Las Wonder Girls estarán en Dong Gan 101 Live Radio hoy 30 de noviembre.
Hora: 6:30 – 7:00pm [+8 GMT]
Para nosotros sería en la mañana en alrededor de una hora.
6:30 – 7:00am en Puerto Rico
Pueden verificar su hora AQUÍ
Pueden escuchar la radio en vivo AQUÍ
[Fuente: WonderFuls World]
“The Japanese think of the City in the way that Englishmen used to think of Mighty London. It is either one or the other. Rice paddies or the Ginza.” (p35)
I am reading the wonderful author Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea, first published in 1971. Richie is the ultimate American expat in Japan, who stayed from the start of the Occupation until today, and this is a classic travel book focused on Seto Nai Kai (the Inland Sea), which I recently visited.
This passage struck me because Ginza Farm, which I have visited for Tokyo Green Space, overcomes the division between city and country by bringing a rice paddy to Ginza, Tokyo’s most celebrated commercial district full of De Beers, Cartier and now of course Uniqlo flagship stores.
Richie’s The Inland Sea also reminds me of the recently deceased French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss’ Tristes Tropiques, which chronicled an Amazon on the verge of extinction. In a similar voyage by boat, Richie bemoans the new highways and lure of the city that threaten the fishing economy and general isolation of these islands and peoples. What used to be called “salvage anthropology” clashes with contemporary feelings by focusing on purity and what is about to be lost. This antique attitude also portrays the writer as both the “first” and last foreigner to capture a vanishing culture, creating a false sense of importance for the individual writer.
Despite this unease, it is hard not to enjoy Richie’s beautiful writing, his insights on insider and outsider culture, and his only partly closeted attraction to Japan. And I do not doubt the gulf that once existed between city and country, which makes the current urban interest in rural life and agriculture all the more indicative of profound social and environmental change.
On a related topic, I read this week in the New York Times that Korea, which is generally more accepting of national diversity, is having difficulties integrating children of mixed marriages. Most mixed children are the progeny of Korean farmers and their Chinese, Filipino and Thai wives. Partly the social question is of race, but also of class and city versus country.
I was struck that Korea shares Japan’s rural abandonment, and seems ahead of Japan in responding through immigration. Perhaps Japan, too, will first open its doors to immigrants willing to live in its rural areas now inhabited almost exclusively by the elderly. Despite Japan’s xenophobia, immigrants as care-givers and farmers seem more likely than the techno fantasy of robots: more cost-effective as workers and more human in terms of care and culture.
This sounds like GM’s Voltec technology. If it is, it’s a curious direction for an Asian manufacturer since PHEV’s running solely on electric power are considered the better option for their market as opposed to GM’s Voltec which gives a vehicle greater autonomy compatible with North American driving patterns.
Delta Electronics Targeting Electric Powertrain Market; Series Hybrid Test Vehicle On the Road 27 November 2009Taiwan-based Delta Group, the world’s largest provider of switching power supplies and DC brushless fans, as well as a major supplier of power management solutions, components, visual displays, industrial automation, networking products, and renewable energy solutions, is entering the electric powertrain market.
Taiwan-based Delta Electronics has integrated existing automation, motor, servo-motor and electrical electronics technologies to develop its own gasoline-electric series hybrid propulsion system—the first gasoline-electric hybrid propulsion system developed by a Taiwanese electronics company. The design includes battery pack, power inverter, power control unit, traction motor and vehicle control unit.
More… |
With only a few weeks to go for the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, PM Manmohan Singh gave the assurance: “We are committed to ambitious and time-bound outcomes that will increase energy efficiency of our economy, the share of clean energy including nuclear power in our energy mix, and our forest cover.” But he added, “We will do more if there is global support in terms of financial resources and technology transfer.” This is the bone of contention in the case of developing countries meeting emission standards. Hunger, poverty and disease are more urgent problems for developing countries like India to tackle than emission norms. Therefore, India’s stand has been to do more on climate change if developed nations lend a helping hand by way of financial support and technology.
India-US agree on Climate Change
The reason that climate change effects arise from the global stock of carbon, the distribution across countries of their contributions to that stock, including the initial stock, is totally irrelevant from the perspective of efficiency. Again since only total emissions of each country and hence of all countries together add to the global stock of carbon, whether the same total emissions of a country is the result of low per capita emission multiplied by a large population or vice versa is again irrelevant from the perspective of efficiency.
Population policy choices do affect the welfare of the current and future populations. Any trade-off between larger population and lower emissions or vice-versa would naturally fall under considerations of inter-generational equity within nations and deep philosophical issues are involved in doing so. National welfare becomes the focus of all national policy choices, including population policies, which are reflected through their effects on national welfare in any international agreement that reflects equity consideration across countries appropriately. Thus, from the perspective of international agreement, only aggregate and not per capita emissions are relevant.
