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Christoph Zed

Big Brother Is Watching Your Blackberry: How Wired Gadgets Encroach on Privacy - SPIEGE... - 0 views

www.spiegel.de/...0,1518,637640,00.html

shared by Christoph Zed on 29 Jul 09 - Cached
  • And so, to the surprise of buyers, Amazon erased the two books -- which had been paid for and delivered -- from the electronic reader.
  • In the age of networked digital devices, it seems that values such as the sanctity of the private sphere, the protection of our private property and the inviolability of our correspondence no longer count for very much
  • All of these devices can be remotely modified at any time through software updates. So you could say that an iPhone doesn't really belong to you -- at least not in quite the same way that your refrigerator or bicycle does.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Hence Apple -- like Amazon -- reserves the right to remotely meddle with your iPhone at any time and without the consent of the user, in order to delete objectionable applications. All with the best of intentions, of course
  • A shift to tethered applicances also entails a sea change in the regulability of the Internet" (author's emphasis). The "dangers of excess" will no longer come from viruses or hackers anymore, "but from the much more predictable interventions by regulators
  • We will need to get used to the fact that these "curious technological hybrids" will never fully belong to us -- even if we have paid a lot of money for them.
glen donnar

The TV Watch - Ultimate Media Moment - Michael Jackson's Memorial Service - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...08watch.html

mass media communication

shared by glen donnar on 21 Jul 09 - Cached
  • most everybody around the world stopped what they were doing — on television, on the Internet and on the street — to look and listen.
  • as the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, showed in 1997, communal sorrow is moving, public frenzy is alarming, but the two together make for irresistible television.
  • Brian Williams of NBC, who sat on a special platform outside the Staples Center, told his colleague Lester Holt that the public had a way of deciding for itself what matters, “despite, at some times, the news media’s better wishes.” He added ruefully, “And this is an event because it is.”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Most anchors tried to define Mr. Jackson’s place in pop culture and American history. His popularity is universal, but his death was commandeered to mark a milestone in African-American history. Nancy Giles, an actress and CBS News commentator, said on MSNBC that he was “a trailblazer in the same way President Obama is.”
  • That homage, as much as the music, was the measure of the event’s success: for at least one day, the Jackson camp managed to take command of the coverage, setting the agenda for the news media as well as the mourners.
Blaze Yau

Stirring tale of dancer who emerged from Mao's shadow - Film - Entertainment - 1 views

www.theage.com.au/...1253385036858.html

Australian movie China Dance

shared by Blaze Yau on 02 Oct 09 - Cached
  • This image was imprinted in our minds
  • This was my bible
  • this was the book that my life should have been following. This man was our god who had saved us from hell! But when I went to America everything contained in this thing - the beliefs, the ideologies - all crumbled right in front of me. I realised I was really the victim of an incredible cultural brainwashing
  • Blaze Yau on 02 Oct 09
     
    A very good Australian film 'Mao's Last Dancer'. The main character(real one) is now living in Melbourne as a stockbroker. I think the film successfully highlights the contradiction between Communist China and America. Should go and see it.
  • fina ramlee on 04 Oct 09
     
    have you seen it Blaze? Anna said it was brilliant.
  • xuejiao lin on 05 Oct 09
     
    Personally, i appreciate this movie so much. Mao's Last Dancer was opened on the same day in Melbourne as another movie called The Founding of A Republic. That was an obvious ideological confrontation. Though the two movies are telling story in the same country. Compared with the Singapore Girl TV Commercial, which was made by Asian for showing oriental spirit to the western in a western way, Mao's Last Dancer was made by Australia for showing their understanding of the age of ideological confrontation. I think for many western audience, there are a lot of languages and ideology during that special years could not be understood forever. But i appreciate the director and adaptor so much. Because sometimes we need others to help us grow.
fiona hou

