Move over Tom Cruise and your silly Scientology remarks.
In Cannes, Sharon Stone said of "karma" when asked about her thoughts of Si Chuan earthquake, in her heightened dramatic voice.
So Sharon, since your "good friend" Dalai Lama didn't teach you what exactly Karma means, let me try to get your head straight. Karma, is the consequence of actions in the interrelated world. So if you spill hate on some people and that comes back to you, that's Karma. Earthquake has nothing to do with human actions. If you really want to stretch it, 9/11, the hideous hate crime partly as a result of the U.S. foreign policy, or so they claimed, or hurricanes, many amplified by global warming caused by human society, scientists say, could be asked of "Is that karma?" But that wouldn't be right, since those who suffered had nothing to do with the causing actions. But, even Sharon Stone wouldn't be brain-damaged enough to pontificate such in public.
Now with those remarks, Chinese people would possibly detests films acted or produced by Ms Stone. That would be karma. Then again, when does Sharon Stone ever have any film worth watching?
Update: Stone apologized and Dior retracted her ads. Is that Karma? Wink, wink.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Proof that religion can potentially leave you brain damaged
Friday, May 23, 2008
天涯观察：王石事件乱弹 {Unthreading a donation episode}
[English summary]
{On Tianya, issues around an donation episode were hotly debated. Comments from Wang Shi, president and CEO of WanKe, a leading real estate company, irritated the online community. Wang's claim that the company's donation of RBM 2m to the Earchquake relief was adequate and his employees shouldn't be burdened with donations in excess of 10 Yuan was vehemently refuted. His remarks met not only contempt but also verbal abuses. At the core of the debate seemed also lie the differences of the starting points of the two sides. While Mr Wang mainly viewed quake donation as public relation and business lubricating strategy, like any other donation before, netizens demanded real philanthropy matching the real magnitude of the disaster.
It's easy to dismiss the episode as collectivism thinking vestige. Americans would be puzzled and appalled by the moral reprimand of not donating enough. However, like many things in China, it goes more complicate than that. One has to unthread the rapidly changing social structure puzzle to fully understand the underlying cause. The real estate giants in China, where not long ago all real estate property rights belongs to the state, are big beneficiaries of the changing system that short changes ordinary people in favor of development. No real estate developer, especially those established from early stage of economic reform, can confidently claim it never received favorism or bended the system. It is thus more understandable that the public who get the short end of the reform stick demand more social responsibility from those new riches. The social divide and sense of higher justice induce the easy venting verbal attack.
The recent Wang Shi episode reflects two major issues China faces: the rule of law and education failure.}
