Why are world food prices so suddenly on the rise? I mean, I know it can't be so suddenly as it seems, but it is suddenish. Is this rise unusual? I mean as I understand it, prices should rise, that mean the capitalist economy is working...doesn't it. Of course they shouldn't raise too quickly. That's like dropping a frog into boiling water. But slowly slowly, the value of symbols should decline, as thus we should require more of these valueless things in exchange for goods. Of course it is an exponential rise, isn't it. Things move like the Yeatsian gyre, slow at first from side to side extreme through extreme turning over, each time a little fast, a little further. Maybe I am only just noticing the gyre for the first.
But are things, like the increase in agricultural space being used for biofuels, really a cause? What about the rapid deforestation leading to the desertification of much of the globe? And why is deforestation happening? To make room for people, and for homes, and to make wood for pencils and chopsticks...of course there are just more people. We are, like the deforstation, like the desertification, like population growth, like the capitalist economy, all growing exponentially in our different directions. Maybe we just need a good alpha predator to come and make living more difficult for us.
I think it is interesting to think that any alpha predator to attack humans would have to be invisible to human sight. If we can see the source we seem pretty good at doing something about it. Spontaneous combustion might work. It's these things we can't see. Like what is causing the appaerntly sudden upward spiral in the price of food.
And at the same time it seems easy. Our own hubris led to this.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Saturday, April 05, 2008
It good to be back!
My goodness, what a total high!!! So i played 7s today. How totally awesome! All the greatest parts of rugby, with 7 minute halves! Score 7 for the good guys.
So of course, I am not one to shirk any tradition, and came off 3 minutes into the first game with a nose bleed. I love it, that would be the first game of every season of rugby i have ever played has begun with the traditional nosebleed...granted this time there were no tampons involved. So once we got the guizer under control, it was back out to rock and run it hard.
It was a pretty physical game as we are mostly new to the sport, or 15s converts, so it was a pretty rough game! But wow, how sweet it is to be tearing it up on the mudtracks once more. And i do mean mud tracks. As perhaps I have mentioned, there is no such thing as grass in Korea, its just one of those things like cheese that they just don't understand how to use. I was at a plant shop today and they had stacks of dry yellow sod cut into 4x4 inch squares...i don't know what they were to be used for... but clearly they don't really know either.
So we played on a mud/sand pitch. Which I actually quite liked, except that spandex have this amazing funneling power, what ever gets into a pair of spandex always seems to funnel right into the crotch...I must say, in that respect i wish we had been playing on grass. But I can't compain. Course my boots were too small, so I sold them and borrowed a pair. But that's fine.
As for the play. It was awesome, went for a couple awesome runs, scored a couple tries, set up some nice play and had a smashing time.
Ahh...what a high. Right. I need a beer and then its off to bed (there is more rugby in the AM!!!)
So of course, I am not one to shirk any tradition, and came off 3 minutes into the first game with a nose bleed. I love it, that would be the first game of every season of rugby i have ever played has begun with the traditional nosebleed...granted this time there were no tampons involved. So once we got the guizer under control, it was back out to rock and run it hard.
It was a pretty physical game as we are mostly new to the sport, or 15s converts, so it was a pretty rough game! But wow, how sweet it is to be tearing it up on the mudtracks once more. And i do mean mud tracks. As perhaps I have mentioned, there is no such thing as grass in Korea, its just one of those things like cheese that they just don't understand how to use. I was at a plant shop today and they had stacks of dry yellow sod cut into 4x4 inch squares...i don't know what they were to be used for... but clearly they don't really know either.
So we played on a mud/sand pitch. Which I actually quite liked, except that spandex have this amazing funneling power, what ever gets into a pair of spandex always seems to funnel right into the crotch...I must say, in that respect i wish we had been playing on grass. But I can't compain. Course my boots were too small, so I sold them and borrowed a pair. But that's fine.
As for the play. It was awesome, went for a couple awesome runs, scored a couple tries, set up some nice play and had a smashing time.
Ahh...what a high. Right. I need a beer and then its off to bed (there is more rugby in the AM!!!)
Thursday, April 03, 2008
All the wrong reasons
I get all hot and bothered when I read about the incredible damage humankind all by themselves are doing to this planet. I mean I know we suck and all, but we are not the only factor...I mean how could we be. And this is what gets me so upset. The fact that it seems we scientists, academics and people who want to know more can't quite accept. No matter how much more we know, we can't know everything. We can't account for it all.
I think if we could accept that one point, or concede that one point, or somehow manage to bring within our grasp that one point, we would recognize that we should just proceed with caution. This doesn't mean, stop progressing. That is dumb.
Don't just stop using oil, or stop using electricity, or stop buying everything, or stop being part of the human race. It just mean's procede with caution. With each progressive step assess does this work, how well does it work. Does this put myself or my family under unnecessary risk? Does this put my city or country at risk? Does this put strangers at risk? What about the water I drink...does it affect that? Does it impact on my favourite places to walk and play?
If my answer is I don't know...well I should have a look around as see. If the answer is maybe...well then I should have a look, but also keep in mind I should look for new ways too...just in case. If the answer is yes...well then I should ask then do I really want to be using it. And if the answer is proudly loudly no, then I should still look around, continue finding new ways, because everything is always subject to change, or rather everything is change. Always.
But here is the thing. We need to be real about that...we need to start globally embracing the possiblity that we can and do change. Maybe. That whatever our impacts and affects, big or small, they are subject to change. They are going to change. So lets stop arguing about the affects and impacts and look for the most exciting ways to going about changing. It's evolution baby.
I think if we could accept that one point, or concede that one point, or somehow manage to bring within our grasp that one point, we would recognize that we should just proceed with caution. This doesn't mean, stop progressing. That is dumb.
Don't just stop using oil, or stop using electricity, or stop buying everything, or stop being part of the human race. It just mean's procede with caution. With each progressive step assess does this work, how well does it work. Does this put myself or my family under unnecessary risk? Does this put my city or country at risk? Does this put strangers at risk? What about the water I drink...does it affect that? Does it impact on my favourite places to walk and play?
If my answer is I don't know...well I should have a look around as see. If the answer is maybe...well then I should have a look, but also keep in mind I should look for new ways too...just in case. If the answer is yes...well then I should ask then do I really want to be using it. And if the answer is proudly loudly no, then I should still look around, continue finding new ways, because everything is always subject to change, or rather everything is change. Always.
But here is the thing. We need to be real about that...we need to start globally embracing the possiblity that we can and do change. Maybe. That whatever our impacts and affects, big or small, they are subject to change. They are going to change. So lets stop arguing about the affects and impacts and look for the most exciting ways to going about changing. It's evolution baby.
Friday, March 28, 2008
All this noise is depressing me.
Sigh. What a low! I've been looking forward to Friday all week, and now that its is here I'm ready to just go home. To do standard transmission type classes: ask a question, look at tired sleepy faces, listen to the silence of bored children, grudge it out and go home.
I had a really good day too...I woke up, just predawn, and watched the sunrise. I had really good Oatmeal (hmm I sound like a bit of a hippie...) went to yoga (a lot like a hippie). I exchange English lessons for yoga lessons and i always enjoy them. But today especially so, my yoga teacher bought me a Korean vocabulary book. So now we have a real language exchange going. It was a lot of fun. Yoga was great. That's i suppose when things started to get noisy.
The whole way home it was like there were just people everywhere, noise everywhere, thousands of construction projects, motorbikes on sidewalks, cigarettes, honking impatient drivers, cars doing 140km/h on city streets. Just noise noise noise. Even when I got back to my apartment it was filled with humming buzzing noise. My one neighbours television, the others instant messenger. More construction, more cigarettes, more cars, more children...now usually I like the sound of children, but it wasn't laughter and shrieks it was demanding voices balli-wa, balli balli...
Now I'm trying to find something nice to do on a spring Friday to give the students new ways of using language, and all I can find is noise. Videos ordering people to act. News stories complaining about the ineffectiveness of protest. Nothing just posing a question to talk about, only opinions, orders, demands and reprimands.
Sigh. It is such a battle against all this global and personal hopelessness.
Well Buy Nothing Weeks are still going well at least. I'm really enjoying it a lot, in fact. It's so easy now to just say, "No I don't need (or really even want) that." It's probably not good to remove myself so much from everything, but it's nice to live in a world where consumerism isn't the normative writ. Where there are choices, and they each feel valuable, like they matter. So it's cool if other people think it is weird. I'm enjoying myself. I suppose I should just teach TOEFL and get on with it. If they do well we can have a debate about hair cuts or something...
I had a really good day too...I woke up, just predawn, and watched the sunrise. I had really good Oatmeal (hmm I sound like a bit of a hippie...) went to yoga (a lot like a hippie). I exchange English lessons for yoga lessons and i always enjoy them. But today especially so, my yoga teacher bought me a Korean vocabulary book. So now we have a real language exchange going. It was a lot of fun. Yoga was great. That's i suppose when things started to get noisy.
