A Hong Kong Perspective

17.1%

2010-05-18T14:40:00.001+08:00

In an election conducted amidst a virtual media blackout, where government officials actually boycotted the democratic process, where polling stations were moved and in some cases voters had to take a 20 minute taxi ride to cast their ballot, 17.1% voter turn out is nothing to sniff at.

Where else in the world do you have political leaders proclaiming that they will not cast their vote in an election? Nowhere, because those leaders depend on the voting public to ensure their continuing rule - not in Hong Kong.

HK is run on the ostensible principal of "one country, two systems" yet we are not allowed to exercise our autonomy without first receiving approval from our misshapen cabal of mutant fuckwit masters in Beijing, otherwise known as the Politburo. It is these shadowy individuals who hand pick the territory's Chief Executive, and nominate him for an "election" in which only 320 people are allowed to participate (out of a registered electorate of 3.8 million). Further to this there is a curious tradition in HK called "functional constituencies", which are basically an opportunity for Big Business (Li Ka Shing, Kwok Bros, various other Shanghainese biased oligarchs and autocrats) to outspeak the common person with regards to affairs of state (think the US lobbying groups, but give them senate seats). While only 17% of the electorate showed up to vote, despite virtually no media warnings about the election, the majority of those that did vote were of the Post 80's generation.

This tells me two things. The first is the obvious apathy that pervades the older generation – no voting unless the DAB is providing a free lunch as well, they simply cannot be bothered. The second, however, is much more interesting – the younger generation has finally got a clue. This is what should be scaring the established order, as the current generation of leaders (both industrial and political) does not have much time left – this means, to me at least, that by the time 2047 rolls around, the political landscape in HK could be one that is, hopefully, mildly hostile to the PRC.

Now we are hearing the squabbling from both sides. The pro-beijingers are saying that because there was such a low turn out, the results don’t matter (nevermind the fact that they did everything humanly possible to avoid any turnout whatsoever), and the pro-democracy camp is claiming that they now have a mandate to push for full democracy. While I think that this may be jumping the gun a bit, I do think that the turn out established that people here, at least some people, do care.

The fact that Sir Bowtie has asked us to move on from this diversionary nonsense only proves where his true allegiances lay. He is not culpable to the people of hong kong as he does not represent the people. His only obligations are to be a good boy and blindy follow the Central Standing Committee’s lead, wherever that may lead us, and to do nothing beyond the degradation and stagnation of society as a whole.

The current state of politics in this fair city sickens me.

However there is hope. Approximately 19,000 blank ballots were cast in Sunday’s election. While this figure may represent mere abstentions, to me it means more, especially in light of the shenanigans perpetrated by the government to effectively stop people from voting. Those 19,000 individuals who left their ballots blank want democracy, but as the election was sidelined and there was no real contest for the seats, chose not to vote for any of the candidates on offer. This is a step in the right direction, and serves a lesson that more people in this city could learn. The lesson is such:

It does not matter who you vote for, as long as you cast a ballot.

With the stance being taken by the government, especially from the Chief Executive and Constitutional Affairs Secretary, it is more important than ever that people express their democratic voice. It is as simple as registering to vote, and going to the polling station. If we do not use our voice, it will get taken away – as the actions of the CE and his cabinet have shown (they do not care).

Fight for your interests, and fight against mainland interference. I will be marching in this year’s July 1 protest, and I urge all of you to do the same.

Not Enough Time

2010-03-05T09:51:00.004+08:00

Sorry for my recent lack of posts, its been a frenetic few weeks. As i've said before, 2010 is already a stellar year for those of us who like the video games.

Having rocked out ME2, i moved on to the quality offering from Visceral Games and EA in the form of Dante's Inferno. If you haven't checked it out, i highly recommend taking a look at this modern interpretation of the literary master piece of the same name. Wickedly difficult, and highly unique, Dante's kept me engrossed the entire time - full review coming later.

Then it was onto BioShock 2, and despite the exceptional reviews, this one fell flat for me. Essentially a spruced up version of the original, but lacking in the freshness that i felt the first time round. If you've got a limited budget, or just don't have the time to play many games, i'd give BioShock 2 a miss.

After BioShock 2, i picked up a copy of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I have loved the Battlefield franchise since i started playing Battlefield: 1942 back in 2002, and BFBC2 exceeded my expectations.Using the FrostBite engined developed by DICE, co-developer EA has produced a worthy successor to the original installment. What makes BFBC2 so fundamentally different from a game like Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is that the game is grounded in reality; no "super hero" characters, or absurdly outlandish player actions. The physics of the environment, to the destructibility of the map elements, and the comprehensive kit options all conspire to keep you hooked.

I picked up my copy on Wednesday, and haven't nearly had my fill yet...

That being said, posting will be fairly light on the ground in the coming weeks. March always turns out to be a seriously hectic month, and this year will be no different. I'll try to do a proper post in the coming weeks, but in the mean time, watch this space.

Various Thoughts

2010-02-04T11:19:00.001+08:00

Just finished Mass Effect 2 and I’ve got to say, it is an exceptional game. If you haven’t played it yet and you own a 360, get your ass in gear and beg, borrow, or steal a copy. If you haven’t played it and own a Wii, move along, because we don’t like your kind here.

That being said, if you haven’t finished the game, jump to after the picture, because I’m about to indulge myself in some ***spoilers***.

One of the things I really liked about ME2 was a sense of the massive scale of the universe which Shepard and Co inhabit. Bioware and EA did an exceptional job of tying up loose ends from the first game (if you loaded a character from the original). The little notes and interactions from the NPC’s in the first game delivered a level of believability that not many games have these days. Lets face it, did anyone walk away from their encounter with the reporter in ME1 and not want to smack her in the face? Getting that opportunity in ME2 was a delightful surprise.

More on that vein is the continuation of the storyline. The subtle (and not so subtle) prodding that your decisions will have an impact on the way that ME3 plays out. That’s one of the reasons I chose not to wipe out the Geth, and why I saved the Collector’s ship instead of blowing it up – how will those decisions play out when the reapers finally arrive in the Terminus systems? I’m hoping that they mean I get a lot of extra support from the sentient species. The scope is truly incredible and I’m eager to see what the developers throw at me next – I like space operas, and this is a space opera of gigantic proportions.

I was a bit vexed at the planet scanning system that they included, it was such a waste of time… I did start to get into it when I got the scanner upgrades, but could do without it in the sequel. Additionally, much of the RPG aspect of the game has been removed, this was seriously disappointing. I don’t know whether EA or Bioware were to blame, but the game has changed into a linear shooter masquerading as a sandbox RPG rather than the true RPG it was in the original. It still plays well and is thoroughly engrossing, but I miss getting all the gear and having all those options. I will return for the third enstalment however, Bioware knows that by showing me the armada of the Reapers i am certain to return. Maybe this time we can jump to the meat instead of marching around the galaxy picking up a ragtag group of misfits...

Hell, maybe they'll even let Shepard vas Normandy live past 10 minutes into the game, and save us all the trouble of having to start over.

Anyway, Mass Effect 2 was excellent. I’m having a bit of an internal struggle to decide whether it was better than Darksiders, but am going to restrain my judgment until I’ve played Dante’s Inferno and BioShock II… 2010 has already been a great year for gamers, and it is looking like it is going to continue – I can’t wait. For those of you interested in Dante’s Inferno (made by the same crew who did God of War), go to Digg.com and press Ctrl+U; it looks like the source code has been jacked – clever hacking or clever advertising for technically aware nerds? I do like it, whatever the reason.

(Click here to see Ben “Yhatzee” Croshaw’s reaction to some very clever marketing on the part of the DI team)

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After my massive geek out over the last couple weeks with Scifi books, video games, and general nerdiness i have started reading Kafka on the Shore by Murakami (it counts as "literature" right? I think it works as my pennance for space opera goodness). Only just getting my feet wet, and reserving judgment until i have finished, but can already feel my enthusiasm for the book going the way of Catch 22.

When i first picked up Catch 22 i absolutely hated it. It took 7 years and a second reading to convince me this was the funniest thing i had ever read, and now i go back to my well worn and dogeared copy about once every 6 months...

Kafka on the Shore is weird, no doubt about that, but i will just have to see how it plays out. Murakami does go well with the musical intonations of Less than Jake though, who would have thought that combo would work?

____________________________________________________________________

And on to local news....

Christina Chan will be talking at the FCC today on the "post 80's generation Hong Kong". I have already given my thoughts on the topic, but it will be interesting to see how she goes about it. I have a feeling that it will boil down to an indifferent government, vested interests, and kowtowing to Beijing being detrimental to the growth of our fair city - but she can be fairly out there on occasion. I know that it should be a good chat though - will she talk it up as a "Student Activist" or look for a more serious approach and title herself as an "Analyst"?

***

Tony Chan is being investigated on charges of fraud following the startling conclusion that he forged signatures on documents he submitted to the court when trying to get his hands on Nina Wang's fortune... Did anyone reasonably believe otherwise?

***

Saw an article in the SCMP yesterday about potential smoking legislation. Apparently when you ban indoor smoking, all the smokers will move outside. This has caused the weedy folk out there to complain about having to breathe "foul air". I hate to break it to these sad acts, but with the amount of particulates floating around in the air of our city, you don't have to inhale second hand smoke to get cancer - just go outside and take a deep breath of PRC pollution... Any opinion which chooses to go after smokers in such light, while ignoring the rampant pollution issue is severely misguided, not to say idiotic. Yes, there is an air quality problem, but it really isn't caused by smokers - there just happens to be several thousand pounds of CO2 being emitted every day across the border... It's all good though - Donald and his masterminds have come up with the exceptional environmental policy of "wind".

The article also mentioned Tax increases on tobacco, an issue i've touched on before. Again, it is retarded; the idea that raising taxes will stop the issue, but having no factual soundness on which to base the argument. An "academic" is at heart here, but can she really be an academic if she has done no studies and can present no solid conclusions to her hypothesis? I shouldn't be surprised though - that is how we ended up with the cross border high speed rail link after all.

And today, another article about smoking... this one focused on the facts that teens have access to tobacco. This has an exceptionally simple solution - Card tobacco purchasers no matter their age. Problem solved. I should totally be on a government advisory board.

Thats me done for this week.... Let me know your thoughts below.

Space Goodness

2010-02-01T10:22:00.000+08:00

Currently in the midst of Mass Effect 2. If you haven't checked it out yet i suggest you do so... Unfortunately, no new posts until i have defeated the game, so check back soon.

It smells like tuna

2010-01-28T11:37:00.000+08:00

When Amina Mariam Bokhary crashed her car in Happy Valley last night, she was not a happy camper. Neither were the police.

Ms Bokhary, who has a history of mental illness (she suffers from Bi-Polar disorder and Depression)and was quite probably under the influence of either alcohol or narcotics, managed to ram her car into the front of a bus on Stubbs Road and when police arrived at the incident, Ms Bokhary tried to flee the scene - an act which ultimately culminated with her slapping an officer in the face and being led off in handcuffs. However wrong her actions may have been, the issue i have with the above incident is with regards to the amateur theatrics on the part of the officer she slapped.

Watch the video... there is a full 5 second gap between the time that Ms Bokhary slaps (0:30) the officer, and the officer going down like a sack of shit. My immediate reaction - this guy is a fucking pussy. What would have happened if he had actually been punched in the face, rather than receiving, what can only be described as, an extremely effeminate slap? More to the point, what good would this sad excuse for a man be in the event of an actual physical confrontation?

There is no doubt that Ms Bokhary was in the wrong, but there was also no need for the officer receiving the "love tap" to fall to the floor squealing like a stuck pig. From his reaction you'd think that he was knifed in the gut instead of being slapped in the face by a woman - something which most men will have experience with; even if they don't admit it. Apparently Ms Bokhary is stronger than the average woman because the copper was last seen departing the scene in an ambulance...

This over reaction to, lets face it, not a terribly dangerous "physical threat" is fairly common practice among our boys in blue. Who can remember the incident where a police officer shot a homeless Nepalese man in the head because, wait for it, he was threatened with a chair....

The Corporate Voice; A First Amendment Fail

2010-01-26T13:38:00.000+08:00

I realize that this is slightly old news, the decision was passed down last Friday (the 22^nd of January), but after a weekend of excess and bewilderment at the reform consultation process, I didn’t have the time to give this the attention which it deserves.

In case you aren’t watching the USA as you would a train wreck, I’ll give you the rundown on the situation:

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America states that “all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”

I know that is a bit of a mouthful, but it does make a lot of sense. Men are created equally, they pursue certain rights, and they form a government to ensure that those rights are secured. If that government does not help, or support the people in their attempt to secure those rights, the government shall be abolished. Fair enough?

