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Q TV
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The studio at CBC headquarters in Toronto where Q is recorded.
SInce launching in 2006, the team at the CBC radio show Q have filmed more than 800 musical performances, many them still active online.
Q TV on Wikipedia
Home station
CBC Radio One
Public Radio International (USA)
Jian Ghomeshi (2007–14)
Shad (2015–2016)
Tom Power (2016-present)
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto
April 16, 2007 (2007-04-16) – present
www.cbc.ca/radio/q
www.cbc.ca/radio/podcasts/arts-culture/q-the-podcast/
Q (styled q) is a Canadian arts magazine show produced by and airing on CBC Radio One, with syndication to public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio International.[1] The program mainly features interviews with prominent cultural and entertainment figures, though subjects and interviewees also deal with broader cultural topics such as their social, political and business aspects, as well as weekly panels on sports and media issues on Mondays and Fridays respectively.
Though not the highest-rated show on CBC Radio One (The Current and As It Happens hold that distinction), Q is the highest rated show in its timeslot in CBC history, surpassing even Peter Gzowski who previously hosted the second hour of Morningside during the slot. The show is also regarded as standing out in CBC Radio One's schedule through attracting a younger, more social-media-adept audience than other CBC Radio programming.[2][3]
Q launched in April 2007 and was hosted by Jian Ghomeshi until October 2014.
Shad was chosen by the CBC in March 2015 as Q's new permanent host.[3] His official debut as host was April 20. The show was also re-branded as q at the same time.[4] In August 2016, the CBC announced that Shad would be replaced as host by Tom Power, formerly the host of Radio 2 Morning, in the fall.[5] Power debuted as host on October 24, 2016.
2.1 2009 Thornton interview
2.2 Ghomeshi's dismissal
2.3 Shad era
2.4 Tom Power era
3 Television versions
The program airs live Monday to Friday at 10:00 a.m. (10:30 NT), and an abbreviated edition of the morning show is then repeated 12 hours later. The program runs for 90 minutes, except for Fridays, which runs for two hours and includes the "Friday Live" segment. The evening repeat runs for one hour, although due to lesser time restraints (such as less time lost to news breaks) it is able on most days to air all of the feature content from the 90-minute daytime edition, although some shorter interstitial segments are edited out. Stations carrying the show in the United States also broadcast the one-hour edition.
It is broadcast mostly from CBC's Toronto studios, although the show will air from another city in connection with a major event, such as the 2010 Winter Olympics or the Sundance Film Festival.
On Fridays, the show includes a theme called "Friday Live", where featured musicians are invited for an interview primarily as the opening segment with live performances throughout the program. Weekly contributors include Elvira Kurt, with her "Cultural Hall of Shame" segment, and Torquil Campbell, with his "Rant or Rave" segment.
Q first aired on April 16, 2007, replacing Freestyle in the network's afternoon programming block. It moved to its current time slot, replacing Sounds Like Canada, in fall 2008.
The name was chosen by the staff of the show from a list they themselves had compiled. A test run of the show was made using the name Radar. Other possible names (some clearly tongue-in-cheek) included "State-of the-Arts in Canada", "Awesometown", "Afternoon Delight", "Smells like Canada", "Full Duplex Repeater", "Skybox Three" (the room in Toronto's Rogers Centre where much of the show was created), "Ghomer's Pile", or one even closer to Jian Ghomeshi, the show host of Iranian descent, "Royal Canadian Air Farsi". Names a little closer to the mark included Studio Q and The Cue.[6][7] According to Ghomeshi, "A couple of the ... suggestions came close", when the name 'Q' was brought up "there was a pause in the room and [the Q team] went 'Yes, that's it.' It felt like the right name. It's an enigmatic letter hope will become associated with the show."[6]
Beginning in 2013, a one-hour weekly spinoff series, Q The Music, was added to the CBC Radio 2 schedule, airing a selection of interviews and performances by musicians previously broadcast on the daily program. On April 15, 2015, the show changed its name to the lower case q.[4]
2009 Thornton interview
On April 8, 2009, Billy Bob Thornton and his musical group The Boxmasters made an appearance on Q that was widely criticized and received international attention after Thornton was persistently unintelligible and discourteous to Ghomeshi.[8][9] Thornton eventually explained he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career.[10][11] Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton's acting in the introduction. Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like "mashed potatoes without the gravy".[12][13] The following night, opening for Willie Nelson at Toronto's Massey Hall, Thornton said mid-set he liked Canadians but not Ghomeshi, which was greeted with boos and catcalls.[14] The Boxmasters did not continue the tour in Canada as, according to Thornton, some of the crew and band had the flu.[15]
Ghomeshi and comedian Alan Park made a mock follow-up interview promoting the 2009 Air Farce Live television special. The sketch has Ghomeshi asking Thornton (Alan Park) about his plans for New Years, leading to the actor responding similar answers to the April interview. The two continue to banter until they break character and laugh around.
Ghomeshi's dismissal
Ghomeshi was fired from the CBC in October 2014, amidst a mounting series of allegations that he had sexually assaulted a series of women,[16] including former Q producer Kathryn Borel.[17]
After his departure, the program was hosted by a rotating series of guest hosts, including existing CBC staffers such as Brent Bambury, Piya Chattopadhyay, Tom Power, Allan Hawco and Talia Schlanger, and outside figures such as Wab Kinew,[18] Rachel Giese, Damian Abraham, Candy Palmater, Shad, Daniel Richler and Sean Rameswaram. Many of the guest hosts were effectively auditioning for a place on the shortlist of potential new permanent hosts.[19]
During the transition process, the CBC faced controversy when it announced that it intended to remove all Ghomeshi-hosted segments of the program from its online archive of previously-broadcast content.[20] They ultimately reversed this decision in the face of public disapproval, allowing the content to remain accessible online for the standard two-year period applicable to all other CBC content, but reaffirming that no content hosted by Ghomeshi will be re-aired on terrestrial radio.[20]
Late in the guest-hosting phase, Measha Brueggergosman and Kevin Smith each hosted a single show as part of a "Thursday surprise" feature, in which the show would be turned over for one day to a guest host whose identity had not been announced in advance.
Shad era
The "final five" shortlist of host candidates comprised Shad, Palmater, Richler, Rameswaram and Power.[19] Shad's selection was announced on March 10, 2015.[3] His debut as host was on April 20, with a live broadcast from the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio.[19] Producers indicated that under Shad, the program would increase its focus on music and would adopt a looser, less structured format.[21]
Concurrently with Shad's debut as host, the program also unveiled new theme music composed by Canadian musician Bahamas.
Tom Power era
Shad was replaced with Tom Power in August 2016, as the program's ratings had declined significantly over the period when he hosted.[5] Shad remains in negotiations with the CBC to host a different program for the network.[5]
Palmater returned as guest host of the show for the weeks between Shad's departure and Power's debut.
Concurrently with Power taking over the host's chair, the show also debuted another new theme song, composed and performed by Ewan and Shamus Currie of The Sheepdogs through their side project BROS.
Television versions
Joni Mitchell on Q - Part 1, 32:43, June 11, 2013, q on CBC[22]
Wayne Gretzky's '99 Stories of the Game', 24:47, October 17, 2016, q on CBC[23]
Filmed footage of interviews and live musical performances from the radio program airs on CBC Television and YouTube.[24]
The show began to be syndicated in the fall of 2014 for weekend airings to commercial television stations in the United States through PPI (the former Program Partners), a major syndicator of Canadian programming into the American television market.[25] Due to Ghomeshi's dismissal from the CBC mere weeks after its premiere, the PPI version of the show had its format shifted abruptly to feature a 'best-of' compilation of the week's interviews and musical performances (similar to some sports radio show television simulcasts) with the show's interim hosts instead with Ghomeshi's segments completely removed, rather than the intended format of replays of archival content with Ghomeshi throughout several years. The show was effectively relaunched in early May 2015 with Shad taking a greater role in the PPI version of the series.[26]
^ Q Public Radio International. Retrieved Oct. 27, 2014.
^ Zekas, R. (May 1, 2010). "Minding His Peace & Q's Artist in Residence Jian Ghomeshi, Host of CBC Radio's Q, Lives Quietly in a Victorian Loft in Old Cabbagetown.". Toronto Star.
^ a b c "CBC pics rapper Shad as new host of Q". The Globe and Mail, March 11, 2015.
^ a b Jacques Gallant (15 April 2015). "CBC rebrands Q as q". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^ a b c "CBC's Q replacing Shad as host". CBC News, August 15, 2016.
^ a b Cobb, C. (May 5, 2007). "CBC radio reconsiders its audience". Star. Phoenix.
^ The Story of Q from assortednonsense.com
^ "Billy Bob Thornton Gives Bizarre Interview On Canadian Radio". The Huffington Post. April 8, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
^ "Billy Bob Thornton has a Joaquin Phoenix moment". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 10, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
^ "Thornton obnoxious in CBC interview". UPI. April 9, 2009.
^ "Thornton clashes with radio host". BBC. April 9, 2009.
^ Schmidt, Veronica (April 9, 2009). "Billy Bob Thornton does a Joaquin Phoenix on Canadian radio". The Times. London. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
^ Kreps, Daniel (April 8, 2009). "Billy Bob Thornton Attempts To Outdo Joaquin Phoenix In CBC Interview". Rolling Stone.
^ Wallace, Kenyon; Raju Mudhar (April 10, 2009). "Billy Bob not done with the barbs". The Star. Toronto.
^ Marlow, Iain; Andrew Chung (April 10, 2009). "Billy Bob ends Canadian tour". The Star. Toronto.
^ "Jian Ghomeshi, host of Q, no longer with CBC". CBC News. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
^ Borel, Kathryn (2 December 2014). "Jian Ghomeshi harassed me on the job. Why did our radio station look the other way?". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
^ "CBC ponders new name for 'Q' in light of Jian Ghomeshi scandal". CityNews, November 12, 2014.
^ a b c "And then there was Shad: inside the search for the new host of Q". The Globe and Mail, March 13, 2015.
^ a b "CBC Radio agrees to leave Q archives online after listener backlash". Canada.com, December 23, 2014.
^ "Rapper Shad named new host of CBC's Q". Toronto Sun, March 11, 2015.
^ "Joni Mitchell on Q". CBC Radio. June 11, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
^ "Wayne Gretzky's '99 Stories of the Game'". CBC Radio. October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
^ Q TV at YouTube
^ "Q with Jian Ghomeshi". PPI Releasing. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
^ "Syndicated 'Q' To Debut This Week". TVNewsCheck. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
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Q video podcast RSS
Q TV at YouTube


