News Stories

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Jinto

Actually in that case it worked. What were her words again... "We all have to do our homework and make sure our structures are sound. It will then be more difficult for speculators to gain ground,"

"We have to ensure that we regulate the instruments that are being used to speculate and to do so in a way that they cannot be abused, you know, bet on things that you don’t even have ownership of,"

Worked for you I suppose ... nah, actually I am sorry for you. But after I lost 2000€ with a stock gamble in 1 day, I am very cautious with such short term "golden" opportunities.

Though it is only paper trading for me in this case, I am glad I set my stop loss (and lost only 3% of my whole margin). If it is real money I could have gone nuts. It's pretty dumb of me to do a buy trade despite knowing it's risky (like I've pointed out in one of my posts).

Besides, the main point here isn't actually losing money or so, but rather the long term stability of the Euro as a whole : we just shifted up a little out of the subprime crisis and this Euro fiasco will surely do worse in the midst of the world economy's recovery.

Right now according to currency charts, the Euro seems to be stabilising at the 1.26xx-1.27xx exchange rate, but for how long? I certainly don't want to walk out after graduation to become a NEET again!

On the other note......the Euro is trading to a new low to the pound :

Spoiler for big:

Funny that people who aren't amused by Aunt Angie's proposed bailout shifted their dosh to the Brits.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Fundamentals are your friend. Spot a good business you can trust, buy when it's cheap and hold till it hits your target price.

Of course, if only I followed my own advice all the time. Oh well, I chalk it up to all-too-necessary tuition fees.

According to Precter's Grand Supercycle, you should be starting to buy somewhere around March to May next year as there will be another crash end of this year. But then again, his touted "pseudoscience" drew so much flak for its lack of rationale behind his theory.

I do believe that there may be some unknown reason, Illuminati or not, that his theory does work. His usage of Fibonacci lines to create support and resistance levels have allowed traders to set targets in their trading plans, which made it work in favour. Also, to explain it in terms of logic would be like trying to explain why bees have weird ancestries, or why trees branch out in that manner.

I could have taken interest in maths if only my academic system isn't so inclined on manufacturing straight A students.

On the other note, here is an interesting editorial :

Gold and the Myth of Free Markets

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

According to Precter's Grand Supercycle, you should be starting to buy somewhere around March to May next year as there will be another crash end of this year. But then again, his touted "pseudoscience" drew so much flak for its lack of rationale behind his theory.

I do believe that there may be some unknown reason, Illuminati or not, that his theory does work. His usage of Fibonacci lines to create support and resistance levels have allowed traders to set targets in their trading plans, which made it work in favour. Also, to explain it in terms of logic would be like trying to explain why bees have weird ancestries, or why trees branch out in that manner.

I could have taken interest in maths if only my academic system isn't so inclined on manufacturing straight A students.

Ha. Discussing personal investment strategies is very much like talking about religion: it's pointless. If you believe it works for you, well, more power to you.

To date, my greatest consolation is that I've lost nothing much more than opportunity: I was holding most of my cash in fixed deposits last year while the market was staging one of the sharpest recoveries of all time. If I could have seen that coming, I would probably have doubled most of my cash by January, or made at least 50% returns.

I put it down to sheer complacency and the lack of a clear financial goal. It was only when I started property hunting this year that I fully realised how naive I'd been with regard to money management: I still need so much more cash in order to get any worthwhile real estate.

And that was all the kick I needed to start seriously thinking about stock investment all over again (I dabbled in it half-heartedly a long time ago, back in the boom years of the mid- to late 90s).

The only good advice I can give is what every other veteran repeats: Don't be greedy, and do be patient. A compounding return is your greatest friend, but that takes time — a very long time — to show up on your bank statement.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Ha. Discussing personal investment strategies is very much like talking about religion: it's pointless. If you believe it works for you, well, more power to you.

To date, my greatest consolation is that I've lost nothing much more than opportunity: I was holding most of my cash in fixed deposits last year while the market was staging one of the sharpest recoveries of all time. If I could have seen that coming, I would probably have doubled most of my cash by January, or made at least 50% returns.

I put it down to sheer complacency and the lack of a clear financial goal. It was only when I started property hunting this year that I fully realised how naive I'd been with regard to money management: I still need so much more cash in order to get any worthwhile real estate.

