Check it out here.
In Kim Stanley Robinson's "60 Days and Counting", one of things I found intriguing was the President's use of a basically an internet forum, where he would post, comment, and basically keep in touch with the sentiments at ground level. While not quite that bi-directional, this weekly address would seem to offer the same sort of accessibility to the layman. I say sort of, because it IS just week one.
The White House also has a Youtube channel. Pretty cool.
As an aside, American politics seems far more interesting how, as opposed to the last 8 years of tragicomedy.
1/25/2009
1/24/2009
Goat detained over armed robbery
OK, this was far too funny for me not to post. Found via Facebook.
LAGOS (Reuters) - Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.
Vigilantes took the black and white beast to the police saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323.
"The group of vigilante men came to report that while they were on patrol they saw some hoodlums attempting to rob a car. They pursued them. However one of them escaped while the other turned into a goat," Kwara state police spokesman Tunde Mohammed told Reuters by telephone.
"We cannot confirm the story, but the goat is in our custody. We cannot base our information on something mystical. It is something that has to be proved scientifically, that a human being turned into a goat," he said.
Belief in witchcraft is widespread in parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. Residents came to the police station to see the goat, photographed in one national newspaper on its knees next to a pile of straw.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Link to the Reuter's page here.
LAGOS (Reuters) - Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.
Vigilantes took the black and white beast to the police saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323.
"The group of vigilante men came to report that while they were on patrol they saw some hoodlums attempting to rob a car. They pursued them. However one of them escaped while the other turned into a goat," Kwara state police spokesman Tunde Mohammed told Reuters by telephone.
"We cannot confirm the story, but the goat is in our custody. We cannot base our information on something mystical. It is something that has to be proved scientifically, that a human being turned into a goat," he said.
Belief in witchcraft is widespread in parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. Residents came to the police station to see the goat, photographed in one national newspaper on its knees next to a pile of straw.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Link to the Reuter's page here.
1/23/2009
Yes they did.
OK, shameless Obama paraphrasing aside, this is one headline, supplied by the CBC, that shocked me at first.
2 men sentenced to death in China's milk scandal
OK, so I have no particular stance on capital punishment, probably because I have no real stake in it one way on another. That said, I probably fall more TOWARDS the Death Penalty stance, rather than away from it, mostly because I can more easily sympathize with those who might seek it as a form of retribution for a slain love-one.
But I think in the West we are not accustomed to hearing about CEOs and company presidents getting a 21-gun salute in the back of the head for gross misconduct. We might THINK, regarding a particularly heinous corporate villain who defrauds people of their hard-earned money, or whose products end in death, 'Yeah, the government should just CAP that mother fucker!'. But I don't think we expect it to ever happen, short of someone exercising their vigilante-bone.
Serial Killers and Baby Rapists, sure. Bernard Madoff? Probably not.
Unless you're in China.
2 men sentenced to death in China's milk scandal
OK, so I have no particular stance on capital punishment, probably because I have no real stake in it one way on another. That said, I probably fall more TOWARDS the Death Penalty stance, rather than away from it, mostly because I can more easily sympathize with those who might seek it as a form of retribution for a slain love-one.
But I think in the West we are not accustomed to hearing about CEOs and company presidents getting a 21-gun salute in the back of the head for gross misconduct. We might THINK, regarding a particularly heinous corporate villain who defrauds people of their hard-earned money, or whose products end in death, 'Yeah, the government should just CAP that mother fucker!'. But I don't think we expect it to ever happen, short of someone exercising their vigilante-bone.
Serial Killers and Baby Rapists, sure. Bernard Madoff? Probably not.
Unless you're in China.
1/18/2009
I've been...
back in Japan now for a little over two weeks. I haven't blogged in about 6. Not even my standard rant against unprofessionalism at a JET function, or about my trip to Japan, or my semi-whiney posts about how the Japanese school system/JET life/cold/whatever sucks.
So lets do all these in a knock-out post. Well, OK, probably not number 3, though I may be a little self-reflective.
During the second week of December (when my blogging stopped) I attended JIAM's Interpretation course. Now, while I might normally complain about the slovenly nature of JETs in general and ALTs in particular, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone was is jackets and ties. Not a single pair of flip-flops, Hawaiian shirt, or untucked Polo shirt crossed my view. CIRs, of which were the bulk of the participants, must hold to a different standard. That said, by mid-week the seminar had devolved to a summer-camp atmosphere, and as a result we were dressed down by one of the organizers for tardiness. Dress code was casual.
The seminar itself was incredibly informative. I truly haven't felt so challenged in a long while. And the most exciting aspect was that towards the end, I found that I COULD interpret (that is, act as an interpreter, as opposed to an analyzer) much better than I had. While I'm certain my Japanese ability didn't go up in any appreciable amount, the skills I learned allow me to better use that ability.
The only downer (aside from the good, but buffet-serviced food) was the fact that I was fighting a cold all week. This cold would accompany all the way to Canada, though by then it was mostly a non-issue.
