American failing.

I wanted to add, i often re-edit....

I believe lower standards of regulation (not saying 1000000 regulatory laws are good-i believe over here we have too many of redundant, excessive regulations (the most famous example would be the size and shape of pickled cucumbers, which fell through thankfully), however there's also some great ones) of all sorts helped as did the low price of gas which only Americans enjoy, due to less government taxes on petrol and oil producer status.

The lower standards are a double edged sword though.....good for number crunchers, bad for overall population.

I am somewhat curious what you think would happen if there was no QE.
I also, quite resent the remark that went along the lines of "US looks up to Europe, but in a way how one looks at an old masterpiece painting".
That is proper bull......BMW is best car in the world, best watches are Swiss, if we go a bit into high technology sector, European company has an almost monopoly over commercial satellite launches, Airbus came out from almost nothing (fragmented enterprieses across several countries) to be a peer competitor to Boeing etc etc....If by any chance you'll bring up military technology, a German stealth prototype from the 80's was deemed so dangerous, US put immense pressure on German government to kill the project, the new US space craft for longer journeys will be at least 40% European....etc etc

You have some weird agenda, it's permeating your posts....not nice.

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

No country can compare to the U.S when it comes to QE/printing money i'm afraid.

Sorry, no. Japan pioneered QE, and remains (and apparently will always remain) the king:

Bank Of Japan Announces More Quantitative Easing: The Next Chapter In Abenomics - Forbes

Total Central Bank Assets (% of GDP)

Source: Financial Times, IMF, Haver Analytics, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP

 

[mike2000 is back]

Sorry, no. Japan pioneered QE, and remains (and apparently will always remain) the king:

Bank Of Japan Announces More Quantitative Easing: The Next Chapter In Abenomics - Forbes

Total Central Bank Assets (% of GDP)

Source: Financial Times, IMF, Haver Analytics, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP

WTH??? Japans beats even the U.S federal reserve in Printing Money??
@Nihonjin1051 How dare you??

 

[Aepsilons]

This is contrary to the impression of Chinese in China. Many Chinese think the Americans' life is totally a mess, hanging out in the bar till late night, crazy car racing on the road or party party party....And according to my experience, this is not true. Normal Americans are more family oriented, after work they usually come home and spend more time with families. My experience could be not accurate, since I didn't spend too much time there. And most Chinese think Europeans are more conservative and rigorous or serious about anything, especially Germans or British, is that true?

@Nihonjin1051 @LeveragedBuyout Would you mind sharing your experiences?

Great impression on Americans, Edison. From my experience from living in the 'states close to over 10 years now , I'd say that the unique thing about Americans is that there's just such a rich and varied types of Americans and with such differences, there will also be differences in family culture, work culture, or ...party culture. When I lived in California couple of years ago, i can say that there really is a different california culture; more emphasis on glamor and going out to clubs, cigar bars, piano bars, going out with friends. When I was in Virginia this past March for a conference by Fredericksburg, VA--- i notice that there is a definite home body culture in the South. More emphasis on spending time with family , going to family restaurants or cafes, going camping, picnics and what have you. I guess my asnwer to your query is that --- it just really depends on the American and the region in the 'states.

 

[TaiShang]

Great impression on Americans, Edison. From my experience from living in the 'states close to over 10 years now , I'd say that the unique thing about Americans is that there's just such a rich and varied types of Americans and with such differences, there will also be differences in family culture, work culture, or ...party culture. When I lived in California couple of years ago, i can say that there really is a different california culture; more emphasis on glamor and going out to clubs, cigar bars, piano bars, going out with friends. When I was in Virginia this past March for a conference by Fredericksburg, VA--- i notice that there is a definite home body culture in the South. More emphasis on spending time with family , going to family restaurants or cafes, going camping, picnics and what have you. I guess my asnwer to your query is that --- it just really depends on the American and the region in the 'states.

Well, you can tell this for every country that has a sizable population, diverse geography that demands diverse lifestyles (cold climate vs. warm/sunny climate) and some wealth to back the diversity up. It is not a US thing, really. isn't it kind of over-worshiping? Praise, yes, that's great diversity, but not like unique unique.

Taiwan, albeit a much smaller area, is as diverse as anyone can tell about any other country. Some cities are laid-back, some are restless; some innovative, some traditional etc. And yes, people in those diverse locations behave in their own particular ways. China is diverse, as well. I would instead ask, which country is really monolithic? Nothing really unique about the US except that they might have more means to display their diversity than some poor Kurdish villager in Northern Iraq.

 

[Aepsilons]

Well, you can tell this for every country that has a sizable population, diverse geography that demands diverse lifestyles (cold climate vs. warm/sunny climate) and some wealth to back the diversity up. It is not a US thing, really. isn't it kind of over-worshiping? Praise, yes, that's great diversity, but not like unique unique.

Taiwan, albeit a much smaller area, is as diverse as anyone can tell about any other country. Some cities are laid-back, some are restless; some innovative, some traditional etc. And yes, people in those diverse locations behave in their own particular ways. China is diverse, as well. I would instead ask, which country is really monolithic? Nothing really unique about the US except that they might have more means to display their diversity than some poor Kurdish villager in Northern Iraq.

 

[opruh]

Good, better than wasting your money by visiting enemy states.

