Posts by fulltimestudent

13

Pudong, Shanghai - From the 1990's to now.

by fulltimestudent in

in 1989 pudong looked like this:.

and about the same time, like this:.

in the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and i recall an article in a sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.. not so long before that, pudong, on the wrong side of the huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived.

fulltimestudent

So where was this heading. I wanted to use Pudong as a metaphor for change (in China). Last night, discussing a new trade treaty, the Australian Prime Minister described the changes in China (particularly since 1980) as the greatest movement to prosperity that the world has ever seen.

He apparently believes that the new treaty locks Australia into the increasing Chinese prosperity, as it will allow Australian primary products, and Australian service industries free access to the Chinese market and economy.

In Pudong, the Australian business men I mentioned earlier did not believe that the first high-rise building heralded anything. Based on their own experience, they could not believe that the miniscule (as it was then) Chinese economy would ever develop as it has. But it did happen and it seems in the PM's opinion that Australian prosperity is (at least in part) is dependent.

Another anecdote. In the early 2000s (2003 or 4, I think), John Howard, the then PM of Australia made his second visit to Cina (and first to Shanghai) and got to his hotel in Shanghai at night. The story goes that in his suite, his staff opened the window drapes to reveal the lighted buildings of Pudong.

Howard was gob-smacked, "Shit!!!" he is supposed to have exclaimed, "how long has this been going on?"

13

Pudong, Shanghai - From the 1990's to now.

by fulltimestudent in

in 1989 pudong looked like this:.

and about the same time, like this:.

in the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and i recall an article in a sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.. not so long before that, pudong, on the wrong side of the huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived.

fulltimestudent

OK- let's try an answer to this point.

Simon: Google Shulin dog meat festival. Disgusting.

Your viewpoint and mine. But friends of mine believe that killing any animal is wrong. But , likely, we (humans) are still dependent on some complete protein foods in our diet. Whether people make a festival or not (I'm thinking of duck-hunting) is often dependent on their own local traditions.

Simon: Do multi-storey buildings make up for it?

You could see that process as part of the change from a peasant society to what we call modernity.

In what we call modernity, there are choices. In the agrarian societies which were most common in the past, there was little choice. Both your ancestors and mine knew hunger (if your forbears were commoners).

Even for my parents, food was a major expense. As a kid, I trapped rabbits to help the family budget. The steel-jawed trap is an instrument of torture, and leaves the rabbit alive in agony. I killed them when I caught them with a hard hit to the back of the head with a steel bar. OK then, but likely not today. My kids called me a brute when I told them my stories of rabbit trapping. (I also made useful pocket money from skinning them and selling the skins)

The buildings I'm discussing are part of the complex lives we lead that allow choice as to occupation and food. I'm sure you see that?

13

Pudong, Shanghai - From the 1990's to now.

by fulltimestudent in

in 1989 pudong looked like this:.

and about the same time, like this:.

in the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and i recall an article in a sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.. not so long before that, pudong, on the wrong side of the huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived.

fulltimestudent

Simon: Why do they need to try and smuggle suitcases full of rs meat through customs? They are nuts. All the border shows are the same.

I cant make any intelligent response to that.

Simon: Worrse though is the shocking torture and killing of dogs. They actually believe that the more the creature suffers the better is meat tastes. Fucktards. ... Simon: That's before we get to the decimation of endangered species because some regard somewhere thinks it will make his tiny dick work again.

The killing of animals for meat is a problem, as is the methods of slaughter. Its taken a long time in some so-called civilised countries to prohibit inhumane killing methods. Currently in the world the Japanese and some Scandinavians are under pressure for killing whales. Australians are under pressure for killing kangaroos, usually by young men who kill for the sheer joy of killing something. i.e. the slaughtered animals are just thrown away.

Its difficult to put ourselves in the position of the Chinese, who are only a generation or so from a time when food was scarce. Today, food can hardly be called scarce anymore, and likely the same social processes that led to changes in the west will change Chinese practises.

However, the same process that has led to more food for humans, has also caused many animal species to become endangered. In Australia, koala bears (to illustrate) are endangered because their habitat is destroyed to permit more farmland. Many small native Australian animals have been slaughtered by cats, who are owned by people who like their company, but will not make sure that they are house cats only.

And sometimes the problem is even more complex. e.g in North China against the Russian border there is some evidence that tigers are returning to the area. What will happen when the first human child is killed by a wild tiger. I'm guessing it will be like India, where villagers, in that circumstance, will make sure that the tiger does not kill a human again.

Not perfect answers to the points you raised, but the matters you raised (and that I have responded to) are so complex that mere name-calling will not bring a solution.