最近因为地震， 多去了几次天涯。发现那里最红的，就是王石捐款事件。当然说讨论算好听了，更多的是公干。该如何评判这一事件的双方？像所有中国的事一样，一句话两句话说不清楚， 必须剥开蚕丝的看。
王石者，万科房产的董事长。因为登山等活动也成了公众人物。万科捐200万，以及后来的追加措施都是以公司的名义，其实非个人行为，王的一番言论却使大众的矛头指向个人。美国人基本是看不懂的，连我也略感糊涂。不管是9/11还是Katrina, 美国人从来没有对任何公司或个人有道义上的要求。捐款本是自愿的事，就算王某发表了一些不合时宜的看法，为什么会引来恶语相向？美国人大概也就耸耸肩。是什么让这么多网民觉得骂人和施加语言暴力是天经地义的事，就算报纸评论也站在网民一边，认为“逼捐”有理？
双方看起来你来我回争论相当热闹，但我并不确定他们从一开始就知道双方的要义。王以企业家的精明睿智提出的负担论显然指的是捐款作为企业形象策略社会关系润滑的作用，不然何来负担二字？而网民所要求的则是发自内心震撼的慈善；虽然说的都是捐款。唾沫横飞于网民而言集体主义的潜意识，极强的民族归属感都是因素，但更深层的道德推断原因还是来自制度。中国房地产业从土地国有开始， 其发展盈利无不拜制度所赐。万科作为早期进入市场的企业，更是享受了近乎垄断的制度利租得以资本积累。十有八九在它发展的某个时期'bend the system'过。 在制度改革中拿面包棍短端的普通民众自然对类似企业的社会责任有更高的要求。当然这话题能得到持续关注也不排除有商业竞争因素，在现在中国的网络环境里这并不奇怪。
可是集体无意识语言暴力又怎么解释呢？从一个方面来说，这是民众对权力弱小的变相发泄。从另一方面，这也是一种教育失败。实事上这种语言暴力让他们在有些貌似正确的时候在外人看来很显幼稚。
震后种种道德争论到底反映了什么问题呢。作为爱因斯坦的葱白者，我们能不能找到一个中国目前最关键的问题？爱因斯坦的e=mc2一个重要的魅力就是简洁，在相对论之后老头子把生命的后大半辈子耗在了寻找说明宇宙规律的单一的理论上。也许我们同样找不到单一的答案。看起来教育失败和法制欠缺是两个不错的候选者。这两者却像双胞胎，很难fe分开。
以法治国在任何时代都很诱人。问题是rule of law需要巨大的运行成本（数数美国的律师人数），而且法可能被少数人或集团劫持。在秦就变成了苛政。孔子提出的补充办法是用道德用仁。道德仁治也需要成本。古代的皇帝可不那么容易当，他不仅要处处作道德的表范才能全民向德，还要时不时受太傅御史们的批评，从而影响精英政治团体到普通民众。而现在这个系统打破之后，法治需要填充的各个领域基础既不结实也没有支付巨大成本的准备。教育失败也体现在在执行法和运用法上，让法治更遇阻力。
比较美国和中国的网上政治辩论是件很有意思的事。美国人喜欢举例引证，左右猛拳但从不摘下手套。中国网民则更辩证，热烈之中带着深深的愤世嫉俗。两国人都对政府抱有健康的不信任，但美国人更主动check the facts, 中国网民相对比相互间更“信任”，人云亦云起哄跟风更多。这很大程度上也和我们的教育有关系。中国的学校里比较少注重列参考书目，校对注明出处。美国则从小更注重这方面的习惯训练。中国的网络上不需要芭蕉扇都能飞出五百里。
担至少在self-reference上大家是一样。在西方从九零年代开始有条格言叫Godwin's law: 随着网络争论时间的持续，用纳粹或希特勒来做比较的概率是百分之百。这句话在中文网络同样适用--只需要把纳粹改成红卫兵。这个词也被一些支持王石的人所使用。到最后人们总是回到自己最熟悉的环境和历史。
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The media coverage and the compassion fatigue
The media coverage of the Si Chuan earthquake has been, for the most part, excellent. It was said that was due in part to the increased transparent of the government. The most exposure though, was in press and on-line, rather than on TV - at least from what I've seen. NPR did some splendid cover also, I've heard.
I'm not sure how the difference in media affected the donation. For me, the printing press coverage had the distinctive advantage of not only covering the "news" but also paying more attention to the "stories", which was more detailed in description than average Chinese news coverage.
According to released numbers so far, donation from the U.S. is estimated to be in the above $30 millions range. It is a far cry from the Tsunami response, which had Mr Bush and many prominent celebrities go on TV pleading pledge and generate about $1.3B. At least, Aids to China far exceeded that to Burma, which adds up to $12.1m so far, partly due to large number of Chinese diaspora in the U.S. in addition to the transparency issue.
A.P. contributed the relatively small response to compassion fatigue. However, I think other explanations merit consideration also: #. American Economy is in a slump. #. Election primary takes away people's attention. #. Many Americans think Chinese government, if not people, is now rich and should be able to handle it on their own. After all, the U.S. owes more than a trillion to the Chinese government. #. Some people just don't like or care Chinese government or in extension people much.
