三個回应:
1. 我記得以前星光實業「紅A牌」是香港最出名的PVC 塑膠用品牌子。港產公司多是用「啤膠機」製做水壺， polyvinyl chloride 不單只是有臭味,而且毒性高,不過那時代社会科學知識程度低,也沒有什么所謂環璄健康保護了。
2. 學生時代我沒有零用錢買汽水,所以隨身携帶水壼,有點土頭土腦,被同學冠以「水壼仔」花名。現在我勤於跑步,運動時手携水壼, 壼不離口,冬天越野滑雪更用Camelbak Hydration System ,又高科技、又夠cool,脱胎換骨,可不是当年土頭土腦的「水壼仔」啊 :O
3. 過了來加拿大之後,習慣直接從(冷)水喉取水喝,除非是露營或出國旅行,煑沸水殺菌這回事倒不是常有發生。
微豆 20 August, 2012 10:11 PM
I always remind the young ones that "dead men don't talk", meaning: If you are dead, it doesn't really matter whether you are in the right or in the wrong.
For example: Don't throw your body in front of the driver who is running thru the red light, even tho you have the righ-of-way. Yield then take down the license plate.
Stand up for your principle, but choose a tactic/strategy to defend it.
Haricot August 21, 2012 11:01 am HK time
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| Photo Credit: Wikipedia 大躍進 - 宣傳海報：「以鋼為綱，全面躍進」 |
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| Photo Credit: Wikipeida - A bottlenose dolphin breaching in the bow wave of a boat |
SBB:
I didn't know abt the movie 桃姐 till I read your comments and blog article.
The truth be known, most 桃姐 were fired as soon as the employer had found out the child had developed a strong attachment to the servant, and/or vice versa.
Here are the comments I left at SBB's blog http://mindnecessity.blogspot.ca/2012/02/mr.html "Mr. Talkative cannot face the Truth" March 11, 2012:
SBB:
Public service executives must not involve in conflict of interests, but must also avoid the APPEARANCE /PERCEPTION of conflict of interests. 曾先生 would have been penalized if he were in Canada !!!
Ref: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
".... On the other hand, an individual could be penalized if he knowingly was responsible for an action which turns out to give rise to an appearance of a conflict of interest, although he does not know at the time the action was committed that it would create such an appearance .... "
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rp/aci04-eng.asp
I left the following comments at http://mindnecessity.blogspot.ca/2012/03/tony-nicklinson-bbc-58-tony-nicklinson.html
SBB:
*** The following must not be considered as legal opinion in any shape or form ***
My understanding is that here in Canada, it is not illegal to commit suicide, but assisting someone or causing another person's death in the name of 安樂死 is still a criminal offence.
References:
"Robert Latimer still defends killing disabled daughter - Saskatchewan farmer says 'I know I was right' " CBC News Last Updated: Feb 17, 2011 9:08 PM ET
*http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2011/02/17
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Latimer
>> .... 第七日 祂就選擇休息
Traditionally, every seven years, professors are allowed to take a year off to do research, thus the term sabbatical leave. Similar to the religious tradition, they have a job to go back to.
>> ... 陳志雲 已經向無線電視辭職，並且得到接納。
If a person resigns, it is not a sabbatical, straightly speaking.
>> ... 中文叫作“退修”
Retreat can be undertaken any number of times by a group of employees who then go back to their jobs all refreshed with new ideas.
>> .... 直到西方文化東來，入侵中國固有的規律，城市才出現每工作六天給有一天休息 ...
入侵??? Even Chairman Mao wanted the industrialization of China. And it was the unions that demanded rest days for workers (and overtime pay if they have to work on weekends).
>> ... 近年在中國沿海大城市，已經推行一週五天工作
A country's productivity is measured by, among other indicators, how efficient resources are being utilized to produce goods and services in a SUSTAINABLE and ETHICAL manner. Obviously, locking children up in sweat shops and forcing them to work seven days a week will produce cheap goods. But the practice is neither ethical nor sustainable. On the other hand, well paid knowledge workers who spend only five days a week at the office will cost more but may contribute more to the long-term competitiveness of an economy. So, the number of working days by itself is not a good indicator of success/failure.