Obama wishes he was as popular as Bush - Telegraph Blogs - 0 views

blogs.telegraph.co.uk/...shes-he-was-as-popular-as-bush

Obama Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

shared by fiona hou on 14 Aug 09 - Cached
  • The latest Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll is a significant blow to President Obama’s flailing presidency, just 7 months since taking office. According to Rasmussen, a highly influential pollster, Obama’s approval rating now stands at just 47 per cent, with 52 per cent disapproval, and 37 per cent strongly disapproving.
  • At the same time in his first presidency in August 2001, George W. Bush’s approval ratings stood at around 55-59 per cent in most major polls, with roughly 35-38 per cent disapproval. It was not until Spring 2004 that Bush’s ratings were as low as Obama’s figures in today’s Rasmussen poll – more than three years into his first term of office. The White House will point to other surveys that show stronger approval for Obama, but all leading polls demonstrate that support for the president is eroding. The Obama presidency is sinking faster than almost any other in recent US history, largely because he is trying to force a radical left-wing agenda on a nation that is still far more conservative than liberal, that overwhelmingly believes in limited federal government, free enterprise and decentralization of power.
  • It is hardly surprising that Obama’s standing in the polls is declining. He has launched a highly ambitious, ideologically driven agenda to transform the United States by expanding the role of the state at the expense of the individual, while at the same time weakening America’s defences and undercutting its standing on the world stage. It is a recipe for failure, and a left-wing vision for the future which fortunately is being rejected by the American people.
  • fiona hou on 14 Aug 09
     
    The latest Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll is a significant blow to President Obama's flailing presidency, just 7 months since taking office.
shi chen

How iPods killed the boombox star - 0 views

www.theage.com.au/...oombox-star-20090926-g75l.html

Ipod loss

shared by shi chen on 06 Oct 09 - Cached
  • We lost something valuable when private playlists replaced public noise
  • ''rock and roll ain't noise pollution''.
  • Rock and roll can be noise pollution.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Today, playing music has become a much more private experience.
  • But things changed a little with the arrival of the Sony Walkman, and then a lot when we entered the iPod age.
  • In the iPod age, everyone has their own private soundtrack as they walk the streets, which means the streets themselves no longer have a soundtrack
  • With the white buds in our ears - a modern look that sends a clear message of ''do not disturb'' - we are oddly vacant in urban spaces even as we inhabit them.
  • The loss is not only the music we no longer hear, but all the acts of having music foisted upon us that we no longer experience - and what these acts mean.
  • shi chen on 06 Oct 09
     
    the sadness about using new technology
  • jermaine lee on 07 Oct 09
     
    From time to time, some Aussie teenagers play their music real loud on the train, through the use of their mobile, which is very annoying and disturbing to other commuters. I guess, even though ipod is widely used nowadays, it hasn't stopped the noise pollution completely~
Lucy Rechnitzer

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Senegal's youths dream of Europe - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8251029.stm

shared by Lucy Rechnitzer on 13 Sep 09 - Cached
  • We sat on the ground and the message from all these fishermen was along the lines of: "They may be talking about an economic crisis in Europe but if you want a real crisis it's right here in Senegal."
  • A very animated and infuriated Abdoulaye told me that his son left for Spain in a fishing boat five years ago, and was now living a far better life than he was. "I am 45-years-old and I don't have half of what he has now, like a nice house and a car," he said, adding that he would do all he could to send more of his relatives to Europe. None of these young men referred at any stage to the risks of getting to Europe even though hundreds - probably thousands - have died at sea in recent years. Senegal looks to Europe more than most countries I have visited. Not so much to Spain, but to the old colonial power, France, which has maintained strong links.
  • If it were not for the West African street traders, the whole of Europe would be squinting and struggling to keep their trousers up, judging by the number of people I have met who said they made their living selling these goods on the streets.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • I used to be able to work in Italy for just one month and earn enough money to spend the rest of the year living it up in Senegal," Vieux told me. He said 10 years ago in Italy people would come knocking on the door offering work but not any more
  • But much of the development is through money sent home from abroad, and economic crisis or not, Europe will still be the target for many young Senegalese looking to swap the horse and cart life for a Renault in the fast lane.
xinning ji

