A New Decade

So, it’s that time of year again, when everybody pauses to reflect upon the months gone by and mainly think about two things:

1. How quickly the year has passed and how quickly the resolutions I made in January were broken. 

2. The Christmas holidays are all but over and it’s time to go back to work.

Neither of these is the most cheering of thoughts, so it’s probably best avoiding those topics for now, particularly as this evening most people the length and breadth of the United Kingdom will be heading out for some intensive partying.

 As I gird my loins for celebrating the bringing in of the New Year, not to mention the New Decade, I’m feeling more pensive than usual. Maybe it’s because I’m just back from visiting family in Northern Ireland and feeling a little fragile after another stint of early morning travel. I’m listening to my iPod, scrolling through the songs and albums who have been close companions to me these past twelve months. It’s amazing how, after just a few opening beats or strums of a particular track, the special memories I have accumulated come flooding back. It can be overwhelming, as images, aromas, sensations, flow from my brain throughout my body, tickling endorphins, making the hairs on my arms and the nape of my neck prick up. I might be physically sitting in my room as I type, but emotionally I am peering over the edge of the Great Wall Of China, its hot brickwork beneath my feet; I’m standing on the 106th floor of the Empire State Building, taking in the panorama circling around me; I’m drinking in the smell of a Jamaican sugar plantation; I’m standing face to face with the Terracotta Army in China, the gap between us closing centuries of history and two completely alien cultures.

On the downside, I’ve eaten dog, jellyfish, camel, maggots, snake and donkey. Every silver lining has a cloud.

You see, I have a particularly addictive vice: travelling. I love it. I can’t get enough of it. I’ve been back in London less than twenty-four hours and already I’m twitching to go somewhere new. This year I’ve travelled to more countries than I ever thought I would experience in my lifetime – eighteen, to be exact. If I split the space time continuum, meet my much younger self, and tell me that in years to come I would be driving from New York to South Beach, Miami, and set foot at The Whitehouse and Buckingham Palace, Kenedy and the Chinese Space Centers, clamber to the pinnacle of Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, and swan about casinos in Atlantic City and Macau, I would probably have told my older self to stop wasting my time on such pipe dreams.

(While I was there I would also have told my younger self to stop wearing ill-fitting, woollen jumpers.)

But I have done each and every one of those things – and more. Much more. And here’s the bit I can’t quite believe: I get to do all of this in the name of gainful employment. As another new song kicks into life, and I squint backwards along the winding, rocky path which has led me to this point, I consider some of the milestones which led me through the 2000’s. I think about starting up my own business, and what a unique form of physical, mental and emotional torture that was at the time. I think about how I was first struck by the idea of writing my own series of cookbooks, as if a meteor suddenly fell out of the sky and clonked me in the head. I think about how that series was so long in the making yet this year won me the kind of awards and acclaim I never, ever believed would be placed at my door.  Thank you Mr Cointreau.   I think about how, should I feel so vain, multiple videos featuring myself are only a mouse click away.

Please don’t misconstrue my intentions here. I don’t want to become a bore and prattle on about what a wonderful year – a wonderful ten years – it has been. I don’t want to come across as a braggart. Rather, it’s important for me to continually acknowledge how blessed I am. There are two reasons why I have been able to arrive at this point, after many thousand air miles, many sleepless nights and a lot of heartache.

Firstly, I have a great team headed up by Hilary, without whom none of the above would have been possible. That sounds like a glib Oscar acceptance speech, but it’s true. My team are essential and invaluable – they keep me going, and, most importantly, they’re not afraid to tell me which of my crazy ideas are good and which are plain crazy.

Secondly, I have a great network of family and friends who support me in anything and everything I do. In the past year I’ve met people who most would consider to be superstars or celebrities. I’ve dined with the rich, the good and the not so good. I’ve chinked glasses and bumped canapé trays with millionaire businessmen who carry more money in their wallet than I will ever see in my bank account. But – and it’s a big but – I remembered to fly home to visit my mum on fifteen occasions. She keeps me grounded. And whilst I love travelling, it can often be a lonely pastime. An empty hotel room for one will never compare to the home in which you grew up.

I could go on. I could talk about each and every one of the experiences that I have stored up this year. They each appear fresh to me as their accompanying melody starts to play through my headphones. But I don’t want to take advantage. I’m sure you have better things to do: memories of your own to consider, or perhaps a party to attend.

And I don’t want to think about my carbon footprint. I know those planes would have flown without me as a passenger, but still…

So, here’s to 2010 and what it may bring. I do hope that you will keep checking the site, keep reading these blogs, keep sharing in my journey. To my family, friends and followers, I extend my best wishes for a happy and fruitful New Year.

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James McIntosh



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ASEAN has just dropped its collective pants to China via FTA

Economic recovery on horizon, right? Everyone getting ready for inflation, no? Stocks are expected to go up 20% at least in 2010?

Well, contrarian that I am, the forecast that I’m making for 2010 for ASEAN economies is that things will get worse (for those who follow the teachings of Anthony Robbins, Rhonda Byrne, or their MLM upline mentor, please stop reading now).

Here’s an interesting read from BT, “China’s growing power unsettles its neighbours”

There’s a sense of disquiet over the implications of China’s seemingly boundless expansion

IN THE Dickensian depths of the Dunia Metal Works here (in Indonesia), all is cacophony: The bam bam bam of grease-drenched punches; the rhythmic clank of unspooling steel wire; the storm and stress of glinting, freshly minted nails cascading onto a broad metal table for boxing.

But for all the industrial din, Dunia is undergoing a painful slump. Today it runs at 40 per cent of its capacity, its domestic nail business imperilled – and its exports wiped out – by cheaper Chinese alternatives. ‘We have been competing with the Japanese and the Koreans,’ said Juniarto Suhandinata, the factory’s director. ‘But the Chinese – no chance.’

The Chinese are tough competitors, and Dunia is hardly the first to find out. But Mr Suhandinata’s lament speaks to something different: a sense of disquiet, even in developing Asian nations in Beijing’s orbit, over the implications of China’s swift, seemingly boundless economic growth.

China has long claimed to be just another developing nation, even as its economic power far outstripped that of any other emerging country. Now, it is finding it harder to cast itself as a friendly alternative to an imperious American superpower. For many in Asia, it is the new colossus. ‘China 10 years ago is totally different with China now,’ said Ansari Bukhari, who oversees metals, machinery and other crucial sectors for Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry. ‘They are stronger and bigger than other countries. Why do we have to give them preference?’

To varying degrees, others are voicing the same complaint. Take the 10 South-east Asian nations in the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean). Through September, ASEAN ran up a collective US$74 billion trade deficit with China. That is a sharp reversal of the surplus those nations enjoyed in most recent years, and it is prompting some rethinking of the conventional wisdom that China’s rise is a windfall for the whole neighbourhood.

Vietnam just devalued its currency by 5 per cent, to keep it competitive with China. In Thailand, manufacturers are grousing openly about their inability to match Chinese prices. India has filed a sheaf of unfair-trade complaints against China this year covering everything from I-beams to coated paper.

‘Market-oriented exchange rates’

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the biggest regional group, last month urged the adoption of ‘market-oriented exchange rates’ for Asian currencies without mentioning China’s currency, which many economists say China keeps artificially undervalued to promote its own exports. China has taken some steps to mollify complainers. In April, it proposed a US$10 billion investment fund to help build badly needed roads, railways and ports in South-east Asia, and a US$15 billion fund to give Asian nations low-interest development loans. But it has so far done little to address regional and global unease over the value of its currency, the renminbi. Because the currency is lashed by effective government fiat to the sinking American dollar, China’s exports have become significantly cheaper in countries whose own currencies have not compensated for the dollar’s recent fall.

In Asia, the renminbi is doubly significant. During the 1997 Asian economic crisis, the values of many regional currencies collapsed, making their goods cheap to foreign buyers. The Chinese then won the gratitude of their neighbours by keeping the renminbi’s value fixed. That prevented a competitive spiral of devaluations that many economists feared might make the crisis much worse.

The latest financial crisis tells a different story: China’s exchange rate controls are cited as a leading cause of huge global imbalances that contributed to the collapse of 2008. This time, China has resisted pressure to untie the renminbi from the dollar and let it rise. And its neighbours’ exports have suffered as a result.

Michael Pettis, an economist and scholar with the China programme of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, argues that China can no longer pursue the same export-driven development model at a time when Western consumers no longer are able to gobble up whatever it and other Asian manufacturers produce.

Until 2008, Mr Pettis said: ‘Most of these countries ran trade surpluses, and the US was the countervailing trade deficit.’ ‘The entire model depended on the ability of an external agent – the US – to absorb trade deficits,’ he added.

Indonesia is especially vulnerable to the shift. It is the most populous and arguably the least economically advanced nation among the onetime Asian Tigers, and perhaps the least able to accommodate itself to a new regional order dominated by China. Didik J Rachbini, a professor and the founder of an economic research institute here, said that in the past four years, Indonesia had swung from more or less parity in bilateral trade to a deficit equal to one-third of its annual exports to China – and rising.

The lowly nail is one focus of tension. Making nails is not complicated: start with a bale of steel wire, shave it down to the proper diameter, then feed it into a punch that shapes the nail, cuts it and spits it into a bin. Labour and machinery account for 10 or 15 per cent of the cost of a nail. The rest is the cost of the wire.

Too many steel mills

And that is Indonesia’s problem.

‘Many Chinese steel factories have overcapacity, so they sell their wire very cheap,’ said Ario N Setiantoro, who leads the Indonesia Nail and Wire Factory Association. ‘Chinese nails enter the market here at about the same price as our wire.’

