Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior - WSJ.com

All I have to say is, Wow, this article is brilliant.

Of course, Americans probably will not think so. Thank God, the population of the United States is only about 5% of the world's population, and not any more than that. That would require far too much Kool-Aid to go around, and make it far too easy to brain-wash large populations. We've become too soft, in many ways, as it is.

Coddled.

We've become a country of coddlers.

After World War Two, the country felt collective guilt about all the harm that had been committed against current and former generations, from a family stand-point. World War I, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II left enormous psychic scars on parents and grandparents. Collectively, they were like, 'no more,' and sought to buffer their offspring from the Horrors of Life.

Make things easier for our Western-born children, make them feel better about themselves, they thought. Give them money if they lose their job, give them money if they have babies, give, give, give. Whatever you do, don't tell them they are stupid, or "garbage," don't make them feel different, don't make them feel bad. Give them guitar lessons, tell them to have fun. Who cares if you don't go to college, right? Have fun! Be happy! Run! Play!

In the meantime, half-a-world-away Chinese mothers are telling their children, "you're worthless; you are garbage." Chinese kids bring home a B on their report card, and their families shun them, and send them out to eat snow for dinner. Not really, but Chinese parents don't pull punches. Many of my international acquaintances have told me similar stories about growing up. Chinese Moms telling their sons, "you're fat. How you going to get a wife like that?"

Do their parents really feel those things? No. Why do they say such things? Motivation. Encouragement. Their parents know that the world is a place where success is directly related to education. Make your life better but struggling now, cut no corners.

Does this parenting model damage a child's self-esteem? Apparently not. When the child realizes that they can, in fact, do what their parents require - not ask, mind you - but require, not only are the parent's satisfied and that visible satisfaction is part of the child's reward, but, and more importantly, the child has proven to himself/herself that they were completely competent and capable.

Rather than tell their child, "honey, a C is okay, maybe next time we can do a little better," as if we are raising a little princess or prince whose disposition is too delicate to handle the real knowledge that a C sucks, and is just another way of saying, "you're average, you are a nameless face in the crowd," Chinese mothers sit down with their child and drill math and music into their child's head, in essence saying, "I will not raise my child to be a nameless face in a crowd. They will know their true power."

Stories like this are great. Anecdotal stories of cultural differences are challenging. Highlights of cultural differences, such as this story of parenting differences between Eastern and Western cultures, provide insight as to how cultures are different, and go some distance into explaining why.

India Through a Birder’s Eyes

India Through a Birder’s Eyes - NYTimes.com

I am not a fan of birds.  Yes, many are pretty, and have interesting calls.  Some are highly intelligent, crows, parrots, and mynas, for example.  Falcons are very cool, as are eagles and owls.  I’m not against all birds, or bird species. 

However, birds are mostly filthy animals, especially their excrement.  Blech.  There are probably other animals in the Animal Kingdom whose excrements are toxic.  I can’t think of any animal whose excrement could cause a spontaneous abortion or cause birth defects. Cats – pregnant women cannot clean a cats litter box.  Cats and birds.

Some species of birds migrate, move from place to place according to the season, and according to their reproductive cycle.  Most bird species do not migrate.  Kestrils, partridges, many tropical birds, and ptarmigans, to name a few, do not migrate.  Some birds do not move more than a few miles from their birth, such as the Mute Swan, and the British partridge.

Many people enjoy bird-watching.  I have gone bird-watching in Land Between the Lakes (LBL), and I am especially fond of hummingbirds.  Land Between the Lakes is also a good place for bald eagle viewing.  For more bald eagle viewing, Highway 3, a scenic highway that runs along the Mississippi River in Illinois, is a great place to watch bald eagles.

People attend bird-viewing activities and keep logbooks recording the date, time, species, and location of each siting.  People travel throughout the United State hoping to catch site of that rare and elusive bird, chasing after a species much like people collect stamps, rocks, and minerals.

By traveling the globe, bird aficionados can enhance their collections.  In Costa Rica, viewers could add several species of tropical birds.

In India, ample supplies of water, warm weather, habitat combine to provide a unique environment for hundreds of different species of birds.  City parks provide opportunities for birders to come face-to-face with hornbills, ducks, and herons.  Some of these birds make India home; others are on their way to some place else, stopping to rest, eat, and drink.  Like tourists.