And that was all the kick I needed to start seriously thinking about stock investment all over again (I dabbled in it half-heartedly a long time ago, back in the boom years of the mid- to late 90s).

The only good advice I can give is what every other veteran repeats: Don't be greedy, and do be patient. A compounding return is your greatest friend, but that takes time — a very long time — to show up on your bank statement.

Well you do have a point there, and it's always interesting to learn from others. We don't exactly have to switch our personal strategies, and we can always incorporate a few pieces of stuff others implement into ours.

Regarding property hunting, I thought our government set down the 1-year-before-resale rule that made property sales more difficult. However, "property" doesn't always have to be houses, like the word implies. Maybe you can buy a water fountain and earn money from it (lame joke about water intended).

I was actually looking at the property bubble in China, where they overbuild and underlease (partly due to the lack of interested tenants). Funny it's still on-going, and there aren't many news about it anymore.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Well you do have a point there, and it's always interesting to learn from others. We don't exactly have to switch our personal strategies, and we can always incorporate a few pieces of stuff others implement into ours.

Start a thread on investment, then we can all learn together without derailing an entire thread.

Frankly though, I'm no expert. I can share only from personal experience, which isn't the best-quality stuff out there obviously. If I were that successful, I wouldn't be wasting my time here — I'd be sipping martinis in Monaco, enjoying a date with Gwyneth Paltrow or some other celebrity

At your age, and given what I think I know about your circumstances? I'd say that simply saving any cash you can spare at the moment is the best strategy.

Calculate how much you need to spend every year, ie, your current expenses, and save enough to have enough cash to go without work for at least a year, if not more. You think this is easy? It wasn't only until about three years ago before I achieved this, and only after I finally got rid of my car.

If you start with a very small base, which is where I'm guessing you are at the moment, it really wouldn't take much to generate big growth percentages in cash savings, provided you are disciplined and, of course, earning a regular cash income.

In other words, get a job. I'm not trying to rub it in but, seriously, at this point in your life, it's the least risky way to ensure a cash income — not through forex speculation. Simply put, I'm guessing that you're currently playing with money you can't afford to lose, and your emotions will inevitably colour your decisions.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Regarding property hunting, I thought our government set down the 1-year-before-resale rule that made property sales more difficult. However, "property" doesn't always have to be houses, like the word implies. Maybe you can buy a water fountain and earn money from it (lame joke about water intended).

I wouldn't know, because I wasn't even looking very closely at the details until recently. And even then, I was concentrating mainly at public resale flats, which I can easily afford at the moment; just that after finally seeing them during home visits, I realised that I've been aiming really, really low. Too low.

Or, put another way, I've always had expectations that I didn't want to admit. This year, I've been forced to be more honest with myself, and hence the major revision in my financial plans. They're still a work in progress. I'll tell you by the end of the year how they're panning out.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I was actually looking at the property bubble in China, where they overbuild and underlease (partly due to the lack of interested tenants). Funny it's still on-going, and there aren't many news about it anymore.

Who knows what's going on in China? In any case, I live in Singapore: I'm not going to risk my money on stuff I know nothing about. Singapore's real-estate movements are giving me enough headaches, as it were.

[killer3000ad]

DING! UK has a new PM.

David Cameron named UK prime minister

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by LynnieS

You are buying Euros - in the hopes of catching the bottom? Umm, have you ever heard of the term "catch a falling knife"? I hope you are making sure to set your stops before placing the order...

I missed the bottom on Friday, so I picked up my spending money on Monday. In my case the difference of a couple of pennies wasn't very meaningful.

I'm with you, though, Lynnie, in that I think political events have become a major determinant of (some) currency values at the moment. I wouldn't expect that dip in the value of the pound to persist now that a Government is in place in Westminster again, either.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Speaking of new governments (congrats to Tory and Lib Dem supporters in Britain):

Aquino wins Philippine elections

Manila (May 11): Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has pledged a smooth handover of power to her apparent successor Benigno Aquino — a former economics student and now one of her fiercest critics.

A day after the country's first automated elections, Mrs Arroyo, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, hailed what she said was a free, fair and open vote.

