My first impression is "who is Ostrom?". That is of course absurd. As I see it now, these are (Ostrom and Williamson) serious and worthy choices.
I have admit that Professor Ostrom's name was off my head this noon. But when I was looking through her brilliant work "Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action" on Google Books, I was almost sure I encountered her in the "Intro to New Institutional Economics" course by 周其仁, one of the best courses I took in PKU.
My "lay-man" impression of Professor Williamson is that he is one of the "synthesizers" of New Institutional Economics. His comprehensive study of "hierarchical structure" in the economy is not "simple" and "clean", thus not very easy to follow and not as impressive as Olson or Coase. But I do remember I once tried very hard to read him, feeling him a giant on giants' shoulders.
Professor Ostrom and Professor Williamson's contributions can be best (arugbly) summarized in the press release here. (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2009/press.html) Basically, their works remind us that "institutions" (non-individual players in the market) are not "marginal", "exogenous" (I could be wrong, but what this weird world means in economics, under many circumstances, is "out of our scope", "disregard it"), "pre-determined", as they are in the problem sets I am doing right now. They are real, crucial, thus very worth-interpreting. The intuition to take away from Ostrom's work is that finding "the tradedy of commons" (mostly on a piece of paper) and bringing up the "internalization prescription" may be over-simplistic. People are not stupid, people know the danger of "tradedy of commons", so they must do things to stop it, at least they should have tried. What did they do? And why did some of those work? Similarly, hierarchical structure is not something easy for aloof physicists to figure out. Yet they are so prominent in common lives. They are not there for nothing either. I couldn't recollect Williamson's comprehensive logics, but basically he examined the function and the functioning of the full-of-friction (what those physicists hate) hierarchical structures in solving conflicts and stabilizing.
Those physicists can think of these studies as a "deviation" or "derivative" of their fictionless world of homo economicus. But I think they are not. Assuming people to be something they are not will not, assuming the market to be something it is not, will never lead us to sensible analysis and good policies. Seeing "through" the reality is something really really difficult, but that should be the goal. Math? OK. But appealing to physicists' states of mind is not helpful.
What I feel unfortunate about nowadays economics are .... (omitted, I love this subject overall), it is therefore nice to have book-writing, common-sense-following, real-world-observing, English(as opposed to math)-and-graphs-user, Nobel economics Prize winners.
Hail to Elinor Ostrom from Indiana University (NOT University of Indiana!!), and Oliver Williamson from Berkeley!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Things that defines Ted K
…
Mr. Kennedy was the last surviving brother of a generation of Kennedys that dominated American politics in the 1960s and that came to embody glamour, political idealism and untimely death. The Kennedy mystique — some call it the Kennedy myth — has held the imagination of the world for decades, and it came to rest on the sometimes too-narrow shoulders of the brother known as Teddy.
….
Born to one of the wealthiest American families, Mr. Kennedy spoke for the downtrodden in his public life while living the heedless private life of a playboy and a rake for many of his years. Dismissed early in his career as a lightweight and an unworthy successor to his revered brothers, he grew in stature over time by sheer longevity and by hewing to liberal principles while often crossing the partisan aisle to enact legislation. A man of unbridled appetites at times, he nevertheless brought a discipline to his public work that resulted in an impressive catalog of legislative achievement across a broad landscape of social policy.
…..
Although he was a leading spokesman for liberal issues and a favorite target of conservative fund-raising appeals, the hallmark of his legislative success was his ability to find Republican allies to get bills passed. Perhaps the last notable example was his work with President George W. Bush to pass No Child Left Behind, the education law pushed by Mr. Bush in 2001. He also co-sponsored immigration legislation with Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. One of his greatest friends and collaborators in the Senate was Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican.
……
Mr. Kennedy had less impact on foreign policy than on domestic concerns, but when he spoke, his voice was influential. He led the Congressional effort to impose sanctions on South Africa over apartheid, pushed for peace in Northern Ireland, won a ban on arms sales to the dictatorship in Chile and denounced the Vietnam War. In 2002, he voted against authorizing the Iraq war; later, he called that opposition “the best vote I’ve made in my 44 years in the United States Senate.”
….
Mr. Kennedy struggled for much of his life with his weight, with alcohol and with persistent tales of womanizing. In an Easter break episode in 1991 in Palm Beach, Fla., he went out drinking with his son Patrick and a nephew, William Kennedy Smith, on the night that Mr. Smith was accused of raping a woman. Mr. Smith was prosecuted in a lurid trial that fall but was acquitted.
….
After graduating from Milton in 1950, where he showed a penchant for debating and sports but was otherwise an undistinguished student, Mr. Kennedy enrolled in Harvard, as had his father and brothers. It was at Harvard, in his freshman year, that he ran into the first of several personal troubles that were to dog him for the rest of his life: He persuaded another student to take his Spanish examination, got caught and was forced to leave the university.
…..
As James Sterling Young, the director of a Kennedy Oral History Project at the University of Virginia, said the catchphrase of that era was: “Most people grow up and go into politics. The Kennedys go into politics and then they grow up.”
…..
fate, and the Kennedy recklessness, intervened on July 18, 1969. Mr. Kennedy was at a party with several women who had been aides to Robert. The party, a liquor-soaked barbecue, was held at a rented cottage on Chappaquiddick Island, off Martha’s Vineyard. He left around midnight with Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, took a turn away from the ferry landing and drove the car off a narrow bridge on an isolated beach road. The car sank in eight feet of water, but he managed to escape. Miss Kopechne, a former campaign worker for Robert, drowned.
Mr. Kennedy did not report the accident to the authorities for almost 10 hours, explaining later that he had been so banged about by the crash that he had suffered a concussion, and that he had become so exhausted while trying to rescue Miss Kopechne that he had gone immediately to bed. A week later, he pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident and was given a two-month suspended sentence.
But that was far from the end of the episode. Questions lingered in the minds of the Massachusetts authorities and of the general public. Why was the car on an isolated road? Had he been drinking? (Mr. Kennedy testified at an inquest that he had had two drinks.) What sort of relationship did Mr. Kennedy and Miss Kopechne have? Could she have been saved if he had sought help immediately? Why did the senator tell his political advisers about the accident before reporting it to the police?
…..
Freed at last of the expectation that he should and would seek the White House, Mr. Kennedy devoted himself fully to his day job in the Senate, where he had already led the fight for the 18-year-old vote, the abolition of the draft, deregulation of the airline and trucking industries, and the post-Watergate campaign finance legislation. He was deeply involved in renewals of the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing law of 1968. He helped establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He built federal support for community health care centers, increased cancer research financing and helped create the Meals on Wheels program. He was a major proponent of a health and nutrition program for pregnant women and infants.
….
His most notable focus was civil rights, “still the unfinished business of America,” he often said. In 1982, he led a successful fight to defeat the Reagan administration’s effort to weaken the Voting Rights Act.
In one of those bipartisan alliances that were hallmarks of his legislative successes, Mr. Kennedy worked with Senator Bob Dole, Republican of Kansas, to secure passage of the voting rights measure, and Mr. Dole got most of the credit.
Perhaps his greatest success on civil rights came in 1990 with passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which required employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodation” for the disabled. When the bill was finally passed, Mr. Kennedy and others told how their views on the bill had been shaped by having relatives with disabilities. Mr. Kennedy cited his mentally disabled sister, Rosemary, and his son who had lost a leg to cancer.
Mr. Kennedy was one of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s strongest allies in their failed 1994 effort to enact national health insurance, a measure the senator had been pushing, in one form or another, since 1969.
But he kept pushing incremental reforms, and in 1997, teaming with Senator Hatch, Mr. Kennedy helped enact a landmark health care program for children in low-income families, a program now known as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or S-Chip.
…
He was a forceful and successful opponent of the confirmation of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court. In a speech delivered within minutes of President Ronald Reagan’s nomination of Mr. Bork in 1987, Mr. Kennedy made an attack that even friendly commentators called demagogic. Mr. Bork’s “extremist view of the Constitution,” he said, meant that “Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, and schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of government, and the doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of Americans.”
