Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus Rivalry and competition is nature's way of inducing improvement and evolution. But if we are nothing more than a product of nature then why have laws, morality, and philosophy, just let our primal urges carry the day. And if we do not aspire to utilized all the gifts that the creator imbibed in us, even the more reason not pay attention to worldly concepts like viruses and disease and simply live in blissful ignorance.
I can only hope that one day, humanity can evolve beyond the pettiness of nationalism and ethnocentrism just as we are now, ever so slowly, moving beyond racism and male chauvinism.
Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus Humans are such irrational and emotional beings. When they see numbers creeping up paired with ominous warnings, they live in fear and when they see numbers go down, they become jubilant. But when asked, what has objectively changed? How many people you personally know, got infected during the waxing period and how many got better during the waning? No answer is forth coming other than state news said it is so.
When the numbers were going up, was it possible that they weren't going up as fast as other unreported diseases such as the flu, lung cancer, and cirrhosis? And when the numbers are going down, is it possible that people have stopped going to the hospital to get tested over very mild conditions or that institutions stopped testing every possible case as is the case in the US? I personally do not know the answers to these questions nor do I want to speculate, these are questions one has ask ones' selves.
And what does "the greatest nation" even mean? What are the metrics? If we are stuck thinking that it is a honorable goal to make one nation or group of people better than another, then I'm afraid humanity will not advance beyond the 21st century and am very glad I am old enough to not be able to live to see the end result.
Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus To put that number into perspective, in the case of Covid-19, these are reported documented cases whereas the statistics for the flu is based on mathematical modeling. My personal hunch is that the actual numbers of infected are vastly greater than those reported given the fact that only those whom are very sick or dead are tested for the virus.
As Covid-19 becomes seasonal, as it is expected to be, a more accurate model can formulated to better determine the seriousness of the disease.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Anyone here gotten a Chinese Green Card? Residence Permits are purpose specific, only RPs issued for employment allows you to work for that one specific employer in which submitted the application. If your RP is issued for visiting relatives then you cannot work regardless of the length of the RP. Permanent Residence permits (green card) confers upon you, all the rights and responsibilities of local citizens. So depending the the purpose of your stay and specific needs, not all options are viable.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Anyone here gotten a Chinese Green Card? @Ocean, congrats. Now that you'll be employed under your green card, you might want to research what your tax obligations are and make sure you are in compliance as your employers probably would have no idea what to do with you. More likely than not, the applicable tax regulations will be different now that you are working under a different status.
As 'New China' turns 70, a look back at National Days past in Kunming
Posted byLet's hope the Chinese, both its people and the government, does not make the same mistake as Japan did in WWII, into thinking that Americans are too soft and lack the resolve to pursue its enemies. If nothing else, history has shown that the US have its share of vindictive, hate-filled people who love nothing more than a fight based on perceived slights, Any attack on America will not be easily forgotten or forgiven.
Snapshot: Kunming's first ever PechaKucha Night
Posted byIf you are not interested in their work or project, even 20 seconds is too long. If you are truly into what they are doing, you would love to hear every little nuance that would give you better insight.
From what I can gather, this event is meant to create a platform for people to showcase their work but because the audience might not be interested, you'd have to distill ideas into 20 second sound bites. So that begs the question, if they aren't interested in your project why would you bother pitching it to them? And as an audience member, why would you go to one of these presentations if you are not interested in what they are presenting? Anything worth doing is worth doing well, unless this is one of those "social" events where people can go and pretend they are more "cultured" than the rest of us. Then in that case, lets just go through the motions as quickly as possible so we can get to the drinking and socializing bit at the end.
Snapshot: Kunming's first ever PechaKucha Night
Posted byWe are now devolving into a culture of instant gratification, short attention spans and sound bites. Nothing is worth giving more than 20 seconds worth of discussion before moving on to the next topic. Ideas are now commoditized and pass around like fast food because we are no longer capable of in depth thought. Much like fast food, immediately after consumption it feel as if you are full, but in reality, nothing of real value was given. This is true of TED talks, it started well but soon became a money making scheme where anybody willing to pay the fee can give a "talk". Most talks given, however, are nothing more than filler that can be googled, nothing ground breaking. It has more value to the presenter for it adds a line to their list of "accomplishments" than the audience.
I'm sure this event is well meaning and has perceived value to those who participated but I wouldn't recommend patting yourself on the back for attending.
Please excuse the ramblings from this grumpy old geezer.
Beijing approves massive Changshui International Airport expansion
Posted byI'd tell ya but wouldn't want to go off topic. Suggest you do like wise.
Beijing approves massive Changshui International Airport expansion
Posted byI wonder how that someone got to Chinainthe first place, certainly wasn't by walking or bicycling. nor by ship. And unless there is a secret trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific railroad, not by train either.
And what kind of renewable, non-environment harming energy he is using to fire up all those electronic gadgets he uses to go online.
Ya know, my pa had a sayin, don't shit where you eat and most certainly don't complain about The smoke if you want a BBQ rib.