Her chosen successor, former defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro, conceded defeat on Tuesday to Mr Aquino, the 50-year-old son of the late former president and democracy icon Corazon Aquino*.

Mrs Arroyo, 63, ordered her top aide, executive secretary Leandro Mendoza, to form a transition team to work with the election winner for the handover when her six-year term ends on June 30.

- AFP

*Family dynasties bind politics in Philippines

Manila (May 11): When Mr Julian Resuello, the mayor of San Carlos, a small city in the northern Philippines, was killed by gunmen at a campaign rally on April 28, his brother quickly stepped into his shoes.

Even if Mr Resuello's brother does not win the election, San Carlos city politics are likely to stay in the hands of the Resuello family — Julian's son is also running for high office in the city.

Mr Julian Resuello, who was 54 when he was shot while out greeting voters, was running for vice mayor of the city. His son is running for mayor. Such swopping of roles is as common in political families as the violence that has wracked the Philippines in the run up to the elections Monday, when 17,000 national and local positions are at stake, including all 265 House of Representatives seats and half of the 24 Senate seats.

More than 100 people have been killed in the pre-election violence, the police said last Friday (May 7), according to AP.

Police, meanwhile, say they have no leads in the Resuello case.

For generations, political dynasties have dominated politics and governance in the Philippines. They are prominent and moneyed clans, like that of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose father was also president and whose son is a congressman. Another son is running for Congress.

Experts say that dominance of Philippine politics by such dynasties has grown more pervasive in recent years.

- NYT

=========

Other news from South-east Asia:

Suu Kyi asks for her freedom

Yangon (May 11): Myanmar's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is making a final bid for freedom, lawyers said today after submitting a request for a special appeal against her house arrest.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has already lost two appeals against an August 2009 conviction, most recently at the country's High Court in February. Her last legal option is the Special Appellate Bench, a multi-judge panel in the remote administrative capital of Naypyitaw.

Lawyers filed their appeal yesterday (May 10) at the High Court, which will decide whether to forward the case to the special court for consideration, said attorney Nyan Win.

The 64-year-old Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. In August last year, she was convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest for briefly sheltering an American who swam uninvited to her home, and she was ordered to serve three years in prison with hard labour. The trial drew global condemnation.

Suu Kyi's sentence was commuted to 18 months of extended house arrest, which would keep her detained through elections planned for later this year. An initial appeal was rejected in October last year and upheld by the High Court in February.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party, which won the country's last election in 1990 but was not allowed to take power, was disbanded last week after refusing to register for the upcoming polls.

US envoy Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, met Suu Kyi for nearly two hours yesterday at the end of a two-day visit to Myanmar.

He did not reveal details of their talks, but praised her non-violent struggle for democracy.

- AP

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

<snip>

I was trying to find a job the past few months that had a flexible part time hour, but since I am a student, it was all for naught. But I do admit it's bloody risky to rely my income on trading despite the overall profits being consistent. Then again, watching how the stock moves everyday seem to provide more than enough content to write in my weekly essay assignments.

Being a stay-at-home otaku isn't that bad after all. There's anime to keep me entertained and it drives my monthly expenditure to a ridiculous low (around $150 -$200)

I wouldn't know, because I wasn't even looking very closely at the details until recently. And even then, I was concentrating mainly at public resale flats, which I can easily afford at the moment; just that after finally seeing them during home visits, I realised that I've been aiming really, really low. Too low.

Or, put another way, I've always had expectations that I didn't want to admit. This year, I've been forced to be more honest with myself, and hence the major revision in my financial plans. They're still a work in progress. I'll tell you by the end of the year how they're panning out.

There's so far these months, two quotes that worked for me, namely Buffett's "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful" and "move on, and be more careful next time by doing real research.". Small victories are not meant to be overlooked, like the Malay saying that's popular with my parents' generation (the post-independence ones) :

"Sedikit sedikit, lama lama, jadi bukit" (the small things your acquire will slowly turn into a mountain).

Now I know what it means. Keeping my losses small (each trade will wipe only 3% of my account), and minimum profit target to increase 6% for each win, mathematically speaking, even at a 25% win rate per month of 1 trade everyday, I can maintain at least $400 of income per month. Maths was never so fun and effective.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I missed the bottom on Friday, so I picked up my spending money on Monday. In my case the difference of a couple of pennies wasn't very meaningful.

