tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197020922011-12-09T14:11:28.140+01:00<center>Random rants and musings, mostly related to Germany, China and the USA</center><br> <center><i>God, give us grace to accept with serenity<p> the things that cannot be changed,<p> Courage to change the things<p> which should be changed,<p> and the Wisdom to distinguish<p> the one from the other.</p></p></p></p></p></i> (Reinhold Niebuhr, The Serenity Prayer)</center>Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.comBlogger1131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-6510934734977529162011-12-06T14:21:00.000+01:002011-12-06T14:33:05.042+01:00

Meet the CEO of Santa Claus Industries! In this interview, he takes on a variety of issues, such as his mission, the challenge of beard management in the Taliban age - and his favourite band. Direct link: http://www.iseevoices.com/#/video/11/  (via)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-69414740313499961742011-09-12T23:19:00.002+02:002011-09-13T08:27:08.902+02:00

I think this is the best version of the Star-Spangled Banner I've ever listened to: Update 9/13/2011: I have replaced the dailymotion video with the embed code from the Brooklyn Youth Choirs' website: video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-65345186699952297572011-08-21T09:04:00.003+02:002011-08-21T09:13:25.720+02:00

Homepage Wikipedia Entry

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-9231915088598377342011-06-08T10:19:00.002+02:002011-06-08T10:39:00.767+02:00

From the "to watch every now and then" Dept.:Wear Sunscreen (the Baz Luhrmann version); the text of the original Chicago Tribune column by Mary Schmich is here.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-10105387828846118252009-10-13T17:55:00.001+02:002009-10-13T17:58:16.301+02:00

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-47719036645009831012009-10-10T20:18:00.004+02:002009-10-10T20:40:58.835+02:00

Just as a reminder why I think 10/9/2009 will go down in the history books as the day on which The Onion clearly took over the world, I'll give you my 4 favorites of yesterday's headlines - in order of Onion-ness:Taliban condemn Obama as Nobel Prize winnerNASA's 'Moon Bombing:' Crashing in a Crater, Looking for IceMarge Simpson Playboy Cover a Bold Controversial CartoonChina calls on world media

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-59830288968146092652009-10-09T20:24:00.005+02:002009-10-09T21:01:04.967+02:00

Well, I guess this blog is on hiatus again. But don't worry, new blog posts are piling up in my brain and will be released shortly...Where was I? Oh, yes... Moments ago, one of my Twitter contacts (or, as we in the Twitterverse call them, followers) just came up with the best characterization of me ever. I could not say it better, even if I tried:Not sure what this guy is up to, but makes me

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-85874864197736403692009-08-03T17:00:00.004+02:002009-08-03T17:31:48.191+02:00

outside the box from joseph Pelling on Vimeo.Btw, thinking outside the box , Britain's most despised business jargon, does not work. (Video via Andrew Sullivan.)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-57836590014084477062009-06-11T22:33:00.002+02:002009-06-11T22:42:02.449+02:00

Just in case you need (or want) to get a migraine, try watching this vid several times in a row:Ames room, invented by Adelbert Ames, Jr.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-16065710810801924582009-06-03T22:35:00.005+02:002009-06-03T22:47:21.433+02:00

This is supposed to be a satire, but I presume it will turn out to be a neat assessment of future developments:youtube direct linkBtw, I like the not so hidden advice to interns: keep your little secrets..._

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-49168880694223381702009-05-30T20:37:00.003+02:002009-05-30T20:49:18.669+02:00

Yes, this blog seems to be on hiatus again. Take this post as a sign that I'm still around. I've been checking out twitter lately... great procrastination tool for sure!Via John Dickerson's twitter feed, I found this awesome video:Thought of bookmarking it for my oldest nephew, but did not. For obvious reasons. Btw, great song - "The Funeral" by "Band of Horses".

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-46225398435146710612009-04-18T20:43:00.002+02:002009-04-18T20:45:49.486+02:00

Alan Murray of The Wall Street Journal on hiring and managing online reporters from Nieman Journalism Lab on Vimeo.If we had at least three politicians and more than a handful of journalists with that kind of internet knowledge, there would be hope to get Germany out of least developed country status internet-wise.(via)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-4186555397089349222008-11-30T19:23:00.005+01:002008-11-30T19:49:40.608+01:00

Yesternight, I suddenly felt the urgent desire to listen to some Cajun music. Too layzy to search my CD's for the "The Big Easy" soundtrack, I did some youtube surfing and ended up watching the following clip:Balfa Brothers - Tribute to Cajun Music - 1979The obligatory google search directed me to "Dewey Balfa and the Balfa Brothers":Tragically, Dewey lost his brothers Will and Rodney in an

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-45815698460171174932008-11-20T22:20:00.007+01:002009-06-03T22:54:34.235+02:00

Bill Maher strikes again (issuing a language warning while pointing to Maher is unnecessary, right?):Watch the whole thing, dang it! On a related note: In it's upcoming issue, The Economist asks "Where's Angela Merkel?" Well, last time I turned on the radio, she unfortunately was still in Germany, bubbling around the hot issues. And while I'm a little disconcerted seeing all the Clinton zombies

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-3605120992921226912008-11-19T07:23:00.003+01:002008-11-19T07:35:25.027+01:00

