tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70826552011-04-22T02:11:33.158+08:00Views from a Westerner in the EastJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.comBlogger1291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-39320828853025854902011-02-04T00:34:00.001+08:002011-02-04T00:34:56.210+08:00

I have migrated my blog here and hope to be writing more thoughts on spirituality as well as observations on society...

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-3234710893421995922009-01-01T14:49:00.004+08:002009-01-01T14:57:28.471+08:00

Clever editing for those of us who don't stay on top of pop music.But my sons know most of these.... Below are the Top 10 albums of the year (I assume it is in the US and not worldwide).... Did you know Taylor Swift was the biggest-selling artist of the year?1. Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne (2.88 million)2. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay (2.15 million)3. Fearless, Taylor Swift (

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-4429619599180429262009-01-01T14:20:00.002+08:002009-01-01T14:23:20.691+08:00

Though it is dwarfed by Microsoft in terms of market share, Mac is still way ahead in terms of friendliness, usability, coolness and fun!I've used Macs since 1987, and they way surpass my experience on my Windows machines (yes, I also have them at home and office, ugh).After nearly 25 years, the Macintosh and its offspring, such as the iPod and iPhone, are still leading in terms of setting the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-85424726157274279292008-11-23T12:03:00.002+08:002008-11-23T12:06:16.424+08:00

Spiritual leaders must learn that there is a difference between spirituality and spiritual influence. Spirituality is internal, spiritual influence is external. It is not enough to develop internal spirituality, spiritual leaders must also learn how to express their spirituality externally in order to gain spiritual authority.Tom Peters has a great example from the current auto industry crisis.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-73011351686210064572008-11-18T08:39:00.001+08:002008-11-18T08:43:22.799+08:00

Condensed from a longer, detailed and disturbing report:For the last 11 months, Christians in India's Orissa state and elsewhere have been the objects of hateful persecution. A report by internationnal human-rights investigators, lays out the mistreatment and abuse in unsettling detail.-In Orissa State, 65 identified people have been killed and 85 are still unaccounted for.Among those killed were

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-55405756972554384672008-11-13T09:58:00.002+08:002008-11-13T10:01:44.961+08:00

Following the Sichuan earthquake, there is more openness to spirituality in helping people recover from trauma. This article has a couple of interesting observations:But on December 28, 2007, President Jintao relieved some of China's cultural schizophrenia: He signaled a move from atheism to secularism—from "no God" to "a non-political role for God." He called an unprecedented Politburo session

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-28025073931645073272008-11-12T09:36:00.000+08:002008-11-12T09:37:22.616+08:00

Tuesday marked the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, with the handful of surviving veterans at the vanguard of commemorations for the fallen of "The War to End All Wars." Leaders from the powers that fought the war, now allies, gathered at the site of the 1916 Battle of Verdun, where 300,000 men were slaughtered over 11 months of bloody trench warfare. French President Nicolas Sarkozy

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-2462823128921505932008-09-30T18:32:00.003+08:002008-09-30T18:40:40.116+08:00

Can the majority be counted on to choose what is right? I go along with Abraham Lincoln - it is doubtful.It is disappointing to see politicians making decisions for their people based on whether or not they will be re-elected as a result. The world needs leaders who will choose to do what is right, not what is most popular. This from the Financial Times regarding the failed vote on the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-60518758366550204082008-07-24T05:59:00.001+08:002008-07-24T06:01:14.139+08:00

Yikes! A bad time to be moving back to Singapore from the US. In addition to inflation listed below, US dollar is down about 15% in the last year : (Overall, Singaporeans paid 9.2 per cent more for food than they did a year ago because of more expensive items such as cooked food, rice, milk products, fresh poultry and vegetables. Housing costs also went up by 13.4 per cent on year because of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-87182019481657199702008-07-09T05:17:00.001+08:002008-07-09T05:20:30.058+08:00

This LA Times article compares the three big medal-winning countries at the Olympics:Crystal-ball gazers expect each of the three sports powerhouses to do well next month in their traditional areas of strength -- table tennis, badminton and diving for China, swimming and track and field for the U.S. and boxing, wrestling and other "combat sports" for Russia -- with all three elbowing one another

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-92131295518906396612008-06-28T02:54:00.002+08:002008-06-28T02:56:55.497+08:00

"...the world is in the midst of a huge wave of tall building construction, both in number and in size. Some 36 buildings rise more than 300 meters, or roughly 1,000 feet, the threshold generally used to define “supertall” buildings, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a nonprofit organization based at the Illinois Institute of Technology. An additional 69 supertalls are

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-52294428840716869432008-06-22T03:08:00.003+08:002008-06-22T04:50:26.376+08:00

I kinew there were a lot of Singaporeans in Shanghai, now I have a statistic from Channel News Asia:"With 7,000 Singapore residents, Shanghai has the largest population of Singaporeans in China....China is also Singapore's second largest visitor-generating market, with Singapore welcoming some 1.11 million Chinese visitors in 2007, a 66 per cent increase over the last five years"