Canada itself was...ordinary. By this I mean that, while I enjoyed myself in Canada, I didn't really do much that I couldn't have done here (except perhaps see the truly awful/awesome movie The Spirit). Most days I spent playing WoW on my laptop, or going shopping while my friends worked. At night, I would catch a movie, or go to a pub or have dinner, but even this was impaired by the inclement weather, with frigid temperatures unseen in Toronto for some years.
Perhaps it was the free time. Perhaps it was cabin fever. Perhaps it was my second visit back home, but all of this had me thinking about what I wanted to do post-JET. I recall with some amusement ex-Fukutsu ALT Kathy, who mentioned that while her first trip home elicited only a desire to get back to Japan, her second trip home provoked a deep homesickness in her. I can admit that I felt that to a degree, though a larger part of me was devoted to the idea that I wanted to get back to Japan and routine.
There are some ideas I am considering. Most clearly defined (though not necessarily desired) is a return to school, either to Teacher's College, or to pursue an MA in TESOL. While I know a bit more about Teacher's College than I do about getting an MA, the MA route holds more immediate appeal to me as it would allow me to continue to live in Japan.
Another, far less defined idea is to take the civil servant exam in Canada. This might be something to do in addition to everything else. A shot in the dark for who knows what.
There's also the possibility of staying in Japan despite it all and seeing what I can do. This is perhaps the least defined of my options, at least in terms of hard facts/numbers. There are some realities I would have to deal with: Visa issues (a work-about may exist in this area, but alters my career options), racism (still an issue, even for me), language (again, still a problem in the non-verbal forum). What can I do as a native speaker of English coupled with a conversationally fluent Japanese speaker? Possibly anything and possibly nothing. This option for me is still "Answer hazy. Try again later."
In the end, I'm not sure where my life is headed. I have submitted my papers for recontract, so assuming I get picked up again I can delay my decision for another year. While the decision came pretty easily this year, the growing doubts in my mind mean that next year's decision will be difficult.
Of course unless I decide to delay my decision again. There seems something poetically pathetic in that...
So lets do all these in a knock-out post. Well, OK, probably not number 3, though I may be a little self-reflective.
During the second week of December (when my blogging stopped) I attended JIAM's Interpretation course. Now, while I might normally complain about the slovenly nature of JETs in general and ALTs in particular, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone was is jackets and ties. Not a single pair of flip-flops, Hawaiian shirt, or untucked Polo shirt crossed my view. CIRs, of which were the bulk of the participants, must hold to a different standard. That said, by mid-week the seminar had devolved to a summer-camp atmosphere, and as a result we were dressed down by one of the organizers for tardiness. Dress code was casual.
The seminar itself was incredibly informative. I truly haven't felt so challenged in a long while. And the most exciting aspect was that towards the end, I found that I COULD interpret (that is, act as an interpreter, as opposed to an analyzer) much better than I had. While I'm certain my Japanese ability didn't go up in any appreciable amount, the skills I learned allow me to better use that ability.
The only downer (aside from the good, but buffet-serviced food) was the fact that I was fighting a cold all week. This cold would accompany all the way to Canada, though by then it was mostly a non-issue.
Canada itself was...ordinary. By this I mean that, while I enjoyed myself in Canada, I didn't really do much that I couldn't have done here (except perhaps see the truly awful/awesome movie The Spirit). Most days I spent playing WoW on my laptop, or going shopping while my friends worked. At night, I would catch a movie, or go to a pub or have dinner, but even this was impaired by the inclement weather, with frigid temperatures unseen in Toronto for some years.
Perhaps it was the free time. Perhaps it was cabin fever. Perhaps it was my second visit back home, but all of this had me thinking about what I wanted to do post-JET. I recall with some amusement ex-Fukutsu ALT Kathy, who mentioned that while her first trip home elicited only a desire to get back to Japan, her second trip home provoked a deep homesickness in her. I can admit that I felt that to a degree, though a larger part of me was devoted to the idea that I wanted to get back to Japan and routine.
There are some ideas I am considering. Most clearly defined (though not necessarily desired) is a return to school, either to Teacher's College, or to pursue an MA in TESOL. While I know a bit more about Teacher's College than I do about getting an MA, the MA route holds more immediate appeal to me as it would allow me to continue to live in Japan.
Another, far less defined idea is to take the civil servant exam in Canada. This might be something to do in addition to everything else. A shot in the dark for who knows what.
There's also the possibility of staying in Japan despite it all and seeing what I can do. This is perhaps the least defined of my options, at least in terms of hard facts/numbers. There are some realities I would have to deal with: Visa issues (a work-about may exist in this area, but alters my career options), racism (still an issue, even for me), language (again, still a problem in the non-verbal forum). What can I do as a native speaker of English coupled with a conversationally fluent Japanese speaker? Possibly anything and possibly nothing. This option for me is still "Answer hazy. Try again later."
In the end, I'm not sure where my life is headed. I have submitted my papers for recontract, so assuming I get picked up again I can delay my decision for another year. While the decision came pretty easily this year, the growing doubts in my mind mean that next year's decision will be difficult.
Of course unless I decide to delay my decision again. There seems something poetically pathetic in that...
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