He is right. Most analysts say China has too many steel mills. Its excess steelmaking capacity equals the entire annual production of the world’s No 2 steelmaker, Japan. Beyond supply, Chinese state-run banks support industry with construction loans so cheap that credit can be almost free, holding down operating costs. China’s vast purchases of iron ore lock in volume discounts that Indonesia’s small steelmakers cannot match.

Irvan K Hakim, a co-chairman of the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association, said he had aired complaints to Chinese officials for years. He did not appear optimistic about a meeting of the minds. ‘China is China, you know?’ he said, shrugging. ‘Even the US cannot talk to China.‘ – NYT

Then, consider this article from BT, “China open free trade area to rival world’s biggest”

China and Southeast Asia establish the world’s biggest free trade area (FTA) on Friday, liberalising billions of dollars in goods and investments covering a market of 1.7 billion consumers.

Eight years in the making, the Asean-China FTA will rival the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Area in terms of value and surpass those markets in terms of population.

Officials hope it will expand Asia’s trade reach while boosting intra-regional trade that has already been expanding at 20 per cent a year.

‘In 2010 we are sending a strong signal that Asean is open,’ HE Sundram Pushpanathan, of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), told AFP.

China has just overtaken the United States to become Asean’s third largest trading partner, and will leap Japan and the EU to become ‘number one’ within the first few years of the FTA, said Pushpanathan, deputy secretary-general for the Asean Economic Community.

Under the agreement, China and the six founding Asean countries – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – are to eliminate barriers to investment and tariffs on 90 per cent of products.

Later Asean members, including Vietnam and Cambodia, have until 2015 to follow suit.

Zhang Kening, the director-general of the department of international trade and economic affairs in Beijing, said the average tariff rate China charged on Asean goods would be cut to 0.1 per cent from 9.8 per cent.

Average tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by Asean states will fall to 0.6 per cent from 12.8 per cent.

Asean-China trade has exploded in the past decade, from US$39.5 billion in 2000 to US$192.5 billion last year, Mr Pushpanathan said.

At the same time, Asean-China trade with the rest of the world has reached US$4.3 trillion, or about 13.3 per cent of global trade.

Teng Theng Dar, chief executive of the Singapore Business Federation, said sectors likely to reap the most benefits from the FTA included services, construction and infrastructure, and manufacturing.

‘Other than product and service innovations, this is one great new business opportunity for the establishment of a regionally-based innovative supply chain for market reach and growth,’ he said.

Officials said there was more to the deal than sating China’s thirst for Asian raw materials like palm oil, timber and rubber, and opening up regional markets for its manufactured products, steel and textiles.

‘China and Asean countries are all export-oriented economies. A large proportion of our products target the US and EU markets… Generally neither side took the other’s market as its most important target market,’ Mr Zhang said.

‘But with the establishment of the China-Asean free trade zone, we think there is potential to improve or adjust this situation… Both sides have many goods that complement each other’s needs.’

Not everyone is happily singing the free-trade anthem, however.

At the 11th hour, industry groups in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, and the Philippines are frantically pressing their governments to keep tariffs on vulnerable sectors until 2012.

‘These sectors aren’t ready to compete with imported Chinese products. If the government implements free trade now, these industries are surely going to die,’ Indonesian lawmaker Airlangga Hartarto said.

He cited 12 sectors including textiles, petrochemicals, footwear, electronics, steel, auto parts, food and drinks, engineering services and furniture.

‘For example, a local sack for sugar, rice and fertilizer costs about 1,600 rupiah (US$1.70) each. A Chinese sack costs about 800 rupiah each,’ he said.

Indonesian Footwear Association chairman Eddy Widjanarko said Chinese firms would take their share of the Indonesian market to 60 per cent from 40 per cent, costing some 40,000 local jobs.

Indonesian Furniture Producers Association executive director Tanangga Karim blamed the government for failing to level the playing field, and called for non-tariff protection in the form of strict safety and quality controls.

‘We have to admit that we aren’t ready to compete now with imported Chinese products,’ he said.

Mr Pushpanathan conceded that some local businesses would struggle.

‘In the short term there will be some adjustments that some countries have to make. Some local companies will lose their domestic market share but ultimately consumers will benefit,’ he said. — AFP

If it’s not already apparently obvious, here are the salient points from the articles:

1. Our savings (everyone in ASEAN) are now flowing outwards to funding capacity buildups in China. (see “trade deficit”) - which means that we’re now funding our competitors to produce even more cheap stuff that’ll put the final bullet in our producers’ still-warm body. Irony number 1.

2. Because all of us in ASEAN are export-oriented, there are only two ways we can “compete” against China (and I mean “compete” in the loosest sense of the word, since we’ve already lost the game):

 - Devalue our currency. (see “Vietnam devaluation” and “price of nail”). A vain attempt to protect production that’s already left the building, but guaranteed to be an absolutely LOUSY decision for importers and local consumers. Alternatively, we can always redirect our entire country’s workforce to either work as IR croupiers, or as oil rig production workers.

 - Raise protectionist barriers - but the recent FTA means that we’ve just made it even easier for China to swamp us. Why did the governments agree to this pants dropping? The great HOPE (that hopefully we can believe in) is that China will be a CONSUMER of all things ASEAN, rather than a competitor that it actually is. In gambling parlance, it’s called “double-or-nothing”.  Yet, as the deficits have shown, we’re now big net buyers of China made goods, not sellers. Anyone wants to bet money on whether China will become a net consumer in 2010? I didn’t think so. Neither does the US.

I weep for my kids.

[Via http://singaporeuncletrader.wordpress.com]

China execute British man

The Foreign Office has confirmed that China has executed Akmal Shaikh after finding him guilty of drug smuggling offences.

The British government and the mans family had pleaded with China to drop the charges on the grounds that Shaikh was mentally ill.

Shaikh has also denied any knowledge of carrying the drugs.

Gordon Brown said he was “appalled and disappointed” by the outcome.

[Via http://uncoverdclj.wordpress.com]

The Towering Ladder of Death, Tiger Leaping Gorge (Day 2)

Afraid to approach Medusa to ask for breakfast, we left the Halfway House with empty bellies. While we were pretty impressed by all the scenery the day before – the green mountains, bleating goats and nearing snow-capped peaks – it turned out that our scenic walk had not yet begun.

Rounding one of the first bends of the morning we saw a waterfall diving from the top of a mountain over the dirt path and down to the bottom of the gorge. From the distance we could see a herd of what looked like cows but eventually turned out to be goats, picking their way gingerly through the spray. Crossing the waterfall meant choosing one of two paths – you could stick close to the wall and be pounded by sheets of water or you could keep your distance, shuffling precariously along the edge of the drop. The goats chose the latter so we followed suit, hopping from one slippery stone to another as Gary recorded a video post for the blog on my (now lost) camera.

Having successfuly negotiated the first hurdle of the day we ploughed headlong into the second – the steep decline down a rocky dirtpath to Tina’s guesthouse. Tina’s by the way, was not the colossal 600m tall monster that our doodle map had made it out to be. The restaurant did do a mean stir-fried potatoe dish though and the waitress provided very ambiguous onward directions. As is a re-occuring theme on the gorge, directions to every guesthouse were clearly signposted on every rock, tree or animal that would stand still long enough to be painted. Once we got passed the guesthouse though, we were more or less on our own.

After we left Tina’s we decided to head for the Middle Tiger Leaping Stone without fully knowing what a Middle Tiger Leaping Stone was supposed to be. Was it just a pebble? Or a rock with a plaque on it? Did it have a statue of Chairman Mao? Devoid of any useful map or directions, we decided to follow the small dog who had tagged along from Tina’s. He looked like he knew where he was going – like an ugly Chinese Lassie.

As it turns out Chinese Lassie did know where he was going and the rock pretty much did what it said on the tin. It was a massive hunk of stone sitting in the middle of the ferocious river which you could get onto by crossing a questionable rope bridge. “You could be killed…” The words of the guard we met yesterday kept floating through my head. Eventually though, they were drowned out by the deafening roar of the great Yangzi. Never really one for rivers, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed lying stretched out on the Middle Tiger Leaping Stone with Chinese Lassie as Gary clicked and whirred at the towering gorge from every angle.

There was of course, a catch. Having descended around 30 flights of stairs (some so steep that we had climbed down backwards on our hands and knees, bellies flat against the rough stone), we had to go back up. Que the Towering Ladder of Death. “Let’s take the ladder back up so we don’t have to retrace our steps – those stairs were a killer.” I remember saying to Gary who unfortunately agreed. So we climbed up to the base of the ladder where there was a sign pointing in one direction to the “Safe Route” and in another direction to the ladder. Hardy and well-endowed as we are, we decided to take a gamble on the ladder which looked like a relatively short iron structure bolted into the rockface. Wrapped in ivy and sheilded from the halfway point by a round metal cage it appealed to my romantic notions of what a real ladder should look like – an adventurer’s ladder. And what the hell, we were in China, doing a 3 day hike in the most scenic gorge I had ever seen. We could handle it.

Wrong.

On about the third rung of the ladder I realised that, far from being bolted into the mountain, the iron ladder was loosely tied to a rotting wooden structure underneath it. Any attempt to look upwards therefore resulted in the ladder swinging violently away from the rockface and out over the crashing river, now at least 100m below us. “Two people have already died on this Gorge,” warned a sign down below, “be careful, we don’t want to make it more.” Four or five rungs later, as the ground started to spin below me I remembered that I have a crippling fear of heights – oh well, it can’t be much further, I thought.

Wrong again.

