Super Bowl Sunday: Does Anybody Care

     So, after all the fanfare, all the publicity, all the tickets sales, all the ad sales($7 million for a 30 second spot), it's showtime in LA(Inglewood exactly).  SoFi Stadium-a new one, home turf for the LA Rams.  The locals will appreciate the situation- they could walk from home(almost) to their seats.  What a luxury!

Given the monstrous traffic jams across LA, having a few options is always a good thing.  Joe Burrow will be watched by millions.  He could pull off a victory and enter the books as a winner, joining a number of other 'Joes': Montana, Theisman, Namath, Joe Joe, etc.

     Likely outcome Bengals 37 to LA Rams-33.  Cincinatti will finally win the big one.

Beijing: Where the World Meets Communism Head On

       So, you are an Olympic athlete, winter's version of same.  You made the team; you've worked hard for 4 years at least.  Now, it's showtime.  No excuses here on the world stage.  Oh, we are in the midst of a pandemic.  China has a "no infections allowed" policy.  Catch a virus-get isolated and/or sent into quarantine.  Or, if detected before arrival, no entry.  This is just the beginning.  Now let's look at politics, which is the largest part of these games.  The I.O.C., the soul less body that oversees every Olympics, continues to demonstrate its lack of morals, ethics, and seriousness about everything connected to the modern Games.  The I.O.C. does look closely on finances.  Hmmmm. How much did NBC pay- north of $18 billions.  Not an insignificant sum.  How much did the Chinese pay to bring the games here?  Nobody is talking on that figure.  But, world opinion knows that these Games were to be billed as another opening for China into global power politics.  This in addition to the Beijing summer games of the recent past(see buildings still around from them in Beijing). eg Birds Nest Stadium.

      How about local communications?  Have an iphone?  Guess what? The PLA  has your number.  Who is that?  Why it's the Peoples Liberation Army, in charge of cell phone service everywhere.  Huawei?  Who dey?  A provider.  Your cell number has been provided to the PLA; your name and number, too.  Whay can one do?  Get a throw away phone while in China.  A one time use phone; rent one before you arrive-that's what smart money is doing.  Oh, and don't forget that it's again' the law to criticize the gov'ment of China while in China.  Don't bad mouth the Commies; you could end up in prison; under house arrest; or yanked out of your starting gate to answer to the PLA thugs who don't answer to anybody.

        The media coverage has been overly benign, ensuring that all broadcasts are sterile reportage of the events.  They are washed and sanitized for the viewers so as not to enrage party members nearby.  How lovely!

TEXAS: The Lone Star State

       Is Texas in America?  Is Texas a country?  WHo are Texans?  Is there a border between Texas and Mexico?   Who guards the border on the Rio Grand River?  Is there a lot of oil in Texas?  Have you ever been to Texas?  Why all this talk about Texas?  Are the Cowboys playing in the Super Bowl this year?  Is George Bush in Texas?

     Well, the Mayor just visited Texas to look it over.  Maybe to buy some real estate, or not.

Los Angeles: Super Bowl City

       So, the LA Rams will play for all the marbles on their home turf.  They'll host the Buffalo Bills-no, wrong.  They'll host the Tampa Buccaneers, no, wrong.   They'll host the 49ers, no, losers.  They'll host Green Bay packers, no, wrong.   It's the Cincinatti Bengal Tigers, first time in 34 years.  It will be a big game for all fans of LA Rams and Ohio fans of the Bengals.  The long suffering Bengals finally made it to the big Dance.  The weather should be fine, but SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA doesn't depend on good weather.  But the fans do: driving across LA can be a challenge on a summer day, let alone winter.  So, stock up on food stuffs, line up guests foe the party, and place your bets in any one of a millins betting pools.

      Super Bowl LVI will start at 6:30pm EST.  The big half time show will feature a bunch of nobodys, but who cares.?  Maybe we will see some fireworks; maybe a flyover paid for by taxpayers, etc.  Football remains America's largest diversion from reality.

