2010-01-13, 12:30 | Link #5381 | ||||||
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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But I like the story, small and seemingly innocuous though it is, because of all the various sociological insights and questions it poses: 1) The very fact that a Cabinet minister saw the need for a law to allow women to keep their maiden surnames after marriage illuminates the extent to which the status of women in Japan has changed relative to men. 2) The fact that Japan is debating how children should be named suggests profound demographic shifts in the country, especially in terms of the stability of marriages. More likely than not, divorced couples have become an established norm, just as in many developed countries, along with the associated effects this would have on children. 3) That this demographic trend is occurring in a country with a long, Confucian-inspired, tradition in family values ought to raise concern for other similar countries in East Asia. The West has come to accept failed marriages as a norm — this is not yet the case for many East Asian countries. 4) Finally, the story says interesting things about how the Japanese would identify themselves in the future. Things have become more complicated as the traditions that their society has lived by for centuries dissolve in the face of diverse sociological changes. The story may also have particular resonance for Singaporeans, as my country has just passed a law this week allowing children of a mixed-race marriage to take on a double-barrelled race. Most Singaporeans are likely to appreciate the change even though they recognise it to be a mere paper formality. It says a lot about the increasing diversity of ethnicity in a country swamped by a massive influx of immigrants in recent years, and about its people's increasing open-mindedness about how ethnicity — and, hence, personal identity — should be defined. So, it's a simple story, yes, but as the saying goes: "Journalism is the first rough draft of history." It's the little things like these that future historians would one day be poring over in some dusty archive. |
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2010-01-13, 19:45 | Link #5382 |
Aspiring Aspirer
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Ah yes, short sellers, the worst kind of "investors" ever. Making a profit, and not even contributing to the economic cycle; fuck yea, totally helpful.
I don't think that China is going to burst anytime soon, like India, its an economic powerhouse, and is progressively improving quickly, but possessing a large population (And eventually a large highly qualified and highly educated population) it's not by any means liable to some risks other countries may have (Like how all of the skilled workers in Canada moving down South). It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.
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2010-01-13, 20:07 | Link #5383 | |||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PMB Headquarters
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Hundreds of thousands feared dead in Haiti quake
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2010-01-13, 20:17 | Link #5384 |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
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^I heard this on the news today. Pretty shocking. The preliminary reports on the damage are immense.
Here's hoping that relief efforts will begin in earnest, especially to rescue those still trapped within the ruins of Port-au-Prince and other places. |
2010-01-14, 00:13 | Link #5385 |
NePoi!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 43
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The Governor-General here in Canada, Michaëlle Jean, is originally from Haiti - and she was tearing up as she spoke about the tragedy.
It's gonna be a long road to recovery...
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2010-01-14, 03:11 | Link #5386 | |
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2006
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While everyone is pushing to get relief in, the real problems are going to involve picking up the pieces of a roughly 9 million people nation that just lost what little it had. Who picks up the tab for rebuilding? Who will stay involved with helping them get back on their feet? Those are going to be tough questions with even tougher answers after the end of the week. Search and rescue efforts are going to turn into corpse retrieval in a few days, but what nations are going to stay and help and what nations are going to scale back after the immediate relief has been handled?
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2010-01-14, 07:04 | Link #5387 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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What investors can actually do, is to build factories and homes. Both sides win because it create jobs and shelter at a relatively low cost, which means larger profits for the factory-owners and their companies. With the ground already leveled, costs can be saved for de-ruralisation, and I am sure the locals would be happy to welcome new homes and a place to work in rather than picking through rubbish piles for scraps everyday. Container homes/schools are fast to put down and can last for quite some time, they just need interior refurbishment. So instead of pitching tentages like every other retarded disaster relief force, while not better the lives of these people who have never had a stable luxury of a proper shelter? Disaster relief in poor countries are long term endeavours, as compared to developed/ing ones. Tackling it in a different strategy might yield gains.
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2010-01-14, 08:18 | Link #5388 | |
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It's true that if investments there are successful, things would be much better for the population. They would have shelter in the form of company housing, medical care, you name it. But it's going to take a miracle and more funds than even Bill Gates in the 90's could imagine. Who'se going to supply that money? Especially now when the vast majority of world super powers are in debt? Most people will be reluctant to chip in what they have. |
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2010-01-14, 08:50 | Link #5389 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Age: 44
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I think Haiti now is at stone age. Whatever they had is gone. I heard they don't have forest anymore because they chopped all down for wood. X died from initial earthquake. Y will die because of injuries since no hospitals of what so ever. Z will die from disease because whatever infrastructure to prevent it is gone.
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2010-01-14, 09:33 | Link #5390 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
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In 206 years Haiti has had: 2 Emperors 1 King 64 Presidents, almost none were elected in fair elections and even fewer served their entire term in office. |
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2010-01-14, 09:59 | Link #5391 | |
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2010-01-14, 10:39 | Link #5392 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PMB Headquarters
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S. Korea foreign minister calls for 'harmonious' Futemma settlement
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2010-01-14, 23:54 | Link #5393 | ||||
Shougi Génération
Graphic Designer
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Google has some serious balls, and I for one, am appalled at the Chinese government. This is why we fought revolutions for democracy. No free elections, propaganda, censorship. I can't believe I even wanted to live in China, once upon a time. Not on my dead body.
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2010-01-15, 04:07 | Link #5394 | ||
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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The Google.cn issue seems to be rather marginalised and tilted towards the Western world.
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2010-01-15, 04:19 | Link #5395 | |
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2010-01-15, 05:46 | Link #5396 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2008
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2010-01-15, 05:52 | Link #5397 |
The AnimeSuki Pet kitten
IT Support
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I still don't assume the upkeep for such an operation is going to materialise out of nowhere, is it? It'll be interesting to see how much further the US digs itself a hole, but when I think about it, how much did it cost the American Taxpayer for each day US troops spent in Iraq?
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2010-01-15, 06:13 | Link #5398 | |
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Anyways, if anything, the money spent on the troops sent to help the Haitians can be viewed as being more constructive than the events above, but in the end, what will happen to those people that the army did find? Where will Obama send them? The US is already suffering from severe unemployment and debt, and with the Haitian population being as undereducated as it is, they don't stand a chance. The way I see it, from Obama's pov, he's standing on the tip of a knife here. If he hadn't done anything, people would've complained for acting just as stingy as the govt had during Katrina. Since he has rushed to do something to help them, it can make him look more benevolent than the previous office, but I can see people still bringing up Katrina saying "you people acted so fast for people in Africa who have virtually no hope for surviving but you didn't for your own people?" That's another problem with the US. It involves itself to much with other countries that it often ends up neglecting its own. But that's another matter entirely. Let's face it. No matter what Obama did, he was bound to get bad press. The problem isn't with Obama, but with the media who likes to put everything in a negative perspective and give people something to blame for something. |
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2010-01-15, 06:44 | Link #5399 | |
The AnimeSuki Pet kitten
IT Support
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Speaking of, I can't see what the big problem is. Not one person I know has been laid off as a result of this "recession". Were still shopping, and people are still getting paid.
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2010-01-15, 06:54 | Link #5400 | |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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current affairs, discussion, international |
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