Looking up I saw that Gary was still climbing, 15 minutes after getting onto the ladder which, from the bottom, hadn’t looked like it was more than 20 or 30 rungs high. By now he looked to be at least half way to the sun. “Why didn’t we take the safe route?” I thought as my hands became sweaty and my legs started to take on the muscle density of jelly. Then, just as I thought it couldn’t get worse, the wind picked up, buffeting violently against the rock and forcing the ladder to sail further away from the safety of the mountain. Too afraid to move a muscle I flattened myself against the ladder and contemplated going back down and taking the safe route. A quick glance below me convinced me that that wouldn’t be such a great idea – going down would be harder than going up. So, taking a few deep breaths I ploughed on, taking at least 5 years off my life in 15 long, sweaty, mentally disturbing minutes.

Finally I reached the top, panting, soaked through and terrified. Throwing myself up the last few feet and clinging to the dusty path I heard Gary’s muffled voice penetrating my relief. “I think that’s the first of the three ladders. And from what I can see this path doesn’t rejoin the safe route.” Oh crabapples.

Thankfully he was wrong, the Towering Ladder of Death was the second ladder, the third was a short 10 rung number which presented no risk of falling to a watery death. After that it was a steep but – in light of my ordeal on the ladder – pretty easy going 40 minute climb up a winding path, the top of which left us a merciful half hour away from Sean’s guesthouse, our rest stop for the second night.

Sean’s turned out to be a highlight of the trip for us. Located in Walnut Garden, the guesthouse has a majestic view over rice paddies, farmhouses and a full quartet of goats, chickens dogs and screaming children. Settling into seats on the flagstone patio we were thrilled to discover three things:

1. The rest of the travellers were now following the same schedule as us so we had company for the night in the form of an architecht, a civil servant, a forest ranger, an archaeologist, a Parisien, a Texan and a South American

2. The hostess had lit a massive fire for us to sit around

3. It being only 5pm we would get full enjoyment out of happy hour which stretched until 9pm and promised bottles of Tsing Tao for a bargain 4RMB (40c).

And enjoy it we did. Sitting around the fire with our generous host family comparing scars and listening to stories about Dan and Ashley (who we were to spend the next week following) almost being chased over the edge of a cliff in the Bamboo Forest by a runaway bull, The Towering Ladder of Death was soon forgotten. As the night went on and her shyness was replaced by curiosity, we also made another addition to our merry little band of misfits – a beautiful little Chinese girl. What started out as a friendly game of ball with Gary soon developed into an entire procession of her favourite foods and for me, a lesson on how to eat sunflower seeds properly, spitting out the shells with appropriate Chinese gusto.

The plan for the next day had been to hike the last few kilometers up to the ferry which would take us across the river to meet the early bus back to Lijiang. Our hostess kindly informed us however, that the Chinese authorities had caused a blockage in the river while they were playing with their dynamite during the day so the ferry was no longer running. We decided to order a fleet of minibuses to drive us back instead only to wake up the following morning, hungover and with swollen feet, to hear that another explosion during the night had blocked off the only road out of the gorge. Never fear however, our minibus drivers were willing to go anyway.

The minibus ride back to the town was what you would call an experience. Taking some small comfort in the knowledge that our diver was born and raised in the gorge, we spent a nerve wracking 2 hours peering over the edge of steep cliff drops as he trudged along, one wheel skimming over the drop. When we did meet the rockfall we had to wait an hour while two diggers lifted boulders out of our paths and threw them carelessly down the mountain.

Thank God that was the end of our journey rather than the beginning. After spending two days watching puffs of smoke and dust rise over the sites of explosions that were too close for comfort, we weren’t exactly clambouring to go back. Had we the gift of foresight when we decided to brave the hike, chances are we would have decided that we valued our fully intact limbs too much to risk it. But the gorge was more than worth the risk – one of those fantastic, adrenalin filled once in a lifetime experiences – totally surreal at the time and, once it was finished, seeming more like a strange shared dream rather than something we had actually done together, oohing, ahhing, singing, bickering and laughing ourselves silly.

It was Tiger Leaping Gorge-ous!

More pictures from Tiger Leaping Gorge are available on the gallery

[Via http://yearlongbreakup.wordpress.com]

China Pushes Use of Clean Energy

BEIJING — China announced new regulations to increase the use of renewable energy such as wind and hydropower by forcing electricity grid operators to prioritize their use, in an effort by the world’s top greenhouse-gas emitter to reduce its reliance on coal.

The new measures were passed Saturday by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, as an amendment to the 2006 renewable energy law, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. The amendment will force powerful state-owned electric grid companies, which are responsible for distributing electricity from power plants, to buy all the electricity generated from renewable sources even when it is more expensive and more complicated to use than electricity from coal-fired plants.

The new legislation “contributes to the global fight on climate change,” said Wang Zhongying, director of the renewable energy center under a think tank affiliated with China’s National Development and Reform Commission, according to Xinhua.

Coal currently accounts for 70% of China’s total energy use. China wants to increase use of renewable-energy sources to 15% of its total by 2020, up from 9% last year. The goal is related to a separate target announced by top leader Hu Jintao last month ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit to reduce China’s carbon emissions relative to economic output by 40% to 45% from 2005 levels by 2020. The absolute levels of emissions will continue to grow, however, as China’s economy expands.

The government’s efforts have encouraged a boom in renewable-energy development in China that has added more generation capacity than China’s electricity grid has been using. That has left between a quarter and a third of China’s wind farms stranded.

Other countries that are promoting renewable energy have similar laws in place. Still, China faces difficulties implementing it. China’s electricity grid operators need to develop a smarter network to handle how to dispatch electricity generated by wind or solar energy, which fluctuates widely depending on weather patterns, with demand for power, which swings in different cycles.

The new rules come as China continues to trade barbs over its role at the Copenhagen summit, which ended Dec. 18 with an accord that was widely labeled a disappointment. Some foreign officials, including Britain’s climate-change secretary Ed Miliband, have charged that Beijing’s intransigence was responsible for the meeting’s failure to reach a global commitment to significantly reduce emissions.

China has fired back, with state media running articles trumpeting the contributions of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who attended the summit. Chinese consular officials in the U.S., reflecting the Chinese government’s increasingly assertive public relations tactics, last week forwarded some of that coverage to U.S. journalists.

The Xinhua article they forwarded portrays Mr. Wen as a hero at Copenhagen, struggling to protect the interests of poor nations and shocked by the rudeness of others toward China as he tried to reach a last-minute consensus.

[Via http://lanle.wordpress.com]

Obama Lie: "I won't try to take your guns away from you." Yeah, right.

Wise Americans feared that a Candidate Obama turned president would attempt to take away many of our liberties.

Obama has felt free to take any liberty not expressly forbidden to him by the general public.  Don’t confuse that with the constitution, because Obama obviously doesn’t care about that.  He thinks the constitution is merely a document of “negative liberties.”

Any time citizens feared Obama would attempt to grab a specific liberty or right, he has merely lied about his intentions to placate the weak minded among us.

During the financial and automotive meltdown, Obama said he had no desire to be in the banking or automotive business.  Yet, the federal government headed by Obama owns banks and auto makers, and dictates salaries, bonuses, and more.  In the health care “debate” he claimed that illegal aliens would not be paid for, yet again he lied (thank you, Joe Wilson).  He said there would be “not one thin dime” of new taxes on 95% of Americans under his administration.  That promise/lie went the way of the do-do.  It is living in the same place as the pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 per  year.

So when Obama waves his hand in an attempt to push a Jedi mind trick on us saying he has no intention of taking our guns away from us, based upon his track record of dishonesty, why should we believe him?  Simple.  We shouldn’t. Despite what he says, his record on the 2nd Amendment shows that he has no desire whatsoever to let you keep your firearms.  Let’s look at some examples.

• Opposed bill in Illinois that asserted the right of citizens to protect themselves against home invasions, quantifying that self-defense requirements would be viewed to take precedence over local ordinances against handgun possession.
• Double-speak: “I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can’t constrain the exercise of that right.”
• Obama lied about endorsing Illinois handgun ban
  • “No, my writing wasn’t on that particular questionnaire. As I said, I have never favored an all-out ban on handguns.”
  • Actually, Obama’s writing was on the 1996 document, which was filed when Obama was running for the Illinois state Senate. A Chicago nonprofit, Independent Voters of Illinois, had this question, and Obama took hard line:
    • 35. Do you support state legislation to:
    • a. ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns? Yes.
    • b. ban assault weapons? Yes.
    • c. mandatory waiting periods and background checks? Yes.
• Elitist Obama revealed how he truly feels about mainstream America when he said “It’s not surprising they get bitter.  They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
• More Obama double-speak:
  • Q: You said recently, “I have no intention of taking away folks’ guns.” But you support the D.C. handgun ban, and you’ve said that it’s constitutional. How do you reconcile those two positions?
  • A: Because I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it’s important for us to recognize that we’ve got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a lot of law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal handgun usage. And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets. And cracking down on the various loopholes that exist in terms of background checks for children, the mentally ill. We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respect the Second Amendment and people’s traditions.
• 2000: cosponsored bill to limit purchases to 1 gun per month (if you’re not a criminal, why should it matter if you buy more than one gun per month?)
• Surprisingly, Obama votes in favor of law allowing retired police officers to carry concealed weapons.  Why?
  • Obama said “I am consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry. This was a narrow exception in an exceptional circumstance where a retired police officer might find himself vulnerable as a consequence of the work he has previously done–and had been trained extensively in the proper use of firearms.“
  • However, another reason for Obama’s uncharacteristic vote soon emerged.  Obama was battling with his GOP opponent to win the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police.
• Principles that Obama supports on gun issues:
  • Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
  • Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
  • Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
• Voted AGAINST prohibiting civil liability actions against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others.  ANOTHER BACK DOOR WAY OF CONTROLLING GUNS.