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-43664005915732004652008-05-02T13:51:00.001+08:002008-05-02T13:55:18.519+08:00

...everything is BIGGERBeijing airport’s new Terminal 3 — twice the size of the Pentagon — is the largest building in the world....The developers call it the “most advanced airport building in the world,” and say it was completed in less than four years, a timetable some believed impossible.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-74578424808959303952008-05-01T14:09:00.002+08:002008-05-01T14:12:00.749+08:00

As the Chinese become more affluent, they are going to start gobbling up world resources like the Americans have been...China has overtaken the USA to become the world's No. 1 industrial source of carbon dioxide, the most important global-warming pollutant, according to a scientific study to be published today.The study and two others — one recently published and another coming — agree that

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-82937171810529361962008-04-28T13:10:00.004+08:002008-04-28T13:18:44.716+08:00

NYT article, on visiting a huge bookstore in China:On shelf after shelf, I could see copies of Jim Collins’s “Good to Great,” Jack Welch’s “Straight From the Gut,” Tom Peters’s “Re-Imagine!” and just about everything the late Peter Drucker ever wrote. There was no management topic, no matter how arcane — the science of H.R. anyone? — that didn’t have its own section.There’s a good reason for this

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-27372268651994750252008-04-24T02:54:00.002+08:002008-04-24T02:58:04.452+08:00

I've only read one of these books, by Jenkins. Martin Marty is well-qualified to give us a comprehensive list like this.My Top 5 Books on World ChristianityBy Martin E. Marty, author of The Christian World: A Global HistoryA World History Of ChristianityEdited by Adrian HastingsThe fourteen historians who contribute to A World History of Christianity do what no single historian could do with

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-58628144730014328862008-01-15T12:42:00.000+08:002008-01-15T12:44:33.639+08:00

More Chinese tourists are headed to America, thanks to new agreements between US and Chinese governments. And when they come to the US, they come to California."The Chinese are surprisingly big spenders when they come here, doling out about $6000 each -- more than visitors from any other nation. They also tend to stay longer -- a California state tourism agency study found that Chinese visitors

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-35945601250708266552008-01-01T01:54:00.000+08:002008-01-01T01:55:25.139+08:00

Beijing is like an athlete trying to get into shape by walking on a treadmill yet eating double cheeseburgers at the same time. Polluting factories have been moved or closed. But auto emissions are rising as the city adds up to 1,200 new cars and trucks every day. Dirty, coal-burning furnaces have been replaced, lowering the city’s sulfur dioxide emissions. But fine-particle pollution has been

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-8020636080838269672007-12-31T09:05:00.000+08:002007-12-31T09:07:12.820+08:00

China's political stability may be more fragile than thought. The country faces huge domestic challenges -- an aging population lacking any form of social security, wholesale problems in the financial system that dwarf those revealed in the U.S. sub-prime loan mess and the breakdown of its health system. These problems are as big as ever, but China has fewer resources to meet them than we

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-30580502401315067502007-12-31T09:02:00.000+08:002007-12-31T09:03:26.554+08:00

The most important story to come out of Washington recently had nothing to do with the endless presidential campaign. And although the media largely ignored it, the story changes the world.The story's unlikely source was the staid World Bank, which published updated statistics on the economic output of 146 countries. China's economy, said the bank, is smaller than it thought.About 40%

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-60380532601880603122007-12-05T14:53:00.000+08:002007-12-05T14:57:17.551+08:00

Here is an amazing success story (so far).And there is room for many more schools like the SIAS International University in Henan, China.Nine years ago, Chen launched SIAS International University with less than $2 million, 250 students and a healthy dose of gumption. Today, the school has more than 16,000 students and nearly 50 buildings -- including a Roman amphitheater, French and Italian

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-23815780876853348442007-09-17T13:32:00.000+08:002007-09-17T13:36:39.856+08:00

Some nice reflections from this LA Times writer on the transformation Beijing has undergone over the past ten years. From my experience, it is hard for a westerner to comprehend the pace and scale of change in China. It is so unlike anything our societies have experienced or are capable of.I found Beijing far more electrifying than Paris, unrecognizable from the city I had visited 10 years ago..

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-64241868426045190632007-09-14T05:03:00.000+08:002007-09-14T05:05:52.831+08:00

In LA, 53% of people speak a language other than English at home. The data are part of a census report on social, economic and housing characteristics in the U.S. Nationwide, almost 20% of people over age 5 spoke a language other than English at home in 2006.Some smaller Southern California communities recorded even higher percentages than Los Angeles, including East L.A. (91%), El Monte (83%),

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-36166571528275591912007-09-03T09:50:00.000+08:002007-09-03T09:54:53.354+08:00

Interesting statistic about the differences between the American and Chinese gambling public. While Macau recently passed Las Vegas in producing more gambling revenue, Las Vegas has over 7 TIMES as many hotel rooms, and is probably better know as an entertainment capitol these days than just as a gambling destination.As the Chinese grow in affluence, will their appetite for the whole

