betterlate blog

I read Mitch’s blog “The future of social networking” and agree that Video feeds throughout the day will likely not be embraced by the masses. But I would like to add that it probably will be embraced by more than expected. Just look at facebook and twitter! People post on twitter about day to day things all the time, whats the difference from saying; ‘Stirling, is brushing his teeth and ready to go to class. Weather is gloomy and rainy today, wish I was back in new mexico.’ When with Josh Harris’s Idea I could simply post a video of me brushing my teeth, show the viewers how gloomy the weather is today and then skip to a video of how nice the New Mexican weather is.

I believe Josh Harris’s Idea has potential, but is also very creepy.

I couldn’t help but notice my classmate Paul’s blog “A Pragmatic or Callous Education?” He explain how an alternative management school in Russia trains people for real world bribery and all the other dark sides of business. I found it interesting he did not mention that the school is actually teaching at least two individuals which after background checks were found to be family members in major crime families.

What does pulling an attempt to hot air balloon around the world, mobile phones, recording some of the most famous bands of all time and airlines have in common to each other? The answer is not much, unless your name is Richard Branson.

One of the most unique and unmistakably successful entrepreneurs of all time, Richard Branson first started in a basement running a highschool lifestyle magazine with a bunch of his friends. He has since built one of the most diverse business empires in history–Virgin. From the record business, mobile phones, airlines, vodka, boating, trains and soda to a new plan which commercially flies passengers to space. Virgin has truly diversified and Richard Branson is the one that’s leading it all.

How can you too start a business empire, and become the 212^th richest man on earth? “You must formulate an innovative business plan, find funding, hire the right people to carry out the plan,” Richard Bronson explained in an interview,“and then step back from your role in the business at exactly the right moment.” The last is probably most surprising, and in my opinion often overlooked. Don’t forget to step away when you’re on top!

While Europe sits, waits and watches as one of the most delicate economic situations in history plays out, China is planning to invest a Stimulus package “equivalent to the entire GDP of Italy” to, in essence, go green.

Europe is crossing their fingers for the help of China, as China is casually planning out the specifics of it’s ¥10 trillion [$1.7 trillion] “Strategic Sectors” package. Similar to most plans made in China, it is meant to span five years and is targeted at cleaning up the enormous amounts of energy produced and guzzled by China every year. China’s move to become more “eco-friendly” is a positive step towards polishing their gritty environmental track record.

China has assured US Comerce Secretary John Bryson that International Firms will have the opportunity to involve themselves in this cash rich plan. Encouragingly, China has also announced they are not scaling back another of it’s 5 year plans. China has decided to move forward with it’s high-speed rail project of ¥2.8 trillion even after many recent catastrophes. This and other large projects will  provide international jobs.

Are there still doubts that the global power players are shifting?

The world is unsure of itself. With a grim situation in Europe and a struggling economy in the United States, people are growing dubious of their money’s value. Major emerging economies such as China, India and Russia have instead been buying up gold and silver. As a result gold prices have nearly doubled since 2009– but let’s not overlook the help silver has had in it’s rise.

  The Canadian Eric Sprott is making moves to buy $1.5 billion of silver. Moves such as this are expected to influence “the tiny world of silver.” Sprott’s gargantuan orders have occasionally resulted in silver price movements of nearly 180 percent. Put best “when Sprott needs silver look out.”

Such a malleable market raises the question of market manipulation. In an interview on his blog, Sprott explains that he is convinced of a great deal of manipulation within the silver market, and insinuates that “I would put myself in that camp.” Continuing, he states in May of this year there was nearly 800 million ounces [of paper investment] a day being traded in silver when “Only about 1 million ounces a day are available for physical investment.” Doesn’t something smell a bit strange here?

In China smoking is BIG. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of Tobacco, producing nearly 42% of the worlds’ cigarettes. A whopping 350 million Chinese smokers (10x Canada’s population) consume more than 2.3 trillion per year.

Why is smoking so prevalent in China? Firstly packs range from $0.20 – $10, while some luxury brands are $50 a pack! This makes smoking extremely affordable while making expensive cigarettes a major status symbol.

Additionally, Smoking has become a cultural norm. Business meetings are often a non-stop tobacco fiasco, as are elevator rides, meals and even hospital visits. 60% of Chinese doctors are smokers, setting a bad example for the already misinformed population.

According to BMJ research; 2/3 of Chinese smokers think smoking does little to no harm and 96% don’t know it causes heart disease. So the question is, shouldn’t something be done?

There are laws, however, enforcement has been flimsy at best. Why is the government lackadaisical about this epidemic? Patrick Chovanec, the MBA professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics, argues in his blog that enforcing these laws are not in the interests of the government as they profited ¥513 Billion ($77 Billion US) from tobacco in 2009.

As canadians how can we change these problems in the world?

 Video

Throughout history, from oppression has spawned some of the most creative, moving and inspirational art and music. China’s internet censorship is becoming the next great space for creative and spontaneous art.