Just to fill you in about my current mode:StressPronunciation: \ˈstres\Function: nounEtymology: Middle English stresse stress, distress, short for destresse — more at distressDate: 14th century1: (...) c: a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causationThe 13th century appears to be the last century of mankind where

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1755529418258879222008-11-11T14:45:00.004+01:002008-11-12T18:49:10.909+01:00

I've decided to make anti-German jibes a regular feature of my blog posts, since it's such a relief. So, here we go again: If (and that's a big IF) Germans show any interest in their politicians, they are usually pondering serious qestions like "Does he dye his hair?", "With which TV anchor does he cheat on his wife?" or "Is it okay for the Bundeskanzlerin to wear a rose jacket when attending the

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-62999459789264073012008-11-09T21:22:00.006+01:002008-11-09T21:49:23.254+01:00

Okay, the campaign fun is definitely over for the next three years...but the fun is still pouring in from all sides (JibJab video added):"Who is going to be the next president, daddy?" my four-year-old son asks impatiently."Barack Obama," I tell him."No, I mean after that."Seabass has caught the perpetual campaign bug.He was upset he couldn't vote last Tuesday; he's been a McCain aficionado since

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-69475010512531700852008-11-09T17:24:00.007+01:002008-11-09T18:52:58.816+01:00

I was in a store (...) some black dude walked in, grabbed a bag of chips and walked out. (...) "Hey, why don't you pay for that?" He said: "FUCK YOU. Obama in office, we run that shit." (...) So, I paid for the chips (...) all of us ain't the same, man.And in the youtube comments:bradford1872: i have to commend you on paying for those chips...It takes a real man to do that and not go upside that

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-15706177472814926542008-11-04T16:15:00.004+01:002008-11-04T16:35:48.591+01:00

And yes, this angry, tired, pessimistic little libertarian citizen-taxpayer will go vote after class today! It won't make much numerical difference -- my state is full of leftists and I'm vastly outnumbered -- but I'll vote anyway because, well, it's my right, dang it, and it's my one little ballot saying "NO" to the tide of high-taxing neo-statism. I don't care how pretty its newest face

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-30328391482181270232008-11-04T04:10:00.003+01:002008-11-04T04:20:28.635+01:00

With less than 20 hours until first polls close, I just got my first election related spam mail. Woohoo! It reads:My friend,Sorry, Mr. McCain lost me there. Providing my e-mail address to the McCain campaign - that's what Facebook friends are for...If global spamming to eligible and non-eligible voters alike isn't a sign of desperation, what is?

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-44015293329929121532008-11-02T05:33:00.007+01:002008-11-02T06:50:36.685+01:00

For the record, just to show how busy I am (and how occupied with the election campaign): Yesterday, I discovered that my Arche Literaturkalender (kudos to my sister for donating next year's edition every christmas) still displayed the week from July 7th to July 13th! I tried to catch up and ran into some remarkable quotes. The week from July 14th to July 20th featured Anton Chekhov. What a

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-77896404368862246482008-10-31T22:55:00.002+01:002008-10-31T23:06:23.322+01:00

Couple of weeks ago, I thought The Onion managed to mention really every single target group:Latest Poll Reveals 430 New Demographics That Will Decide ElectionBut now I wonder how on earth they failed to mention the Peruvian Shamans? Since it's so obvious.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-9364320807471921752008-10-28T00:02:00.003+01:002008-10-28T00:55:19.320+01:00

Since my day job is keeping me extremely busy and since I don't like it at all to be addicted to something (or someone, for that matter), I have reduced my election campaign attention to a daily visit of "Today's Polls" over at FiveThirtyEight. But tonight, I stumbled upon a CNN video which drew its MUST SEE status from its title: Asian-Americans on election. As a pro-Asian racist and a

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-86310239633612659112008-10-26T21:41:00.003+01:002008-10-26T21:56:02.258+01:00

Lest I forget to mention: Since the evening of October 22, 2008, I am now an uncle of five. Or, to put it less self-absorbed: My sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The gender ratio among my sister's children (boys/girls) has risen to a worrisome 4:1, much worse than the PR China! Then again, boys are much easier to play with - and to find gifts for...

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-58386095055344464952008-10-20T06:58:00.004+02:002008-10-20T07:54:51.077+02:00

Color me an election '08 maniac. It'll probably end up with me living at Duesseldorf main station, mumbling curses at myself. Anyway, here we go again:So here they are, three undecideds in one of the swingiest of swing states, just sittin' here, stewing in their undecidedness. What campaign canvasser wouldn't give her left arm to be here?"Three Undecideds in a Diner" is a Cheever-ish, insightful

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-8937875209626951632008-10-17T01:14:00.002+02:002008-10-17T01:20:51.049+02:00

So, Paul Krugman was awarded the Sveriges Riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne aka Nobel Prize in economics - and Jess is "not happy". And she is not the only one. Then again, Megan McArdle: One of the most interesting things that I've read in multiple commenters is that his most important insights seemed obvious. I think perhaps the deepest economics insights do--after

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-52928196285498029092008-10-17T00:44:00.001+02:002008-10-17T00:44:45.691+02:00