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-26376117806525256252007-08-30T06:49:00.000+08:002007-08-30T06:55:31.960+08:00

One environmentalist argues that a key to fighting global warming is to use more wood products, stimulating the planting of more new trees. He says that young trees absorb more carbon dioxide than old trees.To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends a signal to the marketplace to grow more trees and to produce more wood. That means we can then use less concrete,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-22940867925801776212007-08-27T05:44:00.000+08:002007-08-27T05:48:34.680+08:00

What is happening on the other side of the world will one day affect our side of the world. A long and detailed article in the NY Times.But just as the speed and scale of China’s rise as an economic power have no clear parallel in history, so its pollution problem has shattered all precedents. Environmental degradation is now so severe, with such stark domestic and international repercussions,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-91368417439830692022007-08-27T01:13:00.000+08:002007-08-27T01:17:12.155+08:00

Some interesting observations in this LA Times opinion piece on the clashing worldviews when interpreting the conflicts in the Middle East. I agree with this quote: "ideology cannot be defeated by concessions."...the Mideast's central conflict is not territorial but ideological. And ideology cannot be defeated by concessions.Emissaries also still believe that "the Occupation" blocks agreement

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-49383173386369938882007-08-26T04:28:00.000+08:002007-08-26T05:02:45.377+08:00

This article in the LA Times points out some of the cultural differences between American and Chinese societies, as well as some of the related political differences. Interesting observations. It sounds good to me to not have to deal with hearings, environmental impact reports, high-priced labor, etc. Maybe LA would have a modern airport if we lived in that kind of environment! BUT, Americans

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-90192224234897393562007-08-23T14:15:00.000+08:002007-08-23T14:21:15.489+08:00

A respected economist points out in this NY Times article how China's growth figures are wildly exaggerated. The point is not to discount China's growth, but to realize that even at a relatively fast pace, it will take a century to catch up with the US economy. Using those numbers as a guide, if we consider China’s actual electrical use, which is relatively easy to measure, and do a little math,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-87400564594573681822007-07-09T12:01:00.001+08:002007-07-09T12:07:18.215+08:00

An eloquent and positive observation on creatively overcoming obstacles by a software developer, when commenting on efforts to get around manufacturers' limitations:"It's about embracing constraints," said Chris Messina, 26, an entrepreneur from San Francisco and one of the event's organizers. "These constraints aren't holding us back. They are giving us focus."Looking for more focus in your life

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-49917927078079071122007-06-22T15:50:00.001+08:002007-06-22T16:04:17.433+08:00

A new report says that China has already surpassed the US as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. On a per capita basis, however, Chinese people only account for 1/8th as much as their western counterparts.It's interesting to me that in an article like this, the environmentalist response is that yes, Beijing has to do more to curtail emissions, but "responsibility also lies in

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-78561243896693444822007-05-26T15:34:00.000+08:002007-05-26T15:37:35.522+08:00

From John C Dvorak. Amazing!"It's actually the astonishing overall growth of the Internet that is amazing. In 1990, the total U.S. backbone throughput of the Internet was 1 terabyte, and in 1991 it doubled to 2TB. Throughput continued to double until 1996, when it jumped to 1,500TB. After that huge jump, it returned to doubling, reaching 80,000 to 140,000TB in 2002."This ridiculous growth rate

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-81614306365806649392007-05-22T10:43:00.000+08:002007-05-22T10:50:32.756+08:00

Where will the world's power come from? And won't the growing production and consumption of the huge rapidly developing nations overwhelm the efforts of currently "developed nations" at ecological responsibility?From the NYT:"In part because of these limitations, Indians are, for now, relatively conservative consumers of energy: about 600 units per capita per year, or one-fifth that of a typical

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-15036425624875068762007-05-07T20:08:00.000+08:002007-05-07T20:12:16.272+08:00

This from the LA Times. Those familiar with China have been aware of the spiritual interest and opportunity for Confucianism as well as other spiritual movements for many years. This one combines the endorsement of the government with good marketing.Since the publication of her enormously popular book on the teachings of Confucius late last year, Yu Dan has been racing from college lectures to

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-14851623363777431342007-05-03T20:17:00.000+08:002007-05-03T20:17:56.417+08:00

Here's a report of users coercing a website into altering its policy. Where will this lead?"'Social media is something of a Pandora's box,' said Internet analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence. 'Communities create deeper engagement, word of mouth and viral promotion of your content. That's how sites like MySpace and YouTube got to be so popular. The other side of that is that it's

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-71145212768982723222007-04-28T18:41:00.000+08:002007-04-28T18:45:21.720+08:00

There's a huge need for developing business leaders with practical experience and good education. While China's universities have grown rapidly, business schools lag behind, mostly because of a lack of qualified teachers. Business training is a great field for development, as noted in this LA Times article....MBA[s]... are highly sought after in China, whose scorching growth has left companies

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-11062103169093891122007-04-24T23:52:00.000+08:002007-04-24T23:56:40.658+08:00