Geography can help explain migratory patterns, why birds choose certain routes, or why they choose certain areas to roost, or to procreate.  Certain places on the earth are conducive for certain bird species, other are not.  A penguin would not last long in Egypt.  Penguins are unique to the Southern Hemisphere.  To my knowledge, no penguins exist north of the Equator, except for those in zoos.  Falcons work well in Egypt and the Middle East, but would not last in Antartica, or the southern coast of Argentina or Chile.

Technorati Tags: India,bird watching,birders,tourism

Stateless Children

What happens when you are Chinese and your spouse is Canadian and your child is born in Belgium?

Answer: you have a child without a country, without a nationality. 

Seem impossible?

Many countries do not allow children born within their political boundaries automatic citizenship.  The home countries of the parents often do not grant automatic citizenship to babies of parents with mixed nationalities.

Imagine not being able to get a National ID card, no passport, no drivers license.  Imagine having to trace your ancestry back generations to find a relative from a country who does not have residency requirements for citizenship?

Windows Phones Not Particularly Innovative

Let's face facts, iPhone people are going to remain faithful iPhone customers, and people wanting iPhones are a persistent bunch.  But, what about people that are on the fence, who want something different?  Today, Steve Ballmer and Microsoft released their selection of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphones.  The field of smartphones has now grown by six interesting offerings.  The question becomes, do these new smartphones represent a contender within the smartphone arena, or will they be fodder, and fall at the feet of Android and iOS?

PCWorld has evaluated these new devices, and run comparisons against iPhone and the Droid X (PCWORLD).  On the surface, WP7 smartphones appear to have a number of weaknesses when measured against the iPhone, Droids, and even Blackberry (though no Blackberrys were part of the evaluation).
First, no WP7 smartphone has a better resolution than the Droid X (480x800), which itself has a lower resolution than the iPhone.  The HTC HD7 does have a larger screen than the iPhone and equal in size to the Droid X (4.7in).

Common to all devices measured is a 1GHZ processor.  However, engineers must have sized up their devices against the Apple iPhone, as they all seem to have the same limitations, with few exceptions.  Each device has a fixed amount of internal storage, ranging from 8GB to 16GB.  Droids can accept upto a 32GB user-installable microSD card.  Three new WP7 phones (50%), from Samsung, Dell, and HTC have slide-out keyboards; only the Samsung Focus has a front-facing camera.

Next, WP7 smartphones have some interesting software limitations.  WP7 does not support cut-and-paste operations, which are supported by the iPhone 4 and Droid.  Also, for as tight as Adobe and Microsoft appear to want to be, the WP7 smartphones do not support Adobe Flash, which Android does.  New WP7 smartphones support Wi-Fi but do not support Wi-Fi HotSpot, so forget about tethering.

Finally, what makes people envious of smartphones?  Well, one thing is cool apps.  People love their apps.  WP7 smartphones have few apps to pick from.  Microsoft was slow to make their developer's toolkit available.  As a result, the app marketplace for WP7 is slim.  Obviously, that will change, given enough time, and financial incentives from Microsoft to developers.  Another hindrance that many makers are crying foul over is the software agreement that restricts changes to the user interface (UI).  Expect all of the new WP7 phones to have an identical interface.

Do Microsoft Phone 7-based smartphones change the game? Do six new phones from prominent makers HTC, LG, and Samsung put Motorola and Apple on notice that there are new rules to play by? 

Unfortunately, unless Microsoft plans on performing an upgrade to WP7 in the near future, and changing the licensing of the user interface, Apple, Motorola, Blackberry, and Nokia have nothing to fear.

Apple plus Verizon Equals MiFi iPads

Consumers anxiously awaiting news about the Verizon iPhone should be excited about today's announcement from Verizon/Apple.  According to Verizon Wireless (Verizon press release), beginning the last Friday in October (28th), shoppers will be able to purchase and Apple iPad and data package at 2,000 Verizon stores nationwide.