One of the corner stones to this “all men are created equal” idea is that it has, for the last 100 years, pertained solely to individual humans. Corporations are treated as an individual for tax and liability purposes, but they are not given equal status under the First Amendment of the US Constitution – the amendment which guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. Anyone who has ever dealt with a corporation knows that not all business are created equally. Whether it be a failed product (I’m looking at you Xbox 360), flawed customer service (PCCW), or just simple stupidity; everyone has companies which they will choose to work with because they are better than the competitors. That’s business – provide the best service/product possible, or go bust. But they aren’t people, the Corporates are not equal to me, or you, and the USA has long acknowledged that.

That is, Corporations were not given that equal status until recently – when the US Supreme Court overturned crucial parts of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, and established that a corporation is indeed equal to an individual when it comes to freedom of speech.

With the Supreme Court decision, the five conservative Justices have essentially decided that corporations should have the same opportunity to voice opinions as you, the everyman; that you as an individual will have the same ability to contribute to the campaign and political process as a multi-national billion dollar mega company. Is it a wonder that this formerly great nation is going to the dogs?

I mean, really, with massive unemployment, a seriously shakey economy, and a climate of corporate greed, why would these defenders of the constitution actually think that giving an equal voice to an entity which can hire Madison avenue Advertising firms to create flash publicity campaigns, and then pay the major US networks to air those ads again and again, why would that be “equal” to my voice? Never mind the hordes of unemployed, no home poor that currently exist throughout the country…. How is this equal – there is something here that strikes me both as being blatantly unfair, and maybe even a tad bit corrupt.

This then begs the question, if Corporate entities are entitled to extend their participation in the electorial process, will the USA then be seeing political candidates in NASCAR style jump suits which proclaim their interest groups and backers for all to see? will it get to a point where the American public will vote for their favorite corporation? While it may not be that blunt, the private interests and the lobbyists will have much more control over the candidates who run for public office; because lets face it, if you don't have the private backing, you will be unable to compete with those candidates that do. To a certain extent, this may actually change the act of simple consumerism (aka Shopping) into a de-facto ballot measure - Americans will be voting with their wallets by supporting, or not, the various corporate entities which espouse their views... This is a thought which quite frankly terrifies me.

Can you imagine a USA which has a majority of public officials are funded and branded by Exxon Mobile? Or how about EMI and Sony Music?

On a certain level, i can understand the reasoning behind the decision - Lobbyists are part and parcel of the American political process and this may be an attempt to bring greater transparency to the process by getting the back room dealings and monetary "gifts" out in the open and on the record. But missing out on the fact that this has now given a corporation a larger voice than the average citizen is where the Justices fail.

Although, i don't know why i'm complaining. In Hong Kong we have a significant proportion of our legislature composed of private interests. We call them Functional constituencies. Maybe the American Supreme court judges decided that they would take a leaf out of the book of Hong Kong... although for the life of me, i couldn't tell you why.

Reform Scavanger Hunt

2010-01-25T20:07:00.001+08:00

American Idol is once again back in town and in full swing. This means that i have stopped watching TV. It's not entirely the fault of the American Idol crew (although i am heartened by the news that simon is leaving after this season, do i detect the end?), but they do contribute. It's more to do with the fundamental lack of programming on any of the channels that NOW offers me. I know it's an old gripe with me; i'm convinced that NOW is out to make my viewing time miserable, and that a blind monkey with one arm would make a better programming director, but it has had a positive impact. I've hit the books hard in recent weeks... Albeit seriously cheesy scifi, but that still counts right? NOW TV - So bad you'll read.

I did, however, accidentally sit through the first 15 minutes of something called "Dark horse" in the anticipation that it would be a horror movie the other night. 15 minutes of eerie music, ominous advances - blatant horror overtones - before i realised that it was in fact a movie about a black horse. Fair play monkey guy, you got me.... But that was the straw that broke the camels back and inspired this move away from the tube.

I do still watch the ATV news at 7:30; there is no way i'd deprive myself that pleasure. During one of my recent bouts of the giggles (it's nothing Tony, i just love the way Anne-Marie says "CAC Quarante") i noticed an ad from the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau touting their public consultation package for Election Refor m. As we know, the general idea being floated is that it would be really fun is that we should expand Legco by 10 more seats bringing the total amount of "direct or indirectly elected elections" to 41, at a total of 60% of the chamber, while leaving the existing functional constituencies at their existing 29.

This ad is what raised my ire slightly and caused me to write this post. What i got out of that PSA, upon first viewing, was the fuzzy feeling that we will be expanding Legco by votes. Ever the optimist i waited around for a website so i could go check it out... I found out that the consultation ends on the 19th of Feburary, but couldn't for the life of me have told you where to go to participate as there was no contact information of any sort. No website; Seriously?

Being the proactive sort of fellow i am, i decided to track down some more information, and decided that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau would probably be the best place to start my search for information. I went to their website. I do, what is best described here as, "internet stuff" for a living; so my perspective on this may be a bit screwy - but why would you give me a website where the main point of focus is this bloke:

I mean, he's no Christina Chan...

I was however, on the website of the government department that was hosting the reform consultation, so i decided to avoid that seriously ugly mug and look for what i went there for - election reform. Scouring through the legions of tiny icons, i eventually spotted it, up the top:

A couple things were running through my head at this point, not least of all was "wouldn't, ELECTION REFORM, in big bright letters have done the trick? Was there really a need to cram all of that in there?" Call me suspicious, but i may have had a feeling like they didn't really want my opinions at this point in time...

Clicking on the link i arrived at what i was looking for, got through the non-SEO friendly landing page and landed on, another fucking picture of Stephen fucking Lam. Seriously? Why would you do that to me twice? There can be no other reason for having yet another portrait of that face other than to scare off the punters... could it be that we have discovered the mysterious Asian rickroll.... But yes, there he was again, with his hordes of text; it was as if they really wanted to make this as difficult as possible. Listen buddy, i just spent all day at work, and you want me to read all that?

The point i'm trying to make from this is that if the government truly wanted consultation why wouldn't they have made this easier? I do recognize the fact that the other version of the PSA (here) had contact details, and that i did actually find the site, but how can you make the claim that you want public involvement and then air an ad which gives no contact information? Not to mention your absurdly designed websites - graphics and site structure. But this is overly complicated. There are great statements being made by our officials to include the public more, and to connect to the younger generation, but it looks like they are just going about it in an ass backwards fashion.

Here's a free tip for our glorious leaders, if you want public input make a facebook app or a twitter feed. Make that shit easy. Don't give me reams of information, never mind make it difficult for me to get to that information, you should be making it easy for us to digest. read some Cracked.com and maybe get an appreciation for the list.

Having said that, i did press on. I read that we got the go ahead for reform from they whom hold the yoke in 2007 and that the "Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau has published the Consultation Document on the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the Legislative Council in 2012 ("Consultation Document") on 18 November 2009". And still i decided i needed more, so i clicked for the consultation document(PDF)....

and said bugger this, i'm going for a beer.

2009 Darwin Awards

2010-01-21T11:14:00.000+08:00

The Darwins are out!!!!

Yes, it's that magical time of year again when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least evolved among us.

Here is the glorious winner:

1. When his 38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Provo, Utah, would-be robber Jason Ellison did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And now, the honorable mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped..... Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies..... The deception
wasn't discovered for 3 days.

5. A teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer.... $15.
[If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?]

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly.... He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window.. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a South Carolina convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away. [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on an Atlanta street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline, but he plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.

In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with friends and family.... unless of course one of these individuals by chance is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.

*** Remember.... They walk among us, and they breed!!!***

For more evolutionary awesomeness visit the Darwin Awards website.

Post-80’s – Digital Crusaders in an Analogue Jail

2010-01-20T11:49:00.000+08:00

In my mind 1980 was a turning point. Sure there were crazy neon clothes and astonishingly absurd mullets (and disco hadn’t entirely died), but there was also the crush of technological expansion that has resulted in the gadget obsessed 21st century. For me, the 80’s were responsible for ushering in the future – an age of technology and science – a future which we are currently living in.

The Hong Kong media has kicked off 2010 with an unusual focus, one of the continuing stories of interest being run by virtually all HK news media is with regards to what we are calling, locally at least, the “Post-80’s” generation. On New Years Day there was a mass demonstration by, overwhelmingly, young people in front of the Central Government’s Liaison office in western district. The demonstration unfortunately turned into an assault after the activists perceived themselves to be ignored by the government representatives within – never a condonable activity – but this has consequently turned into much hand wringing and wailing within both local political circles and media organizations. The question they all seem to be asking is “Why? Why did our young people act out so?” This question has seemed evermore pertinent in recent days due to the unfortunate events outside Legco on Saturday – but unfortunately no convincing answers by the various “analysts” are forth coming….

Let me provide some illumination.

I am a member of this generation, the Post-80ers or Gen Y, the first digital generation. I distinctly remember the arrival of our first family PC back in the early 90’s, learning how to use MSDOS to install games, there were no pretty pictures or nice user interface here. I remember building the first computer which allowed me to access the internet (with the horrendously loud 56K modem), and the porn that existed there; back in the day www.whitehouse.com was one of the biggest XXX sites on the web. But I also remember learning how to edit videos on a Panasonic linear editor, lining up each shot carefully so that it could be edited into the scene in the right place – a few short years later that Panasonic was tossed out and Digital Casablanca’s were introduced instead.

Being an earlier member of this generation I remember the analogue age; cassette tapes and floppy disks. But the rise of technology came about in such a way that it has always been extremely natural for me to hop on a computer, any computer, and get to work – as if there is some innate understanding of how it all fits together; it’s not mere gadgetry (although that may be a factor) but an association with technology that is fundamentally different from the generations prior to mine… I am not an isolated case.

One of the issues that most concerns the Gen Y group is with regards to Religion and Science. In the last 100 years science has exploded with innovation; even more so since the 1980’s. Global perceptions on science have taken a radical shift in the last 20 years, primarily due to the death of the “God of the gaps” – that being which humanity has used for thousands of years to explain the concepts which we don’t understand.

In the words of Howard Smith (respected astrophysicist): “This god is the one who, for most of history, was invoked to explain the mysterious workings of the world - the creation of the universe, for example, or the nature of life. This god was needed to explain the gaps in our understanding - but during the past decades nearly all such gaps have disappeared.”

Generation Y has grown up in a world where Physicists have locked down fairly convincing answers, in repeatable experiments, pointing to the origins of the universe. Biologists know what makes life tick to such an extent that scientists are now able to create artificial life forms in the lab, and chemistry, geology, and math are also experiencing major revelations. Quite simply, the flood of information about our world in the last 20 years has surpassed any previous scientific breakthroughs; and for the Post-80's child, this information is the lifeblood of existence - we have come into our own tethered to that ever expanding entity known as the world wide web. How could we not thrive on information when we have been taught, and have learned, that the entirety of human knowledge is at our finger tips?

Our need for information, and connectedness, in conjunction with the major scientific developments of the age have made us into fundamentally different beings from our parents. What 45 year old balding journalist can understand the pure, unfiltered joy that we experience in our "random" trawling of teh internets, or the sublime rapture of playing a truly incendiary video game? To generations before video games are just that, games, to us they impart social and moral lessons no less important than film or books - they are a new form of self expression for the serious gamer, and serious gamers are males under 30 (for the most part). There is here a fundamentally different world view.

This worldview demands instant gratification and equitable dialogue - after all, our primary resource is the web, where all viewpoints and ideas are shared equally, no matter how thoroughly retarded they may be. In our view things are actually accomplished on the web, and we can perceive a tool that can be used for the betterment of mankind - should it not become irrecoverably subverted by excessive legislation from technophobic septuagenarian politicians and vested business interests.

And this is where the Post-80's are really starting to loose it. As i've said before, we understand the world in a totally different way, but in a way that makes sense to us in the midst of an ever widening net of technology and understanding. There are very few firm ideals in the Post-80's mind, but there is an overwhelming need to be heard; and heard on whatever topic may come into our minds. Often we are too preoccupied with our own world, and this may be why many news "analysts" refer to this generation as being overwhelmingly apathetic. I can see how this viewpoint might arise in the age of inane twitter posts and degrading language, at least to someone not of the group, but often it is only other twentysomethings and ninetys babys that can grasp the rare jewels of insight - those rare voices screaming in the dark amidst what would otherwise be looked at as a torrent of incomprehensible drivel.

The question then is why, why are those voices of rationality so rare within this age group? The obvious answer would be that Gen-Yers do not posses enough maturity to contribute to society, and probably never will - all that internet and video game stuff has begun to rot their brains. This would be an obvious answer, but wrong. The reality lays in the fact that we are extremely aware of the futility of our actions; it is an "us versus them" mentality where we have the new information and they are working on a set of extremely old rules, but "they" have the power... This is intolerable to the Post-80's individual, who by default has come to accept that new data and insights should always trump the old - especially when the insights make previous assumptions provably false.