Philip Jenkins takes a less pessimistic view of Europe's future than many current observers.Here's a lengthy report on his new book God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe’s Religious Crisis by Richard John Neuhaus in First Things Journal.“Nobody can deny,” writes Jenkins, “that European nations in coming decades will have to take account of aspects of Muslim culture, or rather of the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-23489577360922738692007-04-24T23:47:00.000+08:002007-04-24T23:50:12.718+08:00

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor sold more cars and trucks worldwide than General Motors in the first three months of 2007, marking the first time that Toyota has outsold GM. Most auto analysts have predicted that Toyota will surpass GM this year as the world's largest automaker — a position the Detroit behemoth has held for 76 years. Toyota's global sales for the January-March quarter rose 9% to a

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-60794567192997771352007-04-14T08:11:00.000+08:002007-04-14T08:15:10.081+08:00

This story warms the heart of any English-speaking foreigner who has lived in China. From Singapore's Today newspaper:A campaign to correct the notoriously goofy English translations on city signs in time for next year's Olympics could mean the end for the misnomers that have confused and amused visitors for years..Officials are taking aim at menu items such as "Fried Crap" and "Acid Food", and

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-47020515686713399172007-03-09T11:36:00.000+08:002007-03-09T11:36:02.431+08:00

Here's a presentation that will really get you thinking. We all know technology is changing rapidly, but this will shock you when you think about what it will mean for us in 15 years..."I remixed content from David Warlick, Thomas Friedman, Ian Jukes, Ray Kurzweil and others, added some music, and came up with the following presentation."You have to go to the website and download both the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-4609608622691315802007-03-07T12:50:00.000+08:002007-03-07T12:50:28.355+08:00

"Only a decade ago did scientists in the University of California's Pacific Rim Aerosol Network help discover that the pollution crossing the Pacific from Asia was worse than suspected, with millions of tons of previously undetected contaminants carried on the wind.In fact, on any spring or summer day, almost a third of the air high over Los Angeles, San Francisco and other California cities can

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-11966252590537143152007-02-05T12:53:00.000+08:002007-02-05T12:53:59.422+08:00

Interesting observations in this New York Times article about the different users and usages of the internet in China versus the US:"Another distinguishing feature is the youthful face of China’s online community. In the United States, roughly 70 percent of Internet users are over the age of 30; in China, it is the other way around — 70 percent of users here are under 30, according to the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1169867402948741372007-01-27T11:10:00.000+08:002007-01-27T11:10:03.306+08:00

From Tom Peters' blog, echoing management principles Marcus Buckingham has written:"Earlier this month I had a bit of a rant about 'Servant Leadership.' The gist of it was: Military Officers and Business Leaders have the same role ... to ensure that all members of the value-creating community are the best they can be. That's an enabling service worth paying for. Today, as a leader, you serve

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1167885533807131192007-01-04T12:38:00.000+08:002007-01-04T12:38:53.890+08:00

On the 25th anniversary of his revolutionary book, Tom Peters reminds us of the eight basics of excellence. Though embraced in principle by many, they are still rare to find in practice. This year I want to rededicate myself to building a "people-obsessed" organization.1. A Bias for Action. Call it 'implementation.' Call it 'execution.' It's the heart of both those key ideas. Too much talk, too

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1163415229922094012006-11-13T18:53:00.000+08:002006-11-13T18:53:49.933+08:00

Here's a NY Times article that's pretty interesting. Not only connecting pages on the web, but studying them and drawing relationships and conclusions about human knowledge. "From the billions of documents that form the World Wide Web and the links that weave them together, computer scientists and a growing collection of start-up companies are finding new ways to mine human intelligence.Their

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1162911129415958242006-11-07T22:52:00.000+08:002006-11-07T22:52:09.430+08:00

Uh oh...the Chinese are coming!"China will surpass the United States in 2009, nearly a decade ahead of previous predictions, as the biggest emitter of the main gas linked to global warming, the International Energy Agency has concluded in a report to be released Tuesday.China’s rise, fueled heavily by coal, is particularly troubling to climate scientists because as a developing country, China is

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1161531031151924652006-10-22T23:30:00.000+08:002006-10-22T23:30:35.063+08:00

Here are stats showing the material prosperity of Americans over the past 40 years. Yet they don't feel as well off as their parents. Why? One reason is we tend to compare ourselves with those who have more, not with those who have less, and those who have more nowadays have a lot more."Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% more than their mid-'60s counterparts, even when

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1161087682021716022006-10-17T19:50:00.000+08:002006-10-17T20:21:22.040+08:00

The USA has just passed 300,000,000 people. Check out the US population clock:http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1160493175162439902006-10-10T23:12:00.000+08:002006-10-10T23:12:55.173+08:00

"For China, the world's most populous nation, it should be a giant coming-out party, as the 1964 Summer Olympics was for Japan and the 1988 Summer Games were for South Korea. For Beijing, the countdown to Aug. 8, 2008, has increased the already frenetic pace of transformation in this city of 15.3 million people and seemingly as many construction sites."

