My China Kanfa.....China on My Mind

I was on the verge of writing another piece about something else when I recently walked into a Chick fil A restaurant.  And that is therefore today what I wish to write about.   Now, I profess to not know enough about this restaurant chain but only to write a quick entry.   And I apologize to my non-American readers(recently surpassing over 50% of my readership!). Everyone knows of KFC.   It is all over China.  Yet I seriously doubt that many of my non-American readers know that KFC is now only the 2 nd most popular chicken restaurant in the United States, based off a couple metrics: sales per store, and total revenue. Why is this a story? Chick fil A has only 1800 stores in America.  KFC has 4500 stores.  Thus, Chick fil A is big news in America.   Why on Earth am I writing about this, and what does it have to do with China???(patience grasshopper) True, the day will come(if not already), when KFC is bigg...

A short while ago, Ambassador Gary Locke left China to return to the States.   Yet another American Ambassador that did not finish, (or have any intention of doing so), his 4 year stay in Beijing.  How embarrassing.  When the President of the United States appoints someone to a post, one would hope he’d stay all four years.  Well….so much for that.   Huntsman left early.  So did Locke.  I don’t know about you, but methinks this job is way too important to leave it to folks that consider it only a 2 year post.   All the more reason to appoint a professional to the job.  Someone with a sense of obligation.  Instead, we’ll have to stumble through the next guy( a former politician, whose knowledge of China is so infinitesimally  small, that we should actually be relieved he will probably only stay 2 years as well), and hope while he is the Ambassador to China, he will actually “learn” something about the country...

You’ve read my previous rants on this subject(no, actually you haven’t, but not for the lack of trying on my part…you guys need to get off the relationship posts for a change and read something with substance.), but here I am to force feed you yet again. http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/08/justice/new-york-wrongful-conviction/index.html When is China gonna release someone due to overwhelming DNA evidence that shows the prisoner is innocent?   Takers anyone? Actually, there have been a few…but nothing due to police work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_execution In a country that is as process driven as America is(and the West generally), to still have someone falsely winding up in jail is incredulous.  Granted, the above was over twenty years ago. While we all know China is as equally process driven when it comes to Justice(uh-em), one has to wonder just how many people still innocently pass their days away behind bars in China. DNA in China ...

_________________________ There was recently an incident in Oklahoma, USA, that caught my attention.  It seems to have caught the attention of others as well, that live beyond the borders of That Great State.  I share the actual video below, taken by the wife of the victim.  The couple, along with their 19 yr old daughter were going to the movie theater, when the daughter apparently said something disrespectful to the mother, and in turn, the mother slapped the daughter.  Someone witnessing this event called the Police. Upon arriving, the police questioned the family, and then did something that quite frankly, considering the circumstances of the case, I have to question:  he asked for the father’s ID.  The father, a 300 lb man, and out of shape, resisted.   Shows attitude.  Is  restrained by 5 officers,  has a heart attack on the spot and dies. Here is the video: Now, after hearing of this, I of course w...

Back from Spring Break.  Took the family to Charleston, South Carolina.  Went well.  I recommend this city to anyone as a romantic getaway.   Charleston, as a very old city by our terms(over 300 years old), has a very distinct charm, unlike most places in America.  It is very much like Boston.  The original part of the city has narrow streets and alleyways full of older houses.  The city is full of church steeples, and extremely walkable.  It is not cheap, but as without doubt the typical readership of my blog is well educated, highly cultivated, and of above average intelligence, this will not pose a barrier to YOU. Spring Break did not come easily.  I always make it a point to be home for this time of the year.  Not in China.  (China can wait) However, this year it did remind me of two things:  How terribly spoiled my children are. How differently my wife and I can consider something a good time....