But this is not the world view of previous generations, who cling to outdated and irrational ideas as if they were a shield against the personal corruption of the soul. Striving for purity and consistency is all very well and good, but not in an age defined by change - the age of the Post-80's child. Never before in the history of man has a generation been so fundamentally different from it's predecessors. This is no fault of those who came before, but merely due to the way in which this generation encountered the wider world - earlier and faster than ever before. But our ease of understanding, our new socially based outlook (rather than a religious or economic perspective), and our innate connection to technology have put us at odds with our elders (who are not necessarily our betters).

We have seen the religious right fail, time and again, at being the pure, virtuous beings that they claim to be. We have seen the global war on drugs bring misery, poverty, and slavery because big Pharma did not want to loose profits. We have seen the corruption of politicians first hand, and the failure of religion to establish control. In our short lives, we have seen it all. And we don't understand - surely "they" must be reading the same stuff as i am, surely "they" saw that journal article, surely "they" are listening? All too often, "they" are not.

Long answer short: This may be an ever perpetuating case of generation gaps (what is wrong with young people/why are older folks retarded), but the divide is of epic proportions. We understand what is happening, we want to make our voices heard, but we are powerless to influence events while old information and faulty data are continuing to be brought forth as the "truth"... The ultimate ending to this isolation of a radically different perspective will always be violence; as Martin Luther King said "a riot is the voice of the unheard".

To you who are bemoaning the fact that the Post-80's section of Hong Kong were taking steps to empower themselves - it is OUR future after all and you seem to be royally fucking it up - take the time to listen to our voice; that is the first step to understanding and resolving the "conflicts in Hong Kong society".

As ever, let me know what you think in the comments.

Pea Brained

2010-01-19T11:47:00.000+08:00

"The irresponsible behaviour of some protesters trying to storm into Legco violated the core values of Hong Kong, the spirit of the rule of law and the general interests of society. The government and the general public will absolutely not accept such behaviour." – Donald Tsang, Chief Executive HKSAR, Jan 18 2010.

I often compare Hong Kong to Disneyland, but without the safety measures. Life here is a great ride, full of all sorts of zany characters and weird cartoon performances, but under the surface there is always an apprehension that something is about to go seriously wrong – like a rollercoaster unable to slow down, perilously close to going off the track. Sure, life can be great in this vibrant east meets west city, but only if you don’t examine the machinery which makes the whole place tick.

The latest saga gripping the minds of Hong Kong citizenry revolves around the HK-Guangzhou High Speed Rail Link fiasco. If you haven’t been following the story, Hong Kong has over the past months been debating the viability of the world’s most expensive railway… Ostensibly the rail link will help Hong Kong avoid marginalization in the face of mainland growth, and give us a direct line to Guangzhou – all respectable aims. In reality however, the train does no such thing.

The Rail Link will destroy homes, assign land to already wealthy corporate interests, cost more per meter than any other rail project in human history, and will terminate 45 minuets outside of Guangzhou… Most importantly, the rail link is opposed by a large segment of Hong Kong society. Is it any surprise then, that the nepotistic, crony infested chambers of the Hong Kong legislative council passed a bill which would give the funding to this project? Of course not, it does benefit big business after all.

The outrage at this decision to go ahead with this massive white elephant of a project culminated on Saturday the 16th of January with an attempt by activists and demonstrators to storm the Legco chambers in an attempt to make their voices heard. The details of what occurred during this incident are murky, protesters may have removed barriers blocking the way into the Legislative building, which lead to the police using pepper spray in addition to physical force to stop their (the demonstrators) entry. Protestors claim they simply wanted only to walk slowly around Legco. They did not block exits from the car park until their way was blocked by police according to one Human Rights monitor present at the scene.

Whatever sparked the initial incident, pepper spray and violence were the end result.

As a result of this fiasco, Donald Tsang yesterday released a statement containing the above quote. He even went as far to stress that “The rail project, approved by a 31-21 vote, had the support of a majority in the community and among lawmakers”, according to the SCMP this was reiterated a total of three times during his speech – is Donald convincing himself, or is he legitimately trying to convince the public?

Mr. Tsang, knowing full well that our “government” does not, in fact, represent the “people” how can you make such a spurious statement? Your inability to effectively administer this city, or to make firm decisions (on any issue!) have proven you to be a weak minded small brained individual; deserving of no respect or consideration outside of your farcical position as the titular head of our government. Yet you continue to act in an ad-hoc manner, kowtowing to the wealthy elite or your Beijing masters as appropriate; never considering the impact of your misguided and often sophomoric actions on the bulk of the Hong Kong population – those of us who do not possess billion dollar fortunes or intimate ties to the corrupt and degenerate system of governance across the border.

Under your limited scope, the “majority” encompasses only those who are wealthy enough to enter the rarified atmosphere of your domain; this is hardly a true representation of the views espoused by Asia’s world city.

During his condemnation of the protestors actions Tsang said “In other developed countries, views about major infrastructure projects are diverse ... this is understandable. Divisions cannot be bridged only by consultation.”… Mr. Tsang, I would ask you to actually be aware of worldly affairs by coming down from your cloud nine; you might want to read up on the infamous Bridge to Nowhere.

Beijing views this altercation as an incidence of rioting, costing Sir Bowtie and his cabinet serious face with their lords and masters. Although not quite the cloaked cabal of misshapen mutants that I always imagine them to be (although that would be, perhaps, strangely fitting), the PRC is obviously exerting its influence on the current administration in an effort to ensure that the barbarous liberals inhabiting the foreigner infested southern city don’t get any of the wrong ideas… as in actual representation of citizens rights, or, heaven forbid, government culpability.

Does universal suffrage look likely now? Or should we resign ourselves to life in a poor imitation of a democratic society, eternally beholden to tycoons and fuckwit politicians?

Let me know what you have to say in the comments.

Evangelicals and You

2010-01-13T16:38:00.000+08:00

I hate stupidity. Actually, I don’t hate it, I loathe it. I’m of the mind that any modern teenager should be sat down and forced to watch Idiocracy, and perhaps even Religulous, purely so that we, as humans, can stop the rot and decline of our mental faculties which are succumbing to a plague I have dubbed “spastic syndrome”.

Why am I telling you how much I hate stupidity? Because quite frankly, I’m fed up.

I’m fed up of pandering to the masses of misguided morons because they, the great unwashed, believe that rumor is truth. I’m fed up of being Politically Correct and walking on egg shells in the fear that I may hurt someone’s feelings. I’m fed up of being beholden to religious institutions that are hundreds, if not thousands of years out of date. I’m fed up with the fact that in the year 2010 a majority of Americans believe that Hong Kong is in Japan (who can also be convinced that all Hong Kongers live in pagodas and ride to work on the backs of Pandas). I’m fed up with the slow rot of the earth and the destruction of the environment when alternatives for a cleaner world exist.

I’m. Fed. Up.

One of the biggest irritations in my everyday life is religion. I’ll be up front with you right now; if you tell me that you are a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, I will call you an idiot. It’s not because I feel there is anything inherently wrong with those beliefs, but more to do with the way in which those beliefs, and the organized institutions surrounding them, are affecting life in the modern world.

Personal God? That’s completely OK with me. Trying to live your life by the 10 commandments? I guess you could do worse. Adhering to the Golden Rule? I’m down with doing unto others. Creating social mores and political systems/parties based on text that was written by men in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE? You, sir, are a fuckwad.

One of the scariest instances of religion having a direct consequence on the real world can be seen in the recruitment of Sarah Palin to Fox News. On first blush this is nothing to worry about (simply the continuation of extreme right wing views that Fox has long espoused), but on further investigation the truth behind Palin’s motives and her reasoning for staying in the public eye are enough to make me almost shit myself in fear. Almost. When I’m not pointing and laughing.

Sarah Palin is an Evangelical. For those of you who have been living in caves for the last decade (say hi to Osama for me), Evangelicalism is the dressed up way of saying “Modern Christian Fundamentalism”. You may remember those Taliban and Al Qaeda guys, they are Muslim fundamentalists; Evangelicals are the Christian equivalent – and there are, quite literally, millions of the fuckers, all over the world.

Think about that for a second. If Islamic fundamentalism is bad, why is Christian fundamentalism any better? The short answer is: it is not. The long answer will take some explaining.

To understand why I loathe evangelicals you need to know what they believe in. Quite simply put, an Evangelical Christian believes in the literal interpretation of the bible. That is to say, they think that the bible is an infallible document which lays out the predictions (100% accurate of course) for Mankind’s future, as well as giving us the real story of how the world was created (Creationism FTW!).

Sure, you may say, plenty of people believe in the bible. My response to you is to take another look at the above paragraph – Evangelicals don not just believe in the bible and the Christian God, they believe in the LITERAL interpretation of the bible. As in, the bible is the final word on all topics. Literally.

I’ll let that sink in for a second.

This is the reason that the evangelical movement is anti-science, anti-homosexuality, anti-modernity, anti-choice; because the bible says these things are wrong. Why would you listen to a rational evidence based argument when an 1800 year old book has told you that an invisible sky man made the world in 7 days? Because, you are told, simply believing in it, and submitting to Jesus means that you get to go to heaven. Not only do you get to go to heaven, but angels will come down and pluck you into the sky while all the wicked people are dying of radiation poisoning below – you can then jeer. Morally acceptable times all round. Apocalyptic Evangelical Cults, so you can be a dick before the afterlife.

Not that being a dick during the rapture has any purpose, because with Evangelical belief you can be a dick right here on earth – as long as you have accepted Jesus. This is why the USA is currently mired in war, and why Iraq was a prime target during the Bush years – because Bush and most of his cronies are Evangelicals. As long as they believe it doesn’t matter. This is perhaps why in Hong Kong most of the upper echelon tycoons are also evangelicals, none of that Catholic/Anglican “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for the rich man to go to heaven” here… They have belief and can consequently go to heaven rich! Lets all go to the Ark Park.

Evangelicals are one of the overriding reasons for the existence of the state of Israel - If Israel does not exist, Armageddon cannot happen. So the Christan Zionists are happy to lend their support to a Fascist, Suppressive, Cruel regime - because hey, the belief system fails if the end time doesn't happen.

No good works, no repentance of sins, and blatant hypocrisy. All you need is to believe. Going back to my original thought, this annoys the ever loving shit out of me.

I know i haven't said enough on the subject, but i should probably be getting back to work.

Tell me your thoughts below

Translation Needed

2009-12-29T15:19:00.000+08:00

Choosing to live in Hong Kong means that you are under the thumb of at least one of the city’s mega-corporations at all times. You may be beholden to Hong Kong Electric’s outrageous electricity tariffs, assaulted by the screeching of the Emperor Group’s musical offerings, or run the endless gamut of fun PPCW mind games.

For the most part these companies manage to stay off the radar; running in stealth mode sucking the wealth from our bank accounts. And as long as the services and products they provide are of a decent value, no one will complain – as a society we know our complaints are not worth the time it takes to make them. However, there is one issue in particular which has been raising my ire for quite some time now – visual media.

There are a host concerns at play, from a host of companies, but the main target for my rage is none other than NOW TV…. Quite simply put – what a bunch of spastics!

The first problem with NOW is the easy to point to “HBO On-Demand” Package. In essence, there is absolutely nothing “on-demand” about it. When initially purchasing my NOW setup, the sales associate informed me that HBO On-Demand would change their movies twice a month, with a range of exciting new offerings every time… Well, having had the service for 2 years now, that ladies and gentlemen is complete and utter bollocks. Yes, the movies may change twice a month, but they will often cycle back to previous offerings while only rarely including any new material. Point in case: Lassie in the blockbuster section.

In case you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Lassie recently, it is a movie targeted at Tweens, portraying the lovable adventures of a dog and its family. All very well and good, but not exactly what I would call a blockbuster. I’m fine with NOW offering me Lassie to watch, and including it in the on-demand list (even as a miss-titled blockbuster), but I started to loose it after the 8th consecutive month in which it was listed, and the titles that could be selected from remained steaming piles of turd which no one in their right mind would watch… Black Beauty for the umpteenth month in a row? You have to be shitting me.

Despite all this, the shenanigans of HBO are of a minor irritation compared to the games that National Geographic is currently playing.

