Comments by "cdl0" (@cdl0) on "Lei's Real Talk" channel.

  1. Advice for viewers unfamiliar with British newspapers including The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Express, etc., is they have a reputation that the only trustworthy item in them is the date on the front page. The remainder is mostly hearsay and rumour. ;-) Great video, by the way.
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  2. This series of videos by Lei's Real Talk on the history of the CCP leadership is outstanding.
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  3. Good question! I had the same thought while watching the video.
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  4. One reason for not buying Chinese rice, or food exports in general, may be that consumers do not trust it, given the well-known high levels of water and soil contamination, overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, and goodness knows what else in the way of dishonesty. There is a great difference between goods made in factories, and what we put in our mouths.
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  5. The content on this channel is outstanding. It is good to see that the number of subscriptions and views is increasing.
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  6. The analysis and presentation in this video is absolutely excellent.
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  7. This video is one of the best I have seen by Lei's Real Talk. The insights and conclusions are chilling. Lei seems to have got it absolutely right.
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  8. I just noticed: Lei's Real Talk now has 44k subs! It seems not very long ago when this channel had half that amount.
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  9. The videos on Lei's Real Talk channel are excellent, and this mini-series on Mao, Deng, et al. is proving to be particularly good.
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  10. As always, a great video from Lei's Real Talk. The old Soviet Union was close to complete economic collapse in the end, which forced Gorbachev to dissolve it. If China reached such a state, then I wonder which way Xi would jump.
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  11.  @GeneOh  My choice is China Observer, China Insights, China Update, and ADVChina with Serpentza and Laowhy86. The latter trio are a bit belligerent and loud for my taste, however. Others, including China Uncensored, and China in Focus are not quite so good. Lei's Real Talk is up there with the best.
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  12.  @thewishmastur  Do your homework before you post. Hint: a good place to begin is Lei's website.
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  13. Yes, I looked after a supposedly fairly experienced, middle-aged Chinese physics prof. for nearly a year, who came to learn about our research methods, but he never contributed anything, and never had any ideas after expending much effort by our team trying to show him how to do everything. After he returned to China, and we never heard from him again, even though he always seemed like a nice guy.
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  14.  @mrape3945  More than 100% correct: Trust also needs an independent judicial process, and independent oversight of standards, strictly free from all political interference, and strictly free from corruption. This is not even remotely possible at present in China or Russia.
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  15. Notwithstanding the artificial sources of radiation discussed in this video, the elevated natural levels of radiation are likely due to higher levels of cosmic radiation, rather than ultraviolet (UV) radiation, owing to the thinner atmosphere at high altitude. Moreover, natural levels vary widely owing to local geology; however, I do not know the specific situation in Tibet. Concerning the dirty bomb hypothesis presented in this video, it is an interesting idea, but its validity seems dubious, since any territory that is the target of such weapons will be rendered uninhabitable for centuries; thus, is not a good strategy for conquest or annexation. Storage and delivery of such weapons is also problematic, for obvious reasons.
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  16. Lei does the whole thing on her own.
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  17.  @kellydon2294  Lei explains all in an earlier behind the scenes video and on her website.
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  18. As always, Lei's analysis this thoughtful and insightful, making this another great video from her.
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  19. The two main differences are (1) The total amount of US Dollars is published, public information, while the amount of Yuan is a state secret, and the only major currency to the so, and (2) The total debt of local authorities in the US is also public, while in China it is hidden by the schemes described in the video.
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  20.  @charleswomack2166  Laowhy86 and Serpentza are indeed very good, but are somewhat over-aggressive in their delivery, and less well-organized than Lei. China Observer and China Insights are both worth an honourable-mention, and continue to improve; however, I fully agree that Lei's Real Talk is the best of them.
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  21.  @DreBars  My list includes China Update, hosted by 'Tony' from New Zealand. Also China Observer, along with China Insights appear to be okay. China Unsensored, I agree, is not good. None are better than Lei's Real Talk, IMHO.
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  22. Shi Taifeng looks like grandpa Simpson.
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  23. One thing that I have observed, is if you attend any scientific and engineering research conference that is on nuclear power related topics, then there will always be a number of attendees from China, yet they almost never make any contribution. In fact, I can't recall them ever presenting anything. Also, if you try to speak with them, their English is normally so poor that it is impossible to have a conversation, so I really wonder what they can gain from their attendance. They seem more interested in shopping. It has been this way for as long as I can remember.
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  24.  @drumpfdon760  Yes, when I called by Chinese friends on Saturday, they told me that roadblocks were preventing deliveries to shops. The shelves are bare at their favourite supermarket, and staff informed them that the stockroom is empty.
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  25. Funny: While watching this video, I felt dissatisfied with the two first options, then when Lei's said that there was a third one, I knew immediately what this would be, and it is probably the right one.
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  26. Unwillingness to investigate and inform on the inner workings of the CCP by journalists in the free world is not likely at all. That would not be in the nature of journalists. The difficulty of working in China, however, is something that does seem credible.
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  27. Interesting video, rather different from later ones on this channel; however, I would not ever read too much into what Bill Gates says or does. People are distracted by Gates' immense wealth that misleads them into all sorts of bizarre conspiracy theories and so on, but behind the facade is a rather dull, uninteresting man. Apart from the money, Bill Gates is really rather ordinary.
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  28.  @jmc129  No, this is not censorship because censorship means that the videos would be removed, which is not happening. The videos are simply not being promoted, presumably because they do not make money for YouTube, and nothing more sinister than that. The same is equally true for the many brilliant videos by very talented creators on mathematics, physics, computer science, and so on. Hardly anybody watches them. Lei's Real Talk is an outstanding channel and has improved greatly from when it started, so I think its numbers of views, subscribers, and likes will grow. YouTube does at least host these video free of charge for creators and viewers. The cost of all that computer and network equipment is enormous.
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  29. Visit Lei's website to find out more about her. A link is in the video description.
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  30. This is correct. China Update channel always includes quotes from Michael Pettits, by the way.
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  31. @paulbradford6475: Good comment - I agree.
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  32. Wow, this is a really good video with its words of wisdom topped off by a little Chinese lesson at the end, from the most adorable Chinese auntie, Lei.
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  33. Good advice, Theresa Chung.
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  34. 'Never a dull moment', as Lei said, describes this video perfectly.
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  35.  @debabratabanerjee7461  True, except Hong Kong people speak Cantonese and use traditional characters, while the main language in China is Mandarin and they use simplified characters.
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  36. It looks like General Chen Hui's trousers are falling down. 🙂
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  37. I am looking forward to seeing fuchsia episodes in this series. :-) Other colours are available.
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  38. ​ @Vzzdak  Yes, both you and Tom Besson are correct. Full details are declared in "About" section of the publisher's website. Further details are given in the FAQ section accessible via the "About" section. Wikipedia has more information, including extensive descriptions of various controversial matters.
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  39. Chinese lacks an alphabet, making it difficult to classify and search for information. Having an alphabet is almost a prerequisite for technical works. There has long been a huge effort translating Russian learned journals into English. The material is often excellent.
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  40.  @drumpfdon760  No, although there was some interbreeding, Neanderthals only contributes about 1-4% to the DNA of modern humans throughout Eurasia, including East Asians, and possibly confers some strengths such a resistance to certain diseases, as well as the cause of some diseases. There was also a closely related sub-species called Denisovan found in Siberia and Tibet, who were related to Neanderthals. Some of their DNA ended up in the aboriginal people of Australia, Oceania, Polynesia, etc. but not mainland east Asia. So, DUMPF Don, unless you are an African, you can take pride in the knowledge that you are likely about 3% archaic hominid. We are all the same.
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  41.  @freeman10000  LOL!
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  42.  @harrihonkanen749  No, ships are slow but extremely cheap and can carry colossal quantities, rail is somewhere in the middle in terms of expense, speed, load size, and flexibility, road is a bit more expensive but more flexible, air is very fast but most expensive by far.
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  43. It is called Evergrande, and is not the only one. There are various, complicated deals going on, which effectively mean that these failing companies and their debts are being dispersed and absorbed by various other state-owned companies. Lei has dealt with it in previous videos; see also Patrick Boyle, China Observer, and China Insights for more on the long, complex, ongoing saga.
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  44. Engines, or lack of good ones. Also, Russia is reluctant to "share" the technology, which the Chinese are demanding for any deal. It is not hard to guess why.
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  45.  @unconventionalideas5683  Yes. Chinese products are not cheap when you include factors such as the true environmental costs (as implied by this video) the true social costs, and the disastrous health costs of the present coronavirus pandemic. When these things are included, the real costs are likely much higher than manufacturing in a properly regulated, ethical framework, with high environmental standards, such as exists in most European countries.
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  46. Yes, downvote and report (flag) them.
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  47. Wow! Look at all the positive comments! Congratulations to Lei! The calm, carefully measured delivery by the elegant Lei in person, plus all the excellent research and insightful analysis make this an absolutely outstanding channel. It is perfect. The videos are also improving over time. Among my favourites are the story of Mr Wall Street and Miss China, and the previous one on Elon Musk, which was just brilliant.
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  48.  @drumpfdon760  No, this is wrong, the One Child Policy has had barely any effect on the population of China. I have told you before, yet you continue to repeat this rubbish, like some stupid brainwashed kid - Ha - Ha. Serious studies have shown that birthrates in China would be very nearly the same without the One Child Policy as with it, owing to improved education (especially for girls) greater prosperity, and better healthcare. Other countries provide the benchmark.
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  49.  @drumpfdon760  The Shanxi study ran since the start of the One Child Policy so that the authorities could measure its effect. They found that it had very little effect in the long term on total population, but did improve the demographic balance in society. Presumably the authorities kept quiet about it because they did not want to loose face, and is why 100% brainwashed Chinese trolls, DUMPF Don, don't know about it - Ha - Ha. Moreover, as is well-known, Chinese census data and publicly-available official statistics show that the birthrate still continues to fall in line with other countries, even though the policy has been relaxed.
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  50. Good in parts; however, I would say that rather than COP26 being a failure, we should instead conclude a narrative verdict, in legal terminology. The same might be said of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, since this cannot be seen in isolation of the previous several decades of this country's history. Nevertheless, I 'liked' the video. This is an excellent channel, and keeps improving.
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