My bilingual blog offers a wide variety of topics, including: my random thoughts; human relations; traveling pictures; running marathons; policy and politics; art and arts; chilling out with family & friends; and other aspects of life in Canada.
listen to your inner self, and follow your dreams.
Now ask yourself if you have to strength, courage, determination
to believe in yourself.
After all... who needs money for food, housing, pension...
Next time you see an Artist... Give them a HUG."
I notice the artist Patrick John Mills had the "Quit Your Job" posters up around town to coincide with the Government of Canada's 2012 Budget Announcement !!!!
Well, maybe some public servants will indeed tell their bosses to Kiss My Ass and turn themselves into artists or curators (Ottawa's Cube Gallery is a success story that comes into mind).
But I do hope the "pink-slips" will not shrink the size of potential art buyers in the national capital region market, even tho artists can reportedly survive on just water and sunshine :O
Note: Here in Canada, an employee will receive a "pink slip" when his/her employment is to be terminated.
1975年，瓊為了紀念與巴布·狄倫的往日情，譜出了名曲「Diamond and Rust」（鑽石與鐵鏽），也成為瓊最富盛名的歌曲。瓊出道表演已超過50年，發行超過30張專輯，著名作品包括「Diamond and Rust」, 「Where Have Been The Flowers Gone」。最新的作品為2008年發行的「Day After Tomorrow」。...."
Within the last 2 days, a video entitled "Kony 2012" has gone viral and netizens are buzzing with excitement as to what the phenomenon signifies. To help us gain a better understanding of what it is all about, I am posting the following articles for info.
This surprising development is the result of efforts by U.S. NGO Invisible Children, an organization dedicated to bringing to justice Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel movement that has been waging a guerilla war against the Ugandan government since the 1980s - largely through the use of child soldiers it has abducted, abused and forced into service.
Two days ago, Invisible Children released a video called "Kony 2012", a half-hour long account of Kony's murderous impact on the lives of children in northern Uganda and a plea to viewers around to help efforts to bring him to justice. Tied to the clip was a large-scale social media campaign, urging people to watch, share and promote the video with their friends and followers.
As of today, against all expectations, a half-hour-long video about a conflict obscure to many North Americans has turned into a bona fide phenomenon, with more than 15 million views and counting.
Kony is a deplorable figure: He has been accused of kidnapping untold numbers of children from the LRA's territory in northern Uganda, turning young boys into drugged and brainwashed killers, young girls into sex slaves, and many children into victims of torture and murder. He has been sought by the International Criminal Court since 2005 for crimes against humanity, and he remains a fugitive at large.
Many people would be happy to support efforts to bring him to justice, but it's rare that African war criminals are widely discussed on the Twittersphere, and the degree to which "Kony 2012" has captured attention is an incredible accomplishment.
Of course, like any sudden phenomenon, "Kony 2012" has attracted critics as well as supporters. While virtually nobody has tried to defend the reputation of Kony or the LRA (although Rush Limbaugh did attempt it recently), there have been some concerns expressed about the video, the campaign and the organization behind. These are just some of the discussions that have been taking place - mostly in the blogosphere - around Invisible Children's campaign:
2. It does not include the people of northern Uganda themselves. A post on theJustice in Conflict blog, written by a Canadian human rights scholar, provided a thought-provoking summary of this viewpoint. It points out that very few voices in the movie come from the people who the makers of "Kony 2012" are ostensibly trying to help - those living in northern Uganda who have suffered from the civil wars between Kony and the government. That is partly because it is their own children who make up the LRA, and partly because they blame the government as much as the rebels for the violence in their lives. There is widespread support for an amnesty process that would allow LRA members to return home to face a form of "peace justice" - an idea that might not fit neatly into a campaign to "Stop Kony."