I'm with you, though, Lynnie, in that I think political events have become a major determinant of (some) currency values at the moment. I wouldn't expect that dip in the value of the pound to persist now that a Government is in place in Westminster again, either.

Looking at various currency pairs, especially that of major banking sectors like Swiss and Britain,

- USD/CHF is rising, meaning the Swiss (known for their banking industries) are willing to pump money back into the US. Probably an indication in foreign confidence in the US financial system.

- EUR/USD chart is still dropping backwards, from 1.31xx high on the 5th May to the 1.26xx/1.25xx range today. Merkel's plan isn't working, but at least it buffered a support line somewhere around the latter values.

- EUR/GBP is hovering at the 0.848x, a recovery from 0.846x last night. This is a new stick which is still moving, so I dare not say much, but the cash flow seems to be moving from Europe to Britain last night, while Britain is shifting the cash back into Europe slowly today. Not enough space for the credits perhaps?

From all of that, I personally think news events only create temporary perception of trends, and it's still best to look at the daily charts to effectively predict an overall trend for the next few months. In the end, government/union reserves aren't hammerspaces : the flow of cash still stems from the overall valuation of physical products like property, metals, trade surpluses, etc.

[Woopzilla]

Yet another terrible attack in China:

China children 'hacked to death' in new school attack

Originally Posted by news.bb.co.uk

Seven children and a teacher have been hacked to death at a kindergarten in China, the latest in a series of school attacks, state media report.

Another 11 children were injured in the attack near Hanzhong city, Shaanxi province, Xinhua news agency reported.

The children were all thought to be under the age of six - their attacker later killed himself.

There have been five violent school attacks in the past two months in China, leaving dozens dead or injured.

I think these are just despicable copycat killings without a united reason such as "revenge on society" as it has been suggested. The theory just doesn't seem to register well considering these attacks have targeted children. It's not like going on a rampage in any other government-owned or public place would be any less horrific, but targeting children under the age of 6 is just...

Unless of course, they're just trying to create the most shock by targeting the most innocent of the society that they hate.

United cause or not, they're evidently deranged individuals.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Yet another terrible attack in China:

China children 'hacked to death' in new school attack



I think these are just despicable copycat killings without a united reason such as "revenge on society" as it has been suggested. The theory just doesn't seem to register well considering these attacks have targeted children. It's not like going on a rampage in any other government-owned or public place would be any less horrific, but targeting children under the age of 6 is just...

Unless of course, they're just trying to create the most shock by targeting the most innocent of the society that they hate.

United cause or not, they're evidently deranged individuals.

If you notice in most cases, the attackers commit suicide. China actually doesn't care about justice as long as the guy dies : the selfish version of the idea of "survival of the fittest" seems to have taken a root in their society......

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Yet another terrible attack in China:

China children 'hacked to death' in new school attack



I think these are just despicable copycat killings without a united reason such as "revenge on society" as it has been suggested. The theory just doesn't seem to register well considering these attacks have targeted children. It's not like going on a rampage in any other government-owned or public place would be any less horrific, but targeting children under the age of 6 is just...

Unless of course, they're just trying to create the most shock by targeting the most innocent of the society that they hate.

United cause or not, they're evidently deranged individuals.

I am not entirely sure, but it seems to be a new policy for chinese standards to make such information public. I wonder what strategy the chinese government is pursuing here. Maybe they use it like show cases to defend the many death sentences (not so much because of UN but domestic oppinion), but that is just a very vague guess. I wonder about the real motives - maybe educational ones (education based on deterrence?).

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Jinto

I am not entirely sure, but it seems to be a new policy for chinese standards to make such information public. I wonder what strategy the chinese government is pursuing here. Maybe they use it like show cases to defend the many death sentences (not so much because of UN but domestic oppinion), but that is just a very vague guess. I wonder about the real motives - maybe educational ones (education based on deterrence?).

This being China, conspiracy theories inevitably take on more weight, but I doubt if that's really the case here. We've got to put things in perspective: this is a country of one billion people. Five or six violent attacks, while certainly serious, are exactly like what they are — isolated cases scattered across a vast nation.

