Page 5 of 12 FirstFirst ... 34567 ... LastLast
Results 61 to 75 of 180

Thread: The whole China shakes

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Kansas City, KS
    Posts
    6,515
    I've been in Henan for the last few weeks, the news that reaches me is PRC, but a couple points I can't help but think about:

    1) Whether Chinese leaders moved in for cynical reasons or humanitarian, they moved in. All television was devoted 24-7 to this one thing, entertainment was shut down. While I originally intended to shop a lot here, I instead donated a good chunk of what I brought here, and still feel it is not enough whenever I run into another friend who is worried about family in Sichuan. I hope some notes are being taken back home for the next Katrina, actually doing something instead of bickering seems to have done wonders for political leaders here.

    2) American business leaders, whether for cynical or humanitarian reasons, stepped up, the US government did not, and the resentment here is palpable. Really palpable. Even though Japan tends to donate lots to these kinds of things, there is a real cost for the US to allow Japan to out-donate us in China. The party doesn't even need to tell people here what to think about this, it really shouldn't be this easy to be less popular than the Japanese in China. Please pressure your congressmen to do more.

    3) If this were karma for Tibet, then it seems odd that the event should strengthen the power of the party. But then, karma is supposed to be all mysterious. Whatever, for the little kids, it's just a disaster, they don't need outside explanations, its just what happened. Tibet and China have a relationship that is complex beyond simple ideas of heroes and villains, but anytime people suffer, it seems unfair, so it's hard to blame the pro-Tibet thing from TWS, I just don't think its that simple.

    Anyway, enjoy life.

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Jet Li & Poem of Kungfu

    Some assorted martial arts relief efforts apart from our own.

    Jet Li Prepares for Long-Term Work in Quake-Hit Sichuan

    Jet Li's disaster-relief One Foundation set up an office in quake-hit Sichuan Province Wednesday, shifting its focus from emergency relief to reconstruction.

    "Our work here is going to be long-term," Jet Li explained at a press conference in the provincial capital of Chengdu, where the office is based. The action film star flew there from Shanghai shortly after the May 12 earthquake, and has been an active volunteer since.

    Foreseeing that rebuilding the quake-hit areas will take several years, Jet Li thinks a local office is needed to help his staff work more effectively. The focus of the foundation, he says, will be rebuilding schools and providing special care for those left orphaned or disabled.

    Because the foundation has a star-studded volunteer line-up, the office will also serve as a reception center for them when they are volunteering in Sichuan, Jet Li says.

    Jet Li and his foundation have raised 56.5 million yuan (US$8.1 million) for quake victims by Wednesday noon.

    Dancers perform a skit from the upcoming kung-fu musical "Poem of Kungfu" at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. The dance musical combines martial-arts stunts with traditional Chinese music as well as pop tunes. It will premiere at the Poly Theater on June 6. All proceeds from that show will be donated to rehabilitating people in quake zones.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Augusta, GA
    Posts
    5,096
    This with Sharon Stone being such a seasoned historian and political analyst and all.
    The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
    ~ Mark Twain

    Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
    ~ Joe Lewis

    A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
    ~ Author unknown

    "You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"

    "Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"

  4. #64
    Yes. before nationalities, and politics: theocrasy, democrasy, socialist market economy----

    We are people or human being at first and foremost.

    We do share the grieves from the families that effected by the big quake.

    1. many kids were born or delivered when the quake hit, many names of zhen sheng or quake birth are used.

    2. many parents lost kids at schools. with one child policy---

    3. many kids were orphaned due to loss of parents. They are rapidly adopted by many Chinese families from other provinces.

    ---

    Karma is cause and effect.

    Natural disasters know no borders (nationalities). They know no politics either.

    --


  5. #65

    Thumbs up

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FlNqZFr6pQ

    "It is sad and very sad."

    This is a very good answer.

    sometimes less is more or fewer words say more (speak louder).