Ai WeiWei Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn

Censorship has been a hurdle for the Chinese web community. Blogs and other content containing ‘politically incorrect’ material often disappear within minutes. One influential blogger Aiweiwei, recently named the most powerful person in art, was arrested in an airplane to HongKong on extremely weak charges. Countless others without this kind of political sway have disappeared completely.

Artists like Pi San choose to test fate, finding creative ways to ‘walk the line’ of censorship,  Creating suggestive videos and blogs that subtly hint at current affairs using double meanings and code. These code words are an imaginative tool. As Chinese Artist and blogger Hu Yong says, “Censorship warps us in many ways, but it is also the mother of creativity.”

Many forget that Savvy internet users around china avoid censorship altogether by using Proxies. Also overlooked , are projects such as Edge， which actually use china’s artistic talent, repackaged it and sell it back to major Chinese corporations both public and private! Some think Chinese culture stifles creativity, think again!

One late evening in the Irving Library I read Craig Lambert’s article on ‘Shadow Work’ and couldn’t help but start thinking…

As implied in the article, we live in a paradoxical age. Technology is expected to make our lives easier but in many cases has ironically shifted the workload from employees who were paid to provide the service, to us as the purchasers.

Lambert mentions self check out, self-service gas stations, a reduction in secretary work in businesses, Ikea’s self assembly policy and many other examples of unpaid but obligatory shadow work that we now do.

What about our life at UBC? I remember the golden days when teachers actually TOLD students what assignments were due. Now I check e-mails, facebook and then of course check vista (oh how I loath thee). Teachers also must take the time to post this information. Many librarians jobs have surely been taken by the massive book filing system here at Irving. I pay the Sauder Caf for the privilege of making my own coffee. I am expected to tip at restaurants where I settle the bill on a credit card and receive little or no service. UBC, where is the service?

The Three Gorges Dam is a monstrosity of modern architectural ingenuity. It produces nearly 18,000 megawatts of power (8x Hoover Dam’s output) and holds back a body of water that is longer than Lake Superior. It is the largest dam in the world, but is only one of many mega-dams that are beginning to speckle China’s numerous waterways in an effort to control one of the largest fresh water sources in the world (Tibet). If all goes according to plan, Three Gorges will be lost in the shadow of a dam that is planned to dwarf them all.

The still untouched Brahmaputra water reserve is the next move in China’s water grab. It is the longest and steepest canyon in the world, holding Asia’s greatest water reserves. China intends to build a dam TWICE the size of Three Gorges producing 38,000 watts to harness the area’s full power.

China’s aggression to control Asia’s water supply is harmful to its neighboring economies. And with all the practice, China is now growing to dominate the global hydropower-equipment market, as well as international dam projects around the world.

Without a doubt China is making HUGE power moves that must not be ignored.

Chinese Regime Criticized for Dam Projects – YouTube

Works Cited:

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/chellaney20/English

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=chinas-three-gorges-dam-disaster

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/20/three-gorges-dam-china-warning

http://old.japanfocus.org/articles/print_article/2458

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110525/full/news.2011.315.html

We should all be aware that Alcohol and Tobacco are both heavily taxed by most governments around the world (especially, yours truly, Canada.) And after reading about Russian alcohol taxes we know that governments introduce these because they are major health risks for the populations that they govern. But should alcohol and tobacco be taxed while ignoring the worlds #1 health risk??

A recent study in London proposes that governments should begin to induce taxes on Fast Food. “Obesity takes up between two per cent and six per cent of health-care costs in many countries, and in some regions including the U.S. has overtaken tobacco as the largest preventable cause of disease.” So although we might feel that governments are protecting us, we need to realize that they are simply cleaning up the messes they leave behind.

The recent taxes in Russia have begun as a late response to the fact that Russia is already one of the fastest depopulating countries in the world. The depopulation is said to have begun in 1992, and simply taxing alcohol in Russia is a late and weak step in the prevention of this depopulation. As was breifly addressed in class before, Taxes on store bought alcohol will increase the consumption of Samogon. “samogon—home-brew, or “moonshine”—is, according to some Russian researchers, a huge component of the country’s overall intake.” This was written before the new taxes that were imposed in early 2010.

Governments (and companies) need to take action to prevent future problems, not only fix existing problems. And these solutions need to be long term solutions with lasting implications. A tax on Unhealthy and Fast foods would be a good next step. But there are many hurdles yet to conquer.

In terms of health risk regulation and government intervention; the Ideas in my blog tie closely into JieXia’s Ideas in her blog Swill-Cooked Dirty Oil During the World (https://blogs.ubc.ca/comm101sec103/2011/09/15/swill-cooked-dirty-oil-during-the-world) and also Eric Li’s Ideas in Milk Powder Scandal in China (https://blogs.ubc.ca/comm101sec103/2011/09/14/milk-powder-scandal-in-china/)

My Sources:

(Governments should tax junk food, scientists urge. http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110825/lancet-studies-obesity-110825/20110825/?hub=EdmontonHome)

(Drunken Nation: Russia’s Depopulation Bomb. Nicholas Eberstadt http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/articles/2009-Spring/full-Eberstadt.html)