美国国会就中共在美教育界渗透的听证 Subcommittee Hearing: Is Academic Freedom Threatened by China's Influence on U.S. Universities?

美国国会就中共在美教育界渗透的听证  
Subcommittee Hearing: Is Academic Freedom Threatened by China's Influence on U.S. Universities?

听证会视频连锁： Video Link to the Hearing:  

http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-academic-freedom-threatened-chinas-influence-us-universities

陈凯一思/奥巴马与奴性心态 Ferguson, Obama and slave-mindset

Kai Chen's more thoughts on Ferguson, Obama and slave-mindset
陈凯一思/奥巴马与奴性心态 

11/26/14 

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com 

When slaves are first chased out of the cage to the open, some embrace the freedom and the possibility of happiness. Some others are simply frightened by the limitless possibilities in freedom. They feel totally lost, much like a blind person first opens his eyes after the surgery to recover his vision. They want to go back to the cage and the darkness, for in there they don't ever have to worry about where the food and shelter come from: Someone always provides those for them. A powerful slave-mindset drives them to yearn more for free stuff than for freedom to pursue happiness. Most Obama voters in the minority groups tend to belong to such category. 

Much like Mao who understood the Chinese peasants, though he detested them in his private moments, and their yearning for an almighty emperor and peace under tyranny, Obama understands the slave mentality in his voting block - those who yearn to return to the cage and darkness. Obama then promised them the free stuff, though he didn't mention the cage and darkness, through his "hope and change" slogan: "You can get free phones, free cars, free houses...." Obama sends his powerful message via the leftist media and the closet communist supporters. 

Yet the free stuff did not come after six years with Obama's promise - an actual deception to get the slaves' votes. Things get worse under Obama for the minority groups. They get frustrated and agitated. But it was they who put Obama in the office. So the slave crowd starts to listen and believe to another Obama lie: "You haven't got the free stuff I promised, because of the obstruction from the Republicans. Even more, it is because American system is set against you. American freedom is your enemy." 

I suspect that a family culture such as Michael Brown's propagated Obama's daily lies onto their children. And since after six years they haven't gotten the free stuff Obama promised, they extend to their kids: "Just go out there and take it. This is our American dream - our rights to take things from others (against the rights to keep what you have worked for and produced yourself)" So increasingly the slave-minded people will take American system as their enemy since in such a system no one is entitled of others' fruit of labor. So now the right to rob others, the right to loot others through a riot, the right to be deceived by the demagogues such as Obama, the right not to work but get free stuff have become the new rights with Obama's false promises and new calling to demolish American founding principles and system. 

Obama set the fire and then pretend to extinguish the fire. This is not unlike Mao and the communists when they deceived the peasants by promising land for everyone. Then they turned around to have collectivized the land and made sure no one owns an inch of land. Today it is still the same in China - not an inch of land belongs to an individual citizen. Obama learned well from Mao and the communist regimes around the world - To control those slave-minded people, you just promise them "heaven on earth", then you blame imperialists, capitalists, individualists, selfishness of others..., for not delivering your promise. It has worked every time. 

To the crowd of slave-minded people, I would say this: Obama is your worst nightmare by deceiving you with an illusion. I also am your worst nightmare by fighting for truth and American founding principles against the crowd like you. There is no hope for you to "fundamentally transform" America, for your idea of American dream through taking from others and free stuff from the government is evil in nature. You can never succeed, for evil has two enemies - good and evil itself (Obama and yourself), and good has only one enemy - evil. Give up your illusion of heaven on earth promised by Obama and join the humanity of freedom. This is your only salvation.

Kai Chen on Ferguson Riots 只有真实的询问才会有真实的答案

Kai Chen’s thoughts on Ferguson’s riot: 

Real Answer Must Come from Right Questions

只有真实的询问才会有真实的答案

By Kai Chen   陈凯   11/25/2014

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

“Only Truth shall set us free.”

Even though I am an “anti-communist” crusader, most anti-communists in the Chinese community both in China and overseas don’t like the questions I ask in my effort to pursue truth.  Most anti-communists in the Chinese community want only to get rid of the communist regime/government.  They blame everything on Mao and the regime’s tyranny and corruption.  But my questions make them very uncomfortable: 

What causes the never-ending Chinese despotic dynastic-cycle?  Why do the Chinese always yearn for a savior in their life to solve their pain and suffering?  Who have enabled Mao and the communists to usurp power and maintain the murderous regime for so long?  If the Chinese culture is so great, why does it fail to prevent tyranny from happening and curb evil tyrants every time?  Why is the Chinese society today still mired in a hopelessness and helplessness?  Does everyone of us bear any responsibility in this gigantic human tragedy called China? 

During Mao’s Cultural Revolution, I was a teenager who was forced/pushed into the murderous torrent:  For fear of my own safety, I joined my fellow students in struggling my teachers.  One of them died as a result of the torture and torment.  I still have painful recollections and a deep sense of remorse from time to time:  I do and I should bear my responsibility as an individual, as a fearful being, as a guilty enabler of evil in this gigantic human tragedy and atrocity – Mao’s Cultural Revolution.   

Back to Ferguson’s tragedy and riots:  What are the right questions to ask?  Is it always, as the so-called black “civil rights” leaders forever framed, the issue of “white establishment oppressing the blacks and making their lives miserable and hopeless?  Why does this question’s premise (one’s misery and suffering is always because of circumstances, history and others’ evil intention) go nowhere and become nothing but a nihilistic pursuit? 

Maybe the true questions should be: 

Where does a family culture of violence and taking advantage of each other come from?  Why does a man-eating cycle of victim-villain last in the black community?  Is the victim also a villain in the Michael Brown case?  If the truth is affirmative of this fact, then what causes MB to have become such a bully/robber that led to his own irrational confrontation with the police and eventually his own death? 

Maybe a more salient question should be: 

Does the ubiquitous “Political Correctness” prevent American society which is established on seeking truth with individual liberty from asking these relevant and essential questions?