Mr. Kennedy was the last surviving brother of a generation of Kennedys that dominated American politics in the 1960s and that came to embody glamour, political idealism and untimely death. The Kennedy mystique — some call it the Kennedy myth — has held the imagination of the world for decades, and it came to rest on the sometimes too-narrow shoulders of the brother known as Teddy.
….
Born to one of the wealthiest American families, Mr. Kennedy spoke for the downtrodden in his public life while living the heedless private life of a playboy and a rake for many of his years. Dismissed early in his career as a lightweight and an unworthy successor to his revered brothers, he grew in stature over time by sheer longevity and by hewing to liberal principles while often crossing the partisan aisle to enact legislation. A man of unbridled appetites at times, he nevertheless brought a discipline to his public work that resulted in an impressive catalog of legislative achievement across a broad landscape of social policy.
…..
Although he was a leading spokesman for liberal issues and a favorite target of conservative fund-raising appeals, the hallmark of his legislative success was his ability to find Republican allies to get bills passed. Perhaps the last notable example was his work with President George W. Bush to pass No Child Left Behind, the education law pushed by Mr. Bush in 2001. He also co-sponsored immigration legislation with Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. One of his greatest friends and collaborators in the Senate was Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican.
……
Mr. Kennedy had less impact on foreign policy than on domestic concerns, but when he spoke, his voice was influential. He led the Congressional effort to impose sanctions on South Africa over apartheid, pushed for peace in Northern Ireland, won a ban on arms sales to the dictatorship in Chile and denounced the Vietnam War. In 2002, he voted against authorizing the Iraq war; later, he called that opposition “the best vote I’ve made in my 44 years in the United States Senate.”
….
Mr. Kennedy struggled for much of his life with his weight, with alcohol and with persistent tales of womanizing. In an Easter break episode in 1991 in Palm Beach, Fla., he went out drinking with his son Patrick and a nephew, William Kennedy Smith, on the night that Mr. Smith was accused of raping a woman. Mr. Smith was prosecuted in a lurid trial that fall but was acquitted.
….
After graduating from Milton in 1950, where he showed a penchant for debating and sports but was otherwise an undistinguished student, Mr. Kennedy enrolled in Harvard, as had his father and brothers. It was at Harvard, in his freshman year, that he ran into the first of several personal troubles that were to dog him for the rest of his life: He persuaded another student to take his Spanish examination, got caught and was forced to leave the university.
…..
As James Sterling Young, the director of a Kennedy Oral History Project at the University of Virginia, said the catchphrase of that era was: “Most people grow up and go into politics. The Kennedys go into politics and then they grow up.”
…..
fate, and the Kennedy recklessness, intervened on July 18, 1969. Mr. Kennedy was at a party with several women who had been aides to Robert. The party, a liquor-soaked barbecue, was held at a rented cottage on Chappaquiddick Island, off Martha’s Vineyard. He left around midnight with Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, took a turn away from the ferry landing and drove the car off a narrow bridge on an isolated beach road. The car sank in eight feet of water, but he managed to escape. Miss Kopechne, a former campaign worker for Robert, drowned.
Mr. Kennedy did not report the accident to the authorities for almost 10 hours, explaining later that he had been so banged about by the crash that he had suffered a concussion, and that he had become so exhausted while trying to rescue Miss Kopechne that he had gone immediately to bed. A week later, he pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident and was given a two-month suspended sentence.
But that was far from the end of the episode. Questions lingered in the minds of the Massachusetts authorities and of the general public. Why was the car on an isolated road? Had he been drinking? (Mr. Kennedy testified at an inquest that he had had two drinks.) What sort of relationship did Mr. Kennedy and Miss Kopechne have? Could she have been saved if he had sought help immediately? Why did the senator tell his political advisers about the accident before reporting it to the police?
…..
Freed at last of the expectation that he should and would seek the White House, Mr. Kennedy devoted himself fully to his day job in the Senate, where he had already led the fight for the 18-year-old vote, the abolition of the draft, deregulation of the airline and trucking industries, and the post-Watergate campaign finance legislation. He was deeply involved in renewals of the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing law of 1968. He helped establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He built federal support for community health care centers, increased cancer research financing and helped create the Meals on Wheels program. He was a major proponent of a health and nutrition program for pregnant women and infants.
….
His most notable focus was civil rights, “still the unfinished business of America,” he often said. In 1982, he led a successful fight to defeat the Reagan administration’s effort to weaken the Voting Rights Act.
In one of those bipartisan alliances that were hallmarks of his legislative successes, Mr. Kennedy worked with Senator Bob Dole, Republican of Kansas, to secure passage of the voting rights measure, and Mr. Dole got most of the credit.
Perhaps his greatest success on civil rights came in 1990 with passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which required employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodation” for the disabled. When the bill was finally passed, Mr. Kennedy and others told how their views on the bill had been shaped by having relatives with disabilities. Mr. Kennedy cited his mentally disabled sister, Rosemary, and his son who had lost a leg to cancer.
Mr. Kennedy was one of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s strongest allies in their failed 1994 effort to enact national health insurance, a measure the senator had been pushing, in one form or another, since 1969.
But he kept pushing incremental reforms, and in 1997, teaming with Senator Hatch, Mr. Kennedy helped enact a landmark health care program for children in low-income families, a program now known as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or S-Chip.
…
He was a forceful and successful opponent of the confirmation of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court. In a speech delivered within minutes of President Ronald Reagan’s nomination of Mr. Bork in 1987, Mr. Kennedy made an attack that even friendly commentators called demagogic. Mr. Bork’s “extremist view of the Constitution,” he said, meant that “Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, and schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of government, and the doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of Americans.”
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Daughter deficit--development and discrimination against women
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23FOB-idealab-t.html?ref=world
Major points:Mechanisms through which economic development (better education, wealthier households, more power of women in families) could make things worse:
* Lower birth rates--births of daughters got even more serious;
* Technologies could help to discriminate the girls: abortions after ultra-sonic tests;
* Higher education and income levels generate more resources, development offers new opportunities to discriminate against living girls.
--> Overall, development equalizes gender, among other things, but it is important to push for changes in values too.
I am sure many women economists have contributed to this article. I am never interested in these. Nevertheless, it is interesting stuff.
2009 Cincy final and semifinals (men's)
1- Murray vs Fed--"back to tactics". As Brad, Chris and Darren pointed out repeatedly, Roger Federer did two brilliant things he never did before against Murray: return to the center of the court and really stepped up on the second serve. This seems to be VERY effective. As Agassi says, "one great thing about tennis is that you dont need to play great to win, you only need to play better than your opponent", not to let your opponent play his game is sometimes easier than to show your best. Roger seemed to find the Achilles' heels of Murray, let's see how Murray gonna respond in their next match-up. One bad thing about Murray was his adaption/ability to "CHANGE" on court.
2- Rafa vs Nole--"Nole just too good". Just watched the second set. Maybe in the first Rafa couldnt catch up w/ Nole, in the second, Rafa definitely played comfortably, producing very good tennis. But Nole just too sharp, too pentrating. Again, his best show in months. I was expecting a thrilling final after that, but as it turned out, it was an anti-climax. The 4h-consecutive loss in a MASTERS final for the cute and once-defiant Serb.
3- Roger vs Nole, ---"First serve, man!" The first serve is crucial for Nole as he faces the big guns. It drove me mad when he just couldn't find it throughout the match. And he lacked the faith of hanging there from the start. Really disappointed about Nole's performance today. Roger was sharp, versatile and brutal, he could not wait to fire the first shot these days, which makes his game nicer (in my opinion), but he just couldn't keep up his level for very long on hard court these days. So if Nole has the mentality, he could tough it out, like he himself and Murray did in the spring.