Mad Minerva points to an article/book review about a new trend for westerners as the easy way out of the big fat post modern matching mess: One group of women she spoke to, who had had arranged marriages, were alpha-type New Yorkers in their late thirties and she noticed too that they didn't look to their partners so much for their happiness. “In Western culture there's an obligation for your

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1661810693921521422008-10-12T19:49:00.003+02:002008-10-12T20:00:54.316+02:00

Now, that was brave. Good luck, Emily and Matt!(via)I love Emily's facial expression at the beginning...And here's the story from a different angle:__________

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-23106346213611982362008-10-12T00:29:00.006+02:002008-10-12T00:51:55.899+02:00

From the VP debate aftermath conversation with Kevin over at love in spades:K: What I really wish could happen is for candidates to sign legally binding agreements whenever they say that they won't raise my taxes so that, if they end up in office, they are legally obligated not to raise my taxes. That'd be pretty cool.M: And if they don't stick to those agreements - what punishment option would

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-60538771434753677782008-10-12T00:01:00.004+02:002008-10-12T00:24:42.283+02:00

They asked a few questions regarding my choice in the Presidential election. They asked who I would vote for. I said most likely I would be voting for Barack Obama. They followed with, "is there any chance that you would change your mind"? I said "Of course anything is possible." They then asked me as an uncommitted voter would I like to participate in the Town hall debate. I said "Of course!"(

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-87747373193681597262008-10-11T23:37:00.005+02:002008-10-11T23:53:05.783+02:00

Well, you have to remember two things about the market, one is they are made up of very sharp and sophisticated people who are some of the greatest brains in the world. And the second thing you have to remember is that financial markets–to use the common phrase, are driven by sentiment.What does that mean?What does that mean. Well the thing is, let’s say things are going along as normal in the

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-87028226997068743232008-10-11T23:01:00.003+02:002008-10-11T23:13:49.843+02:00

Okay, time for a restart. But slowly.(direct link, via)Next up: Elephant on Water Skis, jumping the shark.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-51300007465138019892008-02-15T00:40:00.001+01:002008-02-15T00:40:16.829+01:00

This is so true in more than one way: In a mobile society, people have an easy time claiming multiple home towns -- and no one does so more than candidates seeking national office in an election year. (Must...not...compare...with...German...Politicians.)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-5603379650911022852008-01-18T17:25:00.001+01:002008-01-18T17:25:06.186+01:00

Technorati-Tags: usa,history,the library of congress,photography,web2.0,flickr   The Library of Congress Wednesday launched a pilot project with photo-sharing site Flickr to publish 3,115 photos. The library has a blog, too! See the Flickr project announcement here. That's what I call "taking web 2.0 serious".

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-72667849842472783222008-01-07T20:25:00.000+01:002008-01-08T02:49:14.212+01:00

If you ask me, there are two democracies in the world truely deserving this label: America and Switzerland. Two completely different approaches of trying to get the people's will represented - but both superior to any other political system I know.Are Swiss and Americans happy with their political system? No, they are not. If you have ever visited a Swiss blog headquarter of political punditry,

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-50886020877584000882008-01-01T11:01:00.001+01:002008-01-01T11:24:01.430+01:00

At this err... last year's Christmas aftermath get-together, my sister was going like: "Mum, where are the photos of us kids when we were little?" And that's why I can now proof that my love affair with America has begun much earlier than I previously thought:Me, as a Dallas Cowboy. This picture was taken in the spring of 1978, which makes me kinda Super Bowl winner, since the Dallas Cowboys had

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-54466983316221180212007-12-31T22:24:00.000+01:002007-12-31T22:42:11.458+01:00

Well, 2007 ... that was that. Thank you for being so good to me (with a little fortune hiatus from late September to late November, but I don't want to bear a grudge, not today). But since the even years in my life usually tend to be much better than the uneven ones, I'm expecting a wonderful year 2008 ahead. Then again, looking at the elections in Taiwan in March and this bombastic event in

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-14235453562981594932007-11-30T03:09:00.001+01:002007-11-30T03:09:27.685+01:00

Technorati-Tags: celebrity,china,france,nicolas sarkozy,society,women,yang erche namu Earlier this month, Nicolas Sarkozy made it on top of the FP list of "Most Eligible World Leaders" ("Interests: Anglo-Saxon economic reform, jogging, the United States of America"). Et voilà, here we go: "I want to say to the President of France: 'Choose me. I will be a perfect wife for you," said Namu -

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-65458538358452128482007-11-30T00:59:00.001+01:002007-11-30T00:59:27.691+01:00

Technorati-Tags: china,eu,european union,france,napoleon,nicolas sarkozy,summit In the upcoming issue, the Economist has a piece on this week's EU-China summit. It starts like this: “LET China sleep, for when she wakes the world will shake.” So, purportedly, said Napoleon some 200 years ago. In Beijing this week European leaders have been telling their Chinese counterparts that such unease

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-75578880719102357472007-11-23T19:17:00.001+01:002007-11-23T19:17:22.636+01:00

Technorati-Tags: china,japan,usa,navy,military,kitty hawk,timothy keating China reversed a decision on Thursday to block a United States aircraft carrier from making a four-day port call in Hong Kong, but the change of heart by Beijing officials came too late to stop the ship from returning to its base in Japan and missing families who had flown to Hong Kong to celebrate Thanksgiving. (.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-72700738805650769572007-11-20T11:17:00.000+01:002007-11-20T11:38:24.006+01:00