When Obama said “I have no intention of taking away folks’ guns,” he forgot to add “right now.”  Obama and his henchmen like Eric Holder, along with the anti-constitution and liberty liberals in congress and the senate will continue to do all they can to EVENTUALLY take our guns away from us.  But in the meantime they will do all they can to make gun ownership and possession by law-abiding citizens as expensive and inconvenient as possible.  One of the proposals being floated by anti-gun advocates is to make all ammunition and powder for reloading such that the powder will break down and become useless after a certain period, one to two years.  There are several other such proposals outlined below.

Do you oppose ownership of guns by private citizens?  If you do, what do you think stands between you and criminals or an oppressive government?  The government and legal system have paralyzed the police to the point that they CAN’T protect us.  When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.  As for governments, remember that throughout history those who have pounded their guns and swords into plowshares have plowed for those who did not.

If you don’t fight for your constitutional rights and freedoms, who will?

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=34932 Ammunition Control by the Obama Administration

by A.W.R. Hawkins

Posted 12/22/2009 ET

Without bullets, a gun is no more useful as a weapon than a rock or a hammer. Although an unloaded gun could be thrown at an intruder or a tyrant, the lack of ammunition ultimately reduces it to the status of a glorified paperweight.

And this is not lost on the nearly 100 million gun owners in America, a number of which are asking if the current shortage of bullets is the result of backdoor efforts at gun control (via ammunition control) by the Obama Administration?

The quick answer to that question is — not exactly.

In other words, the reasons behind the current shortage, as the well as the price increases on what little ammunition is available, are both governmental and nongovernmental in nature.

As for the government’s role, a prime example arose in March 2009 when the Department of Defense (DOD) suddenly changed its policy about selling old brass from spent military rounds to Georgia Arms, an ammunition manufacturer located in Winston, Georgia.

According to Curtis Shipley, President of Georgia Arms, on March 12, 2009, the DOD, which had been a longstanding source of cheap brass for the ammo manufacturer, decided that brass could only be purchased from the military if it was “mutilated.” In other words, it would not longer be possible to buy empty brass casings that Georgia Arms could then clean, quickly reload, and sell to the public at a low price.

When I spoke to Shipley, who had been accustomed to buying spent brass in increments of fifteen tons from the DOD, he said, “This portended higher prices because it required us to either mutilate perfectly good brass when we picked it up from a military base or have a DOD employee travel with us (and the brass) to verify that we did indeed mutilate it at a another site.”

Once mutilated, Georgia Arms would have had to melt the brass down, re-alloy it (casings for each caliber require a specific alloy blend that can sustain the pressures for that caliber), and then re-shape it into the proper casing for whichever caliber they were manufacturing. Said Shipley: “Such a process would add approximately $90 to the cost of one thousand rounds of 9mm ammunition right off the bat.”

Fortunately, the public outcry against this DOD maneuver was so great that the order to mutilate all brass was rescinded after just five days. However, those five days were enough to contribute to another problem the government had been causing since November 2008 – namely, fear of an all out Obama-led assault on guns and ammo.

Speaking to this fear, Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, said: “You can go to gun stores all over the country and many of them will have a picture of President Obama hanging on the wall. However, when you get up close to the picture and look at the caption on the bottom, instead of saying ‘President’ it says ‘Gun Salesman of the Year.’”

Pratt said gun owners are rightly leery of this administration. Obama supports the new California law that will require every semi-automatic pistol sold in that state to come equipped with a special firing mechanism that makes a distinctive mark – a “fingerprint” – on every bullet casing it fires. And currently, some Democrats in the House of Representatives want to take that law a step further and enact legislation that would force ammunition companies to place serial numbers on every shell casing they manufacture.

Let me just say that if you think ammunition is scarce and expensive now, wait till manufacturers have to put a serial number on every casing and maintain records containing the names, addresses, etc., of everyone who purchases such casings.

No wonder Pratt said: “None of this is about safety. Rather, it’s about finding ways to create an ammo and gun registry that will allow the government to finally figure out which son got daddy’s gun when daddy passed away.”

And while the government is doing its part to make ammunition harder to find, either directly, via episodes like the one between Georgia Arms and the DOD, or indirectly, by scaring citizens to death through anti-gun posturing that has caused a run on ammo sales, the market plays a role as well. With demand outpacing supply the market sustains higher prices for ammo under Obama than it was able to sustain for that same ammo during the presidency of a pro-gun politician like George W. Bush.

Add to this the fact that we’re now sending the majority of the lead from our recycled car batteries to China, instead of selling that lead to ammunition manufacturers who can cheaply reclaim it to make affordable bullets for their casings, and it’s no wonder consumers are scrambling to find ammunition and then paying a fortune for it when they do.

Did I fail to mention that millions upon millions of rounds of ammunition are currently being diverted to our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere right now as well? While this is understandable, it further highlights the fact that we gun owners are in a tight spot, as far as getting ammunition for our guns is concerned.

With all these variables affecting the availability of ammunition, this would be a great time to join a group like Gun Owners of America. By so doing we would assure the politicians in D.C. that if they use their offices to further deny us bullets for our guns, we will use the voting booth to deny them the very offices they now hold.

HUMAN EVENTS columnist A.W.R. Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in U.S. Military History from Texas Tech University. He will be a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal during the summer of 2010.

[Via http://texan2driver.wordpress.com]

Like A Bull In A China Shopping District

My Bad?

No one is above the law, even you little bull. Police in Liuzhou had no choice but to handcuff a bull after it caused havoc in a popular shopping area. OK, the beast doesn’t look that menacing but for two hours it ran amok scaring shoppers before police were able to catch and cuff him. No word on what charges, if any will be laid, but I did hear there is a big BBQ being planned at the local police station.

[Via http://frigginloon.wordpress.com]

Christmas of Fear-- 10 Local Christian Leaders Were Jailed, Church Shut Down, in North China

By Robert Saiget, AFP-

LINFEN, China — Christians in north China are facing a Christmas of fear after 10 local religious leaders were jailed in recent weeks and their new church shut down amid a crackdown on unauthorised worship.

Five of the church leaders were given prison terms of up to seven-years by a Linfen court, while the others were sentenced without trial to labour camps for two years, their lawyer said.

Their crimes? “Illegally occupying farm land” and “disturbing transportation through a mass gathering”.

“The authorities are clearly sending a message to the Christians,” lawyer Li Fanping, who defended the church leaders at their trial last month, told AFP. He expressed shock at the severity of the punishment for minor offences.

“They’ve convicted them of these specific crimes. As Christmas is coming, a lot of Christians will want to gather to worship, but the authorities have made it clear what can happen if they gather.”

China officially allows freedom of religion, but in practice, the ruling Communist Party restricts independent worship by forcing groups to register with the government.

About 15 million Protestants and five million Catholics worship at official churches, according to official data.

But more than 50 million others are believed to pray at “underground” or “house” churches, which refuse to submit to government regulation.

At the heart of the Linfen case is the giant Golden Lamp Church, built by Yang Rongli and her husband Pastor Wang Xiaoguang through donations.

The church is capable of accommodating thousands of worshippers at a time and could serve the religious needs of many of the up to 60,000 Christians in the area.

Bob Fu, head of the US-based Christian rights group ChinaAid, said the church was leading a nationwide Christian revival through its evangelical work and social services which had brought it to the brink of official legitimacy.

“Local officials at the village level have been tolerating and even helping the Linfen church,” he said, when asked how the leaders had been able to build the towering structure.

But it appears that more senior religious authorities began getting nervous at the size of the unregistered church, and feared its ability to organise ordinary people into what could become mass anti-government movements, Fu said.

The completion of the building in December 2008 sparked a crackdown on unregistered churches, with police in mid-September raiding numerous places of worship throughout Linfen linked to the Golden Lamp, locals said.

The worst clampdown appeared to be in nearby Fushan county, where up to 400 police and hired thugs levelled a makeshift church in a farming community, attacking worshippers and seriously injuring several people, they said.

“None of the followers fought back, they just silently protested the action by the authorities and took the beatings,” one Christian told AFP by phone, asking to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the case.

“Right now it is too dangerous to meet outsiders — the police are watching us and the phones are not safe to use,” said the man, who is related to one of people who was jailed.

Other church followers refused AFP requests for interviews out of fear of retribution by police……. (more details from AFP)

[Via http://chinaview.wordpress.com]

China's herbal swine flu treatment

There is a good Chinese herbal treatment for pandemic swine flu, according to a Chinese study.

Wang Chen, president of Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, said that Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang (known as Jin Hua) was the most effective herbal treatment for swine flu.

He said that the cost-effective remedy shortened the duration of the fever associated with swine flu, as well as improving overall respiratory health.

Zhao Jing, the director of the Beijing municipal administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that the Chinese municipal government gathered the most outstanding medical experts in the Chinese capital to develop the new remedy.

She said that more than 120 medical specialists participated in the study, which used mice and rabbits, and chose Jin Hua from among about 100 herbal anti-flu prescriptions.

Currently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends Swiss-based Roche’s antiviral Tamiflu to treat the pandemic flu.

Huang Luqi, vice president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said Jin Hua had been shown in tests on mice and rabbits to bring down a fever and help the body resist the influenza virus.

Local newspapers have hailed the remedy as the world’s first traditional Chinese medicine remedy for swine flu. Officials said it had been picked out of 100 classical medicinal herbal prescriptions from Chinese medicine, a tradition dating back to the earliest Chinese emperors.

The medication had also been tested on 410 moderately sick human A/H1N1 patients, according to the Beijing Daily newspaper.