Imagine this: You have just settled in to watch a thoroughly interesting documentary on the discovery of the “Judas Gospel”. “Golly, this is some serious stuff” you muse to yourself while the show interviews various leading scientists for their thoughts. All the while you only partially observe the Chinese subtitles running along the bottom of the screen off the picture (you are a hardcore HK expat after all, those subtitles are old hat by now)… And then the show produces a dramatization, the characters in the narrative (Jesus and Judas) start speaking Aramaic – and all of a sudden your mind breaks.

“Huh, I wonder what is being said, as I don’t speak Aramaic,” you think to yourself; all the while scanning the screen for some semblance of a translation for what is going on. Then you realize what has happened – there are English subtitles for this dead and ancient language, but the Chinese subtitles have moved 4 inches up the screen for the express purpose of blocking them out. “Maybe it’s a glitch” you think. “Maybe the next time I’ll be able to see the English,” you hope.

But no, every time the Aramaic ends, the Chinese subtitles retreat to the bottom of the screen. Every time the Aramaic starts and English subtitles are displayed the Chinese jumps up the screen for the express purpose of blocking them out….

WTF….. What. The. Fuck.

Is this on purpose? Did the Asian editor decide that the English subtitles were not worth including? Or did that same editor suppose that all westerners would be able to understand Aramaic? It’s a shame he didn’t watch the documentary, he would have discovered the language has been dead for a few thousand years.

But, this strange event has continued with the airing of the new James Cameron Film AVATAR – half the cinemas in the Big Lychee are not showing English subtitles for the alien language in the 3D version of the film… again, WTF. If your theatre is on Hong Kong Island, you can be dammed sure that more than a few gweilos will show up to watch a movie there… No English subtitles? Perhaps Fox Asia assumed that all westerners would have an intrinsic connection to the language Cameron created, and as such would need no edification… Or maybe Fox Asia was having lunch with the NatGeo editor?

This is not a recent trend however; the gamers among us will remember the fiasco of the initial Halo 3 release – it was entirely in Mandarin. When was it decided that English, as a media language, would be sidelined in Asia’s world city? While you have to love Microsoft’s optimism at releasing a Mandarin game in Cantonese speaking territory, there is something strange at work here.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Up In Smoke

2009-12-28T16:41:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong has been officially smoke free since the first of July 2009. It has been 6 months of no smoking indoors (in bars, pubs, and restaurants), no smoking at beaches, and no smoking in public parks. Ask any smoker out on the street what they think of the ban, one will usually receive a reply along the lines of “meh, no real issue” – and it is not. While there are the odd scumbags desperate to take a stand by smoking inside at bars, on the whole most venues around the city have been smoke free.

The smoking community understands that there is a real issue with second hand smoke, and while we may not want to stop our filthy habit, we’re not out to kill anyone… So we as smokers took our habit to the streets, forked over the extra $10 a pack, and generally stayed pretty quiet on the whole issue.

The SCMP ran an article today entitled Anti-smoking lobby urges tax increase, ban on duty-free sales in which they told us that “a leading academic and anti-smoking groups say” that we should increase the current tobacco tax, and remove all duty free cigarettes from shops at the borders. The reason for this advice? Because it makes life easier for the “leading academic”, one Dr. Judith Mackay.

Dr. Mackay reasons that increasing the tobacco tax by 75% now will help her save time because she will not have to submit a new tax proposal every year. The article also states that “MacKay is now studying whether it would be more effective to introduce a big increase every three to four years or raise the tax little by little every year.” So in essence, she has no clue as to whether the tax increase would have any positive effect, but still wants it done anyway. Very academic.

And then, a Mr. James Middleton from Clean the Air’s anti tobacco committee said that allowing “duty-free cigarettes to be sold was almost like legalising tobacco smuggling”. So allowing duty free alcohol is akin to alcohol smuggling? Mr. Middleton’s analogy fails at everything it is trying to accomplish. If you outlaw tobacco because it is almost like legalizing tobacco smuggling, what about all the other consumables, we’re completely ok with getting rid of them as well are we?

Fair enough that second hand smoke is dangerous to a person’s health, but as a society we have taken action to minimize that damage. In the last 6 months how often have you actually seen someone puffing away inside? Extremely rarely would have to be the answer.

So then what is the reason for the new agenda’s coming from the anti smoking lobby? The simple answer is that they do not like it – the activity of smoking. As a result of this dislike, they are now attempting to institute legislation and financial frameworks purely targeted towards smokers. Even though in 90% of the cases the smokers have been removed from the situation, and that the new legislation does nothing towards addressing second hand smoke.

I may be a bit of a liberal, but wouldn’t this be considered discrimination in most other parts of the world? As far as I recall, tobacco is still legal. Or is this a case of Dr. Mackay wanting to have her cake and eat it as well….

We currently have some of the most stringent anti-smoking laws anywhere in the world. The efficacy of these laws have not been proven to work, yet we have an “academic” pushing for more restrictive legislation at a faster pace than ever before – this is not how the scientific method works – and we are listening to her! To me this is blatant railroading of a particular population segment for no other reason than because the activity is disliked….

I’ll make you a deal Judith… you know how every single credible study has said that Cannabis Sativa is safer than both alcohol and tobacco? You get that legalized and I’ll quit the cigs; second hand smoke aint a problem there.

You can't say that!

2009-04-01T11:03:00.000+08:00

So the big story from our lovely city this morning is the relatively new saga of Chip Tsao infinitely messing up with his attempt at satire. We don’t understand satire in Asia mate, or did no one explain this to you? A cursory inspection of either TVB Pearl or ATV World at 7:30 will reveal that while the surrealism of the continent abounds, you just do not laugh or point it out…. However in the spirit of misunderstanding and possibly in retaliation of the Philippines plucky granting of un-wanted person status on Chip, we may well see some sort of award handed out to him on behalf of the central government – he was being patriotic after all, right?

As exciting as this controversy is, I’ll let the other Hong Kong bloggers handle this one (Hemlock’s posting today was a scream). I’ll tell you the truth, its not Hong Kong that I want to talk about today, nor even Asia, the topic that has been stewing in my mind since last evening is the new Orion Space capsule...

The USA fucked this one up, even more so than Chip Tsao and his comments on the Philippines. America put a man on the moon in 1969, fast froward to 2009 and that is still as far as we have gone. Sure, we've placed rovers on mars and voyager is now leaving the solar system, but i am part of a generation that thinks this is old hat. Has no one read Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson? Thats where we should be already, not in 2030!

Personally, i've been thinking that the renewed US interest in space exploration is in part due to the fact that both China and India are in a desperate struggle to catch up. Lets face it, after the soviet union died there was really no reason for the USA to invest in space, the russians couldn't compete and NASA already owned most of the expensive stuff in orbit. But now that these "third world" nations have set foot in the great vacuum above our heads it seems that NASA is finally getting the funding that it needs to look forwards to the red planet; all i can say is that it took them long enough.

However, going with a space capsule based on the same designs as the original Apollo program is one of the stupidest things i've heard. Yes, the capsule may hold 6 people rather than three, and yes the insides may be chock full of 21st century technology, but don't you think the egg heads at NASA have any better ideas? The journey to mars will be a 3 year round trip, you've made no provisions for artificial gravity, and even more than that, there are no provisions for a reusable orbital vehicle, without which the ISS is basically just a hunk of junk floating in space...

I guess i'm just annoyed that all the visions of SciFi splendor that have been filling my head since i could read will not happen in my life time... Kennedy promised humanity the stars and by god i want them.

On a completley separate note i'm really hoping that the news on the Pirate Bay is an april fools joke.

An interesting month

2009-03-26T11:04:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I’m back, the day before the best rugby tournament in the world I’m back; and I cannot wait for the Hong Kong 7’s. Depending on my hangover you may have to wait a while for the next update!

The world is looking like a very dark place these days, unemployment is up across the globe, there is a furor growing about various bonus packages given to banks in the USA which received bailout money, Donald Tsang and his valiant bunch of cronies couldn’t find their backsides with both hands, and the weather here in Hong Kong is starting to look remarkably grim.

If you had spoken to me back in late October 2008, amidst the insanity of the Obama jubilation, I would have told you that the honeymoon period for this poor man would be extremely short indeed. Low and Behold, come March 2009, and the wolves are already snapping at the President’s heels. Where the Republican Party had an absurd blind faith and followed all the legislation proposed by Bush and his team of merry misfits in an almost zombie like fashion, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats seem to be prepared to afford the same sheeple-like behavior to Obama.

I hate to break it to the large majority of you, but Obama is a man, not an ineffable, all powerful being controlling the very essence of the universe with his noodly appendages. And this is coming from someone who, shock horror, didn’t even like the bloke in the first place. The problems facing America, and indeed the world, are the products of a dysfunctional system that was created in the last 8 years; in other words, Obama inherited the issues, he did not cause them. You have to give him time to fix what’s wrong, he only got the job two months ago; Rome was not built in a day.

Understandably a large portion of the American public is outraged (outraged I tell you), over the fact that AIG executives had the temerity to receive bonuses that were guaranteed to them in March of last year. Never mind the fact that a majority of those bonus receivers had an annual salary of US$1, or that a large portion of them had nothing to do with Credit Default Swaps…. Nope, that has nothing to do with the issue, these people were given 100th the amount of the bailout that the company received and for that we demand their heads. Remember people, 0.002 dollars will NEVER equal 0.002 cents, I think this slight misunderstanding is where all the tension lays. You do have to admire some of these executives though, giving back their bonuses (either to the company or charity), because I know if I were in the same position my response would be a hearty “Fuck You”.

All in all I feel slightly sorry for Obama, he’s trying to manage the unrealistic expectations placed on his shoulders by an overjoyed public, while having to fend off the vicious sniping by the right. I see a Jimmy Carter like administration coming on…

People I do not feel sorry for include our glorious leaders here in Asia’s World City, in fact I am positively gleeful at their every failure and constant bumbling. So when Alice Tai Yuen-ying positively roasted the administration in her last press conference as the head of Hong Kong’s Ombudsman department, I took great delight in the straight forward way she went after Mr. Bowtie.

Some highlights:

On Government Departments:
"If you have good management and monitoring, normally you can control what is going on when problems are still simple"…

On the civil services shortcomings:
"In the previous civil service system ... like it or not, you are in it for the long haul. If you've got a problem, you've got to sort it out. Or you get sorted out."

On the administrations attempts at governing:
They are merely "putting out fires"… "They think that is being responsive. However, being responsive is at the expense of something else. That something else is proper balancing and planning,"

And even though she refused to comment on the latest scandal involving mislabeled or dangerous medicines, her feelings were very clear on how our system currently operates when she says "The system is such that contract staff will take a much shorter-term view of things. If I have no guarantee of employment in my job, I am always going to look at what I am going to do in two or three years' time ... It's human nature.”

Donald has to realize that he is skating on thin ice, however I think as long as we continue to play the obedient face of china to the world, Beijing will continue to give him the support that no Hong Konger will. That is, until we succumb to illnesses while in custody.

Now off to find a raincoat, I’ll see you lot at the 7’s.

Back from the dead

2009-02-10T11:53:00.000+08:00

The new year craze (both the Western and Chinese versions) is over, and i have resolved to bring this little corner of the internet back up to speed. So after a rather long hiatus, A Hong Kong Perspective is definitely Alive Not Dead.

Hypocrisy or stupidity? Its pretty hard to tell....

2008-08-15T12:16:00.000+08:00

From the BBC:

"The US defence chief has warned relations with Russia could be damaged for years if Moscow does not step back from "aggressive" actions in Georgia."

What the fuck guys, are you seriously going to stand there, all pompous and self righteous, and decry the Russian Actions in Georgia?

The US position regarding the Georgian conflict is absurd. The best example:

"This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten a neighbour, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed... I have heard the Russian president say that his military operations are over. I am saying it is time for the Russian president to be true to his word." - US Secretary of State, Condi Rice

Hey guys, maybe you've forgotten, but there is this place called Iraq, I think its in the middle east or something, anyways, apparently you still have a whole fuckload of troops over there. You may want to check it out, just a thought before you go spouting ridiculous statements regarding Russian actions in Georgia.

When you realize that the Russians only got involved after the Georgians started indiscriminately shelling Russians in the area, it makes a pretty good point for some intervention.

Attacking a nation just for the shits and giggles, however, is bad. I think the entire world can appreciate that, so again, maybe you may want to look at that whole Iraq situation.

Whats even more absurd is the fact that both Obama and McCain are treating this like it is the number one issue with the election. Seriously? Seriously?! When McCain starts saying things like; "we should reevaluate the Russian position in the modern world", "Russian actions have shown that they are not a responsible nation", i'm sorry, but my bullshit meter just goes haywire. At least obama isn't acting like a self righteous cock.

America needs to sit down and STFU when it comes to the actions of other nations and whether those actions were "right or wrong". Until you sort your own house out you should not be entitled to an opinion on anything else.