    --

  6. #66
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOES...eature=related

    It is very uncomfortable to read the papers and watch the vid's of the quakes.

    My brothers and sister just could not bear to read all the stories of sadiness.

    This is a clip showing the workers trying to hold still the shelf of artifacts.

    It is from Beijing museum when the wen chuan quake hit si chuan.


  7. #67
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Lone Star State
    Posts
    2,223

    Lol!!!

    I had no idea that Sharon Stone and i shared an "opinion" on that subject.


    I initially posted what i did because i am seeing a major contradiction in how things are run over there in China. On the one hand we see protesters in Tibet who want their country back who are demonstrating and speaking out against the hypocracy of a government that doesnt give a sh!t about them,and who wants to quell any notion of that country wanting to regain its soveriegnty, and then we see the overwhelming humanitarian efforts of the chinese government to help its people recover and rebuild from a disaster such as this earth quake. We see major censorship on the world media trying to understand what is going on in Tibet and then the doors swing wide open for the world media in Sichuan. Dont get me wrong i think it is terrible what has happened over there in Sichuan and i want nothing more than to see the people regain themselves and rebuild. But when i say that it was Kharma i dont mean it in the context of "ha ha ha look what happened to you". I am merely pointing out a rare coincidence of events that has lead up to this point. Would the earthquake still have happened if Tibet had its sovereignty and the Dalai Lama was running his country? Maybe so. Who knows. Cant really say what would have happened, cant reverse time to find out, we can only comment on what is happening now and what has lead up to now.
    But i will concede here. I was innapropriate, apologies Gene.

    PEACE,TWS
    It makes me mad when people say I turned and ran like a scared rabbit. Maybe it was like an angry rabbit, who was going to fight in another fight, away from the first fight.

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    VAN.B.C.
    Posts
    4,218
    Quote Originally Posted by Drake View Post
    It was tension between two tectonic plates, not "karma". You can be assured that every couple of years there will be a "big one" somewhere.

    Your argument is horribly flawed, especially since Hitler went disaster-free while killing millions. Same with Darfur. I guess "karma" was taking a nap, eh?

    didn't a bomb fall on dolf when he was jerking off?

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    VAN.B.C.
    Posts
    4,218
    Quote Originally Posted by Andy Miles View Post
    Still having aftershocks. The government made a vague prediction which has filled the parks with makeshift refugee style tarp tents. A random building crumbled in Cheng Du, which is a little disheartening. There has been some criticism both of the Red Cross and Government for how much money is going in and how much is going to tents. Some of the tents meant for the heart of the disaster area are in Cheng Du. I understand that in Charity, there are costs of running the organization. I don't have an opinion on any of this, I'm just passing it along. The price the red cross is paying for rice, is double to three times the normal amount. Imagine loaves of bread for 7-10 bucks. Again, I'm not an expert in this, this is just what many student groups are upset over.

    Jet Li was in the thick of the volunteers, even amid threats of flooding. He was wearing standard volunteer uniform and carrying timbers with others over his shoulder. Personally, we avoided the red cross, and went with Jet Li's One foundation. I would also go with KFM charity or someone you can personally trust and hold accountable with clear books.

    As most business is down for a while, my Kung Fu students and I are enjoying 4+ hours in the park doing kung fu amid makeshift tents and curious onlookers. In the midst of all this chaos, morale in the kung fu class has never been higher. People are working hard and the atmosphere is really positive.

    Of the makeshift houses I have seen some of the most clever setups as well as the most foolish. Among the foolish are sleeping under freeway underpasses for safety or outside against an 8 story building. Using tubes, ropes and clear plastic extended families gather with a simple roof playing cards, ma jhong, and having meals together. Even after a week people are still sleeping outside and in increasing numbers. All tents were sold out within an hour and you can't even buy one in China and have it sent. Even tarps and supplies for making tents are in short suppy. This has lead to some very creative solutions. The collective lack of sleep has lead to escalating tension.