A total of 11 hospitals nationwide had conducted clinical trials on Jin Hua and given positive assessments, and Chaoyang Hospital has said it will file patents for the drug both domestically and internationally.

Zhao said the hospital hoped to be able to offer an alternative treatment for pandemic influenza.

China has seen around 108,000 A/H1N1 flu cases, including 442 deaths so far, according to official figures. WHO representatives in China welcomed Jin Hua’s trial results, saying the remedy offered a low-cost alternative to Western flu treatments.

bron: www.hc2d.co.uk

[Via http://wocview.wordpress.com]

Climate Change Summit long on rhetoric, short on action

By Gary Rotto

SAN DIEGO–The Guardian of Great Britain called the recently completed Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, “the biggest environmental meeting in history.”  But the final result is an agreement that calls for monitoring emissions but neither sets a target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and no deadline for reaching a formal international climate treaty.  The agreement also provides for an aid fund, estimated to reach $100 billion by 2020, to help poor nations adapt to changing climate and increase the use of low-emissions fuels.   

The Washington Post quoted Ian Fry, a climate-change representative for Tuvalu, as responding, “To use a Biblical allusion, it looks like we’re being offered 30 pieces of silver to bargain away our future. Mr. President, our future is not for sale.” Tuvalu is midway between Hawaii and Australia and may be submerged by rising seas in a matter of decades.  But no matter how imperfect, an agreement was reached despite opposition.

As widely reported, one key focus is on the new economic dynamos of India and China, two countries whose greenhouse gas emissions have risen as dramatically as their economies have boomed.  Their concerns are that the newly developing world would be held to similar standards of the maturing economies of Europe and the US.  It’s about the money and the economic power that their countries exert by virtue of their new position in the world economy. 

And one player with money is Saudi Arabia. As reported by the Associated Press back in October “Saudi Arabia has led a quiet campaign during these and other negotiations — demanding behind closed doors that oil-producing nations get special financial assistance if a new climate pact calls for substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels.  That campaign comes despite an International Energy Agency report released this week showing that OPEC revenues would still increase $23 trillion between 2008 and 2030 — a fourfold increase compared to the period from 1985 to 2007 — if countries agree to significantly slash emissions and thereby cut their use of oil.”

 Maybe it was the Saudis who came up with the definition Chutzpah and not our Eastern European ancestors?  And it may be that the average Saudi has much to lose economically, but why doesn’t the monarchy redistribute more of its oil-produced wealth to its own people?   Could it be that the Saudi government is more willing to spend its petro-dollars as “foreign aid” to undeveloped countries that are willing to play an obstructionist role to any accord?

The British government has called the Saudis and others out on the subject.  On the eve of the conference, Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated in an interview with The Guardian, “With only days to go before Copenhagen we mustn’t be distracted by the behind-the-times, anti-science, flat-earth climate skeptics.  We know the science. We know what we must do. We must now act and close the 5bn-tonne gap. That will seal the deal.”

By contrast, Israel fully accepts the concept of climate change.  But according to a governmental report issued days before the Copenhagen Summit, is not prepared to properly track its emissions.  As reported by Haaretz, Israel has not implemented the basic actions necessary for dealing with climate change and lacks the professional capability to monitor climate change, according to a State Comptroller’s report released Sunday ahead of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen. According to a report Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, the meteorological service responsible for observing climate change is not equipped for long-term monitoring, due to a lack of professional manpower and challenges in maintaining the network of meteorological centers.”  The Netanyahu Government has work to do in order to implement even the basic, compromise language of the new accord.  But at least it acknowledges a role in tracking and reducing emissions.

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Rotto is a freelance writer based in San Diego

[Via http://sdjewishworld.wordpress.com]

Big Brother is Listening on a Karaoke Night!

According to Chongqing Evening News, all 176 karaoke bars in Chongqing have installed the National Karaoke Content Managing System. If someone orders a “vulgar” song that’s banned, a red light will blink in the Department of Culture’s central monitoring system.

Really high-tech stuff!

[Via http://bigfeetunbound.wordpress.com]

NO FEAR

Travelling the grid, I arrived at China, a beautifully created minimalist build by aston Leisen. Perfect as a backdrop for today’s outfit.

This outfit was originally inspired and built around the rings and earrings from Shade Throne

The boots I acquired at a 50 Linden friday event a short while ago, from Shai

This incredibly detailed jacket added to my outfit, from Grasp

Dress belongs with this, it so fits! From Linc

The glitz necklace from FabulouS

Wrapped in spectacular glasses from Shade Throne

Topped off by new release hair from Exile

Credits

Skin: Bella from Ugly Duck

Hair: Ada from Exile

Jewellery: Rings and earrings from Shade Throne

Necklace: StillMatic from FabulouS

Jacket: from +Grasp+

Pants: Nishar leggings from Zaara

Glasses: The Demolition glasses from Shade Throne

Boots: Lizard skin boots from Casa del Shai

Poses by Del May

[Via http://arabellasteadham.wordpress.com]

China May Pip USA to Become World largest Economy by 2030 : Report

China May Pip USA to Become World largest Economy by 2030

As per the latest report by Deutsche Bank, the economic and financial status of emerging market economies such as India and China will continue to do well in the future and the recent downturn will help accelerate the trend.

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Report also suggests that the (BRIC) economies” increasing size will be making itself increasingly felt in the world markets, ranging from trade and investment to commodity markets.

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Meanwhile, the BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are likely to achieve significant growth in future. . Meanwhile, BRIC nations are already ranked among the top 10 on a PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) basis.

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The impressive economic growth rates and greater participation in global trade and financial flows by the BRIC economies are re-shaping the global economic and financial architecture of these economies.

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It is expected that with the constant present growth of the BRIC economies, political, economic and financial realities  of the world is going to change to the extent that China will replace the US as the World’’s largest economy by 2030.

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All the four big BRIC economies carry at least one investment grade rating, currently, at the same time.

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Moreover, China’’s and Russia’’s international status has been enhanced due to their substantial holdings of government controlled foreign assets.

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[Via http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com]

A take on China and climate change

In recent years, the Chinese government has realized that the long-term sustainability of their economies and societies is closely linked to the state of its environment. Recognizing this, the governments have increasingly geared their policy towards “sustainable development”.

While this is true, the Chinese government’s attitude towards environmental protection remains to be that of “wait and see”. Opportunities of remedying the disastrous effects of decades of unregulated industrialization are being lost, again and again, as the government sits back and allow local officials to take bribes from factory owners to overlook their egregious actions.

Grassroots organizations in China can only do so much to effect change because of its political climate. Thus, there is need for the international organizations and governments to lobby for China to take a more active role in protecting its environment.

A great example of this is the Loess Plateau (featured in John Liu’s documentary, Hope in a Changing Climate, that I watched last month), China was able to transform an arid wasteland with an area equivalent to the size of France, that had been the victim of over farming, to an area full of lush vegetation. This was done possible with the help of the World Bank and other environmental organizations.

The Loess Plateau’s transformation is a model for soil scientists seeking to rehabilitate areas ravaged by over farming and deforestation. However, foreign governments and international organizations should also learn from the Loess Plateau and use it as a model for cooperation with China.

In dealing with China, international organizations and foreign governments need to be sensitive to the nationalistic sentiments of the Chinese government, that is highly protective of actions it deems to be intrusions of its sovereignty. They need to provide assistance and guidance, but not dictate or pontificate to China “what you need to do”.

China is a budding nation trying to find its place on the world’s stage—flirting with the idea of international leadership. Give China opportunities of leadership and let them shine. Only through soft-handed dealings and gentle coaxing will an international agreement on climate change be made with China.

This was something that I wrote quickly for a friend working at Klimaforum 09 in Copenhagen who needed input on grassroots views on China and climate change. An article written by her can be read here.

[Via http://larryau.com]

Obama Signs $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill

Obama has signed into law a $1.1 trillion bill that increases the budgets in many areas of the government by about 10 percent, including health, law enforcement and veterans’ programs. Obama signed the bill privately at the White House on Wednesday after receiving the bill from Congress on Sunday. The bill lumps together six of the 12 annual appropriations bills for the 2010 budget year that began Oct. 1. The 1,000-plus-page bill brings together six of the 12 annual spending bills that Congress had been unable to pass separately because of partisan roadblocks. The legislation includes 447 billion dollars U.S. government agencies’ operating budgets and about 650 billion dollars Medicare and Medicaid benefits. But it does not include the Pentagon’s spending, which is about 626 billion dollars.  The measure includes 2 billion dollars, 75 million more than in2009, to study global climate change, and requires periodic reports on the status of diplomatic efforts to freeze Iran’s nuclear program. The bill also approves a 2 percent pay increase for federal workers. Earmarks In The $1.1T Federal Spending Bill

The 12 annual appropriations bills for the 2010 budget:

1. Defense H.R.3326
2. Labor, HHS, Education H.R.3293
3. Commerce, Justice, Science H.R.2847
4. Energy-Water H.R.3183, S.1436
5. Agriculture H.R.2997, S.1406
6. Interior and Environment H.R.2996 includes CR to 12/18/09
7. 7. Homeland Security H.R.2892, S.1298
8. 8. Military Construction & Veterans H.R.3082, S.1407
9. Transportation & HUD H.R.3288
10. State & Foreign Operations H.R.3081, S.1434
11. Financial Services H.R.3170, S.1432
12. Legislative Branch H.R.2918, S.1294 includes CR to 10/31/09

The Defense (H.R.3326) appropriations bill has passed the full House and Senate and is waiting to be discussed in conference. In the House version of the bill, Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) programs receive $80.2 billion, $1.6 billion (2.0 percent) more than the President’s request ($78.6 billion) and a small increase of $216.1 million over FY 2009. The Senate version of the bill would provide less for RDT&E programs, $78.5 billion. The biggest discrepancy between the two bills is the Navy RDT&D appropriation with the House appropriating $1.0 billion more at $20.2 billion. The Navy programs of greatest contention are the VH-71A Executive Helicopter (House: $485 million; Senate: $30 million) and the Joint Strike Fighter (House: $2.0 billion; Senate: $1.7 billion) where the development an alternative engine for the aircraft has been the subject of much debate. In the Defense authorization bill (H.R.3326), which was signed into law on October 28, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter alternative propulsion system program was authorized in the amount of $430 million for RDT&E and $180 million for procurement and the President’s request for the VH-71 Presidential helicopter was agreed to, effectively canceling the program, but Congress “strongly encourage(s) the Department of Defense and the Executive Branch to consider a complete range of alternatives” for the President’s transportation requirements.

