Luxury Chinese Boat Launches, Sinks Immediately

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:22 | 1767242 rajat_bhatia

See. They need a floating currency!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:31 | 1767286 Smithovsky

Dim sunk

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:32 | 1767294 Elooie

I'm trying so hard not to laugh at my desk right now.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:44 | 1767349 Troll Magnet

coming soon to a walmart near you!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:48 | 1767362 MsCreant

Currently available at a Wallmart near you.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:53 | 1767376 akak

Will the yellow smiley face on the price sign have slanted eyes?

(OK, stupid question --- if they don't all by now, ...)
(At least we know why they are yellow.)

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:54 | 1767383 Haywood Jablowme

So when's the maiden voyage for that refurbished navy carrier they're working on again??

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:01 | 1767401 nope-1004

So the best way to sink a Chinese boat is.....

Put it in water?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:02 | 1767416 akak

The naming of the traditional Chinese boat as a "junk" might have been a clue.

Curious how they managed to foresee their main 21st century export hundreds of years before the fact.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:12 | 1767463 theXman

Actually the characters "??" means Wine Steel. But to ordinary Chinese they sound like Wine Jar.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:36 | 1767573 Fish Gone Bad

China, known for poisoning pets and children, now known for making shitty boats as well.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:37 | 1767577 dwdollar

"In China, you float boat. It not float you."

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:46 | 1767609 Schmuck Raker

Lead-based bottom-paint?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:12 | 1767681 Triggernometry

Ummm, hey Ren?

Stimpy, you idiot!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:18 | 1767710 SMG

Perfect metaphor for the Chinese economy perhaps?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:58 | 1767816 vato poco

Metaphor for the long-term survival of the giant Three Gorges Dam, as well?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:03 | 1767831 boiltherich

You think that is bad you should try their baby formula.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:41 | 1767933 prains

melamine milk for all........hoooooray

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:04 | 1768008 flacon

"SUPPLIES!" ->uhf

CHINESY vs. AMERICANA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KezvwARhBIc

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:54 | 1768359 Smithovsky

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the person who gave a -1 to everyone above is of Chinese origin.

Me no rikey!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:51 | 1767799 e_goldstein

Nah, but maybe they lined the hull with all that overpriced tungsten Robert Ruben sold to them.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:06 | 1768002 chumbawamba

Shut your uselessly flapping jabber lips long enough to read this article, then send it to something like 3-7 friends. Then you can resume chattering like parakeets.

www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/10/atomic-bomb-that-is-about-to-explo...

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The Atomic Bomb that is About to Explode at the Federal Reserve

I have consistently contended that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is something akin to a mad scientist who, in his development of new "tools" to manage monetary policy, is probably unaware of all the nuances and ramifications of the new tools he is developing. Indeed, one problem with one of his new tools may be about to blow up in his face.

It turns out that Bernanke's decision to pay interest on reserves held at the Fed by member banks has some twists to it that make what he is doing likely illegal. The blog Uneasy Money points this out in a post titled, Is the Federal Reserve Breaking the Law:

In a comment earlier today to this post, David Pearson shocked me by quoting the following passage from the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006:

Balances maintained at a Federal Reserve bank by or on behalf of a depository institution may receive earnings to be paid by the Federal Reserve bank at least once each calendar quarter, at a rate or rates not to exceed the general level of short-term interest rates.

As I said to David Pearson in my reply to his comment, I am flabbergasted by this. The Fed is now paying 0.25% interest on reserve balances while and the interest rate on 3-month T-bills is now 0.01%. Yet the statute states in black letters that the rate that the Fed may pay on reserves is "not to exceed the general level of short-term interest rates." In fact, as can be easily seen on the Treasury’s Daily Yield Curve webpage, only on rare occasions was the 3-month T-bill rate as high as 0.25% in 2009 and it has been consistently less than 0.20% for most of 2009 and all of 2010 and 2011.

Got that? The Fed, as I have pointed out a number of times, is paying interest to bankers many times what is available in the marketplace and this turns out to be illegal.

Now it just so happens that the Congressional wording is a bit sloppy and says the pay out of "earnings" instead of interest, and you can be sure Bernanke is going to attempt to dance on the head of this pin , but the spirit of Act is clear, Fed member banks aren't supposed to be receiving payouts from the Fed that are greater than what they can get in the open market.

In other words, Bernanke is breaking the law, and one would think that now that this is public, he will have to cease paying interest at 0.25% to Fed bank members.