In my own personal experience with tyranny and a culture/a mindset of slaves in China, I often see a parallel in the cycle of victim-villain in the black community in America:  People, due to their being brainwashed by their own political elite, their own fear of truth, their ignorance of their own true history, fail to ask the right questions.  Therefore, their misery and plight is nothing but a never-ending cycle of their own making – a failure of individual responsibility, in another word, a failure to take control of their own individual lives and prevent themselves from become the part of man-eating cycle.  In their eagerness to blame others, to blame circumstances, to blame history, people forget the truth that they are free beings with freedom of choices: 

Today, at this moment, you can choose not to be controlled by others, no matter how powerful they are.  Today, at this moment, you can choose to recover the original meaning of life endowed upon you by God.  Today, at this moment, you can make the painful but hopeful choice of moving forward on the path of freedom with a moral compass from your conscience, with a powerful tool of reason and logic.  Today, at this moment, you can bid farewell to your own man-eating societal and family culture of despair and start a new life of individual with integrity and responsibility.  Today, at this moment, you can be just like me – a person born into despotic tyranny, raised by communist brainwashing propaganda and the paralyzing Chinese nihilistic family culture of slavery - make your own choice to break the shackle in your mind/soul, to shout on top of your lungs: 

I am a free being! I can’t take this nonsense anymore!

If I can be free, can have dignity, can find true happiness, you can as well.

Link to "My Way - Journey toward Freedom":   http://www.interbasket.net/forums/showthread.php?13004-Chen-Kai-From-basketball-star-to-staunch-anti-CCP-activist 

奥巴马对穷人与少数族裔的精神危害 Obama Endangers/Creates Underclass

奥巴马对穷人与少数族裔的精神危害
Obama Endangers/Creates Underclass 

by Kai Chen 陈凯   11/22/2014

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

Obama has fast become not only a joke in modern American political history, but an endangerment to the underclass he proclaimed to save:

By lying, cheating, falsehood, empty promises, political expediency, by setting an example of nihilism and Machiavellian "end justifying means", Obama has actively, maybe purposefully, been creating an permanent underclass - an underclass Not just in material sense, but in a spiritual sense. By going 180 degrees to the opposite of what he claims not to do because of US constitutional constraints, Obama was actually telling the minorities, the poor, women and those who wrongfully voted for him: In finance, you can lie to get a loan; in commerce, you can cut corners to sell a product; in politics, you can deceive to get elected; in school, you can cheat to get a good grade; in athletics, you can take shortcut to become Michael Jordan; in life, you can just beg, manipulate, threat, blackmail, extort to control people's emotions, to appeal to their weakness and fear to get what you want. "See me, I cheated all the way to the White House."

The fiasco of Obama presidency has but one clear message, same as that from all socialist/communist societies:

Americans, or mankind by the same token, is stupid and weak, as Gruberism has taught us, as Obama's absolute lack of honesty, integrity and competence showed us: You can succeed by setting the people you claim to help to fail. Thus you create spiritual cripples in society - a permanent underclass with shrewdness but no intelligence, no wisdom and no moral compass. Then you can extort others with your total incapacity to do anything in a real world -- That is called "paying your fair share". No wonder there is a riot brewing in Ferguson based on propaganda and non-reality. People's attention is focused on not improving themselves by their own moral characters, integrity and effort, but on threatening others and extorting from others through fear, intimidation, helplessness and pity...

To the minorities, the poor, the under-privileged, I would say this: Obama is your worst nightmare to your family and your children, for they can all now look at Obama and say to themselves: "If Obama can lie and cheat his way to the White House, so can I." If this is what you envision your children to be like, go ahead and follow Obama's example. But there is indeed reality and a free world out there you must deal with. It is not by any government rules or people like Obama's wishes. It is by a high being that you may not recognize but governs us all.

May God bless this great nation founded not by those in power, but by God's moral principles. I still believe:  We Americans will overcome. 

Kai Chen's remark on individual identity:

I came to the US in 1981 and during the Reagan years, I studied English and graduated from UCLA in political science (my effort to understand American culture and system). Eventually I made my conclusion on my own individual identity: I was born already an American, only born in the wrong place. I would say this to all the individuals around the world: If you value life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, you are already an American. You don't have to explain to anyone about your identity. You just have to live it.

In 1989 when I stood on the Tiananmen Square witnessing the Martial Law being implemented, I realized that I as an individual who yearns for freedom and true happiness, had nothing to do with China as a culture and a system. I had everything in my fiber of existence to identify with America - my true home, the home of my soul. May God bless this great nation. 

If you want to know more about me, read my memoir - "One in a Billion - Journey toward Freedom. http://www.amazon.com/One-Billion-Journey.../dp/1425985025

【禁闻】前加情报官：孔子学院是间谍机构 Confucius Institute Rejected

【禁闻】前加情报官：孔子学院是间谍机构  
Confucius Institute Rejected

【新唐人2014年10月29日讯】在过去的一年中，加拿大和美国的多个教育机构，以孔子学院〝干涉学术自由〞为名，决定终止与其合作。令人意外的是，日前中共自己也单方面终止了与加拿大的孔子学院合作协议。在中共想大力展示所谓软实力的今天，为什么会这样呢？请看以下分析报导。

10月23号，湖南省教育厅通过邮件，通知加拿大的多伦多教育局，中方将单方面终止孔子学院协议。 对此，前加拿大情报局（CSIS）亚太事务总监胡尼奥‧卡瑞亚（Michel Juneau-Katsuya），在接受美国中文媒体《大纪元》采访时表示，在被多所大学和学院〝解约〞后，孔子学院首次主动退场，并不让人感到意外，因为这是大势所趋。 　　

卡瑞亚说，〝孔子学院多年来在许多国家一个常用的策略就是，通过政治上的渗透，操控其政治观点和言论。 〞卡瑞亚还表示，他已经在多个场合说过，孔子学院还是一个间谍机构，被中共所操控和利用。许多西方国家的公开文件也明确点出这一点。他透露，现在加拿大国内情报部门仍在调查，孔子学院员工试图访问政府机密文件、政府帐户和邮箱，有的还要求给他们配政府邮箱，这样他们就能够进入政府系统。而卡瑞亚认为，这类行为，完全就是间谍行为。