Team Alberta is selling t-shirts! $7.00 from every t-shirt sold is contributed directly to the team! The order collection period and fundraiser ends December 16th!
These t-shirts are not in stock, but are made to order, all sales are final. There are no refunds or exchanges. You will be contacted by your Area Rep once your order is ready for pick up!
Please contact us at teamab19@gmail.com with any questions about your order or the fundraiser!


BERLIN (AP) — Theo Adam, a German opera singer renowned for his Wagner roles, has died. He was 92.
German news agency dpa quoted Adam's family Friday confirming that the bass-baritone died Thursday at a care home in his hometown of Dresden.
Adam made his debut at the Staatsoper Dresden in 1949 before joining East Germany's Berlin State Opera in 1952.
Adam appeared regularly at the Bayreuth Festival, where he starred in "Lohengrin," "Parsifal," "Die Meistersinger" and other works by Richard Wagner.
His guest appearances included Covent Garden in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna State Opera.


text:
Le Moteur V6 DMAX  est un moteur thermique automobile à combustion interne, diesel quatre temps, avec  six cylindres en V alésés directement dans le bloc en fonte, ouvert à 65°, refroidi par eau, doté d'un vilebrequin 4 paliers, avec 4 arbres à cames en tête, entraîné par une courroie de distribution crantée, avec 2 culasses en aluminium, 24 soupapes en tête. Ce moteur est produit par le constructeur japonais Isuzu,  mais les droits de conception de ce moteur sont maintenant la propriété de General Motors.

Présentations
Ce moteur est monté sur des modèles haut de gamme de différentes marques.

Les caractéristiques de ce moteur sont :
Architecture 6 cylindres en V
Cylindrée de
Alésage et course de 87,5 × 82 mm
Moteur carré
Angle de 65° entre les rangées de cylindres
Injection directe avec la technologie injection directe à rampe commune
Suralimentation par turbocompresseur à géométrie variable et intercooler
Taux de compression égal à 18,5: 1

Le moteur V6 DMAX développé initialement une puissance de 177 ch à , avec un couple de 350 N m à . Par la suite, à partir de 2006, ce moteur a été légèrement révisé, développant 180 ch de puissance maximale à  et 400 N m de couple à . Ce moteur a été monté sur les modèles de marques différentes, mais en quelque sorte reliés entre eux. Ces modèles sont :

 Renault Vel Satis
 Renault Espace IV
 Saab 9-5
 Opel Vectra
 Opel Signum

Le lien entre ces marques est tout simplement qu'Opel appartient à l'époque à General Motors, Saab appartenait également à ce géant américain, quant à Renault, ils fabriquent des véhicules utilitaires pour Opel. Le groupe Fiat était également intéressé par ce projet de V6 Diesel, pour la Lancia Thesis, mais le projet est tombée à l'eau.

Chez Renault, il porte l'appellation: P9X, chez Saab : 6de1 et chez Opel : Y30DT.