China and India are sitting on vast stocks of coal, which push the amount of their emissions above those of older polluters in the west. Forests offer untold wealth to millions in poverty in Indonesia and Brazil, if only trees can be chopped down, and at the very top of the carbon food chain sit western consumers unwilling to part with easy luxuries like cheap weekend flights and two cars. When they stop buying cars or other durables, our economies grind to a halt. The developed world has become accustomed to ever-increasing levels of material consumption. Cutting carbon emissions is therefore inextricably linked with wider questions of the pressure on all natural resources, land and water.
This is a task that only governments can undertake and it is not as if they have not already had enough time to do it. The meeting that created the Kyoto protocol has convened in 10 other countries and cities since. The immensity of the task ahead is probably more apparent to world leaders than it was a decade ago. But time is running out. To prevent the global average temperature from increasing by more than 2C, there will need to be a global cut in emissions within the next five years or so.
Therefore, to reach these reduced levels a country like India needs to use green technology on substantial scale. This is not possible unless the developed countries share their know-how and technology so that India can work towards a cleaner, greener country. However, the need for proactive action from the national and state governments is needed to tackle the problem of climate change. In cities like Kolkata, where auto rickshaws blatantly violate pollution norms and the government dithers on bringing them to book, the road ahead seems treacherous. There should also be a consensus among nations at Copenhagen that developing countries receive the transfer of ‘green technology’ at reduced prices so that they can manage their emissions more efficiently. The more time the world takes to reach a legally binding target the more it will become difficult to meet the target of 2020. Thus, the clarion call is to act fast and act decisively.
However, the argument that the per capita emission levels as the basis for binding emission cuts is of no use is apparently rational but politically loaded. In that sense, the pragmatic approach will still involve a significant cost to developed nations, but will help make some headway in saving the earth from global warming.
However, the disparities in levels of per capita consumption and therefore, emissions, will not go away – unless the entire world commits itself to an unequal international order forever which does not look likely in near future.
Los autores explican el proyecto
En este maravilloso vídeo de Enrique Torralbo los autores, Ana Folgueira y Emilio Amade, nos hablan del origen del proyecto y de cómo han afrontado el proceso creativo del cuento. Además, podréis disfrutar de un avance del libro. Realmente merece la visita, ¡no os lo perdáis!
Phillip Zimbardo did some of the most interesting, depressing work ever done by a psychologist. He showed how just how easily one person or group can dehumanize another. His experiment was called the Prison Experiment and was conducted at Stanford in 1971 (see http://www.zimbardo.com/zimbardo.html for more information). In this experiment a group of college student volunteers were randomly split into 2 groups. One group became “prisoners” and the other became “guards”. After a short period of time due to the situation the “guards” and “prisoners” found themselves in, drastic changes in behavior began to occur; behavior that demonstrated that situational cues, rather than actual differences in people, caused one group to behave very poorly to another. In fact the situation became so dire that the experiment was concluded ahead of schedule. From Dr. Zimbardo’s website: “At this point it became clear that we had to end the study. We had created an overwhelmingly powerful situation — a situation in which prisoners were withdrawing and behaving in pathological ways, and in which some of the guards were behaving sadistically. Even the “good” guards felt helpless to intervene, and none of the guards quit while the study was in progress….And so, after only six days, our planned two-week prison simulation was called off.”
This experiment sadly demonstrated how poorly people can behave toward other people using situational cues, peer pressure and expectations to drive their behavior, cues that often have nothing to do with the persons themselves. This pattern of dehumanizing behavior has occurred repeatedly throughout human history and is sadly, certainly to be repeated once again in the future.
Africa, the birthplace of humanity, has certainly seen is share of suffering and inhumanity over the ages. It is both very poor and very rich at the same time. Very poor in terms of how groups treat each other, leading to some extremely violent, really terrible behavior, very poor in it’s history of human rights, in it legendary corruption and constant vying for power by some dictator or another; and for some reason poor in the willingness of the world to lend a hand in a way that can make a lasting difference. Africa though is rich in mineral, timber and oil resources and in today’s world it was only a matter of time until China with its growing thirst for resources cast an eye towards Africa. When I first read about this I have to admit to feeling a ray of hope. Maybe the Chinese can succeed where everyone else has failed. Maybe the Chinese can help lift that continent out of the pattern of almost perpetual bad news. The Chinese were able to turn a huge country that was essentially poverty stricken into a growing economic juggernaut. Could some of what they learned work in Africa?
China for a long time had been among the have not’s in the world; taken advantage of and looked down upon by others. In one instance, the opium wars (also called the Anglo-Chinese wars) were fought to ensure the British right (in the second opium war the French fought along side the British) to import opium into China (opium had been outlawed within Britain, but was apparently ok to import into China). The opium trade in China had very serious negative consequences on individual health and the economic health of China, consequences that the British chose to ignore, as their main concern was balancing their trade deficit. Additionally, China was forced to cede control of Hong Kong in perpetuity to Britain. (The New Territories were ceded for 99 years and over the years the New Territories became crucial to Hong Kong’s ability to function; water, food and other resources came from there, and the British were forced to give Hong Kong back as well as the New Territories when the term expired as Hong Kong was not viable without the New Territories). The Japanese during World War II treated the Chinese very poorly (as well as a host of others), looking down upon them as somehow something less than human. In Nanjing China, the Japanese army it is estimated killed over 300,000 civilians and POWs, and raped at least 20,000 women during a two-month period. The means used to kill these people are almost beyond description. There is virtually no country in the world, some to a lesser extent, and some to a greater extent, which does not have versions of these sordid acts in their own history – including the USA. The point is not to single out any one country but to paint a general pattern that describes how mankind can be inhuman to mankind.
China is now rapidly becoming one of the world’s haves. And given its history, the trauma that the Chinese have suffered over the years would it be possible that the Chinese would take a fresh approach in their dealings with Africa and other have not’s? Can they break the mold of “situational judgment”, whereby certain characteristics are ascribed to a person because of the environment they are in and not who they really are? Have their own personal experiences prepared them to interact in a more positive fashion with today’s have not’s? The verdict is still out, but there are some troubling signs emerging.
Appearing in the International Herald Tribune (February 17th, 2007) is this excerpt from the opinion page. “China’s president, Hu Jintao, recently completed a 12-day, 8-nation African tour in which he dispensed billions of dollars’ worth of debt relief, discounted loans and new investments….Beijing’s huge purchases of oil and other resources have made it the continent’s third-largest trading partner…China’s oil appetite has drawn it into an ugly partnership with Sudan, which is waging a genocidal war in Darfur that has already killed at least 200,000 people. Chinese mining investors in Zambia, as focused on the bottom line as any capitalists, have drawn complaints from workers and environmentally minded neighbors. China’s lending banks do not subscribe to the international guidelines, known as the Equator Principles, that are used to monitor and manage the social and environmental impact of major outside investments. And a flood of cheap Chinese manufactured goods has pushed some of the poorest and most marginal workers deeper into poverty and unemployment…China isn’t the first outside industrial power to behave badly in Africa. But it should not be proud of following the West’s sorry historical example.”
And appearing on the on the cover of The Wall Street Journal (February 2nd, 2007) is the story of Chambishi, Zambia. “Set amid rolling hills in Zambia’s copper belt, Chambishi was supposed to be a showcase of Sino-African friendship. China’s state metals conglomerate…bought the mothballed copper mine here in 1998, bringing plenty of jobs and investments. Initial gratitude, however, quickly turned into seething discontent, as the new Chinese owners banned union activity and cut corners on safety. In 2005, dozens of locals were killed in a blast at the Chinese explosives facility serving the mine – the worst industrial accident in Zambia’s history. Then, the following year, protesting Zambian employees were sprayed with gunfire. ‘The Chinese, they don’t even consider us to be human beings…They think they have the right to rule us’”, says a former miner who says he was shot by a Chinese supervisor.
Sometimes extreme events accentuate behavior patterns and can serve as a magnifier of experiences we have in our day to day lives. Lessons learned from extreme events can bring clarity to how more common situations can be successfully worked through. For instance people face traumas as organizations merge, acquire, downsize, and reorganize. Some organizations do a much better job than others in dealing with these traumas and the employee’s associated stress. These organizational traumas are no different than larger traumas that people would experience when facing the death of a spouse, child or parent, or living through a terrorist attack, the degree of the trauma is the difference. Larger traumas can magnify human reactions and allow us to see more clearly our needs and shortcomings.
Some organizations over the years have created “classes” of people that are somehow looked down upon, not part of the team. In organizations with poor labor/management relations, militant unions can arise. What is management’s typical response to the rise of unions? Is it to look inward and say what have we done that has created conditions where our employees (often called our most valuable asset) felt the need to form or join a union? And how can we correct this situation? Some management’s will respond appropriately, others will seek to dehumanize the employees and the unions, just as the “guards” in Phil Zimbardo’s experiment did to the “prisoners”.
A case in point comes from a story appearing in the Wall Street Journal (February 9th, 2007), about the US Air Marshall Service. After 911 the Service greatly expanded but grueling schedules, lack of advancement, onerous rules affecting one’s ability to get the job done, lack of identity protection have resulted in “many” (in the words of other Marshalls) quitting the Service. What was the response from the head of the Service? He called the complainers “disgruntled amateurs, insurgents, and organizational terrorists” – and the response of the Marshalls? They joined a union. Luckily there is now a new head of the US Air Marshall Service.
Interestingly within it own borders China is passing laws that give greater protection to workers and increasing authority to unions. The enforcement of those laws is still questionable. The Chinese Embassy in the USA cites a report to the Chinese government that documented a few of the worker abuses that occur:
This description of the US Air Marshall Service, the state of labor relations within China and China’s behavior in Africa are simply more severe, magnified descriptions of what happens within our own organizations on a routine basis. Organizations are made up of humans, humans that are subject to all of our nobility, all of our frailty, and our shortcomings. Can we learn from Phil Zimbardo and make our organizations truly better places to inhabit or will this lesson of dehumanizing those that are different from us, those that often times simply due to economic conditions find themselves with fewer options? Can we evolve into something more than we are today? On good days when you read about some of the truly inspiring efforts of people trying to help others I am filled with hope, and other times when I read a story of a supervisor shooting an employee to keep the others in line, or of a factory throwing out an employee who lost their fingers while working as though they were no more than damaged goods…I just don’t know.
“I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops”. – Stephen Jay Gould
Y lo que es, no es más, que un país “”comunista”". Y noticias como estas nos lo deberían dejar bien claro.
El día que les dé la vena nacionalizadora, y llegará ese día, que nadie lo dude, veremos que carita se les queda a todos estos inversores felices.
November 22, 2009
This is the most popular thing that I have cooked thus far. However, Mateo and I had friends in Uganda that made this regularly so I already knew that it would be delicious. It seemed like it was a sign to cook it for myself when a friend at church gave us fresh organic broccoli from their amazing farm. (Thanks Dale, Jo and Riana!)The final result was a peanut buttery sauce, delicious chicken and crisp broccoli.
What is your knowledge about global affairs, particularly in relation to India? I re-did some Pew quiz questions to suit India. The format is the same, but the questions are now India centered. So take the plunge and check your global IQ!
View This PollThe answers to the questions are given below. It’s an upside down image. Save it and rotate it on your pc to get the correct answers. Most of the answers are from surveys carried out by Pew research and some are from news sources. All answers are subject to the limitations thereof.
After checking the answers what did you find out about your global IQ? I scored six on ten.
Read all posts based on Research Surveys
All posts on Pakistan
What Asian countries think of America
19-11 – Radio China Internacional
O porta-voz da chancelaria chinesa, Qin Gang, afirmou hoje (19) em Beijing que as políticas do governo central de “Um País, Dois Sistemas”, “Administração de Macau pela Gente de Macau” e alto grau de autonomia foram aplicadas plenamente na Região Administrativa Especial de Macau (RAEM).
Na coletiva à impresa, Qin disse que nos últimos 10 anos, tempo do retorno de Macau à pátria, o governo central da China persistiu na Lei Básica de Macau. Com o apoio da administração do governo da RAEM, do governo de Macau e de outros setores, a região registrou grandes êxitos socioeconômicos.
Qin afirmou que Macau vem se dedicando a construir na região uma plataforma de serviços comerciais regionais e um centro de turismo e lazer mundial. Nós acreditamos que, com a garantia de “Um país, Dois Sistema”, os esforços do povo de Macau e o apoio pleno da comunidade internacional, o futuro de Macau será ainda mais brilhante, disse Qin.
Quanto às relações de Macau com os países de língua portuguesa, Qin afirmou que a região desempenha um papel construtivo e especial na promoção da cooperação comercial entre a parte continental chinesa e os países lusófonos. Nós vamos apoiar continuamente as cooperações e intercâmbios com o exterior realizadas por Macau segundo a Lei Básica, finalizou Qin Gang.
Was gibt es besseres als eine riesige, extra dicke Pizza mit einem Käserand? Richtig! Eine passende Nachspeise in Form eines Tiramisu! Nachdem ich also den Teil der Nahrungsaufnahme nun hinter mich gebracht habe, stellte ich mir kurzweilig die Frage welche Webseite ich nun auf Foto[GEN]erell unbedingt vorstellen muss. Die Wahl ist auf den außergewöhnlichen Sportfotografen Donald Miralle gefallen! Der Kalifornier kann mit über 30 Awards protzen, unter anderen mit dem World Press Photo Golden Eye Award aus den Jahren 2005 und 2006.
Anbei seht ihr gleich einmal Miralle`s Siegerfoto in der Kategorie Sport Action Fotoserien bei den World Press Photo 2005:
Quelle: geo.de
Weiter geht es mit einer Vielzahl von sehr hübschen Bildern von den Olympischen Sommerspielen 2008 in Peking sowie einigen weiteren Bildern, welche ich einzeln aus dem Internet herausgepickt habe:
Quelle: blog.newsweek.com
Quelle: photobucket.com
Quelle: teamusa.org
Quelle: msnbcmedia.msn.com
Quelle: gettyimages.com
Quelle: static.nfl.com
Und bitte seht euch (nochmals) ganz, ganz dringend seine bildgewaltige Webseite an – bitteschön!
Die Verdauungsphase zwingt mich zum Ausruhen! Ich wünsche euch somit einen ähnlich zufriedenstellenden Abend
Global Times in Beijing, no friend to Japan, now carries the story of Obama’s low bow to Emperor Akihito, quoting the Washington Times and all. The story is carried by the same paper in Chinese here. It took a couple of days, but the Chinese media is now buzzing with yet another theme.
via Huanqiu Shibao
Chinese netizens have some very interesting comments here, replete with some defense of the United States, reminders that American troops are still stationed in Japan, American superiority, etc. At least a historical perspective shines through a few. It’s possible but unlikely that I will be translating some of these more extensively later.