 前中共情报官李凤智表示，中共情报部门通常会用各种外派部门和机构，来做情报活动，尤其是官方背景很强的机构。因此，他对有些地方的孔子学院从事情报活动，一点也不意外。前中共情报官李凤智：〝中共设立孔子学院的时候，应该是有很大的战略考虑的。我私人看，这是一个非常非常好的一个渠道，来把情报人员安插在里面。〞

李凤智认为，中共官方率先发布声明终止合作，是为了避免尴尬，挽回脸面的举动。其实，在10月1号多伦多教育局委员会讨论孔子学院时，多伦多华联会代表、加拿大福建华联总会、加拿大华人同乡会联会总会代表，都支持孔子学院一方发言，想让教育局批准孔子学院。此外，还有加拿大福建华联总会、北京协会等团体和个人在多伦多教育局外面示威。 　　

卡瑞亚表示，这些希望孔子学院被批准的团体，都是受到中共控制或影响的，其中一些在公开资讯上就可以查到它们与中共的关系。

不过，多伦多教育局计划委员会教委，没有受到孔子学院和抗议团体的影响，以6:1压倒性多数，决定在10月29号全体教委会议上，提出终止与孔子学院的合作。

实际上，从2004年中共在海外成立孔子学院至今，短短十年间已有460多家孔子学院先后建成，教师由中国国内派遣，使用的教科书也全部由中共当局编制。 目前，孔子学院这种迅猛的发展势头受到了阻力。

今年上半年，美国大学教授协会以侵害〝学术自由〞为由，呼吁重新对〝孔子学院〞进行检讨。理由是孔子学院聘用的讲师及授课内容，都强烈反映中共政府的意向。加拿大教师协会也以同样理由，呼吁加拿大各高校抵制中共政府资助的孔子学院。今年9月25号和10月1号，美国芝加哥大学和宾州州立大学，分别宣布终止与孔子学院的合作。

前中国国家篮球队员陈凯表示，自己读过孔子学院的免费教材。他认为这些教材的价值观是让世界没有好坏对错，没有真假是非，只承认强弱和权力。他说，这种宣传是污染全世界、泯灭人良知的东西。

前中国国家篮球队员陈凯：〝当西方能够接受孔子学院的时候，也就是在某种程度上接受了中共（政权）的合法性。他们最想建立的就是想泯灭西方人们的良知，就是让人们不去问什么是真假，中共的政权是合法还是不合法。〞

陈凯指出，中共建孔子学院的目的，是异化西方对中共的政策，从而增强中共政权的安全。从目前香港的情况可以看到，中共的这一目的达到了。

采访/陈汉 编辑/宋风 后制/陈建铭 - See more at: http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/gb/2014/10/29/a1149645.html#sthash.vcEslBiH.dpuf
----------------------------------------------------------
孔学院/孔学堂是中共党朝对世界“圣战”的利器
Confucianism as Tool of Chinese "Jihad"

陈凯 Kai Chen 11/6/2014

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

If you still don't quite grasp the motive why the Chinese communist party-dynasty attempts to spread Confucius Institutes/Classrooms around the world, I now give you a parallel of Islamic "Jihad" against the infidels (those who still have conscience and soul):

Islamic Jihadists aim to convert the unbelievers by force and threat of violence. If you don't believe, they will kill you physically by beheading, mutilation and murder. Confucianism, with spread of Confucius Institutes/Classrooms under the auspice of the Chinese communist regime, is more insidious and effective to castrate a person emotionally, mentally and spiritually, making one nothing but a walking-dead. This is often done before one even realizes he/she is dying inside, gradually becoming nothing but an empty shell.

Power by authority, with no moral constraints, is the central theme of Confucianism. Everything and everyone is made a subject of the power structure by force and threat of violence, with a seemingly benigh appearance. Once you become a convert of Confucian zombie, you will act to Confucianize others, starting from your own family by making them your own subjects. The zombification thus spreads exponantially.

Confucianism's insidiousness often starts from making one study Chinese character-based syllabic language, copying and mimicking everything the Chinese ancestors have done and invented. One's individuality gradually disappears in this process. All one focuses on is to obey and not to offend the authority. One's unique meaning by God thus forever is erased as one's sole purpose in life becomes serving the authority/government only.

The dehumanization process goes painlessly in physical sense as one loses his/her creativity, imagination, love and capacity to truly feel and enjoy life. Yet the castration of one's humanity is achieved with a mind-numbing spiritual drug, powerfully comforting yet effectively dehumanizing.

By eliminating a person's soul/conscience to judge what is right or wrong, good or evil, truth or falsehood, Confucianism instills a person nothing but an instinct and infinite shrewdness for power struggle. He/she will judge everything by inside/outside, strong/weak, male/female, power/powerless, friend/enemy, family/stranger, etc....

The billions of dollars the Chinese party-dynasty has spent around the world to establish Confucius Institutes/Classrooms is with only one purpose - to secure its grip of power and to legitimize its own criminal authority. The evil regime has waged Jihad Chinese style on the world and against humanity for a decade already. Now some Western educational authorities start to wake up to its true purpose by the Chinese regime. I only hope more and more people will wake up from their "political correct" nightmare and "cultural equality", and start a fight to protect their own soul and conscience from this insidious assult rooted in ancient despotic Chinese culture.

Be vigilant, people. Freedom is indeed never free.

从香港抗议看“法制”、自由与英文语言的必要 Rule of Law vs. Rule by Law

From Hong Kong Protest to See Rule of Law, British Colonial Tradition and the Importance of English Language

从香港抗议看“法制”、自由与英文语言的必要

By Kai Chen 陈凯, October 3, 2014

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com 

As I watched the BBC coverage on Hong Kong student protest, I deeply sensed a very disturbing and sad phenomenon – an entirely opposite interpretation of the British tradition of Rule of Law from its original meaning by a Chinese speaking population.  As some physical altercation broke out between pro-Beijing Chinese speaking mobs and mostly English speaking student protesters, a Beijing’s mouthpiece appearing on BBC accused the student of violating “rule of law”.  And the students on the program somehow are acquiescent of such absurd accusation, using “civil disobedience” as their only defense.  I observed a horrible mal-interpretation of the concept of “rule of law”.  And such misunderstanding of the concept will possibly lead to meaningless actions and negative consequences, even tragedy. 