I suggest that all US politicians should go sort their own issues out before doing any finger pointing.

Not actually that bad

2008-08-11T16:22:00.000+08:00

I'm going to have a fairly radical change of position regarding the Olympics; its not actually that bad... Spending the weekend in a fairly painful state (30th birthday bashes will leave you much the worse for wear)on the couch watching the coverage on the various local channels gave me a lot of time to reflect on the games, and i think, in all honesty, the coverage has been rather good.

Kicking off with a pretty phenomenal opening ceremony was enough to captivate my attention, i mean, all patriotic fervor aside, it was a pretty convincing show (despite the fact that the "footprints in the sky" bit was faked). But i have to say my favorite bit was the commentary team on ATV world.

For those of you who missed it ATV presented us with an Australian man and a Chinese Female (never did quite catch their names). The roles were:

Chinese lady tells us the cultural significance
Australian male keeps us interested

To give you a better example of why i enjoyed this commentary team so much here is an excerpt of the conversation that occurred just before the first athletes entered the stadium:

CL "A 2,000 year old invention continues to bring smiles to the face of the world"
AM "Yep, them kids sure do love their fireworks"

Or perhaps the response to the official Olympic song:

AM "there is a song for the thousands..."

Or the children with their paints:

AM "look at them go, mucking around with their paints..."

What i liked the most though was the fact that every time the Lady made a point in regards to a Chinese invention the man got more and more upset, to the point that he was trying to call copious amounts of "BS" on what she was saying... (no dice there bud - the kite was invented in China)...

I just think that the coverage here is a laugh, not in the bad sense, but the commentary is fantastic - no one seems to have a clue what they're talking about and it only gets better when the nicam kicks in over the various local "talking heads"... I'm addicted - i just can't wait to hear and see what will happen next...

Here we go....

2008-08-07T16:33:00.000+08:00

Patriotic Fervor has gripped the country, not just in our fair city but all across the "nation". Streets are being cleaned, lessons in how to quash protests are being given, and China has already suffered a massive slap in the face. Its official, the Olympic games are set to kick off tomorrow, and thank christ for that - it means that there will only be two more weeks of self congratulatory back slapping and ceremonial pomp and circumstance to go...

Its all going off in Beijing at the moment, in fact in an effort to increase security in the capital foreign reporters are being told now that new guidelines are being instituted for Journo's wishing to cover the games from Tienanmen Square: apparently they will only be allowed to do so with a party guide and a reservation, hardly the free and open situation that the international community was promised when China was awarded the games. Perhaps this is a knee jerk reaction relating to the "free tibet" protests that occurred on Wednesday? There is an image to control after all.

Talking about images, what about the members of the US Cycling team who wrote a letter of apology to the Central Government - you remember, those athletes who risked the ire of the PRC by daring to wear face masks at the airport? One suspects that the letter was not written out of their own good conscious but rather because of a directive issued down from on high, can't make China look bad you know. Especially after the thinly veild threat of repercussions against face mask wearing, i wonder what will happen to all those beijingers who wear these items, will they too be forced to write to the government? or will they simply be hauled off to re-education camps in order to learn the true value of FACE?

Beyond the athletics these games have so much happening under the surface that watching the ever present live coverage is as interesting as a train crash. You know there is going to be something spectacular, but the subtleties may pass you by if you don't pay attention, in any case, you can't look away....

In other topics, Regina Ip - lie after lie after lie. First she wants article 21, then, when she's running for reelection, she doesn't. Now its the violent tactics of security forces - apparently the more brutal the better - until she says that she didn't mean that either....

Does anyone really believe a word that comes out of her pale white hide any more?

i didn't think so

How is this news?

2008-07-30T14:04:00.000+08:00

In a "dog bites man" report released today by Reuters, the news agency reports that there is 'apparent' censorship of the internet in China....

Really guys? You don't say?!

Apparently reporters trying to access the Amnesty International website were unable to do so, hardly surprising considering that AI released a scathing report on Monday concerning the state of human rights, or lack thereof, on the Mainland. According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman only sites relating to Falun Gong, those evil vegetarian Tai Chi Masters, would be blocked; but looking at the facts he must have meant, "only sites which the Chinese government does not like will be blocked", hardly surprising considering the history of the net under the great firewall.

The fact that foreign journalists are able to access the internet at all astounds me; a brief call to a mate in Shanghai confirmed that no one could get on facebook today (a travesty if ever there was one), while the only issues being seen by jouno's in Beijing is the fact that they can't access the Amnesty site.

What seems to be happening is, in order to at least seem like they are a modern nation, the Chinese government has allocated the majority of the country's bandwith to Beijing. This means that other cities are going without, and as the largest internet using country in the world, that has got to suck. For those of you who don't know China uses 2 central nodes, one in the North and one in the South. The Southern node is the best of the two, and basically runs much faster than the Northern counterpart (isn't that always the case with china though?). By siphoning off bandwith (which is not hard to do as China Telecom has a monopoly on the internet) from the south and allocating it to Beijing (typically run under the Northern node) they can make it seem like China is able to offer world class communications, which simply isn't the case, at least not normally.

But there is more to this issue than just 'teh interwebs'.

I'm not the first one to say it, in fact, when i was with M***** E**** (selling god awful, over priced corporate sports packages) two years ago i used the phrase "China's Coming Out Party" with far too much regularity, and in effect, this is what the Olympics are - a chance for the PRC to prove to the rest of the world that it has what it takes to be a major power. Fair enough, and in terms of economic and military strength, the answer is most definitely, yes - china is the shit.

However, this "coming out party" has gotten a bit much. So concerned over the massive amount of Face that they are receiving from this event, China is almost sounding like a xenophobic hermit with an "us against them" attitude. Warning that any athlete wearing a mask to protect themselves against the sludge that Beijingers call air, would risk raising the ire of the Host nation and causing the PRC to suffer "embarrassment" seems pretty ludicrous- even more so than the current denials of any pollution at all in Beijing.

Look guys, i know you want everyone to think that china is great and clean and up-to-date, but it simply isn't the case. The best you can do right now is take off all the censors, let the athletes do as they will, and be happy that people are coming at all... I know i feel like shooting the next person who tells me what a great event it will be and how fantastic it is that Hong Kong is getting to participate in this "new china".

We've had 2+ years of news about the Beijing Olympics rammed down our throats, and yes, while i recognize that "the Olympics is a great platform for the entire world to get together, blah, blah, blah.." It really is not the case. These games are about China and the publicity that the country will gain from this event, its about the propaganda that they are feeding to their citizens, the opportunity to get new ideas for their own internal development. The Athletes are merely tools to be used for the great purpose of "furthering the interests of the PRC"....

I don't know where this entry went, i guess i'm just sick of seeing so much Olympic news... Enough is enough already guys, we know its coming, i won't be watching, but i can hardly fail to remember the dates...

I guess i just needed a rant today.

Where does all the money go?

2008-07-28T12:37:00.000+08:00

Just got back from the mainland, a trip with as many downs as there were ups, but that is a story for another post!

Being on the Mainland you often forget how out of touch with the rest of the world you become, and that is no less true for issues and news coming from our own fair city. As such the topic of this blog may be one that many people are already starting to get sick of, but it doesn't make it any less important. Give me a couple of weeks to catch up with the news and i'll have brand new insights and revelations for you...

Inflation... It's here, and as far as i can tell, the cost of living in this town won't go down any time soon. The major area where people in the city are feeling this increased pressure on their wallets is with regards to food prices, which makes sense, as we import almost everything the city consumes. However, it seems to me that our current administration is being ridiculously stupid when it comes to dealing with the ever growing issue of poverty here, and the widening wealth gap.

According to today's SCMP, 5 of our statutory, publicly funded, bodies have refused to disclose the annual salaries of their chief executives. These groups, which include The Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, Arts Development Council, Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, Housing Society and the Mortgage Corporation, said that the release of this information would be an invasion of individual privacy, or just flat out refused to give us the information.

My major concern here is, look, these are publicly funded organizations, as far as i'm concerned there is no privacy about pay packets or perks of the job, this is all information that we as a society are entitled to receive. Especially when hearing that Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong makes HK$10.3 million a year, Trade Development Council chief executive Fred Lam Tin-fuk receives HK$5.7 million, chief executive of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority Diana Chan Tong Chee-ching makes HK$5.4 million, and Airport Authority chief executive Stanley Hui Hon-chung, earns HK$3.96 million.

Perhaps those departments that didn't disclose the information were even more bloated and unreasonable? You work for the public guys, and at a time where everybody is feeling the pressure, how can you reasonably defend these annual salaries?

At a time Watsons Water, Vitasoy, and Nestle are all having to deal with workers who are asking for higher pay, Labour union officials are decrying the lack of a minimum wage, and maids (domestic helpers) are getting screwed on their contracts, wouldn't it make more sense to use this public money for the good of the lower classes, rather than those already wealthy useless individuals who seem to exist everywhere in our city?

Instead of implementing legislation, or providing "relief" to individuals who are far wealthier than the rest of the population (Donald Tsang freely admits that he will be a beneficiary of a number of the stimulus packages recently passed by the government) we should look to address the growing poverty levels and lack of basic welfare legislation.

Even that toerag, the head of the HK chamber of commerce Andrew Brandler, has all but come out in support of action against a minimum wage law - and why should this surprise us? As the CEO of China Light and Power his organization would be forced to compensate workers at a reasonable level! OUTRAGEOUS, at least in the eyes of a business community that is used to, quite literally, ripping the arse out of the local population... Brandler says; "If poverty needs to be dealt with, I think we will accept that. But make sure that the measures that are implemented to do that don't end up having the unforeseen consequences of driving up unemployment and increasing costs, particularly during the period now when the economy is very uncertain". seriously dude? you're basically telling us that you will be seriously pissed off if anyone even considers mentioning the fact that your workers are human - perhaps this is why you were so keen to enter the indian market?

But what we, or i, am talking about is the establishment of a proper set of labour guidelines... We don't need massive stimulus packages, we need legislation that protects workers rights. I'm incredibly surprised that some smart cookie hasn't had a look at western countries where there are proper labour laws. Think about it like this: if we established a 5 day working week (the government already gets it, why not the private sector!) then the local populace would have more leisure time, spend more money, and generally boost the local economy. In addition to this the implementation of forced 'overtime' when employees are forced to work on that 6th day, would make everyone a whole lot happier. It is no surprise then that a number of labour organizations across the city have come out and released a report that contains all these proposals.

My gripe here is, look - the government and publicly funded statutory bodies are taking the piss a little bit (or alot), they give themselves nice comfortable regulations including a 2 month long summer vacation, million dollar pay packages, and a 5 day week while leaving the ordinary working stiff to fend for themselves against their bosses (who all too often tend to be the same individuals claiming to represent the common public!).

As i've mentioned before, the government should stop spending money on retarded projects (hemlock mentions this HUB fetish that is currently ongiong, and i couldn't agree more), absurd "stimulus" packages, and focus more time and attention on Hong Kong's primary asset - the workforce.

Labour laws, i could come up with some fairly good ones in my sleep, and with the fact that we don't really have any right now it wouldn't be hard to beat out the competition....

Posts

2008-07-10T16:07:00.000+08:00

Sorry about my recent lack of posts, it has been a madhouse at work this week and i've been running to catch up since monday!

Off to the mainland on Business next week, and don't think i'll be posting while i'm up there as im not too sure that they'll like my content...

I'll be writing when i get back, but in the mean time just hold on!

Chicken or the Egg?

2008-07-03T11:24:00.000+08:00

Following on from my last post concerning economic over political reform, i'm sorry to say that the government is back at it and is, if you bother to look at the situation at all, tarring this city's reputation as one of the freest economies in the world - way to go guys, probably the only good thing we had going for us, and now you're managing to screw the pooch! way. to. go.

The situation is this:

Bird Flu is bad - not much argument there.Chickens have bird flu - again, pretty straight forwards. The Government introduced measures to guard against bird flu.

The initial measures against bird flu were pretty reasonable, and didn't cause major issues. Things like cross border screenings of live poultry, random testing at wet markets, and the imposition of higher hygiene standards (both at poultry farms and wet markets) on chicken sellers. Like i said, pretty straight forwards and normal.

Then a week ago a chicken was found at a wet market that was infected with the H5N1 virus. So the market was closed, chickens culled, and trading suspended. The government also imposed a requirement that will see all live chickens which haven't been sold by the end of a trading day slaughtered and disposed.