And as for him getting the law change, good luck to Bernanke trying to get new legislation through Congress, with the current anti-bankster sentiment in the country. Is there a Congressman around who will vote to allow the Fed to pay banks 25 times the current market rate?

This is where the atomic bomb explodes. Since Bernanke started paying interest on reserves (especially excess reserves),excess reserves have climbed from a few million to $1.6 trillion. If Bernanke stops paying interest at 0.25%, the money is likely to fly out of excess reserves and into the economy quicker than you can say, "hyper-inflation fiat money".

Maybe Bernanke will find a way to squirm out of this mess or simply ignore the law, the way recent Presidents have ignored many laws, but it will be nice to know that when the trials come Bernanke will be up there, with the other lawbreakers, having to explain why he ignored the law and paid the banksters interest 25 times greater than what is allowed by law.

--

I am Chumbawamba.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:08 | 1768005 chumbawamba

That goes for all of you, in case any one of you gets personally butthurt.

-Chumblez.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:51 | 1768087 flacon

Chumba,

> " Is there a Congressman around who will vote to allow the Fed to pay banks 25 times the current market rate?"

The Congress IS THE FED'S FETUS IN FETU.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetus_in_fetu

There are TWO United States:
http://supremelaw.org/authors/freeman/freeman4.htm

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 08:04 | 1768869 Pope Clement

Flaco- Thanks for the Freeman link

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:16 | 1768290 AustriAnnie

"when the trials come Bernanke will be up there, with the other lawbreakers, having to explain why he ignored the law and paid the banksters interest 25 times greater than what is allowed by law."

Like he has had to explain all his other illegal actions? Gimme a break.

If Bernanke and all the other banksters are actually punished for breaking the law, well, I'll eat my iPad! It just is not going to happen.

There has been no respect for the law by the Fed up until now, why would they suddenly be held accountable? The law will be changed to accomodate a "flexibility" regarding rates, or whatever they have to do to get their way.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 03:20 | 1768638 fajensen

The risk is very small, but ... leave out the battery: The lithium will make funny pyrotechnic colours with your stomach acid, the surgeon stitching up that mess will retire in luxury - eventually.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:38 | 1768335 old naughty

Akak,

The name translated to "Liquor Steel"...why/what? Your guess is as good as mine?

As to how they managed to foresee...hundreds of years before the fact? Guess they would have to hyper-jump back to their future, to their re-drawing board.

Wait, weren't there significant influence in the early part of last century from Europe to have the communist party established in China?

Hummmmmm.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 01:25 | 1768531 OldPhart

You sure that isn't a homonym?

Maybe "Lick Her Still"? (sophmoric, yeah, I know, but it's been a long assed day)

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 01:25 | 1768530 o2sd

In fact, Chinese 'junks' were far superior vessels to European ships for nearly 800 years. They had sealed, isolated compartments in the hull, so that a leak in one part of the hull would not sink the ship (unlike the Titanic, whose hull segments were not sealed, and you know the rest).

The Chinese 'junk' was the first vessel to have a foresail, so they could tack against the wind hundreds of years before European vessels, which relied on the trade winds.

As the for ship in the video, it looks like European design. Maybe if they had modernised the design of the 'junk' for the 21st century with new materials, it would float.

But dont let the FACTS get in the way of your frothing-at-the-mouth China bashing. Carry on ...

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 03:30 | 1768644 European American

The boat seemed to have a shallow hull. The angle of launch was steep. The boat appeared to angle in off center. Probably not the boat. Primitive launching method. "Junk Launch".

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 04:24 | 1768683 Marigold

I agree, the frenzy of China bashing here although some are extremely witty is frightening and this from the supposedly ZH intelligent elite.I shiver to imagine what Joe Sixpack and his ilk are thinking if the sinking of some small boat in China draws such a rabid response and outpourings of shadenfreude. In any case it seems that Amerikan politicians have already sniffed blood and are busy getting ready to implement Smoot-Hawley No.2.How American centric their world is. Please don't forget that made in Japan, Taiwan and Korea labels were originally indications of poor quality.The Chinese cock may yet have the last crow !

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 04:36 | 1768690 jeff montanye

excellent points all and, as you note, the sinophobia will turbocharge the decline as it spills out into international financial relations.