Whichever is the reason, or a combination of some, is anybody's guess. You can draw it on your own.
Monday, May 19, 2008
China Mourns
Internet rules
A report emerges about how a college student who was originally from the hilly disaster zone helped military to find a copter landing area by posting on an online forum. She recalled a flat-top high ground behind her friend's house. The posted information finally caught authority's attention after being widely circulated by the online community. Internet rules.
CCTV Benefit Concert
It's not much of a concert. I caught a glimpse of it through pplive. It almost left me wonder if one had to donate in order to be invited, or the other way around, i.e. if you were invited you were required to contribute. It had an eerie feel of taxation. But hey, if it helped the donation drive I ain't complaining.
Another noticeable contrast was between the TV presenters and ordinary people from SiChuan - heroes and victims of the earthquake. I sometimes had difficulty in comprehending what did people mean when they said someone in the media of being "not real". I sort of saw it here. The TV presenters - I'm not doubting their heart-felt sorrow or patriotic urge, it just came off that way - appeared as corny as hell despite their empathetically emotional, poem-reciting style.
In contrast, those invited special guests - from army generals to school children - couldn't be more real. Some of them were stoic and resolute, some vulnerable, some feisty. Others were uncomfortable showing emotions on the TV, like the daughter of the teacher who gave up life in order to protect his students. However, all of them are very genuine and plain touching.
Notes to CCTV presenters: such disaster and natural outflow of emotions need little embellishment or fanfare. Keep it real.
The damning science of quake prediction
Probably taking the extra caution, and responding to the criticism of not able to warn about the risk of earthquake, the government issued an unusual aftershock warning(said of 6-7 Richet Scale) in SiChuan.
Before that, many people were critical towards the seismic department, arguing that it should be more aggressive toward warnings, even if the evidence was not strong enough.
This time, the warning was issued. Cities, including mega cities like Chendu and Chongqing, turned into sleepless chaos. But the actual quake never came, except a mild aftershock in remote WuPing.
It really highlights the dilemma in quake prediction. (read one of the novel prediction method here) I'm no expert in seismic science, far from it. But I suspect quake prediction is a bit like any statistical prediction. It subjects to two errors, type-I and type-II error. one comes from the error in rejecting the hypothesis that a quake is coming, another comes from the error in rejecting the hypothesis that a quake isn't coming. Under normal circumstances, the second assumption is the operating norm, otherwise a society couldn't function properly. That's one of the reason an earthquake is rarely predicted, along with the low predicting power of the science.
Now under the operating assumption that a (following) shock is coming, it takes more to reject the hypothesis. The resulting chance of warning, as oppose to under the no-quake pre-assumption, is bigger. This is what I suspect of the most recent warning. Unfortunately, the probability that warning doesn't materialize also increases. You run the risk of throwing people's lives into mayhem and stressing them out.
ultimately the best use of seismic research is probably in long-run prediction, much like in stock market research - even though you can't generally predict the short-run price movement, but you can have an idea of the long term direction. So appropriate building codes etc can be set up and enforced accordingly.
It's no easy business.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Death Won't Do Us Apart
{Poem reading dedicated to victims of the earthquake}
你的梦落在哪里
想着生活继续 天空失去美丽，你却等待明天站起
无论你在哪里，我都要找到你
血脉能创造奇迹 你的呼喊就刻在我的血液里
生死不离，
我数秒等你消息
相信生命不息 我看不到你，你却牵挂在我心里
无论你在哪里，我都要找到你
血脉能创造奇迹 搭起双手筑城你回家的路基
生死不离，全世界都被沉寂 痛苦也不哭泣
爱是你的传奇，彩虹在风雨后升起
无论你在哪里，我都要找到你
血脉能创造奇迹 你一丝希望是我全部的动力 Related Content of This Rocking Post
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Pulse of a Nation
[tracking the disaster and rescue]
"There was an earthquake" she said, "I'm feeling dizzy." We were talking on the MSN. She's in Northern China.