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1159879234889424362006-10-03T20:40:00.000+08:002006-10-03T20:40:34.910+08:00

I think we will see more and more individuals and groups like these churches who will challenge the Chinese government on legal grounds, following regulations while agitating for more rights."a growing number of congregations that began life as house churches -- unauthorized places of worship set up in private, often dilapidated homes -- have recently registered with the government, while

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1159458307058876382006-09-28T23:45:00.000+08:002006-09-28T23:45:07.100+08:00

China's New Legal Eagles - Christianity Today Magazine: "'We pray that a Chinese Martin Luther King will arise from the church in China,' say Christian leaders of the new Human Rights Protection Movement (HRPM)."

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1158286945469177872006-09-15T10:16:00.000+08:002006-09-15T11:14:18.610+08:00

This article points out the bias of liberals.They don't like the marketplace decisions people make when they have economic freedom, so liberals want to force everyone to make the right decisions with their money. On the other hand, which he doesn't mention, they hate constraints on moral issues. They don't want anyone saying what is right and wrong for others regarding morality.Conservatives, on

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1157854931054675522006-09-10T10:19:00.000+08:002006-09-10T10:22:11.073+08:00

From Seth Godin's blog on Sept 6:"We can learn an important lesson about ideaviruses from religions, because they are in many ways the original (and longest-lasting) examples of the genre.If you want to build a religion that spreads, here are some things to build into it: * Bias for evangelism * Sharp distinction between insiders and outsiders * Presumption that insiders are 'right' or '

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1157675724013081212006-09-08T08:24:00.000+08:002006-09-08T08:35:24.040+08:00

Is there anything you believe in that you are willing to die for? Most Westerners see the forced conversion of the Fox journalists in the Middle East as despicable because it violates human rights we believe in - individual freedom, including freedom of choice. However, Mark Steyn comments below that most Easterners are not looking at the violation of the individual. They see the conversion as

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1157595530107834692006-09-07T10:15:00.000+08:002006-09-07T10:18:50.120+08:00

Listen to the defiance in this statement. He is appealing to his personal rights, which will become a stronger and stronger motivator in modern China.Is it artists that will lead the way in pushing for more individual freedom? They will probably give voice to it, but I think it is swelling up in the hearts and minds and stomachs of all this generation of China's pampered only children.By the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1157273969825518002006-09-03T16:58:00.000+08:002006-09-03T16:59:29.846+08:00

Americans are strongly religious, and deeply engaged in political discussion. Most of the time, they don't know how to reconcile these two."Large majorities of Republicans (87%), independents (65%) and Democrats (60%) denounced efforts by liberals to minimize religious influence in the public square, including 70% of conservative and moderate Democrats. Just 38% of liberal Democrats expressed

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1156728982059004742006-08-28T09:36:00.000+08:002006-08-28T09:36:22.076+08:00

This looks like a lotta fun....I love maps, and I love nostalgia, so making a personalized map of my favorite places and memories sounds like something I could spend hours on!"Built on conventional mapping data from services such as Google Maps, these sites let you add digital pushpins that link to personal descriptions of the locations....any visitor can peruse the contributions of others on

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1155216160479326882006-08-10T21:22:00.000+08:002006-08-10T21:22:40.490+08:00

Interesting to pull back the curtain and find out how the news media stages its coverage.This article has fascinating details on several fraudulent news reports from Lebanon."It's important to understand that there is not just a single fraudulent Reuters photograph, nor even only one kind of fraudulent photograph. There are in fact dozens of photographs whose authenticity has been questioned, and

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1154997730209314932006-08-08T08:42:00.000+08:002006-08-08T08:42:10.343+08:00

"According to Capgemini consulting there were 2.9 million millionaires in America and 8.7 million millionaires worldwide in 2005"This data refers to financial assets, not counting real estate. If real estate were included, that would add another 5 million to the ranks of American millionaires.That's a lot of people with a lot of money!My family and I live very comfortable lives, and consider

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1154478581054221112006-08-02T08:29:00.000+08:002006-08-02T08:29:41.080+08:00

There will be more and more clashes like the one reported in this article, as normal Chinese citizens raise their expectations of how they should be treated by their government.And there will be more reporting of incidents like this, as the power of technology makes information more available to people.The Chinese government will have to change as a result of pressure from both their own citizens

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149484252781573492006-06-05T13:10:00.000+08:002006-06-05T13:10:52.796+08:00

Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek regularly writes insightful commentary. This brilliant article reviews tons of relevant statistics and opinions of leaders and comes to the conclusion that what America is best at is adapting, and if it remains scared about competition and flexible in its response, it will remain the most prosperous society on earth."History has arrived in the form of 'Three Billion New

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149483027598570562006-06-05T12:50:00.000+08:002006-06-05T12:50:27.610+08:00

A new kind of Chinese company - blending western management experience with local skill. Great opportunities for entrpreneurs in China!"Liu, 65, founded Augmentum three years ago after an illustrious career as an IBM executive and later a honcho at Acer and an Asian semiconductor company. China's development as a power in software led him to believe that it would be possible for homegrown talent

