News Stories

[germanturkey]

there's no arguing that the Chinese Mother is a very effective type of parenting. I wouldn't be half the person i am without such an upbringing. People are too afraid of hurting self esteem. you need to fail, and you need to understand that you failed in order to be better.

also

[flying ^]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

USA in 2030

[ganbaru]

Prosecutor files Hariri indictment in Lebanon crisis
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70G4EH20110118

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

there's no arguing that the Chinese Mother is a very effective type of parenting. I wouldn't be half the person i am without such an upbringing. People are too afraid of hurting self esteem. you need to fail, and you need to understand that you failed in order to be better.

also

Not to the extent of completely destroying self-esteem until the kid is afraid of trying something new. Discipline is a necessity, but the tiger mother is the type that bolsters' self-interest first rather than the child's future.

Know anything about "tai-tais"? Those wives of the super-rich who put personal image before their kids' future : any profession deviating from lawyer or doctor or businessman results in Ranger school - I was once acquainted with a Guardsman Ranger serving in the Army Developmental Force who came from a very well-to-do background, and that force usually take in societal outcasts and give them a chance in life.

[germanturkey]

actually, a tai tai is like a pushy mother in law. more along those lines. self esteem is never wreaked to the point where they don't want to try something else though. its lowered, but lowering it spurs the child to do better. because the mentality that's ingrained in them is, "i don't want to be a failure."

doing the Chinese mother to the extreme is not a good idea, but going 70, 80, 90% of the way is a good thing. can you imagine a society where everyone is a hard worker, doesn't accept failure, strives to do everything the best they can and knows what is good and bad for themselves? i would kill to live in a society like that.

[Ithekro]

Problem is, not everyone can be a success. There is always a second place. It is one thing to want to get better, but it is something else to call failure for not being perfect. Nothing is perfect.

[ganbaru]

Review finds ‘disturbingly higher’ incidence of child sex abuse in defence community
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1873910/

[Simon]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

This is an interesting take on President Hu's visit, if only because it's so defensive (not surprising when you read the author's credentials at the bottom of the article). IMO it makes one glaring mistake though: even if the reality of US power hasn't changed, global perceptions of it certainly have. Which in diplomacy counts for a lot.

And now for something completely different: Berlusconi's at it again. Is it just me or does the coverage sound slightly envious of the old lecher?

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

.

also

Finally, the US learns its new place at the global table: subservient to its creditor.
And on the BBC article: It's a reflection on how misguided the UK is. The UK has transformed from the world's largest empire to the lapdog of the US, along with Anglophone Canada (which obviously, doesn't include Quebec). It's time the West woke up and realise that the power balance has moved right across the Pacific into the hands of China and India.

Singapore is well-poised to be the middle-man here, if not for Malaysia's massive Iskandar something. And surprisingly, the other obstacle is the Riau Triangle, which creates a rather large backdoor for Singapore funds to flow into Indonesia, alnog with above mentioned Malaysia.
If there is any way Japan can recover, it would be by playing middleman between Russia and China. BIG HINT HERE, Naoto Kan!

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Not to the extent of completely destroying self-esteem until the kid is afraid of trying something new. Discipline is a necessity, but the tiger mother is the type that bolsters' self-interest first rather than the child's future.

Know anything about "tai-tais"? Those wives of the super-rich who put personal image before their kids' future : any profession deviating from lawyer or doctor or businessman results in Ranger school - I was once acquainted with a Guardsman Ranger serving in the Army Developmental Force who came from a very well-to-do background, and that force usually take in societal outcasts and give them a chance in life.

Originally Posted by germanturkey

actually, a tai tai is like a pushy mother in law. more along those lines. self esteem is never wreaked to the point where they don't want to try something else though. its lowered, but lowering it spurs the child to do better. because the mentality that's ingrained in them is, "i don't want to be a failure."

doing the Chinese mother to the extreme is not a good idea, but going 70, 80, 90% of the way is a good thing. can you imagine a society where everyone is a hard worker, doesn't accept failure, strives to do everything the best they can and knows what is good and bad for themselves? i would kill to live in a society like that.

As in everything, excesses - in one direction or the other - are bad. As in everything involving human beings, where the sweet spot actually is depends of the case.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Talking about excesses...

Starbucks upsizes drink sizes

Published: 1:54PM Tuesday January 18, 2011 Source: TVNZ ONE News

The world's biggest coffee company, Starbucks, will introduce an even bigger sized beverage than the "Venti", rolling out the 31-ounce (922 ml) "Trenta" to selected states in the US this week.

Starbucks says the Trenta, which means 30 in Italian, will be 31 ounces and cost about 50 cents more than the Venti size.

It will only be available for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks.

The new cups will be introduced in 14 US states and a nationwide rollout should be complete by May.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the expansion comes after the chain tested the 31-ounce cup in several markets last year, saying it was responding to customer demand for larger cold beverages.