    After Kung fu we saw a guy who had his girfriend in an armlock and was bashing her head into the pavement. Ignoring the "Its not our business" Chinese mantra we came to her aid. My wife has good kung fu and jumped off the back of our moped and went after the guy. She was crouched and ready to spring when I held her back and approached him. I put my hand on the man's shoulder to prevent him from swinging at me and occupied the side and back position as I talked to him to calm him down. I told him that every couple fights, but not to use violence. I told him to relax. In these cases, beating him up would not make her any safer, in fact, in my experience violence always goes down the pecking order, so the only real cure is clarity and respect. I addressed him as big brother yet calmly commanded him and herded him into a position where he couldn't attack. His girlfriend took the opportunity to put her high heals into his lower body with characteristic Sichuan spice. I talked to her as well and finally got them calmed down to a degree as he continued to take high heels. They walked off bickering but at least they weren't combative. In the morning you can hear wailing in the neighborhood. I can only guess that they have relatives in the growing list of victims. It has created a time of depression for many people. At a time like this meditating and keeping your head are more than a health exercise. Knowing that your building may crumble in your sleep and kill your loved ones is a good reminder of imperminence and the way of the warrior. To embrace change in order to find the beauty and meaning in life.
    ****, Good Luck man!.

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    VAN.B.C.
    Posts
    4,218
    Quote Originally Posted by The Willow Sword View Post
    I had no idea that Sharon Stone and i shared an "opinion" on that subject.


    I initially posted what i did because i am seeing a major contradiction in how things are run over there in China. On the one hand we see protesters in Tibet who want their country back who are demonstrating and speaking out against the hypocracy of a government that doesnt give a sh!t about them,and who wants to quell any notion of that country wanting to regain its soveriegnty, and then we see the overwhelming humanitarian efforts of the chinese government to help its people recover and rebuild from a disaster such as this earth quake. We see major censorship on the world media trying to understand what is going on in Tibet and then the doors swing wide open for the world media in Sichuan. Dont get me wrong i think it is terrible what has happened over there in Sichuan and i want nothing more than to see the people regain themselves and rebuild. But when i say that it was Kharma i dont mean it in the context of "ha ha ha look what happened to you". I am merely pointing out a rare coincidence of events that has lead up to this point. Would the earthquake still have happened if Tibet had its sovereignty and the Dalai Lama was running his country? Maybe so. Who knows. Cant really say what would have happened, cant reverse time to find out, we can only comment on what is happening now and what has lead up to now.
    But i will concede here. I was innapropriate, apologies Gene.

    PEACE,TWS
    well in spiritual stories it's always the blessed house that doesn't crumble when god moves...

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Augusta, GA
    Posts
    5,096
    Quote Originally Posted by diego View Post
    didn't a bomb fall on dolf when he was jerking off?
    I can't imagine a better way of going out.
    The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
    ~ Mark Twain

    Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
    ~ Joe Lewis

    A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
    ~ Author unknown

    "You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"

    "Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    22,250
    Quote Originally Posted by The Willow Sword View Post
    I had no idea that Sharon Stone and i shared an "opinion" on that subject.


    I initially posted what i did because i am seeing a major contradiction in how things are run over there in China. On the one hand we see protesters in Tibet who want their country back who are demonstrating and speaking out against the hypocracy of a government that doesnt give a sh!t about them,and who wants to quell any notion of that country wanting to regain its soveriegnty, and then we see the overwhelming humanitarian efforts of the chinese government to help its people recover and rebuild from a disaster such as this earth quake. We see major censorship on the world media trying to understand what is going on in Tibet and then the doors swing wide open for the world media in Sichuan. Dont get me wrong i think it is terrible what has happened over there in Sichuan and i want nothing more than to see the people regain themselves and rebuild. But when i say that it was Kharma i dont mean it in the context of "ha ha ha look what happened to you". I am merely pointing out a rare coincidence of events that has lead up to this point. Would the earthquake still have happened if Tibet had its sovereignty and the Dalai Lama was running his country? Maybe so. Who knows. Cant really say what would have happened, cant reverse time to find out, we can only comment on what is happening now and what has lead up to now.
    But i will concede here. I was innapropriate, apologies Gene.