Notes et références

Voir aussi
 Codes moteurs Renault

V6 DMAX
V6 DMAX
V6 DMAX
V6 DMAX
V6 DMAX

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Toespraak Commandant der Strijdkrachten, luitenant-admiraal Rob Bauer, ter gelegenheid van het congres Humanitair Oorlogsrecht van het Nederlandse Rode Kruis op 13 oktober 2017 te Den Haag.
Before I arrived at the Royal Naval Academy, I never really considered such a thing as the rules regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. Or the rules of targeting.
Fortunately, however, I was obliged to spend a considerable number of hours studying the application of humanitarian law, as well as military history.
I shall never forget our professors, who explained to us how war could shatter lives.
How it separates families. How it destroys livelihoods. And how it is often civilians who bear the brunt of the suffering.
-The Second World War.
-Vietnam.
-Korea.
Studying these examples – and seeing and imagining all of the horrors of brutal warfare – made a lasting impression on me. At the same time, our professors stressed that war does have its limits. Always.
They are the rules of humanitarian law. Fundamental rules.
-Spare civilians.
-Spare the wounded and sick.
-Treat those who are taken prisoner humanely.
Whatever their political commitment, nationality or motives. Whatever their past.
We still teach our men and women the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. By using, for instance, the handbook of the Netherlands Red Cross. We also tell our students about the important work the International Committee of the Red Cross is doing. And that the emblems of the Red Cross are internationally protected. Just as we explain to our students how the Red Cross helps to rebuild destroyed homes; repairs broken sanitation plants; and brings healthcare to remote communities. Or how the ICRC visits detainees, reunites families after separation and advocates further regulation of the use of weapons.
And let me tell you: our students are amazed by the actions of the ICRC worldwide.
And, once deployed in conflict areas, they admire the professional attitude of Red Cross aid workers. Because they realise, that in a world steeped in insecurity, their presence can bring hope and humanity. To millions across the globe.
What I'm trying to say is that International Humanitarian Law is the moral compass on how to act, for all of our servicemen and women. Even outside armed conflict. Even if our adversaries do not abide by international humanitarian law. That is why in all basic military training, we devote time to teaching the content and application of international humanitarian law. And this is reflected in the way we operate.
Our men and women receive, for example, clear rules of engagement for situations in which the use of force might be necessary. Both the soldier and the sergeant, patrolling hostile territory but also the F-16 pilot providing air support to coalition partners. The protection of the civilian population is always taken into account. Unfortunately, we can never fully prevent civilian casualties. War and conflict are never a walk in the park. But we will always do our utmost to protect the lives of civilians and to respect the law. Even though – if I were to be brutally honest – that is sometimes hard to do after you have seen what atrocities people are capable of committing.
Think of Isis. Of Boko Haram. Of Al-Qaida.
These extremists will purposefully hide among women and children, use people as "human shields", use sexual violence as a weapon or children as suicide bombers.
These extremists do not adhere to a single article of the Geneva conventions. But when facing them, we must stick to these principles.
That is civilisation.
That is to operate within the confines of the rule of law, with parliamentary, legal, and international oversight.
That is what keeps us from the slippery slope and from an eye for an eye.
In short, the Dutch military stays away from such dilemmas. In that regard, we share a starting point with the ICRC. We try to help people and respect international law. But we also try to promote respect for humanitarian law abroad.
For instance, we train Iraqi security forces and Peshmerga soldiers, who have to fight ISIS. Among other things, we teach them the principles of international humanitarian law. An aspect of warfare that these people have never experienced. These brave men and women, after all, have primarily been on the receiving end of dreadful treatment from ISIS. They revenge looms. As victims seek justice. Which triggers another cycle of violence.
So it is all the more important that our servicemen and women lay out the rules as stipulated in international laws.
How they do that?
They talk the fighters through a variety of scenarios, designed to help them understand all of the different choices they could make and to help them see what would be the right thing to do. We ask them for instance: How do you make sure you are not accidentally attacking women, children or the elderly? Or what if ISIS isn't playing by the same rules?
It has become clear that our training is working.
The Peshmerga soldiers are absorbing the training material well, and ask some very complicated questions. It means they are grasping the concepts, and have started to look beyond their past experiences. This is very important if we want to work towards long-term stability.
Besides security, education and training are the most important conditions for progress and improvement. They offer people a view of what a normal life could be. And they help prevent violence and misery.
But there is even more overlap between the ICRC and the Dutch military in what we do.
The Netherlands armed forces, for instance, also help deliver aid and restore order. As we did in the Caribbean, in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria. When we deployed one of our ships to transport aid supplies. And as we speak, one of our ships is delivering these aid supplies from the Netherlands Red Cross to Saint Martin. The Netherlands Armed Forces also help to strengthen the rule of law. As we are currently doing in Kosovo, where one of the tasks performed by our men and women is to escort public prosecutors and judges to and from work. And we build and train local security institutions. Such as the Tanzanian coastguard, the Malian police, the Afghan army, and the military legal services of Uganda.
So we are furthering the same cause. And we sometimes use the same means. Yet, we still operate separately. While today's conflicts are often long-term conflicts, and are marked by the participation of non-state armed groups. Meaning the lines between combatants and civilians are more blurred than ever. Just as today's conflicts are characterized by the use of new types of weapons and technologies. Complicating access to people in need of help. This is something we all need to discuss.
I realise that the ICRC is neutral; it is one of its seven basic principles. This neutrality allows Red Cross aid workers to work successfully. And for the Red Cross to be associated with a military could be very problematic. Very dangerous even. So I realise we have to stay within our own mandates, and stick to them.
Just as I realise that, as a result, cooperation with the military is most likely impossible for Red Cross aid workers. But your presence - and your actions - do influence what we - the military - are trying to achieve.
So why not find a way to achieve coordination? In some situations?
Why not coordinate actions, while at the same time respecting each other's boundaries?
I would like to believe that we can accomplish this if we could only adopt a pragmatic approach. An approach in which we can all share our expertise and networks. Without obligations.
This ecosystem approach aims to fully apply the qualities of all who want to support a safer world and a safer environment. An environment in which people can live and enjoy a secure future. The Netherlands armed forces are open to this approach, and offers a platform to help others. That is the reason why the Netherlands Ministry of Defence organised the Future Force Conference at the beginning of this year. The conference brought together twelve hundred people from all over the world. And from all walks of life. Not just military personnel, policy makers, researchers, and CEOs. But also aid workers, white-hat hackers, architects, economists, students, social scientists, and artists. All eager to make a connection, all driven by a common need for secure environments. And the great thing is, it was a huge success.
A wide range of very different ideas were exchanged between all sorts of organisations, giving rise to follow-up agreements and actions. For example, the agreement to plan a so-called Comprehensive Perspectives Meeting. To try to fully understand and tackle complex conflicts, such as the one in Libya.
This meeting took place four weeks ago, in fact.
Sixty people were present: CEOs, experts and high-ranking officers from international organisations but also experts from governments, think tanks, NGOs and the business community, all of which have 'boots on the ground' and therefore an extensive network in Libya. Some were obviously a little wary to begin with. "What are we doing here", they wondered. "What's behind this, other than the desire to share information and contacts?"
Some thought there was a grand military plan behind it all. But the open exchange of views changed that attitude. And we have now agreed to meet more often. Hopefully with many more people involved and concrete action as a follow-up.
Another result of the Future Force Conference is the pledge given by the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, to create a platform for practical innovation. And to help social innovators.
For instance, two months ago my predecessor, General Tom Middendorp, invited the Hassani brothers to his office. You may not know them, but these two brothers fled Afghanistan nineteen years ago. They now live in the Netherlands, where for the last three years they – together with a team of 21 young engineers from all over the world – have developed a mine-hunting drone.
Today, this drone is not only able to fly over a mined area.
-But it also generates a detailed 3D map with a built-in aerial mapping system:
-Uses a metal detector to pinpoint any landmine:
-Places a detonator on top of the mine with its robotic arm;
-And then flies away, and 'BOOM'… lets the explosive do the work.
According to the two brothers, these capabilities not only make demining safer, but also twenty times faster than existing devices. Not to mention two hundred times cheaper than traditional demining methods. But before they can actually prove the drone's capabilities, the brothers need to finish their prototype and start testing it on real landmines.
And that is where the Ministry of Defence comes in. We offered Massoud and Mahmud the opportunity to test their drone regularly at one of our military test facilities. Where they will also have the chance to talk to our military experts. To further improve their
innovation as they go along. So that one day… they will see their dream become a reality: And that is to clear all 110 million landmines worldwide – within ten years.
Please allow me to give you one final example from the Future Force Conference, which shows how collaboration between NGOs, civilian parties and the military can result in an innovative solution. A solution that is very interesting for all of us.
Working towards the Future Force Conference, people from the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Capgemini came together and decided to design a whiteflag protocol. It is a decentralised protocol to create a trusted messaging network for disaster and conflict areas.
How this works?
Well, the protocol works on the basis of the Blockchain. The technology on which bitcoins are based. By design, this technology is neutral, and therefore not European, American, Russian or Asian. The idea is that all conflict stakeholders are able to digitally join this network. And the stakeholders are able to let each other know exactly where they are working or operating. Think of aid workers, for instance. Or soldiers and journalists.
With this White flag protocol, they would now be able to send and receive series of messages. About entities protected under humanitarian law, or about occurring events.
In this way, at the moment an attack happens, the aid worker would be able to send out coordinates where they are providing care which would inform a soldier not to attack and a journalist would be able to send out a live report on the incident and a proof-of-life signal to his news agency and family.
Just imagine the possibilities. It means this protocol will not only increase our situational awareness, but support more aid in the field, and most importantly: save lives.
So the question is: how to push this whiteflag protocol a step further? How do we convince others to join in?
Well, the inventors of the Whiteflag initiative have given this crucial question some thought. That is why they plan to launch their initiative NOT as a military service or as a commercial service. But as a neutral one. And their wish is that the ICRC will be willing to adopt it. And willing to implement this initiative. That is also why I am very pleased to say that the 'Save the Children' organisation helped the inventors with the next steps, and introduced the team of creators to the ICRC. And just two days ago, four people from the ICRC in Geneva, were here in the Netherlands to discuss the project with the Dutch Air Force and Capgemini. And I was told they were very enthusiastic.
Joining forces and connecting networks.
Not because of commercial interest.
Not because of self-interest.
But because we know our common efforts can contribute to a safer world.
That was the fundamental idea of the Future Force Conference. That is the basic notion of the ecosystem approach. And that is the basic concept adopted by everyone involved.
So I would like to ask all of you today to combine efforts.
And connect our networks.
So all of us can work effectively towards our main goal.
And that is to help people in need.
And to make this world a safer place.
… For everyone.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Yesterday we took a family trip to the grocery store. Two adults, three kids, and fifteen items on a list. On the way in, we noticed the store's new "scan, pay, and go" feature and decided to try it. The concept is simple: using a store-provided device, you scan the barcode for each item you want, then stick it in the bag. At the end of the trip, all that's left is to pay for it. "This will be fun," I thought as I grabbed the scanner. But if you've ever been to a store with kids, you know how the story ends.
Why did she get two turns with the scanner and I only got one?
Where do I scan this lettuce?!
I want to put it in the cart. NO, I want to put it in the cart!
Take those tortillas out of the cart – we didn't scan them yet!
How easily we let our lives orbit around technology, missing the faces and experiences all around us. It doesn't seem like it should be so hard to slow down, to unplug, and to really connect. Yet it is one of the great practical and spiritual challenges of our time.
Jesus calls us to lives of connection, lives of community. As one body, we are invited to really see one another, to share the truth of "where we are" with one another, and to form a life of honest interconnectedness. When we look someone in the eye, we can't help but bring our full, unfiltered selves to that moment. Our faces betray all attempts to conceal whatever joy, fear, or shame we may be trying to hide. Allowing ourselves be seen and known requires effort and courage, but it is here we see God's heart for us through the eyes of others.
Today, consider someone in your life who you need to really connect with face-to-face. It might be a spouse, a neighbor, a colleague, or a kid. Perhaps there is an honest but difficult conversation you've been dodging. Maybe something has been eating you up and you need to confess it to a trusted soul friend. Or it could be a loved one you've under-appreciated of late.
Pause now, and silently wait as you trust God to bring a specific person or situation to mind.
If you've been avoiding an in-person conversation, why is that? Are there deeper issues at play, like fear or pride or control? Allow God to examine your heart around this conversation.
Partner with God's leading by asking how you can practically connect with that person in a meaningful way.