China still interested in Asia-Pacific plan | The Australian - 0 views

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/...0,25197,25971687-16953,00.html

shared by xinning ji on 24 Aug 09 - Cached
  • China understood the proposal was a multilateral issue that would be considered separately from the present difficulties besetting the Sino-Australian relationship .
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 24 Aug 09
       
      I think what the decision China made is rational and considerable. this is because when the emergence of globalization, China begun to face up to criticizes from foreign countries, like human rights, democrcy, one party domination... finally, national issues quickly became international business. among these criticizes, some are honest but some are fake. With these pressures, nevertheless, China has changed even if it is slowly. During these days we can explore the tension on the relationship between China and Australia due to several issues. however, this article makes me happy to see the growth of China. the reason is that China learned to how to communicate to the world. although China would like to participate into the multilateral issue, it does not mean its compromise on other issues. As Chiese ambassador stated that a multilateral issue and the present difficulties are two different things. in other words, China still insists its own right on national sovereignty. what I trying to say is that every country has an obligation to build up a peaceful and mutual respect and understanding world. we can hold our own right, we respect each other, and we live together in one world.
  • anonymous on 25 Aug 09
     
    Rudd's proposal of an Asia Pacific Community akin to the European Union is a ridiculous idea. There already exists several organisations in the region (ASEAN, APEC, ASEAN + 3, etc.) which serve to achieve exactly which Rudd proposes an Asia Pacific Community will achieve. Not only is Rudd participating in "megaphone diplomacy" which will likely undermine Australia's relationship with many Asian countries but next to no thought has gone into how this organisation will operate or even what countries will be included.
amy wu

Mainland cancels events following Dalai's Taiwan visit - 0 views

www.chinadaily.com.cn/...content_8643829.htm

China Taiwan Dalai Lama relations

shared by amy wu on 02 Sep 09 - Cached
  • The Dalai's visit, ostensibly aimed at comforting victims of last month's deadly typhoon, has posed the most serious challenge to relations between the island and the mainland since Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou took office 15 months ago, the party said.
  • We got a call from them saying they could not attend. They said they had to postpone the visit due to technical reasons and would not provide details. But I think you and I know why,"
  • Beijing had warned that the Dalai Lama's visit was "bound to have a negative influence on the relations between the mainland and Taiwan."
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • "Why invite a controversial lama who wears saffron robes and Gucci shoes to Taiwan to put on a show?"
  • amy wu on 02 Sep 09
     
    The mainland has canceled or postponed several events meant to highlight its rapidly improving relations with Taiwan, apparently in a show of dissatisfaction over the Dalai Lama's visit to the island, Taiwan's ruling party said Tuesday
Rika Ninomiya

Have a chuckle, but cut the English hybrids some slack | The Courier-Mail - 0 views

www.news.com.au/...0,,24818304-5003424,00.html

Language Malaysia English Globalization

shared by Rika Ninomiya on 01 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Each of these flavours of English has its own local properties. If you know something about the pronunciation of the languages of these countries, you can often identify the speakers' nationality by their English.
  • These Englishes can show a variety of errors of grammar and vocabulary. Sometimes this is caused by interference from the homeland language. Sometimes it is just a feature of the local English that has become established
  • does it really matter? After all, the Australians, the British and the Americans routinely announce "all trains cancelled".
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • English is growing rapidly as a vehicle for communication in many parts of the world. In return for having signs that we can read, we might cut the sign writers a little grammatical slack.
  • Anglos too easily ridicule such lapses, and make feeble jokes about signs like "rock the door of the lavatory securely".
  • Just think – with a little honest humility – of the devastation we would wreak if we tried to translate these notices into Malay for a supermarket or a hotel in Oz.
  • Rika Ninomiya on 01 Sep 09
     
    Funny article with regards to English in different Asian countries. This article focuses on Malaysian sign boards in English.
Lucy Rechnitzer