The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (H.R.3293) appropriations bill has been conferenced. In the House version of the bill, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would recieve $31.3 billion, a 3.1 percent ($942 million) increase over FY 2009 (not counting stimulus funds) and 1.6 percent ($500 million) more than the President’s request. The bill renews prior restrictions on the use of funds for abortion and research that creates or destroys human embryos. The bill also includes an amendment by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to de-fund three peer-reviewed NIH grants related to HIV/AIDS prevention, a move to which AAAS and other scientific and medical organizations strongly object. The bill as passed would eliminate $99 million for grants to public and private organizations to encourage teens to abstain from premarital sex, with Democrats arguing that there is little scientific evidence of such programs’ effectiveness. In terms of Education, the bill raises the maximum Pell award by $619 to $5,350. Pell grants are awarded to low- and middle-income students for higher education expenses based on financial need.

The Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies (H.R.2847) appropriations bill has been conferenced. The Senate version of the bill includes the following R&D spending figures: $11.2 billion ($611 million more than the House) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), $5.2 billion ($14 million less than the House) for the National Science Foundation, $700 million ($22 million more than the House) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and $672 million ($96 million more than the House) for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Sen. Coburn’s (R-OK) amendment (SA 2631) to the bill that would have prohibited funding of the Political Science program at the National Science Foundation failed, but garnered 36 votes in favor of prohibiting funding.

The Energy and Water (H.R.3183, S.1436) appropriations bill conference report has been signed into law by the President. The conference report provides $27.1 billion to the Department of Energy with the Office of Science representing $4.9 billion of that total, a 2.7 percent ($131 million) increase over FY 2009. The report includes a $15 million for ARPA-E from the Office of Science. Three of the proposed eight Energy Innovation Hubs are funded (Fuels from Sunlight and Energy Efficient Building Systems Design under EERE, and Modeling and Simulation under Nuclear Energy).

The Agriculture (H.R.2997, S.1406) appropriations bill conference report has been signed into law by the President. The conference report includes $1.3 billion in R&D spending for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a 6.3% increase over FY 2009, and $808 million in R&D spending for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA; formerly CSREES), a 12.2% increase over FY 2009. The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI; formerly NRI), part of NIFA, received a large increase of $61 million (30.3%) over FY 2009 and the President’s request.

The Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (H.R.2996) appropriations bill conference report has been signed into law by the President. The conference report provides $1.1 billion for the United States Geological Survey, 6.5% ($68 million) more than FY 2009 (not including ARRA) and 1.3% ($14 million) more than the President’s request. The Science and Technology program in the Environmental Protection Agency receives $846 million not including Superfund transfers ($26.6 million), 7.1% ($56 million) more than FY 2009 and just over ($4 million) the President’s request.

The Homeland Security (H.R.2892, S.1298) appropriations bill conference report has been signed into law by the President. The conference report includes $863 in R&D spending for Science and Technology, 6.2 percent ($50 million) more than FY 2009 and 3.1 percent ($26 million) more than the President’s request.

Table. Congressional Action on the Department of Homeland Security FY 2010 Budget

The Military/Veterans (H.R.3082, S.1407) appropriations bill has been conferenced. Both versions of the appropriation include $580 million for Medical and Prosthetic Research which is typically matched by other federal grants for a total of $1.2 billion in R&D, a 13.7% ($70 million) increase over FY 2009. Additionally, a small percentage of military construction, typically around $200 million, is for R&D facilities and equipment.

The Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (H.R.3288) appropriations bill has been conferenced. The Department of Transportation, which conducts most of the R&D funded by this bill (FY2010 estimate of $939 million based on President’s request), would receive $100.1 billion, $1.3 billion less than the House version of the bill and $2.2 billion less than the President’s request. In the House bill, passenger rail would recieve the biggest funding increase through a new $4 billion grant program for high speed intercity passenger rail service. The Senate supports this initiative to a lesser degree, proposing $1.2 million for high speed intercity passenger rail service. The Senate bill also includes $50 million for the creation of a Railroad Safety Technology Program.

Click On Links:

House Vote 985 (H.R.3326)

The Votes On H.R.3962

Obama Health Reform Lies

Earmarks In The $1.1T Federal Spending Bill

H.R. 3962 Summary

The House Negro And The Field Negro

Copenhagen Climate Treaty Summary

U.S. Dollar Dropping Under Obama

[Via http://emptysuit.wordpress.com]

Oh My GOD, I mean OMG! I want it, I want it!!!

Now, I understand I may say I want a lot of things! BUT THIS I REALLY REALLY WANT.. Now if ther coudl make a machine that makes Fluff-A-Nutters My life would be complete! Yes, this might be a stupid product that children in China “sweatshops” worked over, but if it’s ok with The Walt Disney Company, The Gap, and Nike it’s ok with me.

Dear Santa.

We can trade, my brother for the Mirco S’more.

I want it!

-Miltonious

Check out there site

[Via http://miltonious.wordpress.com]

aquarium + lunch

seafood in china, as far as i can tell, is always served extremely fresh.  there’s a story around the office that the first time our boss came out here, he leapt out of his chair screaming like a schoolgirl when presented with a bucket containing a live thrashing eel.  at various restaurants, buckets of fish or frogs have indeed been presented to the head of the table before arriving quite swiftly steamed & sauced.  Danny was flying home today, and Jacques and i are out later in the week, so we went out to a very nice seafood restaurant for lunch today.  these guys take it one step further than a single eel in a bucket.

the long boat restaurant had a half of a wooden fishing boat attached out front, and an assortment of fish tanks more extensive than any market i’ve ever been in.  arranged around a central space where workers were netting out various creatures were 2 tiers of tanks in a long rectangle.  everything was swimming in these tanks, from fish to lobsters to crabs and innumerable varieties of shellfish.  i’d never seen one of these creatures before, so that was of course what i wanted.

Jacques identified them as a type of mantis shrimp.  others in the species are known to invade aquariums as hitchhikers on coral, and have the ability to crack the tank glass with snaps of their powerful tails.  they were tricky to peel due to some sharp corners where the curving dorsal shell met the thinner ventral legs, and after we all attempted one, the waitstaff took them away and peeled them all for us.  hooray!  they are quite tasty, like very tender lobsters.  i would have preferred butter to the vinegary dipping sauce, but they were delightful plain.

probably my favorite dish of the afternoon was a small pot of very tiny long-necked clams (body and siphon each 1.5cm or so) that were cooked with ginger.  there were also some really excellent fried frog legs; a slightly sweet taste made me think they were done in coconut oil.  Jacques managed to find the one eel in the place (eel being his supreme favorite), and it arrived grilled  cut into 2-3 cm segments arranged spirally in a dish of savory sauce.

(this was just the end of him – no way i could keep Jacques from diving in before i’d snapped a pic of the whole presentation.)

another novel gastronomic experience was my first shot at bitter melon.  it’s tenderly crunchy and quite good until the end, when the sharp bitterness rears up.

a half a day later, i’m not yet super hungy for dinner.  while there was yet another embarrassingly full table today, all of the food is prepared in a very light, fresh manner (yes, even the fried frog) -  no heavy cream sauces, and all that seafood was lean.  i’m not yet missing burgers or fries.

[Via http://fireweaver.wordpress.com]

China’s Changing Views on Race

China’s Changing Views on Race

By THE EDITORS

Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Lou Jing, center, a contestant in a Chinese talent show this summer, caused an intense debate in China because she is of mixed-race parentage.

With trade and commerce drawing ever larger numbers of foreigners to China’s cities, tensions have become more common in a country of little racial diversity. This summer, African immigrants, mostly traders and merchants, who make up a growing enclave in the city of Guangzhou, protested police harassment. And in a well-publicized cultural moment, a 20-year-old Shanghainese contestant named Lou Jing, who appeared on the Chinese “Idol”-like talent show, caused a national debate (and drew racist attacks on the Internet) about what it means to be Chinese. Lou, the daughter of a Chinese woman and an African-American man, whom she has not met, considers herself completely Chinese.

As China expands economic ties with the rest of the world — including Africa, where it has considerable investments — how might increased immigration alter Chinese perceptions of race? How has the society historically dealt with ethnic differences?

• Yan Sun, political scientist
• Ho-fung Hung, historical sociologist
• Zai Liang, sociologist
• Dongyan Blachford, professor of Chinese studies

Millennia of Multiethnic Contradictions

Yan Sun, a professor of political science at the City University of New York, is the author of “A Sichuan Family and Tibet’s Future” and “My Han Relatives’ Views from Xinjiang.” She is co-writing a book about ethnic relations in contemporary China.