The whole way home it was like there were just people everywhere, noise everywhere, thousands of construction projects, motorbikes on sidewalks, cigarettes, honking impatient drivers, cars doing 140km/h on city streets. Just noise noise noise. Even when I got back to my apartment it was filled with humming buzzing noise. My one neighbours television, the others instant messenger. More construction, more cigarettes, more cars, more children...now usually I like the sound of children, but it wasn't laughter and shrieks it was demanding voices balli-wa, balli balli...
Now I'm trying to find something nice to do on a spring Friday to give the students new ways of using language, and all I can find is noise. Videos ordering people to act. News stories complaining about the ineffectiveness of protest. Nothing just posing a question to talk about, only opinions, orders, demands and reprimands.
Sigh. It is such a battle against all this global and personal hopelessness.
Well Buy Nothing Weeks are still going well at least. I'm really enjoying it a lot, in fact. It's so easy now to just say, "No I don't need (or really even want) that." It's probably not good to remove myself so much from everything, but it's nice to live in a world where consumerism isn't the normative writ. Where there are choices, and they each feel valuable, like they matter. So it's cool if other people think it is weird. I'm enjoying myself. I suppose I should just teach TOEFL and get on with it. If they do well we can have a debate about hair cuts or something...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Any ideas?
Can you imagine a world without strangers? Could you function without doubt? Would you know what to do without a computer? How long would you last without a phone? What would you do with one litre of water? What would you do with one set of clothes? What would you do with one meal a day? What would you do for one hour without electricity?
These are all the wrong questions, I think. Because it doesn't really matter what you would do. I have to ask myself first.
As I continue to read and prepare for Earth Hour on Saturday I have stumbled on many different and interesting questions. Each of which I am posing again and again to myself. What would I do? Could I do it? The more I think and wonder about these questions the more I am sure that thinking and wondering won't get me very far. I will have to try. So I took the stairs. I get 1 hour on the computer, to make three class handouts, a report about my classes, check the news and email and write this blog. Then its power down again. It's loose leaf tea in my reusable strainer.
But I keep coming back to this last question. What will I do for one hour without electricity? I think, go for a walk, or to play rugby in the dark. I could pick up garbage. Or just sit around in my apartment. Maybe I will invite a friend over, light a candle and talk, about something or other. I could read, because there is a lot of light pollution in my apartment. I'm just not sure...not yet. Any ideas, suggestions?
These are all the wrong questions, I think. Because it doesn't really matter what you would do. I have to ask myself first.
As I continue to read and prepare for Earth Hour on Saturday I have stumbled on many different and interesting questions. Each of which I am posing again and again to myself. What would I do? Could I do it? The more I think and wonder about these questions the more I am sure that thinking and wondering won't get me very far. I will have to try. So I took the stairs. I get 1 hour on the computer, to make three class handouts, a report about my classes, check the news and email and write this blog. Then its power down again. It's loose leaf tea in my reusable strainer.
But I keep coming back to this last question. What will I do for one hour without electricity? I think, go for a walk, or to play rugby in the dark. I could pick up garbage. Or just sit around in my apartment. Maybe I will invite a friend over, light a candle and talk, about something or other. I could read, because there is a lot of light pollution in my apartment. I'm just not sure...not yet. Any ideas, suggestions?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Earth Hour
Join the march. Join the chorus. Do it for and hour. Do it for a day. Do for the rest of the week or month. Heck, do it for life. Do it for yourself. Do it for your friends. Do it for me. Just do it. This March 29th is global lights out. At 8pm local time(s) in at least 29 cities globally, people will be participating in a lights out protest. They will be turning out the lights, turning of computers, cell phones, ovens, other electricity consuming devices. For one hour we are challenged to make greener choices and to try to avoid wastefulness.
But don’t get swept up in the rhetoric.
Don’t just mark the cursory occasion a novelty, think no lights for an hour... but to take to heart the message. We don't stand against waste...we work with every choice we make to reduce it, recycles it, reuse it and replace it with a new way of thinking. A new way of living and interacting with the world. We can't really protest environmental abuse with a 60 minute commitment, but its somewhere to start.
In myself I am slowly kindling the belief that every hour is Earth's hour. I am super excited for the big Earth hour celebrations this week. Granted, I'm sure nothing is happening here in Korea; in my own little world there will be. A class in the dark. A day without computers, ovens and other nonessential. A challenge to myself and to those around me.
I don't want to spend sixty minutes inconvenienced by darkness, but 60 minutes thinking about a new way of working. A new way of thinking about how I will and should and could interact with this earth to help keep it beautiful. To help make it a place of continuous health and positive growth. I want to challenge myself to make the choice...take the stairs...go for a walk...buy local...buy organic...put my money where my mouth is, and put my actions ahead of my words.
So how has my adventure been? For the past few weeks I have been working on a buy nothing scheme. My aim to buy nothing I don't need. It seemed amazingly difficult, and there are some things that get me often (chocolate for example). But it has been an amazing experiment. Already I've noticed I'm putting out less garbage. I have more recyclables because I'm choosing to buy foods in recyclable packaging, if packaged at all. I now always carry bags with me to the grocery store. I'm choosing to buy less and be sure to use all the food I buy, wasting as little as possible. And the biggest surprise, I don't want things as much. Every day it gets easier to buy nothing.
It was amazing to me at first, how many times a day I would think, oh I'll just get this or that. Or I'd buy a snack on the way home from work or yoga, instead of eating the food I already have in my home. How I would have to tell myself forcefully "no" and would usually argue with myself at length that it was essential enough, or it was silly to deny simple things like chocolate bars, notebooks, pens. But I have enough of these things at home, I would eventually agree.
But the greatest lesson is this ongoing lesson about choices. There is never one choice to make and that's that. It is a continuing process, a thousand choices everyday. So I hope you all have a beautifully peaceful Earth Hour. Send someone your love. And think about the choices you get to make today.
Love you all!
But don’t get swept up in the rhetoric.
Don’t just mark the cursory occasion a novelty, think no lights for an hour... but to take to heart the message. We don't stand against waste...we work with every choice we make to reduce it, recycles it, reuse it and replace it with a new way of thinking. A new way of living and interacting with the world. We can't really protest environmental abuse with a 60 minute commitment, but its somewhere to start.
In myself I am slowly kindling the belief that every hour is Earth's hour. I am super excited for the big Earth hour celebrations this week. Granted, I'm sure nothing is happening here in Korea; in my own little world there will be. A class in the dark. A day without computers, ovens and other nonessential. A challenge to myself and to those around me.
I don't want to spend sixty minutes inconvenienced by darkness, but 60 minutes thinking about a new way of working. A new way of thinking about how I will and should and could interact with this earth to help keep it beautiful. To help make it a place of continuous health and positive growth. I want to challenge myself to make the choice...take the stairs...go for a walk...buy local...buy organic...put my money where my mouth is, and put my actions ahead of my words.
So how has my adventure been? For the past few weeks I have been working on a buy nothing scheme. My aim to buy nothing I don't need. It seemed amazingly difficult, and there are some things that get me often (chocolate for example). But it has been an amazing experiment. Already I've noticed I'm putting out less garbage. I have more recyclables because I'm choosing to buy foods in recyclable packaging, if packaged at all. I now always carry bags with me to the grocery store. I'm choosing to buy less and be sure to use all the food I buy, wasting as little as possible. And the biggest surprise, I don't want things as much. Every day it gets easier to buy nothing.
It was amazing to me at first, how many times a day I would think, oh I'll just get this or that. Or I'd buy a snack on the way home from work or yoga, instead of eating the food I already have in my home. How I would have to tell myself forcefully "no" and would usually argue with myself at length that it was essential enough, or it was silly to deny simple things like chocolate bars, notebooks, pens. But I have enough of these things at home, I would eventually agree.
But the greatest lesson is this ongoing lesson about choices. There is never one choice to make and that's that. It is a continuing process, a thousand choices everyday. So I hope you all have a beautifully peaceful Earth Hour. Send someone your love. And think about the choices you get to make today.
Love you all!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A Little Prayer
My thoughts are with you Jessie. That we caught this early, that you recover swiftly and shine on with the grace and strength, with the beauty that your cousins wish they had! Love you always!
Cous.M
Cous.M
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Someone has to pay
What is criminal justice? Two interesting cases in the papers today. In Indonesia three men have had death sentences commuted to life in jail over drug smuggling charges. Their lawyers argued that they were first time offenders and not likely to repeat, thus death was a rather steep way to pay for their crimes. In Canada a man who murdered his neighbours, brutally, was found guilty but not criminally responsible for the deaths. The court has agreed that Despres who lives with schizophrenia , was delusional at the time of the attck, and thus cannot be found responsible for his actions. A member of the family is quoted as saying "I just think that you're responsible for your actions regardless of what you do. If you're not responsible for your actions, who is? Someone should pay for these two people being murdered, and I don't think we got justice today."
I find criminal justice one of the strangest ideas we ever came up with.
