china blinked?

[JohnRoberts]

China is replacing the embattled HK leader Carrie Lam as the HK legislature formally withdraws the extradition bill.

It is possible this is too little, too late to quiet the street protestors hungry for more enduring liberty.

This is not trivial for china to put that genie back in the bottle, and I don't see HK street protestors giving up easily.  So more interesting times likely ahead.

JR

PS: Interesting (perhaps) to see Lebron James and Shaquille O'Neil come down on opposite sides of free speech comments about HK. I am guessing that Lebron sells a lot more basketball shoes in China than Shaq does, so Lebron is more personally impacted by Chinese displeasure. Lebron was over there playing a pre-season demonstration game, when the Rockets manager made his comment supporting HK protestors attracting the displeasure of Chinese leadership, so he experienced the push back from that communist government first hand.

 

[iomegaman]

China is replacing the embattled HK leader Carrie Lam as the HK legislature formally withdraws the extradition bill.

It is possible this is too little, too late to quiet the street protestors hungry for more enduring liberty.

This is not trivial for china to put that genie back in the bottle, and I don't see HK street protestors giving up easily.  So more interesting times likely ahead.

JR

PS: Interesting (perhaps) to see Lebron James and Shaquille O'Neil come down on opposite sides of free speech comments about HK. I am guessing that Lebron sells a lot more basketball shoes in China than Shaq does, so Lebron is more personally impacted by Chinese displeasure. Lebron was over there playing a pre-season demonstration game, when the Rockets manager made his comment supporting HK protestors attracting the displeasure of Chinese leadership, so he experienced the push back from that communist government first hand.

There are a LOT of protests having impact that US media is completely ignoring...Lebanon is out in the streets, hell even Brexit is getting serious push back, let alone Hong Kong/Chile/Baku/Azerbaijan/...the protest in Spain and Greece are not the only places getting some movement...

The genie of democracy seems to be getting a little puffed up lately...now lets see who will win between him and capitalism...or perhaps cronyism is a better word...

 

[JohnRoberts]

There are a LOT of protests having impact that US media is completely ignoring...Lebanon is out in the streets, hell even Brexit is getting serious push back, let alone Hong Kong/Chile/Baku/Azerbaijan/...the protest in Spain and Greece are not the only places getting some movement...

The genie of democracy seems to be getting a little puffed up lately...now lets see who will win between him and capitalism...or perhaps cronyism is a better word...

You forgot the recent protests against Turkey (over invading Syria)  in Paris.

It is remarkable how much real news gets ignored here, while so many media outlets report the exact same short list of talking points.

The "arab spring" (2011)  was considered an inspiration for lots of pro democracy street demonstrations in muslim countries, but as long as there is real oppression there will be protests, unlike here where they protest much less serious matters (like team politics).  :

JR

PS: I recall my disappointment when they started 24hr news channels. I thought we would get more news, not the same two stories repeated 24 times.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Speaking of china... today I got a reminder about substandard Chinese steel.

I was having trouble screwing some sheet rock screws into old 2x4s, and ASSumed it was just a personal problem for a tired, weak, 70+ YO. After torquing the heads off of two sheet rock screws with a standard screw driver, I feel a little better about myself, and a little worse about those screws. 

Note to self, some of that old wood was really hard... the same chinese screws went into the nearby 2x4 with no drama.

JR

 

[bluebird]

Ha. Been there done that with drywall screws, very annoying. BUT cheep Chinese steel can also be a good thing. My local metal guy gets steel from China and if I have to drill a hole or zip a piece off its no problem! I've worn out drill bits on some old vintage chassis.

 

[Tubetec]

Dry wall screws are designed to be brittle like that ,
Chip board/wood screws are made of much more resilient stuff .

 

[Mbira]

Speaking of china... today I got a reminder about substandard Chinese steel.

I was having trouble screwing some sheet rock screws into old 2x4s, and ASSumed it was just a personal problem for a tired, weak, 70+ YO. After torquing the heads off of two sheet rock screws with a standard screw driver, I feel a little better about myself, and a little worse about those screws. 

Note to self, some of that old wood was really hard... the same chinese screws went into the nearby 2x4 with no drama.

JR

One thing to keep in mind is that woods like Pine get a lot harder as they age, so that would certainly be a factor. 

 

[Tubetec]

I think for really hard woods an old fashioned hand brace and auger bit works better than an electric powered drill , with a big electric drill you stand a good chance of overheating or snapping the bit ,with the hand brace you wont get 'stuck' in the work piece .
Some screws are made so they shear ,its so you can easily nip off the sharp point with a pliers or even a hammer  ,decking screws are similar but can handle more torque before they burst.

Lidl here do boxes of screws , 2.99 small 5.99large  ,various different sizes and duties , you even see trade guys stocking up on them ,best value in town ,  the old style hardware stores where they had packets of 10 are pulling down the shutters these days.

A lot of screws now no longer have posidrive  heads , Torx or Allen heads are better for one handed opperation as the screw will stay balanced on the drill , posi doesnt hold screws nearly  as well . One place you still will find posi is sheetrock/plasterboard screws thats because the pros use a special retractable head so as it automatically doesnt over tighten the screw .

 

[JohnRoberts]

One thing to keep in mind is that woods like Pine get a lot harder as they age, so that would certainly be a factor.

That one 2x4 mixed in with others framing a window, looks decidedly different. The corners look sharper more square that typical 2x4s... I suspect it was a piece of premium lumber used by accident when they build the house. The screws easily went into the adjacent 2x4 that was softer.

JR