3. It advocates a disempowering approach. Variations on this argument invoke uncomfortable words such as "paternalism," "colonialism" and even "racism" to summarize Invisible Children's approach to helping people in Africa - that the message being sent is that only rich, white North Americans can do something about the problems in places like Uganda, in spite of the fact that a lot of work has already been done on the ground to deal with problems such as Kony - such as the amnesty process mentioned above. This argument has been articulated by a number of writers, including Grant Oyston, whose Tumblr feed Visible Children is dedicated to presenting an alternative view to Invisible Children's take on Uganda, and other bloggers such as Unmuted, Siena Anstis and Wanderings.
Of course, bloggers are notoriously willing to take down even the most worth of causes when given the chance, and there is no shortage of people who have been rightly inspired by the "Kony 2012" campaign, and who have become involved in an issue that they may have otherwise never learned about.
What's truly amazing is that a group of young filmmakers has been able to start a major public discussion about a seriously important issue that many North Americans were completely unfamiliar with just days ago. Invisible Children and their video campaign could be said to have attracted more attention to issues affecting northern Uganda in two days than had been accomplished in the last 20 years. Now it remains to be seen if it will be translated into long-term action.
The much talked about video "Kony 2012" on YouTube - Uploaded by invisiblechildreninc on Mar 5, 2012
According to YouTube: "KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here is a related article from the US-based National Public Radio NPR:
"Ugandan Warlord Joseph Kony Under Spotlight Thanks To Viral Video" by Mark Memmott
The hashtag term#stopkonyhas been trending on Twitter all day,Reddit.comhas been deluged with posts about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and he's suddenly the subject of a quickly growing number of blog posts and news stories.
All, apparently, because of an activist group's quite successful effort to have its latest video about atrocities done by Kony's Lord's Resistance Army go viral.
The organization is Invisible Children, and the 30-minute video is indeed a powerful piece of work. It skillfully tells the tale of Kony's army, which as NPR's Michele Kelemen has previously reported, "has been terrorizing Uganda and surrounding nations for decades ... [and] has specialized in kidnapping children and forcing them to fight." Last October, President Obama announcedhe was sending 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to train and advise militaries that are trying to track down Kony and his fighters.
According to The Daily Dot, on Tuesday night Invisible Children's video "exploded across multiple Web communities," with millions of views on Vimeo and YouTube, and hundreds of thousands of "likes" on Facebook.
"Invisible Children has been canny about marketing the film through social media via the use of Twitter hashtags (#kony2012) and celebrities. Rihanna, Stephen Fry, and The Onion's Baratunde Thurston have all tweeted about the film. In addition, Invisible Children is organizing a celebrity pressure campaign to get, among others, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Lady Gaga to publicize #kony2012."
"Have manipulated facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA's use of innocent children as soldiers, and portraying Kony — a brutal man, to be sure — as uniquely awful, a Kurtz-like embodiment of evil. They rarely refer to the Ugandan atrocities or those of Sudan's People's Liberation Army, such as attacks against civilians or looting of civilian homes and businesses, or the complicated regional politics fueling the conflict."
The activists have rejected such charges, saying "we've done our utmost to stick to the facts" and have tried to highlight "atrocities by the Ugandan government."
The blog Visible Children takes issue with Invisible Children's support for military action and that last year it spent more on staff compensation costs and transportation than on "direct services."
Stuart Price/AP
The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, in 2006.
It also adds that while awareness is good, "these problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, frankly, aren't of the nature that can be solved by postering, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture, as hard as that is to swallow."
But no one seems to dispute that Kony is evil. And Invisible Children's Jason Russell, who made the video, tells AllAfrica.comthat the point of the video and the campaign is to get viewers to:
"Make a commitment to stop at nothing by making sure Kony is known in their circle of influence, whether it's their family or office or school. The dream would be for Kony to be captured, not killed, and brought to the International Criminal Court to face trial. The world would know about his crimes and they would watch the trial play out on an international level, seeing a man face justice who got away with abducting children, raping little girls, and mutilating people's faces for 26 years."
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer:
Please note I am not suggesting whether you should or should not support Invisible Children Inc., especially when it comes to financial contributions/donations. However, I would encourage readers to familiarize themselves with the complicated issue of Human Rights in general and Child Soldiers in particular.