I find criminal justice one of the strangest ideas we ever came up with.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Patience
How long does it take to forget your history?
As a supermix of nations my siblings and I stand in a unique position, none of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were born in and grew up in the same country. We have, for generations, been a globally dispersed family. We have moved for all sorts of reasons from prejudices to royal orders, because of military or individually driven free spirit. My parents stumbled into Canada I guess nearly 2 decades ago, and my siblings and I did most of our growing up there.
We often ponder and talk about our history, or our confusion about our history. There are many races in conflict in our genealogy, so it's hard at times to hold part of our history as valid and important because it directly conflicts with another part of that history. But, in the end, we usually agree it doesn't matter too much; what matters is what we do now and next and after that.
I recently stumbled on a pleasantly bigoted Facebook group striving to keep Canada Canadian. Purporting that there is a proud history that must be upheld, that is being diluted and forgotten by us newbies. Not only must the new guy adapt to the entirely new world, but he must do so to inculcate in himself the old stories and beliefs, the mythologies and semiotics of this thing called Canada. "Learn the language," the group argues, "get a job, stop sucking on the government for handouts."
Come on people. I know we have the freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of press in whatever form press might take. But that doesn't mean we should use those freedoms to further divide our country, to generate antagonism, persecute new Canadians, to scapegoat the government and anyone else we can for our own lazy uninformed opinions about the woes of our land.
Some of the best signs that this idea of the "Canadian Canada" is that the national anthem was written in English and shouldn't be sung in any immigrant languages. Well, first off, English is an immigrant language. Second, our anthem was written in French. Thirdly, at many time throughout its history it has been sung in different language, in native Canadian languages at NHL games and other official events. And who cares what language it is sung it, especially when that translation helps make O Canada dear to the hearts of even more Canadians. It the act of singing a song that symbolizes our unity and pride as a nation that is of importance...isn't it? I mean you'd think this group would be more offended by the regular booing of the anthem at NHL and CFL games in Montreal...maybe.
A friend just sent me a youtube or googlevideo or something from the Ellen Degeneres show about little billy and bobby somewhere in the US. Billy killed Bobby because Bobby asked Billy to be his Valentine. Ellen's message that it is not alright that we are perpetuating the message that it is wrong to be (different). It is not okay that we make being different the punch lines in our jokes. That we can hate difference so deeply so vehemently that we can commit heinous crimes in an attempt to stamp out difference around us. Degeneres is talking specifically against the message it is wrong to be gay, but it has deeper implications.
We must change the message that it is wrong to be different. What is more it is our responsibility to find ways to make our differences what makes us strong. We must find ways to use our conflicts to generate positive change. And find ways to accept that sometimes that difference will be difficult to understand. Sometimes that difference won't make sense, especially when we are unwilling to ask for or to offer help.
But mostly we need a little patience. I learned the most wonderful expression while I was in Japan Shogyo mujo (諸行無常). It means All things in the world/phenomena are impermanent. I.e. all things change. The philosophy promotes the idea that things change so we should wait and watch, observe and delay so we can see what will change and what needs our intervention or help. We must accept that our history that was will not repeat, but create a new and different self as it continues to move forward in time, and these changes are for us to experience and embrace, for us to enjoy and be challenged by. For us to protest and for us to challenge. There may be similarities and redundancies, things we can avoid by knowing and not forgetting our past, but that past is a greater memory and a greater tool, when it is out diverse and diverging pasts used to help those who are new to the situation.
As a supermix of nations my siblings and I stand in a unique position, none of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were born in and grew up in the same country. We have, for generations, been a globally dispersed family. We have moved for all sorts of reasons from prejudices to royal orders, because of military or individually driven free spirit. My parents stumbled into Canada I guess nearly 2 decades ago, and my siblings and I did most of our growing up there.
We often ponder and talk about our history, or our confusion about our history. There are many races in conflict in our genealogy, so it's hard at times to hold part of our history as valid and important because it directly conflicts with another part of that history. But, in the end, we usually agree it doesn't matter too much; what matters is what we do now and next and after that.
I recently stumbled on a pleasantly bigoted Facebook group striving to keep Canada Canadian. Purporting that there is a proud history that must be upheld, that is being diluted and forgotten by us newbies. Not only must the new guy adapt to the entirely new world, but he must do so to inculcate in himself the old stories and beliefs, the mythologies and semiotics of this thing called Canada. "Learn the language," the group argues, "get a job, stop sucking on the government for handouts."
Come on people. I know we have the freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of press in whatever form press might take. But that doesn't mean we should use those freedoms to further divide our country, to generate antagonism, persecute new Canadians, to scapegoat the government and anyone else we can for our own lazy uninformed opinions about the woes of our land.
Some of the best signs that this idea of the "Canadian Canada" is that the national anthem was written in English and shouldn't be sung in any immigrant languages. Well, first off, English is an immigrant language. Second, our anthem was written in French. Thirdly, at many time throughout its history it has been sung in different language, in native Canadian languages at NHL games and other official events. And who cares what language it is sung it, especially when that translation helps make O Canada dear to the hearts of even more Canadians. It the act of singing a song that symbolizes our unity and pride as a nation that is of importance...isn't it? I mean you'd think this group would be more offended by the regular booing of the anthem at NHL and CFL games in Montreal...maybe.
A friend just sent me a youtube or googlevideo or something from the Ellen Degeneres show about little billy and bobby somewhere in the US. Billy killed Bobby because Bobby asked Billy to be his Valentine. Ellen's message that it is not alright that we are perpetuating the message that it is wrong to be (different). It is not okay that we make being different the punch lines in our jokes. That we can hate difference so deeply so vehemently that we can commit heinous crimes in an attempt to stamp out difference around us. Degeneres is talking specifically against the message it is wrong to be gay, but it has deeper implications.
We must change the message that it is wrong to be different. What is more it is our responsibility to find ways to make our differences what makes us strong. We must find ways to use our conflicts to generate positive change. And find ways to accept that sometimes that difference will be difficult to understand. Sometimes that difference won't make sense, especially when we are unwilling to ask for or to offer help.
But mostly we need a little patience. I learned the most wonderful expression while I was in Japan Shogyo mujo (諸行無常). It means All things in the world/phenomena are impermanent. I.e. all things change. The philosophy promotes the idea that things change so we should wait and watch, observe and delay so we can see what will change and what needs our intervention or help. We must accept that our history that was will not repeat, but create a new and different self as it continues to move forward in time, and these changes are for us to experience and embrace, for us to enjoy and be challenged by. For us to protest and for us to challenge. There may be similarities and redundancies, things we can avoid by knowing and not forgetting our past, but that past is a greater memory and a greater tool, when it is out diverse and diverging pasts used to help those who are new to the situation.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Facebook you Frustrate me
Here I am again. Again facing this apparently growing sentiment that the world is not welcome in Canada. That if you are not of the majority you can stay where you are, my home is not your home. And the source of this confrontation, a group a colleague joined on Facebook. It may just be time for me to leave that monstrosity of a creation. It's a useful tool for networking and communication, but there is no order to it, you can say what you want and not have to care not what other's think about it, but the reality it creates for others.
The group is called Let's Keep Canada Canadian. And is supports and propagates the idea that to be Canadian you must speak one of the two languages. You must not cost social security a nickle. You should not feel you can proudly display your religion unless it is of Christian roots. You should not proudly share your cultural heritage, unless its the food and its favourable to our Canadian palate. You should not expect the help of the government in settling, or of the community. You should not settle with others of similar culture/history/heritage unless you are a WASP (or former WASP), otherwise you are ghettoizing our country.
I am afraid of this growing community of Canadians who have this vision of Canada as an anglo-saxon pseudo christian nation that doesn't change. And yet if this is so, many of their complaints are actually cries for change.
Some of the complaints on this group: Canadians should speak the language of the land;immigrants must adapt; new Canadians should not expect handout from the government; new Canadians should not be a burden. When our colonizing forefathers never adapted, they didn't learn the language of the land nor the customs and beliefs of the people whose lands the emigrated to. Or when the government used to offer all sorts of incentives and bonuses to new settlers from cheap land to cash and food allowances. When it was their "burden" to come and settle and civilize the new world.
But lets think about the true implications of the person who we would all readily recognize as a new Canadian and how they behave in their new country. I'm talking about an infant born on Canadian soil. Infants don't speak the language of the land. It takes several years of immersion and constant education before they learn the language. There are numerous handouts and benefits and tax breaks for these non contributing new Canadians, and yet we never balk or brawn over paying for them, because we know they are an investment in the future of our country. Not only do these new Canadians not contribute economically often for 20 (even 30 in my generation) years (living off family and society), they are an enormous burden to the system requiring billions (probably 10s or 100s or billions) of dollars in education, childcare and social support. Yet, we have no problem making that investment for an infant, why? And why is it different for a new Canadian who experienced infancy elsewhere?