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text:
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 price, specs and everything else we know so far ahead of August 9 launch
July 30, 2018 Ruby Singh	Comment(0)
We are just a little over a week away from Samsung's Unpacked 2018 event in New York where the company is expected to announce the Galaxy Note 9 and perhaps a few other products like the Galaxy Tab S4, a redesigned S Pen and the Galaxy Watch.
The Galaxy Note 9 will be the star of the as it will be the third flagship phone from the company this year following the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.
There have been tons of rumours, renders, live images and reports of the phone over the past few weeks and news is still leaking out.
Late last Friday, a tipster based in Indonesia tweeted a promotional image of the Galaxy Note 9 along with its price and storage variants. According to the promo, the Galaxy Note 9 will be offered in two storage variants – 128GB and 512GB. The 128GB Galaxy Note 9 will have a price tag of IDR 13,500,000 (approx Rs 64,400) while the top model will be priced IDR 17,500,000 (approx Rs 83,500) in Indonesia. Notably, the promo does not mention 64GB or 256GB models, both of which have been rumoured in the past. In fact, here's a quick roundup of all that we know so far about the upcoming Galaxy Note 9.
— Talking about the design first, don't expect a dramatic change to the look of the Galaxy Note 9 compared to the Galaxy Note 8. The upcoming flagship is expected to sport a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display on the front with narrow bezels. This means it could just marginally taller than the 6.3-inch display on the predecessor. You can also expect a dual curved edge display which has become a trademark for the company.
— The biggest change to the design will likely be on the rear panel of the Galaxy Note 9. The device, which will sport a glass back, will see a new placement for the fingerprint sensor. The sensor will now be placed just below the dual camera setup to avoid smudging the camera lens and making it easier to reach for users. The Galaxy Note 9 will be offered in three different colour options – black, blue and brown.
Samsung's stylus, the S Pen, is expected to see a redesign as well which suggests some new functionalities although details around this are still slim. Some reports in the past suggest the S Pen could come with Bluetooth support and may allow for music playback control and long-range self-timer among other things. The way Samsung has been teasing the S Pen, it's safe to say the company is ready to announce a few interesting things about the stylus on August 9. The S Pen is expected to come in black, brown and yellow colours.
— As for the hardware, we expect the Galaxy Note 9 to pack pack most of the same specs as the Galaxy S9+. The device will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 chipset depending on the market. We also expect 6GB and 8GB of RAM options on offer.
— After the entire Galaxy Note 7 battery issue a couple of years ago that caused a number of units to catch on fire, Samsung played it safe and fitted a smaller battery inside the Galaxy Note 8. A few days ago, Samsung posted a teaser video suggesting the Galaxy Note 9 may get a bigger battery, suggesting the company is confident about not repeating the Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
— Samsung has been a little hush about revealing anything regarding the cameras on the Galaxy Note 9, which might lead one to think that the company is not going to make any significant changes. Rather, it is expected that the device will bring a dual camera configuration similar to the Galaxy S9+ including the Dual Aperture feature that will allow the camera to switch between apertures depending on the lighting condition.
— Last week, a Flipkart teaser was spotted suggesting the Galaxy Note 9 India launch will coincide with its global unveiling on August 9. The teaser also suggests that the device will start shipping in the country from August 15.
News credit : Indiatoday
Tagged features, samsung galaxy, technology news
PARKER SOLAR PROBE: NASA IS READY TO LAUNCH ITS FIRST MISSION TO THE SUN
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NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which is humanity's first mission to the Sun, has cleared the final procedures ahead of its launch on August 11. "NASA's Parker Solar Probe has cleared the final procedures in the clean room before its move to the launch pad, where it will be integrated onto its launch vehicle, a United Launch […]
Aadhaar story so far: The arguments made by petitioners and State from Days 15 to 25 of SC hearings
April 9, 2018 Ruby Singh
Editor's Note: This is a two-part series which will be taking stock of all the important arguments that have taken place so far in the Aadhaar Supreme Court hearings. Part 1 focusses on Days 1 to 15 and Part 2 (the concluding part) will focus on Days 15 to 25 of the hearings. To read our complete […]
Scientists pinpoint spiritual part of human brain
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Ever wondered how your brain processes spiritual experiences? Scientists have identified a possible "neurobiological home" for the sense of connection to something greater than oneself. The study showed that activity in the parietal cortex—an area of the brain involved in awareness of self and others as well as attention processing—seems to be a common element […]
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China's quest for Democracy
The Chinese model of development, the so-called Beijing Consensus, has served at least China remarkably well. This appears to have prompted the leader "The Paradox of Prosperity" in The Economist (28 January, 2012), suggesting that "For China's rise to continue, the country needs to move away from the model that has served it so well." Click here
Of course, China is already changing course. The significant change in emphasis in the new Five Year Plan (2011-15) shows clearly that all is not well with the current model of development. But the thrust of the Economist article is not economic. It aims at the perennial question of Democracy and China's One Party system.
China in fact has several recognised "democratic parties" but these are very small and the Communsit Party of China (CPC)'s authority is enshrined in the Constitution.
A single party can have a very long life even in a democracy. Look at Singapore and Japan. The same Party in Singapore remains in power since independence. The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan enjoyed power for over half a century until 2009. The point is that any party, in any system, must enjoy the support of the people if its rule is to last. But if people's support is sufficiently strong, the same one party can last a long time.
As Winston Churchill says, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried". However, let's not forget that it took centuries of "democratic" governments for slavery to be totally abolished and even longer to allow women the right to vote. Moreover, there are many "one-man, one-vote" countries where human rights and governance leave a lot to be desired. Do I need to mention Russia?
As exposed by the financial crisis and the Occupy Movement, leading Western democracies appear to be capable of being hijacked by 1% of the people to the detriment of the 99%. Moreover, the American confrontational party system is becoming more and more dysfunctional. The resulting social discontent cannot be entirely blamed on the economy.
China's society has vastly different cultural roots, based on collectivism rather than individuality, and the sanctity of the common good over personal liberty. Chinese ancient philosophy is imbued with the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven", rooted in the Confucian idea of the state having to win the people over by improving their lives. By this token, some dynasties like the Tang Dynasty (618 -907 CE) presided over a centuries-long period of peace and prosperity. Others tended to face an untimely demise because the rulers failed to honour the Mandate.
Of course, times have changed, and we are in the 21st century. But the principle still holds true today of winning the Mandate of people's hearts and minds.
According to PEW, a Washington-based public opinion research organization, there is a growing percentage of people in China becoming more satisfied with the country's direction for the period from 2007 to 2010. Indeed, the Chinese government's popularity ratings have been remaining very high in recent years (over 80%) compared to Western democracies. Overall, by comparison, the Chinese people were found to be happier and more optimistic about their future. So talk of a Jasmine Revolution in China is thought to be at least premature. Click here
In fact China has not denounced democracy. Indeed, President Hu openly repeated the word "democracy" 61 times at the opening of the Party Congress in 2007. Neither is China saying that the country is already sufficiently democratic. Successive Party School directives emphasize the need for the CPC to continue to reform and re-invent itself as a ruling party in tune with the times.
However, China remains unconvinced that the Western model of democracy is the "End of History". China will continue her quest for her own ideal model of government, looking at some of the more successful Western models and experiences, without wanting to copy any particular system.
But with an increasing level of local unrests, rising aspirations of a "generation W(eb)", ecological constraints, and a more hostile external environment, the Chinese system will no doubt continue to be tested.
Posted at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
China willing to help European bailout?
"China willing to aid bailout: EU Leaders" This is the heading of the eye-catching article in the ChinaDaily.com on 28 Janaury 2012. Click here
It is at least conceivable that rather than an act of philanthropy, China would view this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enhance the nation's international image, prestigue, geopolitical and geo-economic influence.
While China would welcome and indeed make it a condition that other nations need to join in the rescue, it is apparent that no other country has financial resources big enough to match. So China is likely to be at least the primus inter pares.
Second, China could expect an understanding, if not a clear quid pro quo, that she would now be recognized as a full market economy. In any case, this would only be a few years ahead of the original target of 2015 as understood on China's first entry into the WTO. It is in any case curious that Russia, but not China, has long been recognized as a full market economy.
Third, China could also expect Europe to sell more European high technolgy to China (if not yet to lift the 21-year old arms embargo). This would help redress the trade balance with Europe (except Germany which already has a positive trade balance with China).
Fourth, China could take the opportunity of increasing the nations's share and hence voting rights in the IMF possibly to attain a veto power on par with the EU as a bloc or the US by itself.
Fifth, part of the rescue could take the form of currency swaps with individual Member States in need, including an understanding that the RMB (Chinese yuan) will be recognized for bilateral trade settlements. Like what has already happened with a number of other countries, this would help further boost the on-going internationalization of the RMB (the Chinese yuan).
Sixth, the rescue could accelerate China's ongoing efforts to construct a China-Europe high-speed rail network (initially for freight) which is designed to connect 17 European countries to China's eastern seaboard, including a possible Beijing-London link). This is slated to be the largest infrastructual project in human history. Click here Even before its completion, this gigantic project will spur European economic revival and open doors to much closer economic, trade, investment, and cultural exchanges with Europe.
Perhaps, with constructive thinking outside the box, the current European Crisis is too good to waste both for Europe, China, and indeed, the rest of the world.
Posted at 02:04 AM in China Overview, China's Rise, Current Affairs, Economy, Geopolitics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
How to bring the jobs back home?
With the Western world still mired in a financial, economic and employment morass, there is an increasing spread of an under-current of protectionism as a counterweight against globalization. Witness President Obama's mantra on outsourcing in his State of the Union Address or a suggestion for a Plan B calling for "local content" in manufactured goods as in a YaleGlobal article in a Part I series on globalization by Pierre-Noel Giraud dated 24 January, 2012. Click here
But as another YaleGlobal Part II article in the same series by Alain Renaudin dated 27 Janaury, 2012 Click here shows, what is at stake is not so much a country label – "Made in France" or "in the United States". What is more important for consumers is the quality and value embedded in the goods, either in terms of superior design, technical performance (e.g. an Intel Core label on computers), quality-price ratio, or environmental or other values.
Sometimes, nationalism or national pride may also play a part in opposing globalization. For example, France rejected Pepsi Cola's equity stake offer as "France doesn't want Pepsi in our yogurt".
Globalization has many faults that need correction as Joseph Stiglitz, a Novel laureate, outlined in his seminal works "Globalization and Its Discontents" (2002) and his subsequent book "Making Globalization Work" (2006).
But globalization is a natural stage of world development. As in the case of borderless Web-connectivity, the world has become much more "distributed" and inter-dependent. There is no point in going back to the past.
Developing countries like China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and countries in Africa are all struggling to climb the industrialization ladder to better living standards for their teeming billions. Many would die for the kind of low-end jobs no longer viable in the West.
On the other hand, however, fast-developing economies like China are also upgrading their technologies, skills, and innovation, out-competing more and more jobs in Western countries.
That is why Obama's State of the Union Address is also a clarion call to continue to upgrade the skill-sets of the American people through a better and more forward-looking public education system. Click here
Countries like China need to be constantly on their toes by upgrading the competitiveness of their peoples, if necessary, by allowing the youngest and brightest who can afford to pay to further their education in the best universities abroad.
Meanwhile, overall, the West is still miles ahead of developing countries in design, creativity, innovation, and technology, as can be seen from a league table of the world's leading brands.