In the meantime, a contrasting search turns up this image from 2005:
via Huanqiu ShibaoMeanwhile, the French media parses the Tibet talk between Hu Jintao and Barack Obama. Ever-vigilant France!
Obama, como dictaba el guión previsible de su gira asiática, pidió tímidamente a China que respetase más las libertades individuales. Pero no se atrevió a exigir a China que redujese sus emisiones de CO2. Oba Mao, presidente fetiche que ya reina a lo chino de las camisetas del gigante asiático, ha decidido enterrar el posible acuerdo climático de la reunión de diciembre de Copenhague. The New York Times lo explica de una forma sencilla: Obama no va a firmar ningún acuerdo que su Congreso no vaya a aprobar. Tampoco se atreve a dar el paso sin tener la seguridad de que China hará lo mismo. China, al mismo tiempo, declara su amor a ese Oba Mao tan estéticamente popular que les brinda la excusa perfecta -in gas we trust- para seguir produciendo/contaminando. Mientras otros líderes, como Lula y Sarkozy, ya habían encontrado su fórmula compartida, reducir un 50% las emisiones hasta el año 2050, Obama y Hu Hintao han sellado su pacto de caballeros contaminantes-crecientes. Obama, como recoge el editorial de The Guardian, ha decepcionado a los que pensaban que iba a dar un giro hacia la sostenibilidad. Puede que esté atado de pies y manos por sus congresistas. Pero demuestra una ceguera considerable. Nunca podrá equilibrar, como Obama ha afirmado en esta gira asiática, el crecimiento mundial dando la espalda a la ecología. Y nunca se deshará de un déficit galopante con China si no frena los pies al dragón comunista. ¿Qué mejor arma comercial que obligar a la que será en 2010 la segunda economía del mundo a ser ambientalmente más sostenible?
Dear China Eastern Airlines,
I owe you an apology, and I can see from the expression on your face that you need an explanation, too. That seems fair.
I took one of your flights recently, and that’s where the trouble starts. You see, I didn’t actually make the booking, and by the time I realised on which airline I was scheduled to ‘fly’, it was too late to make any changes. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I may be slightly prejudiced when it comes to flying Plummet Airways.
I was so organised, so very well prepared, so efficient, that before I had even boarded the aircraft, I had composed an entire post in which I would describe the awfulness of the experience.
China Eastern Airlines, I was hasty, and I am sorry.
Things were much better than I had anticipated. To begin with, we were only an hour late in taking off, and that wasn’t really even your fault. After all, one can hardly hold you responsible for the manner in which your passengers behave, can one? By the time most of them had found their seats (by looking at every seat number, one at a time), sat down, got up again, stowed their sacks of vegetables by the emergency exit, sat down, got up, discussed where to sit, sat down, got up, etcetera etcetera, we were so far behind schedule that we were in danger of missing Christmas, never mind your runway slot. Oh, and I’m sorry for scratching the window in an attempt to get it open for some fresh air – the breath of my fellow passengers is no responsibility of yours.
When we did finally make it to the runway, I give full credit to your pilots for being able to get us into the air on the second attempt, despite the rattling of loose rivets around every window frame and the drag caused by not having closed the cargo hold doors properly. In a way, the reduced weight of the aircraft after we had shed most of the luggage actually made for a faster flight. I guess thanks are in order.
Unlike my previous experiences with your flights, I was not pointedly ignored by your entire cabin staff, and I was eventually able to gain the attention of one brave Air Doris, who lowered herself in the eyes of her colleagues and the other passengers by allowing me some food and coffee. I’m sorry that I can’t tell you her name, but for her actions I feel she has already been made to suffer enough public ridicule. And yes, for the sharp-eyed amongst you, I did say food and coffee. The food was far better than the inedible and very possibly near-lethal garbage bin leftovers that I have come to expect from your airline, as it was in fact a sandwich. The bread, at less than fourteen days of age, was very fresh for a Chinese culinary creation, and there was a filling that was relatively inoffensive and gave me only a slight case of botulism. And the coffee, too, was wonderful. I’m not going to go so far as to say that I could taste that it was coffee, but it’s a fact that I could taste that it wasn’t recycled green tea. I could also taste the water you used, but this is not automatically a bad thing – as the Chinese saying goes, “If it’s black, send it back. If it’s brown, drink it down”.
The flight itself was uneventful, once the pilots realised their mistake and turned us around to the correct heading. They even kindly warned us of the turbulent conditions ahead, a mere four minutes after the turbulent condition were behind us. And they botched the landing far less badly than is often the case. We didn’t even hit a single runway light, despite having one wheel on the grass verge.
So there you have it, China Eastern Airlines. I am forced to admit that my earlier article, in which I was critical of you, was premature. I apologise unreservedly, and have taken steps to ensure that it will never be published. Thank you for showing me that you have improved, and just between you and I, it’s delightful to witness the change.
China Eastern Airlines, you are now as good as all the other Chinese Airlines. Well done you.
Vogue China is Song Hye Kyo obsessed for December 2009. Wurq!
