Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Off for a break
It's got too cold for me, so I am off to scuba-dive, hike and explore Busuanga, an island in the Philippines for 10 days or so. Merry Christmas, Happy new Year etc, and i am sure i will provide updates from the island.
Monday, December 15, 2008
number 5
Another birthday in China. The 5th. Wow. More dinners and drinks over the whole weekend and a trip skiing on sunday which actually included as much drinking (on the deck, overlooking the slopes) as skiing. Well, the sun was shining and there was blue skies and long queues for the ski lifts so.... after the drinking we thought it a good idea to go snowboarding, since the queues were shorter for the beginner's slopes (and it would take us longer to get down, making the most of the time up to the top)! I'm still recovering from the snowboarding, but did get close to the form of 2000 when i last snowboarded!
There are a few photos of the US trip on the blog (adam.nomadlife.org) as well as hundreds more on the flickr site (flickr.com/adamsphotos go to 'sets' and 'West coast USA').
On saturday (yes, on my birthday!) i went to an event we (BSR) was involved in around Sustainable communities which was fairly interesting. Highlights were seeing the plans for a new eco-city in Tianjin, that looked really nice on the plans, though rarely ever mentioned anything about the people that are supposed to live there; as well as a senior minister from the Environment Ministry who was incredibly candid and open about the challenges China faces, the reaction of the public (protests, of which he showed many photos) and how the solution starts with talking to the people and using the power of the people to enforce laws and to listen to them.
Not too much else to report amongst the freezing Siberian winds, although i have recognised the benefit of buying 10 sachets of imported Swiss Mocha Coffee sachets for the price of one drink in a coffee shop. Addicted is quite the right word!
There are a few photos of the US trip on the blog (adam.nomadlife.org) as well as hundreds more on the flickr site (flickr.com/adamsphotos go to 'sets' and 'West coast USA').
On saturday (yes, on my birthday!) i went to an event we (BSR) was involved in around Sustainable communities which was fairly interesting. Highlights were seeing the plans for a new eco-city in Tianjin, that looked really nice on the plans, though rarely ever mentioned anything about the people that are supposed to live there; as well as a senior minister from the Environment Ministry who was incredibly candid and open about the challenges China faces, the reaction of the public (protests, of which he showed many photos) and how the solution starts with talking to the people and using the power of the people to enforce laws and to listen to them.
Not too much else to report amongst the freezing Siberian winds, although i have recognised the benefit of buying 10 sachets of imported Swiss Mocha Coffee sachets for the price of one drink in a coffee shop. Addicted is quite the right word!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Below zero
The Siberian winds arrived in Beijing this week bringing instant freezing to anything in their way. brrrr. Hopefully the snow won't be far off and a day-trip skiing can be organised.
This week my biography was finally added to BSR's web-site, though thankfully they have not yet put a photo up. If you have forgotten who I am, go have a look :)
Unfortunately the sadness of 200 innocent people dying in India has been followed by the news that Zimbabwe has actually gotten worse. A country that could not get any worse, has somehow managed to get worse. Incredibly. Now that people are literally dying in their hundreds daily, maybe the West might care? Well, maybe not. I mean, we could have sorted that mess out 5 years ago in a week. Instead the entire country might, in a few years time, turn into Somalia: where inept governments and miserable poverty creates a haven for terrorists.
On a lighter note i noticed the Chinese government threatening trade sanctions against France because of their support for the Dalai Lama. The rubbish the government spouts about the Dalai Lama is laughable, though the government has improved its PR machine on other issues. To even pretend there is religious freedom in Tibet is a joke (it is officially illegal to talk about or have a photo of him; somewhat equivalent of not letting Christians talk about Jesus!) as is the idea that the Dalai Lama wants independence.
One hopes the goverment will eventually recognise that increasing religious freedom in Tibet is not actually a major threat to the country and will placate most Tibetans without major costs or implications. In the current economic climate, though, we can be sure that the government cannot afford any trade barriers against France -they need all the orders they can get!
This week my biography was finally added to BSR's web-site, though thankfully they have not yet put a photo up. If you have forgotten who I am, go have a look :)
Unfortunately the sadness of 200 innocent people dying in India has been followed by the news that Zimbabwe has actually gotten worse. A country that could not get any worse, has somehow managed to get worse. Incredibly. Now that people are literally dying in their hundreds daily, maybe the West might care? Well, maybe not. I mean, we could have sorted that mess out 5 years ago in a week. Instead the entire country might, in a few years time, turn into Somalia: where inept governments and miserable poverty creates a haven for terrorists.
On a lighter note i noticed the Chinese government threatening trade sanctions against France because of their support for the Dalai Lama. The rubbish the government spouts about the Dalai Lama is laughable, though the government has improved its PR machine on other issues. To even pretend there is religious freedom in Tibet is a joke (it is officially illegal to talk about or have a photo of him; somewhat equivalent of not letting Christians talk about Jesus!) as is the idea that the Dalai Lama wants independence.
One hopes the goverment will eventually recognise that increasing religious freedom in Tibet is not actually a major threat to the country and will placate most Tibetans without major costs or implications. In the current economic climate, though, we can be sure that the government cannot afford any trade barriers against France -they need all the orders they can get!
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