'Nigel the Crazy Noonga' Website Shut Down | Racism Outrage - 0 views

www.theage.com.au/...ism-outrage-20090924-g3mz.html

shared by Lucy Rechnitzer on 26 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Crazy Noonga' website sparks racism outrage FRAN RIMROD September 24, 2009 A website set up by a Perth student about a fictional Aboriginal character has been shut down and is being investigated by police amid racism claims. The website, which Radio 6PR reports was created by a 19-year-old Curtin University student, features audio excerpts  of a character called "Nigel the crazy Noonga", who prank calls businesses and fast-food outlets with a fake Aboriginal accent. The portrayal of negative Aboriginal stereotypes has sparked outrage from the Aboriginal community. Craig Somerville, lecturer at the Curtin University Centre for Aboriginal Studies, told 6PR he believed the material on the website had crossed the line between humour and racism.
  • The Facebook "Just for fun" group set up for "Nigel the crazy Noonga" has 317 members and describes "Nigel" as "your friendly neighbourhood Noonga". It also pokes fun at the character's fictional solvent abuse, describing it as his own personal "dreamtime". Sergeant Greg Lambert said police were aware of the website and were investigating.
Christoph Zed

BBC NEWS | Europe | Bhajis and cricket balls in Brescia - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8225202.stm

cricket sport culture clash europe italy immigration identity

shared by Christoph Zed on 28 Aug 09 - Cached
  • This is the San Polo municipal football ground on the outskirts of Brescia - a big industrial city in the north of Italy home to one of the biggest south Asian communities in the country.
  • The attraction is cricket - the final rounds of a limited overs competition.
  • "It's not a good place to live", he says. "Most Italians only speak their own language and so - unlike Indians and Pakistanis - they don't mix well with people from other cultures."
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • the place could benefit from a "multicultural mix-up"
  • The League is almost invariably described as xenophobic
  • there have been complaints about cricket in the parks; and, yes, it has been banned, with local police ordered to halt games
  • "I want to see more Italian kids take it up," he adds. "Cricket can help build links between the Italian and immigrant communities - and help us avoid some of the problems we've seen in the past."
  • He is a politician - a pragmatist who simply can no longer afford to ignore the demands of his hometown's large south Asian community. And in this case pragmatism - it would seem - might just be the best way to start building a better life for everyone.
sayaka uchida

Can a Mother Lose Her Child Because She Doesn't Speak English? - 0 views

www.time.com/...0,8599,1918941,00.html

language migrant

shared by sayaka uchida on 28 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Can the U.S. government take a woman's baby from her because she doesn't speak English? That's the latest question to arise in the hothouse debate over illegal immigration
  • Can the U.S. government take a woman's baby from her because she doesn't speak English? That's the latest question to arise in the hothouse debate over illegal immigration,
  • Department of Human Services (DHS), which ruled that Baltazar Cruz was an unfit mother in part because her lack of English "placed her unborn child in danger and will place the baby in danger in the future."
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The social-services translator also reported that Baltazar Cruz had put Rubí in danger because she "had not brought a cradle, clothes or baby formula." But indigenous Oaxacan mothers traditionally breast feed their babies for a year and rarely use bassinets, carrying their infants instead in a rebozo, a type of sling.
  • sayaka uchida on 28 Aug 09
     
    Can the U.S. government take a woman's baby from her because she doesn't speak English? That's the latest question to arise in the hothouse debate over illegal immigration,
Lucy Rechnitzer

Fairfax, News to charge for online - 0 views

www.theage.com.au/...-for-online-20090808-edm3.html

shared by Lucy Rechnitzer on 16 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Fairfax, News to charge for online Tom Hyland August 9, 2009 THE loyalty of readers accustomed to getting their news online free is about to be tested, as Australia's largest newspaper groups prepare to charge for access to their websites.Fairfax Media is considering two levels of access, one free and the other incurring a charge, as newspapers move to protect declining revenues.Last week, News Limited chief executive Rupert Murdoch announced that sites featuring the news content of his stable of papers would no longer be free.The plan to erect pay-walls around their online sites comes as newspaper companies confront a decline in the advertising revenue that has financed print production.
  • Monetisation will have to happen, because without monetisation of the online sites that the newspaper industries have operated very successfully, we can't afford to keep the big newsroom staffs we have,'' he said.Fairfax was looking at a number of pay models, including offering readers two levels of access - free entry for a mass audience, with a charge for ''more upmarket, high quality data''.
  • The move is a risk for both publishers, which are gambling on readers being prepared to pay for news they have been receiving free - and will remain free on sources such as the ABC.While newspaper websites carry advertising, they do not finance the news content, most of which comes from the papers
Fei Xu