Sun, 10/16/2011 - 09:33 | 1778619 Shooting Shark

Yes, yes, it was the launch angle, but you take the thing in its totality, so F 'em, and have some SchadenF*ckyoutoo. A rocket launched incautiously deserves the same respect as a boat launched improperly--none. If your point is that the boat would have been fine with somebody else launching it, well, that hardly sticks up for your red commie pals.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 06:43 | 1768760 mjk0259

Not so good at finding things with them though. Like North America.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 12:04 | 1769847 SilverRhino

This happened to the Swedish Navy as well back in the day.

If the mandarins had not have stopped Zheng Ho the New World would have been Chinese.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:02 | 1767418 CClarity

That's a "luxury" boat?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:10 | 1767435 akak

Well duh!

Did you see any shackles anywhere on it at all? I hear that it actually has some seats on it, as well --- although that is just a rumor. And what hygenic facilities it has! Did you know that there are actually restrooms on it? Yep, no more hanging one's ass over the gunwales! (Of course, the toilets still empty directly into the river --- but now one can pollute in luxurious privacy.)

Why, I bet they only allow 200 people on the roof of it while in transit, too!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:10 | 1767458 CrankItTo11

It actually sunk because of the toilets (aka, giant holes) in the floor. Someone thought that would be a luxurious feature.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:06 | 1767666 nmewn

A Chinese beday!!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:48 | 1768233 Yen Cross

Another plus 1. Yen

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:26 | 1767527 AldousHuxley

"luxury" as in "unleaded" paint from china.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 03:00 | 1768625 toothpicker

whatever floats your boat

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:09 | 1767446 CrankItTo11

And who doubts their Ghost Cities are falling apart as we speak?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:24 | 1767485 akak

Good thing ghosts aren't picky about little things like moldy drywall and crumbling substandard concrete. I hear that ghost dogs are just wild about the flavor of melamine, too.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:00 | 1768107 Freddie

It gets worse. The chinese also "thin out" rebar. Anything to lower the cost. They also run steel mills a bit cooler to save money which mean inpurities in the steel melt remain. Bad drywal, bad concrete and bad rebar.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:04 | 1768267 DoChenRollingBearing

Bad bearings too.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:34 | 1767913 taxpayer102

Best way to sink the United States in debt - buy Made in China products

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:05 | 1767998 Bruin4

I cant believe I am saying this but there is something so remarkably sad about this that I actually feel sorry for the Chinese. I am no naval engineer but look at that POS.

Forgive me ZH I know not what I say

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 02:06 | 1768584 bluebare

I'm no expert but I've heard the US Defense Department occasionally pays $600 or more for a toilet. Good shit.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 05:33 | 1768733 Gringo Viejo

I figure the little guy wavin' his arms at the end of the clip was probably the project supervisor. Probably took one to the back of the head too.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 05:40 | 1768729 Gringo Viejo

I've seen fuckin' toilets in a Grey Hound Bus Terminal with better lookin' water.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 21:41 | 1772010 mkkby

No Girrigan. Not rat ray!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:00 | 1767384 dwdollar

The Chinese century... LOL...

Look at them try to push it AS they watch it sink. Firstly... pull it back you fucking idiot, don't push. Secondly... you aren't going to be able to affect it's momentum anyway dumbasses...

Don't forget about those Nuclear reactors they're building downstream of Three Gorges Dam!!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:10 | 1767459 Freddie

In China is it always about squeezing the cost for profits. I talked to some people and this was in an article as well. They thinned out a lot of construction rebar to save money. It gets worse. A lot of their steel is not made at high enough temps to save money. I cannot imagine the skyscrpers made with thinned out rebar.

Oil drillers and industrial tools or metals made in China just shattering.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:18 | 1767488 New_Meat

Fred, there's "thinned out" and then there's "cost savings in the steel composition such that the tensile strength doesn't meet our specification."

I'm really suspecting the latter.

- Ned

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:19 | 1767874 upWising

I hate to be a party-pooper but....

I think the State of California brought the new "eastern half" of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in from Shanghai. As I recall the new towers being towed through the Golden Gate, I remember it being said that they allegedly made of steel also. CalTrans is happily "stimulating itself" by rebuilding bridges all over the state to accommodate more lanes for more cars (imported from Japan and Korea), and as I see the big steel I-beams stacked on the side of the freeway, I keep thinking "Made in China." I know "our Asian trading partner" has an "issue with flotation" but....with that "pesky little steel question".... Is the joke on US?