Mad Minerva points to an article by Jim Yardley on the human costs of Chinese dam projects. Since IHT links tend to disappear into the net nirvana, I'll give you the NYT link: Chinese Dam Projects Criticized for Their Human Costs. By Jim Yardly, New York Times.Dai Qing, a well-know critic of the Three-Gorges-Dam project, also takes on this issue - and links it to the 2008 Olympics: Thirsty Dragon

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-45234893782536051912007-11-13T12:50:00.000+01:002007-11-13T13:07:57.265+01:00

Yesterday, I watched "How to lose a guy in 10 days" on a German TV channel. I liked the movie and endured even the (as per usual) too long and too many commercial breaks. The strange thing was that I liked the movie although I didn't find any of the actors or actresses even remotely attractive.The German Wikipedia entry tells me, that the movie was largely panned by the critics because of being "

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-18057460475263789082007-11-07T20:10:00.000+01:002007-11-08T08:51:45.232+01:00

In Berlin again. Yeah!Yesterday, Jörg and me went to the Web2.0 Expo. "A Conversation with Neil Holloway, Microsoft Europe. Interviewed by Tim O'Reilly" was incredibly boring, even by "Web2.0 Talk" standards. The key note on Creating Passionate Users (Kathy Sierra) was quite funny. Then again, I always get annoyed if a mother of teenage girls is using the term "kick ass" every two minutes and

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-59574011562095219332007-11-04T22:29:00.000+01:002007-11-04T22:29:17.424+01:00

Two of my blog friends are taking on Greg Mankiw's Blog: Don't be fooled with statistics:Joerg Wolf has cross-posted his response here and here (this one drew some comments already), whereas Statler of the German blog A-Team, (short for "Antibuerokratieteam", anti-bureaucracy team) is fiercefully combatting his opponents here (alas, in German).Sometimes a little confusing, this whole blog thing..

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-46334824826665235302007-10-22T09:34:00.000+02:002007-10-22T09:44:30.917+02:00

This morning, German public radio station Deutschlandfunk had a short feature about the presidential primary debate in Orlando, Fla., last night, ending with a quote from a guy who sold GOP buttons and stuff at the meeting:My Reagan stuff is doin' super and the Anti-Hillary here is sellinggood.This is spot on, no?(a more detailed version, in German: this way, please)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-55004218336763739322007-10-20T21:27:00.000+02:002007-10-20T21:57:49.498+02:00

Beauty and Jiang Zemin. (via China Digital Times: Jiang Zemin Gets Distracted During Hu Jintao's Speech)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-76040998612805959862007-10-11T08:56:00.000+02:002007-10-11T09:42:40.610+02:00

(Ex-) Leftists around the world celebrate Ernesto "Che" Guevara again these days. The Irish Independent asks: Should Che be an icon?The notorious George Galloway answers "yes". (You know you're done, when George Galloway comes to your rescue.)Here's a snippet from the "no" piece by Johann Hari:The myth of Che Guevara is seductive and lush. It's the story of an Argentinian rich-boy who was so

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-18402381443585221942007-10-09T04:22:00.000+02:002007-10-09T04:36:35.268+02:00

Forbes: 26-year-old woman is China's richest personBy Joe McDonald, AP Business WriterBEIJING — A 26-year-old Ohio State University graduate worth $16.2 billion is mainland China's richest person, the business magazine Forbes said Monday, topping a list of tycoons whose wealth has soared amid a boom in stock and property prices.The fortune of Yang Huiyan — also Asia's richest woman — is based on

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-7283176353908282572007-09-06T22:39:00.000+02:002007-09-06T22:49:47.408+02:00

Leader who blew up mistress is executed. By Jane Macartney, The Times(...)Mr Duan was a former chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress, or parliament, of Jinan, the capital of eastern Shandong province. He had admitted asking his nephew, Chen Zhi, a Jinan policeman, to help him to arrange a road accident to eliminate the young woman, Liu Haiping.(...)He took the divorced woman

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-29246532311533949042007-09-03T19:16:00.000+02:002007-09-03T20:15:16.452+02:00

Ah, international logistics. What fun. Being the cold-hearted neoliberal capitalist that I am, I recently discovered a new free time activity: FedEx Tracking! It looks like this:Almaty! Just imagine! So, I try to generate as much tracking numbers as possible in order to insert the numbers and track the shipments! It's a little bit expensive, though :-/To my horror, I learned today that FedEx does

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-50458226786634667562007-09-01T08:09:00.000+02:002007-09-01T08:13:31.545+02:00

Is there really a need for a colloquial expression for navel? Well, that seems to be the case.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-6871996241617263482007-08-25T08:28:00.000+02:002007-08-25T08:51:23.643+02:00

Mad Minerva has the story about nine-year-old March Tian Boedihardjo, the youngest ever student to enrol in a university in Hong Kong. You go, boy! Well done! And all the best for your future.In the German news, they used the term Intelligenzbestie to describe March. The English term is "brainiac", but the word Intelligenzbestie, literally Intelligence beast, is so telling. An intelligent person

