Clipmarks | ouyangwulong's clips

Corruption and Conscious in China

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:15:27 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Although it at first seems appealing to have public officials take responsibility for the disasters that slip by one their watch, it may not be the best course of action.

For instance, there was a baby food scandal in 2004, and the government reacted by holding people responsible - heads of companies and several public officials were executed.

But now a similar problem is happening again. Why?

Because by holding an individual responsible for what is a societal lapse, it allows everyone else to keep on doing business as usual without addressing the fundamental underlying problems.

In the case of corruption or dereliction of duty, the communist party's punitive actions have not served as a deterrent, quite the opposite.

Perhaps we should also consider this in our own context, for we all own a small part in the disasters we blame on our politicians.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Chinese baby formula scandal widens as 2nd death is announced

China's Ministry of Health announced on Monday that a second baby had died in recent months and that 1,253 others had been sickened by contaminated milk powder in a widening food safety scandal that has exposed persistent weaknesses in the country's regulatory system.

Four years ago, at least 13 Chinese babies died of malnutrition after their parents unwittingly fed them fake baby formula that lacked any nutritional value.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

HONG KONG: The governor and deputy governor of Shanxi Province lost their jobs Sunday after at least 254 villagers were killed when their homes were engulfed in a cascade of muddy iron ore waste from the reservoir of an unlicensed mine.

was the latest sign that the authorities in Beijing were assigning personal responsibility to high-ranking members of the Communist Party for their handling of environmental and work safety disasters.

Tags: china, corruption, baby formula, scandal, responsibility, death penalty, bush, iraq

Walking Across Asia

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:54:45 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: This is the blog of a guy walking from Beijing to Germany. He started out about a year ago, and so far he's walked most of the way across China. He is a trained Cinematographer and is intimately familiar with China. As such his daily blogs thus far have been a fascinating way to truly get to know the REAL China, as well as seeing some beautiful pictures.

If you want to know China, read this blog. It's an amazing guy, on an amazing adventure, and moving slowly, by walking, he is able to see really deep into the local culture.

Clip Source: www.thelongestway.com

My health is getting better to an extent where I can’t stay in bed doing nothing anymore.

Time to move.

When I saw a temple on the mountainside I decided to go up there and check it out:

Tags: china, photographs, beautiful, ancient, culture, modern, development, walking, hero, adventure

Beijing's breath-taking new library (Pictures by yours truly)

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:17:21 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: So "Phase II" of the National Library of China just opened down the block from my apartment, and it is absolutely amazing. Filled with open space and natural light, it is gigantic yet personal, with the feeling of a pavilion. Long lines of sight that stretch uninterrupted out into the city blur the division between indoor and outdoor.

Their website is also pretty cool - in English, and with lots of digitized collections, making it worthwhile for anyone wanting to learn more about China.

Clip Source: www.new.facebook.com

Clip Source: www.thebeijinger.com

The second phase of China’s National Library opened to the public yesterday. The sleek new design is decked out with comfy chairs, improved heating, and will offer more reader-focused services in continuation of a trend that saw them do away with charging for bag storage and lower photocopying fees last year. According to Xinhua, the combined floor space of the new library and the original building comes to 250,000 sqm, making the NLC the third largest library in the world. The East China Architectural Design Institute worked with the German firm KSP Engel und Zimmermann to design the building.

Clip Source: www.nlc.gov.cn

Manuscripts, paintings, textiles, artifacts ......

Tags: beijing, china, library, modern, architecture, nature, urban, design, style, books

The Gray Scale between East and West

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:53:46 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Understanding that there is no clear distinction between east and west is one of the most important changes we need to make in 21st century diplomacy.

Failing to see east and west as a cultural continuum with significant commonalities across the board is one of the main reasons for the rise of terrorism and our failed Russia policy.

Clinging to old nationalist divisions blinds us to what the world has become and what the world has always been: cultures in flux across borders and mutating as different people interact.