我 良 人 對 我 說 ： （ 新 郎 ） 我 的 佳 偶 ， 我 的 美 人 ， 起 來 ， 與 我 同 去 ！
因 為 冬 天 已 往 ， 雨 水 止 住 過 去 了 。
地 上 百 花 開 放 ， 百 鳥 鳴 叫 的 時 候 （ 或 譯 ： 修 理 葡 萄 樹 的 時 候 ） 已 經 來 到 ； 斑 鳩 的 聲 音 在 我 們 境 內 也 聽 見 了 。
無 花 果 樹 的 果 子 漸 漸 成 熟 ； 葡 萄 樹 開 花 放 香 。 我 的 佳 偶 ， 我 的 美 人 ， 起 來 ， 與 我 同 去 ！
~King Solomon’s words to China. Horiwood Hollywood California 11.12.09~
I thought I’d start sharing with you a few practical insights (New Zealand) clients have taken away from recent workshops on Understanding Chinese Culture for Business Success.
problem: How to deliver “difficult” messages? In any business relationship there comes a time when something doesn’t quite go as planned …
some cultural background: The concept of “face” and the idea that you can “loose face” when disrespected, particularly in front of others is still very dominant in China.
That’s one of the cultural roots for some of the indirectness you will experience in China. - A simple ‘no’, or ‘that doesn’t work’ is avoided when possible. There will be a way of conveying the negative, “difficult” message in a different, non-direct way.
practical learning: Keep this in mind when communicating with your Chinese business partner. Think about how your message could be delivered so your business partner can “safe face”; don’t say ‘the quality of your products is not good enough for us”; try “we’ve been in a long-term relationship for years. This is really important to us” = Giving face – and, “we’ve had (3rd party) feedback saying ….” . Talk to the right person and try to catch her or him alone or just with the interpreter, not in front of her/his boss or junior staff.
Also, be prepared to receive “difficult” messages in a non-direct, “face saving” way.
I’d love to hear about your experiences!
Africa is targeted to be exclusively the world’s food basket; (Nov. 11, 2009)
If you have lands with no water, if you have water and no fertile land, if you have accumulated enough in your Sovereign Fund then the way to go is to invest in foreign fertile lands for agricultural “self-sufficiency”, which means import food at much lower prices. Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Saudi Arabia are leading these kinds of joint ventures. For example:
South Korea has acquired a total of 3 millions hectares (three times the superficies of the State of Lebanon); it is growing fields in Russia (500,000 ha), Sudan (700,000 ha), Madagascar (1.3 million ha), Mongolia (300,000 ha), Philippines (100,000 ha), and Indonesia (25, 000 ha). The Korean agency for international cooperation (State owned) is creating private and public enterprises to invest into agro-businesses by loans or direct governmental investments. Leases of fertile lands are for 60 years and an extension of another 40 years. In return, Korea will extend technologies and development planning. It appears that South Korea is projecting unification with North Korea and the flooding of North Korean refugees soon.
China has invested for a total of 2 millions hectares. It has 1.25 millions in South East Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos), in Mozambique (800,000 ha), in Russia (80,000 ha), in Australia (45,000), and in Cuba (5,000 ha).
Japan has acquired a total of one million hectares in Philippines (600,000 ha), USA (225,000 ha), and Brazil (100,000 ha).
India has acquired a total of 1.7 millions hectares in Argentina (600,000 ha), Ethiopia (370,000 ha), Malaysia (300,000 ha), Madagascar (250,000 ha), Indonesia (70,000 ha), and in Laos (50,000 ha). The Indian government has extended loans to 80 agro-businesses to purchase 350,000 ha in Africa. Ramakrishna Karuturi (the king of rose production in 4 millions hectares) is leasing the hectare for two dollars a year in Ethiopia!
Saudi Arabia has invested in Indonesia (one million ha), Senegal (500,000 ha), and in Mali (200,000 ha). The Arab Emirates has invested in Pakistan (325,000 ha), and in Sudan (400,000 ha). Egypt has invested in Uganda (850,000 ha). Libya has invested in Ukraine (250,000 ha), and Liberia (5,000 ha). Qatar invested in the Philippines (100,000 ha).
Africa is the remaining poorest continent with vast fertile lands and plenty of manpower to exploit for agro-business enterprises. Africa is targeted to be exclusively the world’s food basket in this century. We hope that the world community will pressure these investors to grow food slowly and not ruin the remaining land with fertilizers and pesticides.
I don’t know about you, but I find it quite disturbing that this seems to be the case right now for Singapore’s education system.
Is our standard of Chinese that lousy that we have to resort to using an imported Chinese language for our own, true-blue, local, Singaporean kids? I don’t think the culture matches, I don’t think the style of language usage matches, and I don’t think the whole personality compatibility matches.