Looking forward to US Open, We have at least 6 players who well deserve the trophy (Murray, Novak, del Potro, A-Rod, Rafa and the one and the only, Roger Federer). THE DRAW GONNA BE CRUCIAL!!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Murray the new world #2
1- THINGS do change very quickly. It is very cruel. But missing a Wimbledon, losing the No.1 or No.2 ranking won't change who you are, and all those are trivial comparing to a healthy body. It is not really great pressure for Rafa. I really hope he sees all these this way. But he does have to rethink his schedule and have a new attitude to points, matches and tournaments.
2- Yet another great achievement for Andy Murray. Maybe many will see this breakthrough /progress coming too late. But I feel this might be better for him in the long run. Premature sex makes a relationship easily rotted, fame too easily gotten can lead to similar consequences for a career. Now he has got to #2, is #1 far? But on the other hand, every chance matters if you want to chase the history. Obviously, Murray is the strongest on the hard court after last year's US Open. Who conquers hard court conquers the tennis world. But why Rafa and Roger are still monopolize the headlines/ is he still not the focus? Because his mediocre performances in the majors. He lost one good chance in Melbourne, he was under too much pressure in Wimbledon, just as Tim Henman did. It still remains to be seen whether and how he gonna demonstrate his superiority in US Open. From now to next US Open (2010) can tell me who Murray really is.
3- A small "recession" for Djoker, he needs to regroup. He should work more in the gym. (A deep depression for Ana. Hard to tell when she will come back. )
4- Roddick, I think I understand what he thinks now: running a race against the clock, the age. His eagerness and earnestness translates into great improvement on techniques and more patience and composure on court, but those seem to wipe out the freshness he once has. He is so heavy, mentally. Today he lost another very close match to del Potro. H2H is now 0-3. His backhand is still fragile comparing to del Potro.
5- Federer. Hard to see the possibility that he wins another shield. He has passed his golden era on hard court too. But you can always recall his beautiful days on Grand Slams.
2- Yet another great achievement for Andy Murray. Maybe many will see this breakthrough /progress coming too late. But I feel this might be better for him in the long run. Premature sex makes a relationship easily rotted, fame too easily gotten can lead to similar consequences for a career. Now he has got to #2, is #1 far? But on the other hand, every chance matters if you want to chase the history. Obviously, Murray is the strongest on the hard court after last year's US Open. Who conquers hard court conquers the tennis world. But why Rafa and Roger are still monopolize the headlines/ is he still not the focus? Because his mediocre performances in the majors. He lost one good chance in Melbourne, he was under too much pressure in Wimbledon, just as Tim Henman did. It still remains to be seen whether and how he gonna demonstrate his superiority in US Open. From now to next US Open (2010) can tell me who Murray really is.
3- A small "recession" for Djoker, he needs to regroup. He should work more in the gym. (A deep depression for Ana. Hard to tell when she will come back. )
4- Roddick, I think I understand what he thinks now: running a race against the clock, the age. His eagerness and earnestness translates into great improvement on techniques and more patience and composure on court, but those seem to wipe out the freshness he once has. He is so heavy, mentally. Today he lost another very close match to del Potro. H2H is now 0-3. His backhand is still fragile comparing to del Potro.
5- Federer. Hard to see the possibility that he wins another shield. He has passed his golden era on hard court too. But you can always recall his beautiful days on Grand Slams.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Chinese GDP
The sum of the GDPs published by provincial governments are 1,400 billion RMB, or 9.9% more than the GDP published by the National Statistical Bureau.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Unemployment rate
Firstly a good (and plain!) interpretation of the recently-published US unemployment rate:
http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/not-as-bad-but-not-good/?hp
Key points:
*that is statistically unimportant given the sampling error in the household survey.
*In any case, it fell not because more people said they had jobs — employment was down in that survey — but because fewer people were still looking for work .
*the auto manufacturing business had added 28,200 workers. Added? That sure is not the impression you’d get from the reports coming from Detroit. ....It turns out those are seasonally adjusted numbers. .....
*The number of unemployed people who have been unemployed for 14 weeks or less was .... the lowest figure for that group since December. But the number unemployed for 15 weeks or more was 7.88 million, up 74 percent since December and the highest figure ever. ....more than a third of the unemployed have been out of work for at least 27 weeks. The average unemployed person had been jobless for less than 20 weeks at the end of last year. Now the figure is over 25 weeks.
*Is it good news that fewer people are losing their jobs? Yes. Is it bad news that the number of long-term unemployed is rising? Yes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To have a better understanding, one should remind how unemployment is defined and how unemployment rate is calculated, theoretically.
A very simple symbol ("u" if i m not mistaken) turns out to be pretty complicated empirically. The unemployment rate is collected through CPS, one of the 3 leading labor economics databases (US) for the reasons briefly explained on BLS website.
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#where
How is this work/project done?
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/bdacodes.htm
The evolution:
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/bhistory.htm
The questionairres can be found @
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/bqestair.htm---not readable!
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/intmanc4.htm
The sampling and weighting---**still pretty conceptual in some senses, but that's enough for most usages.
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/bsampwgt.htm
The imputation--**N/A
The seasonal-adjusted algorithm---**N/A
Some people sniffed at this release. To this, my response is:Any data has room for politics but one should have faith in the quality of US data.
Data has room for "politics" because the ground/field work has so many to tackle, much more than what is in the theorists' minds. Like many other data, the (US) government never disclose how they finally get that final percentage (to the tenth). But overall, people tend to believe the US and UK data are credible, at least after the adjustments. (what in the news are normally "early release", which means tentative, the "finalized figures" come month(s) later) It probably relates to the tradition, the custom. It is interesting to see how vast the difference is between US, UK, Germany data and Italy and Spain's. Whether it is a well-functioned democracy matters too. Who believes the Chinese data on employment and growth rate?
Comeback
I couldn't get access to this blog shortly after going back to China, because of the damned Internet censorship thing.
They blocked all foreign blogs (including those in Tennis.com!), Facebook, Google Picasa, Windows Live Space (temporarily, for one month roughly), GMail, Hotmail, (temporarily, during June 4 period), many media sites including BBC China etc.
What a hell it is!
They blocked all foreign blogs (including those in Tennis.com!), Facebook, Google Picasa, Windows Live Space (temporarily, for one month roughly), GMail, Hotmail, (temporarily, during June 4 period), many media sites including BBC China etc.
What a hell it is!
Monday, May 11, 2009
John Rabe
I have been in Beijing for several days. This afternoon I went to see a movie in a cinema in a newly-opened mega-mall near my home.
The movie is "John Rabe". The Chinese name is "Rabe's Diary". Based on his informative diary, it was about the experience of this businessman of Siemens during the notorious Nanking Massacre. He was not a normal figure, he served as the president of the International Safety Zone during the tragedy. His and a few other foreigners' efforts saved more than 200,000 lives.
The movie is "John Rabe". The Chinese name is "Rabe's Diary". Based on his informative diary, it was about the experience of this businessman of Siemens during the notorious Nanking Massacre. He was not a normal figure, he served as the president of the International Safety Zone during the tragedy. His and a few other foreigners' efforts saved more than 200,000 lives.
Technically, it was an OK movie. B+ or B. The music is good. Several scenes are memorable. For instance, Rabe let in the flood of his workers and hurried them under the gigantic Nazi flag to escape the Japanese bombing. Nazi flag, a sign of evil and killing, became refuge and symbol of life and peace. Also, after his driver was beheaded, he was asked to choose among Chinese POWs one(s) to serve him (as a driver). He asked for 20. He walked among those soldiers, knowing his picks meant live or die for those men. ....
But I don't like the performance or the plots of Zhang Jingchu. Totally nonsense. Also, there are several scenes depicting people bursting into joy and cheers right after an escape. It might be what actually happened. But it made me feel uncomfortable: why joyful and cheerful? They seemed to feel the victory and begin to wave goodbye the tragedy. Have we/they succeeded? Should we begin to not to think about it as it is sth past?