But these brands are not equated to "Made in X Country" labels. Look inside a Toyota or, as illustrated in the YaleGlobal Part II article above, an Airbus A380, and one would wonder how to define where the final product is made.
As Thomas Friedman has famously termed, "the world is flat". At the same time, the world is not static but is constantly evolving, economically, financially, socially, culturally, geopolitically and ecologically. Survival, Adaptation and Transformation remain imperative now as they have been in the past millennia.
As Jared Diamond outlines in his book "Collapse - How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive" (2005), it is often a matter of Leadership and Choice. But turning the clock back is never an option.
Posted at 03:15 PM in Business, China Overview, China's Rise, Current Affairs, Economy | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"Super Imperialism - The Economic Strategy of American Empire"
Michael Hudson's controversial book, "Super Imperialism - The Economic Strategy of American Empire", Pluto Press, New Edition March 2003, offers a no-holds-barred elucidation of a plausible American Grand Design to rule the world through calculated "Monetary Imperialism". Click here
Hudson explains how, when America was the creditor to the world, the old European powers were bankrupted with mountains of American debt during and in between two world wars, from which America emerged with holding three-quarters of the world's gold, as an unrivalled global exporter of goods and finance, and as the issuer of the world's leading and indispensable reserve currency – the US dollar.
This dominance has been consolidated by an international economic and monetary order underpinned by US-centric Bretton Woods institutions - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Under the banner of a "Washington Consensus" model of development, they served to anchor the US dollar as a global currency and expanded markets and access to resources for American businesses. This gradually helped America to dismantle the Sterling Bloc and eventually displace the British Empire as the global hegemon.
After becoming a budget-deficit and debtor nation in the wake of the Korean War, America has turned what would be a weakness into a hegemonic strategy that seeks "to oblige other governments to finance the deficit by lending their surpluses to the US government, and in the process, to finance its domestic budget deficit, or to let the dollar depreciate and thus favour US exports" as well as dissipate the value of America's external debt. What is sometimes called a "benign neglect" of payment deficits has been quietly transformed into a wilful policy.
This proactive "dollar-debtor standard" interacts with powerful banking elites and an ubiquitous "military-industrial complex', creating the largest war machine the world has ever known. The rising influence of this complex was flagged up by President Eisenhower at his farewell address in 1961. Needless to say, after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, this war machine without peer has greatly empowered American hegemony.
What is more, the costs of this militarism are increasingly being financed by the inflow of foreign surplus capital into US Treasuries as a relatively secure haven for excess national liquidity. This helps to prop up the strength of the dollar and enables America to continue to spend by exercising the unique power of seigniorage in printing as much greenback as America pleases.
This underpinned former US Treasury Secretary John Connally's famous remark in 1971 that "The dollar is our currency, but it's your problem."
That remark is also the title of an April, 2005 article for the Hoover Institution by Niall Ferguson. He reckoned that the Bush administration's combination of tax cuts and a global war on terror was being financed with a multibillion-dollar overdraft facility at the People's Bank of China (through China's huge purchase of Treasury bills), a kind of Chinese 'tribute' to the 'American Empire'. Click here
In April, 2009, Paul Krugman, New York Times Op-ed columnist and Novel Prize laureate, called this China's 'Dollar Trap'.
Under a "Structuralist Rationale", some academics tried to justify this as part and parcel of a global "liberal capitalism" where the US government is merely acting as a trusted global banker attracting deposits from national savers across the globe. Credit is expanded and invested in ways that boost the strength of this global banking system.
As regards military hegemony, well, this is what is required to maintain a safe and stable international order, which is essential for global commerce and prosperity.
Regardless of recent defence budget cuts and growing concern with mounting US national debt, it seems that the above thinking is at least lurking if not very much alive in the minds of some US national planners.
However, since the two world wars, a great deal of water has passed under the bridge. The tide has now turned and the world is a very different place. While US leadership and the US dollar may still look unassailable, how long this position may last is increasingly debatable.
The following developments are instructive -
(a) Not only has the United States lost its position as the world's largest creditor since the Korean War, it has now lost its position as the world's largest exporter. While there are still a range of American goods and services that the world remains loyal to, the world is no longer captive to American exports.
(b) Instead of America, China is increasingly becoming the heart of a world production and supply chain where resources, components, technologies, skills, freight and finance may congregate from all corners of the earth.
(c) Unlike the years before the Second World War, Europe is now very much a unified market, if not yet a compete financial, let alone political union. It has now displaced the United States as China's largest trading partner and in turn China has now become Europe's largest trading partner ahead of the United States.
(d) There is also a trend of reducing dependence on trade with America amongst developing countries. Since 1990 the average annual growth rate of trade between developing countries grew twice the rate of growth of world trade. Developing-country trade with each other is now 39% of their total trade. See an article by Mari Pangestu, Indonesia's Trade Minister "APEC and the new dynamics of world trade", dated December 5th, 2010 on East Asia Forum, an online platform for Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific. Click here
(e) The faith in the greenback as a long-term storage of value for national savers is beginning to frail. Why should surplus countries continue to put all their eggs in a greenback basket when they can now deploy more of their hard-earned cash to acquire assets and resources across the globe or in other global currencies less prone to devaluation through the printing press? Despite the Euro crisis, the euro or at least other European currencies including the Swiss franc, other international currencies like the Japanese yen , as well as emerging currencies like the Chinese yuan, may in due course offer asset classes with more attractive returns.
(f) Albeit remaining non-convertible on the capital account, the Chinese yuan (RMB) is being aggressively internationalized for bilateral trade settlements, the issuance of RMB-denominated bonds and other financial products, cross-border investments, including mergers and acquisitions, and foreign direct investments (FDI) in and outward direct investments (ODI) from China. It is now beginning to be bought, though still in relatively small quantities, by some central banks including Japan and Malaysia as part of their foreign currency reserves. The day when the Chinese yuan becomes at least one of a number of leading international currencies does not look very far away.
See my recent presentation "Securing renminbi via the private sector- Renminbi Internationalization: Opportunities and Policy Implications for Central Banks" at a seminar for central banking executives in Kuala Lumpur. click here
(g) As forewarned in the National Intelligence Council Report "Global Trends 2025 – A Transformed World", dated 21 November 2008, Click here the United States will be able to continue to lead the world in the coming decades but its capacity to lead is declining. More reliance has to be placed on multilateral efforts and sharing of responsibilities as the world has become more interdependent and complex, with new asymmetric forces and new state and non-state actors. The time for a hegemonic mindset is past.
(g) As tried in various quarters, hard power is not always effective in resolving conflicts or threats, whether global or regional. Eleven aircraft carrier battle groups may be of no avail in stamping out global terrorism or arresting the spread of nuclear weapons. Indeed, hard power may well prove to be counter-productive.
The Era of Multilateralism has arrived. While the world in many ways is still looking up to America for leadership, there is risk that such leadership could be compromised, rather than enhanced, by a zero-sum hegemonic mindset.
To attain global peace, stability, and prosperity, and to address the many economic, financial, security, and ecological challenges the world is facing, there is room for more shared leadership and responsibility with the world's rising powers on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for diversity instead of a winner-takes-all end-game.
Posted at 08:05 PM in Currencies, Geopolitics, United States | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Critical challenges facing a China in rapid transition
YaleGlobal Online runs a two-part series on China's Challenges.
PART I is an insightful summary by Thomas Fingar dated 16 January, 2012. Click here The following addional observations may be helpful -
(a) The imbalances of less developed regions, low-cost (and energy-intensive) production and inadequate domestic consumption are being vigorously redressed in the current transformational Five Year Plan (2011-15). Don't expect miracles and a smooth ride, but like the China story of the past three decades, do not dismiss too soon the ability of the Party to achieve surprising outcomes.
(b) The growing international competition from other fast-developing emerging economies is in a way welcome as this would accelerate the transformation outlined in (a) above.
(c) China's growing "demographic deficit" of an aging population profile is well-rehearsed . For now, there is still a huge pool of young workforce from the countryside. But the built-in demographics remains an albatross around China's neck. The One-Child Policy is already being modified for families of both single-child spouses. Trust the Party to press the button to abandon the Policy when the time comes.
(d) Politics- China is a paradox of both centralization and de-centralization, each having its advantages and problems. Provincial party secretaries and governors presiding over the development and livelihood of populations the size of many mid-sized countries wield unthinkable powers compared to a Western democracy. Yet they have all earned their spurs through the ranks as part of the system beholden to the Party leadership in Beijing who, in turn, emerges from an essentially competitive, and well-tried, meritocratic system, a system not far from an ancient Chinese adage, "Those most able (note, not necessarily those popularly elected) should lead".
The Party is now headed by more highly-educated and much younger leaders (often with foreign postgraduate degrees) with years of proven track records through jobs in the provinces and ministries, including many with international exposure. Those at the top know that the Party's survival depends on its continued ability to reform and change with the times.
The Party is trying to move towards a model of governance for the people (though not yet of or by the people). The challenges remain in the nurture of a genuinely representative electoral system starting at the village level (covering the vast proportion of the population) and the development of a more impartial judiciary system.
So far with a vibrant economy, the Party has managed to deliver the goods and still enjoys a relatively high level (over 80%) of popularity ratings, according to a PEW opinion survey in 2010.
But serious problems are bubbling, including unbridled corruption, power abuse, environmental degradation, water and other resource constraints, growing inequalities, rising levels of discontent and aspirations of a more individualistic "Generation – W (Web)" in an age of spontaneous, internet-enabled citizenry actions across the globe. (The Rise of Generation W(eb)" Chapter 1 in "China Inside Out", Bill Dodson, John Wile & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2011)
On the economic front, China is set to grow on average at a more stainable pace of about 7% annually. China's Academy of Social Science has recently put the growth rate at 9% for 2012. While it may be too early to predict a " Coming Collapse of China", as the redoubtable Gordon Chang again does, all bets will remain open on the likely outcome of China's challenging trajectory during the next few decades.
PART II is an article dated 18 January 2012 by Borje Ljunggren, revolving around a recent tale-telling mass protest in Wukan Village. Click here
The Wukan event is in many ways another milestone in China's trajectory. Mass protests and unrests, as the article depicts, are not uncommon in China and are in fact rising. But this follows on an August mass protest in Dalian which resulted in a swift shutdown of a government-sanctioned chemical plant project. Click here
What is more, the incident in Wukan, a small village in the Donghan Township in Guangdong province, saw Wang Yang, provincial party secretary (above the rank of provincial governor) swiftly intervene. Wang is a rising star tipped to make it to the Party politburo (China's state cabinet). Not only did he openly acknowledge that the villagers' complaints were legitmate, he detained various senior village officials for disciplinary investigations and basically acceded to virtually all of the villagers' demands. He further legitimized the status of the well-organised citizenry body and later appointed its leader as the secretary of a preparatory committee to lead the re-election of a new village committee in place of the current one which is being accused of land grabs and corruption. Click here
"After a deal was reached, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Beijing declared: "We can no longer sacrifice farmers' land ownership right to reduce urbanization and industrialization costs," the YaleGlobal article reports.
While it is unlikely that Beijing would choose to weaken the Party's authority by repeating this surprising response too often, there is little doubt that the Wukan incident is regarded by the current leadership, and almost definitely by the next one, as the defining clarion call to improve the Party's governance, including the issue of politicaly powerful vested commercial interests.
The urgency is particularly acute at the local, especially the village level, where officials are less well-trained and where, as the Chinese adage goes, "The mountains are high and the emperor far away."