(Comments posted at Beer Flower's blog on Nov 28, 2011)
Sent from BlackBerry
But Maslow's hierarchy of needs still holds true for many ppl.
(Comments posted on Beer Flower's blog on Nov 28, 2011)
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我個FB戶口一個月都唔開一次,都係用嚟做尋人廣告多。
我認為大家係網上雖然係匿名,但做人都仍要有文化,要有民風,互相尊重。傾唔埋咪唔傾囉,無需又講粗口,又登宣言。
係現實生活,我或者会疏遠某人,但係大庭廣众 defriend 掟煲就無做過,亦都覺得無必要。
After the long-run last Sunday July 24, 2011, the readings were:
- Blood pressure = 112/72
- Pulse = 39 beats per min
I suppose that's good news as high blood pressure leads to all kinds of health issue. But I wonder what causes the drop.
Sent from BlackBerry
Next week, the group I am training with will start doing hills, which should be fun lol !!
My goal is to narrow the gap btwn my PB (personal best) and the avg time of all 13 marathons.
Who knows, I might even surprise myself !!
Sent from BlackBerry
My pants shall be hemmed,
All ready for Uncle Sam;
Smartly casual I will dress,
Like going to summer camp.
:O
Sent from BlackBerry
I was with the Marathon crowd and we ran 10K in slightly less than 60 min. This is a slower pace than the triathlon group I usually run with on Monday. The personal best (PB) of the group leader there is abt 3h09.
Everything else being equal, youth does have an advantage !!!
Sent from BlackBerry
So I went running in the searing 30 deg C temperature (hot by Canadian standard) and rewarded myself with a cream-soda float after!!!
Photo credit:
* I took this pic inside Dick's Dairy Bar after the run.
+++++++++++
Exercise Log:
Pace - Tempo minus
Heart - est 125-130 bpm
Time - abt 60 min
Distance - est 5-6 km
Started at Loblaws parking lot, to Expt'al Farm perimeter gate, across fields to Canal lock at Carleton University, return
30 deg C !! HOT !! Cream soda-float at Dick's after ~~COOL~~
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
"Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away."
- Haricot -
"Only in countries where women have rights, as opposed to being properties of others."
Sent from BlackBerry
Comments left at Xiao Zhu's .....
【薰衣草藍】
Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When I am king, dilly, dilly, you shall be queen.
Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so.
Call up your men, dilly, dilly, set them to work,
Some with a rake, dilly, dilly, some with a fork.
Some to make hay, dilly, dilly, some to thresh corn,
While you and I, dilly, dilly, keep ourselves warm.
Lavender's green, dilly, dilly, lavender's blue,
If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you.
Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly, and the lambs play,
We shall be safe, dilly, dilly, out of harm's way.
I love to dance, dilly, dilly, I love to sing,
When I am queen, dilly, dilly, you'll be my king.
Who told me so, dilly, dilly, who told me so?
I told myself, dilly, dilly, I told me so.
Related Links:
* Xiao Zhu's 慟 http://xiaozhu1979.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post.html * 「兩週一聚: 小朋友」之【兒童歌曲(二)】/ 「Bi-weekly Series: Children」 - 【Songs for Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers (2)】 http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2009/02/bi-weekly-series-children-songs-for_15.html
(a) The Fed is a privately-owned profit-seeking entity
(b) The Fed is owned by a group of powerful elite international bankers
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear XXX:
I don't know whether you have a chance to verify independently whether the Fed is "a privately-owned profit-seeking entity". But when I read the Federal Reserve System/Purposes and Functions document (http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_1.pdf), I can only conclude that the Fed's Board of Governors is a public sector entity, similar to the Bank of Canada's Board of Directors. (http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/about/board.html) Please note that page 11 mentions that income/earnings from the Fed are returned to the Treasury.
(page 11) "..... The income of the Federal Reserve System is derived primarily from the interest on U.S. government securities that it has acquired through open market operations. Other major sources of income are the interest on foreign currency investments held by the System; interest on loans to depository institutions; and fees received for services provided to depository institutions, such as check clearing, funds transfers, and automated clearinghouse operations.