It is important to note that the government started voicing its idea to buy out the poultry industry quite a while ago, something which the community of poultry sellers has been seriously opposed to. And with the institution of this 'end of day disposal' regulation, the administration has been growing ever more vocal in its attempt to publicize the industry. Now call me a skeptic, or a conspiracy theorist, but an isolated case of H5N1 in one or two birds should not warrant the disposal of all chickens at all poultry markets in Hong Kong. Especially not, as we have been lead to believe, if the government is actually doing its job when it comes to H5N1 prevention and treatment.

No, this is a case of the government trying to keep all negativity about hong kong to a minimum by taking control of the industry and imposing ridiculous requirements on sellers - essentially forcing them to capitulate to administration demands of a buy out. By forcing traders to kill all excess stock at the end of the day the government is making sure that it is not feasible for these individuals to continue on with their livelihood. By offering HK$ 180,000 to each license holder the government hopes to make it seem like they are playing nice, however this sum is less than one years salary, never mind the fact that it in no way represents future earning, loss of trade, and the need for all individuals involved in the industry to find new jobs.

If the government were truly concerned about the H5N1 issue, and this city's reputation as a free economy, then they wouldn't try to bully traders out of the industry but would pay more attention to screening, prevention, and protection. Isn't that the exact reason that we have bloated, and essentially useless, government departments like the Food and Environmental Hygiene department or the Agriculture and Fisheries department? Wouldn't prevention and screening fall within the scope of their duties?

Instead of spending extortionate amounts of money on destroying historical buildings, or extending the provisions associated with the anti-smoking bill (thanks Anthony Hedley - did i mention that i'm not bitter at all about your excessive pinko liberal tree hugging ideals?), which I'll expand on in a bit, maybe its time for them to do what they are already provisioned to accomplish. Spend money on departments that actually have legitimate business to accomplish seems like a much better way to protect the interests of the city, rather than proposing a farcical buyout scheme.

Ah the smoking bill, that piece of legislation that was brought into reality by morons, has now been expanded to include a $1,500 on the spot fine for any smoker caught lighting up in a public place. By public, the government means any place under the bill where smoking is clearly illegal - so parks, stairwells, restaurants etc. Fine, fair dues - we have due process in HK, and the law was passed so its up to the smokers to deal with it, we may not be happy about it, but we will deal. My issue with this bit of news, which was given approximately 25 seconds on ATV's news at 7:30, and was buried so deep in the standard that you probably missed it, is with the way that they are set to enforce the new fines.

Lets take a look at the departments that are set to get in on the new fines: Leisure and Cultural Services, Food and Environmental Hygiene, Housing, and the Office of Tobacco Control. according to York Chow, our esteemed Secretary for Health Welfare and Food, there will be approximately 3000 officers who are responsible for enforcing this anti-smoking bill. Lets think about this for a second. This is a bill that is designed to prevent smokers from participating in a LEGAL activity in public. This is not about crime (of course not, we don't have crime in Hong Kong, not if the bone idle police department has anything to say about), but rather is about a group of individuals who are opposed to the act of smoking imposing their will on the larger population.

Instead of ramming massive amounts of funding to support this semi retarded law, wouldn't public funds be better used in preventing bird flu?!!! Its painfully obvious - at least to everyone who isn't in public office in HK. In addition to this, tax payer money is being used to fight the court battle that the poultry industry has brought against the government in regards to end of the day chicken killing. You really have to ask yourself, what are the priorities here, why are we so concerned about stopping people doing unhealthy habits, which they have all the information about and are legal, rather than preventing a major public health risk.

Instead of being pig headed and stubborn, spend the money that you are using on some of the most absurd 'public projects' ever on something that makes sense.

Sometimes i wonder if this city isn't being run by a bunch of semi retarded poo flinging two year old spastic monkeys. WTF......

July 1st

2008-07-02T12:55:00.000+08:00

July 1st 2008, Hong Kong celebrated the 11th anniversary of its official inclusion as part of China, and aside from being able to sleep in until 11 am, the holiday completely passed me by this year. I guess its a case of severe apathy but i really don't care anymore. Joining in the demonstrations and sticking it to the Administration, while great fun, just doesn't work here - the reason being that the government truly does not care what people think, they have they're own timetable, ideas, and initiatives; public consultation be dammed - they are going to do it their way or no way at all.

As much as i'm loathe to say it however, you do have to stand up and recognize the incredible advancements made in China over the last few years. Bear with me on this one, i will attempt to make a connection!

Since the late 1970's China has been gradually reforming its economic landscape while keeping tight control of the political scene. This has worked to such an extent that what is now being labeled 'yellow river economics' has spread to some of the most impoverished nations in the world. In China, gradual economic reforms, coupled with the introduction of special economic zones (Shenzen, Shanghai, Xiamen), has seen record breaking growth rates and has culminated in the fact that China is second only to the USA in terms of the economic prowess that it can bring to the table.

When Hong Kong was returned to the PRC in 1997, ostensibly under the platform of "1 country 2 systems' an ideal i have never really trusted or believed in, they were handed one of Asia's crown jewels. Further to this, add a population that has never been allowed a direct say in the governing of the territory, and you can easily imagine the drool that must have been gushing in pools around various high ranking party member's feet. Here was a situation that fit the PRC's "reform" ideals perfectly, and they didn't even have to do much to get it.

Well, 11 years on, China hasn't done much in the way of political reform outside of a few very tightly controlled communal 'experiments'. However, the country has managed to change the way that the rest of the world, especially Asia, views this emerging Giant. By taking a view that sovereignty and national independence are the be all and end all of international politics China has managed to create relationships outside of the traditional Euro-American power base. Just to give you an idea of what i mean here; simply think about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), this fairly innocent sounding organization was formed in 2001, and the founding members include the PRC, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. In addition to these members, the SCO also has permanent representatives from India, Pakistan, and Iran who shadow all meetings and votes, and are tentatively thinking about joining the organization. Think about it, if those four 'representative' countries actually joined the SCO the organization would comprise 4 nuclear powers, a majority of the planet's population, and the bulk of the world's oil reserves - thats quite a bit of power, and its come WITHOUT political or social reform. Never mind that this is all in addition to the ASEAN status that China enjoys, or the fact that it is closer than ever, politically, to a number of seriously dilapidated African regimes.

What i'm trying to say here is this... Hong Kong is being taken for a ride. The population is being lulled into a false sense of security that in 2017 we will be able to control our political system. Yet every year the government demonstrates that it is not prepared to have any input at all on its policies, and simply does not care about the population. With the Economic rise of China, the PRC has more power than ever, and Hong Kong is a part of that country. What makes us so sure that anything will be different here?

I think this is one of the key facts leading to the decreasing numbers of individuals calling for freedom and reforms in the city. We have reached a point where the cronyism inherent in the current system has caused us to loose belief that this city will ever be about anything else aside from making a few, socially and morally questionable individuals (lee the cash, the kwoks, and a plethora of others), exceptionally rich. The short answer to that is no - especially not when one of Donald 'i have no idea what i'm doing' Tsang's upper cabinet members makes one of the silliest monthly salaries i've ever heard of. Not when half our legislature, which is meant to help and protect the ordinary citizens, is comprised of these same tycoons who are constantly looking to make a quick buck.

It doesn't take 20 years to actualize a change, and the fact that the time table for political reform is 20 years is utterly absurd. The shadowy figures standing behind our incompetent administration have no interest in seeing free and open elections. But falling for a gradual time table of 20 years is one of the stupidest things i have heard in a long time.

We have to face the fact that the PRC's influence is here to stay, and we will be incredibly lucky to ever see free and open universal elections. We may just have to be content with the economic prosperity without the political parity... Its working across the border; for the moment.

The Revolution

2008-06-23T11:00:00.000+08:00

The Revolution - A Manifesto by Dr. Ron Paul is one of the best books i've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time. I'm not American, however, during my time in the country i became very interested in American Politics, and the political process. Anyone living in the US during a presidential election year can hardly help in become interested in whats going on.

I've always found something incredibly appealing in traditional American conservatism, not to be confused with Modern, or NeoConservatism. The idea that small government, individual freedoms, and a close adherence to that awesome document known as the constitution, are the best way forwards just seem right, and the way that Dr. Paul illustrates this works for me.

The rest of the world will always have a vested interest in knowing and understanding what is happening in the USA. Even when those decisions seem slightly retarded. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last year i will attempt to put forwards Dr. Pauls ideas in as simple terms as possible, while drawing attention to the major issues of the USA today.

The Constitution

The Constitution, in the Libertarian, or traditional conservative movement, is the be all and end all of the American legislative process. Only Powers that are granted to the executive and legislative arms under the constitution should be actioned. And then only in the strictest sense of conformity with that document. What this means then is that the Federal government would loose much of the power that it enjoys today. It would no longer be a federal problem to deal with issues like Abortion, Marijuana legalization, Stem cell research, or a raft of other 'big issue' subejects that seem to dominate the US political process.

By taking the power to adjudicate these issues away from the federal government it would then be left to the individual states to manage themselves - which is exactly what John Quincy Adams, Gorge Washington, and the other founding fathers intended. What we are seeing today is the government of the USA getting too involved in individual citizen's affairs, and as a result we are beginning to see a movement away from a state designed around the ideas of individual liberties, and one more focused on policing the populace and making sure no one group gets too powerful.

However, special interest groups in the USA have subverted this idea by supporting politicians who are either too lazy or too retarded to understand the issues by themselves, and will vote according to what they've been told by their lobbyist buddies. The same problem exists in Hong Kong, however rather than it being the legislature who is sidelined by these interested third parties it is the Chief Executive and his cabinet - a situation that is also happening with George Bush and his cabinet. Does anyone seriously think for a second that Dick Cheney is not still involved in Haliburton's long term goals of profit making? Lets not forget that he still holds a large stock portfolio in the company. And he's just one example.

The reason i like the constitution is because it favors a hand's off government approach. Let the private citizens get on with it. Don't worry about federal organizations like the IRS, DEA, NSA, or a raft of other essentially useless outfits. This should all be done at the state level. It's not the government's job to see that everyone is a happy camper. The government is there to uphold the constitution - that is it. Anything else exceeds the scope of power and should not be allowed.

Foreign Policy

The USA was created as a country who's foreign policy was dictated by NonIntervention. This is not the same as isolationist - something which many critics have harped on about. NonIntervention would mean that while the USA is free to partake in international trade and commerce the country would not become involved in the political, economic, religious, or social agendas of any other nation in the world. And more importantly, would not become entangled in complex agreements or alliances with other developed nations. So while the USA would in a sense be 'the friend of all and the champion of none' it would be free to interact with the world with no pre-set agenda's.

Many of the world's current issues stem from the fact that the USA has such a bloated international presence. With troops stationed in over 130 countries around the world the foreign policy defined by the founding fathers is being ignored. To put in in terms that people may understand better: until the Invasion of Iraq in 2003 there was not a single incidence of suicide bombing in the country - not 1. 4 years later and it seem that all the news coming out of the war zone stems from the fact that American soldiers are getting blown up by fanatics in ever increasing numbers.

People get pissed off when you colonize their land, and that is essentially what the bloated military presence of the US army is achieving. Colonization through another name. Bring your troops home and the problem stops. Lybia, Lebanon, and Syria all attest to this fact, so why can't the current generation of Politicians get it into their head?!

Two Party Process

There is no fundamental difference between the two major political parties in the USA. The Repulicrats, as they are now being called, have very simillar agendas on the table. Sure there will be much gesticulating and spectacle raising over a few divided issues, but these are things that really have no importance at all. The democrats feel that the military industrial complex is working for the country just as much as the republicans, and proponets of both parties are seriously delusional if they think that any candidate with a flashy slogan will change anything without the track record in the legislature, or balls to come out and say what they truly believe.

American politics is all about the porkbarrelling, and as long as special interest groups hold sway nothing will ever change - the status quot is just too important to the spineless specimens that call themselves senators and congressmen. Hillary was fundamentally no different from Obama or McCain on the core issues, and all three of them are fundamentally no different from Bush. Personally (Dr. Paul doesn't say this) i think that the democratic party is the scum of the USA. With much postulating and grandstanding these 'free thinking liberals' are all that's wrong with country, by propping up a bloated government and needless social support services the democrats are turning the USA into a socialist state with no one watching. I cannot abide people who have no clearly defined set of values, and with all the Pinko Liberals in the USA constantly flipflopping on important issues, or trying to give everyone that warm fuzzy feeling inside by not hurting their personal sensibilities, the democrats are even worse than the republicans. Lets face it, the NeoCons have no qualms with what they are - they don't care, they will do what they feel is right for them. Democrats (liberals) in my eyes have no spine, and as long as they remain sheep following the flock, nothing will ever change and this delusional 'TWO' party system will continue to live on.