The need for reform and improvement has become even more pressing in response to the rising aspirations of an internet and more individualistic generation who are part and parcel of a much needed rising middle class to balance China's economy towards a more consumption-oriented model.
www.andrewleunginternationalconsultants.com
Would war clouds over Iran precipitate WW3?
War drums seem to be beating for military action against Iran as international pressures are being stepped up to impose more draconian sanctions on Iran and two US aircraft carrier battle groups are being deployed to the Persian Gulf.
Any conflict in the Gulf may as the Iranians threaten, lead to a closure of the choke point of the Strait of Hormuz where 40% of world energy shipping and a far higher percentage of China's energy supplies must pass.
It is no wonder that Premier Wen chose to pay a rare high-level 6-day visit (14-19 January) to the Middle East, the source of about 60% of China's oil supplies, during these sensitive times. The visit by a Chinese premier to Saudi Arabia was the first in 21 years while the visits to the UAE and Qatar were the first ever by a Chinese premier.
A raft of $16 billion-worth of agreements were signed covering trade, energy, infrastructure, finance and culture, including a $5.6 billion first-ever currency swap with the Arab countries in an on-going process to internationalize the Chinese yuan, a$8.5 billion deal with Saudi Aramco for a joint venture refinery to become operational in 2014, and an agreement between Abu Dhabai National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the China National Petroleum Corp to develop upstream projects.
Also on the cards was an attempt to accelerate ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement between China and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was launched in July 2004.
Nevertheless, the Iranian question, and the security of passage for China's critical oil supplies, was never far from the top of the agenda.
The Premier reaffirmed China's opposition to Iran developing nuclear weapons and China's willingness to work with concerned parties to establish a nuclear- free Middle East, saying that China will not trade its principles for profits.
However, he also took care to reiterate the position of many other countries, that legitimate trade with Iran should be protected rather than being used as a weapon which could jeopardize the normal international order. He emphasized that the issue of an Iranian nuclear threat should be resolved through diplomatic channels involving the Six-party diplomatic group made up of the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
Almost on cue, on 19 January, Iran declared that she is ready to resume the talks with the "Iran-six", agreeing to use Turkey as an intermediary venue.
Notwithstanding increasing tension in the Gulf , fuelled by growing hardline Israeli pressure, a war-wary American electorate and indeed the US Military are unlikely to by enthusiastic about a war on Iran, however triggered, which may lead to uncontrollable escalations and consequences across and beyond the region, particularly in the wake of recent US defence budget cuts and restraints.
So it may be unnecessary to dismiss the kind of alarmism about a world war to be triggered over Iran as posted on The Daily Squib, a British satirical publication established in 1862. In a posting dated 17 November 2011, entitled "If you can't hear the drums of war, you must be deaf", a Machiavellian Henry Kissinger was portrayed as rubbing his hands in glee that by provoking Russia and China into a world war with the United States over Iran, after the dust (and blood) has settled, the United States with its peerless war machine would emerge to reign supreme over the entire world. Click here
First, the satire gave me much mirth at the thought that someone as astute as dear old Henry Kissinger would give such a nonsensical interview.
Second, with US and Russian aircraft carriers calling in the Gulf, those who may think the story is at least plausible may run the risk of under-rating the collective intelligence of China and Russia.
In case of a US-provoked War on Iran, it is by no means certain that Russia or China or both would fall into the trap of being sucked into a WW3.
A more probable outcome would be that consistent with their common approaches to conflict resolution, both countries would condemn the military intervention as illegal under UN rules and would rally support from the war-adverse international community.
At the same time, both countries would act as good guys in mediating the military conflict through diplomatic and other channels while watching the US dragging herself into a much worse fate than Iraq at a time when the US has become less able financially, economically, and politically to embark on a war that would lead to world Armageddon.
Instead of the satirical outcome of a new era of US world dominance, the more likely outcome would be that the United States would only hasten its decline of world leadership, economically, financially, and morally.
So, let's hope that wiser heads will prevail over Iran.
Perhaps it may be relevant to recall whether the former USSR or Vietnam changed their regimes as a result of US military action.
It may also serve as food for thought to borrow the concluding reference to Thomas Jefferson in Christopher Treble's book "The Power Problem – How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous, and Less Free", Cornell University Press, 2009.
The Founding Father "predicted that one day, in the not too distant future, Americans "may shake a rod over the heads of all, which may make the stoutest of them tremble. But I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power, the greater it will be."
Posted at 06:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (100) | TrackBack (0)
"China turns predominantly urban" - Wall Street Journal
The above Wall Street Journal article of 18 January 2012 reported that China's urban dwellers account for 51.27% of China's entire population of nearly 1.35 billion—or a total of 690.8 million people, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This is the first time in China's civilization that the country is more urban than rural. Click here
With a teeming population, China needs to find at least 10 million additional jobs a year to absorb the excess of labour. Urbanization is China's chosen path to improving standards of living for her masses and to grow a large-enough middle class for balancing the economy towards domestic consumption instead of over-reliance on exports. This way, the nation aims to quadruple its 2000 GDP by 2020 to achieve a moderately well-off society (say, comparable to Turkey in per capita terms).
Notwithstanding what China is achieving in the use of renewable energies, the challenge remains how China may realize her goal of embracing a low-carbon future.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute study "Preparing for China's Urban Billion" (February 2009), China will be adding 350 million more urbanites by 2025 in 221 new cities each with a population of more than a million, compared with only 35 such cities at present in the entire Europe. Click here
Studies have shown that urbanization would lend itself to greater resource efficiency with smart power grids, conveniently-accessed and connected economic and social neighbourhoods, energy-efficient public transport systems including high-speed rail, eco-friendly buildings and a low-carbon economy.
On the other hand, as many examples of urban sprawl around the world show, cities may become hotbeds of an alarming urban divide in income, space, opportunities, and basic livelihood of food, shelter, health and education.
See the latest UN Report "State of the World's Cities 2010/2011- Bridging the Urban Divide, Earthscan, UN Human Settlements Program, 2008" Click here
In an age of scarcity, as not only China but the whole world is becoming overwhelmingly urban, the race to build more intelligent cities is on. However, buildiing an intelligent city is not just a matter of better urban planning and design. A high-level policy strategy of economic, social, political, regional and ecological policies and effective action is a prerequsite. Click here
Ultimately, in an ecologically-connected global village, what faces not only fast-developing countries like China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey but the rest of the globe is the sustainability of a world hurling towards possibly over 9 billion people by 2050, while more and more of them are trying to attain Western standards of living.
Tim Jackson's book "Prosperity Without Growth - Economics for a Finite Planet", Earthscan, London and Washington D.C., 2011 is a timely reminder that following the past millenium of an Industrial Civlization, we are now due for an Ecological Civilization, a term first advanced by Pan Yue, Vice Minster of China's Minstry for Environmental Protection in his essay "Socialist Ecological Civilization" on 27 October 2006.
The realities of a finite world are beginning to dawn on everyone in developed and developing countries alike that standards of livng do not necessarily equate to more or better consumption.
Changing perceptions and lifestyles are just around the corner where to be minimalist is to be chic and less is more, and where true knowledge and wisdom is to live with Mother Nature, rather than to exploit it.
"Rise of the TIMBIs" - Jack A Goldstone in Foreign Policy
In an article "Rise of the TIMBIs""in Foreign Policy (December 2, 2011), Jack A Goldstone cautioned "Forget the BRICs. The real economies that will shake up the world over the next few decades need a new acronym." Click here
There is a global power shift towards the emerging world which has begun to seize the lion's share of global markets, according to the Economist. Click here
The Economist also shows that the emerging economies now have greater heft on many measures than developed ones. Click here
Amongst the emerging economies, there is no doubt that the so-called TIMBI countries are on the rise. To this grouping, one may add South Africa (already part of the new BRICS acronym) and South Korea (according to Goldman Sachs). Both are dynamic, rising economies, the former because of its leverage of a rising Africa and the latter, owing to its innovative and technological skills rivalling if not already surpassing Japan in many areas.
But it seems a little premature to demolish the BRICS grouping by dismissing China along with Russia. Even the Foreign Policy article (penultimate paragraph) admits that China's GDP is roughly equal to the sum total of the so-called TIMBIs.
Brazil, the poster child of this newly-invented grouping, is slated to become the world's fourth largest economy by 2025, trailing behind the US, China and Japan.
Notwithstanding this projected catch-up, China's growth, assumed to be slowing to only 5% per year with aging demographics, would still manage to attain the world's top position with the United States after 2050.
In advancing the TIMBIs, the article seems to be downplaying the following aspects as regards China –
(a) According to the Economist (31 December, 2011), "the year when the Chinese economy will truly eclipse America's is in sight". Measured by a variety of economic indicators, that year may come as early as 2018. Click here
(b) Reference is made of China's aging population profile due to China's One Child Policy. But the Policy is already being modified for families made up of both single-child spouses. The Policy is not cast in stone and may be totally scrapped during China's economic trajectory.
Moreover, according to the CIA World Fact Book, China's literacy rate of 92.2% is one of the highest in the world, ahead of any of the TIMBIs, and according to the Foreign Policy article, China may have a surfeit of university graduates. This stands in stark contrast with India where the literacy rate of 61% is the lowest of the grouping. So, while a young population can definitely be a demographic dividend, that may not be guaranteed if illiteracy and youth unemployment remain high, as in the case of India.
(c)	According to an article dated 15 January, 2012 in The Telegraph, figures compiled by Thomson Reuters for the Financial Times showed that the number of peer-reviewed papers published by Chinese researchers rose 64-fold over the past 30 years. China is now second only to the US in terms of academic papers published, and will take first place by 2020 if current trends continue. Click here
Another Thomson Reuters research report dated 21 December 2011 showed that China became the world's top patent filer in 2011, surpassing the United States and Japan as it steps up innovation to improve its intellectual property rights track record. Click here
Although these numbers may belie the number of genuine breakthrough innovative ideas, it still appears a little early to belittle China's capacity for innovation.
(d)	Under an about-turn in the new Five Year Plan (2011-15), China is changing decisively towards a less export-dependent and more consumption-oriented economy. Although consumption is only 37% of China's economy, this is set to rise by at least one percent per year in the coming decades, according to Stephen Roach, Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and author of "The Next Asia", John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2009.
According to the McKinsey Quarterly (2006 Special Edition), 79.2% of households will be in the lower and upper middle classes income range of RMB 40,001 to 100,000 ) by 2015. The "mass affluent" with annual household income of RMB100,001 to 200,000 ($80,000 adjusted for purchasing power parity) will jump from 9.8% of total in 2005 to 36.4% by 2025.
Anecdotally, at the lower end of the consumption scale, Yum! Brands opened 500 new restaurants in China in 2010 including one new KFC every single day. At the high end, according to World Luxury Association's 2010-2011 annual report, China now accounts for 27 % of the global luxury market, ahead of US at 14 % and right behind Japan at 29 %. The report says China will be the world's largest luxury market in 2012.
(e)	China's service sector is still below 50% of the economy. But it is growing steadily. In the new Five Year Plan (2011-15), service sector value-added output is to be boosted to 47 % of GDP, up 4 percentage points over the period. This, together with a rapidly rising consumer economy should generate more jobs to offset the lower job numbers demanded by a smaller and more technology-intensive manufacturing sector, while the latter in turn is set to offer more job and entrepreneurial opportunities to a rising university-trained workforce.
(f) According to the McKinsey Global Institute, by 2025, China will be building 221 new cities each with a population over one million, compared with 35 such cities in Europe, adding an extra 350 million urbanites. Click here
China will be 50% urban by 2015, according to a report in the People's Daily Online dated 30 March 2010. Click here Even if the growth rate of China's urbanization may not be the world's highest, its sheer size will by far be the world's largest by 2015.
