laodan's discoveries, page 1

Join 5 million users on StumbleUpon and see who you already know on StumbleUpon.

Join Now for Free >

Last login: 1 hour agoLaodan: laodan is a 56 year old guy from Wisconsin, USA.; Likes 1,590 pages, 24 videos, 8 photos • 217 fans • Received 65 reviews; Member since Aug 08, 2005

Favorites » His Discoveries

Display:
List
• Grid

WorldChanging: The Chinese Far West: 11:57am 1 review china, globalization
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008035.html; The Chinese Far West in WorldChanging by Regine Debatty
Just spent 3 days in Rome to check out FotoGrafia, the 7th edition of international festival of photography which runs until May 25th in several venues throughout the city. ... one of the photo series was so striking (and so far away from what you and i would regard as "normality"), i spent the rest of my stay in the Italian capital obsessing about it. Chinese Wild West, a collaboration between photographer Paolo Woods and journalist Serge Michel, follows China's industrial neo-colonialism in African lands. For the 500.000 Chinese who have emigrated to the 'dark continent' there is the promise of a 21st century Wild West. Some have struck gold and run large conglomerates that span whole regions of Africa, others are still selling their cheap goods on the burning hot roadsides of the poorest countries in the world. For the Africans, the arrival of the Chinese is perhaps the most important event of the forty years of independence. The Chinese do not look like the former colonialists. They build roads, dams and hospitals and win over the people. They speak neither of democracy nor transparency and they win over the dictators. Woods and Michel conclude their presentation of the work with these words: These are rare images: Beijing wants to keep a low profile for its conquest. But though it remains largely unexposed these photographs portray a phenomenon, a new dimension of globalization, that threatens to leave the West behind. The Chinese Far West Complete collection of photographs

The West came centuries ago. It captured Africans and chained them into slavery. As a result African societies were totally destabilized and so Europeans later tried to impose their own political structures in African lands. But this only precipitated the destruction of African ancestral societies while Africans at best only assimilated sketchy patches of Western culture. Europeans were thus responsible for the societal collapse of Africa and the confusion that resulted among Africans. Needing more and more resources the Chinese started to invest in Africa after the year 2000 and within the short time span since then African countries are experiencing fast economic growth... Woods and Michel photographed the visual reality of the Chinese presence in Africa and their words say all there is to say "For the Africans, the arrival of the Chinese is perhaps the most important event of the forty years of independence. The Chinese do not look like the former colonialists. They build roads, dams and hospitals and win over the people. They speak neither of democracy nor transparency and they win over the dictators." I suppose that Eurocentrics will shout loud against what they see as a new form of colonialism that is irrespectful of democracy. But the only thing that matters is the perception of the Africans themselves. Woods and Michel's words leave no place for doubt...

321energy :: POWERFUL BULLMARKET IN US STOCKS LOOMS as the US prepares for GLOB…: May 13, 5:00pm 1 review energy-industry, energy, globalization, geopolitics
http://www.321energy.com/editorials/maund/maund042708.html; The US prepares for GLOBAL HEGEMONY via Twine by Steven Wears, in 321energy by Clive Maund
Complete control of the Mid-East, which the United States and the major oil companies are now close to having achieved, of course confers massive power over the rest of world, in particular over rising economic powers such as China and India and the immense leverage that this will in time afford can be used to steer these countries in whatever direction is desired. The US is believed to be involved in a strategic race against time to corner the bulk of the world's remaining oil reserves, the control of which can then be used to dissuade countries like China from resorting to the wholesale dumping of dollars or US Treasuries, along the lines of "Try it and we'll cut off your oil supply"... The US prepares for GLOBAL HEGEMONY A must read that gives the reader to think really hard. This article gives a general vision without proving each steps of its argumentation. For that reason we might be tempted to reject it. But the vision makes sense and it challenges our minds to open up to the unknown that possibly is fashioning our future. We always should be aware that reality is not made of morality. Human reality, as far as our eyes can see along the road of history, is the outcome of games of power. There is always a winner and a loser. Even if it is difficult to imagine that the US is playing smart in Irak Clive Maund's article gives a plausible conclusion that the US appearance of dumbness could be a tactic to avoid its strategy being uncovered. I know, I know. BUT... if Maund's conclusion appeared to be verified by the facts a few years down the road then we would have to recognize that its present posture was plain genius. The only shortcoming I personally see in Maund's argument is its US unilaterality. It's a plausible vision but it does not account for how other powers play. In a game there is never one player left alone free to take the road he wants; there are other players who counter his actions. And it seems to me that in his description of the present geo-political game Clive Maund forgot to account for the positioning of the historical masters of gaming that are the Chinese. Does he really believe that his vision has not reached the calculus of the Chinese? No way. If the game played by the US is as Maund describes it then the Chinese have been thinking about a counter play. But again only time will tell.