Substantively, I feel the movie is much needed. John Rabe deserves much more credits than he actually has now. The "massacre generation" of Nanjingers remembered Rabe. They financially helped him after WWII, when he was very badly treated. But in the macro history texts, for decades, we forgot him unconsciously or ignored him consciously. He was buried in the dusts of history. It is good to pick him up and make his more renowned, FOR THE SAKE OF 200,000+ LIVES.
Also, this movie is great in the sense that it revealed extensively the war crimes committed by Prince Yasuhiko Asaka. For complicated reasons, in the Sino-Jap War propaganda in mainland China, we tend to cover up the crimes of this man, maybe because he was in the royal family. I only know him and his role in NK after going to college. Now we talk more and more about him, a good thing.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
JFK Assassination
1- Destroying the Single Bullet Theory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuzWy00JC6s
2- Two Men in Dallas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyvRfeLDsB4
3- History Channel program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FF_kNbxtmE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuzWy00JC6s
2- Two Men in Dallas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyvRfeLDsB4
3- History Channel program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FF_kNbxtmE
Intriguing videos on 9/11
I found these videos by accidents.
I was reading spine flu on NYT. They gave lots of credits to the Bush Administration for building up the "infrastructure" needed for defending a pandemic. I guess it was a move in systematic conducts in counter-terrorism.---Biological weapons are quite imaginable nowadays.
Then I wrote a brief memo on xiaonei about it. At the end of my thread, I commented God Bless America and wanted to add a video to end it. From searching for the patriotic hymn, the "chain reaction" led me to these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5pz1ZW59Ys
(There are four parts altogether.)
** My quick remarks:
There are really lots of doubts on 9/11. No doubt about it. Especially the basement explosions and vaporized Pentagon plane. But some accusations in the movie are crappy/sloppy themselves, which showed the desperate propaganda purpose of it itself.
If it is a conspiracy, there should be "witnesses" as well, people taking orders to set up the "explosions" etc etc. Where are they? They were all hidden or killed? Or died in 9/11?? It is unimaginable. There is no wall without leakage.
Ultimately, what is the incentive of U.S. government doing this? You can see Bush Administration exploited the media engines, made up evidences in front of the UNSC and used terrifying hard-line rhetoric to achieve their goals. Dark-box tortures might be the limit. To take such an extreme conduct such as bombing WTC is too risky for whatever political goals.
The "advanced knowledge theory" and the "inside job theory" were non-compatible, that is another thing.
I was reading spine flu on NYT. They gave lots of credits to the Bush Administration for building up the "infrastructure" needed for defending a pandemic. I guess it was a move in systematic conducts in counter-terrorism.---Biological weapons are quite imaginable nowadays.
Then I wrote a brief memo on xiaonei about it. At the end of my thread, I commented God Bless America and wanted to add a video to end it. From searching for the patriotic hymn, the "chain reaction" led me to these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5pz1ZW59Ys
(There are four parts altogether.)
** My quick remarks:
There are really lots of doubts on 9/11. No doubt about it. Especially the basement explosions and vaporized Pentagon plane. But some accusations in the movie are crappy/sloppy themselves, which showed the desperate propaganda purpose of it itself.
If it is a conspiracy, there should be "witnesses" as well, people taking orders to set up the "explosions" etc etc. Where are they? They were all hidden or killed? Or died in 9/11?? It is unimaginable. There is no wall without leakage.
Ultimately, what is the incentive of U.S. government doing this? You can see Bush Administration exploited the media engines, made up evidences in front of the UNSC and used terrifying hard-line rhetoric to achieve their goals. Dark-box tortures might be the limit. To take such an extreme conduct such as bombing WTC is too risky for whatever political goals.
The "advanced knowledge theory" and the "inside job theory" were non-compatible, that is another thing.
Li'Ao On May-4 Movement
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_559a7b1301009993.html
** This article was written on April 29th, 1989.:)
** This article was written on April 29th, 1989.:)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Resource-exhausted cities
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/sd/2009-04-20/142217647589.shtml
A good insight news article.
A good insight news article.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
"Though I was dead"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PJN0bohCTs
(This is the first part, choose on the right to see all 10 clips.)
An independent documentary on the death of Ms. Zhongyun Bian, the former General Secretary of CCP branch at and the tvice-principal of the Girl's High School affiliated to the Beijing Normal University, the "first" victim of the Cultural Revolution.
The following image is one page of the album published in 2007 by the same school for commemorating its 90th anniversary. On consecutive pages, there are Song Binbin, the "head of the Red Guard" at the School then who delicated the "Red Guard" armband to Mao Zedong, and Bian Zhongyun, the dead principal.
Song was treated as a famous alumni on the anniversary celebration it was said.
(This is the first part, choose on the right to see all 10 clips.)
An independent documentary on the death of Ms. Zhongyun Bian, the former General Secretary of CCP branch at and the tvice-principal of the Girl's High School affiliated to the Beijing Normal University, the "first" victim of the Cultural Revolution.
The following image is one page of the album published in 2007 by the same school for commemorating its 90th anniversary. On consecutive pages, there are Song Binbin, the "head of the Red Guard" at the School then who delicated the "Red Guard" armband to Mao Zedong, and Bian Zhongyun, the dead principal.
Song was treated as a famous alumni on the anniversary celebration it was said.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Novak's new Head commerial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKblFqURGB0
No comments on this.....
BONUS:
Some older and better tennis commercials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRglUBRCxWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh2EOlCZNss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50x2NKheL_Y
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Flash back: the reason for Hawk-eye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtkKdCeQgQM
Really ridiculous!
It is pretty obvious that Serena is more composed and graceful in her earlier days!
Really ridiculous!
It is pretty obvious that Serena is more composed and graceful in her earlier days!
Krzysztof Kieslowski: Trois couleurs--Bleu
Written on the afternoon of March 30th, 2009, to commemorate another two-hours spent with a girl I am fond of.
几年前在半梦半醒中在文史楼三层一堂英语听说课上看过，完全不懂。
一周前很巧合的机会又看了一遍，完全懂了，但还可以说完全不懂。
它很好。不过没有进入我的心灵。法国电影就是很慢地 很美地 很暧昧地 讲一个超简单的故事，表达一些人最基本的一些感情。
这些东西总是给我“老调子已经唱完”的感觉，来回来去还是这些“男女之间”的事情。不过，人就是把无穷多的精力用于这些小事情，甚至比这更小的事情。
人性是如此狭隘，如此绝望和丧心病狂，如此容易忘记感恩，如此容易沉浸于仇恨情绪而丧失底线。我最近才发现。
10 predictions about the clay season
Some are bold, some not, some are hardly predictions (as they are almost certain).
The order of predictions is totally random.
1- Rafael Nadal will get his 5th straight Roland Garros title.
2- The total number of sets Rafa will lose in Roland Garros should be no more than three.
3- Rafa will lose on clay at some point, just as last year.
4- Rafa won't play Madrid.
5- Roger Federer cannot reach French Open final this year.Murray, Verdasco or Djokovic might.
6- Roger can not win any title on clay this year.
7- Murray, del Potro, Verdasco, Tsonga and Monfils may be dangerous factors this year. Daveydenko cannot match his performance on clay last year.
8- We will have a new woman Grand Slam champion in Paris. Safina, Jankovic, Zvonerva, or Azarenka? My pick is Safina.
9- Williams sisters and Ana Ivanovic will go out in Paris before semifinal.
10- Maria Sharapova won't play Roland Garros.
Formosa Incident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0hITXBwOhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPDLgHo752s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosa_Incident
and in Chinese:
http://findbook.tw/book/9789571330334/basic
http://www.nori.org.tw/read/index.html
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BE%8E%E9%BA%97%E5%B3%B6%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6
A flashback of Guga Kuerten
I think I need to begin storing the good video clips I came across on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e9vmyfoLeM
Guga's farewell.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e9vmyfoLeM
Guga's farewell.....