(g) Significantly, China has become the centre of the world's production and supply chain as materials and components as well as diverse knowledge and skills across the globe are interwoven into the largest, most efficient and most cost-competitive Factory of the World honed over the years to comply with international standards. This highly efficient and globalized complex is unlikely to be displaced by the TIMBIs anytime soon.
(h)	The Foreign Policy article refers to democracy several times. While there is no doubt that democracy helps to spurn innovative ideas, it is no hard and fast barrier against innovation especially in a dynamic, state-capitalist economy like China's.
Indeed, according to a comparative empirical study by Randall Peerenboom, "China Modernizes – Threat to the West or Model for the Rest", Oxford University Press, 2007, China outperformed many other democratic developing countries according to most United Nations development indices. This is no apology for China's slow or lack of progress towards democracy but merely serves to illustrate the fact that lack of democracy, at least in the Western sense, is not necessarily a hindrance to dynamic economic growth at certain stages of a country's development.
Rather than dismissing "non-democratic" countries from a grouping, perhaps a more inclusive and wider grouping of the more dynamic nations of the "emerging world" may tell a better story.
According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 the top ten economies in the world will be, in descending order, China ($70 trillion), US (about $38 trillion), India (about the same as the US), Brazil (barely over $10 trillion), Mexico (just under $10 trillion), Russia, Indonesia, Japan, United Kingdom, and, lastly, Germany (about $5 trillion).
Only four of the G7 would thus remain on this list. Except the US, the other three G7 countries, Japan, UK, and Germany, would fall to the bottom.
The combined economic weight of the six so-called Emerging and Growth-leading Economies (EAGLE), what may be called the E6, would be over two and half times more than the remaining G4.
Although it is a bold prediction and many a black swan may appear, by 2050 the E6 will have soared well above the G7 to rule the world's economy. Welcome to a brave new Emerging World Economic Order some may think could only exist on another planet. Indeed, this may happen sooner than many people think.
Bests regards,
"America's Mixed Asian Future"
The United States is re-focusing on the Asia-Pacific. This results partly from the need to prioritize America's defence requirements because of a declining economic and financial capacity to shape the global order (National Intelligence Council Report - Project 2025, November 2008). It also comes about as China is seen to be the biggest challenger to US dominance, particularly in the Asia-Pacific, following America's gradual withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's newly declared "America's Pacific Century" is a thinly-disguised China Containment Strategy. Click here So are America's recent efforts to forge a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) excluding China.
These measures are reinforced by closer American military ties with countries within the environs of the so-called "first and second island chains" within and near the approaches to the South China Sea, including countries like Australia and India. The most strategic choke point for China is the Malacca Strait, through which the bulk of China's energy and resource imports must pass, where US military dominance is unquestionable.
This apparently water-tight containment strategy, however, contrasts with the following developments –
(a) A great number of the countries in the South China Sea and beyond have become closely knit in a regional and global production and supply chain of which China is right at the centre. Indeed, a large number of countries already have China as their largest trading partner (including Japan and Australia) or second largest (e.g. India). So closer military and economic ties with the United States may reflect a desire to free-ride on American power as a hedge against a rising China rather than a willingness to be drawn into an anti-China bloc, least of all, into regional military conflicts these countries would rather do without.
(b) Through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China (along with Russia) has cemented very close ties with Central Asian countries. Its members include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with Iran, India, Pakistan, and Mongolia as Observer members, Belarus and Sri Lanka as Dialogue Members and ASEAN, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Turkmenistan for Guest Attendance. Afghanistan is being supported by Russia for inclusion as a Member. This powerful network provides a degree of insurance for the flow of China's lifeblood of energy, resources and trade.
(c) China is building every closer ties with the Middle East (including Israel). Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will be paying an official visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar from January 14 to 19 2012 at the invitation of the respective Arab leaders. At a time when America's popularity in the Middle East is at best strained, China is increasingly perceived in the Middle East not so much as a threat but as a gigantic, long –term energy customer.
(d) China has also been cultivating ever-closer ties with Europe which has become China's largest trading partner and vice versa. In addition to trade, China is pursuing a grand high-speed rail link (for freight, initially) between China's eastern seaboard to Europe's ports and cites, including a two-day link between Beijing and London. If realized, this would be the largest infrastructural project in history. Click here
These multi-polar dynamics are partly captured in Trefor Moss' article "America's Mixed Asian Future" of 10 January, 2012 in The Diplomat, an international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region. Click here
China's foreign relations strategy has been rather consistent, based on non-confrontational win-win partnership as well as mutual trust and respect, preferring dialogue to confrontation, let alone coercion. In comparison, in furtherance of a benevolent hegemony, the United States' propensity to resort to force and coercion to shape the international order after its own image is prone to provoke criticism and often resentment, if not hatred in certain quarters. (The Hegemon's Dilemma in The Power Problem – How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous, and Less Free, by Christopher A Preble, Cornell University Press, 2009).
This is not to say that overall, China has become a more attractive nation than America. By no means, at least not quite.
But while China is trying to build up a reservoir of goodwill, the United States seems to be sacrificing the fountain of her traditional soft-power, that of liberal generosity, compassion, open-mindedness, respect for diversity, dialogue and friendly cooperation to a propensity to military force and coercion, often hijacked by narrow chauvinism, fundamentalist bias, or vested interests.
To be sure, the world with its many under-currents of instability remains beholden to American power. But it depends a lot on when, how, and what power is exercised. To say the least, Uncle Sam seems to be less than adroit in working this out, if not at limes, as in Iraq, at risk of losing the plot.
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China's coming Collapse or Ascendancy?
In Foreign Policy (January 7, 2012), Gordon Chang, who has been consistently predicting the "Coming Collapse of China" in a decade since the launch of his 2001 book of the same title (Random House), resumes his conviction that the Year 2012 will prove him right, or wrong only by one year. Click here
Arguments are deployed about China's shrinking foreign investment, slowing growth, diminishing workforce, imploding unrests, a squabbling leadership resulting in sluggish decison-making (not the US Congress?), and an impending fall as the biggest victim of the imploding European crisis.
This dismal list of ills, however, coincides in stark contrast with a glowing forecast in an interactive article in The Economist (31 December 2011) "The year when the Chinese economy will truly eclipse America's is in sight". Click here
Of all countries, China is certainly no bed of roses. A nation in rapid transition, she has all the apparent paradox and contradictions of a sphinx's riddle. It is easy to spotlight only some of the more glaring warts to make the "coming collapse" theory perennial.
However, this type of predictions often chooses to ignore the reality that China needs to restrains herself from growing too fast, that the country is changing deliberately towards a slower, more consumption-oriented and more sustainable model with higher value-added and less labour and energy-intensity, that inflation and unhealthy property prices are being brought down, and that a changing leadership, notwithstanding internal rivalry (or competition), knows which side its bread may continue to be buttered - by promoting more people-based governance.
In tandem with his article in Foreign Policy, Gordon Chang also wrote a lengthy piece in The Diplomat (January 5, 2012) entitled "China's Unstoppable Billion", which seems to insinuate that China's allegedly repressive regime risks being swept aside by a billion Chinese people with rising aspirations and personal freedoms. Click here
The article however reveals as many contradictions in China as those in its own arguments.
One side of the picture is a billion people getting used to behaving with much more personal freedom, disobeying or finding ways to ignore government diktats. The other side is a leadership trying to exercise authoritarianism and repression.
It begs the question that if the repression is so severe, there simply won't be so much personal freedom as depicted. On the other hand, if there is indeed such a rising tide of individual freedom, it must mean that the government is becoming much less repressive than it seems.
The article portraits President Hu and Premier Wen as reverting to the repression of Chairman Mao's days. This is hardly credible. Both Hu and Wen have realized that former President Jiang Zemin's pro-business policies alone won't ensure the stability of the Party as the society is becoming increasingly unequal. They have initiated the policy of "People-based Governance", trying to make government policies more responsive and relying more on public feedback, often through the internet. They have also formulated the pro-people change in direction in the latest Five Year Plan (2011-15).
As highlighted in the article, public opionions are playing a more and more important role, even in sentencing policies. Even projects decided by the State Council are now known to be allowed to retract in the light of public outcry. This is not exactly a picture of die-hard totalitarian repression.
The article's allegation also doesn't ring true that Hu and Wen tried to curb foreign investment or roll back China's globalization. Indeed, under their tutelage, China has become the world's favourite investment destination and China's economy has become the world's second largest. According to the above-mentioned article in The Economist, China's economy is set to overtake that of the United States by most measures by 2018.
The stellar growth has spawn a massive middle class, rising worker wages, and much higher farmers's disposable income. In the process, China's place in the world has gained gravitas. For the first time in over a century, the Chinese people can hold their heads high in the world. The Party's credibility has hugely benefited as a result.
Despite limited no-go areas where repression no doubt continues to apply, and a rising number of unrests caused by isolated local governance failures, the overall landscape is hardly a tinder-box for spantaneous combustion.
But the article is absolutely right in highlighting the rise of spontaneous citizen action worldwide, including the Arab Spring, empowered by the internet and social media networks. The recent Occupy Moverment started in Wall Street is another example spreading across the globe. Even Russia is experiencing this tide of rising aspirations and citizen protests. There is no doubt that China's leadership is on its toes.
Contrary to perceptions, the Politburo is seriously re-learning the need for higher standards of social justice from the rapid resolution of the high-profile stand-off in Wukan, a small county, where bold citizen action against local corruption and misfeasance forced the high-level provincial leadership to intervene and back down.
Some of China's litany of critical challenges, including the seriousness of local government indebtedness, the alleged "investment bubble" in "ghost shopping malls" and "roads to nowhere", and her elusive consumer economy, are addressed in depth in my earlier posting ëntitled "Another Coming Collpase of China" dated 1 December 2011. Click here
Compared to many Western democracies, the Party still enjoys amongst the world's highest popularity ratings, according to successive, independent citizen surveys conducted by the PEW Research Center for the People and the Press, a public opinion research organization based in Washington DC. Nor can the positive hard data in The Economist's article above be entirely dismissed as pure numbers divorced from reality.
It is correct to say that the Chinese people are becoming an unstoppable force in the world, whose creativity and aspirations have been unleached partly by a Party continuing seeking to reform and re-invent itself. The degree of openness and personal freedom in China nowadays would be unthinkable a few decades ago.
But China is in no hurry to copy the Western model of multi-party confrontational democracy, which is becoming dysfunctional in America, the very vanguard of this type of democracy where a small minority of powerful vested interests could shortchange the interests of the majority.
In an era of global challenges and paradigm shifts, the Communist Party of China is changing its policies and will need to redouble its efforts to reform itself. There may be a mismatch in the speed of change during different stages of China's development. However there is no convincing evidence that the Party will necessarily fail to harness the unstoppable force for good of the Chinese people.
Neverheless, in an age of increasing resource scarcity and geo-political and geo-economic volatility, coupled with a rapidly ageing population profile and dramatic domestic changes, China should be well advised to stay ever vigilant. While any major downturn in her fortunes is likely to invite another bout of "coming collapse" predictions, China should indeed remain thankful for these regular reminders that many black swans lie ahead and that any success would be hard-earned and by no means guaranteed.
Above all, even if China's eonomy should, as The Economist suggests, overtake that of America by 2018, the country will still remain at best a moderately well-off nation, similar to Turkey, for many more decades to come.