What more, who are these immigrants hurting? Are your taxes too high? You can't survive on what little the government leaves to you because of this hulking burden to our society? You can afford to surround yourself with pure luxury and stuff and stuff and more stuff. I don't understand this ongoing and ever growing aggression directed at the new guy. Get over it people. The fact that your grandfather established your family though hard work and sacrifice 50 years ago, doesn't give you any right to balk at this woman or that man who is working hard and sacrificing so that his grandchildren will be equally establish IN TIME!!!
And this is the greatest piss off about these opinions and voices that balk at the new guy. They don't even take the time to realize in the first generation their family was in Canada, their family too was a burden. Didn't know how to get education, work, food, money. Needed help from their neighbours and from yes even the government.
The group is called Let's Keep Canada Canadian. And is supports and propagates the idea that to be Canadian you must speak one of the two languages. You must not cost social security a nickle. You should not feel you can proudly display your religion unless it is of Christian roots. You should not proudly share your cultural heritage, unless its the food and its favourable to our Canadian palate. You should not expect the help of the government in settling, or of the community. You should not settle with others of similar culture/history/heritage unless you are a WASP (or former WASP), otherwise you are ghettoizing our country.
I am afraid of this growing community of Canadians who have this vision of Canada as an anglo-saxon pseudo christian nation that doesn't change. And yet if this is so, many of their complaints are actually cries for change.
Some of the complaints on this group: Canadians should speak the language of the land;immigrants must adapt; new Canadians should not expect handout from the government; new Canadians should not be a burden. When our colonizing forefathers never adapted, they didn't learn the language of the land nor the customs and beliefs of the people whose lands the emigrated to. Or when the government used to offer all sorts of incentives and bonuses to new settlers from cheap land to cash and food allowances. When it was their "burden" to come and settle and civilize the new world.
But lets think about the true implications of the person who we would all readily recognize as a new Canadian and how they behave in their new country. I'm talking about an infant born on Canadian soil. Infants don't speak the language of the land. It takes several years of immersion and constant education before they learn the language. There are numerous handouts and benefits and tax breaks for these non contributing new Canadians, and yet we never balk or brawn over paying for them, because we know they are an investment in the future of our country. Not only do these new Canadians not contribute economically often for 20 (even 30 in my generation) years (living off family and society), they are an enormous burden to the system requiring billions (probably 10s or 100s or billions) of dollars in education, childcare and social support. Yet, we have no problem making that investment for an infant, why? And why is it different for a new Canadian who experienced infancy elsewhere?
What more, who are these immigrants hurting? Are your taxes too high? You can't survive on what little the government leaves to you because of this hulking burden to our society? You can afford to surround yourself with pure luxury and stuff and stuff and more stuff. I don't understand this ongoing and ever growing aggression directed at the new guy. Get over it people. The fact that your grandfather established your family though hard work and sacrifice 50 years ago, doesn't give you any right to balk at this woman or that man who is working hard and sacrificing so that his grandchildren will be equally establish IN TIME!!!
And this is the greatest piss off about these opinions and voices that balk at the new guy. They don't even take the time to realize in the first generation their family was in Canada, their family too was a burden. Didn't know how to get education, work, food, money. Needed help from their neighbours and from yes even the government.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Self help
My supervisor gave me a book to read. Eek. It's a help your self help yourself book. Oh goodness. I have been trying to humour her, because she said she enjoyed it and thought I might like what the author has to say. But try as I might I cannot read more than a paragraph without the urge to launch the book across the room (Sadly it's not my book so I'm not allowed to trash it...its a good thing there are lots of pillows in my house). I'm not sure why she gave me the book to read (perhaps a favour returned as I lent her a Paulo Coelho book from my shelf). But i just don't think I can do it.
My problem with this book is not just that its a help your self help yourself but that the underlying message, the principle that drives the book is basically that old Lebeau adage that our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction are the same thing, and they are satisfied by the consumption of things. And, well, I guess I'm just too much of a communist or a socialist to believe that material things bring any sort of happiness. In fact, I'm quite certain it's the other way round: that the happier you are, the more happiness you will be able to elicit from material things (i.e. the more simple your needs for material things).
Material wealth does not equal Happiness.
Happiness equals Happiness.
At least my youthful optimism suggests to me that this is the case. Perhaps thats all it is. Youthful optimism. Perhaps my boss just doesn't know I'm not old enough to want things yet. People have never really believed I'm as young as I am. In fact lately the disparity between my assumed age and my actually age has been growing larger and larger. I try to console people "My Korean age is 25..." but this does little to cover embarrassment of people who assumed I was in my mid thirties. I don't mind, I'm a pretty serious person, not nearly as light hearted as those we assume are actually 23. And perhaps this is why I've been offered this book to read.
Still I hope that I will never benefit from this kind of help. God doesn't want you to have a bigger house. You want to have a bigger house. Learning to be honest about that sort of thing is a greater key to happiness than "just believe that God wants you to have it."
My problem with this book is not just that its a help your self help yourself but that the underlying message, the principle that drives the book is basically that old Lebeau adage that our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction are the same thing, and they are satisfied by the consumption of things. And, well, I guess I'm just too much of a communist or a socialist to believe that material things bring any sort of happiness. In fact, I'm quite certain it's the other way round: that the happier you are, the more happiness you will be able to elicit from material things (i.e. the more simple your needs for material things).
Material wealth does not equal Happiness.
Happiness equals Happiness.
At least my youthful optimism suggests to me that this is the case. Perhaps thats all it is. Youthful optimism. Perhaps my boss just doesn't know I'm not old enough to want things yet. People have never really believed I'm as young as I am. In fact lately the disparity between my assumed age and my actually age has been growing larger and larger. I try to console people "My Korean age is 25..." but this does little to cover embarrassment of people who assumed I was in my mid thirties. I don't mind, I'm a pretty serious person, not nearly as light hearted as those we assume are actually 23. And perhaps this is why I've been offered this book to read.
Still I hope that I will never benefit from this kind of help. God doesn't want you to have a bigger house. You want to have a bigger house. Learning to be honest about that sort of thing is a greater key to happiness than "just believe that God wants you to have it."
Thursday, February 21, 2008
A New View
I just read a remarkable story, that I want to share and send out to as many people as possible. This is the story of a young woman with autism. She is non-verbal, and displays many behaviours that would upset any who are faint of heart, and lack the patience to accept someone who is different in so many ways from themselves. Check out some of Carly's writing to get a sense of this remarkable young woman.
After reading.
I think one particular lesson that Carly highlights is the power written language has for so many people who are unable (for many reasons) to express themselves. It is a way in, and out, for many of us. It is a way to stradel all sorts of language barriers. Many of my students tell me they prefer reading English than listening to it. Verbal English is very difficult, but reading you can see words, and start sorting what are the important words and what ones are less important.
In Carly's case, to be apraxic (to understand a language without being able to speak it), writing is an amazing way to see the normal in that distorting and challenging word abnormal. It is another way to find our many stigmas, to be reminded even, are once again unfairly placed to burden those who are not the same, in everyway, as us.
After reading.
I think one particular lesson that Carly highlights is the power written language has for so many people who are unable (for many reasons) to express themselves. It is a way in, and out, for many of us. It is a way to stradel all sorts of language barriers. Many of my students tell me they prefer reading English than listening to it. Verbal English is very difficult, but reading you can see words, and start sorting what are the important words and what ones are less important.
In Carly's case, to be apraxic (to understand a language without being able to speak it), writing is an amazing way to see the normal in that distorting and challenging word abnormal. It is another way to find our many stigmas, to be reminded even, are once again unfairly placed to burden those who are not the same, in everyway, as us.
It took a law 2...
A month or two ago, I wrote about a Norwegian law requiring large corporations (200 employees +) to have a 50/50 gender divide on executive boards. I applauded the move discussing the belief that it takes a law to cause change, that it is in our interests and for our benefits that we create and attempt to follow laws. Further, that laws are one of our greatest tools for social change.
Today I popped into BBC hoping to find the Asian markets had picked up overnight, and instead I see several different stories making my earlier, very simplistic view explanation of the role of law in a society seems like nonsense. The first article is about a youtube I happened to have been sent, made by Saudi women protesting laws against women drivers in their country! This is brilliant, I think, and highlights what laws are, why we have them and how they work. Laws are temporary explanations about how we agree to behave. I.e. all laws must at all times be subject to change. As a woman of western/catholic socialization I cannot really understand how barring women from driving is for their benefit, to protect them and their families or any of that. But I can imagine in a volatile country it is possible that limiting the movement of people is of benefit to the society. But now as Saudi Arabia is far more stable, it is time to let go of that and allow for a new social order.
The next article was about the reaffirmation of mortal sin by the Vatican. A move that has been made perhaps as an attempt to demonstrate to people how to interpret words like avarice or sloth. As I read, I worried about the loftiness of these new interpretations though. There are surely no more than a million billionaires, and not more than a hundred million millionaires, but that leave 5.9-6.1 billion people on the planet who need moral guidance. Which is the problem for us when we create laws. They are often almost always to narrow in their scope, leaving more people without guidance than need it.