The following is based on the March 7, 2012 CBC National by Peter Mansbridge:
The "nouveaux riches" of China 中國暴發戸 are willing to pay big bucks to hunt bears in Canada. CBC National reports that a two-week polar bear hunting trip can be bought for $80,000. There is even a video-clip of a black bear being shot at and it (not the video) would most likely end up in someone's living room.
The rich Chinese hunter being interviewed was the owner of a karaoke bar. He proudly showed off an exhibition of dead animals in his home (a zebra, a south African monkey, ....), all of which were his hunting trophies. Why is he interested in killing bears in Canada? Because bear hunting is apparently illegal in China !!!
Didn't someone in Parliament just propose replacing the beaver with polar bear as our national symbol?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATED 20120406: Here is an article from a pro-China org that denies the story by Peter Simpson of Daily Mail UK:
Examining The Non-Existent “Rich Chinese Hunting Polar Bear” Story March 13th, 2012 Charles Liu
Recently a story by Peter Simpson of Daily Mail UK made waves in the conservationist circle, that wealthy Chinese businessmen, as many as 100, are paying upwards of $80,000US to hunt endangered polar bears into extinction with this headline, “Rich Chinese Thrill Seekers Paying £50,000 for ‘trip of a lifetime…’ to kill endangered polar bears.”
The Daily Mail then followed up with an OpEd with the temerity to question how cruel the Chinese race is: “are the Chinese the cruelest race on earth?“
Unsurprisingly, calls to hunt Chinese and other visceral reactions ensues: here, here, here.
Surely, if this is true even I would have to admit the Chinese must be the cruelest race on earth - EXCEPT – this story seems to be fake. This is yet again another example of the “Collective Defamation” melektaus has written about not too long ago on this blog.
The primary source for the Daily Mail story, a safari hunting guide named Scott Lupien who operates a Beijing subsidiary of US-based Safari Club International, disputed quotes Peter Simpson attributed to him as distortion and fabrication:
On March 5th, 2012 I received a phone call from a Daily Mail reporter calling himself Peter. … I told him that I have never been on a polar bear hunt, and to my knowledge, neither has a single Chinese person. … To my surprise, Peter took what I said and twisted it to create a sensational story … In order to sell papers and make big profits, he created a story about something that doesn’t even exist (Chinese hunting polar bears)
So the fact is not one polar bear hunting package has been sold in China, none the less any Chinese going on Alaska and killing polar bears.
So how did a rumor grow into such a serious indictment? Seems 52safari did make it in Chinese media’s recent focus on growing popularity of overseas adventure traveling, and unscrupulous journalists like Peter Simpson just twist the facts into a sensational story that espouses the dominate media narrative of “Evil Chinese”.
Here are some additional facts that was ignored by the article:
1) Chartered polar bear hunts are legal under Canadian law and have been going on for decades in Canada. The size of arctic polar bear population and allowed harvests are under strict management by the Renewable Wildlife Economic Development Office.
2) The Inuit people in the arctic region hunt polar bear as sustenance, and by treaty rights are entitled to yearly hunts within Canadian government’s wildlife management parameters.
3) Chartered polar bear hunts purchase hunting rights from the Inuit people, and hunt the polar bears under Inuit customs accompanies by local guide. The hunted polar bear is given to the Inuits for food, and the pelt is purchased from the tribe with hunting license, trophy fees, GST, export fees all paid by the hunters.
4) Other incomes derived by these Alaskan safaris for the Inuits include equipment rental, transportation, lodging, taxidermy and tannery services.
5) Most of the “big game hunters” are WASP Americans; I scoured Google Images for trophy hunt photos, and not one person is Chinese-looking (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.) I challenge anyone to come up with a photo of a Chinese hunter posing with his polar bear trophy.
While I do not believe endangered species should be hunted, even considering the complicated issues of Native American treaty rights and preservation of indigenous culture. However, when the media chooses to demonize the Chinese, the issue becomes muddled and the false indictment detracts from the cause. Even if the intent is to bring awareness to the plight of the polar bears, any sympathy I had for the creature is now diminished by the biased reporting.