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149480362229170742006-06-05T12:06:00.000+08:002006-06-05T12:06:02.230+08:00

It certainly seems from reading any news accounts that Global Warming is an accepted fact. But is it actually fact, or politically correct reporting? I was amazed recently to read that the Ozone Hole over Antarctica will actually close in the next few years!"The New York Times in 1895 predicted widespread global cooling. In 1924, the paper reported 'Signs of New Ice Age.' But in 1933, 1952, 1959,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149479663271361162006-06-05T11:49:00.000+08:002006-06-05T11:57:51.326+08:00

Interesting observation on international appeal of soccer/football. Of American sports, only basketball has international appeal. And Americans don't follow or understand the interest in the World Cup. 1 in 5 people worldwide watched the World Cup Final match in 2002, but only 1 in 75 Americans did.One other aspect of World Cup - it is not just about soccer, it is also about nationalism. In that

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149474961310066022006-06-05T10:34:00.000+08:002006-06-05T10:36:01.320+08:00

I've been noticing recently all the newspaper ads for Dubai as a resort destination, and for the first time it hit me - the middle east is a viable holiday destination from Asia.It's only 4 hours time difference from Beijing/Hong Kong/Singapore. The flights and prices are not that expensive.With a rapidly developing middle class in China, developers are scrambling for the Chinese leisure dollars

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149471600349819962006-06-04T09:38:00.000+08:002006-06-05T11:00:47.846+08:00

Why is it that "non-Christian" countries like Pakistan are more concerned about offending Christians than "Christian" countries like the US?It is obviously not about religious ideology or about the political clout of the audience. I believe it is a cultural value that esteems the good of the communnity over the freedom of the individual."Pakistan on Saturday banned cinemas from showing 'The Da

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149472234464194392006-06-03T09:50:00.000+08:002006-06-05T11:00:25.016+08:00

I find this fascintating. First, because Chinese people have a lot of anger bottled up inside without many acceptable ways to let it out. It is common to see arguments and fights on the streets in China. It is a scary situation, and now the internet is providing an avenue for them to vent their anger.Two, because they care about justice but are also hindered by cultural norms which say "It is

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1149476320552130192006-05-27T10:58:00.000+08:002006-06-05T10:59:34.900+08:00

Inside the so-called Chinese military buildup. Doesn't look so threatening when you get a closer look."the looming Chinese threat is the explicit justification for all the big-ticket weapons systems that have nothing to do with fighting terrorists or insurgents."

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1148191041397175402006-05-21T13:57:00.000+08:002006-05-21T13:57:21.396+08:00

What do you notice about this list? How about the huge gap between #1 and the rest? And the large gap between #2 and the rest?"Past imperfectWhen China revised its 2004 GDP numbers last year, it bumped Italy as the sixth-largest economy. China has since risen to No. 4.(2004 GDP, in trillions)U.S. $11.7Japan 4.6Germany 2.8Britain 2.1France 2.0China 1.9Italy 1.7Spain 1.0Canada 0.99Mexico 0.68Source

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1148190706784203442006-05-21T13:50:00.000+08:002006-05-21T13:51:46.796+08:00

It's going to be awhile before there is a standardized measure of economics in China - as it will be awhile before many other things are standardized in the huge country."Late last year, China proclaimed itself the world's sixth-largest economy, edging out Italy. That proud moment wasn't triggered by surging exports of textiles, toys and cellphones. The government simply made a 'statistical

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1147656231014524332006-05-15T09:23:00.000+08:002006-05-15T09:23:51.016+08:00

Now called "undocumented workers."Wow, there are 3 times as many of them in the US as the entire population of the country I live in!"the estimated 11.5 million undocumented workers in the United States."

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1147656044408184352006-05-15T09:20:00.000+08:002006-05-15T09:20:44.426+08:00

Local products become global products which have local impact around the globe.Dan Brown's book has been a marketing success for the Louvre museum in Paris, where attendance is up 25% in the past three years. This has got to make the French wince - pop culture bringing in hordes of tourists (a French word!).Yet some, like the Louvre's director, are aggresively taking advantage of the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1147654817176836722006-05-15T08:48:00.001+08:002006-05-15T09:00:17.193+08:00

This article cites an amazing statistic:"Of 60 nations tracked by investment firm Bridgewater Associates, not one is in recession — the first time that has been true since 1969.They go on to analyze:"'This is the first recovery where developing economies are playing a dominant role,' said James Paulsen, chief strategist at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis, which manages money for big

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1147011920195367332006-05-07T22:24:00.000+08:002006-05-07T22:25:20.210+08:00

The writer of this article in the LA Times is calling on more pro-American propaganda, and I heartily agree with him. One of the great aspects of America and its Christian roots, is the demand that we examine our own sins before we judge others. The American culture supports lots of diversity in opinion and lots of self-criticism.But we also need reminding of what is good about American culture