Then there was an article about 24 hour drinking in the UK. This seems to me to highlight the UKs endemic dependence on law to order their society. Guidelines are necessary, they help us understand and interpret ways to communicate with those around us. Particularly as we have less and less of a close common history with our neighbours as we move from country to country, it is important that we have ways to open communication, to network and build community.
Which brings me to the last article, which I haven't read and don't want to read, but which is titled "STDs rife among US teenage girls." I'm assuming there are going to be some horrible statistics about the big 4 (HPV, herpes, Chlamydia, tric) and talk about vaccinating them all against cervicle cancer. No talk about guidance, about a growing desire to talk about and think about giving our kids less information and more guidence in how to behave.
So we do like laws. They do help us figure out ways to behave, but we should also keep in mind Sir Thomas More's idea: In his Utopia there were no laws, and each time it seemed an injustice had occured, it was weighed and discussed. The society debated and thought about it, and even when they came to a decision, it was only about that one case. Laws must be flexible enough to act as real and useful tools in the greater functioning of society.
Today I popped into BBC hoping to find the Asian markets had picked up overnight, and instead I see several different stories making my earlier, very simplistic view explanation of the role of law in a society seems like nonsense. The first article is about a youtube I happened to have been sent, made by Saudi women protesting laws against women drivers in their country! This is brilliant, I think, and highlights what laws are, why we have them and how they work. Laws are temporary explanations about how we agree to behave. I.e. all laws must at all times be subject to change. As a woman of western/catholic socialization I cannot really understand how barring women from driving is for their benefit, to protect them and their families or any of that. But I can imagine in a volatile country it is possible that limiting the movement of people is of benefit to the society. But now as Saudi Arabia is far more stable, it is time to let go of that and allow for a new social order.
The next article was about the reaffirmation of mortal sin by the Vatican. A move that has been made perhaps as an attempt to demonstrate to people how to interpret words like avarice or sloth. As I read, I worried about the loftiness of these new interpretations though. There are surely no more than a million billionaires, and not more than a hundred million millionaires, but that leave 5.9-6.1 billion people on the planet who need moral guidance. Which is the problem for us when we create laws. They are often almost always to narrow in their scope, leaving more people without guidance than need it.
Then there was an article about 24 hour drinking in the UK. This seems to me to highlight the UKs endemic dependence on law to order their society. Guidelines are necessary, they help us understand and interpret ways to communicate with those around us. Particularly as we have less and less of a close common history with our neighbours as we move from country to country, it is important that we have ways to open communication, to network and build community.
Which brings me to the last article, which I haven't read and don't want to read, but which is titled "STDs rife among US teenage girls." I'm assuming there are going to be some horrible statistics about the big 4 (HPV, herpes, Chlamydia, tric) and talk about vaccinating them all against cervicle cancer. No talk about guidance, about a growing desire to talk about and think about giving our kids less information and more guidence in how to behave.
So we do like laws. They do help us figure out ways to behave, but we should also keep in mind Sir Thomas More's idea: In his Utopia there were no laws, and each time it seemed an injustice had occured, it was weighed and discussed. The society debated and thought about it, and even when they came to a decision, it was only about that one case. Laws must be flexible enough to act as real and useful tools in the greater functioning of society.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Missing conversations at What the Book? Used Books Shop, Itaewon, Seoul.
1.
"I mean, look at our fucking society!" Standing in front of the pop culture rack this late-twenty something exclaimed to his friend, "Fucking pregnant, pregnant, suspected pregnant, just had, broke up, broke down, broke out, got engaged, got divorced; this is our generation man and it sucks."
"Yea, i know what you mean. Look at this rubbish"
[Now, I suggest you take one step to your left, take a look at the alternative culture rack, Bitch, AdBusters; or two steps to the left for The New Yorker, Time, National Geographic. Or maybe turn around and se a tiny underground bookstore in the heart of Seoul packed with 20-30 something foreigners looking for something else to read on a Sunday afternoon. Yea, you're going to get a rather skewed and depressing perspective of our culture and generation if you judge it by the tabloid section. Open your eyes a little, delay judgement a moment, get a perspective from the girl behind you.]
2.
"I can't find the book I'm looking for, and its pissing me off," she claimed, her harsh south-central American accent grating against her sinus congestion.
"What book is that?" Her friend inquired, though I'm sure the question wasn't needed for the answer to come forth.
"The Kite Runner."
"Why do you want to read it, the film is coming out soon."
"Its just interesting the way things connect. Like the Russians in the 70s and now everyone in Afghanistan. Whatever. The computer says its here, but i can't see it. This is dumb. Let's go."
[Sigh. I thought, The Kite Runner tucked under my arm with a chuckle...I should give it to her, the film is coming out soon.]
3.
"Its supposed to be really good. Man Sherlock Holmes is brilliant. Do you know why?" No pause, "He sees the things that aren't there. He sees whats missing."
"Yea, maybe."
"Com'on you can tell its good! Look at it."
Look at the book in stunned silence.
"Thats how you find a good book at a used bookstore. If its all beat up, you know its been read lots."
[Other possibilities, it was written in 1986, published on crappy paper, with weak glue, and low grade ink, and it has moved from from some English speaking country to Korea, in someones carry-on. Or its been read by people like me, with a propensity for throwing books that are upsetting, crappy, uninteresting or full of plot holes. I'm sorry to say my copy of The Kite Runner now looks like a good book to read.]
4.
"I like to pick up a bunch of books then decide which one I want, I usually walk out of here with nothing, to be perfectly honest."
[So long as you put back those "bunch of books" where you found them, so those of us who usually walk out with a months supply can find them.]
If there is one thing I really miss about living in an country where I can understand what stranger are talking about, its listening to the nonsense that we strangers say everyday.
"I mean, look at our fucking society!" Standing in front of the pop culture rack this late-twenty something exclaimed to his friend, "Fucking pregnant, pregnant, suspected pregnant, just had, broke up, broke down, broke out, got engaged, got divorced; this is our generation man and it sucks."
"Yea, i know what you mean. Look at this rubbish"
[Now, I suggest you take one step to your left, take a look at the alternative culture rack, Bitch, AdBusters; or two steps to the left for The New Yorker, Time, National Geographic. Or maybe turn around and se a tiny underground bookstore in the heart of Seoul packed with 20-30 something foreigners looking for something else to read on a Sunday afternoon. Yea, you're going to get a rather skewed and depressing perspective of our culture and generation if you judge it by the tabloid section. Open your eyes a little, delay judgement a moment, get a perspective from the girl behind you.]
2.
"I can't find the book I'm looking for, and its pissing me off," she claimed, her harsh south-central American accent grating against her sinus congestion.
"What book is that?" Her friend inquired, though I'm sure the question wasn't needed for the answer to come forth.
"The Kite Runner."
"Why do you want to read it, the film is coming out soon."
"Its just interesting the way things connect. Like the Russians in the 70s and now everyone in Afghanistan. Whatever. The computer says its here, but i can't see it. This is dumb. Let's go."
[Sigh. I thought, The Kite Runner tucked under my arm with a chuckle...I should give it to her, the film is coming out soon.]
3.
"Its supposed to be really good. Man Sherlock Holmes is brilliant. Do you know why?" No pause, "He sees the things that aren't there. He sees whats missing."
"Yea, maybe."
"Com'on you can tell its good! Look at it."
Look at the book in stunned silence.
"Thats how you find a good book at a used bookstore. If its all beat up, you know its been read lots."
[Other possibilities, it was written in 1986, published on crappy paper, with weak glue, and low grade ink, and it has moved from from some English speaking country to Korea, in someones carry-on. Or its been read by people like me, with a propensity for throwing books that are upsetting, crappy, uninteresting or full of plot holes. I'm sorry to say my copy of The Kite Runner now looks like a good book to read.]
4.
"I like to pick up a bunch of books then decide which one I want, I usually walk out of here with nothing, to be perfectly honest."
[So long as you put back those "bunch of books" where you found them, so those of us who usually walk out with a months supply can find them.]
If there is one thing I really miss about living in an country where I can understand what stranger are talking about, its listening to the nonsense that we strangers say everyday.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Smoking: I just don't get it.
A UK health advisory body "Health England" has proposed that smokers should require a permit in order to buy cigarettes. The permit could cost £10 and would need to be renewed annually. It would require completing an application form and supplying a photo. Health England suggests that the permit process would help deter first time smokers, and would aid those who want to quit smoking in quitting by making it that much more difficult to get cigarettes.
There are so many mind-boggling plot holes in this lovely idea its just wonderful. First, the people proposing it suggest the form will be highly complex, perhaps this could be seen as a form of discrimination against those of lower literacy levels. Second, you think tobacco taxation is bad in Canada, its batty in the UK. A pack of smoke that will cost $9 in Canada will cost £9 in the UK...ie $21 CDN. So on top of paying outrageous levels of tax their will be an additional annual fee, which HE claim will go to NHS, to help bolster the system, but surely the cost of developing and implementing the system, then of enforcing it will cost far more than the £10 surcharge. What about elderly people, like my grandmother, who barely can leave their houses, how will they register each year? At this time in her life, the negative health impacts of quitting might be more than her system could handle...is such a proposal discriminating against people in her situation. What about foreigners, who come for vacations in England for a week or two or three...will they have to pay ten-quid and get an id card, will their be exceptions...or will they be expected to give up smoking for the duration of their stay in England?