What seems to be truly endangered here is journalistic integrity.
Comments from Haricot: While I am not familiar with the report from the Daily Mail, UK, I do have confidence in the professionalism of Peter Mansbridge of the CBC for his news broadcast of the Chinese hunter story on March 7, 2012.
It's the first day of spring skiing today and the conditions are just right for me to ski down Swan Dive, albeit not as graceful as a cygnet. It's the first time in many years that the run is open.
The route is steep and narrow with moguls. I had to back slide a few times to negotiate my way down and avoid jumping off a rock-face.
I would think it's a double-diamond by east-coast standard and is definitely outside of my comfort zone.
OK, enough excitement for one day !!
Photo Credit:
* Wikipedia / Whistler-Blackcomb Mountains in BC (one of my most favourite alpine skiing destinations)
Photo Credit: Chinese Canadian railway workers http://www.ccnc.ca/toronto/history/info/info.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I have not modified any of the English/Chinese text in the article【老外辨别中国人的88种独门绝招！】. The posting of the information below does not signify my endorsement of the content of the article and the positions of the authour, his/her affiliations, or sinovision.net.
【老外辨别中国人的88种独门绝招！】
1.You look like you are 18.你看起来好像才18岁(东方人普遍看起来年轻，呵呵)
2.You like to eat chicken feet。你喜欢吃鸡脚
3.You suck on fish heads and fish fins。你吃鱼时会吸鱼头和鱼鳍(他们都是直接切掉的)
4.You have a Chinese knick-knack hanging on your rear view mirror。你的车子后视镜上会吊中国摆设(偶没有，老爸不让，说一看就是中国人，俗，郁闷)
5.You sing karaoke。你唱KTV(唐人街才有的玩意儿)
6.Your house is covered with tile。你的房子铺的是瓷砖(老外都是木板)
7.Your kitchen is covered by a sticky film of grease。你的厨房覆盖着一层厚厚的油脂(爱炒东西的缘故)
8.Your stove is covered with aluminum foil。你的炉子上面有铝箔
9.You leave the plastic covers on your remote control。你的遥控器外面包着塑料(发现真的只有中国人才这样)
10.You"ve never kissed your mom or dad。你从没吻过你父母(中国人谁这样啊)
11.You"ve never hugged your mom or dad。你从没抱过你父母(幼儿园时算不算？)
12.Your unassisted vision is worse than 20/500.你的视觉想象力低于20/500(不知啥意思)
13.You wear contacts,to avoid wearing your "coke bottle glasses"。你戴隐形眼镜，这样才能避免戴你的"瓶底眼镜"(怎么说得中国人好像都近视？偶就不怎么戴眼镜，不过也近视两三百了，呵呵)
14.You"ve worn glasses since you were in fifth grade。你五年级开始就戴眼镜了. (中国人都是爱学习的好孩子.。。怎么又跟眼镜有关？)
15.Your hair sticks up when you wake up。你睡醒后头发会竖起来。
16.You"ll haggle over something that is not negotiable。你会为一些不可质疑的事情辩论. (无理取闹？??)