But, now I remember, we are a POST-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY! We don't need to get bogged down with the dirty smelly minutiae of actually MAKING anything; we can just MANAGE INFORMATION AND FINANCE (and dabble in cottage industries like seasonal Chocolate Bears). We will be well-equipped to MANAGE the information and insurance claims from the collapsing bridges. I think a collapsed bridge boosts to GDP so it's all good.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:47 | 1767953 New_Meat

up:

" Is the joke on US?"

... er ... yes. There used to be a concept of "management responsibility" that was backed up and rather well enforced by an internal and Owner organization called "Quality Assurance" with their minions "Quality Control Inspectors" who were (and are, when they are on the job) true pains in the ass. See the concrete pouring/placing fiasco in Boston's Zakim Bridge as an example of this failure.

I'm with you on those messy details getting in the way of "this quarter's profit." But, I do have to contest your comment:

"I think a collapsed bridge boosts to GDP so it's all good."

Nyet, see the simplest refutation of the 'broken window theory here.'

Won't cost u much, will get your head screwed in the right direction.

- Ned

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:07 | 1768004 upWising

Ned--

I forgot my tags. Let's try again::

< sarcasm > "I think a collapsed bridge boosts to GDP so it's all good." < /sarcasm >

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:32 | 1768058 New_Meat

ya gotta forgive me, I've been slaving over a hot computer all day and, well, I'm just a skosh' piglet in these here woods.

(and besides, how many of the folks here nor at "Occupy <your city here in 1,000 countries>" would have understood?)

;-) - Ned

{Occupy Boston costs to the town are >$2MM for police "protection" plus eeeeeeeelecrricity, plus the nay "potapottiez" since the city hasn't provided any, but the local establishments, and the public-funded South Station have "sanitary" facilities.}

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 04:45 | 1768695 jeff montanye

the costs of ows vs. the costs of the banksters. hmmm? which is greater? tell you what ows is cheaper than. burning. see for example watts, august '65.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:26 | 1768161 Freddie

See Feinstein's getting very rich off of trading with the Chinese. It gets worse. Anyone remember years ago when Calif banned and recalled Chinese SKS rifles? Well they rounded em up and paid the owners nothing. They were exported back to China only to be sold back into the United States probably on the East Coast. Feinstein's fingerprints were all over that one.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 04:46 | 1768696 jeff montanye

she is a corrupt zionist war monger/profiteer and should be jailed.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 06:17 | 1768747 Papasmurf

Softer steel has more give when the earth shakes. Flexible strength.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 02:20 | 1768593 Bruin4

Our options in the USA for structural and automotive steel have been very limited over the past 30 or so years, the US plants - those that still survive - rested on their laurels - like the US car makers and hence, with the help of subsidies, never felt the need to upgrade their plants or put out a product that could compete on the national or international markets.The Swiss came out with better smelters and patented process for steel and basically crushed what life was left out of the US steel market.

To purchase reasonably priced structural steel the US had to look to Asia, India specifically for anything that came close to meeting ASTM specifications - most of their steel was made with the Swiss process. Now there is a good possibility that the Swiss patents were ripped off by the Asian companies - knocked off by the Chinese much like the glass tempering ovens were.

I dont know how global patent protection comes into play here but for sure some patent holders ( in all industries) are getting their technology ripped off somewhere in Asia at every moment of the day. Is the end product the same, probably not.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 08:56 | 1768960 TaxSlave

Is the end product the same, probably not.

Or even worse, maybe it is.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:25 | 1767522 vato poco

Oh, HELL yes to that, Freddie. I've seen pics of a building in one of their industrial cities that didn't.....collapse, exactly.....it just fell over on its side. The pics showed some of the snapped-off main support columns - which are suppsed to be 2 ft. of solid concrete & steel to a side - and the damn things were *hollow*. Just 2 inches of 'concrete' (LOL) wrapped around 22 inches of air. Naah, no quality issues or inspector bribing going on in China these days. Not much. Am REALLY looking forward to the "launch" of their carrier.

Over/Under on the Ghost Cities collapsing currently at 4-and-a-half years, and falling.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:21 | 1767718 CompassionateFascist

Chinese aircraft carrier(s)....unlike ours, they won't be floating on an ocean of debt.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:49 | 1767960 New_Meat

we'll see if they can make it out of the roads, p'raps better than CdG. - Ned

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:57 | 1768374 FreedomGuy

Well, the base for their carrier came from Russia which gives them a fighting chance as they modify it. Maybe it will just capsize.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:06 | 1768000 get your snake oil

20 inches of air don't exagerate.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:38 | 1768203 Freddie

+1

On youtibe there is an older guy from Ohio. He goes around the USA in NV,AZ, FL videotaping our ghost towns. He went to China to that giant 3 or 4 story mall that is pretty much empty like 99%. The idea of a mall if you think about it in China is absurd. These people are the low cost producers using slave labor. Some poor bastard making a few yuan "ain't" going to Chinese ripoff of babys R us to pay full retail.