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-91847848569833768042007-08-24T21:04:00.000+02:002007-08-24T21:24:41.193+02:00

How stupid can statistics get? I just came across an article in the Financial Times (EU Muslims: seeking jihad or democracy?) with a chart by PEW on "Muslims views on suicide bombing". The answers given were:- often/sometimes justified- rarely/never justified- don't know (sic!)For me, the only answer possibilities acceptable would be:- justified- never justifiedThe PEW possibilities given are

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-60901606148551172832007-08-24T15:29:00.000+02:002007-08-24T16:37:48.869+02:00

I really like the ECONOMIST, and sometimes, I like articles of the Wall Street Journal as well. On one issue, they both get it totally wrong: illegal immigration. It starts with bashing those who oppose the illegality and those who oppose immigration as a whole alike, and goes on by mixing all kinds of arguments only to make the point that the U.S. needs immigrants.There's one point that really

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-73500265018982958462007-08-23T18:05:00.000+02:002007-08-23T18:14:39.573+02:00

Some Web 2.0 tools are useful (like del.icio.us or diigo or wikipedia), but sometimes this whole hype leads to a huuuge waste of time:300-page iPhone billBtw, I've really forgotten about the fact that telecommunication bills *could* be printed on paper. I received my last paper bill in ... 2005? Maybe.Stories from the 21st century (1): Holy Innocents

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-73848200778320617202007-08-22T18:17:00.000+02:002007-08-22T18:31:47.516+02:00

Come again?Chávez oil dollars buy bus tickets for LondonHugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, broke new ground in his campaign of global oil diplomacy on Monday when London mayor Ken Livingstone announced half-price bus travel for poor Londoners, funded with millions of Venezuelan oil dollars.(...)Mr Livingstone on Monday denied he had been seduced by Mr Chávez’s petro-diplomacy. “When someone

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-31755224240613940762007-08-20T19:37:00.000+02:002007-08-20T20:28:14.242+02:00

Video of the Month:If Business Meetings Were Like Internet Comments[via]

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-7038732440871603372007-08-10T18:47:00.000+02:002007-08-10T18:55:09.854+02:00

chrr....chrr...beep...chrrr...bip....bip....chrrrTelling from the sounds my computer's hard disc is making right now, it is going to die in the very near future...So, if this place will be silent again for a couple of days, this time, I might have a good excuse.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-77509133736410167812007-08-08T17:05:00.001+02:002007-08-08T17:14:12.376+02:00

My students in Nanning always used to say: "No, we don't like him! He is ugly!" They preferred to rant about Michael Jordan instead. Well, I like him, especially after reading this story about his wedding:The three-hour ceremony was attended by over 70 family members and close friends while security guards patrolled the hotel to keep the Chinese and international media out.Pardon me? Only 70

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-66854610891789977082007-08-08T09:24:00.000+02:002007-08-08T09:32:02.883+02:00

That doesn't come exactly as a big surprise:YOU ARE...1.7 in. SHORTER THAN THE AVG. GERMAN1.5 in. SHORTER THAN THE AVG. AMERICANI know. I KNOW! (Chagrin of my life. Okay, one of the chagrins.)

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-62692869140868610812007-08-06T21:53:00.001+02:002007-08-06T21:53:21.316+02:00

Since he is so heavy on my mind these days I put the energy in this thread instead of sitting vigil. I hope you enjoy these pictures of my dear friend.Barton Lee and me: A brief retrospective - The Sinatra Family ForumR.I.P., Lee Hazlewood.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-78346740247627548452007-07-11T19:25:00.000+02:002007-07-11T19:32:23.085+02:00

You Are 80% Capitalist, 20% SocialistIn general, you support a free economy and business interests.You tend to think people should fend for themselves, even when times get tough.However, do think the government should help those who are truly in need.Are You a Socialist or Capitalist?Hmmm... sounds like Pareto distribution, no?

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-63976279304486583622007-03-07T22:22:00.000+01:002007-03-07T22:32:33.082+01:00

I mean, really, really stupid (my links):"Because you know how these things go," Shipman told detectives. "I said, 'Is there gonna be some crazy lady showing up at my door, trying to kill me?' He said, 'No ... she's not like that. She's fine with it. She's happy for me.'"

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-13455023076955933442007-01-29T13:17:00.000+01:002007-01-29T13:26:27.922+01:00

That's so true (link added):Does stupidity lead to gullibility? [F]or the most part, the movie depicts low-IQ people as very hard to trick because they scoff at whatever they do not understand.and:Bullies may be stupid, but it's nigh-impossible for a nerd to trick a bully into leaving him alone. The bully has a simple but powerful word that keeps the nerd from getting the upper hand: "Whatever."