    PEACE,TWS
    Dude, tragedy's that befall a people can't be viewed as "karma" (or anything else for that matter) for what their government does.
    If that was the case, what would we call 9/11 or Katrina or the fires in the states and so on.

    What did the people of Indonesia do to "deserve" the Tsunami that killed over 250k people?

    Silly to think that way.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  13. #73
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Karma and Stone

    "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." John 8:7

    Sharon Stone's Own Bad Karma
    Parmy Olson, 05.29.08, 2:00 PM ET

    LONDON - Ooh la la. In one horrifying moment on the red carpet, Sharon Stone has shown the world what a gamble fashion labels can take when they plaster a famous face on their branding campaigns. Christian Dior has dropped Stone from its Chinese ad campaign after the long-legged Basic Instinct star let slip in a TV interview--now on YouTube--that China's recent earthquake may have been "bad karma" for the country's actions actions against Tibet.

    Stone has now apologized for her remarks, saying in a press release via Dior's Shanghai office that she feels "deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people." But the damage has been done--China's official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday that Stone was the "public enemy of all mankind," while myriad blogs have labeled the actress with epithets like "heart of Stone."

    This is all unhelpful PR for Christian Dior, which is already reeling from the a Chinese boycott against French goods because of the Olympic torch's recent chaotic run through Paris. The view of a handful of analysts who did not wish to be named is that the fashion label would be looking very carefully at its contract with Stone now. Christian Dior could not be reached for comment.

    Stone has been part of a worldwide print and television campaign to promote Dior's Capture skincare line--part of the company's perfumes and beauty division--since 2006 and was chosen, according to unit president Claude Martinez, because of her "worldwide appeal as a beautiful and desirable woman in her forties, who is clever and independent."

    Christian Dior is the main holding company for LVMH, controlling 42.4% of its shares and 60.0% of voting rights. LVMH's billionaire boss Bernard Arnault has already insisted that China's boycott against French goods has had "no effect" on his own profits. (See: "LVMH Boss Shrugs Off Beijing Boycott")

    But Arnault will be worried about this latest business with Stone. China is a key market for LVMH particularly as consumer spending in Western Europe slows down. HSBC analyst Antoine Belge wrote in a recent note to clients that China would become "the most profitable region for luxury companies in the long run."

    LVMH has been expanding its presence in China by buying 55.0% of Wen Jun Spirits, a producer of high-end alcohols, and last October its fashion brand Fendi staged a show at the Great Wall of China.

    Stone, who is a recipient of the Harvard Foundation's 2005 Humanitarian Award for her AIDS-awareness work made her controversial comments last week during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview.

    "I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Augusta, GA
    Posts
    5,096
    WTF does christianity have to do with karma, Gene? Maybe at the basic basic BASIC level, but not muc further than that. All things being equal, karma is a satanic concept by christian standards, unless, of course, you have the new modern christians who sort of new-age-ify the religion to ft whatever sounds endearing and cool.
    The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
    ~ Mark Twain

    Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
    ~ Joe Lewis

    A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
    ~ Author unknown

    "You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"

    "Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"

  15. #75
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    22,250
    Quote Originally Posted by Drake View Post
    WTF does christianity have to do with karma, Gene? Maybe at the basic basic BASIC level, but not muc further than that. All things being equal, karma is a satanic concept by christian standards, unless, of course, you have the new modern christians who sort of new-age-ify the religion to ft whatever sounds endearing and cool.
    Well, on a basic level like you said, the "judge not lest yee be judged and with the same yardstick that thou does measure will yee be mesured with", or however it goes, is "karmaic".
    Or something like that !
    LOL
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •