"The Chinese economy is not exactly going great guns"??
The Chinese economy will grow by $1,500,000,000 (one trillion, five hundred billion dollars) this year.
Our economy will grow by $400,000,000 (four hundred billion) this year.
Chinese real wages will rise 6.8% this year; ours will rise 1.1%.
What would 'great guns' look like?
2
"making Black Friday look, yet again, like a yard sale."
This is so much fun to read as we head into the holiday season.
And you know the old saying, "better to shop than to make war."
3
OK good for the Chinese, but do not forget that like the story, Alibaba is stealing your data and tracking what you do, and of course since this is China, the state is given the data for its own purposes. Alibaba is not alone in this, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, all of social media have data mining operations and huge back doors.
Caveat Emptor
7
As we all know, getting and having more 'things' is what gives one true happiness and meaning in life. So by that yardstick, a shopping day that makes Black Friday look like a yard sale should mean the people of China are profoundly happy.
But wait, didn't this year's World Happiness Report by the United Nations find overall happiness in China on the decline? According to The Economist China ranks "below Russia and even war-torn Libya."
Jack Ma, what happened?
9
I buy a lot online when I’m in the UK.
And I’m beginning to be truly alarmed and ashamed at the quantity of packaging involved having filled my spare room with flattened boxes and great bags of bubble wrap and polystyrene beads (so the rest now goes in the recycling, or more often, in the trash as there is too much tape on the cartons or the wrap is non-recyclable).
Seeing that picture of an avalanche of boxes is truly depressing.
What is capitalism doing to our diminishing world?
18
My Alibaba stock has not gone up in 22 months. What do you think?
4