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-9717697958606963682007-01-20T23:02:00.000+01:002007-01-21T00:16:00.736+01:00

Just to leave a trace and have something to remember 40 years from now:Today, I skimmed over the Wikipedia article "Taboo food and drink", because it is the article of the day in the German wikipedia. Quite interesting.Unfortunately, I then turned to the "Deaths in 2007" page, which is always a time killer. Speaking of time killers, I also read some articles about the UK Big Brother racism

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-9298038670887883982007-01-14T22:05:00.000+01:002007-01-15T00:05:37.058+01:00

How Humphrey got to be BogieBogart became a legend near his death 50 years ago, when his acting was more closely aligned with his real-life personality.By Richard SchickelJanuary 14, 2007Humphrey Bogart died on Jan. 14, 1957, exactly 50 years ago. By all accounts, notably those of his friends, John Huston and Alistair Cooke, he died with great gallantry, hiding to the best of his ability the pain

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-78620678880459746642007-01-12T20:11:00.000+01:002007-01-15T00:10:31.091+01:00

Lots of cats tried to play like Bix; ain't none of them play like him yet.Louis ArmstrongYesterday, there was an radio play aired on German radio station Deutschlandfunk, calledLeben und Tod des Kornettisten Bix Beiderbecke aus Nordamerika (Life and Death of the cornett player Bix Beiderbecke from North America; link is in German), by Ror Wolf (link in German) from 1986, which was awarded with

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-91622230132686259072007-01-12T13:04:00.000+01:002007-01-12T13:31:49.671+01:00

Syphilis rates 'soaring in China'By Jill McGiveringBBC News(...)The Lancet reports that China - which virtually eliminated syphilis in the 1960s and 70s - is now seeing the disease return with alarming intensity.It reveals that reported rates have risen from 0.2 cases per 100,000 in 1993 to 5.7 cases per 100,000 in 2005.Dramatic intervention is now needed, one of the report's authors says.The

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1153378443314950882007-01-12T03:05:00.000+01:002007-01-12T03:05:38.094+01:00

Thomas P.M. Barnett, reviewing Roger Cohen's review of Überpower, has this to say:Europe keeps expecting America to 'come home' and it just ain't gonna happen. We're living in the vast rule-set reset that is globalization's advance around the planet. Europe and Japan, the classic West other than America, wants largely to sit this process out, instead arguing over cheese standards and ag subsidies

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-65219670388479900352007-01-12T02:28:00.000+01:002007-01-12T02:47:37.016+01:00

From "Learning to Keep Learning" By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, The New York Times, December 13, 2006:(...)Sorry, but I am not ready to cede the 21st century to China yet. No question, China has been able to command an impressive effort to end illiteracy, greatly increasing its number of high school grads and new universities. But I still believe it is very hard to produce a culture of innovation in a

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1163342472228256632006-11-12T15:37:00.000+01:002006-11-12T15:41:12.240+01:00

This comment by E.M. Cuneo reminds me of christmas in Nanning:(...) My husband and I, along with our 2 toddlers, have been spending the fall in Beijing. I was overjoyed when I realized that we’d miss Halloween in New York — as it is, by far, the most overblown, overcommercialized and ridiculous event of the year, imho. We get here and guess what? We get invited to 4 halloween parties by people

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1162992234764031812006-11-08T13:42:00.000+01:002006-11-14T19:31:49.273+01:00

Happy or suicidal with tonight's results, something colossal and profoundly important has happened in the United States beginning in 2000 — the re-engagement of the American people with politics. We have had four enormously consequential elections in a row now in which voters have cast their ballots in numbers that we were told we'd never see in our lifetimes. (...)writes John Podhoretz. Glenn

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1161726027997915292006-10-24T23:26:00.000+02:002006-11-04T18:17:47.226+01:00

60 Years Later, Buried Bombs Still Frighten Germans, and Kill Some. By MARK LANDLER, The New York Times More than six decades after the end of World War II, Germans still routinely come across unexploded bombs beneath farmers’ fields or city streets. Lately, there has been a skein of such dangerous discoveries, one with deadly consequences.On Monday morning, a highway worker was killed when his

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1161380001770467792006-10-20T23:27:00.000+02:002006-10-25T06:31:07.576+02:00

From the CNN homepage:Prosecutor: Suicidal, text-messaging teen kills womanATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A lovesick teenage girl drove into an oncoming car in a suicide attempt that she counted down "8, 7, 6..." in a text message to the female classmate who spurned her, authorities said. The teenager survived but a woman in the other car -- a mother of three -- died.Louise Egan Brunstad, 16, was

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1158926024577275562006-09-22T12:44:00.002+02:002009-08-16T06:53:34.290+02:00

Last week, I joined a group of about 50 people for a four-days-tour to Berlin. The trip was organized by the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (Federal Press Office) to show us citizens and taxpayers how the politicians are using our money. It was an interesting journey which most informative parts were about German history. The first site we paid a visit to was Checkpoint

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1157613386490638892006-09-07T08:52:00.000+02:002006-09-12T15:19:15.093+02:00

Atlantic Review points to a new survey by Transatlantic Trends conducted in selected European countries and the U.S.Transatlantic Trends 2006 is a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo in Turin, Italy, with additional support from the Fundação Luso-Americana (Portugal), the Fundación BBVA (Spain), and the Tipping Point Foundation (Bulgaria).To

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1157349575865095062006-09-04T07:41:00.000+02:002006-09-12T15:20:44.426+02:00

Yesterday, I did a little WaPo archive diving (Yes, my early sunday morning habits are somewhat strange. Just in case you didn't know that.), and I came across a typical piece on Asian Americans. Excerpts:Asian Students Contend With Expectations. By Marc Fisher, Washington Post."How many of you play piano?" I ask. Nearly everyone raises a hand."Been in an SAT prep course since seventh grade?" Oh