17.You love to use coupons。你喜欢用折价券. (勤俭节约~~)
18.You drive around looking for the cheapest petrol。你为了最便宜的汽油费不息开着车子到处找. (恩，我爸就这样)
19.You drive around for hours looking for the best parking space。你开着车子兜圈为了找到最好的停车位. (看来老外真的不太讲究这个。)
20.You take showers at night。你晚上洗澡. (许多美国人都是早上洗，不知道为什么)
21.You avoid the non-free snacks in hotel rooms。旅店房间里的非免费食品你都不吃. (那些东西都是over-charged了的，谁那么笨啊)
22.You don"t mind squeezing 20people into one motel room。你不介意二十个人挤一间汽车旅房. (那也太抠门了吧.。。)
23.Most girls have more body hair than you,if you are male。如果你是男人，那么你身上的体毛比大多数女人少. (又不是大猩猩，老子要那么多体毛干什么？)
24.You tap the table when someone pours tea for you。别人为你倒茶你就用手敲一下桌子。(在广东茶楼尤其如此，不然没礼貌)
25.You say "Aiya!"and "Wah!"frequently。你经常说"哎(二声)呀(四声)"和"哇(四声)"。
26.You don"t want to wear your seatbelt because it is uncomfortable。你不喜欢系安全带因为安全带让你感觉不舒服. (晕~~)
27.You love Las Vegas,slot machines,and blackjack。你喜欢拉斯维加斯，老虎机和二十一点. (中国人好赌，地球人都知道)
28.You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully,so you can reuse the paper。 你细心地打开你的圣诞节礼物，因为你要留着包装纸再用. (谁叫偶没钱啊)
29.You only buy Christmas cards after Christmas,when they are 50%off。你只会在圣诞节后买圣诞卡，因为他们打了五折. (^_^这根本就是在说我，圣诞节卡留着下一年用，省下一笔钱好好吃一顿更划算^_^)
30.You have a vinyl tablecloth on your kitchen table。你的厨房桌子上有一条抹布. (老外只有纸巾)
31.You spit bones and other food scraps on the table.That"s why you need the vinyl tablecloth。你把骨头和其他杂碎吐在桌子上，所以你必须有抹布. (没吐在纸巾上的后果，老外真是浪费.。。)
32.You have stuff in the freezer since the beginning of time。你的电冰箱存着一万年前的食物。
33.You use the dishwasher as a dish rack。你把洗碗机当碗橱
34.You have never used your dishwasher。你从来没用过你的洗碗机。
35.You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times。你有一个热水瓶里面永远装着热水. (自来水不是人人都喝得惯的~~~)
36.You eat all meals in the kitchen。你在厨房吃饭。
37.You save grocery bags,tin foil,and tin containers。你把用过的塑料袋，锡纸和锡盘留着。
38.You have a piano in your living room。你客厅里有一架钢琴. (管他会不会弹，看起来倍儿有面子)
39.You pick your teeth at the dinner table (but you cover your mouth)。你会在餐桌上剔牙，但手遮着嘴。
40.You twirl your pen around your fingers。你会转笔
41.You hate to waste food。你讨厌浪费食物. (没去过大陆餐馆吃过饭的老外，唉.。。)
42.You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing。你冰箱里有三口剩饭和一只鸡翼。
43.You don"t own any real Tupperware -only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs,takeout containers,and jam jars。你家里没有任何家用塑料制品，只有一橱子洗过再拿来用的油瓶，饭盒和酱坛子。
44.You also use the jam jars as drinking glasses。你把果酱瓶当水杯用. (靠，偶没见过)
45.You have a collection of miniature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel。你有收集旅馆免费洗发水瓶子的爱好
46.You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (travel means any car ride longer than 15minutes).These snacks are always dried and include dried plums,mango,ginger,and squid。你每次外出十五分钟都会带着你的零食：干芒果，李子或烤鱿鱼。
47.You wash your rice at least 2-3times before cooking it。你会洗2-3次米。
48.Your dad thinks he can fix everything himself。你爸以为自己可以修任何东西。
49.The dashboard of your Honda is covered by hundreds of small toys。你的车子里堆了无数玩偶。
50.You don"t use measuring cups。你不用量杯
51.You beat eggs with chopsticks。你用筷子打鸡蛋。
52.You have a teacup with a cover on it。你有一个有盖的茶杯. (茶壶嘛~~~)
53.You always look phone numbers up in the phone book,since calling information (*69) costs 50cents。你总是在电话簿里找电话号码，因为咨询电话费用为五角。
54.You only make long distance calls after 11pm。你只在11点后打长途. (免费美国国内，中国不知什么时候才有，有竞争果然还是件好事， bs中国电信)