Under the British rule before 1997, English language is the basis to understanding legal and political terms and concepts.  And the concept of “rule of law” was based on the principle that freedom is God-given and laws are human attempt to safeguard individual freedom by curbing human abuses from the government.  Hong Kong residents, though without election, enjoyed maximum individual freedom with minimum government corruption.  This situation has been gradually reversed with the British departure in 1997.  The influx of Chinese speaking government officials and mainland residents gradually erodes the “rule of law”.  Instead, “rule by law” increasing becomes the norm. 

In Chinese language, there is no difference between “rule of law” and “rule by law”.   They are all mixed together into two characters “Fa Zhi”.  Yet the two concepts are entirely opposite to each other:  “Rule of law” as understood with English language is to ensure that government be not governed by some dictator’s whim to trample on individuals’ freedoms.  “Rule by law” as commonly understood in Chinese is that government has the ultimate authority to make laws to control the individuals and govern the society.  The former is for freedom.  The latter is for slavery and despotism. 

Since 1997, rule of law and individual freedom have been gradually and unmistakably eroded and taken away.  More and more, fear of government, corruption of government officials, self-censorship of the media, toeing government official lines and a Fascist tendency of businesses serving Beijing’s government interests become prevalent.  Now the “White Paper” Beijing issued to blatantly violate the “Basic Law” established to safeguard Hong Kong people’s freedom was the result of more than a decade of cultural erosion.  A despotic culture aimed only to preserve the power of the government and the interests of those who are associated with Beijing gradually stifles the way of life Hong Kong residents enjoyed, even took for granted, under the British rule.  Fear replaces joy and achievement to have become the new norm of Hong Kong.  Lies, falsehood and dead silence in the face of injustice and repression, all in the name of unity, peace, maintaining status quo in order not to offend Beijing masters permeated a culture in which a moral standard of human contact and doing business was a general rule.  Lawlessness from Beijing and the despotic Chinese cultural tradition of parental government and infantile people dependent on the rulers have edged away individual freedom under the British rule.  Now the same rhetoric from those with confused mind and fear of government to defend Beijing’s “rule by law” comes out again and again to attack the student protesters. 

Who has broken the law in the first place?  It is not the students.  It is Beijing and the communist party-dynasty which bases their legitimacy only by the muzzles of guns and by lies and deceptions.  Who will be the ultimate victims of such lawlessness in Hong Kong?  It is not just the students.  It is the entire population of Hong Kong and especially the business community.  Without trust and with a moral code broken down under Beijing’s iron fist, no meaningful transaction of values will happen.  True stability will disappear with Beijing’s irrational orders aimed only to save the communist dynasty.  Instead, stagnation and silence will reign supreme and the population of Hong Kong will be “Zombified” to become soulless walking dead. 

I am glad to have witnessed that most Hong Kong student protesters are English-proficient.  They are able to communicate with the rest of the world with logic and reason, thanks to English language.  There is an unmistakable gap of understanding the world between those who speak English language and those who are stuck with their ancient irrational mother tone.  With a logical language, questioning Beijing’s government and its legitimacy is a natural extension of using the language.  This is probably the most conspicuous difference between Hong Kong protesters and the crowd on Tiananmen Square in 1989. 

In the long run, the student protesters with their goal to ensure a genuine election and democracy in Hong Kong are protecting Hong Kong’s business interest and prosperity, not harming it.  Those who have come out to criticize the student protesters should understand their own mal-interpretation of “rule of law”, confusing with their Chinese despotic tradition of “rule by law”.  They should also understand Hong Kong must go forward toward a future of freedom, not being dragged backward toward a hopeless and soulless existence under the guns of their Beijing masters.  Most of all, they should keenly understand the fundamental premises of “rule of law” – Freedom is God-given, not bestowed upon them by government as some beneficent charity. 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Bartlett: 

Very eloquent and correct. May I forward this to the China-POL list?

Thomas Bartlett
Visitng Professor
Stanford University
Yesterday at 12:31pm · 10/3/14

------------------------------------------

Kai Chen: Absolutely Thomas. Please spread this message. It is very important for HK student and people who support the protest to understand the moral foundation of their argument.
Yesterday at 3:23pm · 10/3/14

------------------------------------------------

Personal bio of Professor Thomas Bartlett: 

Thomas Bartlett has taught modern and classical Chinese at Cambridge (1975-76), Princeton (1977-79), Harvard (1987-94), Johns Hopkins (1995-96), and La Trobe (1996-1999) Universities, and modern Chinese at Middlebury (1973, 1983, 1987), Wellesley (1986), and Swarthmore (1987) Colleges, before coming to Stanford in 2010. He received the BA (cum laude) in Classics at Harvard (1961), with a thesis on Aeschylus' drama "Agamemnon", read in Greek. Five years' residence (1967-72) as a student in Taipei, Taiwan, ROC, led to receipt of the MA (1972) in early Chinese history at National Taiwan University, with a thesis on Confucian historiographical thought. In 1978 Bartlett was a finalist in the Department of State's selection of a full-time Mandarin interpreter. In 1980 he resided in Beijing, PRC, for six months as interpreter and translator for a major international corporation in contract negotiations with various Chinese official and commercial entities. In 1985 he completed the PhD at Princeton, with a dissertation on Gu Yanwu (1613-82), a classical scholar whose encyclopedic record of China's cultural heritage is widely recognized as an invaluable resource by modern researchers, and whose study of poetic rhymes was very influential in the history of Chinese linguistics. In 1987 Bartlett declined the award of a Mellon post-doctoral fellowship, when told by the offering institution that affirmative action guidelines would make him uncompetitive for a subsequent teaching position there. In 1989 his proficiency in Chinese was graded at level 4 (of 5) by the US Foreign Service Institute. From mid-1989 through 1994, Bartlett was Professor of Chinese Language and Director of Harvard's Chinese Language Program. In 1995-96 he was Director of the Language Teaching Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. From 1996 to 2010, he lived in Melbourne, Australia, and taught Chinese history at La Trobe University. His published writings have included articles on Gu Yanwu, on early Chinese history and, recently, a survey history of China's Song dynasty (960-1279), in Berkshire Encyclopedia of China. He is currently interested in the history of the word "Zhongguo", meaning "Central State", now usually translated as "China", and looks forward to publishing his doctoral dissertation.
 