When it comes to ethnic relations and perceptions, China is a paragon of contradictions: its majority ethnic group, the Hans, are non-racist in the sense that most are not aware of their own multiethnic background and care little about it.

The surname of the Chinese leader Hu Jingtao is multiethnic in origin, meaning “foreign, barbarian.”

But they hold prejudices, not only about China’s minorities and foreigners but also about members of their own group, in that those deemed more “developed” receive deference, while those deemed “backward” are looked down upon. If Western racism is about genetic dispositions, Chinese prejudices and racism are more about achievements and standing in the world as applied to individuals or groups.

Unlike Korea and Japan, China has long been a melting pot. The Han people, now the largest ethnic group on Earth, originated from the central plains of East Asia and was expanded by nomadic invaders from the steppes of inner, central and Western Asia. Driven by their hunger for the wealth of the settled villages and aided by mounted archery, the nomads periodically toppled the Chinese states and controlled them, becoming in the process fused and assimilated with the agrarian people.

Read more…

Tibetan and Uighur diasporas may wonder nowadays if China could ever have an ethnic minority like Barack Obama as its top leader? The answer is simple: there have been many. Of China’s two dozen imperial dynasties, most founding rulers were non-Han or only partly Han.

The Shatuo Turks, related to the Uighurs, founded three post-Tang dynasties. The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, and Qiang groups founded major dynasties in the North and the West. And twice, under the Mongols and Manchus respectively, the nomads conquered and ruled the whole of China. The China we know today is a product of their conquests: to prevent nomadic rivals rising on their flank, the Mongols and Manchus ruthlessly brought all of China’s surrounding prairies and plateaus under their rule, including Tibet.

The Northern people of present-day China are tall and lighter-skinned, thanks to fusion with the steppe peoples. The southern Chinese are descended from people from the central plains (pushed south by nomadic invasions) and southern tribal groups. In an ironic twist, the coastal areas of the South and East –- once inhabited by the so-called Southern and Eastern “barbarians,” and the Northern cities around Beijing –- once the hub of Northern “barbarians” –- are now considered the most “advanced.” The central plains of China, the birthplace of the agrarian people, are among the least developed among Han regions.

Most Chinese would be surprised that Hu, the surname of the Chinese leader Hu Jingtao, is multiethnic in origin. Hu, meaning “foreign, barbarian,” used to designate the nomads east of the Xiongnus (Huns). Some assimilated groups came to adopt “Hu” as a surname, although this is one of its several origins.

My mother’s last name, Ma (meaning “horse”) is another multiethnic surname. “Of ten Mas,” so goes a Chinese saying, “nine are Muslims” (this Ma is derived from Muhammad). But most of my mother’s relatives think it silly to trace the exact origin of their Ma. While this ability to blend made China’s melting pot possible, it can also be a barrier to ethnic sensitivities.

As market and globalizing forces cause the Chinese to interact more with minorities at home and foreigners from abroad, conflict will be inevitable but so is progress. A Liberian singer won second place in the CCTV’s Star Walk (a variant of the American Idol) in 2006. A Sierra Leonese won fourth place in 2007. Both are beloved by the Chinese audience and recently, both appeared as judges on the show.

Chauvinism and Nationalism

Ho-fung Hung is a historical sociologist and a senior associate of the Research Center for Chinese Business and Politics at Indiana University. He is the editor of “China and the Transformation of Global Capitalism,” and the forthcoming “Protest with Chinese Characteristics.”

Today’s racialist self-perception of Han Chinese can be traced back to the rise of Chinese nationalism amidst the chaotic collapse of the Qing empire in 1911. The Qing empire was multi-ethnic and ruled by the Manchus.

Rising chauvinism is a menace to China’s internal stability and its cooperation with other countries.

Many Han Chinese revolutionaries, influenced by racial Darwinism from the West, advocated the expulsion of the “barbaric” Tartars (a vague racial category referring to the Manchus and other Central Eurasian peoples) and the restoration of “superior” Han rule as a path to China’s resurgence. Han nationalists justified the subordination of non-Han peoples in modern China by their “backwardness” and need to modernize under Han’s tutelage.

Persistent prejudice against ethnic minorities caused Mao repeatedly to warn of the danger “Han chauvinism” posed to the unity of the newborn People’s Republic in the 1950s. The Communists, however, failed to eradicate such prejudices, but hid them under the language of class struggle, conveniently denouncing all minorities’ quests for cultural autonomy as reactionary demands for resurrecting backward social systems (like Tibet’s “slavery”).

Read more…

State propaganda glorified Chinese solidarity with dark-skinned foreigners as comrades in the struggle against Western imperialism, repressing whatever racial prejudices that ordinary Chinese might have against these peoples. These prejudices resurfaced in the post-Mao years, unleashing the protests and racial violence against African students in many universities on the eve of the 1989 student movement. They also contribute to the xenophobic interpretation of Tibetans’ and Uighurs’ resentments as pure fabrications by “hostile foreign forces.”

China’s economic success, the government’s promotion of nationalism, and large-scale internal and international migrations have increased Han interaction and frictions with other ethnic or racial groups and intensified Han chauvinism in recent years. This chauvinism, as a menace to China’s internal stability and its cooperation with other countries, is a twin of the century-old Han-centric Chinese nationalism. It needs to be transformed into a more cosmopolitan form based on values and cultures rather than ethnic identity.

Inclusion and Rapid Change

Zai Liang is a professor of sociology and director of the Urban China Research Network at the University at Albany, SUNY.

China’s encounter with foreigners is not new. This is especially true for Chinese who live in the coastal region. What distinguishes today’s Chinese experience is the unprecedented scale and diverse number of countries and regions involved.

The language barrier is a huge obstacle for understanding between Chinese people and new migrants, but that can change.

In today’s world, this encounter is a two-way street, with many Chinese migrating to other countries and citizens of other countries moving to China for economic or educational opportunities.

Race matters in China, as it does in the U.S., with foreigners and immigrants of darker skin often treated poorly. This is true despite the warm relationship between China and African countries during the Mao era.

Another factor for tension is the language barrier, which is complicated by the fact that many local people speak regional dialects rather than Mandarin. This has created a huge obstacle for understanding between Chinese people and those who don’t speak Chinese.

Read more…

As a result some businesses transactions — and even some rental contracts — are done in English. A good command of Chinese language would go a long way in resolving issues such as disputes with neighbors or dealings with law enforcement agencies.

One of the challenges that China faces now is the rise in undocumented migrants or visa over-stayers. We have already seen this play out in the case of Africans in Guangzhou and this is likely to become a bigger issue as China’s growth attracts more people from abroad.

At a fundamental level, I do not expect overwhelming difficulties of integrating foreigners into the Chinese society. China is a huge country with a long history of interacting with other groups within its borders and beyond, and it includes over 50 minority groups with different languages and religions. The past 30-year history of opening up shows that Chinese culture can be inclusive.

Learning From the West

Dongyan Blachford, associate professor of Chinese studies, is associate dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Regina, Canada.

Growing up in Beijing, as a member of the Han majority, I did not see China as a country which exhibited racial discrimination; after all, the mission of the Chinese revolution was to build a class-free and egalitarian society.

As a result of living abroad, many Chinese returnees have developed new perspectives on minority rights.

However, after having lived outside China for over 20 years, and having experienced and witnessed discrimination in various forms, I now realize that many in China are simply unaware of the racism and prejudice that exists.

Among the Han Chinese themselves a judgment is often made in a split second based on people’s looks, places of residence, types of employment, parents’ titles, or who their relatives are. As for foreigners, they may also be subject to hasty judgment; blacks are often associated with backwardness and poverty, whites with money, advanced technology and even beauty. The attitude towards China’s non-Han ethnic groups is more complex: they are often viewed as inferior, but they are still considered insiders.

Read more…

[Via http://lanle.wordpress.com]

Wanton's Pirate Life

Wanton / Wonton / Dumpling, I believe originated from China. Minxed meat, sometimes with water chestnuts wrapped in wanton skin (paper-thin dough) can either be cooked in soup or deep fried (my favourite!) JIAOZI! YUNTUN! Anyway, I enthusiastically ordered fried wanton at Roxy steamboat for my Burmese friend.

Me “Hey, you don’t like wanton skin???”

Seriously, what’s fried wanton without skin?! It’s like eating Long John’s without crumbs.

Friend “Umm, I don’t eat it cause it looks like Davi Jones.”

I didn’t take a pic cause as usual, busy eating. But think pinched & very wrinkly with lots of folds since it’s pretty huge! Not your little cute minis.

[Via http://hazelhearts.wordpress.com]

Foreign companies to develop Iraq oil fields

After years of war and insecurity Iraq is now awarding rights contracts to foreign oil companies to develop and revived its oil industry.

Iraq’s giant Majnoon oil field will be operated jointly by UK’s Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas oil companies.

From a current production of 46,000 barrels per day, giants Shell and Petronas have vowed to increase that output to 1.8 million barrels per day. Majnoon has an estimated reserve of 13 billion barrels of oil. This joint venture is said to receive a fee of $1.39 a barrel.

The bid to develop southern Iraq’s Halfaya’s oil field was won by group led by China’s CNPC that included France’s Total and again Malaysia’s Petronas.

Halfaya oil field has an estimated reserves of 4.1 billion barrels of oil where the consortium plans to produce 535,000 barrels per day once operational. It is said to be asking a fee of $1.40 per barrel of oil extracted.

[Via http://quierosaber.wordpress.com]

China, Copenhagen and congestion

It was a touch on the ironic side that I’d been asked to write a piece for Shanghaiist on China’s role in the first week of the climate change summit in Copenhagen, given I was tucked up in bed with a flask of home-made ginger tea, my heater on full whack, coughing and spluttering and observing the thick, dirty air outside. I was searching through articles and getting clued up on China’s plans to reduce emissions, whilst not contributing in any way whatsoever to said reductions. I stewed in fury at the polluted city on my doorstep, into which I’d had to venture three times the day before.