My issues with uber-liberals exists not only in the USA. PCness in the UK and elsewhere around the globe has reached an all time high of utter fucking retardedness. Some people are stupid - why waste time making sure they are 'included' or 'wanted'. The average person (one who works hard, pays taxes, and generally gets on with it) are never mollycoddled. Why the fuck should spastics, who exist on the outside of society living parasitically off welfare cheques deserve more 'respect' than individuals who work hard for their keep? I have no issues with race, white slackers are the same as black slackers and deserve to be shot in equal measure. get on with it and stop being a waste of fresh air.

Executive Power

One of Dr. Paul's main complaints is with regards to the way that executive power has changed from what was initially envisioned by the USA's founding fathers. And with the way the Dubya has subverted the powers of his office, i don't think too much explanation is needed here, aside to say, spot on Dr Paul, spot on.

Dr. Paul

My admiration of this man stems from the fact that in, as mentioned above, a system that relies entirely too much on pork barrel politics, here comes a politician who never once accepted a campaign contribution from a lobby. And while this had unintended consequences, such as the media blackout surrounding his campaign (to such an extent that many ordinary americans knew nothing about him in the primaries), and his being denounced by members of the Republican party as 'crazy'. However, this refusal to become involved with lobbyists did not hurt his fund raising, in fact he was able to raise US$ 6 million on one day through private citizens. $ 6 million is alot of money, and the fact that he is still in the black with his campaign and is not beholden to any special interest groups is quite something. This is at a time when John McCain, who sealed his party's nomination months back is heavily in Debt, and hell, Hillary is virtually bankrupt.

This has allowed him to be uncompromising in his agenda, something that too few politicians are able to do in the modern world, and as a consequence has allowed him to voice arguments that have long been repressed. In addition to this, even though nominally running as a Republican, Dr. Paul managed to bring both republicans and democrats together under the banner of liberty. Personal Liberty and freedom. Anyone who can bring together these two radically different groups of individuals has got to be doing something right, and the fact that large numbers of them were in the 18 - 30 age range proves that disillusionment in the American political process is rife.

We may still see more of Dr. Paul in the coming months, i don't think he will be one to be shut up just because he's out of the running. Voting against the Iraq war, the Patriot Act, and a host of other absurd peices of legislature have proven that he is a man of action and not just words. As he says, this campaign of the 'Libertarians' is just beginning, but with its ability to unite immigrants, religious fundamentalists, blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, college grads, college drop outs, it is one of the most diverse campaigns ever run in the history of American politics. It won't stop and it won't go away. People believe in his ideas and morals, and its a good thing too.

Over all a great read, and one i'm sure i'll pick up again and again. This type of government appeals to me on a very basic level. I really just like the philosophy, especially in a world where ever more power consolidation is happening by governments in countries all across the globe.

In the modern world Dr. Paul brings a breath of fresh air and a keen insight to the American political process, and i Thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who can be bothered to pick it up. It doesn't hurt that he went to my alma mater either!

Anson: To run or not to run, that is the question

2008-06-20T16:33:00.000+08:00

There has been much speculation in the last week as to whether or not Anson Chan will defend her Legco (Legislative Council) seat in September's Legco Elections. Astute readers will remember that Anson won her seat in a bitterly disputed by-election after the death of DAB (the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong; AKA - The Beijing Party) Chairman Ma Lik. Her main contender for the seat was Regina Ip, the author, and proposer, of that wonderful piece of legistlation known as Article 23.

For those of you not familiar with the situation, let me break it down:

Anson Chan

Held the second most important role in the Hong Kong government, under both the Chinese and British, as the head of the city's Civil Service. Noted for sometimes being at odds with Ex Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, Chan is often described as being 'Hong Kong's Conscience' and worked to further the interests of Hong Kong as a whole, rather than those of any nation or Business. Currently a standing member of Legco, Anson is closely allied with the Pan-Democrat movement (excluding the inappropriately named DAB), and has an interest in seeing Hong Kong function for Hong Kong citizens.

VS

Regina Ip

Former director of immigration under the British government, Mrs. Ip became the secratary for security in 1998, a post which she held until 2003. As secratary for security Regina was responsible for penning the hugley unpopular Article 23 anti-subversion law. Noted for currying favor with whoever is currently in power, and working towards serving her own interests, Regina is currently a staunch backer of anything Beijing.

Hong Kong's news agency's have reported that Anson is considering not running in the upcoming election due to her dissatifaction with the political process in Hong Kong, namely the fact that Donald Tsang and his cronies are able to get their way all the time, despite the best efforts of some dedicated legislators. Anson is keen to see some form of constitutional reform in the territory, however with constant snubbings and a vertitable iron curtain of misinformation surrounding the political prosess, government offcials have basically put a very bad taste in her mouth.

This is a tragedy. If Anson does not run in the september elections, then her seat will be contested by none other than regina ip, who managed to convice an astonishing 43% of the vote that she was 'not actually a huge cunt' last time out. The fact that she got so many votes should have immediatley alerted someone to a problem, but hey, this is Hong Kong and we don't actually have elections where the public's candidate gets into office, unless something seriously goes wrong for the government; as it did last year when Ason beat regina and grabbed the seat.

If Mrs. Chan decides not to run then i can see the political system deteriorating extrordinarily fast. Many of the veteran democratic law makers simply don't have any fight left in them after years of battling with a government that has no vested interest in anything outside of what is good for big business and the PRC. 11 years after the handover and we still have closed circle elections for the head of the government, and a number of the seats in Legco are automatically assigned to Beijing friendly staff of the major government Bureaus.

Our electorial system was designed to give as much advantage to the Communist friendly political parties as possible, and with the Chief Executive elections in 2017 one can only wonder if the planning is already in the works to get the beijing friendly candidate elected...

However, i digress, as mentioned above the news in Hong Kong is that Anson has no more heart left in politics. However, due to the fact that the major news organizations in Hong Kong are owned by Beijing Friendly organizations, the Kwoks for example (is it only me who is seeing the trend here!?), one can only take this 'news' with a pinch of salt.... Only time will tell, but i can assure you that come september i will be at the polls voting, as should you.

What I would really like to do

2008-06-11T10:46:00.000+08:00

There has been much hooha in our fair city regarding the salaries of the newly appointed government under-secretaries and advisors, not to mention the fact that some of these individuals had foreign passports (the cries of 'shame' and 'unpatriotic' could be heard all around the city last week).

The problem was that our Chief Executive had not disclosed these individuals salaries when he offered the jobs - and as Hong Kong is a pretty nosy city this could not stand... Well those numbers came out today, and i've gotta say; sign me up for government service, because even the worst paid of those muppets makes about 9 times more than me... Sounds like a pretty good gig actually when you think about all the additional perks like Housing, tax breaks, social clubs and a whole raft of 'lifestyle' benefits.....

Its not exactly like the job is hard... these individuals, as far as i can tell, don't actually do a whole hell of a lot. Certainly not enough for them to be making upwards of HK$ 200,000 (US$ 25,000) in a single month. In fact, it seems to be that the only requirements for obtaining these positions is to be a great pal, or family friend of dear old Donald Tsang.

In addition to the non-disclosure of the pay scales was the interesting twist that some of the appointees where not holders of HK passports and had instead obtained foreign nationality (oh the shock, oh the horror). I don't get the issue at all. HK is home to all these individuals, so what if they also have right of abode in a foreign country - isn't china technically still a foreign nation? - if they actually have to do anything then i'm pretty sure they'll do their damndest to do the best for HK, I know i would.

The issue here is that all HK'ers (or most of us anyhow) are from somewhere else, there are very few indigenous inhabitants left around. Who really gives a shit if someone in the government holds a foreign passport. If this is such an issue then all individuals holding a Chinese passport, who are currently in office, should be forced to abandon it in favor of HK travel documents. The argument against foreign passport holders holding office should also apply to Chinese passport holders, namely that they will be influenced by foreign interests - and are you seriously going to tell me that its not in the PRC's interest to have PRC nationals in the HK government?

Get real.

The actual issue here boils down to the fact that these were western passport holders - and so subject to western ideals and notions.

The whole thing sickens me

Hong Kong in all its glory

2008-06-02T14:47:00.001+08:00

Its at about this time every year where i seriously question my love of this town. My complaints aren't too major, just niggling little irritating things that have built up over time and continue to annoy the living hell out of me. So with that in mind, here are my Hong Kong gripes, in no particular order.

1. The Rain

I hate it... and not because its wet, depressing, and tends to cause rampant bouts of sickness through the office. Actually when i was in the states i loved the rain and all the random tomfoolery that it bought. No, no, here in Hong Kong my rain complaint officially stems from the use of Umbrellas.

Using an umbrella, i have decided, instantly removes approximatley 50% of all higher brain functions of the Hong Kong population. Seriously, its true, just walk around Causeway bay on a rainy day (it doesn't even have to be a weekend) and see how far you get without wanting to resort to a massive build up of rage. The main umbrella offenders are:

1. Giggling school girls and their hordes of friends. never just one, they tend to add to the pervading sense of stress that rules life in this city.
2. Middle aged ladies (MALS) who seem to be in a constant state of wonder and childlike amusement at everything around them. The MALs are a persistent HK problem, and will appear later on in this list.

My advice for umbrella users, get the fuck out of my way. I have no use or time for your gormless wanderings in the middle of the pavement (not to mention my way) to put up with you... Move.

In a city that has rain days rather than snow days, this inability to function when it is raining has frustrated me quite a bit in recent years. If you can't handle it stay home. I have no use for your listless gaze and vacant wanderings when i have things to do.... Put down the umbrella and put on an anorak... the results may surprise you.

2. Escalators

Stand on the right, walk on the left... the internationally renowned method of using an escalator right? wrong. See in HK we have our own method witch i will attempt to explain to you here (Cantopopped, a fairly amusing HK blog also cites this, but the author leaves some critical elements out).

Step 1: Approach the escalator.
If anyone else tries to get on at the same time as you they must die. The way to avoid this horrific, let another person go first scenario, is to mill around the front of the escalator with every fucking person you have ever met in your life, and debate this fantastic mechanical tool in front of you.

Under no circumstances should you endeavor to use the conveyance, merely debate its use and cut off access.

Step 2: Get your entitlement
Remember, escalators are built solely for your own personal use and comfort, the fact that other people may be on it is purely coincidental. Never stand to just one side when you can group yourselves (i.e. your party of everyone you have ever met in your life) in the exact centre.

If you happen to have extremely large cumbersome boxes then the escalator is the perfect venue for you, especially if you have a stroller. Elevators are for small minded individuals who care about the comfort of other people.

Tip: Idiots trying to get where they are going must be ignored at all costs, actually acknowledging their existence, or even considering to move out the way will result in a massive loss of face and must be avoided.

Step 3: get off

As easy as this sounds, it is only a task fit for those possessing a degree in astrophysics (bodies in motion, gravity and all that good stuff). When attempting to get of the escalator under no circumstances should you immediately move away from the exit. Instead, feel free to make sure your group is correctly assembled around you. Wait, if you must, at the exit for all members of your extended family - remember, the escalator will stop while you mull things over, and you have all the time in the world - no one else exists in your universe, remember this.

*All of the above were witnessed during one 10 minuet interval at the Timesquare escalators.

3. Gweilo

Our local version of the "N Word" (replace the TR in 'Trigger' and you know exactly what i mean).

Meanings: White Ghost, Foreign Devil, White Devil.

What pisses me off about this is that its degrading. I loathe being called a gweilo, especially by individuals who do not know me and are not my friends.

Case in point, at a fairly reputable electronics store over the weekend (its a CASTLE of savings) i was asking one of the sales staff about a TV. Easy enough, but my problem came when she immediately turned round to her supervisor and said, "Chi Sin Gweilo....." - yeah, that doesn't really work for me, and i'm not proud of loosing my shit; but hey, if someone called you a stupid foreign devil, i think you may have done exactly the same.

My aversion to this word has been a long issue, and with major member of the HK legislature (our dearly departed DAB counselor Mr. Ma for example) start throwing it around in their 'pro-national' rhetoric, in a bid to isolate the city's expatriate population from politics, the future of its use doesn't look terribly promising from a gweilo's perspective.

4. Queuing Up

Lines are a foreign concept in Asia, except when free stuff is being given out (then queues will form up overnight and thousands of people will line up for the free 'lucky rice' or 'peak tram ride', never mind that whatever it is being given out is almost always FUCKING RETARDED). No, my issue is the the lines that form (or try to form) in the every day routine of normal life.

The biggest culprit for me is the bus line in the morning. I get the 23 First Bus to work, and where i get on in Sai Ying Pun there is a very clearly marked line (people queue up, and its really evident where this is happening). The thing that bugs me here (and there are a couple) is that there is always some clever chappy who has decided that jumping to the front of the line (coming in from the other side) will get him on the bus faster... Great asshat, but what about the rest of us?

