By msnbc.com staff and wire
American billionaire Warren Buffett appeared as a special guest on a popular Chinese Lunar New Year variety show this weekend -- strumming a ukulele.
Buffett sang the folk song “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad” in the video posted on state broadcaster CCTV’s “Spring Festival Gala” website, with a model railroad set as the backdrop.
New Year is an important holiday in China, and Buffett is a well-known figure in the country because of his business success. His company Berkshire Hathaway is also part-owner of BYD, a Chinese company that makes electric vehicles.
Buffett’s song likely refers to his acquisition of railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $34 billion in 2009.
The deal was seen as a major bet on the future of the U.S. economy. The hauler of food products, coal and consumer goods imported from Asia is seen as an indicator of the country’s economic health.


Actually he sees the writing on the wall or he would not be cozying up to the Chinese. Most likely trying to resell that Railroad to the Chinese at a huge profit!
A surreal world we live in. A smiling American multinational corporate businessman in China, on a Chinese TV variety show strumming his ukulele. Contrast that to December's news, police torture interrogation death of a Chinese citizen protesting seizure of their property. All is fine.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2074129/Chinese-village-Wukan-riots-butcher-died-cardiac-failure-police-custody.html
Romney will begin to think about pulling out of the race and concentrate on adding the 12 million addition to his house in California. Romney when asked if he would release the plans for the house was undecided. McCain has told him he sould make sure he knows how many he owns. Graham has a secret war he can get us in if Romney will listen. Kerry has called Romney and told him he will vote for it before he votes against it. Sarra Palin has asked Tina Fey to join her on a Political discussion to teach Mitt how to debate. Bachman called him to say she still thinks it's 666. Bush has invited Cheney to take Mitts group hunting at Perrys Ranch in Texas. Nancy Regan has dropped any contact with the group and will not endorse Mitt or Newt. Romney not sure about the Railroad as he likes to fly! Says he would get rid of 10,000 people and sell it!
Not surprizing at all. Wall Street and the very rich helped the Communist Revolution in 1917 to destroy Russia. Lately, they sent our economy and capital to Communist China and will probably move there while the U.S. implodes. The Chinese are already enslaved , now they want to enslave us - Patriot Act , the phoney "War On Terror ". If you will not vote for Ron Paul , you will help the very rich to destroy our country. The choice is yours.
Almost gave you a thumbs up until I got to the crazy "War On Terror", Patriot Act, and Ron Paul craziness. Ron Paul voters are just Obama supporters with masks on.
@joe
the 1917 communist revolution in russia was basically a social class war between the poor and the elite. if i recall correctly, the poor eliminated and jailed all artists and people with money. then Lenin took advantage of the situation and consolidated power.
Jordan,
"the poor eliminated and jailed all artists and people with money"
Linking artists with "people with money" has to be an oxymoron. Haven't you ever heard of the "starving artist"?
Everyone on the Left sings for the Chinese. I bet if you look you'll find a tape of Obama doing a juggling act for them.
Yeah - that Lefty Nixon even went on a stroll with them...
If you look, and find Obama doing a juggling act, I can assure you if you rewind it a little further, you'll find GWB washing them for them.
I just can't wait until we return to people debating ideas with other people rather than lables throwing words at other labels from ideologies.
Hamilton tied the "interests" of the wealthy to the interests of the country, and its a common scene through history. However, I think Joe is correct that there is reason to be conscerned as wages have stagnated over the past three decades for most people while work hours have gone up. Cheap credit with increasingly effective advertising can quickly overwhelm a person's reason and we see "buyer's remorse" turn to epidemic levels as we now, as a nation, are so indebted on both levels that there is little that we can do about those wages or those hours.
Large corporations and I would think at least some of the very wealthy couldn't care less where their products are made or about the people who make them so long as profits are huge. We allow this to be the case. Like the news about Apple revealing the possible involvement of slave labor. We have the cash... well.. ok, the credit cards. Don't buy. We won't die without an iPad... send a message to them and other companies that we have a backbone and will back up our outraged tweets with action.
There is a demand for products and services sourced from the U.S. generated by the people of the U.S. There is space... we should fill it.
Too much. More about the unions and the work rules letting people sit and get paid. Unions not getting in in the South as they find companies paying the same wages and people not paying the union money.
Sadly,that hasn't been in our lifetime.People only will listen to one-liners.Unless there's some dirt to hear about.