HE suggests that it is necessary to have tight controls on tobacco, but to be honest it seems absurd. I think many Muslim states have it right, just ban it...if its such a monstrous thing. I think a more logical step is much like the steps taken in Canada around alcohol. Take it out of stores. Don't cell cigarettes at every venue in the country. Have Tobacconists and thats the only place you can buy it, that makes it more difficult to get cigarettes, and enforces a tighter control to keep younger cohorts away from the drug. It also centralizes profits from tobacco sales, so only the government makes money from it, then the money can be appropriately directed towards NHS.
Or maybe, if we really believe that cigarettes are harmful to health, the energy should be put into putting pressure on cigarette companies, to produce less toxic products. Ban preservatives in cigarettes, ban the use of glue on the paper, enforce the use or organic locally grown tobacco, enforce the use of non-toxic filters, either cotton or recycled paper-fiber. If the government is really so concerned over the health impacts of cigarettes, then why not put effort and energy into reshaping how the drug is retailed, rather than continually punishing the consumer.
Personally, I agree there is more that can be done to help burn tobacco companies out of our lives, but i think that it has a lot to do with ignoring them. Rather than wasting money contriving new and exotic forms of punishment, create more real, tangible and realistic rewards for those who refrain. Scholarships for kids who have never had a smoke; discounts on food for people who don't buy cigarettes; taxbreaks for families that are committed to smoke free living. Why not?
There are so many mind-boggling plot holes in this lovely idea its just wonderful. First, the people proposing it suggest the form will be highly complex, perhaps this could be seen as a form of discrimination against those of lower literacy levels. Second, you think tobacco taxation is bad in Canada, its batty in the UK. A pack of smoke that will cost $9 in Canada will cost £9 in the UK...ie $21 CDN. So on top of paying outrageous levels of tax their will be an additional annual fee, which HE claim will go to NHS, to help bolster the system, but surely the cost of developing and implementing the system, then of enforcing it will cost far more than the £10 surcharge. What about elderly people, like my grandmother, who barely can leave their houses, how will they register each year? At this time in her life, the negative health impacts of quitting might be more than her system could handle...is such a proposal discriminating against people in her situation. What about foreigners, who come for vacations in England for a week or two or three...will they have to pay ten-quid and get an id card, will their be exceptions...or will they be expected to give up smoking for the duration of their stay in England?
HE suggests that it is necessary to have tight controls on tobacco, but to be honest it seems absurd. I think many Muslim states have it right, just ban it...if its such a monstrous thing. I think a more logical step is much like the steps taken in Canada around alcohol. Take it out of stores. Don't cell cigarettes at every venue in the country. Have Tobacconists and thats the only place you can buy it, that makes it more difficult to get cigarettes, and enforces a tighter control to keep younger cohorts away from the drug. It also centralizes profits from tobacco sales, so only the government makes money from it, then the money can be appropriately directed towards NHS.
Or maybe, if we really believe that cigarettes are harmful to health, the energy should be put into putting pressure on cigarette companies, to produce less toxic products. Ban preservatives in cigarettes, ban the use of glue on the paper, enforce the use or organic locally grown tobacco, enforce the use of non-toxic filters, either cotton or recycled paper-fiber. If the government is really so concerned over the health impacts of cigarettes, then why not put effort and energy into reshaping how the drug is retailed, rather than continually punishing the consumer.
Personally, I agree there is more that can be done to help burn tobacco companies out of our lives, but i think that it has a lot to do with ignoring them. Rather than wasting money contriving new and exotic forms of punishment, create more real, tangible and realistic rewards for those who refrain. Scholarships for kids who have never had a smoke; discounts on food for people who don't buy cigarettes; taxbreaks for families that are committed to smoke free living. Why not?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Touchy Subject
The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
A difficult time we are in: has been so many years since the Olympics were held in a controversial location we are not entirely sure what to do about it? Maybe we should remember the mission of the games...I know some people are leary of China, mostly out of pure ignorance, having no clue what goes on in the "Far East." [Its scary to not know] But well, these games are filling with touchy debates about things that have little to do with the games.
England is currently working on the Team Members Agreement, in which they want athletes to agree not to make politically sensitive comments or gestures during the games. Supposedly this is either because England is afraid of tarnishing its business relationships with China, or perhaps a more sinister fear that something might happen to its athletes should they speak harshly of their hosts. Of course Human Rights activists are upset about such a move, as it is their intention to use the games as a time to highlight China's human rights violations, and lack of intervention in Darfur, and suggest that moves like the possible anti-political speeche clause in the TMA is not only a violation of the freedom of speech, but also shows cowardice on the part of the UK in facing the ongoing problems in China.
Now Steven Spielberg has pulled out as an artistic advisor (i guess that means no aliens in the show this year) citing his conscience can't allow him to participate, when their are global catastorphies and human rights violations going on. [There is a little known film with animated puppets called "Team America" that sheds some interesting light on the role of actors and movie types in politics]
I'm not sure why we think that on one hand we can award the games to a country, and then think that is excuse enough to chastise and criticize the country into changing to be more like US. Who are we anyway?
While it is clear that it is probably problematic to force athletes or anyone to agree to be a-political during the games, perhaps it is an unfounded fear. The amount of physical, mental, emotional focus that an athlete needs to put into competing at an Olympic Game, should be enough, why would a government want to deliberately add more pressure to athletes by giving them reason to fear their behaviour could have them booted off the team. It's understandable, many democratic governments are nervous about what will happen when China welcomes the world this summer, but let's not forget the spirit of the games, and the motivation for reviving and for participating in them. It is not the athletes who need to be signing agreements to just play their sport... really its a move that creates unnecessary tension for athletes without doing anything to either promote open political dialogue with China about its human rights record...Further, why are we suddenly so concerned and putting all this pressure on China? Because the games are going to be there? That's silly. Human rights are an ever present and ongoing concern, YOU DON'T NEED A REASON TO BULLY SOMEONE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS. They are on their own, sufficient reason.
I'm glad Mr. Spielberg has a conscience. But how does his pulling out from participating in the games in any way going to benefit those persecuted in China, or the outrage that rages on in Sudan? If anything his actions further alientate the West and close means of creating meaningful and productive paths of communication.
There was an interesting debate about Canada's business relationship with China, maybe a year ago. Canadians were up set that we were doing business with a country with human rights violations (which i think is a bit posh to begin...but anyway). In the debate, the minister said we cannot do anything about problems in another nation,if we have no relationship with that nation. If we are not friends or partners in some respect, how can we even begin to talk about a nations problems.
But then it is in the Olympic charter that the mission of the Olympic movement is to place sport at the service of humanity, and thereby promote peace, to act against discrimination. So i guess its difficult (my new favourite word). Perhaps it is right to tarnish the sport in favour of the other political agendas that are catching fire on all sides. Perhaps.
A difficult time we are in: has been so many years since the Olympics were held in a controversial location we are not entirely sure what to do about it? Maybe we should remember the mission of the games...I know some people are leary of China, mostly out of pure ignorance, having no clue what goes on in the "Far East." [Its scary to not know] But well, these games are filling with touchy debates about things that have little to do with the games.
England is currently working on the Team Members Agreement, in which they want athletes to agree not to make politically sensitive comments or gestures during the games. Supposedly this is either because England is afraid of tarnishing its business relationships with China, or perhaps a more sinister fear that something might happen to its athletes should they speak harshly of their hosts. Of course Human Rights activists are upset about such a move, as it is their intention to use the games as a time to highlight China's human rights violations, and lack of intervention in Darfur, and suggest that moves like the possible anti-political speeche clause in the TMA is not only a violation of the freedom of speech, but also shows cowardice on the part of the UK in facing the ongoing problems in China.
Now Steven Spielberg has pulled out as an artistic advisor (i guess that means no aliens in the show this year) citing his conscience can't allow him to participate, when their are global catastorphies and human rights violations going on. [There is a little known film with animated puppets called "Team America" that sheds some interesting light on the role of actors and movie types in politics]
I'm not sure why we think that on one hand we can award the games to a country, and then think that is excuse enough to chastise and criticize the country into changing to be more like US. Who are we anyway?