Until yesterday, my knowledge of environmental issues had been limited to my elder sister’s Nazi-like division of rubbish bins for plastic, paper, aluminium and ‘normal waste’. But I did manage to see past my congested misery and find out some interesting stuff.

First, China has set the pace by pledging to reduce its “carbon intensity” (i.e. greenhouse gas emissions) by 40-45% by 2020. Pray, tell, Bryony Worthington, what does this mean?

Because economic forecasts already predict that China’s economy will become less carbon intensive in the next decade, the country’s pledge actually only amounts to a cut of between zero and 12% off business as usual emissions in 2020 (…) That is roughly a 40% increase in CO2 emissions on current levels.

Right then. So it seems China’s pledge isn’t actually all-that, and the country must do far more to cut emissions. How can she do this? Michael Levi has plenty of answers here.

But there’s also the argument that China’s role in international cooperation and diplomacy shouldn’t be forgotten. Scientific American outlined some details of a Chinese-US clean energy programme, such as the opening of a joint research centre receiving $75 million in funding from both governments over the next five years. All this talk seems to taking place in spite of Sino-American bickering in the Danish capital.

Finally, environmental issues are garnering more of a place in public opinion. There are several blogs dedicated solely to China’s environmental developments, which you can find by checking the Green Leap Forward. Further, last month in Guangzhou, citizens took to the streets in a protest against plans to build several waste incinerators potentially sitting within a thousand meters of their homes. For more info, click here for John Kennedy’s summary on Global Voices.

If you want to read my post in full, click here. It would make a congested girl like me very happy.

Back to the ginger tea now.

[Via http://martaruco.wordpress.com]

Tuvalu rockz the COP - but does it help?

Demo in support of Tuvalu (pic by Robert vanWaarden)

Right now, the negotiations within the CMP in the main plenary are stopped again and a small group of people is meeting in one corner of the room to find agreemend under the guidance of Connie Hedegaard, the COP-President. Tuvalu seemed to have insisted on its proposal to first deal with what kind of outcome COP15 will have before negotiation more details of it. This was – as voiced told me – supported by China. The question comes down to a more significant thing: will there be reductions for China? Todd Stern, Special Climate Envoy for the US said yesterday

“If you care about the science — and we do — there’s no way to solve this problem by giving the major developing countries a pass…We’re not talking about the same kind of need for actions from the vast majority of developing countries. But the major ones, it’s going to be absolutely essential.” (here)

China is opposed to it “in principal”, as I was told. The main fault line of Climate negotiation is slowly coming to the front of the room. While Tuvalu’s proposal is primarily about the kind of agreement (legally or only politically binding), the question is if it will be an new “Copenhagen Agreement” (=kills Kyoto) and thus probably don’t have an Annex-1 with developed nations. The question, who at all has to give mitigation-aims in a legal form is then new on the table. China wants to use Tuvalu it seems to push for a clear reinforcement of the two tracks of Bali – a shared vision and a Kyoto-revisal with new numbers for developed countries only.

[Via http://gygeorg.wordpress.com]

Run Towards Your Fear

Edward Norton is an actor who you may know from his roles as the narrator/main character in Fight Club, and “Derek” in American History X. Recently he ran the NYC Marathon with 3 Maasai tribesmen, to raise funds and awareness for Africa’s wildlife and wilderness. In an interview about the challenge, he said the following, which I find INSPIRING:

“Running has always been a means to an end, in my experience. I’ve run in training for sports, run to be in shape for climbing or diving, run to change my body for a role in film, but I’ve never really run a race or run just to run. I’ve never run a marathon.

“The fact that I’ve never done it, and that the difficulty of it intimidates me, is part of my motivation to do it. I’ve often found that pushing myself toward fear produces extremely interesting experiences. When I feel very unsure of my ability to pull something off or the outcome seems very uncertain I usually learn a lot no matter what the end result.”

Makes you think!

Quinton

[Via http://1000diamonds.wordpress.com]

India, China to Expand Cultural Ties

India and China will showcase their culture in each other’’s land, holding major cultural festivals in 2010 devoted to traditional and contemporary arts, with an aim to boost people-to-people relations.



However, the year 2010 will witness the 2 countries take part in a major cultural exchange programme, with India hosting Chinese artists and China reciprocating by doing the same for Indians.

Meanwhile, while details of the programme are yet to be finalized, officials are planning to hold a months-long extravaganza in China, to showcase Indian dances, art and films among other things.

Further, with Bollywood educing a lot of interest in China, India also plans to bank on Indian films and music to establish connection with the Chinese masses.

India’’s festival in China will largely be limited to India’’s standard template of showcasing activities in performing arts, visual arts besides focusing on contemporary art to showcase the present cultural scenario in the country.

On the other hand, India, which has launched a major cultural diplomacy drive across South Asia, aims to foster strong people-to-people relations with its neighbors, including China which is India’’s largest trading partner but has significant differences on border issues.

[Via http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com]

Is Copenhagen only a fairy tale? No!

Brief introduction:

Carbon emission reduction or low-carbon economy, those terminologies seem very far away from common people, since lots of people think that individual effort cannot influence the future of human beings.  However, as many countries like China, the United States, Brazil and so on announced their clear reducing targets.  We can observe the serious attitudes of the whole world.

Several days ago, I saw one of a series advertisement about Copenhagen conference called “Hopenhagen” which obviously encourages people to participate in dealing with those climate change issues.  In this short advertisement, the president of Maldives, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize and residents in Japan stand in a corner in the Pacific to call on the whole world to promote this conference to reach a global agreement.  In this urgent situation, not only those power plants have to reduce their carbon emissions, but also we need to follow the world’s steps to restrict ourselves.  That is to say, many expensive green products will be in our shopping lists; the price of gas will rise; even it’s possible that each family will be charged with carbon tax.

Copenhagen is the hometown of famous fairy tale author, Andersen.  Although a lot of beautiful fairy tales are born in the ancient city, people will witness not only the fairy tale, but also the result of the realistic agreement or solutions in the next two weeks.  The world needs every individual to join this significant progress.

Although there are still several days for me to wait until I leave for Copenhagen, I’m deeply impressed by people’s enthusiasm and participation in the beginning of the conference. I cannot wait to witness the historical moment.

如果要评选时下最热门的歌曲,迈克尔·杰克逊的《Heal the World（拯救这世界）》应该算是一首。这不仅因为天王今年刚刚离去,更是“应景”使然。

前两天看电视新闻,偶然又听到迈克的这首名曲,优美的旋律和迈克尔磁性的声音依然是如此令人动容;但更让人“有感觉”的是,这是作为一则关于哥本哈根气候大会的新闻的背景音乐。

在我等一般老百姓听来,减排、低碳似乎是那么遥远的话题。毕竟, 这样宏伟的全人类愿景, 不是你我一两人之力能改变和左右的。

说句实在话,很长时间以来,笔者并不认为那些高呼环保和减排口号的国家中,有几个是真的在认真对待这些问题,相信不少人也有同样的感觉。很多时候,减排都被贴上了政治和道德的标签,仿佛你不去提减排和气候变化,就应该受到全人类的谴责。

从这一点说,当初小布什顶着与全人类为敌的罪名,坚决不在京都议定书上签字,倒是显出了这位“牛仔”总统的一些可爱之处。

但是,布什先生毕竟已经下岗,现在的奥巴马显然比他“觉悟”高不少,不仅主动提出了“绿色新政”,更一改在减排问题上的拖后腿形象,在气候大会前高调宣布了明确的减排目标。

美国当然不是唯一觉悟的国家。许多并无法定义务承担硬性减排任务的发展中国家,也主动提出了自身的减排目标,中国作出表态,印度、巴西、南非、俄罗斯紧随其后。

这一切似乎在传递一个信号:这一次,大家是认真的!

让笔者颇有感触的是,某日在上班途中的公交移动电视上看到一则关于哥本哈根大会的公益广告。后来到网上一查,原来是联合国专门在全球推广的一项名为“希望之本（Hopenhagen）”（从哥本哈根一词的英文衍生而来）的活动,目的是唤起全球民众积极参与到针对气候变化的对话中。

在这组匹配了不同语言字幕的广告中,马尔代夫的总统、诺贝尔和平奖得主以及日本的普通市民逐一现身,出现在太平洋(601099,股吧)一角、皑皑白雪的北极以及车流滚滚的东京街头,讲述着马尔代夫岛国被淹没、北极生态系统消失以及非洲森林夷为沙漠的故事,呼吁所有人到联合国的网站签署气候请愿书,推动本次大会达成协议。

在“去碳化”俨然已成全球趋势的大背景下,我们每个人可能也得换换旧思路。应对气候变化,的确关乎地球上每个国家和地区,关乎每一个人。不仅是造纸厂和发电站要减少排污和降低能耗,我们每个人的生活方式和消费观念可能也会发生变化。

换句话说,更多价格不菲的绿色产品会出现在我们的日常购物单中;开车的用油成本也会只升不降;甚至在未来,对家庭征收“碳税”也并非没有可能。

北欧古城哥本哈根是大师安徒生的故乡,也是名副其实的“童话之乡”,善良而美丽的“海的女儿”就是在这里一直默默守候着她的王子。但在接下来两周左右的时间里,全世界的人们在这里见证的和带回国的,应该不只是童话。而我们每个人要做的,就是参与到这个进程之中。

[Via http://deppcopenhagen.wordpress.com]