Come on, Singapore – I’m sure we can do better than rely on imports all the time. If this goes on, I think people might, for another time, think that we’re part of China again.
dalai lama in tawang
the new age media trying to win maximum eyeballs sensationalize issues and give it unnecessary importance.while on my way home from college a few days back i heard two old gentlemen taking about politics.they were talking about all sorts of things from pinarayi vijayan to achutanandan.talking about communism their talk turned to china and its impending war with india.one of those gentle men were sure about india’s military might and the victory to come.
lets ask ourselves – can we ever win a war with a neighbor whose economy is 4times ours and a military which had defeated us once.through the hype around the dalai lamas visit to tawang the whole media frenzy have peaked .they misinterpret dalai lama’s comments trying to inflame the situation.it is common knowledge that our previous enemy no 1 have been disintegrating and the media is trying its best to replace it with a new one so as t to get more and more of those nationalist trps
its true that china wants india to disintegrate into 30 odd states and is trying hard to do this by supplying arms to north eastern seperatists and the maoist. India on the other hand have been a base for anti china activity for the last half century mainly through the Tibetan lobby.i believe that this year’s riot in xinjiang will someway or the other have an indian involvement.
but an all out confrontation will cost both the countries dearly.the economic and human cost will be too enormous that it will pull whole of this world into economic stagnation for years to come.the nuclear holocaust that follows can only be visualised in superlatives.
so it is not only the responsibility of the two countries to act responsibly but also the international community to supervise the situation.lets hope that the media’s thirst for china’s blood slowly subside and peace will reign over the region
For China, Costa Rica represents an important diplomatic tie, opening a gateway to strengthen its presence in the region, said Manuel Orozco, an analyst at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. A deal would provide Costa Rican consumers with a host of Chinese-made goods and help the country diversify its exports.
But as Costa Rica inches closer to that FTA, a fierce opposition is mounting here.
In political terms, these countries’ relationship is only just beginning to bud. In June 2007, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias turned on longtime ally Taiwan and set up diplomatic ties with that country’s neighboring rival, the People’s Republic of China.
Costa Rica’s move to become China’s first diplomatic friend in Central America did not come without Chinese gratitude: The Asian giant bought $300 million in Costa Rican bonds and pledged millions more in aid and projects, including San Jose’s new national stadium and its first Chinatown.
Paoma Mountain
Kangding’s most well-known landmark is one of its nearby mountains, Paoma Mountain. The snowy peak was made famous by the immensely popular song, Kangding Love Song.
Going from Ganzi to Kangding also marked the longest bus ride Em and I had this entire trip: 14 hours!! While the ride was beautiful, being on a dirty bus for 14 hours was pretty trying…
Bus ride
Passby Lake
By Tony Bedard (writer), Scott McDaniel (pencils), Andy Owens (inker), Harvey Richards (assistant editor), Michael Siglain (editor)
The Story: In China, over a period of 13 years, we watch young Corporal Yao of the People’s Army follow his conscience instead of his orders and set himself on the path to becoming Accomplished Perfect Physician, one of China’s meta-humans. Serving the Chinese state hasn’t gotten any easier, but there’s now a bigger problem than getting along with his teammates on the state-sponsored Chinese superhero team the Great Ten. The old gods have returned to challenge the new.
What’s Good: The story concept is excellent. This is really a big idea story, well-executed, and set up with lots and lots of conflict that will need to be resolved. Perfect Physician doesn’t get along with anyone on the team or in the party for reasons of conscience, and Bedard suggests barely-subdued tension between the others as well. And, as you must in any good first issue, Bedard has launched a strong plot question for this 10-issue series: In a cultural conflict between old and new China, whose gods will win? The writing, the flashbacks, and the pacing are all well done, which is no surprise for anyone who has followed his writing and plotting in R.E.B.E.L.S.
The art told the story clearly and dynamically, although I tend to prefer artists with a more realistic feel. If you like more of a cartoony look, then you’re going to like McDaniel’s art. Owens on colors had some interesting effects, especially on some of the flashbacks that had grayed, roughed-up feels, as if we were looking at old magazines with a few crumple marks.
What’s Not So Good: Despite a really strong opening story, I’m wondering how many superhero books set outside the USA can really flourish. Alpha Flight (Canada) stuck around for a good while, but the excellent Captain Britain and MI 13 (UK) folded after less than 20 issues. I wonder if DC hasn’t taken a gamble here that has nothing to do with the quality of the story, but with what their audience wants.
Conclusion: Going offshore for the main characters adds a lot of freshness to scene, story and theme. I hope it pays off. I recommend this quality book and I will certainly be back for issue #2.
Grade: B+
-DS Arsenault
Zgodnie z informacją Associated Press iPhone w końcu trafi na rynek Chiński. Nie będzie to jednak ten sam iPhone co w Europie i USA. W Chińskim iPhone brakować bedzie … WiFi…
Oczywiście tak jak to było w przypadku Poski – w Chinach znajduje się juz ponad 1 mln iPhone sprowadzanych z innych Kontynentów z WiFi… Cena przewidywane będzie o 20% wyższa w sklepach niż cena iPhone importowanego z USA.