China Social Media; Xiaonei: China's Facebook Replica. - 0 views

www.littleredbook.cn/...iaonei-chinas-facebook-replica

shared by Fei Xu on 13 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Fei Xu on 13 Aug 09
     
    the reasons behind social networking services failing in the Chinese market, are not only the language (Facebook has a Chinese version), but also the failure of realising the common desire of subgroup in the market..
  • fiona hou on 14 Aug 09
     
    As copycatting goes, China is King. It is an incisive criticism, which sharply points out the most significant existing problem in China in the copyright respect. This bug on policy and regulation corrupts Chinese creative thinking fundamentally.
Andrew Ooi

Internet users upset over Govt's filter attempt - 0 views

star-techcentral.com/...story.asp

Internet Censorship Malaysia

shared by Andrew Ooi on 23 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • mulling an Internet filtering system similar to China’s controversial “Green Dam” project
  • Government has called for a tender for a system that could block “undesirable websites.”
  • The MSC Malaysia Bill of Guarantees specifies that the Internet will not be censored to ensure the success of the MSC Malaysia initiative
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Many in the Government have blamed the vibrant and critical Internet culture for Barisan Nasional’s losses in the 12th General Election in March last year, and there has been pressure from some quarters to muzzle the medium. The Government had previously considered registering bloggers, many of whom are critical of the ruling coalition.
  • anonymous on 25 Aug 09
     
    Mandatory internet filtering is a form of censorship. Full stop. Not only is the concept being considered in Malaysia but also right here in Australia too. Governments claim the internet filtering will only serve to filter out "harmful" web content - but who is to decide what is "harmful"? The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) serves to monitor web content and attempts to ensure illegal documentation such as child pornography ceases to be available online. But in terms "harmful" content... where is the line drawn?
Christoph Zed

Terrorists in the Making?: Egypt Pursues Europeans Taking Arabic Classes - SPIEGEL ONLI... - 0 views

www.spiegel.de/...0,1518,651318,00.html

islam multiculturalism terrorism egypt usa faith

shared by Christoph Zed on 26 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Many deeply religious students from Europe come to Egypt to learn Arabic. The question is: are these European Salafists coming to study the language of the Koran or to prepare terrorist attacks?
  • Young men with downy beards, caps, kneelength a traditional Arab galabeyas and sandals sat chatting in a McDonalds' restaurant in Nasr City, a large middle class district in the eastern part of Cairo.
  • In the neighborhood Egyptians, the European Salafists - Sunni religious fundamentalists - are outsiders.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Ashraf, a 26-year-old Dutchman of Moroccan descent, came to Cairo a year ago. "To learn Arabic," he says, "the language of my religion."
  • "We aren't hurting anyone," says Ashraf, whose apartment was recently searched. "We only come to study and pray."
  • "Religious fanatics want to be taken seriously," says Walid al-Gohari, founder and director of the Al-Fajr institute, one of the many language schools in Nasr City. "But Salafists who don't even know Arabic are not considered credible."
  • The Egyptian security service is concerned about the situation. It therefore keeps a close eye on fundamentalist visitors with a European passport.
  • As a precaution, the security service picked up hundreds of foreign students in a few days time, among them a few from the Netherlands.
Shalini Raj

China's Communists Mark 60 Years in Power With Beijing Parade - Bloomberg.com - 0 views

www.bloomberg.com/...news

shared by Shalini Raj on 01 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Christoph Zed on 04 Oct 09
     
