westiseast

8 ms·

1.
by westiseast 5y ago
Having meaning, yes. Meaningful WORK? Not necessarily.
2.
by westiseast 6y ago
Any insight into why the lockdown hasn’t worked? By all accounts lockdowns have worked in other places (obviously with lots of other measures taken at the same time).
3.
by westiseast 7y ago
Late to the party but... I think another way of saying it is, any views coming from a country that doesn’t allow even a modicum of free speech should be discounted. I think there’s two reasons: trust and reciprocity. Trust - the fact that
4.
by westiseast 7y ago
I think that’s the point - simply asking people to fly less and drive less and eat les meat will never ever ever work. We need big carrots and big sticks in order to achieve things like less flying - that means government regulation, huge m
5.
by westiseast 7y ago
The central government almost certainly ‘profited’ (ie. benefited) from this whole situation. 1) Strategically, it cornered the market and has been able to use that dominance to great geopolitical effect. 2) Economic development: environme
6.
by westiseast 7y ago
Perhaps it’s churlish to mention, but... China was happy to ignore environmental standards in order to corner the market in rare earth minerals. American miners couldn’t compete because they were already “internalizing” the environmental
7.
by westiseast 7y ago
I think because it’s pretty cheap (free) to make inspiring speeches to privileged American students about an esoteric ‘right to be human’. Meanwhile Apple effectively withholds tax from a range of countries who would probably use that to pr
8.
by westiseast 7y ago
I think if you look at media and propaganda within China, my original point is true - America (and often Europe) is presented as an enemy, an example of the failure of democracy, a chaotic place, a dangerous place to live/visit, a coun
9.
by westiseast 7y ago
Personally I think it’s not a ‘sudden’ paranoia, it’s an overdue one. China has made it abundantly clear for a long time that it considers the US to be an ideological enemy, a military rival and a target for economic and geopolitical warf
10.
by westiseast 7y ago
Personally, it’s a great example of amazing sales and how to build a brand. There’s no reason why brands today couldn’t learn from Nike’s sales/branding story without having to emulate their manufacturing sins.
11.
by westiseast 7y ago
Sports is probably very specific. Amateurs will mostly buy what professionals recommend, or what their coach wears. These days you see sports stars and brands through social media and on TV, but in those days less so. Going to clubs, track
12.
by westiseast 7y ago
I did wonder, what other brands existed at the time? I have no idea. Was coming to a track meet with branded, fashionable shoes in 1964 the equivalent of turning up in 1998 with an awesome animated Flash website?
13.
by westiseast 7y ago
Yes, there’s a lot of people who know nothing of Tiananmen at all, but often those that do would characterize it as a riot by agitators who forced the governments hand.
14.
by westiseast 7y ago
They don't share pandas at all - the pandas are 'rented out' to zoos around the world and subject to intense negotiation and strict contracts. Any baby pandas born on foreign soil still belong to China. So, no, they don'
15.
by westiseast 7y ago
I for one feel like there’s actually limited play in this - America already is and has been the boogeyman for years. Whipping up nationalistic sentiment and expecting consumers to fall in line is a transparent tactic and younger, affluent
16.
by westiseast 7y ago
That’s a disingenuous argument. eg. in 2019, nobody is ‘forced’ to give their data to Google/Apple/Facebook, but actually avoiding those companies entirely is extremely difficult/nigh impossible. Not engaging with China as a
17.
by westiseast 7y ago
This sprang to mind: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15396956 Letwin had a habit of reading correspondence whilst in a public park in the mornings and then dumping it in public bins once dealt with. Mirror repor
18.
by westiseast 7y ago
Maybe - the neoliberal dogma of the last 40 years has been that you can’t have economic prosperity without democratic reform and liberal politics. China has shown categorically that this isn’t true. However, China might still prove the West
19.
by westiseast 7y ago
Not to belittle your experience, but one of the key issues in an authoritarian state is that nobody is held to account. So, if you’re a politician or a big businessman, you can say whatever you like. We have a 3 year plan to eradicate X. We
20.
by westiseast 7y ago
I disagree with why Western commentators struggle to accept China’s ‘success’ - it’s not sour grapes or jealousy as you suggest. China is breaking all of the established rules that have guided western societies for decades/centuries: G
21.
by westiseast 7y ago
I guess I’m saying, marketers aren’t persuading me I need a car. I made a fairly practical choice that I needed a car (maybe I’m not typical?). But perhaps instead of buying the cheap Japanese one, I bought the expensive German one. So mark
22.
by westiseast 7y ago
I think thats a bad cliche. If I break down my spending, most goes on food (I have no rent/mortgage), the next biggest item are essentials like utilities/council tax/bills, then car bills (insurance, petrol, repairs), then th
23.
by westiseast 7y ago
I think the hacking and being cut out of domestic markets is fairly closely linked. If you’ve already stolen the IP, you don’t need to let the foreign business in to provide that service. Possibly even more widespread though has been the st
24.
by westiseast 7y ago
I suspect the amount is a mix of things: * Investment in IP that then gets stolen. * Loss of potential earnings as American companies are locked out of Chinese markets * Loss of actual earnings as American/global consumers switch to
25.
by westiseast 7y ago
It’s nice for two reasons: * I get an independent confirmation that money has actually left my account (eg we’ve all shopped on websites when the payment pages crash and you don’t know if something has gone through or not) * it’s comfortin
26.
by westiseast 7y ago
Agreed. I have a fancy colored debit card now, which is cool. Tend to use my HSBC for direct debits and bills, and Monzo for daily life/luxury/fun items. It just seems like the legacy banks are awful rather than Monzo is breaking
27.
by westiseast 7y ago
What shocks me about this is... Monzo to me (a regular user of about a year) is just a normal bank card without a branch and with a basic app. Are established banks so incredibly ossified they can’t keep up with that?
28.
by westiseast 7y ago
This seems to be a non-AI system monitored by humans or simple algorithms - nevertheless the irony of the promise of AI and hi-tech revolutionizing the workplace just resulting in more oppression of low-wage workers is glaring.
29.
by westiseast 7y ago
> Best when it isn't raining and the wind isn't too strong. So.... never then?
30.
by westiseast 7y ago
Yeah was going to say this might be relevant https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/f5et2r4-IePUTv8AvElpsQ

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