Saturday, March 21, 2009
科以人重科亦重，人以科传人可知
清 朝的龚定庵很有才气，他可能是通奸被本妇毒死了，他有两句诗：科以人重科亦重，人以科传人可知，科是科举，好比我说做了秀才，我做了状元，我有头衔，科以人重科亦重，就是我是复旦大学毕业，可我今天我是毛泽东复旦大学毕业，毛泽东反过来影响了头衔，复旦大学的头衔也跟着重了。科以人重科亦重，因为人重要跟着重了。可是人以科传人可知，这个人什么都没有，说我是复旦毕业，靠着这个头衔混的，这种人什么样人我们都知 道了。我的意思是告诉各位，你们不但要从复旦出来，还要超过复旦，这样子由于你们的光芒四射，对你们的学校才是真正的回馈。
-----李敖 在复旦大学的演讲 2005-09-26 借以自勉
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova---with such a ridiculous name，how can she make me remember her name? I am sorry for her....
One Grand Slam is not enough, as even now I could not spell Kuznetsova without a cheat-sheet……
Another piece on tennis girls' names:
Caroline Wozniacki, she is a super-nova promising Dane;
Aleksandra Woziniak, she is an older and not-so-promising Canadian.
Speechless right?
Wozniacki is pretty good looking btw.
Victoria Azarenka: Safina of 2009. Very sweet, and very tough.
Conceding to Rafa's Supremacy on Clay, Federer to skip Monte Carlo
Roger Federer will skip Monte Carlo for the first time in his career, the organizers confirmed.
Comments:
Federer is conceding to "fate". Now he doesn't put "winning career Grand Slam" as his priority. He feels it is ok to accept Sampras' fate because he knows it will never ever be a doable thing to defeat Rafa in Roland Garros. So why bother Monte Carlo?
This year's Wimbledon gonna be BIG.
If for any reason Roger can't win it.... I would say his career is essentially over. It is impossible to imagine that he will make it to 2012 London Olympics if he doesn't win this year's Wimbledon.
From 2004-07, everyone will feel "wow, it is endless, greatest for ALL time". Now people finally realized how GREAT Sampras is:
He finished year-end No 1 for a consecutive 6 years (Federer 5);
He was on top of the ranking for a total of 286 weeks in his career (Federer 237 now).
These two records are "un-breakable" and they were made in a much much tougher environment.
Brave Heart
Remember Braveheart?
Andy Murray , a Scot, seems to inherit the rebelious blood, the brave heart from his ancestors.Though having claimed "it is not my best" in earlier rounds, he still managed to defeat the once "all-mighty" Roger Federer for THE 4th CONSECUTIVE TIME 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Now he will face either Rafa or the American Andy in the final.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Trans-Siberia!!!
I WANNA TO DO THIS THIS SUMMER!
http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm
http://hexun.com/beiguofengye/messageboard.html
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/72790663.html
http://www.ycreview.com/?5/viewspace-1622.html
Monday, March 16, 2009
Ziyou
http://you.video.sina.com.cn/b/1139687-1453091821.html （4 parts)
http://blog.sina.com.cn/ziyou (blog)
http://books.google.com/books?id=Eak7tw8Ual8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=%E8%B0%81%E7%9A%84%E9%9D%92%E6%98%A5%E6%9C%89%E6%88%91%E7%8B%82&ei=JXq-SZ6oNZD4MbaFgNgF (His first book)
http://paper.sznews.com/szwb/20060119/ca2121334.htm
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=%D7%D3%D3%C8
And tons of materials online.....
http://blog.sina.com.cn/ziyou (blog)
http://books.google.com/books?id=Eak7tw8Ual8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=%E8%B0%81%E7%9A%84%E9%9D%92%E6%98%A5%E6%9C%89%E6%88%91%E7%8B%82&ei=JXq-SZ6oNZD4MbaFgNgF (His first book)
http://paper.sznews.com/szwb/20060119/ca2121334.htm
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=%D7%D3%D3%C8
And tons of materials online.....
Massachusetts's Health Plan Trial
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/health/policy/16mass.html?_r=1&hp
"They want a new payment method that rewards prevention and the effective control of chronic disease, instead of the current system, which pays according to the quantity of care provided. By late spring, the commission is expected to recommend such a system to the legislature.
If Massachusetts becomes the first state to make this conversion, health policy experts argue that it would be as audacious an achievement as universal coverage. "
sth to think about
"They want a new payment method that rewards prevention and the effective control of chronic disease, instead of the current system, which pays according to the quantity of care provided. By late spring, the commission is expected to recommend such a system to the legislature.
If Massachusetts becomes the first state to make this conversion, health policy experts argue that it would be as audacious an achievement as universal coverage. "
sth to think about
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Immigrants trend
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html?hp
sth interesting to look at.
L.A. is more appealing to me after seeing this.
See also,
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/13/us/ELL-students.html?hp
sth interesting to look at.
L.A. is more appealing to me after seeing this.
See also,
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/13/us/ELL-students.html?hp
Pi Day
JESSICA WROTE:
Tomorrow is Pi Day (3/14) - this year officially recognized by the U.S. Congress!
So in honor of this great holiday please enjoy a slice of pie.
http://www.piday.org/
Jessica
PS - I also just learned that there is a Pi Approximation Day (observed on July 22), due to π being roughly equal to 22/7. Now that is dorky!
<http://www.piday.org/ >
CHARLIE REPLIED:
You could have yet another approximate pi day based on pi being (still more) roughly equal to 3.1.
It's too bad that none of the other important constants that one learns about in high school ("e" from calculus, Avagadro's number from Chem, or the speed of light from physics) lends itself to a culinary celebration. (Avagadro's avocado on 6.02.?? see it just doesn't work) If it did, we'd probably have more math/chem/physics majors...
**THE FOLLOWING IS THE KEY PART**
**FOLLOW IT CAREFULLY**
ON PIE DAY 2009, RDFZ Oversea Almuni Association will have a "founding assembly". The school boss Mrs Liu will be there. Also the proud Olympic gold medalists and those "elite almuni" along the East Coast. I found it really really weird though.
Boston? In a Harvard/MIT hall? With suits (maybe a rumor)? And broadcast to the current RDFZers?
It is just sooo much "show-off" and condescending.
It is like saying to the "next generation": "Hey, look! We are in Harvard and/or MIT. You are expected to come here." And there is sth implicit here "if you can not make it, nobody will care you."
Always care the top, and care only the top. Chinese officials to the atheletes, RDFZ heads to their students.... they are the same.
And even the very top may not be cared.
I remember on Sep 1 2004 (or Sep 2), I was asked to present the "New School-year opening ceremony" of RDFZ and speak to the students. I was excited about this.
But on the show, Mrs Liu just read the fucking miles-long list of students' prizes, boasting to those "九品芝麻官"s. The ceremony was so lengthy, wordy and boring that it made the standing at the backstage and waiting a suffer. Teachers came at least three times to tell us to curtail what planned to say. Ironically, i was there for a "rehearsal" the last afternoon..... we were asked to practice again and again under the supervision of Zhai (i believe), a guy i have little respect for. It make me feel like lip-syncing in the end. But eventually, I even didn't get the chance to "lip-syncing". Lang spoke as a "representative" of me and someone else. (I forgot who they were, maybe Wang and Ma and ... I really couldn't remember.) Lang deserved it for sure. He was the undisputable No 1 in Class of 2004. Measured by any "crystalized" merit back then. He is tremendously graceful and "official". But I really felt humiliated for not having a chance to speak to the crowd. Because what I intended to say then was all "thanks". I am so grateful for many of my teachers there. I would like to tell the youngsters to "cooperate"with the teachers, care them and be friends with them. Of course and some other advices.
ARE THEY LESS VALUABLE THAN THE LIST Mrs Liu was speaking to which the students were tired of listening ????
In Liu' mind, it just might be less valuable. And I think that was stupid and it was a hard-to-forget experience.
ANYWAY, if the Alumni Association is like an annual session just finished in Beijing, and if it will be held in Boston every year with "officials" presenting all the time, I can't imagine I will go to such event. But I believe it is not the case.