Anyway the old guy from Ohio is walking around everywhere. He gets to the fourth floor and is showing crappy construction all over and everything is empty. It is raining outside and it is probably a humid damp geographic area. Water is leaking in - in various places. What a disaster.

They have some HUGE skyscrapers. I cannot imagine. Ditto Dubai and other ME countries with REALLy shitty cement mixes probably using saltwater(!!!) in the concrete mix. Also using bangladeshi/pakistani/et al slave labor. These buildings are huge. You "ain't gonna fix em" either. How do you fix something like that.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 00:26 | 1768425 Creepy Lurker

Spot on, all of you. I worked a QA job at a company that made cell phone parts. During the transition of the company from here to China, They were making some of the parts there and shipping them here for QA and final packaging. I would go through these parts and no kidding, they were 85% reject. Can you imagine hitting numbers on your cellphone keypad and nothing happens because there's no contact dome underneath?

Yep, you guessed it, I was the bad guy for rejecting the parts.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 02:34 | 1768604 Bruin4

You cant fix something like that but dont be fooled there are millions of buildings right here in the USA that leak air and water so badly eventually they will have to be abandoned as well because there is no amount of money that can be spent on repairs to fix a POS that was built wrong from the start, but dont worry there always is money to be found to rent a bulldozer or two.

And I am not talking about older buildings really, the CRAP we have built in the last 25 years is a joke and what was built in the last 5 or 6 years might actually be the worst, yea they are not about to fall over but they are energy and maintenance black holes. I know I work on them every day, if you saw the maintenance numbers and energy costs you would be sick.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 01:38 | 1768521 tyler

China sucks and thins rebar to save money. O.K. I got it.

China's way more stingy than that two faced talking buffoon named buffet.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:00 | 1767652 DoneThis2Long

I doubt it that beauty will be going anywhere anytime soon. However, the Chief Engineer of the project will be trading places with the boat: he will be going to the bottom of the "pond" ... river ... whatever, as the boat gets raised. Maybe (on the rising). I wonder if he was shot on the spot or they took him behind the nearest taller object ?!?

That boat is the true depiction of the meaning of MADE IN CHINA. It now joins the High Speed Bullet Train which crashed a few weeks ago.

Do they manufacture Planes just yet? Might as well go for a troika!!!!

I guess things are not as simple to make when they are not stealing the entire engineering program .....are they boys 'n girls. I am looking forward to more similar suckcesses in the future so long as they keep them to themselves.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:14 | 1767687 AldousHuxley

yes china manufactures planes....because they are buying thousands

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=azVVfZO4YElM

only American idiots buy (spend money, get in debt) without forcing foreign companies to make some of the products within US and provide jobs / technical training here.

and free trade isn't "free" when China has 40% tariff on foreign made boats. Free trade is only for American boat makers so China can sell their shit in US.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:44 | 1767940 DoneThis2Long

is there one country we do not have an idiotic trade deal with?

It has become an American 'tradition' to enact 'trade' deals in which one or two majors benefit at the expense of dozens + of minors and a shit-load of US jobs.

While china is only the latest to shaft us, what about Japan, the masters of currency manipulation. They sure as hell did not gain a foothold in the auto industry due to an abundance of quality built into their sardine can bodies, equipped with rice-grinders for engines. I know it first hand. Their quality was atrocious. As bad as ours were, at least one had better than 50/50 survival rate in case of a major crash. Hell, the M1 tank was built on the '75 Chrysler Imperial chassis. ....

