subNet(142) - Society

No war!

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:03:29 +0800

How could one convince me to believe in Christianity? Is this the heaven that all Bible lessons tell us as demonstrated by Israel with their "justified" assault on Lebanon? Open up thy eyes. There is no God!

Original news (NASA site defaced) from Slashdot
More independent news (Chinese)

Advance Self-disciplinary System (ASS)

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:38:56 +0800

勁翔 re-posted on In Media a fable on Education Reform (Chinese) that he wrote about a year and a half ago. Seems like the coporate self improvement/destruction movement has invaded our education system some time ago. Dilbert (school edition) will come soon...

(English translation here)

Artificial Intimacy

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 03:33:16 +0800

I called my broadband customer service today. As usual, it was a sweet female voice broadcasting the latest promotional offer. It was so sweet that I almost wanted to marry the girl immediately, even though it was just a machine talking. After pressing thru a few numbers, I reached a human operator. As usual, s/he was so courteous that I almost broke into tears. They were so friendly that they won't let me go with just a simple bye bye because they have to complete all the due diligence in the handbook - just to make sure that there is no room for complaint. As usual, as usual.

关于微软事件和美国国会可能的立法

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 21:23:33 +0800

Response from Anti on his blog regarding possible anti-censorship measures by the US government earlier.

Partial translation of the article can be found in EastSouthWestNorth.

Internet companies 'must respect free speech'

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 00:17:50 +0800

The anti-censorship measures might or might not work, but at least a gesture showing that the world is watching!

A picture says a thousand words...

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:50:29 +0800

(image from sheep-dog.blogspot.com)

....

Microsoft censors Chinese blogger

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 23:18:00 +0800

ZDNet news link

Anti's site re-hosted

However, the new Anti's site is no longer accessible to the folks in PRC... It triggers a bit of thoughts. Perhaps some weekend writing later...

More news links (updated 8 Jan 06): NY Times

星島日報冇眼睇

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 00:24:55 +0800

InMedia news link (Chinese)

EastSouthWestNorth news link (English)

It could be done on purpose to please the government, or simply sloppy (find the easiest substitutes and nobody would care). Whichever the reason, this is not good. Actually, to the programmers, are we also writing programs in this manner? Give a quick and dirty solution to the customers, get the money, and flee...

Stop the nonsense!

Sat, 31 Dec 2005 01:23:09 +0800

I have seen more serious injuries in one American football match than the whole week of anti-WTO protests in December, and the Hong Kong Police dares to call that a "riot" for justifying the tear gas and arrests on 18 Dec. Either we are so stupid that the government thought we could be blinded easily, or the government is so stupid that she thought she could treat everyone as 3-year-old.

The news "guardian"

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:11:25 +0800

They beat him until he was lifeless (10 Oct) is a total exaggeration. On the next day, Guardian posted Activist found alive after beating by mob (11 Oct). There is no way that Lu can still "has told" The Guardian if what reported on 10 Oct is not an exaggeration – his tongue was cut just 24 hours ago!

The "People's" Republic of China

Mon, 10 Oct 2005 23:10:40 +0800

I read a sad news today:

They beat him until he was lifeless

We know that humans are not perfect, and sometimes we behave like animals, except that in China, we institutionalize such behavior in the name of stability and prosperity.

Update: The news is confusing, as there are also accusations that The Guardian reporter exaggerated.

Working hours worldwide

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 00:24:30 +0800

Another round of statistics after The real reasons you're working so hard... posted earlier:

What would Robinson Crusoe think?

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 01:23:52 +0800

估值780億智利小島發現史上最大寶藏 | Robot reveals $10bn treasure haul

The greatest loss of Robinson is not his 4 years of captivation in the island, but his oversight of the world's greatest treasure just beneath his feet...

The real reasons you're working so hard...

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 01:55:52 +0800

Business Week Link

The article doesn’t really provide an answer but just some random thoughts and facts as of this point in time. However, it at least points out with some statistics showing that our perception of a tougher work life nowadays is real. Previously, I was still wondering would it be simply selective memory (the old days in the 90’s are always better) that made us feel this way. There was also a possibility that in the younger days, we were working in less important positions and thus less pressure.

Sexual healing?

Sat, 24 Sep 2005 04:46:17 +0800

Source Link

It isn't that bad to retire in Denmark...