Clip Source: www.lrb.co.uk

‘The greatest single truth to declare itself in the wake of 1989,’ J.G.A. Pocock wrote two years afterwards,

is that the frontiers of ‘Europe’ towards the east are everywhere open and indeterminate. ‘Europe’, it can now be seen, is not a continent – as in the ancient geographers’ dream – but a subcontinent: a peninsula of the Eurasian landmass, like India in being inhabited by a highly distinctive chain of interacting cultures, but unlike it in lacking a clearly marked geophysical frontier. Instead of Afghanistan and the Himalayas, there are vast level areas through which conventional ‘Europe’ shades into conventional ‘Asia’, and few would recognise the Ural mountains if they ever reached them.

But, he went on, empires – of which in its fashion the European Union must be accounted one – had always needed to determine the space in which they exercised their power, fixing the borders of fear or attraction around them.

Tags: eu, nato, foreign policy, europe, asia, terrorism, culture

How & Why Chrome will Conquer the World

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:41:53 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: So this is a hilarious little comic book Google put together to explain Chrome, which I think represents a very important leap towards cloud computing, which I think is the future of both comunications and computing.

We can see this leap in my three favorite features unique to Chrome...

Clip Source: www.google.com

Tags: chrome, ie, microsoft can go to hell, vista, evil, google, savior, cloud computing, facebook, firefox

BLOW YOUR MIND: They are just now checking Sarah Palin's background

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:37:36 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Now, the Republicans will jump to the defense of Sarah Palin and her family, because she is one of their own. However, if they were liberals, these kind of disclosures would be used to crucify them. That sad reality is more than a little depressing. For instance, Obama is repeatedly accused of "not loving America," but unlike Sarah Palin, he never joined a party who's goal was succession.

But the thing that really shocked me is that McCain seems to not be taking this seriously at all. Apparently, according to this article, they are just checking into her background NOW, after they put her on the ticket.

Is this the kind of judgment we want in a President? Honestly, although I am still a McCain fan, this shocked and disappointed me that he didn't have enough wherewithal to have all his ducks in a row.

It seems like he doesn't take running for President that seriously at all, which is too bad for America.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

On Monday morning, Ms. Palin

issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant

it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power

she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede

Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice

Tags: mccain, obama, palin, marijuana, sex, naked, hypocrisy, experience, judgment, hates america

Real Political Issues: Peace or Perpetual War?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:52:27 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: What is the real lesson of 9/11?

I still want to discuss this election in terms of issues not polemics and ad hominems, so I'm going to keep trying...

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

“We live in a dangerous world,” Mr. Bush said, “And we need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.”

Tags: 9/11, iraq, afghanistan, bush, mccain, obama, issues

I support Obama on Issues, not because of the Cult of Personality

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:08:45 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: I don't worship Barak Obama. I don't think he's a savior, or even an angel. Although the novelty of him being a "black" president is entertaining, I don't really care about that either. (Honestly, it seems a little strange that we are so self-congratulatory over 'voting for a black man,' as if that should be really impressive somehow.)

Why do I support Barak Obama? Because of all the people running for President, I believe he has the best ideas on what direction our country needs to take. I would like to see much of his platform made into reality, and because of that, I will vote for him.

I don't want to waste all our time arguing of personal slights and vauge rumors. Let's get to the issues. Here is why I support Barak Obama:

Clip Source: www.barackobama.com

Renewing American Diplomacy

Talk to our Foes and Friends: Obama is willing to meet with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe. He will do the careful preparation necessary, but will signal that America is ready to come to the table, and that he is willing to lead. And if America is willing to come to the table, the world will be more willing to rally behind American leadership to deal with challenges like terrorism, and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.

Clip Source: www.barackobama.com

Restore Our Alliances

Organize to Help Our Partners and Allies in Need: An Obama administration will expand humanitarian activities that build friends and allies at the regional and local level (such as during the response to the tsunami in South and Southeast Asia), and win hearts and minds in the process.