13

Pudong, Shanghai - From the 1990's to now.

by fulltimestudent in

in 1989 pudong looked like this:.

and about the same time, like this:.

in the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and i recall an article in a sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.. not so long before that, pudong, on the wrong side of the huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived.

fulltimestudent

The new Shanghai tower has been built with great decorative lighting. It has two skins, the outer with a dramatic, architectural groove, spiralling up the building. And an inner skin that provides the wall of each floor. The void between the inner and outer walls functions as a ventilation shaft that cuts heating and cooling costs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT7tI1d8VP0

13

Pudong, Shanghai - From the 1990's to now.

by fulltimestudent in

in 1989 pudong looked like this:.

and about the same time, like this:.

in the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and i recall an article in a sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.. not so long before that, pudong, on the wrong side of the huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived.

fulltimestudent

Today, Pudong looks like this:

The view from the latest addition to the Pudong skyline, the 632 metre high Shanghai Tower.

or

Don't look down: The breathtaking view from the top of the Shanghai Tower- now the world's second tallest building- shows the city's skyscrapers from a new perspective. The 2,073ft tall tower dwarfs its neighbouring buildings

or the view from across the river

Science fiction fantasy: The futuristic-looking Pudong district is made up of dozens of skyscrapers, each more modern and ambitious than the last

13

Pudong, Shanghai - From the 1990's to now.

by fulltimestudent in

in 1989 pudong looked like this:.

and about the same time, like this:.

in the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and i recall an article in a sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.. not so long before that, pudong, on the wrong side of the huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived.

fulltimestudent

In 1989 Pudong looked like this:

Development of Pudong district in two decades

and about the same time, like this:

Small-scale: Shanghai's Pudong district (seen across the river) is an area of warehouses and factories. Some greenery from the district's farming roots remain

In the early 1990's some of the first high-rise office blocks were built, and I recall an article in a Sydney newspaper poking some fun at the "stupid Chinese," because these office blocks had hardly any tenants.

Not so long before that, Pudong, on the wrong side of the Huangpu river, had been paddyfields and shantys, where the poorest people lived. It was chiefly famous as the birthplace of Du Yuesheng, who rose from a life as a slum kid, to being the most powerful gangster in China, and a key supporter and bag-man (funds collector) for Chiang Kai-shek who became President of China until his defeat by the Communists in 1949.

1

A Comparison of Salaries in twenty different areas of China

by fulltimestudent in

fulltimestudent

Sorry, I could'nt make that image appear more clearly. If you want to read it more clearly, it can be accessed on this CCTV ( China Central Television) America page.

http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/06/17/the-best-and-worst-of-chinas-urban-annual-salary-report

14

WT April 15, 2015... Odd first paragraph

by StarTrekAngel in

flipping thru the pages of the april 15 wt study edition, i bumped into something that strikes me as odd.

not that the wt never publishes odd things, but usually such comes in the form of misapplied scripture or hidden second meanings.

i've never paid attention before but to me this is the first time i see a whole paragraph with no bible verses to read.. in the article tiled "always trust in jehovah!

fulltimestudent

StarTrekAngel: Can someone please point me to the bible verse that shows this? Where does it say that dead Christians were used to light the city? I do understand that such may have been the practice of the time, but I think that is no reason to print this as if it was guaranteed that it happened.

The usual source of these claims are some references to the supposed incident by Roman writers. See the Wikipedia reference below.

Persecution under Nero, 64–68 AD
Main article: Great Fire of Rome
The first documented case of imperially supervised persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire begins with Nero(37–68). In 64 AD, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions of the city and economically devastating the Roman population. Some people suspected Nero himself as the arsonist, as Suetonius reported,[12] claiming he played the lyre and sang the 'Sack of Ilium' during the fires. In his Annals, Tacitus (who wrote that Nero was in Antium at the time of the fire's outbreak), stated that "to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians (or Chrestians)[13] by the populace" (Tacit. Annals XV, see Tacitus on Jesus). Suetonius, later to the period, does not mention any persecution after the fire, but in a previous paragraph unrelated to the fire, mentions punishments inflicted on Christians, defined as men following a new and malefic superstition. Suetonius however does not specify the reasons for the punishment, he just lists the fact together with other abuses put down by Nero.[14]

Most churches accept this account of a persecution by Nero. But, understanding something of the Roman political process, perhaps we should always treat these accounts with a little caution. And, of course, cruel (to us) and unusual punishments were the rule, and may not have been used only on Christians.

1

Nipples remind us that gender is anything but clear-cut, especially in utero. Whatever your sex, everyone starts off as a woman in the womb.
For the first several weeks a developing embryo follows a "female blueprint," from reproductive organs to nipples. Only after about 60 days does the hormone testosterone kick in (for those of us with a Y chromosome), changing the genetic activity of cells in the genitals and brain. But by then those mammary papillae aren't going anywhere.
So the real question is: why do male nipples come equipped with nerves and blood vessels? In many male mammals nipple formation is stunted by hormones, but not in humans. Did prehistoric men nurse their young? The lack of evidence suggests not. More likely, full-grown nipples — being harmless — don't get weeded out by natural selection.

- http://www.livescience.com/32467-why-do-men-have-nipples.html

Another interesting facet of male nipples, is that they are the only 'sexually sensitive' male body part that does not have a dual function.