It really is coming down to us, to demand American made goods as well as implement rolling boycotts of American multinationals subbing our jobs. As is, we are learning to get by with less, so fuck them ..... let's see how long we can hold out with just the basics, while the 'majors' rebuild our manufacturing base. Write your politicians and demand a bill whereby a minimum of 60% of the products sold here be manufactured - not simple assembled - here, and all trade deals be equal in their entirety. I despise dual standards whereby we must local partners, and are banned from buying shares in their companies, while they are free to do WTF they please, including dismantling the fab and moving it leaving us with the tab for the unemployed. That predicament is solely the result of us getting screwed by our politicians ...... damn crooks.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:20 | 1768297 geekgrrl

I have been boycotting Chinese-made products for several years now, but so far they haven't noticed. :-)

Here's the thing: all these low-wage countries aren't populated with stupid people, but they just don't have the history of tech and manufacturing that the US has had. There is a tribal knowledge culture here and it has been passed down for generations since the beginning of the Industrial revolution. That tribal knowledge is often passed down by parents to their kids and is shared by workers at every US company, which each have their own tribal knowledge base. I've been through many layoffs, and the tribal knowledge loss is very real and usually unacknowledged by management.

So the difference in cultures that offshoring companies don't seem to comprehend is that you simply cannot export that tribal knowledge base and competence accumulated through a lifetime of learning, often from a very young age, in the context of one of the most technically advanced nations. Less developed cultures will get better at manufacturing and design over time, but like us, they will have to learn some lessons the hard way, just like we did: through trial and error. This boat is just one example.

The other thing I see in my line of work that scares me is part substitutions where the new part doesn't meet the specs of the original part. Sometimes this replacement happens under the radar of engineering (that is to say, they don't tell us, they just substitute the part and remain silent), and so you end up with many millions of defective products out in the field before it is caught. We are called when the failed products come back for repair at high rates and we find out the purchasing department is practicing engineering by doing the substitution. I'm not that knowledgable about the Chinese culture, but that approach to physical reality is simply not going to work, and people will die as a result.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:26 | 1768306 AnAnonymous

Sure, sure.

More fabled past.

Technology was transfered from Europe to the US.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 02:24 | 1768596 boiltherich

And yet the Great Wall of China is the only man made object that can be seen from the moon and has stood for 1300 years. Of course it did not keep the invading Mongols out so I suppose in it's own way it is just like that boat. Still, I am only middle aged and I remember when "made in Japan" was a joke meaning cheap crap that falls apart. How long did it take them to learn to eat our lunch in manufacturing? Ah but there is so much more profit in just financial dealing with other peoples money, especially when you have a complicit central bank and federal government to issue trillions in debt and inflate away all we worked for.

Fri, 10/14/2011 - 00:11 | 1772350 geekgrrl

That's partly true, but in my case, my family is of Swiss ancestry and yes, they brought that knowledge over with them and it was passed down. My father was a tool and die maker, and I grew up immersed in a culture where learning how things work was considered a vital skill. It was encouraged and I was given plenty of things to take apart so I could figure out how to put them back together and make them work again. I don't know how many clocks I stripped to nothing and put back together. I put together the first one successfully at age 8. In contrast, I think you would be hard pressed to find a single tool and die maker in China 40 years ago.

So to complete your point using my personal anecdote, the technology did transfer from Europe to the US, but it did so more because the people of Europe actually emigrated to the US. It's not enough to simply steal technology. You actually have to understand what's underneath why things work the way they do. You have to have the culture. I don't see that in China.

I am currently involved in fixing production line problems in several Chinese factories, so I have a first-hand view of what the Chinese are actually doing in these factories, and to be perfectly honest, it scares me. Fortunately our products will not likely lead to death because of a part or material substitution, but my fear is that many other products being produced in China will lead to death.

I get it that you're Chinese and don't like any negative comments about China, but my perspective is that all countries, including the US, are cultural disasters that are already grinding against the limits to growth. China's one-child policy is an explicit acknowledgement of the predicament (which is more than I can say for the US, which refuses to acknowledge any limits to growth), but the end result will be the same: a readjustment of the way we live on such a scale that most people can't wrap their heads around it. The US will have much farther to fall. The Chinese will just go back to their farms.

Then again, as I've suggested before, Chekhov's gun is on the wall and we're in the third act.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:56 | 1767807 Thomas

Simply needs more water.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:37 | 1767579 johnQpublic

i dont want to sail on this ship of fools

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:34 | 1767301 redpill

Get to the rifeboats!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:37 | 1767312 ZeroPower

Probrem?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:14 | 1767689 IQ 145

Obviously, they just needed another ten or twenty people to push on the 115 Tonne bows and everything would have been alright. A common problem.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:38 | 1767321 I am more equal...

Mao say Dunk

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:50 | 1767340 akak

"The Great Leap ... Underwater"

Now that was one Iron Ricebowl, indeed!