Tags: obama, president, issues, serious, philosophy, experience, patriotism, iraq

Inexperienced Republican vs. Inexperienced Democrat

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:38:42 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: So I've been having a lot of heated discussions on exactly how important it is for a candidate to be experienced. My view is: not at all. Knowledge matters. Belief matters. Judgment matters. But experience in Washington is a minus for me.

Hopefully, now, this will put the experience debate to bed. Shame on Barbra Boxer for making the same argument against Palin that she dismisses against Obama!

Both tickets are a good mix of experience and freshness. If Democrats want to take on Palin, they should have enough wherewithal to criticize her political positions, just like Republicans should stop whining about manufactured personal issues with Obama and get to the meat of why they don't like him: the issues.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Several of Mr. McCain’s outside advisers reacted with bewilderment to the selection of Ms. Palin, and one said that it would undercut one of Mr. McCain’s central criticisms of Senator Obama — that he is too inexperienced to be commander in chief.

Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, dismissed Ms. Palin’s appeal to female voters.

“The vice president is a heartbeat away from becoming President, so to choose someone with not one hour’s worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice,” she said in a statement.

“Governor Palin is a very bright leader who will bring a fresh perspective to a ticket that already has the experience and judgment necessary to lead our country from day one,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader.

Tags: palin, obama, mccain, experience, democrat, republican, idiots, democracy, talking points

Why Everyone Should Be in Favor of Reducing Taxes on the Rich

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:04:41 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: mises.org

Are the American people being primed to elect a home-grown version of Hugo Chavez, in the person of Barack Obama? This is a question one can come away with after reading "Obamanomics," the featured article in this last Sunday's (August 24, 2008) New York Times Magazine. Written by Times' columnist David Leonhardt, the article provides insight into Obama's thinking on economics and the economic policies he would be likely to pursue if he were elected President.

Obama's agenda, we are told in more detail, includes "a $500 cut in the payroll tax for most workers" and major middle- and lower-income tax credits, to the point of simply handing out government money to those for whom the tax credits more than eliminate the taxes they would otherwise have to pay. "These tax cuts," Leonhardt writes, "are really the essence of his market-oriented redistributionist philosophy (though he made it clear that he doesn't like the word 'redistributionist').

Case in point: Messed Up British People

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:27:16 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: So, this guy is addicted to sex and drugs and doesn't know when to draw the line? And he's British? Hey, I bet he would love a nice vacation in Greece!

But seriously, his perspective at the end, about comics helping the audience to empathize with something strange, is really insightful and good advice to all artists and writers.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Russell Brand, who will host the awards on Sept. 7, is a 33-year-old British comedian whose sartorial sensibility favors snug leather pants, unbuttoned shirts, a manly bit of eyeliner and shaggy, Amy Winehouse-style bouffants.

in a scandalous autobiography titled “My Booky Wook,” he has made no secret of his addictions to sex and hard drugs like heroin and crack

as an adolescent he attended (and was expelled from) a series of increasingly prestigious theater schools, where he was introduced to an array of increasingly potent controlled substances. In his 20s he became a popular host for British MTV, only to be fired from that job for showing up at the studio on Sept. 12, 2001, high on drugs and dressed as Osama bin Laden.

If the job of a comedian is to find common ground with his audience, Mr. Brand said in a recent telephone interview, “it is also to make things that are uncommon seem accessible and empathetic. That’s something I sometimes struggle with, because of the life I’ve led.”

Tags: sex, addiction, heroin, crack, bouffant, mtv, osama bin laden

Three White People Who Won't Be Voting For Barak Obama

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:46:53 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: People still keep talking about how racism among "working class whites" (that's media code for "po' white trash") will not vote for Obama because he is black.

I'm getting seriously tired of this. Working class people in America aren't any more racist than the class of Americans who are too wealthy to work.