They appear to be very serious only because media attention has temporarily put things out of proportion. And that's definitely a source of worry. I'm seeing mixed reports from various wire agencies and the BBC; they are suggesting that Chinese media have started to play down the coverage, for fear of inspiring copycat attacks. But in the previous weeks, Chinese media have apparently been discussing the attacks quite extensively, apparently out of a wellspring of genuine social concern.

No one knows the reasons for the sudden rash of attacks, but there's been plenty of speculation. Excerpts from my local broadsheet:

By Peh Shing Huei
China Bureau Chief
for The Straits Times

...China's media has offered a string of explanations, ranging from greater social tensions as a result of rapid development to society's inability to deal openly with mental illnesses.

Professor Li Keping of Beijing Jiaotong University told China Daily: "All the assailants were determined to get revenge for their suffering. Such attacks attract more attention as most families have only one child."

Sociologist Gao Bingzhong told The Straits Times that the attacks reflect Chinese society's acceptance of the use of violence to resolve problems.

"Parents beat up children instead of reasoning with them; the state uses coercion to obtain confessions; and ordinary people scuffle when there are misunderstandings," said the Beijing University scholar.

"The violence in our society is a serious problem and the state needs to reflect on its actions."

So, if, as you suggested, the Chinese government is using these attacks to justify the use of further violence against the populace, well, it seems to me that the plan is backfiring.

By the way, there are many things that the mainland Chinese might typically consider "mental illness", homosexuality being one of them. Meaning to say, we're dealing with a nation that hasn't quite come to grips with the roots of many social issues, choosing instead to simply explain them away as aberrations that be fixed with medical therapy. The national culture, on the other hand, gets away scot-free, just as the state would prefer it.

As for the readiness to turn to violence to discipline children, you may remember this report from three years back:

Chinese boot camps tackle Internet addiction

Beijing (March 12, 2007): Combining sympathy with discipline, a military-style boot camp near Beijing is at the front line of China's battle against Internet addiction, a disorder afflicting millions of the nation's youth.

- NYT

There's also a documentary out there which filmed a group of teenagers, China's "little emperors", as they underwent boot camp to teach them discipline, diligence and filial piety. As China's urban population grows steadily more wealthy, the kids of typically one-child families are getting increasingly spoilt and pampered. So, the solution? Show them tough love, via harsh physical training in a boot camp environment. I can't remember the name of the documentary at the moment, unfortunately. It just aired on my local National Geographic cable channel not too long ago.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

<snip>

I had this classmate from China who said that the "boot camp" idea was copied from a particular SEA country, where foreign students brought back "discipline and self-control" after returning to see their parents after choosing to become citizens or becoming permanent residents of that place.

Kinda interesting to hear about that though.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

If you notice in most cases, the attackers commit suicide. China actually doesn't care about justice as long as the guy dies : the selfish version of the idea of "survival of the fittest" seems to have taken a root in their society......

... So... What would you have them do? Try the corpses?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

... So... What would you have them do? Try the corpses?

The issue is their lack of a humane view in their outlook for life. There's another example which a driver on the highway got out of his car and shoved a suicidal guy down as the latter was causing a traffic jam.

Not that I disputed the effectiveness of that solution, it's just that, at least make sure the cushion at the bottom is already set up. I do remember in that case, the authorities could barely get the support net up in time.

[Arbitres]

I think these are just despicable copycat killings without a united reason such as "revenge on society" as it has been suggested. The theory just doesn't seem to register well considering these attacks have targeted children. It's not like going on a rampage in any other government-owned or public place would be any less horrific, but targeting children under the age of 6 is just...

Unless of course, they're just trying to create the most shock by targeting the most innocent of the society that they hate.

United cause or not, they're evidently deranged individuals.

*sigh* If this keeps up, China won't have any youths OR future generation.

If you notice in most cases, the attackers commit suicide. China actually doesn't care about justice as long as the guy dies : the selfish version of the idea of "survival of the fittest" seems to have taken a root in their society......

Because the guilty party doesn't want the responsibility, or the guilt. They may do it to bring attention to themselves. They may do it to get revenge, they do it for stress or some other thing.