Friday, March 13, 2009
James Heckman on Life-Cycle Economics
今天去听James Heckman的演讲，没感到太大气场。
1- 感觉到jargon和terminology是一件很讨厌的事情，想起晨琦的一些话，忽然觉得他说的很有道理。不要很简单的、common sense都能明白的东西非要包装到转几个弯才能理解……那一定不是最有深度最有价值的研究。
2- 题目是关于cognitive/non-cognitive ability on econ welfare，和intervention是否以及如何影响cognitive/non-cognitive ability development的。
很多结论。
大概就是（也许有误解）：
cognitive/non-cognitive ability其中之一和以弥补另外的，他们共同对很多东西有causal effect, income, health etc etc.....
cognitive ability几乎是“天生”的，从3到18岁不变，很难改变；
intervention 还是很有价值，它在于可以改变non-cognitive ability，使它可以弥补cognitive ability，相应的，很多nature（genetic的东西) 必须要有nurture (in this case maltreatment) 才能被激发出来为害；
人成长有critical period，很多东西adolescent remediation是无用或者十分costly的；
不同的政策目标会有不同different investment ratio(early vs older): 要提高教育水平，要重视前期，要降低犯罪的话，就要相应增大青春期的spending；
对 于early age，没有equity/efficiency tradeoff，政府“应该”invest to help the most disadvantaged group；对于十几岁的来说就是invest on those who work out比较efficient了
可以归在labor下面？或者现在有了edu econ.....反正econ的边界真的很模糊……我很喜欢这个life-cycle econ这个叫法……
3- 谢宇（U-M的一个rock-star sociologist，应该有人知道他吧……估计都要（美国的）院士了）问了一个问题，就是关于parenting中文化、价值观的影响。显然，作为经 济学家，Jim脑子里没有“文化、价值观”，反正就是糊弄过去了。他答问没展现出我欣赏的那种聪明。
我非常困当时（我现在已经逐渐形成睡眠一不足，干别的事没事，听讲就很容易睡着的情况），不过全场几乎没睡着，可能还是有点气场吧。
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Grass-mud Horse--"Fuck your mother"
Grass-mud Horse: "fuck your mother";
Ma Le Gobi: "You mother-fucker pussy";
River crabs: "harmony".
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12beast.html?_r=3&hp
I appreciate the insight and the far-reach of NYT very very much. A beacon of free and responsible journalism.
Ma Le Gobi: "You mother-fucker pussy";
River crabs: "harmony".
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12beast.html?_r=3&hp
I appreciate the insight and the far-reach of NYT very very much. A beacon of free and responsible journalism.
Chinese sexual revolution
A CBC documentary: "The Cultural Revolution is over. The sexual revolution has begun..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQUkv9dB-Dw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JnMBSdPDHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud04SbXyjjE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKdKBh35ezo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vofSvl-fqHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQUkv9dB-Dw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JnMBSdPDHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud04SbXyjjE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKdKBh35ezo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vofSvl-fqHU
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Federer and Cahill 2
I was shocked seeing this.
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2009/03/breaking-news.html
Three things here (again the wordy Pete has the insight):
1- Roger is a "control-freak". Darren may not feel to have enough control to implement his vision. Again, the coach is there to teach, to infuse. Any teacher doesn't want a pupil refusing to listen and change.
2- Roger's base, Dubai, may not be a pleasant place to live in. Too distant from everywhere (AUS or USA), the formidable Islamic atmosphere, too luxurious and yet void for the stoic Aussie.
3- Another very important factor: the obese Mirka... She is omni-present and a control-freak too. I can't bear to reach her first in order to reach Roger either.
ANYWAY.....
PRAY FOR GOOD NEWS FROM LORCH HALL TMRW OR FRIDAY!!
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2009/03/breaking-news.html
Three things here (again the wordy Pete has the insight):
1- Roger is a "control-freak". Darren may not feel to have enough control to implement his vision. Again, the coach is there to teach, to infuse. Any teacher doesn't want a pupil refusing to listen and change.
2- Roger's base, Dubai, may not be a pleasant place to live in. Too distant from everywhere (AUS or USA), the formidable Islamic atmosphere, too luxurious and yet void for the stoic Aussie.
3- Another very important factor: the obese Mirka... She is omni-present and a control-freak too. I can't bear to reach her first in order to reach Roger either.
ANYWAY.....
PRAY FOR GOOD NEWS FROM LORCH HALL TMRW OR FRIDAY!!
Dalai Lama "hell on earth" speech
1959年西藏镇暴，同年，夏威夷加入美国成为美国的第50个州。50年来，西藏总是暗潮汹涌，50年来，夏威夷平安喜乐，日益繁荣。我想，是否了解了解的夏威夷人加入融入美国的过程能对西藏的事情有所映照呢？对 于台湾和西藏，绝大多数人都生活在bubble里，这点对于西藏问题更为严重。
对于西藏和台湾，北京都要记住这个对联
能攻心则反侧自消 从古知兵非好战
不审势即宽严皆误 后来治蜀要深思
The Dalai Lama
对于西藏和台湾，北京都要记住这个对联
能攻心则反侧自消 从古知兵非好战
不审势即宽严皆误 后来治蜀要深思
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising against Communist China’s repression in Tibet. Since last March widespread peaceful protests (really?) have erupted across the whole of Tibet. Most of the participants were youths born and brought up after 1959, who have not seen or experienced a free Tibet. However, the fact that they were driven by a firm conviction to serve the cause of Tibet that has continued from generation to generation is indeed a matter of pride. It will serve as a source of inspiration for those in the international community who take keen interest in the issue of Tibet. We pay tribute and offer our prayers for all those who died, were tortured and suffered tremendous hardships, including during the crisis last year, for the cause of Tibet since our struggle began.
Around 1949, Communist forces began to enter north-eastern and eastern Tibet (Kham and Amdo) and by 1950, more than 5000 Tibetan soldiers had been killed. Taking the prevailing situation into account, the Chinese government chose a policy of peaceful liberation, which in 1951 led to the signing of the 17-point Agreement and its annexure. Since then, Tibet has come under the control of the People’s Republic of China. However, the Agreement clearly mentions that Tibet’s distinct religion, culture and traditional values would be protected.
Between 1954 and 1955, I met with most of the senior Chinese leaders in the Communist Party, government and military, led by Chairman Mao Zedong, in Beijing. When we discussed ways of achieving the social and economic development of Tibet, as well as maintaining Tibet’s religious and cultural heritage, Mao Zedong and all the other leaders agreed to establish a preparatory committee to pave the way for the implementation of the autonomous region, as stipulated in the Agreement, rather than establishing a military administrative commission. From about 1956 onwards, however, the situation took a turn for the worse with the imposition of ultra-leftist policies in Tibet. Consequently, the assurances given by higher authorities were not implemented on the ground. The forceful implementation of the so-called “democratic” reforms in the Kham and Amdo regions of Tibet, which did not accord with prevailing conditions, resulted in immense chaos and destruction. In Central Tibet, Chinese officials forcibly and deliberately violated the terms of the 17-point Agreement, and their heavy-handed tactics increased day by day. These desperate developments left the Tibetan people with no alternative but to launch a peaceful uprising on 10 March 1959. The Chinese authorities responded with unprecedented force that led to the killing, arrests and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Tibetans in the following months. Consequently, accompanied by a small party of Tibetan government officials including some Kalons (Cabinet Ministers), I escaped into exile in India. Thereafter, nearly a hundred thousand Tibetans fled into exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan. During the escape and the months that followed they faced unimaginable hardship, which is still fresh in Tibetan memory.