Opening Day: 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

    Big day today(tomorrow) in Beijing.  Xi JinPing will be on hand to greet the 2 or 3 attendees at the ceremony.  Most athletes will avoid the ceremony which will be held in a telephone booth(?) somewhere. After all the preparations, the event will be less than a showcase of Chinese efforts.  Even in the US, much-vaunted Peacock network screwed up the delivery, confusing subscribers about how and where to find the live broadcasts.  It's really sad: even the executives can't figure out their own confusing plans-how did the marketing departments put together such a horror show of mixed up instructions that even the designers can't operate.  The viewers have already given up on the Olympics for this year.  Feeling sad for the athletes?  Don't, those feelings are hardly justified today.  It's all about politics and money only.

     Mad Vlad will be in Beijing today, too.  No, he's not competing in equestrienne events.  The old horseman/Cossack wannabe will be sharing pork buns with the sly-faced dictator who can out fox Mad Vlad just by sneezing or farting.   Sure Russya is the largest country in the world, but China has the 2nd largest economy(slowing) in the world, and a billion more citizens to boot.  Take that, Vladimir.  Today, Xi JP will tell Little Vlad to tone down the rhetoric over Ukraine.  Any conflict with the West there will harm Chinese business, so stop now.  All of the business China does with Ukraine and Europe is at risk.  Not good for Beijing, Vladimir.  So shut your reeking pie hole or else we might have to squeeze Moscova and call off some business ties you need/want in the future.  You are not in charge of everything.  Stop right now.

     We'll have to wait until the Olympics conclude before we hear of the conference outcomes between the two.

Commies Like Fences Too

    The fear of Covid infections has caused China to fear invaders.  Human invaders who are infected.  There are lots of them as we know after 2 years into a pandemic.  China has a zero infections goal, sort of. The results of such a policy has forced the government, among other things, to focus most recently on the country's borders.   So, Beijing will now fortify its borders which are considerable, especially with Russya.  Although one could count on 1 hand the number of Russyans clamoring to enter China.  Not happening.

      Down south, a project that began 2 years ago includes sensors, cameras, and barbed wire.  Along the border with Vietnam, a 12' fence went up a year ago.  Locals are now prevented from visiting China to sell corn, and to harvest medicinal herbs in the cross border area.  What is it about fences that are the hallmark of Communist regimes?  Think Iron Curtain.  Think Gulag camps.  Think East and West Berlin.  Think Check Point Charlie.  Think Cuba.  And now-China.  Hmmmm.  China says it is to prevent people with Covid from entering the country and bringing in the highly infectious disease.

      How about in the Amur River area in the Far East?  4 million Chinese farmers and laborers descend on the area annually to plant crops, tend them, and harvest them to bring south to market(there is no market in Far East Russya).  Will they be stopped at the border now?  HArdly, that area is considered by China as historically part of the Middle Kingdom and old Mad Vlad wouldn't have the balls to mess with his new best friend forever Xi JP.  Locals on social media call it "The Great Southern Wall".  The beijingers call it "The Anti-Covid Great Wall".  Emporer Xi JinPing calls on Chinese to secure the borders and "safeguard the sacred land".  One has to love statements like that from dictators/Communists;  they think people like to hear such drivel.   Reviewed records indicate that the Beijingers fortified 285 miles of border, mostly in the south(Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam/Laos.  One southern city, Ruili, has seen elaborate efforts to control all border crossings.   Trucks must be stopped, searched, and sanitized before being allowed to crossover.  Then Chinese labor offloads the cargo and transfers same to Chinese trucks.  Using the Covid virus gives the Beijingers easy support to the new fences, the goal of which has always been to control the flow into and out of China.

          During the Cold War(remember that?), fences were a regular topic of discussion.  Many attempted escapes had to cross a no mans'land to safety, and rarely were these successfully carried out.  Watch towers were a common place fixture, manned with armed guards, like a concentration camp.  But never forget when dealing with Commies, fences are the norm. 

Learn Russyan: Go To School In Central African Republic

         So, now we will be able to improve our language skills while on safari, maybe.  The Central African government, through its Dept. of Education, has signed an agreement with the Russyan Federation to teach the Russyan language to young students in the country.  This sounds odd, yes?  It is odd, no?  Why one would ask with total skepticism.  Hmmmmm.  Is it because a coalition of future workers will have Russyan managers in nearby industries?  Is it because C.A. R. student demonstrate exceptional talent that can be useful to Russyan mining interests?  We know that C.A. R. has a connection to the central government there.  We know that Russyan miners extract over 50% of diamond exports from the local mines, and the Russyan army provides security for all protected mines shared with the local police forces. A very interesting situation.