香港抗议是中共党朝灭亡的开始 Hong Kong Protest Spells the Beginning of the End of CCP Dynasty

香港抗议是中共党朝灭亡的开始 
Hong Kong Protest Spells the Beginning of the End of CCP Dynasty
---------------------------------------
Xi Jinping Could Be China’s Last Communist Ruler

Larry Diamond is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Director of Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

At this point, China can neither negotiate nor repress the mass demonstrations

The mammoth protests that have gripped Hong Kong for the past several days have implications far beyond this Special Administrative Region of more than 7 million people. In rejecting Beijing’s plan to allow only sham elections for the next chief executive of Hong Kong, in mobilizing tens of thousands of people into the streets for several days running, and in fashioning a peaceful symbol of resistance and restraint (the umbrella) in the face of an inflammatory overreaction by the police, the youth-led demonstrators have posed the most serious challenge to the authority of the Chinese Communist Party since the massacre in Tiananmen Square 25 years ago.

 

China’s Communist rulers have only themselves to blame for the political crisis in Hong Kong. Since it reverted from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, Hong Kong has enjoyed significant autonomy and civil freedom under the principle of “one country, two systems.” During these last 17 years, Hong Kongers have waited patiently for Beijing to deliver on the Basic Law’s promise of “gradual and orderly progress” toward “the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.” When Beijing announced in 2004 that Hong Kong was “not yet ready” to democratically elect its Chief Executive in 2007, or its legislature in 2008, many in Hong Kong were bitterly disappointed. But people waited hopefully for 2012, or 2017 at the latest. 

The recent eruption of popular outrage was prompted by Beijing’s decision, announced at the end of August, to defer indefinitely the dream of democratic self-governance in Hong Kong. China’s rulers have now delivered an Iranian-style interpretation of “universal suffrage”: everyone can vote, but only for candidates approved by the real rulers. Instead of “one country, two systems,” Hong Kong is getting “one country, one autocracy,” with increasing concentration of economic power and shrinking media and academic freedom.

Hong Kong’s youthful demonstrators are economically worried, but even more so, they are politically indignant. Many, like the 17-year-old student protest leader Joshua Wong, were born after the handover and raised in a prosperous, civically vibrant, and open society. They grew up tweeting and texting, and they see democratic self-governance as both their natural right and their constitutional promise. Many older Hong Kongers remember colonial rule, and cherish the civil freedoms and rule of law that they now see eroding under the lengthening shadow of economic and political control from Beijing. No one knows what percentage of Hong Kong’s population is willing to risk prosperity to press democratic demands to the limit. But hundreds of thousands of protestors and sympathizers view Beijing’s political intransigence as an existential threat to Hong Kong’s future.

This was an avoidable crisis. Over the years, many creative ideas have been floated to realize “gradual and orderly progress” toward democracy. China’s Communist leaders could have negotiated with moderate Hong Kong democrats to gradually expand the range of candidates permitted to contest Chief Executive elections, and to move in stages to a fully directly elected legislature (30 of the 70 members are now elected by narrow functional constituencies). Political compromise could have fashioned a popular majority accepting patient progress. What Hong Kong got instead was no negotiations and no progress, but rather an authoritarian imposition thinly masquerading as popular sovereignty.

Beijing’s intransigence was never solely about Hong Kong, and neither are the current protests. This is a struggle for the future of China itself. President Xi and his fellow Party bosses are consumed with fear that they will meet the same fate as Mikhail Gorbachev if they do not maintain tight, centralized political control. Xi will pursue economic reform. He will try to purge the party and state of brazen corruption (while also purging his rivals along the way). But political reform is ruled out. So, even, is discussion (or teaching or tweeting) about such concepts as “universal values,” “freedom of speech,” “civil society” and “judicial independence.

China is changing rapidly in the wake of rapid economic growth. A civil society is slowly rising, alongside a pragmatic and more independent-minded business class. People now debate issues through social media, even with state controls. The middle class is traveling and gaining exposure to democratic ideas and freedoms, most dangerously, in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Ironically, during this long holiday week when China celebrates its National Day (and now the 65^th anniversary of the Communist Revolution), many Chinese vacationing in Hong Kong are suddenly watching a very different kind of revolution.

China’s rulers are now stuck in a trap of their own making. If they brutally repress mass demonstrations, as they did a quarter century ago, they will gravely damage their international legitimacy, wreck prospects for closer relations with Taiwan, and destroy the civic fabric of Hong Kong. If they do what they should have done months ago — negotiate — they fear they will look to be capitulating to mass pressure, thereby inviting more of it in a country where hundreds of local-level protests erupt daily. Thus they will probably wait, hoping the protests will ebb, while preserving the option of dumping the current Chief Executive, C.Y. Leung, as a sacrificial lamb.

If the protests persist and grow, China’s Communist rulers will face an awful choice, and they may well repeat the tragic mistake of 1989. But this is not the China of 25 years ago. Xi Jinping can no more will an emergent civil society out of existence than King Canute could command the tides of the sea to recede. But alas, King Canute understood the natural limits to his power. Xi Jinping does not appear to do so, and this is why he could well be China’s last Communist ruler.

Larry Diamond is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Director of Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

 

                                                                          

陈凯评论/李娜退役 Kai Chen on Li Na's Retirement

陈凯评论/李娜退役  
Kai Chen on Li Na's Retirement
【新唐人2014年09月22日讯】 

随着网坛〝一姐〞李娜的退役，〝娜〞时代画上了一个句号。李娜从战绩、排名、突破程度等各方面来说，是一个〝体坛传奇〞。在她退役之际，她的勇气与她创造的辉煌战绩之间，有什么关系，也引起了人们的关注。 

21号下午1点，网坛〝一姐〞李娜在北京召开了退役新闻发布会。 

李娜：（视频）〝首先来说，很感谢大家在百忙之中、在周末来到这，也很高兴在发布微博以后，第一次可以跟大家这么见面，然后非常感谢中网可以提供这样的场地，让我可以跟大家有机会见面，也可以有机会跟大家说‘再见’！〞 

由于伤痛决定退役的李娜，在赛场上被誉为〝体坛传奇〞。她不仅是中国运动员中捧起女双、女单冠军奖杯的第一人，同时也是唯一获得大满贯女单冠军的亚洲球员，她赢得了两届大满贯冠军。 

在她结束〝娜〞时代之际，外界对她的评价是：无论从战绩、冠军、排名、突破程度来说，她都是毫无争议的亚洲第一人。 

旅美时事评论员蓝述：〝李娜她的体育生涯是非常非常辉煌的。除了她的成功以外，她让很多中国人耳目一新是她的一种独立思考的精神，一种对独立人格的追求。这个是很多运动员技术层面的成功之外，没有做到她那么勇敢去做到的。〞 

2002年底，李娜离开大陆国家队，因为她与当时的队友、后来的丈夫姜山的恋爱，遭到官方反对。而且李娜请求拥有个人教练，而不是共用教练，也被拒绝。2009年，李娜聘请了瑞典籍前国家网球队教练——托马斯．霍格斯泰特（Thomas Hogstedt），当自己的专属技术教练。 

前中国国家篮球队队员陈凯：〝李娜内心的自由的程度，在中国这些运动员里面是相当高的。她自己能够承担的风险，能够找到自己生命的意义。在这个时候，她的运动首先并不是为党争脸面，脑子里想的是，我是不是热爱这个运动，是不是奉献我全部的精力〞，找到我生命的意义。 

在被媒体称为〝单飞〞的2年后，李娜在2011年第一次赢得了澳洲网球公开赛的大满冠亚军。 

前中国国家篮球队队员陈凯：〝这种选择是需要付出相当大的代价的，这就说明，一个人他内在必须是自由的，才能这样做选择。一个人内在是一个奴隶的话，他做不了这种选择。一个奴隶，考虑的首先是安全。一个自由人，考虑的是对生命的热爱。〞 

李娜在体制外获得的成绩，引起外界对大陆的〝举国体制〞的体育制度的关注。近30年来，羽毛球界、乒乓球界中，由组织决定谁当冠军、运动员被迫打假球的潜规则，早已不是秘密。例如原世界女子单打第一号种子选手何智丽，在1987年世乒赛上女单决赛中临阵抗命，拒绝〝让球〞。虽然夺得了世界冠军，却失去了第二年参加奥运会的资格。 

而此前的30年中，中国运动员受到的对待更是令人唏嘘。1949年后第一位世界冠军、乒乓球运动员容国团，在文革不堪受辱，被迫自杀。 

旅美时事评论员蓝述：〝中共这个所谓搞的体育，它的核心就是体育为政治服务，换句话说：体育为党的利益服务。这个和李娜她这种追求独立的人格、独立的思考格格不入。‘让球’，那说到底是党的利益第一。运动员他付出那么多心血，到了最后你不让他放手一搏。很清楚这个体制让她深恶痛绝嘛。〞 

19号，李娜在微博中发出退役告别信，用了21 个〝感谢〞表达了对父母、丈夫、启蒙教练和经纪公司、媒体等的谢意，甚至包括传闻中与她不和的大陆体育界官员，唯独没有提一句〝感谢党〞。 

采访编辑/唐音 后制/肖颜 

新片推荐 - 救世主 New Movie Introduction - The Giver

新片推荐 - 救世主 
New Movie Introduction - The Giver

陈凯一语：Kai Chen's Words: 

"The Giver" is a newly released movie depicting a society where people have given up their freedoms for security.  This is where Obama and the American left want to lead you.  Do you want to live in a perfect society with great harmony like this one?  Think again. 

新片“救世主” 描述了一个全新的完美社会。 在这个社会中人们为了和平与安全放弃了自由与尊严。 这就是奥巴马与美西左派奢望建立的乌托邦社会。 你真想在这种社会中生活吗？ 请三思。
------------------------------------------------------
影片简介：
Plot Summary: 

The haunting story of "The Giver" centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young man who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Yet as he begins to spend time with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), who is the sole keeper of all the community's memories, Jonas quickly begins to discover the dark and deadly truths of his community's secret past. With this newfound power of knowledge, he realizes that the stakes are higher than imagined - a matter of life and death for himself and those he loves most. At extreme odds, Jonas knows that he must escape their world to protect them all - a challenge that no one has ever succeeded at before. "The Giver" is based on Lois Lowry's beloved young adult novel of the same name, which was the winner the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Read more: The Giver Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews | ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=79059#ixzz3AYbsXMdc
Follow us: @ComingSoonNet on Twitter | ComingSoon on Facebook

Dinesh D'souza vs. Bill Ayers - Why is America so Great?! 假如这个世界没有美国

Dinesh D'souza vs. Bill Ayers - Why is America so Great?!
假如这个世界没有美国

“America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.”  
― Dinesh D'Souza

“...capitalism satisfied the Christian demand for an institution that channels selfish human desire toward the betterment of society. Some critics accuse capitalism of being a selfish system, but the selfishness is not in capitalism - it is in human nature.”
― Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity

“I now want to examine a second major feature of Western civilization that derives from Christianity. This is what philosopher Charles Taylor calls the 'affirmation of ordinary life.' It is the simple idea that ordinary people are fallible, and yet these fallible people matter. In this view, society should organize itself in order to meet their everyday concerns, which are elevated into a kind of spiritual framework. The nuclear family, the idea of limited government, the Western concept of the rule of law, and our culture's high emphasis on the relief of suffering all derive from this basic Christian understanding of the dignity of fallible human beings.”
― Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity

“The life of West, Nietzsche said, is based on Christianity. The values of the West are based on Christianity. Some of these values seem to have taken a life of their own, and this gives us the illusion that we can get rid of Christianity and keep the values. This, Nietzsche says, is an illusion...Remove the Christian foundation, and the values must go too.”
― Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity

陈凯呼吁美国人拒绝中共洗脑 抵制孔子学院 Kai Chen Calls for Abolishing Confucius Institutes in the West

http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/ck-07012014095549.html 陈凯呼吁美国人拒绝中共洗脑 抵制孔子学院 Kai Chen Calls for Abolishing Confucius Institutes in the West 2014-07-01 图片： 中国人权关注者陈凯。 （大纪元/记者CK） 近来，美国大学教授协会对中国政府在美国大办孔子学院的动机提出质疑，美国的许多教育界人士也都指出，孔子学院违背了美国大学的办学原则，摧毁美国大学的学术自由。一向抵制孔子学院进入美国的洛杉矶知名华人陈凯近日发出呼吁：有良知的华人站出来，把孔子学院赶出美国的校园。下面是特约记者CK的旧金山——洛杉矶连线报道。 陈凯曾是中国国家篮球队的队员，如今是美国华人中著名的美国价值观捍卫者和中国人权关注者：2008年他曾经在美国进行人权长跑，反对中国政府借举办奥运会侵犯人权；他曾发动洛杉矶华人抗议尼克松图书馆陈列毛泽东雕像；近几年，他多次参加洛杉矶地区的一个校区会议，反对该校区的中学开设孔子学堂。他并且前往美国国会作证，揭露中国政府来美国大办孔子学院、孔子学堂的目的，是企图颠覆美国的价值观。 陈凯近日在接受记者电话采访时表示，孔子学说历来为专制统治者服务。中共统治集团则是借来美国办孔子学院，向美国输出极权专制的理论，洗美国人的脑。他说：“不能把共产党和孔子分开。很多人说共产党反对孔子，我告诉你不是的，共产党是尊孔的。研究中国的朝代，所有朝代，当他去推翻另一个朝代的时候是反孔的，一旦建立了朝代，全部尊孔，因为孔子可以帮助他们给不合法的制度造成合法性。而在美国华人里面，有相当一部分专制文化的卫道士，他们把孔子学院、孔子学堂引进他们的校区。” 中国政府在美国各州兴办的孔子学院已近一百间，未来几年内，中国政府将在全世界各国兴办五百间孔子学院。每间孔子学院都成为中国政府在海外各国大学校园里的一块领地，使用的是中国政府提供的教材，禁止讲授中国政府认为敏感的内容。对此，陈凯说：“一个学术自由的校园，怎么会允许专制政府提供的教材？他们所发的教材里，不准提中国的文化革命,不能提天安门屠杀事件，不能提法轮功，不能提反右，他们讲的历史完全是颠倒的历史。把伪造的历史带到美国的学院里来，带到美国的中学里来，这不是洗脑吗？洗脑不叫言论自由，言论自由不是以牺牲真实为代价，言论自由不是可以任意撒谎。” 因此，陈凯呼吁，美国华人都来抵制中共洗脑，把孔子学院赶出美国的校园。他说：“像我一样，做我所做的事情。每一个人都站出来，作为一个有良知的人站出来，你个人的力量就很大。这就是我所呼吁的事情，也是我用我的行为带动的事情。有良知、有正义感的人，为什么不去做呢？” 另据报道，洛杉矶地区的一些大学，目前正开展关于孔子学院的讨论，几乎没有人相信中国政府在全世界各地办孔子学院，只是为了传播中华文化，教授中国语言文字。有学者指出，在刚刚过去的“六四”屠杀25周年，一些大学拒绝参与纪念活动，原因就是校园里有一所每年为学校提供百万美元的孔子学院。 （特约记者：CK） ---------------------------------------------------------------- My Twilight Years ~ Clint Eastwood As I enjoy my twilight years, I am often struck by the inevitability that the party must end. There will be a clear, cold morning when there isn't any "more." No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat. It seems to me that one of the important things to do before that morning comes, is to let every one of your family and friends know that you care for them by finding simple ways to let them know your heartfelt beliefs and the guiding principles of your life so they can always say, "He was my friend, and I know where he stood." So, just in case I'm gone tomorrow, please know this: I voted against that incompetent, lying, flip-flopping, insincere, double-talking, radical socialist, terrorist excusing, bleeding heart, narcissistic, scientific and economic moron currently in the White House! Participating in a gun buy-back program because you think that criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you think your neighbors have too many kids. Regards, Clint

陈凯转载/一个自由人的个体操守 Personal Character of a Free Being

陈凯转载/一个自由人的个体操守 
Personal Character of a Free Being 

陈凯一语: 

一个自由灵魂的个体道德操守经常体现在他/她要求自己不去/不能做什么，而不是自己做过什么。 他/她是一个依原则而生活的人，而不是一个用利益的考量而定义自身的人。 

Kai Chen's Words: 

Indeed, a free being's moral character is often reflected/revealed on what he/she does not do, rather than what he/she has done. He/she is a principled being of greatness, rather than a moral pervert defined only by calculation of gains and losses in physical world. 

精神强大的人 不会做的13件事: 

精神强大的人会有一些健康的习惯。他们会用各种方式管理他们的情绪，思想，和习惯使得这些行为促使自己在人生中获得成功。提炼出下列的这些是意志坚强的人不会做的事，如果你也能做到这些，你也会成为一个精神强大的人。 

1不在懊恼中浪费时间 

精神强大的人不会无所作为，为他们的现状或者是他人对待自己的方式而深感抱歉，相反，他们为在人生中所扮演的角色负责，明白生活并非时时容易和公平。 

2不炫耀自己 

他们不允许别人控制他们，他们不会让别人觉得超过他们，他们从不说“老板让我觉得好窝囊“，因为他们了解他们有能力控制自己的情绪，选择性的进行回应。 

3不回避变化 

精神强大的人不会刻意去回避变化。相反，他们欢迎积极的的改变，乐意去变得灵敏。他们明白改变无可避免，并且他们有能力去适应那些改变。 

4不浪费精力在他们不能控制的事情上 

你不会听到那些精神强大的人抱怨已经丢失了的行李或者是交通拥堵。相反，他们会关注那些在他们生命中能被自己控制的事情。他们意识到有些时候，他们唯一能控制的东西就是他们自己的态度。 

5不会为取悦每个人而担心 

精神强大的人意识到他们没有必要时时去取悦每一个人。他们不害怕在必要的时候说不或者是把话说明白。他们追求善良和公正，但是如果他们不能使自己快乐，也能使他人同他们一起沮丧。 

6不害怕冒预计的风险 

他们并非鲁莽的去冒显性的危险，而是不介意冒预计的风险。在做重大决定之前，精神强大的人会花时间衡量风险和成本，在采取行动之前他们能充分的预知潜在的风险。 你可能对此方面的信息感兴趣：积极的人不会做的十件事。 

7不会留恋过往 

精神强大的人不会浪费时间留恋过去，静儿希望事情能够有所不同。他们认可他们的过往，并从中学到经验。然而，他们不会经常回想坏的经验或者是沉迷于过去辉煌的时光之中。相反，他们为现在而活并计划未来。 

8不重犯相同的错误 

精神强大的人为他们的习惯负责，并从他们过去的错误中获得经验。因此，他们不会一次又一次的重复犯错，相反，他们在将来会更好的获得进步和做出最明智的决定。 

9不嫉妒他人的成功 

精神强大的人在生命中会欣赏和祝贺他人的成功。当他人超越自己时，他们不会嫉妒他人或者是感到自己被欺骗，相反，他们认识到成功来源于辛苦工作，并且他们愿意把努力工作成为自己成功的筹码。 

10失败一次之后并不放弃 

精神强大的人并不会将一次失败作为放弃的理由，相反，他们会将失败作为一次成长和改进的机会并乐意去不断的尝试直至获得成功。 

11不惧独处 

精神强大的人可以忍受一个人独处不害怕安静，他们不害怕自己思想特立独行并利用以利用空闲时间提高自我。他们喜欢他们的同伴却不在友谊和娱乐上时时依靠他人，相反，他们独处时，充满了喜悦。 

12不觉得世界亏欠他们 

精神强大的人不会觉得在人生中，任何东西都是应该的，他们并非生而认为他们应该照顾他们或者是这个世界应该给予他们什么。相反，他们根据自我优势寻求机会。 

13不期待努力即获成果 

精神强大的人努力的改善他们的健康。 当他们从头开始一项新的事业，他们不会期待马上就能获得成。 相反，他们会发挥其最佳能力使用他们的技能和时间并明白真正的改变需要时间。 

http://www.aboluowang.com/2014/0626/4101...a.tiaanG6E.dpuf

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communi...eople-dont.html

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do 

Mentally strong people have healthy habits. They manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that set them up for success in life. Check out these things that mentally strong people don’t do so that you too can become more mentally strong. 

1. They Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves 

Mentally strong people don’t sit around feeling sorry about their circumstances or how others have treated them. Instead, they take responsibility for their role in life and understand that life isn’t always easy or fair. 

2. They Don’t Give Away Their Power 

They don’t allow others to control them, and they don’t give someone else power over them. They don’t say things like, “My boss makes me feel bad,” because they understand that they are in control over their own emotions and they have a choice in how they respond. 

3. They Don’t Shy Away from Change 

Mentally strong people don’t try to avoid change. Instead, they welcome positive change and are willing to be flexible. They understand that change is inevitable and believe in their abilities to adapt. 

4. They Don’t Waste Energy on Things They Can’t Control 

You won’t hear a mentally strong person complaining over lost luggage or traffic jams. Instead, they focus on what they can control in their lives. They recognize that sometimes, the only thing they can control is their attitude. 

5. They Don’t Worry About Pleasing Everyone 

Mentally strong people recognize that they don’t need to please everyone all the time. They’re not afraid to say no or speak up when necessary. They strive to be kind and fair, but can handle other people being upset if they didn’t make them happy. 

6. They Don’t Fear Taking Calculated Risks 

They don’t take reckless or foolish risks, but don’t mind taking calculated risks. Mentally strong people spend time weighing the risks and benefits before making a big decision, and they’re fully informed of the potential downsides before they take action. 

You may be interested in this too: 14 Things Positive People Don’t Do 

7. They Don’t Dwell on the Past 

Mentally strong people don’t waste time dwelling on the past and wishing things could be different. They acknowledge their past and can say what they’ve learned from it. However, they don’t constantly relive bad experiences or fantasize about the glory days. Instead, they live for the present and plan for the future. 

8. They Don’t Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over 

Mentally strong people accept responsibility for their behavior and learn from their past mistakes. As a result, they don’t keep repeating those mistakes over and over. Instead, they move on and make better decisions in the future. 

9. They Don’t Resent Other People’s Success 

Mentally strong people can appreciate and celebrate other people’s success in life. They don’t grow jealous or feel cheated when others surpass them. Instead, they recognize that success comes with hard work, and they are willing to work hard for their own chance at success. 

10. They Don’t Give Up After the First Failure 

Mentally strong people don’t view failure as a reason to give up. Instead, they use failure as an opportunity to grow and improve. They are willing to keep trying until they get it right. 

11. They Don’t Fear Alone Time 

Mentally strong people can tolerate being alone and they don’t fear silence. They aren’t afraid to be alone with their thoughts and they can use downtime to be productive. They enjoy their own company and aren’t dependent on others for companionship and entertainment all the time but instead can be happy alone. 

12. They Don’t Feel the World Owes Them Anything 

Mentally strong people don’t feel entitled to things in life. They weren’t born with a mentality that others would take care of them or that the world must give them something. Instead, they look for opportunities based on their own merits. 

13. They Don’t Expect Immediate Results 

Whether they are working on improving their health or getting a new business off the ground, mentally strong people don’t expect immediate results. Instead, they apply their skills and time to the best of their ability and understand that real change takes time.

BBC纪录片：中国是怎样愚弄世界的 BBC Documentary: How China Fooled The World

China is now the second largest economy in the world and for the last 30 years China's economy has been growing at an astonishing rate. While Britain has been in the grip of the worst recession in a generation, China's economic miracle has wowed the world. 

It is a story of spending and investment on a scale never seen before in human history -- 30 new airports, 26,000 miles of motorways and a new skyscraper every five days have been built in China in the last five years. But, in a situation eerily reminiscent of what has happened in the west, the vast majority of it has been built on credit. 

This has now left the Chinese economy with huge debts and questions over whether much of the money can ever be paid back. Interviewing key players including the former American treasury secretary Henry Paulson, Lord Adair Turner, former chairman of the FSA, and Charlene Chu, a leading Chinese banking analyst, Robert Peston reveals how China's extraordinary spending has left the country with levels of debt that many believe can only end in an economic crash with untold consequences for us all.