 

[Edison Chen]

Our recession was shallower and and our recovery was more rapid. I remember reading a WSJ article some time ago where a European ex-pat was observing how the US and Europe were dealing with the fallout of the financial crisis, and this observer noted that while the European instinct was to use the power of government to help the unemployed, the Americans tended to view a robust jobs market as the best solution for the unemployed. It sounds obvious and simple, but that distinction (directly paying the unemployed, vs. creating an environment where one can move out of unemployment) makes all the difference. I won't say we handled the situation optimally under the Obama regime, but nevertheless, we've done much better than Europe. Not bad for the country in which the financial crisis originated.

This is the best form of market economy. Small government, big market. Anyone knows that a robust job market cost much less than direct government aid. Sometimes, the government doesn't really get all the information regarding all activities of entities and individuals in the market, so the government guidance price (mostly happened in pre 1993 era in China) will not always cover the benefits of all the parties. If the market itself can figure out a solution, there will be an internal impetus to promote a more sustainable growth, of course the government regulation is always needed, the difference should be how big the role government is playing, is it decisive or just support? In China, the high growth rate is mainly driven by government's efficient power by concentrating all the resources to carry out huge projects and lower-than-market interest rate to state owned companies. This is efficient in the beginning, but later on, those companies will rely on government, they don't really catch the need and trend of market.

This is why I get excited about China. As soon as China figures out the "rule of law" bit, no one will be able to catch China. because you already have the same sort of drive and creativity to prosper, it's just the "law that protects people's reasonable rights" and "abiding by the law" that are still lacking, in my opinion. But I recognize my country more in China than I do in Europe whenever I travel to those locations.

China has that same restless energy that the US does, bounded by values of a well-defined culture. Europe, meanwhile, has been very proud of destroying its own traditions and values in the name of progressivism, and the state has rushed in to fill the void. Europe's view of the US as a lawless hell-hole is simply delusional. But as I said before, there is wide variation within each country, and even when we speak of "Europe," we need to be careful about Western and Eastern Europe, Northern and Southern Europe. I like this light-hearted video about the various stereotypes between our continents:

Thanks, China need to have more courage to achieve good changes, it may hurt some group's interest rate, but it's good for most individuals.

And yes, we can't generalize any idea on the entire region or country, as they are very diverse.

That's because most Americans (obviously not all) have gotten past the phase of "showing off" their wealth with clothes.

He didn't start a trend. Most American's simply dress casually. We are a casual nation.

A non-American commenting on it:
Style - Bangs & a Bun - Fashion & Lifestyle Blog | www.bangsandabun.com

"One of the most popular posts I’ve written on this site was one I did a couple of years ago about how Europeans dress better than Americans. It seems to be something people Google a lot: ‘why do Europeans dress better than Americans?’ Or ‘Americans dress lazy’ or other such terms often lead to that blog post and it still gets people leaving comments on it. It’s a weird topic. The comments section is filled with smug Europeans or angry Americans talking about how judgmental I am or how Europeans are either gay or have really poor hygiene, which has nothing to do with anything. Admittedly, the style in which I wrote that post was pretty harsh, but has my viewpoint changed? Do I still believe Europeans dress better than Americans?
........
A couple of years on from that original post, I’m not sure it’s as black and white as it once was. I’d say in broad strokes, yes, the original points I made in that post still ring true; North American fashion is all about ‘casual comfort’, they lack good tailoring and it seems most people aren’t concerned so much with what styles and fit actually suit them, as much as they are with convenience.

Interestingly, in the original post I wrote on this, the American commenters seemed to take a stance of how vain it was of me to even bring this up, how no one really cares what they wear and it doesn’t matter. That remains a complete non-argument to me and a downright ridiculous thing to say. You care, everybody cares about how they look. What you wear, how you choose to present yourself is part of an artistic expression of who you are – it matters. I understand not everyone is going to keep up with trends, but saying you don’t care is not realistic and quite simply, not true. And if you don’t, you should – you should absolutely take some pride, time and consideration about how you put yourself together. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.

........

-------------------------------------------------------
Most Americans look at the tags of clothes and say "Dry clean only...bah! forget it"..or "hmm...this is wrinkle free...awesome!".

What did he wear before 1998? He didn't even change a little bit. Like many Americans, he is just too casual-wearing.

European is a LOT more open than American.

Their value of sex is different than in the US, so does, well, almost EVEYRTHING.

I can get Pots in the street in Amsterdam, I can get a gun in just about any corner legally, The TV station in Europe are a lot more open than the US, while UK and the US have watershed period, they don't exist in DK1 or SVT, plus their show are more liberal sexually, I can turn on DK1 or SVT and say two girl naked and getting on it in normal hours TV show, but if you show that in the States, you will get fined.

I like it.

Yeah, I heard this before, they are more sexually open, but the reason is ?

Great impression on Americans, Edison. From my experience from living in the 'states close to over 10 years now , I'd say that the unique thing about Americans is that there's just such a rich and varied types of Americans and with such differences, there will also be differences in family culture, work culture, or ...party culture. When I lived in California couple of years ago, i can say that there really is a different california culture; more emphasis on glamor and going out to clubs, cigar bars, piano bars, going out with friends. When I was in Virginia this past March for a conference by Fredericksburg, VA--- i notice that there is a definite home body culture in the South. More emphasis on spending time with family , going to family restaurants or cafes, going camping, picnics and what have you. I guess my asnwer to your query is that --- it just really depends on the American and the region in the 'states.

Yes, US is big, people's habit and attitude for living is quite different.