This has to be a joke right??? Cain singing a few months ago obama singing last week now buffet singing to china.... lmfao america has jobs in the music business i guess...what a hypcrite he has interest in electric vehicles in china and no one has a problem there??? everyone that has business in china own slave labor so why is buffet on the obama dime????
With a sparkle in their eyes and a song in their hearts?
Mr. Buffet is simply performing his song and dance routine for a Communist regime that protects his investments, although, he should have been investing his money in an electric vehicle company here in the U.S., such as Tesla, if he was a patriotic American. But, patriots in this country are now labeled as terriorists, simply because they support democracy and stand up for the Constitution. Since Mr. Buffet and most companies now support Communist China as opposed to the USA, I was just wondering if their investments shouldn't be considered treasonous behavior, since they certainly threaten the soverignty of this country. He probably should review Matthew 19:24, if he cares as much about his soul as he does about accumulating more wealth. I just wonder if he sang his song for his Communist colleagues in a specific Chinese dialect.
I know it isn't just buffet ok so don't get your panties all wadded up... I see that buffet has electric vehicle interests along with lots more.. china has slave labor and no unions but yet this adminstration along with all of the others have been doing business with these people...and the song he song (i've been working on the railroad) how funny slave labor and a song like that....kind of like in the 1800's when all the chinese were working on (our) railroads for a bowl of rice and tea...nothing changes i see nothing changes.....if this wasn't ironic it would funny.....slave labor in america in the 1800's and 2012 slave labor with americans help....
Romney will begin to think about pulling out of the race and concentrate on adding the 12 million addition to his house in California. Romney when asked if he would release the plans for the house was undecided. McCain has told him he sould make sure he knows how many he owns. Graham has a secret war he can get us in if Romney will listen. Kerry has called Romney and told him he will vote for it before he votes against it. Sarra Palin has asked Tina Fey to join her on a Political discussion to teach Mitt how to debate. Bachman called him to say she still thinks it's 666. Bush has invited Cheney to take Mitts group hunting at Perrys Ranch in Texas. Nancy Regan has dropped any contact with the group and will not endorse Mitt or Newt.
Enjoy yourself Warren Buffet. Enjoy your asian friends who with your help have brought on the colapse of our economy. You have sold out American workers for cheap Chinese made goods that made you rich by screwing your fellow Americans. You @$$hole, hope you croak over there with your slanty eyed friends.
The Bamks with no regulations as a result of Clinton and Bush brought this on. Companies were able to go there and pay no taxes.!
Giuliani has decided to jump over and become VP for Newt. Obama has decided he doesn't know if he really wants to run!
The Speaker of the House says he doesn't care he will screw things up anyway!
One day the Chinese will rise up and demand better treatment.
No, I'm just kidding.
Clearly, time for the retirement home
Did he wear a jester costume?
Buffets the guy who says we must buy more USA products. The hypocrite has sold us out with his chinese products he imports here cutting us in the throat. F**king billionaire, I hate these chumps.
It was either helping the Chinese people to have a true democratic voice, or singing them a stupid song.
i thought this was a story about jimmy buffett. how disappointing.
Interesting choice of songs considering the railroads of the US were built mostly by Chinese Labor ( and Irishman too) who both were treated like slaves (even after slavery was abolished) and in the case of the Chinese treated worse than any other group of people in the history of the US.
I can't imagine the irony was not prevalent in Warren's mind when he chose that song to sing.
I guess Buffet is safe. He is too old to harvest organs from and what he does is jester stuff for the communist bureaucracy. It's kind of like when the American Indians found an insane white person, they left them alone. I always wonder how many "slave labor level" employees he has. Is North Korea the next candidate for cheap labor; Burma, Mongolia, ----istan? Think about it! What will the Buffets of the world do when the playing field is leveled?
I thought this was a discusting story, a 1% singing for the Chinese masters, does he dance if they throw peanuts at his feet ???
I think you all got it wrong. I thought I heard him singing this, from the dried parchment off his grandfather's back:
Woof bloogle jig
Mo jig bloogle woof
Woof bloogle ig
Bo ig oogle poof
W.B. would make a great communist. Where those with the money control everyone else, mainly because they 'redistributed the wealth'. Give to those that chose not to contribute by taking away from those that strive to get ahead. Or 'close the gap between the rich and the poor' which translates to 'eliminate the middle class'. In the mean time those that have piles of money get to hold onto it in the name of national security. Who was it that said 'the will of the populace is not a mandate, we know what is best for the general public' (paraphrase) I think the initials were N.P. ryhmes with I was born into money.