China Earthquake Relief, Charitable Giving, Big Governments, And The Forming Of Civil Societies

A few months ago, while in Seoul, Korea, I had an excellent discussion with a Korean-American friend of mine. This friend was born and grew up in the United States, but has been living in Korea for the last ten years or so. The day we met, he had seen a guy slapping around his girlfriend in broad daylight and nobody was doing anything other than watching and dialing (probably the police) on their cell phones. My friend walked over, told the boyfriend to stop it, and was soon joined by others doing the same. Kitty Genovese. My friend then launched into a discourse regarding Big Government and the difference between Koreans and Americans. Koreans, he said, count on government for so much more than Americans. So much so, he said, that certain things "we Americans" take for granted, Koreans do not. My friend was convinced that the reason nobody stepped in to help the poor woman getting slapped around was because it never really occurred to the bystanders to do anything other than call the police. The police stop these things, not citizens. He went on to say that it is the same way when there is a natural disaster in Korea. The people pretty much wait around for the government to help. I protested a bit by pointing out how iIndustrious Koreans tend to be and he agreed. "Look at how Korean shopkeepers in the US defend their shops in the US, he said. That does not happen here in Korea, because here they just rely on government to step in. Even blood donations, he said, do not really occur much unless and until the government makes clear it is necessary. The Korean people, he said, are self-reliant in terms of themselves and their own families, but when it comes to aid for others, they see that as almost strictly the government's province. I do not know whether what my friend was saying is true of Korea or not, but it does make sense. "We Americans" do tend to pride ourselves on our self-reliance [go to this post if you want to understand why nobody I know from either my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, or my wife's hometown of Peru, Illinois, will vote for Obama and for why I am going on record as saying he cannot win the general election]. The American ethos is to call on government only when absolutely necessary. When it comes to charitable giving, the United States is by far "The Most Charitable Nation in the World." There have been complaints regarding the small sum given by the U.S. government to China earthquake relief, but that only belies a misunderstanding of how such things are done here. When all is said and done, I have no doubt that the United States (and by this I mean the sum total of the government, companies, and private citizens) will be at or near the top in giving to China earthquake relief. Which brings me back to China and a post at the Black and White Cat entitled, "Beijing's blood bank is full." The title says it all; so many people have donated blood in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, Beijing no longer can handle any more. I think this post is very telling. It says that when the Chinese government cannot handle a crisis on its own, the people will step in. What does this mean for China now and in the future? Is this a change or is it just that reality is finally getting its due? How will the earthquake and its aftermath affect China going forward? I would love to hear from readers as I feel I am already in way over my head. UPDATE: Just saw these posts, "Chinese netizens continue to monitor earthquake corruption," and "Tianya: The most bad-ass Sichuan earthquake rescue team," over at Blogging for China. Do these actions have the same meaning as the blood donations? ANOTHER UPDATE: Modern Lei Feng just did an absolutely fascinating/horrifying post, entitled, "Differences in Foreign Policy/Differences in Personal Decisions," detailing a girlfriend beating incident he witnessed and wondering how that ties in with China's foreign policy. A must read.

Madrid-Asturias - Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

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Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Vuelta Casa

Salida de Asturias - Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

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Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Salida de Asturias

Glockneretappe - Heiligenblut, Austrian Alps, Austria

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Heiligenblut, Austrian Alps, Austria

Heute habe ich mit einem Urlauber telefoniert
Mit einem Urlauber, der in den letzten 5 Tagen 11 Marathons absolviert hat.
Mit einem Urlauber der gestern den ganzen Tag durch die Hitze gelaufen ist und erst um 21:30 den Campingplatz erreicht hat.
Mit einem Urlauber der heute um 6:00 auf den Glockner gelaufen ist um ab 9:00 am Hochtor zu frühstücken.
Mit einem Urlauber der seinen idealen Urlaub lebt, dem Laufen, er begegnet sich und seinem Laufpartner auf einer Ebene von der wir alle wahrscheinlich keine Ahnung haben. Ein Urlauber für dem das Laufen nur ein Mittel ist, um das Leben noch bewusster und intensiver zu leben. Ein Urlauber der eine riesen Freude hat laufen zu dürfen, jeden Tag km für km und Marathon für Marathon.
So schön das Laufen auch ist, passiert es doch nicht von alleine so schildert Michael, dass die Konzentration auf Laufen nicht nachlassen darf, die Spannung gehalten werden muss, "sonst stehst!"
Und so laufen unsere Helden jeden Tag ihre 2 Marathons mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 9km/h
Michael und Otto sind heute um 17:45 in Flattach angekommen und ganz entspannt nach ihrer "kurzen" Etappe mit Glockner und 72km.
Lieber Michael, es freut mich dass Otto und du das Laufen als Geschenk seht und für mich ist es ein Geschenk euren Lauf mit verfolgen zu dürfen.

Connection Found Between Air Pollution and Baldness

by David Wilkes
Daily Mail
May 5, 2008

To the follicly-challenged who've tried gels, drugs and even a transplant with little joy, the research will come as a breath of fresh air.

A study suggests men living in polluted areas are more likely to go bald than those who enjoy a cleaner atmosphere.

The discovery raises the prospect that yet more treatments for the often confidence-sapping condition could be developed.

Academics at the University of London linked the onset of male pattern baldness to environmental factors, such as air pollution and smoking.

They believe toxins and carcinogens found in polluted air can stop hair growing by blocking mechanisms that produce the protein from which hair is made.

Baldness is known to be hereditary but the research suggests environmental factors could exacerbate hair loss.

Male-pattern baldness, which affects two-thirds of men, usually develops gradually, typically starting with the appearance of a bald spot in the crown and thinning of the temples.

