來去如風的中秋節過去了，九月尾聲的香港仍然是盛夏般乾煎酷熱。公園賞月的人水泄不通，比病毒折騰久了，不顧一切全家大細出動，前所未見的墟冚！ covid or not that was the most i’ve seen such a jam-packed park on any given night during the year. this moon festival broke all personal obversation record for human density there! people really were having some quality time with friends and family while mesmerized by the full moon.
太多人風箏也放不了 ／ with so many people, no place for kite flying
mama said staying up late is not good for your liver…
some medical study claimed night owls have a higher chance of catching diabetes, given the former need to burn more energy and are likely to consume higher amount of carbs…
but late night in most cities bring out interesting characters…
the people (or the lack of), the landscape, the occasional drunks,
the homeless…
more relentless than others are the billboards and signs , the claws of global capitalism, shouting at you in the wee hours when other forms of communications are taking a break!
This might be the first in a series, for a duration not yet known, on the latest civil disobedience in Hong Kong in 2014. Let’s build up curiosity by looking at media, especially state media first!
Maybe Russia and China really are secretly in love, or are they not-so-secret buddies?
Russia Today said “protest turns violent” at the title of its piece posted September 28, 2014 16:33(Moscow time?)
http://rt.com/news/191324-hong-kong-protesters-clashes/
even though it did use the words “pro-democracy” in the report.
Hong Kong police used tear gas and pepper spray on a crowd of pro-democracy protesters who ignored warnings and blocked the city’s main highway. The violence came after several days of student protests.
Meanwhile, China’s official news portal labelled the protest “spun out of control” http://www.china.org.cn/china/2014-09/29/content_33643206.htm
Agence France Presse en español wrote one of its headlines”
Manifestantes prodemocracia paralizan puntos neurálgicos en Hong Kong
Paralyse it we should, not neuro-logistical centre of Hong Kong, rather the injustice of puppet electoral systems, oligarchy and neoliberalism! Can we?
below: screenshot of online spreadsheet of the call for supply materials at the occupied sites
Un pays Écosse libre?
Si c’était un jeu, les habitants du Québec et de la Catalunya seraient tellement jaloux de la situation à l’heure actuelle.
Personellement je pense que le Groenland a une chance plus solide avec le Royaume du Danemark que toutes les regions ou nations ou pays mentionnés ci-dessus.
Face au néolibéralisme, est-ce une vrai différence dans un Écosse indépendant? La vie des Écossais sera mieux? On ne sais plus, et on la verra!
Mon avis? Je n’aime pas des empires, surtout l’hypocrisie de tenir toujours Gibraltar et les îles Malouines ( ou Falkland Islands) et parler d’une société juste!
drapeau écossais
8 April!!!!!! After seeing the british teledrama Margaret and reading and viewing reports and commentaries on Margaret Thatcher’s passing A YEAR AGO, it’s my turn to write this résumé.
Geofrery Howe, Kenneth Clarke, Michael Heseltine, John Major, Neil Kinnock, Paddy Ashdown are some of the names that popped up immediately when I learnt of her death. Having grown up in colonial Hong Kong and spending my very first year living away from my home town for post-secondary education in Liverpool, I watched on TV many of the parliamentary debates she had as prime minister as well as her then very dramatic ouster.
Paddy Ashdown, leader of Liberal Democrats 1988-1999, was very polite in his tribute. Nevertheless he highlighted her liberalisation of markets, her stripping down the barriers to business and her lowering taxation
had resulted in not greater prosperity for all but to
near ruin and disgusting climate of greed of the few.
He added the freedom advanced in the Thatcher years were “strangely partial” since it was mainly “economic freedom” of a few. On the other hand, Thatcher didn’t care much about political freedom of gays, people of Scotland or women
Du côté canadien, l’ancien premier ministre Jean Chretien sur Thatcher et aussi la loi constitutionelle de 1982:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/World/ID/2374042028/
quoting Chretien (Thatcherite politics)…”has run its course”… (and a)…”kinder, less destructive, more balanced way to shape our economy” (should be the alternative)
D’autre opinion, celle de l’Afrqiue.