We just got married, and we were very saddened by the Icelandic cloud of ash that kept several of our Danish friends from attending our wedding. But everything can be a blessing in disguise. We didn't tell our caterer, Phil's BBQ, so we ended up with extra beef ribs in the freezer. While we miss our friends, at least we have ribs. And as the old saying goes, "if life gives you ribs, make rib sandwiches." And so here we are, summer just started, and this wonderful panini (thank you Scott and Choo for that wonderful machine!!) is our first and most basic beef rib sandwich. Yum.
This is almost as simple as you can get. A Danish "thebirkes" with cheese. The cheese is called "Helge", and that's all there is to it. Very good, very easy, great for breakfast.
Note: A thebirkes is like a very flaky croissant, with poppy seeds on top, and with a marzipan mix inside. Read more about danish pastries.
A simple ham sandwich on dark rye bread, with melted cheese, onion and corn. The mustard gives it all a kick, and in retrospect perhaps we should have added a bit of freshly grated horseradish. If anyone tries that, let us know how it works out in the comments. This sandwich is highly dependent on the quality of the ham, so don't be stingy. This here is our Jamaican Christmas ham, which is cooked traditionally with pineapples and lots of cloves, and works brilliantly for sandwiches and pizzas. Since we come from Jamaica and Denmark, this sandwich could be considered a cultural merger.
The return of the 2009 Christmas ham is always joyful and filled with good memories. This time we unfroze a few slices for a sandwich, melt style (Meaning, lots of cheese on top). To meat-it-up, we also added some buffalo chicken from the local grocery store. Do you ever go through life, looking at the same thing over and over again, not really thinking about what it is, but still forming an opinion that sometimes turns into solid knowledge? This is the way I feel about Butterball buffalo chicken breast. I have seen it many times at the local grocery store, and never really given it a second glance. I knew, somehow, that this gigantic ball of chicken must be a chicken breast, after all that's what it said on the package. Last week, I then decide to try it. As soon as I see the meat cut, I realize to my horror that obviously this is not a gigantic 10 pound chicken breast, but rather another conglomerate of pressed meats of unknown origin. I could have kicked myself, but the nice lady had sliced it already, so here it is.
Contrary to what you might believe from reading the rest of this blog, sometimes we do enjoy the simple sandwiches. This one is about as simple as it gets: Bread and butter, salami and cheese. The only trick is to get good quality ingredients, freshly made bread, Italian salami with a great taste, and a fantastic cheese such as this Danish one called "Helge". Yes, in Denmark cheeses have people-names. Go figure. Don't even attempt this one if your bread is not fresh by the way, it will ruin your day.