After it pays its expenses, the Federal Reserve turns the rest of its earnings over to the U.S. Treasury. About 95 percent of the Reserve Banks’ net earnings have been paid into the Treasury since the Federal Reserve System began operations in 1914. (Income and expenses of the Federal Reserve Banks from 1914 to the present are included in the Annual Report of the Board of Governors.) In 2003, the Federal Reserve paid approximately $22 billion to the Treasury. ....."
As to the suggestion that "the Fed is indeed owned by a group of powerful elite international bankers", I can only think of 3 remotely possible answers: China (indirectly thru the holding of US debts); IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank. However, when I examine the Fed's international portfolio (page 5 of same doc), I cannot find any mentioning of direct ownership by international bankers.
(page 5) "...... The Chairman has formal responsibilities in the international arena as well. For example, he is the alternate U.S. member of the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund, a member of the board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and a member, along with the heads of other relevant U.S. agencies and departments, of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. He is also a member of U.S. delegations to key international meetings, such as those of the finance ministers and central bank governors of the seven largest industrial countries—referred to as the Group of Seven, or G-7. He, other Board members, and Board staff members share many international responsibilities, including representing the Federal Reserve at meetings at the BIS in Basel, Switzerland, and at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, France. ....."
Conclusions:
Based on the above, I would submit that:
(a) the Fed is not a privately-owned profit-seeking entity
(b) the Fed is not owned by a group of elite international bankers.
Note: I am talking abt direct ownership, as opposed to the Seven Sisters type of international control (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(oil_companies))
I am open to suggestions and stand to be corrected.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Here are the links to the website of The Fed Reserve Board:
* Board Members: http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/bios/board/default.htm
* The Fed Reserve Act: http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/fract.htm
+++++++++++++++++++++
The info below is from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System
Commissioner / Entered office /Term expires:
1. Ben Bernanke (Chairman) / February 1, 2006 / January 31, 2020 January 31, 2014 (as Chairman)
2. Janet Yellen(Vice Chairman) / October 4, 2010 / January 31, 2024 October 4, 2014 (as Vice Chairman)
3. Kevin Warsh / February 24, 2006 / January 31, 2018
4. Elizabeth Duke / August 5, 2008 / January 31, 2012
5. Daniel Tarullo / January 28, 2009 / January 31, 2022
6. Sarah Bloom Raskin / October 4, 2010 / January 31, 2016
7. Vacant
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
**** Updated info: Nov 17, 2010 ****
Dear YYY:
There have been no lacks of academic papers, policy analyses, govt proclamations, partisan attacks, and other types of responses to the global financial crisis. Since I don't want to bore you with more detailed technical explanations, my comments will be brief here:
* I only wish the recent global financial crisis were as simple as Economic-101. According to Wikipedia, low interest rate (easy credit conditions) is only one of the thirteen factors that have contributed to the collapse. (ref: Wikipedia/Financial crisis of 2007–2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007-2010)
* Hind sight is 20/20 and pointing finger is easy to do after-the-fact. Let's not forget government downsizing and deregulation were very popular and en vigueur in the 90's (e.g. Program Reviews and Regulatory Reform in Canada) and those who did sound the alarm were run over by deregulation champion such as Alan Greenspan.
* In simple terms and with the advantage of hindsight, the US financial failure could be attributed to:
(a) Two types of errors: Human Errors (e.g. poor assessment of risks) + Systemic Errors (e.g. the unregulated "shadow banking system"); plus,
(b) An accumulation of national, bilateral and multilateral conditions leading up to the total collapse (e.g. consumers maxing out their credits, production and services offshoring, investment and trade deficits)
Related links:
* US Federal Reserve/FAQs/Who Owns the Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqfrs.htm#5* Wikipedia/Shadow Banking System: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banking_system* Wikipedia/Government Policies and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_policies_and_the_subprime_mortgage_crisis
When I was living at the university dorm, I once had a wall poster with picture of a fawn wandering freely in the forest. The text served as a reminder to myself at the time:
I have many fond memories of 觀塘 !!!