More details from

New York TImes:

An iced Trenta coffee costs $3.30, and an iced Trenta tea goes for $2.60.

Starbucks spokeswoman Sanja Gould says one of the unsweetened Trentas has less than five calories. "But even a sweetened iced coffee or tea in a Trenta cup would be less than 200 calories," she says.

And from BusinessWeek:

Iced drinks of similar size already are available at the Seattle-based coffeemaker's competitors Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's.

And The Guardian (UK) calls it a "bucket".


Some images:

This is what a Trenta looks like:

From: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/01...ze-the-trenta/

Ellen Degeneres has something to say about it.

A final picture:

Also from : http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/01...ze-the-trenta/

Anyways, doesn't affect me, I only buy frappes from 'em.

EDIT: For a sense of comparison, the US Gulp is 20 oz (591ml), the size of the Venti above.

The US "Super Big" Gulp is ~40 oz (1.3L), the Double Gulp at ~60 oz (1.9L), and that's twice the size of the Trenta. The college favourite, the Xtreme Gulp in a plastic bucket, comes in at about ~50 oz (1.5L), the size of a PET bottle.

Well, SBUX, THIS IS NOT a call to copy likewise!

[ganbaru]

North Korea spends about a third of income on military
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70H1BW20110118

[yezhanquan]

Now, this is interesting. Now that the article mentions it, it actually makes some sense.

Pakistan’s Failure to Hit Militant Sanctuary Has Positive Side for U.S.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Over to Japan, I think this is a possible road to recovery for Japan.

Leading in 3-D TV, Breaking Japan’s Glass Ceiling


And back to the monster Trenta, might as well have called it a Quart or Liter, at least it'd be ENGLISH for once... ;P

[Ithekro]

For coffee, liter and quart don't sound fancy with all the various coffee and tea names they use.

[AnimeFan188]

"Just last month, the Energy Department more than doubled estimates of
recoverable shale reserves to 827 trillion cubic feet, the energy equivalent of
roughly 140 billion barrels of oil. That’s slightly greater than the proven oil
reserves of Iran, the world’s third largest repository of crude."

See:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/bu...q=swann&st=cse

[flying ^]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

Finally, the US learns its new place at the global table: subservient to its creditor.

Worst case scenario #1
They won't have to come after us directly. They'll go after some of our weaker-kneed allies and trading partners first, demanding trading concessions and seizing overseas assets where possible. The process will move slowly at first, but snowball as time passes. Hell, a lot of people in the west won't know or understand what is happening, until it is too far advanced to stop.

Worst case scenario #2
In the eventuality of the collapse of the West European and U.S. economies the Chinese might well see it as a golden opportunity to profit from our misfortune. With west's inability to pay its debts the Chinese would demand trade concessions, the liquidation of assets, the transfer ownership of raw mineral mining rights, and the right to establish military bases in strategic areas around the world. If these concessions are not granted willingly, I believe that the "Communist" Chinese government will be perfectly willing to use military force to gain them through intimidation or conflict, on a small scale at first, but on a greater scale as their might grows and their technology improves.

They could well end up "owning" the world!

[ganbaru]

Vatican letter urged Irish bishops not to report sex-abuse cases to police
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1874533/
They haven't learned yet...

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Vatican letter urged Irish bishops not to report sex-abuse cases to police
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1874533/
They haven't learned yet...

Er, ganbaru, that letter was written in 1997. But, it does damn the claims of not having a cover-up.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

For coffee, liter and quart don't sound fancy with all the various coffee and tea names they use.

Look, I took Grade 8 Music theory years ago, and it was chock full of Italian. Still, I INSIST on pronouncing Venti as 20. I'll just call the Trenta 30.

Originally Posted by flying ^

Worst case scenario #1
They won't have to come after us directly. They'll go after some of our weaker-kneed allies and trading partners first,

Wrong term. It's not "weaker-kneed", it's quicker to adapt and profit.

Originally Posted by flying ^

demanding trading concessions and seizing overseas assets where possible. The process will move slowly at first, but snowball as time passes. Hell, a lot of people in the west won't know or understand what is happening, until it is too far advanced to stop.


Worst case scenario #2
In the eventuality of the collapse of the West European and U.S. economies the Chinese might well see it as a golden opportunity to profit from our misfortune. With west's inability to pay its debts the Chinese would demand trade concessions, the liquidation of assets, the transfer ownership of raw mineral mining rights, and the right to establish military bases in strategic areas around the world. If these concessions are not granted willingly, I believe that the "Communist" Chinese government will be perfectly willing to use military force to gain them through intimidation or conflict, on a small scale at first, but on a greater scale as their might grows and their technology improves.

中华人民共和国万岁！ Finally my Higher Chinese can come into use!