We joked about it.
Only to be shocked by the headline on New York Times when I woke up the next morning. CNN, BBC news, Washington post, I began to check on all kinds of English language news. The numbers of casualties were all over the place. But the information was sporadic. Before long, clutchfans, a bbs I visit regularly, has a thread running about the updates. Someone then pointed me to Shanghaiist. Shanghaiist? Is that even a correct word? I've always thought people from Shanghai were called Shanghainese. Or was that Shanghainite? But the folks there did a really good job of updating the situation in the confusing hours until..until they were too dead tired to do so.
Numbers continued to rise. Hundreds, thousands, 7000, close to 10,000, more than 20,000...Numbers were cold, it numbed you after a while. The early pictures and videos though, many of which were taken by ordinary people in the affected region, helped putting on a human face.
I could then understand why 24 hour cable news could have markets. Trying to find out the fate of people could be addictive. My appetite for coverage couldn't be satisfied by the English-language news no more. I began to search out Chinese sources.
[Finest moments]
Chinese websites responded very quickly. The culture of bbs came in handy also. Citizen reporters on sites delivered painful details or heartwarming stories to supplement the reporting from official media, which was very open and responsive this time.
I wandered to baidu postbar and tianya, the usually raucous places. People were mostly discussing the news and how to help. Some set up online vigils to pray for the victims. Still, some were arguing vehemently, but mostly because they were so stressed by the tragedy and were thinking out loud how to better. What happened in Sichuan grabbed everybody's mind.
BY this time, Shanghaiist had relayed the news that Red Cross China opened a call for donation. But the website was down when I tried to get on. It was overwhelmed by millions of people trying to get there. Thankfully it went back up later, for a while. (I later learned you can directly donate through Red Cross Hong Kong also. )
（On Tianya, the age-old Chinese attitude toward the riches were on display also, as many people hold donating in proportion to their ability as the moral responsibility of the new riches.)
The calamity was sickening. The outpouring of support was touching. The blood banks all over the country were filled in a day after the call for blood drive. There were these rescuers who walked 90 kms on foot overnight in order to reach the epicenter. There was that 13 year old boy who dig 4 hours by hand to save his classmates. There was these student who was trapped inside the collapsed structure, encouraging each other and singing under the debris to keep the hope of life. Every passing of ambulances brought loud cheers because that meant another life was saved.
My co-blogger helped packed her friend's truck with food and supplies. Her friends was to drive all the way down to the disaster area and volunteer there.
So I leave myself with this question: can we actually find encouragement and solace during such natural disaster? I believe we can. Cuddling together, Chinese people show they are strong and resilient in face of calamity. They show they care for one another, as a nation, more than ever. They show they are capable. The rescue and relief effort, like any human endeavor, is not going to be perfect, and grief will forever be etched in our heart. But this is also China's finest moment, and can potentially be the defining moment, as a modern nation.
 |  |
some quotes:
All I want to say is: your livelihood are from people; so you decide (what to do). --PM Wenjiabao to rescuers and soldiers about to begin effortRelated Content of This Rocking Post
Please, I'm begging you, let me go to save another, I can save one more.
