I have just looked at KunmingSwap, mentioned on another thread, and was going to sign up. However, in the registration page they ask for a lot of personal data that is not needed, including phone numbers, unless they are data mining and then selling to direct marketing companies. It could be that the site owner has not considered this as a barrier to people signing up, or that data mining is the main purpose.
If anyone is using KunmingSwap, what has been your experience? Are you getting spammed? Are you getting direct marketing calls?
Are you studying for a degree or are you studying for some other college certificate?
Chinese universities generally have a reputation for being easy, with some students only turning up half the time, if that. However, I also know that engineering degrees are sought after and getting a place on a degree course can be highly competitive. That implies that courses attract some of the top students, who are highly motivated and demands may be high.
If you are doing a non degree course, some of the students will not be motivated, and probably failed the Gao Kao exams (needed for uni entrance) in high school.
On a different note, free speech comes with some responsibilities. There is no absolute free speech, not even on the internet, despite what some people believe. Many people in the UK don't realize that we have no freedom of speech laws, nor is it in the constitution (UK does not have a constitution). People in the UK have probably absorbed freedom of speech ideals from US TV shows. In the UK we have laws governing what we cannot say. There are slander and libel laws, hate speech laws, D notices, the Official Secrets Act, and the list goes on.
There was a US Supreme Court ruling, years ago, that basically says that people have freedom of speech, until that speech impinges on other peoples freedom. What if our postings are impinging on Gokunming's owners making a living from advertising. Is taking down offensive content censorship? I think not.
Look at the number of accounts that have been purged from social media, in the land of free speech (the USA) recently. Never mind the reasons why, they have gone.
At the moment, most of us are not even in the land of free speech. We are somewhere else.
On GoKunming, most posters self censor when it comes to certain topics, and this both out of respect for GoK and because of big brother.
In short. Arguments about freedom of speech are a bit naive.
@herenow said, "Not sure what the solution is, but one idea would be for the consequences of heavily-downvoted posts to extend beyond just hiding them. That obviously presupposes preventing abuse of the voting system by sockpuppets and such."
If heavily downvoted posts and their authors were reviewed by moderators, who then objectively decided if further sanctions were needed, then the sock-puppets would not be a problem.
This isn't a rant. It is said with a little sadness.
This development is good for Kungfu, but perhaps not so good for Buddhism. Anyone who has visited the main Shaolin Temple will have experienced Kung Fu Incorporated. Including the Kung Fu cabaret, Cirque de Soleil rip off, blatant commercialism, and overpricing. The only thing missing are the harlots and moneychangers. Call me cynical, but many Chinese visitors I have spoken to are also saddened and disappointed (with a capital D) by the culture.
Many temples are now attracting money from many sources, and the need for commercialism is not as strong as it used to be. Those temples that have not already died, seem to be more stable than before, many are renovating.
@ James,
This is sadly the result of unrestrained capitalism.
There is nothing new under the sun. A book was recommended to me, Upton Sinclaire's 'The Jungle' about the meat industry in Chicago in 1905. Not just tainted meat, but other fake foods, tainted milk (sound familiar), exploitation of factory workers (Fox... anyone?), crime, trafficking, drugs, etc.
The jungle was a protest book, and shares common flaws with other protest books, but the parallels with life in modern China are uncanny.
Ref. shit brew.
That is more to do with the processing, and not so much the bean.
There is a reasonable variety of different 'flavours'/roasts of Arabica beans available. Some of it really good.
Nestle seem to specialise in instant coffee. The top one is Gold Blend which is not very hard to find, probably too dear for local tastes, but a damned sight better than UCC's offerings IMHO.
A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.
Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.
In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.
They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.
They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.
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Detailed Kunming metro plans finally unveiled
Posted byThis is one of those irregular cases in English usage.
It's = it is or it has
Its - the possessive form has no apostrophe.
See also en.wiktionary.org/wiki/its
Rebranded Shaolin temples open today
Posted byThis isn't a rant. It is said with a little sadness.
This development is good for Kungfu, but perhaps not so good for Buddhism. Anyone who has visited the main Shaolin Temple will have experienced Kung Fu Incorporated. Including the Kung Fu cabaret, Cirque de Soleil rip off, blatant commercialism, and overpricing. The only thing missing are the harlots and moneychangers. Call me cynical, but many Chinese visitors I have spoken to are also saddened and disappointed (with a capital D) by the culture.
Many temples are now attracting money from many sources, and the need for commercialism is not as strong as it used to be. Those temples that have not already died, seem to be more stable than before, many are renovating.
Details emerge in Yunnan's largest-ever gutter oil case
Posted byAdd corruption, real estate fraud, and pollution to the list.
Details emerge in Yunnan's largest-ever gutter oil case
Posted by@ James,
This is sadly the result of unrestrained capitalism.
There is nothing new under the sun. A book was recommended to me, Upton Sinclaire's 'The Jungle' about the meat industry in Chicago in 1905. Not just tainted meat, but other fake foods, tainted milk (sound familiar), exploitation of factory workers (Fox... anyone?), crime, trafficking, drugs, etc.
The jungle was a protest book, and shares common flaws with other protest books, but the parallels with life in modern China are uncanny.
Nestlé investing 100 million yuan in Pu'er coffee
Posted byRef. shit brew.
That is more to do with the processing, and not so much the bean.
There is a reasonable variety of different 'flavours'/roasts of Arabica beans available. Some of it really good.
Nestle seem to specialise in instant coffee. The top one is Gold Blend which is not very hard to find, probably too dear for local tastes, but a damned sight better than UCC's offerings IMHO.