Having occupied Tibet, the Chinese Communist government carried out a series of repressive and violent campaigns that have included “democratic” reform, class struggle, communes, the Cultural Revolution, the imposition of martial law, and more recently the patriotic re-education and the strike hard campaigns. These thrust Tibetans into such depths of suffering and hardship that they literally experienced hell on earth. The immediate result of these campaigns was the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans. The lineage of the Buddha Dharma was severed. Thousands of religious and cultural centres such as monasteries, nunneries and temples were razed to the ground. Historical buildings and monuments were demolished. Natural resources have been indiscriminately exploited. Today, Tibet’s fragile environment has been polluted, massive deforestation has been carried out and wildlife, such as wild yaks and Tibetan antelopes, are being driven to extinction.
These 50 years have brought untold suffering and destruction to the land and people of Tibet. Even today, Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear and the Chinese authorities remain constantly suspicious of them. Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction; in short, the Tibetan people are regarded like criminals deserving to be put to death. The Tibetan people's tragedy was set out in the late Panchen Rinpoche's 70,000-character petition to the Chinese government in 1962. He raised it again in his speech in Shigatse in 1989 shortly before he died, when he said that what we have lost under Chinese communist rule far outweighs what we have gained. Many concerned and unbiased Tibetans have also spoken out about the hardships faced by the Tibetan people. Even Hu Yaobang, the Communist Party Secretary, when he arrived in Lhasa in 1980, clearly acknowledged these mistakes and asked the Tibetans for their forgiveness. Many infrastructural developments such as roads, airports, railways, and so forth, which seem to have brought progress to Tibetan areas, were really done with the political objective of sinicising Tibet at the huge cost of devastating the Tibetan environment and way of life.
As for the Tibetan refugees, although we initially faced many problems such as great differences of climate and language and difficulties earning our livelihood, we have been successful in re-establishing ourselves in exile. Due to the great generosity of our host countries, especially India, Tibetans have been able to live in freedom without fear. We have been able to earn a livelihood and uphold our religion and culture. We have been able to provide our children with both traditional and modern education, as well as engaging in efforts to resolve the Tibet issue. There have been other positive results too. Greater understanding of Tibetan Buddhism with its emphasis on compassion has made a positive contribution in many parts of the world.
Immediately after our arrival in exile we began to work on the promotion of democracy in the Tibetan community with the establishment of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in 1960. Since then, we have taken gradual steps on the path to democracy and today our exile administration has evolved into a fully functioning democracy with a written charter of its own and a legislative body. This is indeed something we can all be proud of.
Since 2001, we have instituted a system by which the political leadership of Tibetan exiles is directly elected through procedures similar to those in other democratic systems. Currently, the directly-elected Kalon Tripa's (Cabinet Chairperson) second term is underway.Consequently, my daily administrative responsibilities have reduced and today I am in a state of semi-retirement. However, to work for the just cause of Tibet is the responsibility of every Tibetan, and I will uphold this responsibility.
As a human being my main commitment is in the promotion of human values; this is what I consider the key factor for a happy life at the individual level, family level and community level. As a religious practitioner, my second commitment is the promotion of inter-religious harmony. My third commitment is of course the issue of Tibet due to my being a Tibetan with the name of the ‘Dalai Lama’, but more importantly it is due to the trust that Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet have placed in me. These are the three important commitments, which I always keep in mind.
In addition to looking after the well being of the exiled Tibetan community, which they have done quite well, the principal task of the Central Tibetan Administration has been to work towards the resolution of the issue of Tibet. Having laid out the mutually beneficial Middle-Way policy in 1974, we were ready to respond to Deng Xiaoping when he proposed talks in 1979. Many talks were conducted and fact-finding delegations dispatched. These, however, did not bear any concrete results and formal contacts eventually broke off in 1993.
Subsequently, in 1996-97, we conducted an opinion poll of the Tibetans in exile, and collected suggestions from Tibet wherever possible, on a proposed referendum, by which the Tibetan people were to determine the future course of our freedom struggle to their full satisfaction. Based on the outcome of the poll and the suggestions from Tibet, we decided to continue the policy of the Middle-Way.
Since the re-establishment of contacts in 2002, we have followed a policy of one official channel and one agenda and have held eight rounds of talks with the Chinese authorities. As a consequence, we presented a Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People, explaining how the conditions for national regional autonomy as set forth in the Chinese constitution would be met by the full implementation of its laws on autonomy. The Chinese insistence that we accept Tibet as having been a part of China since ancient times is not only inaccurate but also unreasonable. We cannot change the past no matter whether it was good or bad. Distorting history for political purposes is incorrect.
We need to look to the future and work for our mutual benefit. We Tibetans are looking for a legitimate and meaningful autonomy, an arrangement that would enable Tibetans to live within the framework of the People’s Republic of China. Fulfilling the aspirations of the Tibetan people will enable China to achieve stability and unity. From our side, we are not making any demands based on history. Looking back at history, there is no country in the world today, including China, whose territorial status has remained forever unchanged, nor can it remain unchanged.
Our aspiration that all Tibetans be brought under a single autonomous administration is in keeping with the very objective of the principle of national regional autonomy. It also fulfils the fundamental requirements of the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. The Chinese constitution and other related laws and regulations do not pose any obstacle to this and many leaders of the Chinese Central Government have accepted this genuine aspiration. When signing the 17-point Agreement, Premier Zhou Enlai acknowledged it as a reasonable demand. In 1956, when establishing the Preparatory Committee for the “Tibet Autonomous Region”, Vice-Premier Chen Yi pointing at a map said, if Lhasa could be made the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which included the Tibetan areas within the other provinces, it would contribute to the development of Tibet and friendship between the Tibetan and Chinese nationalities, a view shared by the late Panchen Rinpoche and many educated Tibetans, cadres among them. If Chinese leaders had any objections to our proposals, they could have provided reasons for them and suggested alternatives for our consideration, but they did not. I am disappointed that the Chinese authorities have not responded appropriately to our sincere efforts to implement the principle of meaningful national regional autonomy for all Tibetans, as set forth in the constitution of the People’s Republic of China.Quite apart from the current process of Sino-Tibetan dialogue having achieved no concrete results, there has been a brutal crackdown on the Tibetan protests that have shaken the whole of Tibet since March last year. Therefore, in order to solicit public opinion as to what future course of action we should take, the Special Meeting of Tibetan exiles was convened in November 2008. Efforts were made to collect suggestions, as far as possible, from the Tibetans in Tibet as well. The outcome of this whole process was that a majority of Tibetans strongly supported the continuation of the Middle-Way policy. Therefore, we are now pursuing this policy with greater confidence and will continue our efforts towards achieving a meaningful national regional autonomy for all Tibetans.
From time immemorial, the Tibetan and Chinese peoples have been neighbours. In future too, we will have to live together. Therefore, it is most important for us to co-exist in friendship with each other.
Since the occupation of Tibet, Communist China has been publishing distorted propaganda about Tibet and its people. Consequently, there are, among the Chinese populace, not many who have a true understanding about Tibet. It is, in fact, very difficult for them to find the truth. There are also ultra-leftist Chinese leaders who have, since last March, been undertaking a huge propaganda effort with the intention of setting the Tibetan and Chinese peoples apart and creating animosity between them. Sadly, as a result, a negative impression of Tibetans has arisen in the minds of some of our Chinese brothers and sisters. Therefore, as I have repeatedly appealed before, I would like once again to urge our Chinese brothers and sisters not to be swayed by such propaganda, but, instead, to try to discover the facts about Tibet impartially, so as to prevent divisions among us. Tibetans should also continue to work for friendship with the Chinese people.
Looking back on 50 years in exile, we have witnessed many ups and downs. However, the fact that the Tibet issue is alive and the international community is taking growing interest in it is indeed an achievement. Seen from this perspective, I have no doubt that the justice of Tibet's cause will prevail, if we continue to tread the path of truth and non-violence.
As we commemorate 50 years in exile, it is most important that we express our deep gratitude to the governments and peoples of the various host countries in which we live. Not only do we abide by the laws of these host countries, but we also conduct ourselves in a way that we become an asset to these countries. Similarly, in our efforts to realise the cause of Tibet and uphold its religion and culture, we should craft our future vision and strategy by learning from our past experience.