-- A firefighter upon being ordered to temporary withdraw during the after-shock
Please spare my legs (from amputation), I will need them to take care of my parents when I grow up -- A rescued pupil before going to the surgery
I was very cold and hungry. I had to keep on reading to relieve my fear
-- A rescued school girl describing her 40 hours in debris with her book and flashlight
There is no Beichuan county any more
-- A member of Red Cross assessment team
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
听从心灵
为四川的生命祈祷。特别为那里的孩子们。
看到一些图片，忍不住悲伤 流泪。
想一想，还能做些什么？
如果在现场就好了。起码多一双手。能够救一条命更好。
可是不在。
铺天盖地的灾难让人渺小，让人脆弱。
偶们实在是这个大自然中，卑微的存在。
灾难面前无声的相互支援，更让人温暖。
你帮助的那个人，不是别人，而正是有可能某个时候的自己。
冷静面对，密切关注。说得很对。做好自己手边的事情吧。
和谐稳定的大后方，也是支持的一种方式。
也看到一些质疑的声音，没空思考、回应。
偶的祖国这一年是这么不容易。
四月，网络上总有人会问：你爱她，她爱你吗？她给了你什么？难道你真愿意生在这里而不是美国或者法国？
镇静漠然如当时的偶是懒的去回答这些的。
小事遵寻理智，大事听从心灵。
现在的偶会想，偶是爱她的。
现在她也许不一定如偶爱她般爱偶,但是偶想她一定在努力的尽可能爱每一个属于她的人。
需要一些时间，去改变每一个现在对她还不满意的人的看法。
她给了偶黄色的皮肤,黑色的眼睛,虽不是什么生来便高贵的皮囊,但同样让偶为之自豪.
至于是否愿意生在这里,可能每个时代的人想法不一样吧。
人是脆弱的,善变的,每个人会因为不同的经历或境遇做出不同的回答。
立场不同的人也不必斥责对方的虚伪和虚荣。
这毕竟是个伪命题,没有人能够选择母亲。
如果真的是看重物质的人,不必选择生在美国和法国,你生在中国的贪官家里最好。
不管聪明蠢笨穷人富人，
在外国人眼里，你即便比他们还看不起中国，你还是中国人。
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
长平谬论
{A good case in limiting freedom of speech - intentional rumor in quake accidents and public safety: why Mr. Changping got it so wrong this time}
[Summary: Cases broke about someone spreading quake rumors in an attempt to draw eyeball of advertising attention; and an ex-journalist Chinese commentator gave his usual free speech sermon.]
显然是针对震灾期间网上造谣案件，原 南都的长平先生一连在路透上发表两篇评论文章。他先是莫名其妙引用了一番美国的沙利文案案例，进而借用个人经历诉求以地震散布谣言的权利。
且不说沙利文案代表的诽谤案判决标准在美国和英国非常不同，英国法律上就没有严格的恶意要求 —— 不然为什么好莱坞明星纷纷到伦敦去打名誉赔偿案？长平先生先生所引证的方法更本就是谬误的。 名誉赔偿案涉及的是个体和个体之间的关系，震灾造谣则进入公共安全的范围，是故意散播的错误信息对公共安全的影响。长平先生只需要到美国来一趟，到任何大型公共场合大呼一声"bomb", 看言论自由的美国的警察会不会把你马上把你抓起来。摁个狗啃泥也是在所难免。到时切勿争辩说个词能有什么威胁。至于网络平台，美警方因对公众有安全威胁的网络言论抓人案例不胜枚举，我就不一一单列了。
我很敬佩长平先生对于言论自由的执著。但是我们可不可以不只会这一招到处套用，什么时候都举起这个光辉灿烂的牌子来？本人强烈建议长平先生（以及很多其他国内精英）在坚持理念的同时也能加强其他综合知识的学习。不然岂不误人误己乎？
Monday, May 12, 2008
震动
{Earth quake in South West China, felt through out the country}
继续打无数遍后通了，她们还都在街上。
刚又得知只是房中电器损坏一些。还好人都平安。
芸芸众生，自己认识的能有几个？
那么多死去的人，成千上万，还有那么多小孩，他们的家人该多痛心。
非常难过。
这几年，看见过衰老，也看见过死亡。
生命短暂，每个人总想竭尽所能留下些什么
现实迎面而来的却总是强硬地毫不留情，
想了又想，唯有用平时更多的爱心和温柔来补偿
还能做什么呢？
唯有祈求平安健康吧 祈求每个人能够度过生命中大大小小的困难
快乐也许就是奢望了
但还要努力争取。
More photos How's it feel in ChengDu
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