EastSouthWestNorth: The Olympic Torch Relay Inside China: May 8, 4:57pm 6 reviews china, globalization, geopolitics
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20080509_1.htm; The Olympic Torch Relay Inside China via Fons Tuinstra / China Herald, in EastSouthWestNorth
Yes, the crowds were enthusiastic so far. But it also reveals the civic quality of some (but not necessarily all) Chinese citizens as shown in these photos The Olympic Torch Relay Inside China

We Westerners represent no more than 10 % of the world population. What a pity we know so little of what is going on in the rest of the world. We have been bombarded lastly with the coverage of the troubled Torch Relay in London, Paris and San Francisco and been force-fed with the idea that China was trouble. But what about the torch relay thereafter? Ziltch nada black hole. Did the flame not traverse the lands where 90% of the world population lives? Yes it did but we were kept in total ignorance. Why such a one sided news coverage? This is not the best way to succeed in answering the myriad of crises unleashed upon us by modernity but it is assuredly a recipe for tension between nations...

Theyre Global Citizens. Theyre Hugely Rich. And They Pull the Strings. - washing…: May 4, 6:48am 0 review politics, globalization
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR20080502033...

The Archdruid Report: Not The End Of The World: May 1, 9:43am 1 review evolution, society, change, worldviews
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2008/04/not-end-of-world.html; Not The End Of The World in The Archdruid Report by John Michael Greer
It's not the end of the world, or even the end of industrial civilization, but if history is anything to go by, we could be in for a couple of very rough decades. A crisis phase in the downward arc of catabolic collapse is not a pleasant thing to live through, and we can expect it to have social, economic, political, and (unless we're extraordinarily lucky) military dimensions that will transform most people\u2019s lives for the worse, temporarily or forever. That need not stop us from facing the emerging crisis with as much grace and humanity as we can muster, while doing our part to lay the foundations for the ecotechnic societies of the future - unless, that is, we allow premature proclamations of triumph or catastrophe to distract us from the work that must be done. Not The End Of The World. A most enlightened vision of societal change. This post is perhaps John Michael Greer's most influential one. He is undoubtedly right that "Human societies are complex homeostatic systems that respond to changes in their environments by trying to maintain their equilibrium." Failing to understand this organic way of societies leads to simplistic interpretations of present events that contracts reality into its dualistic visions of doom and gloom versus technophilia. Those are unhelpful perception crutches at best and devastating at worst. We are not close to the end of the world as the title of Greer's post states but we are at a societal stage of evolution that is going to displace modernity for something new often referred to as postmodernity. But the word has been twisted to say so many things that its meaning has often been lost on its users. Postmodernity is the stage of societal evolution that follows modernity and the transition is, for sure, going to be traumatic for most. Each stage of societal evolution has its own economic, social, cultural and other characteristics but what differentiates each of them is the worldview (understanding of reality) that is shared by the citizens within their societies. We observe 4 stages of evolution: - animism: citizens of tribes share an animistic worldview. - religion: citizens of kingdoms and empires share one or another form of religious belief and or one or another philosophic derivation of animism. - modernity: citizens of nation-states share a common vision of rationality (derived from the logic of capital) and believe that science has technological answers to everything. - postmodernity: citizens of the world will share a common vision of reality wherein humans are seen as interconnected minuscule particles of a whole that is unattainable. The transition between modernity and postmodernity is a process of change that will take many decades to stabilize and, for sure, there will be ups and downs along the road. Before to tackle the causes of climate change we'll suffer its consequences. Before to tackle peak oil and other resources we'll be confronted with shortages in energy and materials that will oblige us to revise our ways of living. Before to tackle poverty we'll be confronted with individual and societal violence that will oblige us to care for the weakest ones among us. Our future is in ecotechnic societies interconnected through solidarity.

Informed Comment: Global Affairs: LET ONE HUNDRED BOYCOTTS BLOOM!: Apr 21, 9:05am 1 review china, globalization, worldviews
http://icga.blogspot.com/2008/04/let-one-hundred-boycotts-bloom.html; LET ONE HUNDRED BOYCOTTS BLOOM! in Informed Comment: Global Affairs by PHILIP J CUNNINGHAM
Boycotts are a blunt instrument, albeit drawn from the trusty democratic toolbox. That boycott fever seems to be the mood on the streets of China these days is a testament to how discontent with domestic problems has been eclipsed by disappointment with the West. LET ONE HUNDRED BOYCOTTS BLOOM! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rApn09pRZCk Excellent article. The beneficiaries of the recent demonstrations against the Olympic Torch Relay in Britain, France and the US are clearly the Chinese authorities, indeed, "discontent with domestic problems has been eclipsed by disappointment with the West." 25% of the world population are staying up, with their leaders, against the hypocrisy of the West. And let's not forget that the biggest losers are the Tibetans. Their case has indeed been eclipsed by something a lot bigger and to make matters even worse the Dalai Lama himself comes out of this story as a wounded leader whose Tibetan following appears to desert his middle of the road course. And, for the first time, the feudal past of Tibet has erupted in the Western public sight thus shedding doubts on what the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism really stand for. How to say? The only thing that comes to my mind is "how naive and dumb" the activist lesson-givers now appear to be. On manipulation of Western Public opinion about facts in Tibet: On Tibet and Propaganda: Follow the "Information" by Zwoof in the Daily Kos

Chinese Nationalism | MetaFilter: Apr 19, 2:29pm 1 review china, globalization
http://www.metafilter.com/70972/Chinese-Nationalism; Chinese Nationalism or how and why 25% of the world population is rising against the West in Metafilter by Tlogmer
The "sacred flame" winds its way towards Beijing, creating new flashpoints like a car bumper scraping sparks from the pavement.