Journaliste Marie-Roger Biloa a souligné corretement que Thatcher soutient (ouvertement ou laissez-faire) apartheid dans une émission de Kiosque sur TV5 monde. Étant donné que Nelson Mandela a aussi passé au ciel, Madame
Anthony Barnett
Un entrevue de Anthony Barnett sur l’émission anglaise d’al Jazeera a souligné les enjeux énegétiques qui ont été négligés par la plupart des média.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/ourkingdom/thatcher-al-jazeera-interview-with-anthony-barnett
and from the journalist on the Edward Snowden case, Glen Greenwald has a few words to say on the Guardian.
Neil Kinnock sums up a pretty accurate “legacy” of Thatcher:
It was an unmitigated disaster for Britain because, if you recall, it commenced with a series of Budget changes and use of interest rates which, combined with the fact that oil was monumentally coming on stream, pushed the price of the pound out of sight and succeeded in inflicting devastating harm on the productive base of Britain.
And the end result was not modernisation, it was devastation.
Finally, more salt on the wound: Totally absent in any Western media coverage, her encounter of a bigger beast called Deng Xiao Ping in Beijing, China in 1984 concerning the future of Hong Kong definitely occupied her mind and caused the infamous “kowtow”. But given her stand on Falkland Islands and Pinochet just marked the slow decline of an empire which could only look back to the past.
Rest in peace, Lady Thatcher. Apart from being the first female head of state of a G8 country, you also did the world a lot of damage. Unfortunately, even though I don’t wish for another Reagan or Thatcher or Mulroney, their incarnations will certainly pop out again and wreak havoc. Case in point? Manuel Valls, the new Bacelona-born French Prime Minister who once said the name “Parti Socialiste” and its policies are dated. Hold your breath people!
What did you do on Christmas Eve? For me this year it was sprinkled with solitude as I walked mostly alone during the day, passing by a Buddhist temple in the afternoon, spending well over an hour looking at its architecture, the free literature they are giving away (mainly the Sutras)
Towards midnight I descended into the town centre, blended into a sea of tourists, excited teenagers and took a few pictures, then had into a midnight mass. While most attendees were indulged in their prayers and hymns, the entrance looked a bit like a circus, with the curious but not the religious parading in and out taking pictures and videos. Festive indeed and I applaud the church and its open door policy – showing everyone that those who don’t believe or are not familiar with their protocols or etiquette are still very welcomed, which is a first step in preaching their beliefs, if not getting to world peace !
我在上世紀九十年代開始有約二十年的光景以香港以外為家。2012年可算是留港較長的日子。正因如此，廿年來只錯過一次十號風球。也許時間沖淡了我對自然災害的警覺性。看見從書展（不）匆忙離開的人群，抑或是街道上連綿不絕的候車人龍，初時大家也估計不到會吹正十號風球。
plein de gens等巴士的人真多啊！
a glimpse of the typhoon through the glass at the largest exhibition venue in the heart of HK
a glimpse of the typhoon through the glass at the largest exhibition venue in the heart of HK
小時候還會『掛』風球的，現在大概有需要的能從網絡的twitter，rss等更新到電腦或手機上。我能夠從天文台的網站『記錄』下十號信號的圖像，想若問二十年前的人，必會覺得匪夷所思。
No. 10 typhoon signal, only the third time in the past 30 years
令人心痛的是颱風過後的幾星期，大大小小連根拔起的樹木，吹遍滿地的樹枝和落葉，所謂十年樹木，百年樹人。要補充失去的樹木不知要幾多光景。
debris everywhere in town
幾個月前在微博天津衛視求職類節目《非你莫屬》中,海歸郭傑因對答結結巴巴被主持人和嘉賓懷疑學歷造假。節目後引發前谷歌中國的李開复網上討論。姑勿論學歷的真真假假，如果在一個國家生活了十年才講這程度的外語真是有點那個。
Une émission de téléréalité à Tianjin a soulevé de controvese en Chine. Ce programme qui aide des gens à trouver d’emploi sur l’antenne a eu comme candidat un gars de 32 ans qui avait passé dix ans au hexagone. Étant donné qu’il tient trois diplomes en sociologie, en réalisation (du cinéma) et du tourisme, il a survécu des moments en (pas) répondant des questions du panel sur 1) nommer un sociologue français; 2) Saviez-vous Godard ou Truffaut, etc. Même si vous parlez pas de chinois, vous pouvez sentir la gaieté (sur la part de l’hôte) et l’inquiétude (sur la part du candidat) qui ont persisté dans une vingtaine de minutes.