    The parade, in best old school communist tradition, is quite an interesting national display of power at this time. While it is predominantly aimed at the Chinese public (though not all, as access to the event was strictly controlled and limited) broadcast by national TV throughout the "Reich der Mitte" it is reinforcing the identity of a military super power, solid leadership and military state institutions, it also serves in a sense as a means of justification and proof for successful ideology to the ruling elite. And of course the display is aimed at the rest of the world, showing that China is a power to be reckoned with, not just economically but also in regards to it's military - just in case anyone has had any doubt. But is that a message the west needs to be reminded of? With the cold war over, and globalization making a path for cooperation and convergence of east and west in both in the economic and political arena, maybe the display is aimed at old friends eg. Russia and possible future "problems" (from a chinese point of view) such as Iran or N.Korea, who are working towards a stronger military recognition and/or are in strong competition with the market powers China has been able to built up eg: India, Japan.
Wye Keen Wong

UCLA Center for Chinese Studies: Changing Images of the Global - 0 views

www.international.ucla.edu/...article.asp

shared by Wye Keen Wong on 05 Aug 09 - Cached
  • They have come to recognize that the modern world is always changing, sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly, sometimes suddenly.
  • assessing China's future place in the multidimensional global carefully because the consequences of bad mistakes could be disastrous.
  • He has objected to the use of the word diaspora to describe the migration of Chinese from China, because it is inaccurate and has been used to perpetuate fears of a "Chinese threat."
    • Wye Keen Wong
      Wye Keen Wong on 05 Aug 09
       
      I accept the term diaspora as is, though this statement has now thrown certain ideas I had into new lights. Clearly a issue of the politics of terminology - this demonstrates the need to define your interpretation of the teminology you use in statements/arguments. I wonder sometimes whether debate over the use of words and terminology themselves can detract from the 'real' issue - or perhaps they are inseparable?
jung moon

Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea - 0 views

english.chosun.com/...200703260027.html

korean wave japanese pop culture drama

shared by jung moon on 27 Aug 09 - Cached
  • The success of these and other Japanese works in Korea is raising concerns that Japanese pop culture could once again dominate Korea.
  • Experts say the Korean entertainment industry's dependence on Japanese pop culture will increase because the Japanese novel and manga markets are popular around the world. According to the Korean Publishing Research Institute, as of 2006 the size of the Korean novel market was no more than W203 billion, while that of Japanese market stood at W724.3 billion. The gap for the manga markets was even greater, with the Japanese market (W4 trillion) some 40 times bigger than the Korean market (W124.2 billion).
  • Bae Won-keun, a researcher at the KPRI, says it is a shame that Korean entertainment companies scramble to snap up Japanese stories for quick returns rather than working to strengthen their creative power. "The entertainment industry should make more effort to cultivate young writers with fresh ideas," he adds.
Christoph Zed

China's Broken Olympic Promises: Detained Activist's Kafkaesque Nightmare - SPIEGEL ONL... - 0 views

www.spiegel.de/...0,1518,640109,00.html

shared by Christoph Zed on 05 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Charter 08
  • He feels a deep bond with people who are treated unjustly, he says, and he advocates on their behalf on the Internet, in police stations and in courtrooms, for which he has earned a reputation with the powers that be.
  • It revolves around his fifth, and most prominent, client in Fujian, the man who disappeared during the Olympic Games in Beijing almost a year ago, all because he had applied for a permit to protest in one of the "protest parks" the government had designated for that purpose.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • What has Ji been charged with? For wanting to protest? For being a regime critic? For seeking to harm China's national image at a time -- the Beijing Olympics -- when preserving its image was paramount?
  • It also exposes how naïve and deceitful it was for the IOC to have claimed that China would open itself up for the Olympic Games, and that the games would open up China.
  • In fact, it is so laughable that one could almost presume that the IOC was in league with the government and party leadership in Beijing from the start and consistently kept both eyes tightly shut
  • They had no case. No crime had been committed, not even a minor offence
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