Although it can strike at any time, many men first become aware of it as they approach their 30s.

The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, involved removing hair follicles from balding men and then studying the samples in laboratories.

Mike Philpott, from the school of medicine at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "We think any pollutant that can get into the bloodstream or into the skin and into the hair follicle could cause some stress to it and impair the ability of the hair to make a fibre.

"There are a whole host of carcinogens and toxins in the environment that could trigger this.

"It suggests that if you stop smoking or live in an area with less air pollution, you may be less predisposed to hair loss.

"There is an inherited basis to hair loss, but we are have now identified environmental factors that are important too."

The research raises the hope that scientists may be able to develop treatments for balding men such as creams that are able to combat the effects of pollution on hair follicles.

The team plans to conduct further tests to pinpoint precise factors which may cause baldness, including trying to grow hair in different environments that are rich in nicotine and other pollutants found in air.

©2008 Associated Newspapers Ltd

Fun With Cantonese - Verbs

Fun with Cantonese - Verbs, by Yin - Ping Cream Lee and Shin Kataoka. I picked this little book and CD up at Swindon's in Loch Road Kowloon. Cost $128 HK. I'm finding it very useful. It lists seventy common verbs; gives each its various meanings, related expressions and sample sentences. It also gives derivative meanings and colloquial usage. For example, the first verb is Baau1 Meanings: to wrap, to include, to assure, guarantee. Related expressions: baau1 jong1 - wrap baau1 bei3 - shield baau1 kut3 - include baau1 jaat3 - bind up Example sentences: 1. Dang2 ngoh5 bong1 neih5 baau1 hei2 jek3 dip2 la1 2. Nguk jou1 luhk6 chin1 man1 go3 yuht6,mh4 baau1 gun2 leih4 fai3 3. Ni1 jung2 tong2 hou2 hou2 sihk6 ga3, baau1 mouh5 ngaak1 leih5, si3 hah5 la1 It then goes on to say that the most common phrase Hong Kong people think of regarding "baau" is "baau1 yih6 naai1" to have a concubine, for which a man guarantees all expenses. The voices on the CD, one male and one female are very clear and the example sentences are delivered at normal speed. Chinese characters are included. Great value learning material in my view. And it is fun to work with.

China's New Labor Law And Why Vietnam Is No Big Thing

"T'aint no big thing...." Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music I remember a time (Reagan era, I believe), when there was considerable talk about greatly reducing public television (PBS) funding here in the United States. In response to this, PBS reacted like any good bureaucracy does; it threatened to terminate that which the people found most precious. PBS told everyone who would listen that it would need to cancel Sesame Street, a hugely popular and educational show for children. Of course, this left reasonable people wondering why PBS would cut off one of its highest regarded and most watched shows, rather than one of the interminably dull shows that made up the bulk of its offerings. Local governments threatened with reduced funding have been known to threaten to halve their firefighting force. Again, reasonable people can only wonder why such a vital service would be the first to go. Of course, neither PBS nor the local governments that threaten to halve their firefighting were really serious. They just were going after that which the public holds most dear in an effort to scare them into raising (or not lowering) funding. I believe this argument was at one time actually known as the Sesame Street defense. There has been a bit of that in China of late with respect to China's new labor contract law. Story after story is coming out of China of 3,000 factories here and 5,000 factories there and 60,000, no make that 120,000 factories having closed or moved to Vietnam because of the new law. Hogwash. Employers in China are painting the new labor law as far worse than it really is because they believe doing so now might either influence the law's yet to be released regulations or perhaps even lead to a revocation of the law. I do not fault them for this, but, at the same time, I do think its impact needs to be kept in perspective. China's new labor contract law is a big deal (as I have noted on countless occasions ), but it is not earth shattering or paradigm shifting. It is a big deal because it shows China's continuing evolution to rule of law and it is a big deal because the employees (pretty much for the first time in a long time) have won one. But, in terms of factories closing or moving to Vietnam because of it....I am just not seeing it. I was asked about the impact of China's new labor law by a Newsweek reporter the other day. She wanted to know about the impact this new law is having on my law firm's clients in China. I told her how they have had to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 to clean up their employment contracts and policy manuals, including getting them into Chinese. I also told her how we are concerned about how to handle matters for those of our clients who typically hire employees seasonally. And that was it. She wanted to know what our clients were saying about the new law and I told her they were just asking us whether and how we could help make sure they were complying. What about the impact on their business, she asked. Are they talking about that? Yes, a few of them have complained about the new law the same way people always complain about taxes. Have any of them left China because of the new law? No. Are any of them threatening to leave China because of the new law? No. I then flipped the questioning and asked her if she was aware of a single well run Western company that is claiming to have left China because of the new law and she was not aware of one either. She quoted me an AmCham survey saying that 20% of American companies are thinking of leaving China because of rising costs. I said that sounded about right to me and that there will probably always be around that number looking to move to a cheaper locale and that of these 20%, I would guess at the overwhelming majority of them will stay in China when they discover the grass is no greener on any other side. Which brings us to Vietnam. The talk was that all these companies would go to Vietnam. My thought is that if they have, Vietnam should be bulging at the seams about now, but it is not. Yes it is booming, but does anyone seriously believe it has seen 15,000 new factories since the first of the year? My sense is that China has seen a number of factory closings of late, but most of these are very domestic factories that produced low end goods. I also have no doubt that many Taiwanese and Hong Kong and Korean factories producing the same sorts of goods have closed as well. But, it is not fair to blame even these factories' problems solely on China's new labor law as Beijing has instituted a number of policies explicitly aimed at marginalizing such factories so as to push China up the value chain. The labor law is a huge deal, but it is not everything.