http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/77809783-1374893571.html
par contre, Shang Wenjie, gagnante en 2006 de ‘chao ji nü sheng’ (c’est-à-dire Star Académy Féminin) en Chine, diplomée de la prestigieuse université Fudan dans le département du Français, s’entretien en un français impeccable. S’il y a une chose que les chinois en sont fiers, c’est une formation locale en Chine ne désavantage pas nécessairement contre un séjour de dix ans en France.
不相信我所說的，聽聽本地薑復旦大學法語系畢業的尚雯婕一下於CCTV法語的訪問吧！這位2006年超級女聲出身的藝人倒替國內大學出一口氣！
所以呢，一個在法國學“導演”的竟然不知Godard或Truffaut是誰，又或學了“社會學”也點不出一個法國社會學家的名字，這真的不用網民生氣為他平反。當然，其中一個老闆文頤好不到那裡，但boss團從參加者答案使他們懷疑也有其道理。
1 July, Hong Kong. Retrocession day to China, with a not-in-the-tourism-guides protest march tagging along yearly since 1997 sans exception. Cette année,les gens ne sont pas content avec le bureau du gouvernement central à Hong Kong, comme montré ici:
對中聯辦的意見
冤 – 直指 李旺陽 “被自殺”案 injust – le cas de LI Wang Yang.
“冤” – injust
A post-90s youth group 學民思潮 （scholarism） voicing their concern over “national education” to be implemented in the K-12 curriculum.
學民思潮對國民教育的意見
學民思潮
Godwin’s law coming into effect， inevitable? This time targeting the new Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, CY Leung. 唉！高德温效應又來了,衝着梁振英來的！
oops, Hitler reference!
I am not a fan of Falun Gong, but they always have an extremely long, equipped with marching band, huge banners and their carriers, procession towards the end of the parade. Visually, that’s very provoative indeed!
Falun Gong – as long as usual!
une ville n’est plus idéale? crié un slogan dans la manif.
我夢想的城市消失了？
Pearl of the Orient no more?
An almost universally true question thrown at the Police in all kinds of public demonstrations: “Police officers, Where’s your conscience?”
警察？ 良知？
The protest march meant so much to fellow citizens that many who missed the “full frontal” of the yearly retrocession day fireworks. Honestly, getting the naked truth from the marchers was better than the jubilant lies camouflaged in fireworks!
tail of the protest pausing for fireworks, FIVE hours after the start of the march!
Public transit made way for the marchers.
trams stopped
Streets free of people and traffic, after marchers flowed by for hours.
emptied and littered
汶川地震四周年，一年多前看的展覽震撼力猶在！ 這列火車一瞬間化成廢鐵！
L’exposition apellée ‘Tunnel d’espoir’, réalisée par Zhang Huan accordée au tremblement de terre au Sichuan du 12 mai 2008.
張洹 希望隧道 Hope Tunnel – Zhang Huan
張洹 希望隧道 Hope Tunnel – Zhang Huan
張洹 希望隧道 Hope Tunnel – Zhang Huan
張洹 希望隧道 Hope Tunnel – Zhang Huan
張洹 希望隧道 Hope Tunnel – Zhang Huan
張洹 希望隧道 Hope Tunnel – Zhang Huan
四年過去了，生還者有他們的希望隧道可行嗎？
Would the survivors of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 get closer to their “hope tunnel”?
un asiatique et son charabia 某亞裔噏得就噏 an Asian Guy's rigmarole 