Regardless, these people are seriously, seriously fucked up.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

The issue is their lack of a humane view in their outlook for life. There's another example which a driver on the highway got out of his car and shoved a suicidal guy down as the latter was causing a traffic jam.

Not that I disputed the effectiveness of that solution, it's just that, at least make sure the cushion at the bottom is already set up. I do remember in that case, the authorities could barely get the support net up in time.

I don't see how that example (which from what you're saying isn't even about official government policy or anything) relates to the powerlessness of China or, realistically, any society, to stop lunatics from killing people before committing suicide.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

So, if, as you suggested, the Chinese government is using these attacks to justify the use of further violence against the populace, well, it seems to me that the plan is backfiring.

I did not exactly meant to focus this on further violence, but more on the status quo - which if you want to maintain it, requires subtile manipulation of the societal development of a nation that is progressing quite fast into economical/social change.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

By the way, there are many things that the mainland Chinese might typically consider "mental illness", homosexuality being one of them. Meaning to say, we're dealing with a nation that hasn't quite come to grips with the roots of many social issues, choosing instead to simply explain them away as aberrations that be fixed with medical therapy. The national culture, on the other hand, gets away scot-free, just as the state would prefer it.

Well I thought it could be used to raise public awareness of the problems involved with anti-social behaviour. And reading the article I get the feeling the explanations try to target anti-social behaviour in general. In the media it is the violent acts of a few individuums... but it could be used as a means to raise the people's commitment for responsibilty for each other (which is actually rather low at the moment).

[Roger Rambo]

In other news, it appears that the North Koreans have mastered the FUISION (...power) technique.

Spoiler for story:

North Korea has announced that it has made significant progress towards the development of thermo-nuclear power.

It is a claim that is likely to be met with some scepticism.

Despite hopes that the technology can produce large quantities of cheap, clean energy, no country has so far succeeded in making it work.

North Korea is one of the world's poorest countries and struggles to generate enough electricity for lighting and other basic needs.

The statement, carried by North Korea's official state media, said the country's scientists had succeeded in carrying out nuclear fusion.

Laboratory demonstrations of the process, known to release large amounts of energy, are nothing new.

But the North Koreans appear to be claiming to have gone much further, by building what they describe as a "unique thermo-nuclear reaction device".

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Jinto

I did not exactly meant to focus this on further violence, but more on the status quo - which if you want to maintain it, requires subtile manipulation of the societal development of a nation that is progressing quite fast into economical/social change.

True, China is growing too fast for its own good and that's not just from an economic point of view, but also from a societal point of view. The income gap is growing disproportionately large and, because of the opaque and hugely corrupt political system, new wealth is concentrated in the hands of a privileged few with family or political connections.

Needless to say, that causes severe resentment among the "have-nots". In a fairly democratic society, people can express their displeasure through elections. The Chinese, on the other hand, have no such outlet.

Originally Posted by Jinto

Well I thought it could be used to raise public awareness of the problems involved with anti-social behaviour. And reading the article I get the feeling the explanations try to target anti-social behaviour in general. In the media it is the violent acts of a few individuums... but it could be used as a means to raise the people's commitment for responsibilty for each other (which is actually rather low at the moment).

I absolutely agree with the bolded part. There is an astounding lack of moral and ethical regard for individual people in China at the moment. The whole idea that entire companies could deign to use melanine, a substance that can actually kill people, to spike dairy products just for the sake of profit, is mind-boggling.

I have relatives in Guangdong province, and the last time I visited them in my father's hometown, I was simultaneously left in awe and disdain. I was in awe because of the huge amount of energy in the air — it was incredibly frenetic. Everyone was on the move to make money; no one appeared to dare to take a break, afraid of losing opportunities to strike rich.

But I felt disdain because of how everyone appeared, at the same time, to have no regard for how they were destroying their environment. When I first visited the hometown as a kid, there were still rice paddies around the place. Now, they have all disappeared, covered over by a fast-growing, grey concrete jungle. And trash was everywhere. People littered and spit all over the place. Hygiene levels were deplorable.

In short, people simply did not f*cking care, so long as they were getting ahead of each other. China operates by the law of the jungle at the moment, plain and simple. Only the strongest will survive in this massive cowboy town.