While it is clear that it is probably problematic to force athletes or anyone to agree to be a-political during the games, perhaps it is an unfounded fear. The amount of physical, mental, emotional focus that an athlete needs to put into competing at an Olympic Game, should be enough, why would a government want to deliberately add more pressure to athletes by giving them reason to fear their behaviour could have them booted off the team. It's understandable, many democratic governments are nervous about what will happen when China welcomes the world this summer, but let's not forget the spirit of the games, and the motivation for reviving and for participating in them. It is not the athletes who need to be signing agreements to just play their sport... really its a move that creates unnecessary tension for athletes without doing anything to either promote open political dialogue with China about its human rights record...Further, why are we suddenly so concerned and putting all this pressure on China? Because the games are going to be there? That's silly. Human rights are an ever present and ongoing concern, YOU DON'T NEED A REASON TO BULLY SOMEONE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS. They are on their own, sufficient reason.
I'm glad Mr. Spielberg has a conscience. But how does his pulling out from participating in the games in any way going to benefit those persecuted in China, or the outrage that rages on in Sudan? If anything his actions further alientate the West and close means of creating meaningful and productive paths of communication.
There was an interesting debate about Canada's business relationship with China, maybe a year ago. Canadians were up set that we were doing business with a country with human rights violations (which i think is a bit posh to begin...but anyway). In the debate, the minister said we cannot do anything about problems in another nation,if we have no relationship with that nation. If we are not friends or partners in some respect, how can we even begin to talk about a nations problems.
But then it is in the Olympic charter that the mission of the Olympic movement is to place sport at the service of humanity, and thereby promote peace, to act against discrimination. So i guess its difficult (my new favourite word). Perhaps it is right to tarnish the sport in favour of the other political agendas that are catching fire on all sides. Perhaps.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Home Sweet Homeish
Wow, what an adventure. So I'm back from Japan! Totally sweet and wicked. Way better than the trip in September. I guess the stress of trying to function without being able to speak the language or communicate directly is becoming more and more apparent to me, and I guess I'm learning about being the linguistic minority (weird for an English speaker, but I must say a life lesson in patience). It's an interesting position though, working on different ways to communicate. Through infinitive verbs and gestures. Writing things down, carrying maps all these secondary communicative tools become primary. Then learning to speak in a simplified English. Shorter sentences, simpler tenses, basic adjectives, slow down, emulate Japanese pronunciation.
Anyway. Here's a sense of where i was, in a quiet mountain town. It snowed like a bastard. about 45 cm my second day there. And how do they handle the snow...not with salt, as that would damage the rice fields, nope...they use water. Even though it snows like a bastard, the temperatures rarely go below 0 C. So they have sprinklers basically, that run water to melt the snow and wash it away.
But i went to visit Nate's host family. The father is a 5th generation vinegar maker. Amazing! The factory is attached to the house (although now he has a second factory for the fermenting and bottling processes). Really amazing tour. Then great temaki...i had temaki twice, and maki three times...now I'm super sad to be in Korea where sushi is usually with kimchi and not fish :(
Also listened to some killer jazz. Built a tobogganing hill, even though the village is surrounded by mountains on all sides, the mountains don't really have any good sled runs.
Even the lack of heating in the houses was a small trifle, it was cold...don't get me wrong, but somehow a pleasant cold. I know i couldn't stand it back in Canada, but i suppose that is the difference when temperatures don't go below 0, or maybe at night get down to -5. Anyway, anyone traveling in Japan, a strongly suggest you forgo the big cities, for little Fukui prefecture. It's just a lovely little hideaway in what I had always thought of as a country of metropolitan cities stretching across the expanses.
Anyway. Here's a sense of where i was, in a quiet mountain town. It snowed like a bastard. about 45 cm my second day there. And how do they handle the snow...not with salt, as that would damage the rice fields, nope...they use water. Even though it snows like a bastard, the temperatures rarely go below 0 C. So they have sprinklers basically, that run water to melt the snow and wash it away.
But i went to visit Nate's host family. The father is a 5th generation vinegar maker. Amazing! The factory is attached to the house (although now he has a second factory for the fermenting and bottling processes). Really amazing tour. Then great temaki...i had temaki twice, and maki three times...now I'm super sad to be in Korea where sushi is usually with kimchi and not fish :(Also listened to some killer jazz. Built a tobogganing hill, even though the village is surrounded by mountains on all sides, the mountains don't really have any good sled runs.
Even the lack of heating in the houses was a small trifle, it was cold...don't get me wrong, but somehow a pleasant cold. I know i couldn't stand it back in Canada, but i suppose that is the difference when temperatures don't go below 0, or maybe at night get down to -5. Anyway, anyone traveling in Japan, a strongly suggest you forgo the big cities, for little Fukui prefecture. It's just a lovely little hideaway in what I had always thought of as a country of metropolitan cities stretching across the expanses.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Now that's interesting
This morning when I arrived at work and did my regular peruse of different news agencies I frequent when bored at work, an startling article appeared. Now i don't really know anything about business. I wish I did (maybe i will have to learn now). Anyway, a French bank suffers from a rogue trader I suppose trading away 5bn euros of bank profits.
I didn't fully understand the article because 5bn euros seems like a lot of money, but the bank didn't seem to be too worried...at least not as it was reported. Well just now as I checked back to try and better understand the situation...one how does any one perhaps have the power to control 5bn euros, two why would someone do something like that, three what is the impact of such an act of fraud I read a headline "Bank uncovers $7bn fraud". I thought, oh the plot thickens. But no, the reporting agency (the same one I read the first article at) had just changed the original article so the amount was reported in American dollars instead of Euros. Press...that is not your job! It was Euros that were lost, report the lost Euros, don't try to inflate emotions by misleading readers. Grr it makes me upset. As a non-money type, a little help Media, would be nice. Perhaps explain what was this trader doing..."massive fraudulent directional positions in 2007 and 2008 beyond his limited authority"...what is a directional position...it sounds like a bet. but do banks bet...i guess, they must, even the weathermen bet to try and keep their inability to demonstrate and real predictive force of the weather afloat. How can you bet 5bn Euro...who would take that bet...im sure not the local bookers...
I'm worried about this, it seems like the cash system is more delicate than even i had imagined.But so what....what should we do.
Anyway, any of you businessy types, if you can suggest places to get laymans explanations on this story I would appreciate it.
I didn't fully understand the article because 5bn euros seems like a lot of money, but the bank didn't seem to be too worried...at least not as it was reported. Well just now as I checked back to try and better understand the situation...one how does any one perhaps have the power to control 5bn euros, two why would someone do something like that, three what is the impact of such an act of fraud I read a headline "Bank uncovers $7bn fraud". I thought, oh the plot thickens. But no, the reporting agency (the same one I read the first article at) had just changed the original article so the amount was reported in American dollars instead of Euros. Press...that is not your job! It was Euros that were lost, report the lost Euros, don't try to inflate emotions by misleading readers. Grr it makes me upset. As a non-money type, a little help Media, would be nice. Perhaps explain what was this trader doing..."massive fraudulent directional positions in 2007 and 2008 beyond his limited authority"...what is a directional position...it sounds like a bet. but do banks bet...i guess, they must, even the weathermen bet to try and keep their inability to demonstrate and real predictive force of the weather afloat. How can you bet 5bn Euro...who would take that bet...im sure not the local bookers...
I'm worried about this, it seems like the cash system is more delicate than even i had imagined.But so what....what should we do.
Anyway, any of you businessy types, if you can suggest places to get laymans explanations on this story I would appreciate it.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Gone with the wind on 'kite ship'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7205217.stm
Its as though, we forgot that ships used to be the greenest form of mass transport. I don't get it, check out the link for the full article, but look at the "kite" that is helping this ship...what happened to sails? Maybe i should do some research first. But I see this massive barge with a single kite to help if reduce fuel use.
I mean check out this barge from treasure planet, a remarkable ship that uses sails to catch galactic winds, the sails are made of a solar cell fabric, that catches solar radiation to supply a backup energy supply and uses a traditional furnace to keep transportation power consistent, supplying extra thrust when necessary.
And so far we have managed to add a kite.
Go team green. This is about as exciting as hydrogen cell fueled cars.
Its as though, we forgot that ships used to be the greenest form of mass transport. I don't get it, check out the link for the full article, but look at the "kite" that is helping this ship...what happened to sails? Maybe i should do some research first. But I see this massive barge with a single kite to help if reduce fuel use.
I mean check out this barge from treasure planet, a remarkable ship that uses sails to catch galactic winds, the sails are made of a solar cell fabric, that catches solar radiation to supply a backup energy supply and uses a traditional furnace to keep transportation power consistent, supplying extra thrust when necessary.
And so far we have managed to add a kite.
Go team green. This is about as exciting as hydrogen cell fueled cars.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Correctness
I received a very hurtful, but perhaps well intentioned forward today, and I'm not really sure what to do about it. Looking down the back links its been forwarded from friend to friend down a chain of born and bred Canadians. So perhaps as an immigrant I'm a bit touchy on the subject of what is and should be expected of people moving to countries like Canada, America and Australia. ie. English speaking colonies founded in the past 300 years largely by Christians and neo-Christian politicians looking to change and reshape European values. I had an easy time, having moved from and English speaking country with very close values to Canadian values, and having moved at a young age that I did most of my growing up in Canada.