Sure, there are some people who are racist and won't vote for him, and that shocks people so it gets a lot of attention. But seriously, look at these three guys: do you think they vote AT ALL? (remember, something like 60% of America doesn't!)

Nobody is talking about all the working class whites who had trouble voting for John Kerry or Al Gore. If Obama loses, it will be because of the pathetic Democratic Party itself, not because he is black.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

From left, Shawn R. Adolf, Tharin R. Gartrell and Nathan D. Johnson were arrested Sunday on drug and weapons charges.

“We’re taking it very seriously,” said Troy Eid, the United States attorney for Colorado, at a news conference on Tuesday. But he said the racist rants that the men made after their arrests on Sunday — all three for possession of methamphetamine, and two of them on weapons charges — had not risen to the level of a “credible threat” that would have allowed federal charges of threatening Mr. Obama to be filed.

Tags: obama, methamphetemines, drugs, conspiracy, assassination, white working class voters

Screaming, Vomiting, Cross-Dressing, Stripping: Vacation British style...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:30:15 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Oh my goodness gracious! This is a funny funny article about bad bad people. I have to admit, even jaded party animal that I am, born and raised in the liberal Sodom and Gomorrah of left-coast America, EVEN I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW OUT OF FREAKING CONTROL THESE BRITISH ARE!

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

“They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit,” Malia’s mayor, Konstantinos Lagoudakis, said in an interview. “It is only the British people — not the Germans or the French.”

They are the ones, the locals say, who are carousing, brawling and getting violently sick. They are the ones crowding into health clinics seeking morning-after pills and help for sexually transmitted diseases. They are the ones who seem to have one vacation plan: drinking themselves into oblivion.

“The government of Britain has to do something,” Mr. Lagoudakis said. “These people are giving a bad name to their country.”

They are also hurting themselves in the process. A recent report published by the British Foreign Office, “British Behavior Abroad,” noted that in a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, 602 Britons were hospitalized and 28 raped in Greece, and that 1,591 died in Spain and 2,032 were arrested there.

Tags: vomit, nudity, cross-dressing, alcohol, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, brawling

Please Get Laid

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:23:04 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

This week, while you were distractedly waiting for one of the presidential candidates to just go ahead and pick Michael Phelps as his running mate, a Manhattan lawyer sued Columbia University for discriminating against men.

Roy Den Hollander, who's best known for suing Manhattan nightclubs because they offered free or discounted Ladies Night drinks to women, claimed the university could not use government money, such as federal financial aid, to fund its Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

Two questions come to mind (and, for the record, I have a degree from Columbia). First, how did an institution that kept its undergraduate women in a separate college across the street (Barnard) until 1983 manage to become a "bastion of bigotry against men" in such a short time? Second, when did women's studies gather enough steam to pose a legitimate threat to men?

Obama's Fair Tax

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:34:57 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

Mr. Warren, a man of the cloth, has done us a great service by asking the candidates to answer a pretty secular question: What kind of income makes an American "rich"? Maybe in the more secular setting of an upcoming debate, one of our nonpastor moderators could ask the candidates the moral question: What specific rate of individual taxation would it take for the rich to be paying their fair share?

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

He talks about it as a general theme: "It is time for folks like me who make more than $250,000 to pay our fair share."

He invokes it as a solution for Social Security: "[W]e will save Social Security for future generations by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share."

He points to how it guides his energy policy: "The first part of my plan is to tax the windfall profits of oil companies and use some of that money to help you pay the rising price of gas."

And he stuck to it on capital gains, even after ABC's Charlie Gibson noted that the record shows increased taxes on capital gains -- which would affect 100 million Americans -- would likely lead to a decrease in government revenues: "Well, Charlie, what I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness."

It's not about robbing from the rich to give to the poor. Robbing from the rich will do, especially if it's done in the name of fairness.

Tags: taxes, election