I find myself wondering if, like the yuan, this boat was fixed to the value of the US dollar. If so, utterly predictable results.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:51 | 1767632 nmewn

All rands on reck!!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:53 | 1767969 New_Meat

True (war) story: a kid on Guadalcanal in '43 gets lost, tries to return to his lines, but he's from New York City (I can't make this up!) and he's forgotten the password. So he comes back in towards his lines calling "Million! Million! Million!" because, he knows that "million" has a "million" ellz, so he shoud be (and was) safe.

- Ned

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:16 | 1767695 AldousHuxley

lifeboats also made in china.....so won't help you there.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:08 | 1768123 Al Gorerhythm

Raff out Rowd.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 01:42 | 1768559 o2sd

Wow, I just read about 15 comments like yours implying that the Chinese have trouble pronouncing 'L', when in fact it is the Japanese that have difficulty with 'L', the Chinese have plenty of 'L's in their language.

Lao - old

Lu - green

Li - Peach

etc etc

It's actually 'R' that the Chinese have trouble with. All of which tells me that ZeroHedge posters are populated with people too fucking stupid to even be good racists.

I guess thats the point of these clickbait articles. As for the articles on actual finance, I guess it's just pearls before swine.

Still, the video was funny. Even my Chinese friends laughed hard (because they could understand what the provincial idiots on the shore were saying). Ooops, did I just say I have Chinese friends out loud? I better close my ZeroHedge account.

Fri, 10/14/2011 - 02:56 | 1772609 geekgrrl

Do tell. Would love to hear a translation!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:24 | 1767513 derek_vineyard

Gotta love their boat ramp.....the sharp angle and weight of the boat forced the tail end underwater. Stupid fucks.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:47 | 1767615 Pay Day Today

I'd have to agree - the water tightness of the vessel was never actually tested because they just tipped it into the drink end first!!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:17 | 1767706 AldousHuxley

that instruction manual page was missing from the copy

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:43 | 1767781 Clycntct

No it was there but it was in English.

Do not put this end in the water first.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:02 | 1767825 UP Forester

Troubleshooting page:

1. If boat no froat, no put in water.

2. If boat reak, use bucket (Appx. 2G Diag. 6).

3. If boat no run, use rong-hando padder (16 incruded).

4. If are erse fairs, carr Ricky-Bobby in Arabama for use in Duct Tape, binding twine and bubbergum.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:47 | 1767951 surf0766

We are in tears reading this. Thanks !

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:52 | 1767965 SaveTheBales

You sound like Tech Support.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:44 | 1768216 Freddie

Tech support is in India. Speaking of which - I had to call about an IRA today and for the high end retirement plan stuff - Vanguard trasnfers you to India.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:33 | 1768059 pauhana

Oh, god. I think I just peed!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:30 | 1768167 Flakmeister

This might well be the funniest thing I have ever read here....

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:04 | 1767836 Mesquite

Serious Engineering Skills in Action...

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 00:12 | 1768403 Monedas

Dittoes ! The vessel's weight exceeded that of the bathtub full of water displaced by the transom ! Monedas 2011 Comedy Jihad Slapstick Engineering

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:00 | 1767819 Richard Whitney

That is hilarious!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:41 | 1767588 johnQpublic

i'm thinking this is an analogy of the entire worlds financial system

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:40 | 1767928 TeamDepends

Heads rill roll!!!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:26 | 1767265 Linus2011

very sad the vessel was not a total loss!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:58 | 1767367 Bokkenrijder

Lead paint anyone?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:25 | 1767521 UGrev

H.M.S. ROR

There, fixed it for you :)

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:12 | 1767680 Jay Gould Esq.

A sunken vessel is a Jonah. She is a doomed ship, salvage or no.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:19 | 1767713 covert

funny, lol

http://expose2.wordpress.com

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:07 | 1768274 mailll

The Chinese economy was in that boat and the US Senate just sunk it!!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 23:32 | 1768321 The Big Ching-aso

Ha ha ha. The jokes on us.

What you guys don't know is that this is not a luxury yacht. It's actually China's top secret disguised nuclear submarine, "The PRC Poseidon".

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 05:22 | 1768725 Gringo Viejo

Is that the Carrier they bought from the Russians?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:22 | 1767246 Divided States ...