I always say that we should hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. Whether we look at it from the global perspective or in the context of events in China, there are reasons for us to hope for a quick resolution of the issue of Tibet. However, we must also prepare ourselves well in case the Tibetan struggle goes on for a long time. For this, we must focus primarily on the education of our children and the nurturing of professionals in various fields. We should also raise awareness about the environment and health, and improve understanding and practice of non-violent methods among the general Tibetan population.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the leaders and people of India, as well as its Central and State Governments, who despite whatever problems and obstacles they face, have provided invaluable support and assistance over the past 50 years to Tibetans in exile. Their kindness and generosity are immeasurable. I would also like to express my gratitude to the leaders, governments and peoples of the international community, as well as the various Tibet Support Groups, for their unstinting support.
May all sentient beings live in peace and happiness!
10 March 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sex in recessions
On today's Michigan Daily there is an article about drinking in recession times. They didn't elaborate the"reason" but pointed out the correlation that alcoholic consumption would increase in recession times. The straight-forward story behind it was "life is tough, people use alcohol as a remedy to evade the reality or fight off the depression/boredom". Then how about sex?
Two contrasting hypotheses come to my mind.
1- Depressive mood makes men less enthusiastic about sex or more ED. ---> decreased sex acts'
2- Sex functions similarly as alcohol: people feel bad, bored and under pressure, they make love. A way of "venting".
Thinking this issue further, I guess the sex acts are more likely to show increase in recession times because:
1- More unemployment --> more crimes ---> more rapes (rapes are marginal in sizes though);
2-For sure masturbation will increase in recession times, reason? see No 2 above;
3- Women want to be pregnant so that they have a lower chance to be laid off (verify this in statute!), they have to have sex to be pregnant;
How to verify all these?
1- Proxy variables such as condom sales, lubricant sales? Maybe those are not closely related to what we want to measure.
2- Survey data may be the best and tere must be many on this topic. But to find a time series or comparable cross-sectional survey data might not be easy.
3- Also the birth rates? Nowadays more intercourse don't lead to more births necessarily, can we still judge a "horny period" from a baby boom? At least abortion cases should go hand in hand with sexual conducts....
I will come back to this days later.
Two contrasting hypotheses come to my mind.
1- Depressive mood makes men less enthusiastic about sex or more ED. ---> decreased sex acts'
2- Sex functions similarly as alcohol: people feel bad, bored and under pressure, they make love. A way of "venting".
Thinking this issue further, I guess the sex acts are more likely to show increase in recession times because:
1- More unemployment --> more crimes ---> more rapes (rapes are marginal in sizes though);
2-For sure masturbation will increase in recession times, reason? see No 2 above;
3- Women want to be pregnant so that they have a lower chance to be laid off (verify this in statute!), they have to have sex to be pregnant;
How to verify all these?
1- Proxy variables such as condom sales, lubricant sales? Maybe those are not closely related to what we want to measure.
2- Survey data may be the best and tere must be many on this topic. But to find a time series or comparable cross-sectional survey data might not be easy.
3- Also the birth rates? Nowadays more intercourse don't lead to more births necessarily, can we still judge a "horny period" from a baby boom? At least abortion cases should go hand in hand with sexual conducts....
I will come back to this days later.
Federer and Cahill
Darren Cahill and Roger Federer AT LAST formed a coalition.
But now it is too early to judge how long and how successful this coalition will last. It is pretty obvious that it is very hard for Roger to really trusts a coach. On the Aussie's side, he feels obliged to help Andre in the summer (for WTT) and in the fall as well (for the Outback Series).
Thinking in economic way: their "status quo payoffs" are already very high, (see in the links for details) that makes them less willing to cooperation and the coalition is not stable.
If they really start it seriously, Darren faces the demanding task to help Roger achieve "satisfactory" (by Roger's standard!) results on the Continental clay (a masters shield and RG final at least), and more importantly, at Wimbledon. After this probation period, Andre might become a factor in this relationship.
This news is exciting. Can Darren do better than Tony? I remain "cautiously optimistic" on this. Darren is one of the most legendary tennis coaches in my opinion. Hopefully Roger gives him enough patience at the beginning and enough credits in the end.
Further readings if you are interested in this:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/134750-smoke-and-mirrors-the-federercahillagassi-merry-go-round
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/134434-federer-and-cahill-the-tennis-worlds-brangelina
But now it is too early to judge how long and how successful this coalition will last. It is pretty obvious that it is very hard for Roger to really trusts a coach. On the Aussie's side, he feels obliged to help Andre in the summer (for WTT) and in the fall as well (for the Outback Series).
Thinking in economic way: their "status quo payoffs" are already very high, (see in the links for details) that makes them less willing to cooperation and the coalition is not stable.
If they really start it seriously, Darren faces the demanding task to help Roger achieve "satisfactory" (by Roger's standard!) results on the Continental clay (a masters shield and RG final at least), and more importantly, at Wimbledon. After this probation period, Andre might become a factor in this relationship.
This news is exciting. Can Darren do better than Tony? I remain "cautiously optimistic" on this. Darren is one of the most legendary tennis coaches in my opinion. Hopefully Roger gives him enough patience at the beginning and enough credits in the end.
Further readings if you are interested in this:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/134750-smoke-and-mirrors-the-federercahillagassi-merry-go-round
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/134434-federer-and-cahill-the-tennis-worlds-brangelina
Sunday, March 8, 2009
NPC & CPPCC Misc 1: college with 1-yr military training?
http://news.163.com/09/0308/05/53S3GJIE000136K8.html
Expand college education to five years with one-year military training at the beginning?
Some really reactionary ideas raised in CPPCC annual assembly.
The claimed benefits include:
good means of quality education (as opposed to "exam-oriented education");
good platform of more the needed patriotism and collectivism education to younger generation;
lower "employment pressure".
It really recalls me of the notorious "Peking University military training". After Tian Anmen Massacre 1989, a one-year military training before the real college education (as a means of "thought reconstruction",) was imposed on the incoming classes (Class of 1989, 1990 and 1991) of Peking University. The applicants pool of PKU noticeably worsened as a result, forcing the abandonment of the policy years later.
This is an absurd claim that will never ever be implemented. But you can imagine schools in HK, Singapore, UK and even US might welcome it.
Expand college education to five years with one-year military training at the beginning?
Some really reactionary ideas raised in CPPCC annual assembly.
The claimed benefits include:
good means of quality education (as opposed to "exam-oriented education");
good platform of more the needed patriotism and collectivism education to younger generation;
lower "employment pressure".
It really recalls me of the notorious "Peking University military training". After Tian Anmen Massacre 1989, a one-year military training before the real college education (as a means of "thought reconstruction",) was imposed on the incoming classes (Class of 1989, 1990 and 1991) of Peking University. The applicants pool of PKU noticeably worsened as a result, forcing the abandonment of the policy years later.
This is an absurd claim that will never ever be implemented. But you can imagine schools in HK, Singapore, UK and even US might welcome it.
Arthur Ashe the sage
Arthur Ashe, in case you haven't known him, is a past African-American tennis legend who won Wimbledon (1975, def Jimmy Connors in the final), Australian and US Open in his career. On top of his tremendous success on court, he is better remembered for his great personality and his heroic actions off court.
His hereditary heart disease cut his career short. More tragically, he got AIDS through blood transfusion during one of his heart surgeries. Later when he was asked "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?" Ashe replied, "Over the world 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the Grand Slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to the semifinals, 2 to the finals. When I was holding a cup, I never asked God 'Why me?' And today in pain I should not be asking God, 'Why me?'"
Powerful powerful remarks.
His hereditary heart disease cut his career short. More tragically, he got AIDS through blood transfusion during one of his heart surgeries. Later when he was asked "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?" Ashe replied, "Over the world 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the Grand Slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to the semifinals, 2 to the finals. When I was holding a cup, I never asked God 'Why me?' And today in pain I should not be asking God, 'Why me?'"
Powerful powerful remarks.
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