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Published: November 21st 2013
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These are the faces of social work in China
These young women are remarkably well suited to their work, they are inventive and responsive and very eager to broaden their perspectives. November 11 has just passed. In the Anglo-European world its original import was to commemorate the ending of The Great War, hence its original name, Armistice Day. As the wars kept coming, somewhere around 50 before the start of the 21
stCentury, the name was changed to”honor” to troops who fought. Never mind that we now show our respect for them with sales at the Dodge dealer or paint promotions from Aubuchon's.
As with other things, when China imports customs it strives to localize them, adapt them to some tradition, real or imagined. Not unlike moving Jesus' birthday to December to localize it with the pagan Winter Solstice celebration. In this instance the Chinese have created a holiday known as Singles Day or Bare Branches Day (single men are known as bare branches.) This is something of a Sadie Hawkins Day where women are given leave to approach single men for something or another (even as Chinese women are turning their backs on marrying their contemporary
Little Emperors). Even this quaint construct has collapsed as the great hold of markets and market ideology in this corner of the world has transformed 11/11 into the Chinese Black Friday. Huge discounts are offered and
Evening wear in Guangzhou
Just taking a stroll along a crowded and noisy shopping area a frenzy overtakes marketplaces in the urban areas, this being an urban rite.
There real action takes place online and the reports from Monday indicate that in the first hour, mind you this is at midnight, over $1 billion of goods were purchased. Now these are the sort of commies that a capitalist tycoon could learn to love.
“All the News That's Fit to Print” or “All the News That Fits (our liberal line), We Print”
This has been on the masthead of the NY Times for over 100 years. About a year ago the Times got themselves locked out of China when they printed a well -researched story on Wen Jiabao (then Prime Minister and second in command) and the millions that his family members made in influence peddling and insider deals. This past week they followed up with another story on JPMorgan and allegations that they paid Wen's daughter exorbitant amounts in what appear to be violations of the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. So far, so good, another example of the corruption that poisons government here. But then I read this
piece about Hillary:
Clinton has given a series of speeches to big financial institutions. She gave two speeches
Scallion pancakes
They are oily, but they are good, and often form our morning meal, just footsteps from our apartment door. to Goldman Sachs last week. On October 24th she spoke to the Alternative Investment Conference open only to Goldman clients. Reportedly she spoke from prepared remarks and answered a few questions. On the 29th she spoke to Goldman’s Building and Innovators Summit where she participated in question-and-answer session with Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein. In September she spoke at the private equity firm KKR’s annual investor meeting in California where she answered questions from KKR’s co-founder Henry Kravis on the Middle East, Washington, and politics. She spoke at another private equity firm the Carlyle Group. Clinton made a speech to shareholders moderated by Carlyle founder David Rubenstein. If Clinton got her minimum speaking fee for these four speeches she received $800,000
And then this
article:
According to a CNN analysis of 12 years of federal financial records, former President Bill Clinton had his most active and profitable year on the lecture circuit in 2012, delivering 73 speeches for $17 million from mid-January 2012 through mid-January 2013. That brought his total haul in speaking fees since leaving the White House to $106 million.
Nice work! Now I am sure that Goldman
Building anew
Now buildings from the 1980's are under demolition, making way for bigger, glossier edifices. Sachs wasn't throwing their money away, they saw it as a good investment in a Hillary future and if that should not come to past, they can rest easy as thier largesee hews to no one party. Heads they win, tales the rest of us lose!
So where is the New York Times on all this? This legal but classic insider game isn't substantively different then what they reported in their China story. Corporate interests funnel money to people in high places and their families. Do you think that Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush got their first journalistic jobs as on-air correspondents for network news because of their talents? It is not as if the Times ignores the heavy influence of money on domestic politics (they don't) but rather they fail to underscore the fact that market capitalism and democracy are inconsistent with one another, always have been, always will be. The system IS the problem! Thinking that this reform or overturning court rulings will change things underestimates the wiliness of the ruling circles. Democrat or Republican, as G Wallace once said, “not a dime's worth of difference between them”.
And now, closer to home...
Norma Jean
Big crowd, loud music and some talent It has been a busy two weeks for us both. Ellen organized and delivered a smasheroo week with 15 Japanese labor activists here in an “exposure” tour. Representing the left side of labor in Japan, many of the visitors had had previous trips here, but they all averred, none could match the diverse and thoughtful exchanges they were treated to on this occasion. There were many heartfelt thanks given to our own Labor Leader sine qua non and the important relations between labor in the two largest economies in Asia were measurably improved, even as their governments wage mercantile battles with one another.
This week my activities cycled throughout the range of venues, one day doing a consultation at a front line youth organization, the next doing a training for 25 mental health workers, tomorrow I am to substitute teach in a Social Work Administration class. China keeps one moving.
Last night as we were returning from dinner, we realized that it was English Corner night here on campus. As we approached the crowd of about 200 who were gathered in the dark on the central lawn, we decided to plunge in for some earnest conversations with students
Baked goods
While bakery workers usually have face masks on and prercise sanitation procedures followed, I have a hard time keeping my tofu vendor from picking up the goods with her hands. seeking to improve their oral English skills. There has recently been news that the college entrance exam will reduce the import of English skills and some speculate that this signals a turn away from what has been a major achievement of China; there are more people learning English here than the total population of the US. There is probably less here than meets the eye, our sources tell us that English skills are still highly valued and the revamping of the exam was intended to more heavily weigh Chinese skills, rather than diminish the value of English. We are still surprised when we disclose our nationality we invariably get a reaction like "Oh, America, a very good place, it is so wonderful!"
More in a few weeks,
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