The data plan package requires that customers also purchase the Verizon MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot.  The MiFi 2200 connects the iPad to the Verizon network.  The native iPad will not run on Verizon's 3G network, necessitating the addition of the MiFi 2200.  Verizon will also sell the iPads as stand-alone units.
Verizon announced three plan packages, one for each of the storage space options available with the iPad, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.  A 1GB data plan starts at $20/month.

The Verizon/Apple partnership represents the first strike in the wireless tablet market.  Rumors began about two months ago regarding the development of a Google Tablet, powered by Chrome OS and built by HTC (Christian Science Monitor).

Some manufacturers, Lenovo, HP, Asus, offer tablets. However, these tablets are more like small laptops as they have an attached keyboard.

Blackberry and Samsung, in addition to Google, are also planning their own true iPad-like tablets by the end of the year, the Playbook, and the Galaxy Tab, respectively.

AT&T and RIM caught the smartphone industry somewhat off-guard today. Three important announcements bellowed from the smartphone giant, RIM, today as the new Blackberry 9800, the Torch, was carried forth unto the world. RIM also released Blackberry 6 and a Blackberry 6 SDK for Java today, too.

Please hold your applause until the end...

While the Torch is something your current Blackberry friend might not hold so high as to make it difficult to talk into, or see, will it be enough to stave off the up-and-coming iPhone?

Weighing in at almost 6 ounces, the "Torch" may feel like you are holding one. The torch is packing a lot, though. Like a 624Mhz processor with 512MB of memory, a 3.2" (360x480) touch sensitive screen, a slide-out backlit QWERTY keyboard, and a 5MP camera, capable of shooting 640x480 video. Like most other smartphones, the Torch has a GPS on-board, offers free AT&T Wi-Fi, where available, and comes standard with 4GB of built-in storage. You will probably want to add more, so a microSD/SDHD slot is available for an additional 32GB of storage.

But does the Torch offer enough to keep current customers happy, attract new customers, and hold off the iPhone dogs? RIM is betting Blackberry 6 will handle all three concerns.

Blackberry 6, supposedly, has been geared for the social networker. The Torch and Blackberry 6 will handle Facebook, Twitter, MySpace (does anyone still use that?), plus support for the Blackberry Messaging Service, and RSS feeds. AT&T users will continue to enjoy (?) SMS and MMS support, too. A couple of additional features might come in handy, like the ability to embed location information in a text message. In other words, you could send someone information about where you want to meet, or where something is located, and tuck that info into your text message. Blackberry 6 also connects users to over 50 web-based video feed services, like youTube. Users can record, upload, and download video content directly to their Blackberry.

While AT&T execs and RIM execs are excited, or at least act that way - after all, three major U.S. smartphone makers have now outted products - I honestly do not see much to get excited about.

For example, no support for tethering, being able to bind your laptop to your Blackberry to get a network connection. In rural areas, or primitive areas, that is a nice feature to have. At least, none of the reviews nor RIM's own press release mention tethering. The screen is still small, a common complaint among current Blackberry users. The new 9800 uses the Webkit browser, however on the small screen, at that resolution, I fail to see the convenience. Finally, other smartphones, such as the Droid and iPhone, offer faster processors.

In the end, while the 9800 might be known as the "Torch," I don't see it igniting anything.

Source: RIM Media Release

Copyright (C) Michael Busby

Farmers demand immigration reform | PRI.ORG

Farmers demand immigration reform … and not in the way that people think.
I do not know that many farmers. Not any more, any way. I spent many summers on my grandfather’s farm in southeast Nebraska. In the days of my youth I knew plenty of farmers. All of my grandfather’s neighbors were farmers. Regardless of the fact that I may not be in touch with many farmers today, the spirit of farming remains within me.

Farming is hard business, and not just because the hours are long, and the work grueling, but also because the amount of effort required to eek out a living is extraordinary. Every cost saving measure is critical just to stay in business, let alone remain competitive.

Farmers need labor. Let the market determine the wages. That is how Free Market economies work, let the market set the cost of labor. This is how that negotiation might play out:

“Will you work for a $1 a day?”
”No.”
”Will you work for $2 a day?”
”Nope.”
”Will you work for $1 per hour?”
”Hmmmm… okay.”
”OK, so we've got ourselves a deal!”