The main belief supported by the forward (and alleged speech by John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia...though a quick google will show it is a highly edited shoddy fabrication of sound bites and clipped together and given under the name J.H.) is that because the colonies were founded by WASPs that it is good and right that the main moral, legal and cultural code should be that of the former WASP. It lays claims such as "We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society. Learn the language!" and "It is immigrants, not Australians that need to adapt."
When did the rules change? Did the founding immigrants of our countries adapt? Did they learn the language of the land they came to? Did they even speak English? (in the case of Canada) Did those who wrote our constitutions and who continue to REVISE our constitutions adapt to their setting, or bring about and insist on change? Change is the most necessary and most exciting part of life. And especially for those of us who live in the new world--in countries whose cultural legacy can be remembered in its entirety, whose countries are a diverse fabric of people bringing to that table what they can--it is our identity.
As Canadian working in South Korea, helping students practice and learn to speak English, and as a Canadian who had to take those painful 10 years of French classes, I have a sence about learning a language. 1. it takes time. 2. its not easy. 3. Its not necessary to function in a society. Our three countries have the amazing benefits of having people from all countries in the world living in them, this means we may well have speakers of close to every language in the world. We have amazing knowledge in that, amazing power for communitcation and community. So how can we be so pig-headed as to insist all new immigrants be fluent in English? Especially when there are ways to function in a native language through family, friends and community. Granted, I'm only a migrant worker and not an immigrant here, but I've learned to function in a society that speaks mainly Korean, that there are many ways to function without being able to speak, or with only the most rudementary knowledge. Its a matter of support and networks.
And this question of adapting. If Australians don't want to adapt anymore thats for them to decided, I for one hope i never stop adapting, I hope that those adaptations are mostly for the better--for the improvement of my condition and of those around me--I hope Canadians and Americans and Australians and Saudi Arabians, and Sri Lankans and Koreans and Indians and Pakistanis and Mongolians and Brazillians and Europeans (as a whole and in their individual cultures) and Eritrians and Kenyans and all the rest of everyone continue to change and adapt to the many new and exciting posibilities that are presented to them.
Now the root of the problem. Sharia Law. And I agree here with the position Australia took, with the position Ontario took and with the position that you obey and follow that law of the land. WHATEVER that law is. If that means no pot in Korean, that is the law, and we must obey it. If that means I cannot enter Libya until I'm married or without my father, that is the law I must obey. If that means I must cover my body entirely in Saudi Arabia, that is the law and I must obey. If that means I can pay for sex in Amsterdam but not in Sweden, so be it. Those are the laws of that land, and I am obliged to follow them. That's what a law is, we agree to follow them, that is how they help all of us. Also that as a citizen of a country you have the right to challenge, ammend, rewrite the law, to introduce new law and to have old laws removed. A great example of this is the announcement today that women in Saudi Arabia can now stay at a hotel alone. Recognizing the great limits on women in this culture this is an exciting move towards recognizing the road to gender equity. It seems small but its how we go about making our countries better places. The government also allowed that it would consider allowing women to drive. Again, bit by bit we see who a government is moving to adapt to changing times, to better serve its citizens and to allow its citizens to better serve the government.
If there are laws in Sharia Law that can be used by all Canadians then it is for those citizens best versed in these laws to help bring them to legislation. Where we as a nation can decided if this is a law for our nation. But yes, in a country there is only one law and it applies in the same way to all citizens in that country. But that doesn't mean that we turn our backs on everything immigrants bring to their new homes.
Its scary how the rhetoric of things like this so easily sweeps us up, makes us forget to think for ourselves, to reflect on how much we owe our immigrant parents/grandparents who put up with the racist shit, so that we could have an easy life in these countries.
Which brings me to the title of this entry: correctness. Not political correctness. Political Correctness is not saying what you mean so as not to offend or exclude anyone. While its a practice that upsets many people because it reduces our ability to express our feelings and opinions, its a dangerous practice because it marrs the more important practice of correctness. That is speaking in ways that are considerate of the fact that we don't know everything, we can't take everything into account all the time, its also a way of speaking that is forgiving of difference, that helps us to recognize that we are all strangers trying to build this dream of a world that works, fully. I think it is blind, selfish and pig-headed to insist that the way things have been is the way things always will be. Instead of spending our energy writing and propegating hate speech, we should be working on solutions; rather than laying blame on the new guy, we should be working to recognize the problem; rather than engaging in empty rhetoric that affirms division of societies, that insists on the continued antagonism of different cultures, we should be opening our hearts and minds and affirming our beliefs while listening to new beliefs.
The main belief supported by the forward (and alleged speech by John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia...though a quick google will show it is a highly edited shoddy fabrication of sound bites and clipped together and given under the name J.H.) is that because the colonies were founded by WASPs that it is good and right that the main moral, legal and cultural code should be that of the former WASP. It lays claims such as "We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society. Learn the language!" and "It is immigrants, not Australians that need to adapt."
When did the rules change? Did the founding immigrants of our countries adapt? Did they learn the language of the land they came to? Did they even speak English? (in the case of Canada) Did those who wrote our constitutions and who continue to REVISE our constitutions adapt to their setting, or bring about and insist on change? Change is the most necessary and most exciting part of life. And especially for those of us who live in the new world--in countries whose cultural legacy can be remembered in its entirety, whose countries are a diverse fabric of people bringing to that table what they can--it is our identity.
As Canadian working in South Korea, helping students practice and learn to speak English, and as a Canadian who had to take those painful 10 years of French classes, I have a sence about learning a language. 1. it takes time. 2. its not easy. 3. Its not necessary to function in a society. Our three countries have the amazing benefits of having people from all countries in the world living in them, this means we may well have speakers of close to every language in the world. We have amazing knowledge in that, amazing power for communitcation and community. So how can we be so pig-headed as to insist all new immigrants be fluent in English? Especially when there are ways to function in a native language through family, friends and community. Granted, I'm only a migrant worker and not an immigrant here, but I've learned to function in a society that speaks mainly Korean, that there are many ways to function without being able to speak, or with only the most rudementary knowledge. Its a matter of support and networks.
And this question of adapting. If Australians don't want to adapt anymore thats for them to decided, I for one hope i never stop adapting, I hope that those adaptations are mostly for the better--for the improvement of my condition and of those around me--I hope Canadians and Americans and Australians and Saudi Arabians, and Sri Lankans and Koreans and Indians and Pakistanis and Mongolians and Brazillians and Europeans (as a whole and in their individual cultures) and Eritrians and Kenyans and all the rest of everyone continue to change and adapt to the many new and exciting posibilities that are presented to them.
Now the root of the problem. Sharia Law. And I agree here with the position Australia took, with the position Ontario took and with the position that you obey and follow that law of the land. WHATEVER that law is. If that means no pot in Korean, that is the law, and we must obey it. If that means I cannot enter Libya until I'm married or without my father, that is the law I must obey. If that means I must cover my body entirely in Saudi Arabia, that is the law and I must obey. If that means I can pay for sex in Amsterdam but not in Sweden, so be it. Those are the laws of that land, and I am obliged to follow them. That's what a law is, we agree to follow them, that is how they help all of us. Also that as a citizen of a country you have the right to challenge, ammend, rewrite the law, to introduce new law and to have old laws removed. A great example of this is the announcement today that women in Saudi Arabia can now stay at a hotel alone. Recognizing the great limits on women in this culture this is an exciting move towards recognizing the road to gender equity. It seems small but its how we go about making our countries better places. The government also allowed that it would consider allowing women to drive. Again, bit by bit we see who a government is moving to adapt to changing times, to better serve its citizens and to allow its citizens to better serve the government.
If there are laws in Sharia Law that can be used by all Canadians then it is for those citizens best versed in these laws to help bring them to legislation. Where we as a nation can decided if this is a law for our nation. But yes, in a country there is only one law and it applies in the same way to all citizens in that country. But that doesn't mean that we turn our backs on everything immigrants bring to their new homes.
Its scary how the rhetoric of things like this so easily sweeps us up, makes us forget to think for ourselves, to reflect on how much we owe our immigrant parents/grandparents who put up with the racist shit, so that we could have an easy life in these countries.
Which brings me to the title of this entry: correctness. Not political correctness. Political Correctness is not saying what you mean so as not to offend or exclude anyone. While its a practice that upsets many people because it reduces our ability to express our feelings and opinions, its a dangerous practice because it marrs the more important practice of correctness. That is speaking in ways that are considerate of the fact that we don't know everything, we can't take everything into account all the time, its also a way of speaking that is forgiving of difference, that helps us to recognize that we are all strangers trying to build this dream of a world that works, fully. I think it is blind, selfish and pig-headed to insist that the way things have been is the way things always will be. Instead of spending our energy writing and propegating hate speech, we should be working on solutions; rather than laying blame on the new guy, we should be working to recognize the problem; rather than engaging in empty rhetoric that affirms division of societies, that insists on the continued antagonism of different cultures, we should be opening our hearts and minds and affirming our beliefs while listening to new beliefs.
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