Same thing applies with cabs, you can be standing on the side of the road for half an hour when some random person who has shown up literally 5 seconds ago will walk down the road just in front of you and snag the cab that you had been waiting HALF AN HOUR for. - its a wonder i don't completely blow my gasket on a daily basis.... From the 7-11 "i just need cigarrettes so its ok if i jump in front of you" dude, to the "your white so i can cut in front of you in the bus line and you won't do anything" guy, watch out... i'm coming for you!

The GOOD

I know those are some serious moans above, but i did have to get them off my chest, its been a tough couple of weeks. I do love this town though, don't get me wrong, just to even out my gripes a bit here are some of the best aspects of HK;

1. Nothing is more than 45 mins away
Whatever you want to do, from swimming at the beach, hiking through the jungle, or getting shitfaced in Wanchai, i've found that very little in this city is ever very far away, all you need is a little effort to get outside.

2. Convience

Building on point one, this city is easy. It is in no way, hard to live here. Buses run 24 hrs a day, McDonalds is always open, and there is a 7-11 on every corner. Best public transport in the world, by far.

3. Sports

It may not seem it, but HK is awesome for sport freaks. Home to one of the biggest rugby tournaments in the world (The Hong Kong 7's), The cricket 6's, and soon to be the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events (who the fuck cares), HK is an undercover sports paradise. I love it, whether it be on the rugby pitch on a saturday for the club, or in the bar watching footy, you can do it all.

4. Hardware and Software

No matter what anyone tells you, this place is still going off with gear that has fallen off the back of a truck somewhere. 198, 298, and the Dragon Centre in Shamshuipo all attest to this fact. If you've gotten here and can't find the electronic haven that is HK, look harder, cuz its there.

5. Partying

Hands down, HK is one of the best nights out around. Although, admittedly it does get seriously repetitive after a while.

And there you go, another week another entry. Now i must work

The Squirrel and the Grasshopper

2008-05-29T09:38:00.003+08:00

- THIS IS CLASSIC -

The Squirrel and the Grasshopper

WORLD VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

THE AUSTRALIAN VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.

A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving.

The ABC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.

The Australian press informs people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty.

The Labor Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of Australia demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The ABC, interrupting a cultural festival special from St Kilda with breaking news, broadcasts a multi-cultural choir singing "We Shall Overcome".

Bill Shorten rants in an interview with Laurie Oakes that the squirrel has gotten rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to enter Melbourne city centre.

In response to pressure from the media, the Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work.

The grasshopper is provided with a council house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile. The squirrel's food is seized and redistributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper.

Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilises it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Australia as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival they tried to blow up the airport because of Australians apparent love of dogs.

The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempted bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to then return them to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by
the mice. The cats devise and start a scam to obtain money from peoples credit cards.

A 60 Minutes special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though Spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. He is shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshopper's drug "Illness".

The cats seek recompense in the Australian courts for their treatment since arrival in Australia.

The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery.

A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost $10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up.

Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The asylum seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Australia's multicultural diversity and dogs are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats.

The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a minister.

The cats are paid a million dollars each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in Australia.

The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.

Does any of this sound even vaguely familiar to you ?????

Check it out

2008-05-29T09:06:00.000+08:00

Sorry for my lack of posts (even though i have no idea if anyone actually reads this!) but i have been feeling a bit under the weather.... as such i present to you an awesome and insightful blog from one of my mates:

http://ericabari.blogspot.com/

check it out....

One nation under god.

2008-05-20T11:18:00.000+08:00

It seems that the government of the People's Republic of China is picking up on all the classic tricks of the West, and why not? The Governments of Europe and North America have been playing the political game for much longer, and know much more about how to get inside their citizens heads.

For those of you outside our glorious city, let me explain:

In Hong Kong there are two free to air 'English' language medium TV channels, and i use the term 'English' fairly loosely (these channels seem to show ever more non-English programmes, but that's not really the issue). These two channels are ATV World and TVB Pearl, both seem to air the same amount of rubbish, however i've always found TVB to be more biased (in the FOX News sense) than ATV. So when i do delve into that half hour of comedic gold that is the 'News at 7:30', I usually choose to watch ATV, primarily because their coverage is typically wider and more even than their counter parts.

Imagine my surprise then, when i turned on my TV last night (19/5/08), tuned to ATV, only to see 40 minuets of non-stop China mourning coverage. Even better (if you can believe it) was the channels announcement that it would be suspending all commercial television for the next three days from the 19th through the 21st of May. What would be replacing these commercials? Any ideas? Let's make the question simpler; what would a commercial television channel choose to replace its adverts with, knowing that they are entirely dependent on ad revenue?

Well the answer is: this shit.

Thats right, no commercials, only coverage of the mourning period in china. Which, due to ATV's most awesome connections with CCTV, the main PRC government broadcaster, there is no chance that they'll ever run out of footage.

Don't get me wrong, what happened in the earthquake zone is horrific and anyone who views the photos and videos coming out of the disaster zone without a lump in their throat is probably not human. I do have to offer my deepest sympathies and condolences to all the individuals who are still suffering in the area.

My issue is not with people wanting to show their support to their countrymen. Rather, it is the way that it has happened.

Since 1949 (when the PRC was established), the Chinese government has never, not even considered, declaring a period of national mourning FOR ANYTHING. Lest we forget, in 1976 an earthquake occurred in the same region as the one that happened a week ago. Conservative estimates put the '76 death toll at an approximate 240,000. Now that is a hell of a lot of people. However, at the time there was no national mourning period, no displays of sympathy, no out-pouring of national pride. In fact there was nothing but silence.

Fast forwards to 2008 and you have everything written above and more. News agencies all around the world have more media pertaining to the show of solidarity and nationalist vigour in China than they know what to do with. That this unfortunate event happened in a year where china is hosting the Olympics for the first time is unfortunate. However, those canny politicians, not missing a beat have managed to come out ahead.

From the crowds in Tiananmen square going from silence to chanting 'Long Live China' and 'we support the 2008 Olympic games' (look i'm not one to be overly skeptical about anything, but really? normal people just don't do that shit unless they are being prodded), in the space of about 2 minuets. To Macau, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzen and a myriad of other Chinese cities all getting in on virtually the same act - my initial reaction is, "something has got to be up, because i smell a huge rat".

But you have got to hand it to them, they saw how suavely George W. handled the 9/11 issue, to such an extent that one of the most absurd pieces of legislation ever (the patriot act) was passed. And as the most 'immature' major government in the world the PRC has learned a lot from the Americans, most notably how to get your people to be really, absurdly, nationalistic (something that is starting to backfire in the states, but still has a plethora of private citizens buying into).

I guess my overall issue is this. Propaganda is used by every government in the world, fair play, its a part of life. But don't give me something like the news, tell me its not propaganda, and then proceed to ram visions of nationalism, public service announcements, and 'news' thats so blatantly scewed and biased that even a semi retarded two year old monkey can see it for what it is.

I guess i'm just seeing the way that this city is deteriorating, and how fast the attitudes are changing, about everything. From the willful acceptance of blatant brainwashing, to the cheerful apathy towards the right to vote.

And i'm just disgusted that the central government would use such a horrific event as one of the biggest Public Relation wins in the country's history.

But hey, at least we're all united right?

How spun out do i feel? quite a bit actually!

2008-05-05T13:51:00.000+08:00

Nationalist fervor has gripped Hong Kong. Vast swathes of individuals wearing nothing but red, waving their PRC and HKSAR flags with pride, it almost brings a tear to the eye. Almost.

As discussed in my last post, Hong Kong recently held the Olympic torch run, and in fact was the first city on 'Chinese' soil to do so; but don't be deceived. This parade of Olympic spirit around the city had nothing to do with sport; with only 3 - 4 actual 'athletes' - and even then i use the term loosely - taking part, and 100+ politicians and 'civic leaders' participating, there is no doubt that the event was ever about sport.

No, the torch run in Hong Kong was a way for the government here to loudly proclaim its fealty to the Central Government in Beijing. By only allowing Beijing backed politicians, tycoons, and activists to take part our Chief Executive and his crowd of sniveling yes men made sure that we would have an extremely rosy propaganda piece to hand off to the PRC. But hey, you can't blame them, it actually worked!

With a brilliant display of blatant mindwashing in the form of 'public service announcements' and the decisive move to ask (read as Order) all 'patriotic' citizens to wear red, the HKSAR government had such a coup in the public relations for Beijing department, that there is no doubt now as to which side their bread is buttered on.

But the aspect of this, the thing that gets me the most, is that in a brilliant display of cooperation both these governments have managed to convince the Hong Kong population that they actually love china; to which i say, well played sirs, well played.

The majority of the Hong Kong population arrived in Hong Kong during 1966 to escape the cultural revolution - essentially Hong Kong is made up of individuals who fled the lock down on Human rights, intellectualism, freedom of expression, and the overall poor conditions happening on the mainland during the cultural revolution. For individuals whose family history contains this escape from perseuction to now turn around and welcome China with open arms is truly amazing,

And its amazing to the recognize the fact that these individuals are actively going out and protecting the views and opinions of the PRC to such an extent that they are attacking any voices of dissent.

The whole situation is worrying.... But more of that next time

What a way to start

2008-05-02T14:51:00.000+08:00

Its taken me long enough to actually create an independent blog, but now that I'm here, lets start off with an issue that has been seriously irritating me since last week:

Chinese Petulance

Now don't get me wrong, I love Asia, and I love Hong Kong - having been born, and grown up here, it is my home - what i have a serious problem with is with regards to the way that China is reacting to even the slightest criticisms of it's rights stifling regime.

Case-in-point: Jack Cafferty and his statement in which he called the Chinese government 'Goons and Thugs'. OK, it probably wasn't the best move for a t.v journalist to make in this current climate of anti-Chinese sentiment, especially for a news organization that has had so much trouble on the mainland; however the way in which the Chinese government reacted was hardly any better.

Stamping their feet, and essentially throwing a temper tantrum, these mighty two year olds have had the mother of all wobblies over something that, in every developed country in the world, would have gone completely unnoticed. Threatening to revoke the CNN license in China, a spokesman said "Cafferty used the microphone in his hands to slander China and the Chinese people (and) seriously violated professional ethics of journalism and human conscience."

Seriously? A whole nation gets its knickers in a twist about the things that come out of one persons mouth?! thats ludicrous enough, but it just keeps getting better and better; that mighty tower of Beijing affiliated Journalism called the South China Morning Post ran an article in its May 1st issue about this topic. The article itself was innocent enough, basically explaining that China simply didn't understand the way that American News worked (the debate through controversy method).

What got me, was the picture that they ran with the article of a 'protester' - something we'll get to in a minuet - holding a placard that read 'No Chinese Negative News - No CNN'. Hold up guys, lets hit the rewind button for a second.

No Chinese Negative News?! That, in my eyes, is outrageous.

Every country all over the world needs to accept that there will always be negative news pertaining to a number of 'internal' stories (government, economy, human rights, etc.) and no amount of whining will ever stop this. Couple this with the fact that the central government is now paying Chinese protesters to show up all over the world in 'outbursts of nationalistic and Olympic pride' (seriously, does any right thinking person even believe for a second that these people are there of their own volition?), and you have a seriously scary proposition.

Essentially China is controlling its public image through pure numbers, getting protesters out in a counter strike to the pro-Tibet, anti-Chinese sentiment, that is taking place all over the world. And its actually been a pretty successful campaign, by busing in thousands of pro-Chinese supporters they are effectively drowning out any anti-China dissent (what happened after San Fransisco? Pro-China supporters swamped the torch run or China put the fear of god into the various national government holding the race).

An extremely smart move on the PRC's front, and an even better one is being made at the moment. By allowing in the western media that has for so long been kept out of the country (BBC to name just one example) China has started to point to all the stories condemning the way that the government acts in an effort to tell its citizens 'See, they really do hate us.' And of course, media on the mainland is so carefully censored that Chinese citizens actually believe this pile of crock.

Its a topic that i could go on and on about. But at the moment it just seems that the knee jerk - they hate us - reaction, is so typical of a spoiled two year old holding his parents (or the rest of the world, just to make the allusion totally clear) to ransom because they haven't acted in exactly the way that the child wanted. Treating the issue with kid gloves doesn't make it any better, and if it continues to work this way then the child (or China) will expect that this is how it will be forever.

The modern world beckons guys, and i'm calling you out. Grow up, you will have thousands of foreign Jorno's in your country in the months to come, do you really think that they will all see the mainland for the rosy, socialist paradise that you make it out to be?

Beijing - Grow up, stop acting like children....

NEXT TIME: Olympic Torch About Sports? I Think Not.