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1145676673499082752006-04-22T11:30:00.000+08:002006-04-22T11:31:13.510+08:00

This article reveals a very passionate and idealistic Chinese entrepreneur who sees the power of the internet changing peoples' lives, and society, in China.However, they are not necessarily the kind of changes Americans would imagine.Which reminds us that what we want for others, and what we think is best for them, is not always the same as what they want for themselves, and may not be the best

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1144751668028572362006-04-11T18:26:00.000+08:002006-04-11T18:34:28.040+08:00

Just completed my annual income tax filing ritual.Time this year to complete all the forms: 9 mins 19 secsI did it by phone in Singapore. What a country!See, all I have to do is key in the amount of income I have and claim the deductions for my wife and two children. Then they do the rest! It took me a few extra minutes cause I was exploring other options on the phone which they politely

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1144390330028830672006-04-07T14:12:00.000+08:002006-04-07T14:12:10.086+08:00

Is there a "carefree digital generation" coming of age in China? There are certainly fewer boundaries in peoples' minds about what they are entitled to talk about."But in today's China, the freedom to speak one's mind is increasing, especially in cyberspace. More than 110 million Chinese surf the Internet, and an estimated 20 million have become registered bloggers, said Fang Xingdong, founder

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1144376842896999822006-04-07T10:26:00.000+08:002006-04-07T10:27:22.906+08:00

This article presents a snapshot of the changes taking place in China's most international city. For Westerners, it is hard to comprehend the pace and extent of change going on in Third World cities. In China, cities seem to transform every 3-5 years."The reason you must come to Shanghai now, if cities remotely interest you, is that the work here not only constitutes one of the world’s great

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1143100553340830262006-03-23T15:55:00.000+08:002006-03-23T15:57:09.996+08:00

Here is a website that tries to track the deaths and injuries resulting from Muslim attacks over the Danish Muhammad cartoons"Total Deaths: 139Total Injured: 823"When I find a website tracking Christians' murderous rampages following cartoons of Jesus, I'll let you know.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1142818370195032892006-03-20T09:31:00.000+08:002006-03-20T09:32:50.216+08:00

Sent by my friend Tom -Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?Answer: Princess Diana's death.Question: How come?Answer: An English princesswith an Egyptian boyfriendcrashes in a French tunnel,driving a German carwith a Dutch engine,driven by a Belgian who was drunkon Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling)followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,on

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1142646643621696262006-03-18T09:50:00.000+08:002006-03-18T09:50:43.636+08:00

One of my measurements for how developed a society has become is in the clarity and uniformity of its laws, and how evenly they are applied.In undeveloped countries, laws serve as tools for the government to control its people. Citizens are kept at the mercy of rulers, knowing that at any time they may have violated rules (since many of them are conflicting or unclear) and it is the prerogative

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1142645763600480142006-03-18T09:36:00.000+08:002006-03-18T09:36:03.653+08:00

You might have heard of the bloggers in Singapore that were jailed for "sedition" last year because of critical remarks about Muslims.Now that elections are coming to our country, bloggers need to be especially alert. During the election period, they may not write about any politicians in a way that either praises or criticizes them, otherwise they will be breaking the law by campaigning on the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1142404799680858072006-03-15T14:39:00.000+08:002006-03-15T14:40:00.333+08:00

This article says that the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere increased almost 1% during the year!I am not a tree-hugger, but I think the US government (the country that consumes a high percentage of the world's energy) could be doing a LOT MORE to reduce harmful energy usage and stimulate alternative energy development.Some issues are more important than low taxes, and national and global

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1142401423939751632006-03-15T13:43:00.000+08:002006-03-15T13:43:43.940+08:00

Interesting that this former Muslim is getting media coverage about the shortfalls of her former religion. While most non-Muslims would probably agree with her, I doubt many Muslims would pay attention. And those that do, would probably attribute it to anti-Muslim sentiment and not listen seriously."In a blunt interview on Al Jazeera television last month, Sultan harshly criticized Islam as

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1142086730158740032006-03-11T22:18:00.000+08:002006-03-11T22:18:50.223+08:00

This is a well-written Los Angeles Times opinion article "They can't even win a war of words."I agree with the sentiment of this writer, but not as a disappointed Democrat. Rather, as a disappointed American. Does politics have to devolve to the level of attacking your opponent while trying to not make any mistakes yourself?"Yet somehow the Democratic Party still can't do any better than '

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1141202742695112082006-03-01T16:44:00.000+08:002006-03-01T16:45:42.696+08:00

Having lived in Asia ten years, I am much less enamored of anti-censorship than the American Congress or the European Press, which are roasting Google and inciting scorn around the Muslim World.I am much more in favor of regulated expression. I have seen benefits of it in Asian societies, just as I have seen pitfalls of free expression in the West.This article presents a reasonable view of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1140245899650377942006-02-18T11:10:00.000+08:002006-02-18T14:58:19.693+08:00

"But some analysts say that the behavior of high-tech multinationals ultimately may have less effect on freedom of expression than the changing appetites of 1.3 billion information-hungry consumers in China and the voices of people such as Li and deputy editor Lu Yuegang, who are challenging the system at substantial personal risk."Absolutely! Censorship and freedom of expression issues in China

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1139965837948195602006-02-15T09:10:00.000+08:002006-02-15T09:10:37.953+08:00

DO NOT SPIT - fine Rmb 600 ! Originally uploaded by Wang HL. Working hard at improving manners!