What did you expect? Afterall, it was made in China.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:28 | 1767541 AldousHuxley

Looks like from the video they just hired local military and gangster thugs to deploy the boat.

perhaps they got directives from the best of the best in China: Peking U's men's crew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC-fCpio6dM

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:44 | 1767606 max2205

But they are better at SCIENCE than us!?

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:22 | 1767723 AldousHuxley

science knowledge? yes, because you can just copy that from any text book.

World's firsts innovation? no because there nothing you can copy from.

America export innovation, then demand innovation rights for costs incurred, but look at why google pulled out.....state sponsored hacking/copying.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:57 | 1767809 buyingsterling

There's a short tail on the Chinese bell curve

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:00 | 1767985 New_Meat

There's a lot of population on the high-end of the "One-Tail" curve.

There's a lot of experimentation going on with high mortality rates. Survivors, otoh: we'll be playing (that is we: the world) at a high level.

- Ned

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:27 | 1767267 SWRichmond

Improper (or rather, complete lack of) building ways. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite that stupid. When you launch a ship stern first, you can't submerge the stern in the process. OMFG.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:37 | 1767311 s2man

yep. and once the stern was under water, they kept pushing it in.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:22 | 1767502 akak

Apparently, even they couldn't read the product manual --- even in the original Chinese.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:53 | 1767644 Tom Servo102

I've seen one of the local rednecks do that at a boat launch here in East Texas. Actually, his wife did while he screamed at her. She kept backing the trailer into the lake and nobody figured out that the boat was still strapped down hard to the trailer til it filled up with water. And then it was too heavy for the truck to pull it back out. Ooops.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:02 | 1767826 AldousHuxley

Argentina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv8W4W-iJvE&NR=1

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 21:02 | 1767990 New_Meat

"Hey Y'All, Watch THIS!"

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 01:58 | 1768579 OldPhart

That's Kentucky...the real, North Florida, Redneck version is

"Hol' ma beer, Ahm gonna try sumtin!"

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:37 | 1767314 BandGap

I agree, probably totally seaworthy, just launched it at a f'ed up angle. Once it started taking on water that was all she wrote. Like how they just kept pushing, too.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:53 | 1767586 Mine Is Bigger

I would have to disagree. The boat's hull looks strangely shallow. Considering how high and large the upper section is, I don't think this boat would have floated even if it was launched properly.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:39 | 1767326 Kassandra

These guys obviously don't do much boating. That is the stupidest thing I have ever seen.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:12 | 1767853 LongSoupLine

That's the quality domestic build...hell, you should see the export version!

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:45 | 1767350 s2man

I've never seen a boat launched off of sausages like that? how did it get there? by crane? if so, why not just set it in the water with the crane. bizarre.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:52 | 1767636 BigJim

I guess that wouldn't have given the whole thing the sense of... occasion... they were looking for.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:15 | 1767865 AldousHuxley

even cranes are not perfect due to human error: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv8W4W-iJvE&NR=1

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:08 | 1767440 NotApplicable

They were just being resourceful, trying to wash the deck at the same time. Could happen to anybody.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:19 | 1767712 cgbspender

I have to agree. I was bent over laughing for a good two minutes before I could even click on the article.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 22:22 | 1768133 Al Gorerhythm

@ Hedgeacc.

Here's another. The following article http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/harrisburg-bankruptcy-idUKN1E79...is just replete with floundering symbolism of the US economic miracle. It shows that the solvency of the US (Harrisburg as the example) hasn't gone down the gurgler as this Tyler's vid depicts, but symbolically has gone up in smoke. Harrisburg's filing for bankruptcy has been described as an aberration:

"I think it's more of an example of an aberration," Spiotto told Reuters Insider. "It's event-driven from a failed incinerator plant that's unique to the Harrisburg situation. That isn't a contagion that's going to spread to other municipalities." Phhhttt. As if a single malinvestment has caused an entire city to go bankrupt.

Excuses and subtleties don't work anymore.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:46 | 1767354 Logans_Run

His vital organs will pay for some of the damage

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:16 | 1767475 AldousHuxley

They already executed him after he told the communist party member who was funding the project that the boat will sink.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 17:34 | 1767303 LeBalance

by adding more water? Keynesian, you are! /sarc/

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 18:51 | 1767468 akak

Don't think of it as a sinking --- think of it as a transitory problem of excess liquidity.

Wed, 10/12/2011 - 20:14 | 1767859 Mesquite

Nice..That explains it...

( I thought they had been watching too much of The Three Stooges...)

Luxury Chinese Boat Launches, Sinks Immediately

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