55.If you are male,you clap at something funny and if you are female,you giggle whilst placing a hand over your mouth。如果你是位男性，你会对好玩的东西鼓掌，如果你是位女性，你会捂着嘴咯咯的笑(笑不路齿嘛)
56.You like Chinese films in their original undubbed versions。你喜欢没有配过音的中国电影。
57.You love Chinese Martial Arts films。你喜欢中国功夫片。
58.You"ve learnt some form of martial arts。你会一些中国武术。
59.Shaolin actually means something to you。少林对你来说是有含义的
60.You like congee with thousand-year-old eggs。你喜欢很老的蛋配的粥. (What?)应该是皮蛋瘦肉粥吧
61.You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached。你喜欢有头尾的虾。
62.You never call your parents just to say hi。你从不为了问声好而call你父母. (失实严重，这个老外认识的中国人都太抠门了，连个国际长途也省， bs之)
63.If you don"t live at home,when your parents call,they ask if you"ve eaten,even if it"s midnight。如果你不在家，你的父母会打电话问你吃了吗，就算半夜12点也不例外。
64.When you"re sick,your parents tell you not to eat fried foods or baked goods due to yeet hay。当你病了的时候，你父母要你不吃油炸食品和烤的东西，因为"热气yeet hay"。广东音
65.You know what yeet hay is。你知道什么是热气
66.You e-mail your Chinese friends at work,even though you only 10feet apart。你上班时给你中国朋友send email,即使你们相距10尺。
67.You use a face cloth。你敷面膜。
68.You starve yourself before going to all you can eat places。你去吃自助餐前会把自己饿个半死。
69.You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewelry or electronics。你认识可以打折卖给你珠宝或电器的人。
70.You save your old Coke bottle glasses even though you"re never going to use them again。你留着用过的可乐瓶。
71.You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it。你有自己的切肉刀而且你会磨它
72.Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin。你的牙膏都挤到纸一样薄。
73.You know what moon cakes are。你知道什么是月饼。
74.When there is a sale on toilet paper,you buy 100rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out。当厕纸降价时，你买了100多卷并囤在衣橱或别人的房间里. (这个厉害，那个被占领卧室的人真可怜)
75.Your parents know how to launch nasal projectiles。不知道什么意思
76.You iron your own shirts。你自己烫衣服. (意思是父母不会烫，老外劲小瞧咱中国人，看我飞起一腿，啊扎~~~~`)
77.You play a musical包含ument。你会弹奏一种乐器. (当然，咱中国人打小都是天才，哇哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈.....。。)
78.Even if you"re totally full,if someone says they"re going to throw away the leftovers on the table,you"ll finish them。即使你饱了，当别人要把剩下的菜倒掉时你会一嘴把它吃完. (........really?.....。。)
79.You"ve eaten a red bean popsicle。你吃过红豆冰棍
80.You bring oranges (or other produce)with you as a gift when you visit people"s homes。你拜访别人时会带着水果
81.You fight over who pays the dinner bill。你在餐后抢着付帐单。
82.You majored in something practical like engineering,medicine or law。你的主科是实用型的，工程学，机械学或法律。
83.You live with your parents and you are 30years old (and they prefer it that way).Or if you"re married and 30years old,you live in the apartment next door to your parents,or at least in the same neighborhood。你三十岁时还和父母住在一起并且他们也喜欢你这样。或者你已经三十岁并且结婚了，但你还住在父母隔壁或同个小区。
84.You don"t tip more than 10%at a restaurant,and if you do,you tip Chinese delivery guys/waiters more。你不会给超过10%的小费，即使有也是给中国服务员. (靠，我都是给15%的，给10%人家恨死你。可能每个州不一样吧)
85.You have acquired a taste for bitter melon。你爱好吃苦瓜. (我就不爱吃苦瓜，苦瓜汤还可以)
86.You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl,but don"t eat the last piece of food on the table。你吃光碗里的最后一粒米，但不吃盘里的最后一口菜。
87.You know why there are 88reasons。你知道为什么这里有88条。
88.You see the truth in this and then send it to all your Chinese friends。你发觉这里说的都是真的，所以你把它send给你认识的所有中国朋友.
Posts
Source: 