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1139965239510714862006-02-15T09:00:00.000+08:002006-02-15T09:00:39.556+08:00

2008 Originally uploaded by www.nataliebehring.com. Now we have some visual evidence that China is marching forward toward their date with destiny : )

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1139052460957547152006-02-04T19:25:00.001+08:002006-02-04T19:53:52.020+08:00

Wow, I am hearing this interpreted as a clash of civilizations. What does it say about how these civilizations view the world?The contrast is portrayed in the media I've read as freedom of speech v. religious zeal.I see more contrast between individualism and collectivism.Muslims cannot understand how western societies can allow denigrating portrayals of Islam. Westerners look at individual

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1138591051179439242006-01-30T11:17:00.000+08:002006-01-30T11:51:26.023+08:00

"China's communist leadership has made tackling poverty in the countryside a key priority, as it acknowledges that three decades of economic and social reforms have left great swaths of the population behind."China's leaders are acting more and more like western politicians in a liberal democratic party, recognizing the importance of wooing people through the media since they are not able to

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1138435445808550122006-01-28T16:04:00.000+08:002006-01-28T16:04:05.840+08:00

"China's skies have darkened over the past 50 years, possibly due to haze resulting from a nine-fold increase in fossil fuel emissions, according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy. "And it will only get worse...China's energy consumption is growing at such a rapid pace! Oil is going to continnnue to be a precious commodity controlling a lot of the world's politics.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1138380843466364472006-01-28T00:54:00.000+08:002006-01-28T00:54:03.526+08:00

China is once again allowing fireworks in large cities, where they have been banned for many years.The trends I see in this are a slowly developing culture of prosperity, where people are spending more money on luxuries (and it is privately spent by individuals, not the government providing public festivities), and a slow emergence of traditional culture, where historical practices are revived.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1135237513628423072005-12-22T15:45:00.000+08:002005-12-22T15:45:13.673+08:00

The worldwide economy is going through a fundamental shift from local markets to a global market. Technology of all kinds is driving it, from production to distribution, and especially in advertising. Advertising revenue on the internet will grow from a little under 5% of all advertising dollars to over 10% in the next 4 years. "The firm now expects the global online ad market to grow at a 25

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1134523672106284062005-12-14T09:27:00.000+08:002005-12-14T09:27:52.150+08:00

"Nearly 7.9 million immigrants - about half of them believed to be illegal - settled in the United States between January 2000 and 2005, boosting the total number of immigrants in the nation to 35.2 million, the study said. About 1.8 million immigrants during that period entered California, more than any other state, according to the study by the D.C.-based think tank that favors immigration

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1134352240122272062005-12-12T09:50:00.000+08:002005-12-12T09:50:40.126+08:00

Distribution of power in the marketplace can lead to multiplication of power for the leader instead of dilution of power. In today's open-information world, is there any other option? It seems to me the issue for leaders is how to motivate the hearts and minds of employees as collaborators rather than how to direct them as workers. "In the old gray-flannel organization, the executive suite was

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1134350430596515342005-12-12T09:20:00.000+08:002005-12-12T09:20:30.596+08:00

While physical separation is becoming less important with the universal implementation of communication technology, cultural distance becomes more and more significant as we increasingly work together with people of different backgrounds. Bridging those differences will become more and more crucial to success economically, socially, and politically. "While the post-geographic world has made it

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1134350110262676322005-12-12T09:15:00.000+08:002005-12-12T09:15:10.316+08:00

Concise and insightful commentary that can give leaders direction for the future: "The Knowledge Economy is giving way to the Creative Economy. Information has become a commodity like coal or corn. People once thought that superiority in technology and information would ease the economic pain of outsourcing manufacturing to Asia. But it turns out that a good deal of knowhow--software writing,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1134299867730462572005-12-11T19:17:00.000+08:002005-12-11T19:17:47.766+08:00

This cracks me up! Today I read that gamers around the world can hire Chinese to play their games online for them in order to win points. What a concept - outsourcing your entertainment! "'For 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, my colleagues and I are killing monsters,' said a 23-year-old gamer who works here in this makeshift factory and goes by the online code name Wandering. 'I make about $250

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082655.post-1134264471942043702005-12-11T09:27:00.000+08:002005-12-11T09:27:51.986+08:00

There are now over 50,000 protests a year in China. Many different reasons, but the striking thing to me is the freedom people feel to protest, and the fact that the protests are reported. With today's communication technologies, events cannot be covered up even if the government wanted to. "The state-run Xinhua News Agency said police opened fire on villagers in Dongzhou, a village in

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0