Zatem? Czy warto kupywać w sklepach płacąc 20% więcej i otrzymując mniej? Chyba nie…
Z drugiej strony zaplanowana sprzedaż na poziomie 5 mln szt i tak przyniesie Apple sprzedaż nieporównywalną vs. inne państwa!
Pytanie jak wpłynie to na sprzedaż “podróbek” iPhone które są obecne na rynku już od 2 lat !
We just got our visas from the Chinese embassy, so our trip to China is confirmed. This Friday (yes, it was a very close call with the visas) we are flying out for a 9 day trip to Beijing and along the Yangtze river thanks to our friends at TripFilms.com, who set up this travel video assignment for us. We will be shooting videos about our experiences for our sponsor companies Pacific Delight Tours and Victoria Cruises, and try to keep everyone updated on the journey with photos and short clips on this blog.
Our first tip is to always check if a country you are traveling to requires a visa… and how much it is. Our visas to China cost $280 each because we needed them expedited and because we don’t live in a city with a Chinese consulate, so we had to use a Visa service to take care of this for us. It took less than a week for our passports to return with the visas, so everything worked out.
Stay tuned our blog and TripFilms.com as our China adventure begins!
Más de veinte activistas de Greenpeace están desplegando una pancarta de 600 metros cuadrados en la Sagrada Familia (Barcelona) con el mensaje ‘World leaders make the climate call’ (Líderes mundiales tomad la decisión de salvar el clima), con motivo del comienzo de la cumbre de Naciones Unidas sobre el clima.
Greenpeace recuerda a los líderes mundiales que aún están a tiempo de conseguir un acuerdo que salve el clima en la próxima cumbre de Copenhague. Asimismo, los activistas han descolgado dos pancartas más en las grúas laterales de la Sagrada Familia en las que se puede leer ‘Save the climate-Salvad el clima’.
“Lo único que hace falta para conseguir un acuerdo que salve el clima es la voluntad política de los líderes mundiales, en vez de intentar cerrar las negociaciones con un tratado de mínimos” ha declarado Raquel Montón, responsable de la campaña Cambio climático y Energía de Greenpeace. “Zapatero tiene que terminar con el doble juego mantenido hasta ahora: dice una cosa y hace lo contrario”.
Esta protesta pacífica forma parte de la campaña Activistas por el clima cuyo objetivo es conseguir que José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero defienda en Copenhague un acuerdo ambicioso, justo y vinculante para salvar el clima. A través de internet y de las redes sociales, dos activistas ‘reales’, Vicenç y Estrella, cuentan día a día sus vivencias en primera persona. Vicenç es uno de los activistas que en estos momentos se encuentra en la Sagrada Familia y Estrella estará en la Fira de Barcelona, lugar en el que se celebra la reunión de Naciones Unidas, para recibir al presidente del Gobierno que acudirá a inaugurarla.
“Yo estoy aquí hoy para pedir a Zapatero que actúe contra el cambio climático. Ahora él deber ir a Copenhague a defender el futuro del planeta” ha afirmado Estrella. “Desde lo alto de la Sagrada Familia sólo quiero pedir una cosa: que los líderes mundiales actúen ya” ha añadido Vicenç.
Los activistas de la campaña ‘Activistas por el clima’ también participaron el pasado viernes en la acción de protesta en el barco carbonero Playa de Alcudia, en Mallorca, y en el obelisco de Plaza de Castilla (Madrid).
Hoy comienza en Barcelona, en el Pabellón 8 del recinto de la Fira de Barcelona, la última reunión preparatoria de las negociaciones que tendrán lugar en Copenhague desde el 7 al 18 de diciembre, sobre el necesario acuerdo para salvar el clima. Para ello los representantes de los gobiernos del mundo deben acordar:
Greenpeace considera que hasta ahora Barack Obama, presidente de EEUU, no está liderando el proceso porque tiene problemas internos para aceptar los acuerdos que se adopten internacionalmente. Mientras, la UE desperdició el pasado viernes en el Consejo Europeo la oportunidad de ofrecer la financiación necesaria.
“Ante la inactividad de los países industrializados, Brasil, China, India, Indonesia, México, Sudáfrica y Corea del Sur preparan una propuesta concreta y firme de reducción de emisiones”, ha concluido Raquel Montón, responsable de la campaña Cambio climático y Energía de Greenpeace.
Mañana se celebra una reunión UE-EEUU, en Barcelona, a la que asistirán, por parte de la UE: Fredrik Reinfeldt (Presidencia Sueca), José Manuel Barroso (presidente de la Comisión Europea) y Javier Solana. El resultado de está reunión condicionará las actuales posiciones de los distintos países.
+ info | Síguelo minuto a minuto en el blog
Vía | greenpeace.org
After being caught in bed with with a married woman. The terrified 25-year-old fled from the balcony window when he was caught in bed with the man’s wife at the married couple’s flat in Chengdu, central China.
“My family is ashamed and none of my own neighbours will talk to me any more,” said Sun.
“I know what I did was wrong but I was afraid he would kill me.
“People are even laughing at how I look naked – but I have to point out it was a very cold day,” he added.