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1157178456982234712006-09-02T08:22:00.000+02:002006-09-02T22:08:33.896+02:00

NO MERCY. By Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker(...)This past summer, Rhett Bomar, the starting quarterback for the University of Oklahoma Sooners, was cut from the team when he was found to have been “overpaid” (receiving wages for more hours than he worked, with the apparent complicity of his boss) at his job at a car dealership. Even in Oklahoma, people seemed to think that kicking someone off a

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1156246359212198122006-08-22T12:36:00.000+02:002006-09-04T22:36:40.240+02:00

The second hot topic in Germany these days is the arrest of a Lebanese student on suspicion of having taken part in a stillborn terror attack on Germany's rail system, which, as SPIEGEL ONLINE puts it, "has forced the country to face up to the fact that it, too, is a target for extremists":Big Macs and DIY BombsThe article gives a press review of German newspapers. This review clearly shows that

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1156217974226198242006-08-22T04:51:00.000+02:002006-08-22T05:39:34.846+02:00

If you don't have much time to bother about what's going on in Germany, take the following article pars pro toto.Germany Up in Arms Over Minister's Holiday Comments. Deutsche Welle - Business.Apparantly, Germany's finance minister Peer Steinbrueck himself is longing for a loooong vacation:"People are going to have to spend more on their old age and healthcare in future," he said in an interview

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1156142441477842612006-08-21T08:12:00.000+02:002006-08-21T08:40:41.490+02:00

Today's NYT has a piece about Devon Avenue in North Chicago, a Pakistan enclave:Pakistanis Find U.S. an Easier Fit Than Britain. By Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times(...)Although heavily Pakistani, the street is far more exposed to other cultures than are similar communities in Britain.Indian Hindus have a significant presence along the roughly one-and-a-half-mile strip of boutiques, whose

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1155842362119958262006-08-17T21:05:00.000+02:002006-08-23T12:29:48.896+02:00

Grass Defends Long Silence as Book Sales SoarThis headline says it all. In case you disagree with me, I push you towards Andrew Hammel's entry on Grass: Ja, Guenter Grass was a NaziAnd once you're there, check out this entry as well: Nein, George W. Bush is not a NaziBtw, the Wikipedia tells me that Guenter Grass changed his family name from "Graß" to "Grass" decades ago. I consider this a bold

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1155580354921439422006-08-14T20:31:00.000+02:002006-11-21T00:56:31.013+01:00

You Should Get a JD (Juris Doctor)You're logical, driven, and ruthless.You'd make a mighty fine lawyer.What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1154639408061807252006-08-03T22:36:00.000+02:002006-08-13T10:37:07.903+02:00

Oh my, the times they are a-changin'. Let's have a look:Diamonds are a Girl's Best FriendFrom Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)(...)Tiffany's! ........Cartier!.......Black Star, Frost, GorhamTalk to me Harry Winston,tell me all about it!There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyerBut diamonds are a girl's best friendThere may come a time when a hard-boiled employerThinks you're awful niceBut

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1154410188808508562006-08-01T06:40:00.000+02:002006-08-04T22:40:31.103+02:00

Blog friend Rayson points to the Wal-Mart coverage over at Oligopol Watch:Retreat from South Korea (Monday, May 22, 2006)(...) [Wal-Mart] just announced it was selling off its money-losing 16-outlet South Korean subsidiary. (...)French chain Carrefour, the #2 retailer in the world, announced last month that it would sell its 32-outlet Korean subsidiary to another Korean retailer, E.Land Corp

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1154332180370171872006-07-31T09:15:00.000+02:002006-09-03T14:20:48.730+02:00

Ah, there's still a stick lying around here. In case you don't know what a stick is: it's a blog socializing tool, which is very popular in the German blogosphere. You receive a (virtual) "Stoeckchen" and some more or less interesting questions attached to it. After you've answered the questions, you pass the stick to four other bloggers, pretty much like a chain letter. Let's give it a go:Warum

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1154279804323482202006-07-30T19:00:00.000+02:002006-09-02T08:48:05.413+02:00

One of my teachers, a former chief of Israeli military intelligence, used to say that going to war is not like asking a girl out on a date. It is a very serious decision, to be made on the basis of carefully crafted answers to even more carefully crafted questions.Martin van CreveldFor me, there's no difference in going to war and dating a girl. I know, it's my mistake, I know. I'm always taking

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1154155518891070362006-07-29T07:30:00.000+02:002006-07-29T23:33:25.730+02:00

It's the top story of Deutsche Welle: World's Biggest Retailer Wal-Mart Closes Up Shop in Germany. That gives David's Medienkritik reason for a German-hostile rant and Merkel-bashing (wtf? - too bad, that they were inept to blame Joseph Fischer or Joseph Goebbels this time). I've never been to a Wal-Mart in Germany. No, I did not boycott them or something; it just didn't happen, because there

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1154034806336626062006-07-27T22:44:00.000+02:002006-07-28T03:31:03.243+02:00

Mr. Reich, Sir, I hear you:I'm sitting on the beach last week trying to relax into an abbreaviated summer vacation when someone I barely know comes up to me with a scowl. "Did you read that dumb-fuck middle-class agenda Hillary just put out? If that's all the Dems have to offer to deal with widening inequality, we're screwed," he says, and walks off.I know exactly what you're talking about. In my