Then, if someone comes along and says, “I’ll work for 50 cents an hour,” what are you going to do? All things being equal, if  you see yourself maximizing your profits without a loss of quality or production, I would guess that the new wage will be $0.50 an hour.

Free Market.

Now, you want to go about tampering with wages to make sure Life is Fair, then you are dealing with something other than a Free Market economy, perhaps State Capitalism. With State Capitalism, the government exerts control over many of the aspects of the economy.
I like the statement, “Democratic leaders are weighing how many votes they win by doing immigration reform and how many votes they lose by doing immigration reform.” [Mark Rosenblum]
I like it because this is politics, in a nutshell – screw what is best for the people, in this case, farmers – how can I keep myself in office? That is what Politics in the USA has come to..keeping ourselves in office, not working for the people of the United States.

Let’s forget for a moment the fact that this country was founded upon immigration. Immigration helps us in a variety of ways. Obviously, we need the help in agriculture. Immigrants do not steal U.S. jobs. When was the last time an attorney, an accountant, a web designer, a database manager, a doctor, a pharmaceuticals sales representative, chemist, etc., screamed because he/she couldn't find a job because an illegal immigrant was hired in their place? Now, if you want to talk about out-sourcing, then they might complain.

I've also talked to many local farmers. They tell me they have tried to hire high school kids, friends of their sons or daughters. They have put signs up in the high schools, or church. Yes, the farmers do get a few takers. For about a week. The heat, the physical work, the hours, the kids do not want to put the time in. Young farmers, too, tell me that they have hired friends, only to be frustrated when that person quits after a few days. Anecdotal stories, for sure, but the people crying against immigration appear to have little at stake, while those petitioning for immigration reform are pushed to the sidelines.

Illegals do fill jobs in the United States, no doubt. They harvest most of our vegetable crops. Without them, those crops would rot in fields. Illegal immigrants work in meat-packing plants in the Midwest. I remember reading many accounts in the Kansas City Star of a meat-packer in Kansas or Oklahoma or Iowa raided by INS. Dozens of illegals would be rounded-up and sent packing. I would wonder why or how illegals ended up so far from home, and, why Des Moines, why Dodge City?

As I would later find out, from talking to people in the industry - my dad ran in those circles - working at a meat-packing plant is not like working at the florist. Meat-packing plants stink, they smell. You bring that smell home on you. Not just the smell of dead animals, but all the chemicals necessary to kill bacteria. The work is hard, sometimes dangerous. The pay is not great. Turnover in labor is very high, in some plants line workers would turn over 100-150% over the course of year. That means that the plant has new employees every year. No one stays. In fact, employers found that American workers left more frequently than their immigrant counterparts. As an employer, one would have to ask themselves, "Wow, should I hire an local kid and train him, knowing he will stay for a two months; or, should I risk training an illegal who will stay a year or more?"

No, people are not looking at immigration the right way. Chasing illegals is like treating a cough when the patient has tuberculosis.

Immigration also transfers needed to skills to people that would otherwise not achieve those skills in their home country. Immigration helps provide income to families in their home country. Immigration loosens the cultural fears that ignorant people have; we learn about them, they learn about us. Think about this: how many more immigrants might there be if the remittance monies were not sent home to families? That money essentially keeps those people at home. Otherwise, they too, might be tempted to move to some place else. Americans also seem to think that the U.S. is the sole destination for immigrants. Again, our own egos at work. South America, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile are destinations, too. And, strange as it may seem, so is Mexico. If you live in El Salvador, Mexico might look pretty good.

Illegal immigration has more to do with Global Competition and American's vain spending habits, than people wanting to take advantage of us. Hell, we have more than plenty of our native population doing that right now.

If the United States had maintained possession of the territory it captured in the War with Mexico we wouldn’t even be having an Immigration Debate.

And, finally, who can we blame for this debacle? The railroad, .. and Texas, of course. The best plan for a southern rail system lay across the barren wasteland of northern Mexico. Texas, aka The Republic of Texas, was not strong enough to defend itself against the likes of Poncho Villa. Thusly, the Texans enlisted the aid of the U.S. government to aid in their war.

And so it goes.

Technorati Tags: immigration,farms,farming,legislation,wisconsin,dairy,immigrant workers,migration policy