The chinese public's anger at CNN now has a wildly popular theme song "You can't turn lies into the truth by repeating them a thousand times"

Chinese nationalism and an American backlash are both growing. Where is all this leading to? And even if we can't understand how China sees Tibet, or know whether the Shanghai Princesses will really give up their Chanel, can we at least assure the Chinese that we don't like Jack Cafferty either Chinese Nationalism or how and why 25% of the world population is rising against the West The 41 comments on Tlogmer's post on Metafilter are particularly interesting. Also see: My Western Friends, What Do You Want From Us Chinese? CHINA'S COMING OUT PARTY Tibet at war with the utopia of modernity The Baton Passes to Asia China's new intelligentsia "Capitalism with Chinese characteristics" overcomes the Weather Waving Goodbye to Hegemony

Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong Kong Ne…: Apr 18, 2:10pm 1 review economics, globalization, change
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JD19Ad01.html; Asia pushes, West resists in AsiaTimes by Sreeram Chaulia a review of The New Asian Hemisphere. The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East by Kishore Mahbubani. PublicAffairs, New York, 2008.
Mahbubani asserts that a turbulent era of de-Westernization has commenced in Asia. With most Asians disavowing former beliefs that the West was the "most civilized part of the world", the latter has lost appeal as an ideal in human advancement. Chinese intellectuals, drawing on a history of insularity, have decolonized their mind the furthest and fastest. Accompanying China's accumulation of wealth and economic vitality is a popular rediscovery of its glorious cultural heritage and pride. De-Westernization is even more drastic in the Middle East. Hardly any Muslim society, perhaps not even Turkey, is trying to demonstrate that it is Western in spirit. Islamic publics view Westerners as immoral, greedy and insensitive to the loss of Muslim lives. Mahbubani considers India to be a bridge between the "West and the Rest". Indian thinkers do not see the West as the custodian of the highest values, but they also appreciate their country's historic place in constantly admitting and absorbing foreign influences. Mahbubani rides on China's geopolitical success to infer that "Asians are capable of delivering a more stable world order". Asia pushes, West resists Change is a process. Geo-political change is a rather long process and let's never forget that it often is fraught with violence. The root cause of the present geo-political change is the entry of China, India and the whole of Asia, Africa and South America into modernity. Modernity is first and foremost the application of the logic of capital to all aspects of life. Instead of continuing to eat the products that they grow on their fields people leave the land to go work in factories that have been financed by capital. From then on they will be forced to buy everything that is necessary to reproduce their daily lives and later everything that they think is necessary... This process of swelling domestic demand is satisfied by always more productions of goods and services. It becomes then evident that population size is going to be what differentiates the economic size of nations. Great-Britain was no match, in the 20th century, in term of population size for the US nor any other European country for that matter. After the 2nd world war Europeans took the path of unification and after half a century they got a unified currency and a European central bank and soon a president, a foreign affairs secretary and so on. But Europe is only marginally larger than the US... The story in Asia is definitely going to be far more world changing. China's population is not far from a billion and a half (official + not counted) and India is on the path to surpass China within a few decades. That gives us a population of 3 billion approximately versus a population of 3 quarters of a billion for the US + the EU. If those 2 countries can sustain for a few more decades their extremely rapid rates of economic growth each is going to surpass the economic size of the US and later the combined size of the US + the EU. This is going to have a decisive impact on how the world will be running in the coming decades not only economically but also politically and culturally. How is whiteman going to take those changes is the subject of Kishore Mahbubani's book.

Speculating About The Visual Future Of Search Results: Apr 15, 10:49am 1 review internet, search, web, freetools
http://searchengineland.com/080411-103706.php; Speculating About The Visual Future Of Search Results via info aesthetics,in Search Engine Land by Greg Sterling
there are a range of interesting and relatively new general purpose "visual search engines" that are seeking to offer something different than text-based results. There have always been "visual" presentations of search results (and preview features such as Ask's binoculars or more recently Snap's plug-in), as an alternative to "10 blue links." However these newer sites are on to something that may eventually take hold. Speculating About The Visual Future Of Search Results SearchMe RedZee SearchMe
RedZee Search presented as images of each website. Not only does this do away with text it also abolishes the ranking of the sites it selects through a circular presentation of resizing thumbnails. Great potential.

StumbleUpon

Favorites » His Discoveries

Recent visitors

People he is a fan of

Show pages he liked about