The U.S.-China Rivalry

The US and China are the 2 greatest rivals in the 21st century. It’s American democracy vs Chinese socialism at the level of Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon Men’s Final. Who’s the better player? American democracy or Chinese socialism?

2/Probably no people have scrutinized American democracy more than China has, the world’s oldest civilization. “American exceptionalism” is under Beijing’s microscope. American democracy has catapulted the US into becoming the world’s greatest superpower in less than 200 years.
3/China, whose momentum will overtake the US in GDP by mid-century, has the same drive as Nadal (who proclaimed Federer was “the greatest player in the history [of tennis]") going against Federer at Wimbledon Final in 2008. Ever cautious, patient and wise, China respects its
4/opponent (as did Nadal) for its achievements. In order to better the US Beijing knows it must be more competitive, up its game and improve its skills. The US-China rivalry is one wherein “iron sharpens iron”. Yet whereas Beijing views American democracy thru an objective,
5/ideologically unbiased lens, the same can’t be said of US Congress, many of whom fear/think China wants to “take over the world” (to wit SoS Mike Pompeo) to “spread communism”. Having 5,000 years of culture, including Confucianism, China has the clearer and more objective view
6/of the differences b/t Chinese socialism and American democracy. Like a rival competitor seeing its #1 opponent failing, in reaction to the Capitol Hill siege Zou Yue on Zoom In (representing Beijing's pov) advises the US to learn from its mistakes and get democracy out of the
7/mire into which it's sunk and get it working again. When your competitor encourages you when you’re down to get back up, you've met an extraordinary person! Beijing obviously understands American democracy better than Washington understands Chinese socialism, if it does at all.
8/Unfortunately the US’s inability to understand Chinese socialism, Beijing’s goals on the international stage or to adopt a multilateral approach to engagement boxes Washington’s perceptions of China into a two-dimensional ideological prism that distorts reality, stokes paranoia
9/ and fixates on China through an adversarial lens. But China isn’t the “bad guy.”

An open question: Will a Biden Administration shift the US stance to multilateralism in issues like COVID-19 and Climate Change? Or even pursue multilateral diplomacy in getting to ☮️ on the
10/Korean Peninsula? Everyone agrees☮️ is better than war. The more the US and China cooperate and work together at finding solutions to global problems, the more they’ll get the chance to understand one another’s views, beliefs & ideologies. And that makes friends out of rivals.
11/https://t.co/l4nqnR5lVb

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Aight. Here’s my favorite 2 stories about Bill Russell.

Both stories reveal how much of a humble human being he is. And one blows my mind because it dismantles what we think about the evolution of sports.

A thread:


The first is, that there is an assumption that today’s athletes are faster, stronger, etc. which is is based on ZERO evidence.

For instance, Wilt Chamberlain benched 465 lbs at 59 years old. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he benched 500 lbs on the set of Conan the Destroyer

Most basketball experts say Wilt has the highest vertical leap in NBA history. A few others argue that Michael Jordan did.

I think they’re both wrong.

Why?

Well let me tell you a story:

In 1956 Bill Russell was selected for the US Olympic basketball team

During this time, pros weren’t allowed in the Olympics, so the International Olympic Committee tried to say that he was ineligible since he had already signed with the Celtics, even though he hadn’t played yet

Luckily, Russell prevailed and led the team to the gold medal as the captain.

But if they would have stopped Russell from playing for the US basketball team, he would have STILL been in the Olympics.

How?

Because Bill Russell was one of the greatest high jumpers I. The world.
When thinking about who to play in DM for Leeds the word "role" is important. Let's have a think about the role:


A lot of people think Struijk isn't good enough in the build-up phase. Well, what does the DM do in build-up?

Here's a passing network from last season:


As you can see, Phillips' role in the Championship last season was largely facilitating build up in the wide area (on the left interestingly).

Per Wyscout, Phillips is putting up a figure of 7.03 long passes per 90 minutes and completes around 59%. Last season he was making 6.94 long passes per 90 mins at around 52%.

Per dribbles he's putting up similar numbers across both seasons (between 1 and 1.5 p90) and per duels he's putting up the same number (20 p90).

All of this suggests his role hasn't changed much over the last couple of seasons.

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