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1153658124429828902006-07-23T14:17:00.000+02:002006-07-31T14:04:14.483+02:00

Mark Thoma quotes extensively from a WSJ interview ($) with Rose and Milton Friedman. As always with reading Milton Friedman interviews, I'm a happier person afterwards. Just two quotes:"At the moment I oppose unlimited immigration. I think much of the opposition to immigration is of that kind -- because it's a fundamental tenet of the American view that immigration is good, that there would be

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1153598382291889642006-07-22T21:13:00.000+02:002006-07-22T23:07:33.090+02:00

Couple of weeks ago, I sent two pics of soccer urns to the Queen of Soccer Madness. For more information on soccer urns, see this article (in German, sorry) by business daily Handelsblatt: Bestattung per FußballToday, MM hit back by pointing me to this story:German football team plans cemetery for die-hard fansBy Michael AtkinsBERLIN (Reuters) - A German football club plans to open a cemetery

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1153416390987797762006-07-20T19:03:00.000+02:002006-07-20T19:28:52.576+02:00

From Slate (via A Glimpse of the World):Who Are All These Bloggers? - And what do they want?When I hear the word "bloggers," I tend to think of the A-listers. But the top 100 are not the quarry of the Pew Internet & American Life Project telephone survey of bloggers (pdf), published today. They're stalking the larger universe of 12 million adult Americans who blog.Who are all those bloggers? Why

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1153274831532084262006-07-19T03:44:00.000+02:002006-07-29T23:36:34.056+02:00

Couple of days ago, commenter Don submitted the following comment to my Independence Day entry. For I consider it too thoughtful and elaborate to go unnoticed in the comment section of a week-old entry and because I want to show my appreciation for Don's efforts to keep this blog a two-way thing, I'm making his comment an entry of it's own:Was American independence a good thing? Taken as a whole

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1152455764950167332006-07-09T15:57:00.000+02:002006-07-09T16:36:05.010+02:00

While doing some research on Chinese graduates related to the previous entry, I came across this Chinaherald post (my emphasis; Wikipedia-Link added):Chinese students want more work experienceEuropean universities continue to report a dropping number of foreign students, a drop that is most clear among Chinese students. In Britain their number dropped 22.5 percent in 2005 compared to the year

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1152453134394972642006-07-09T15:38:00.000+02:002006-07-09T15:52:14.403+02:00

From the Worldwatch Institute (via China Digital Times)China Faces Employment Crisis; Recent Graduates, Rural Migrants Among Hardest HitDespite record-shattering economic growth rates and swift industrialization, a major jobs crisis is brewing in mainland China, reports China Economic Weekly [article, Chinese]. The number of people entering the job market this year is expected to reach 17 million

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1152432990957148192006-07-09T09:53:00.000+02:002006-12-05T13:20:19.613+01:00

The Washington Post has an article about the worldwide Soccer World Cup Madness, which puts China on the spot:World Cup Final Kicks Up Frenzy Around GlobeGame Shows 'Soccer Is the Only Sport Which Makes the Whole World Crazy'By Maureen FanWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, July 9, 2006; A12BEIJING -- A taxi pulled up to the entrance of a leafy city park at 3 a.m. The car's radio crackled with

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1152288094571137992006-07-07T18:01:00.000+02:002006-07-07T18:08:16.126+02:00

From Shanghai Daily:Girl drowns self after hair code bans her: "LIKE it or not, some schools are very strict about dress code, hair cut and the importance of punctuality for class and exams. This rigid adherence to discipline can have deadly consequences. This was the case in the elite No. 7 Middle School in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. On January 16, Wu Wenwen, a Junior Two student of Wenzhou No

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1152055196144529182006-07-05T00:21:00.000+02:002006-07-13T15:02:38.016+02:00

It's the first 4th of July in my carrier as self-proclaimed pro-American blogger and so I have to write something about it, right?. Then again, I'm pretty exhausted from watching the Germany vs. Italy semi-final of the FIFA soccer world cup, unhappy ending for Germany included.Well, first of all: Happy Birthday, USA! And a happy 4th of July, y' all! I envy you to have your "National Day" in July.

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1151745121274686452006-07-01T09:54:00.000+02:002006-07-14T16:58:13.556+02:00

Ah, it's always good to see someone expressing my thoughts before I dare to blog. Whereas Mad Minerva is going wild about Germany's and Italy's advance into the FIFA soccer world cup semi-finals and states:I enjoyed also watching the Kanzlerin cheering in the stands too.James Forsyth over at Passport brings on the real point, by askingwhy on earth did the Argentine coach take out his most

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19702092.post-1151131916521241892006-06-24T08:51:00.000+02:002006-12-30T19:09:57.393+01:00

This post is meanta.) to establish a "immidiate-response-to-comments" doctrine for this blog (Dont't rely on it, though, as I change my doctrines on an almost daily basis.)b.) to thank commenter Don for the pointer to "springsteen + seeger" - youtube vids andc.) to try out youtube's "Blog Video" feature(Update: It works! I only had to fix the entry title.)My last Springsteen session was 17 years

Marianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217007409843987938noreply@blogger.com9