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SURFERS' BLOG
Please forward your writings to admin@chinesechinese.net
for publication in this blog.
Please forward your writings to admin@chinesechinese.net
for publication in this blog.
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distribute same to third party organizations, unless it is required to comply with legal
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indirectly, for a content or materials available from this web site, or any site, or any
consequences resulting from the publication from the users of this website.
c) The Registrant and/or the Administrator shall not be held responsible or liable, directly
or indirectly for all risks associated with the content submitted and published, including
any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such content.
d) The Registrant and/or the Administrator does not claim ownership of content from
materials submit and published.
1. All articles or materials should be lawful, and not harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous
defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another person's privacy, hateful or racially, ethnically
or otherwise objectionable.
2. The Registrant and/or the Administrator of this website reserves the right to pre-screen, refuse or
not to publish any articles or materials submitted to this website, if the said materials are found to be
objectionable and violating the codes of conduct mentioned above.
3. The information, or the materials submitted are the sold responsibility of the person who submitted
such information or materials.
4. Any information disclosed in this website will become public information, so it is important for
contributors to exercise discretion and appropriate caution.
5 This website will not publish information and materials that are engaged in rendering
professional services or products selling or for commercial purposes.
DISCLAIMER
a) The Registrant and/or the Administrator does not store any of your personal data or
distribute same to third party organizations, unless it is required to comply with legal
process.
b) The Registrant and/or the Administrator shall not be responsible or liable, directly or
indirectly, for a content or materials available from this web site, or any site, or any
consequences resulting from the publication from the users of this website.
c) The Registrant and/or the Administrator shall not be held responsible or liable, directly
or indirectly for all risks associated with the content submitted and published, including
any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such content.
d) The Registrant and/or the Administrator does not claim ownership of content from
materials submit and published.
Poem - Madoff 3rd July 2009
very interesting. it is hard to believe that some people would do this but they do if they have the opportunities. It has nothing
to do with race, nationalities, educational background... thanks for sharing
Lawrence, HK
POEM composed by YeeKwan 2nd July 2009
Madoff
Madoff got the maximum, a hundred and fifty years,
Before, he was in the NASDAQ non-executive chair.
How could anyone believe he is a crook,
Multi-billions in his funds he took.
Son of a plumber turned stockbroker,
Studied politics and law but dropped out from the Bar.
For so many years he had been an upright man,
On top of Manhattan and Wall Street he stands.
He had resorts in Riviera and Palm Beach,
Who imagines he would end up in the ditch.
A great philanthropist he had been before,
Supporting theatres, hospitals and all.
His wife worked very hard to help him, Ruth,
Together they endeavoured to cover the truth.
In his fraud, his brother, sons, daughter and nephew,
Work amicably well to join in the kill.
A hundred and fifty years is a good span,
If he outlives it, he would be 220 then.
“I am sorry” is his parting word,
But a lot of pensioners end up in the dirt.
I bet if he has time to read Shakespeare,
Merchant of Venice is the play I fear.
A pound for a pound for his Jewish blood,
Investors wouldn’t rest until all his flesh cut.
POEM composed by YeeKwan 30th June 2009
AIG and Lehman Br.
AIG directors had their bonuses for free,
When Federal money came rushing in,
The first thing they had was a big party.
Lehman Brothers went down without a din,
Their directors are now having caviar and tea.
Three hundred Billions disappeared into air thin,
Where are they now?
There is not even a hint.
Does the US government want to know?
Greenspan is now retired, Bernanke running the show.
CDOs and CDS were phantom castles,
Not to be seen.
In Europe and Asia, they travelled far and wide,
But on US soil they had no tie.
Why then should I so trouble my mind?
More people would listen, bigger the lie,
That’s what Hitler had prophesized.
If Lehman was as big as AIG
I bet they are still having lunch for free.
From the small prints you should read,
“Mini-bond” is of course not a bond.
If by chance you find yourself in deep “SxIT”,
Don’t blame SEC if your heart is torn.
INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CAUSED BY CULTURE 20th June 2009
Although I am rather proficient in the English language, I could still be misunderstood by a Westerner. One evening when I was
in my daughter’s house, the phone rang. I picked it up and it was , a friend of my daughter. After a few polite exchanges, P said
“Could you ask SY, (my daughter) to pick up K ( P’s daughter) from school tomorrow, because I might be late from work.?” I
said, “Sure, I will tell her to pick up K as well when she picks up KC (my granddaughter) from school.” I immediately got a very
gentle response from P, “Oh, don’t tell her, ask her.”
In the Chinese language, ”tell” means告訴, meaning to inform. In this context, it means I will deliver this message. “Ask” in
Chinese 問 or 要求 means request. In the above context I used the word “ tell “ meaning to pass on this message. A westerner
would misunderstand that it was rather rude to make command when you are asking for a favour.
HL, UK
Politics by Carol Ann Duffy
How it makes of your face a stone
that aches to weep, of your heart a fist,
clenched or thumping, sweating blood, of your tongue
an iron latch with no door. How it makes of your right hand
a gauntlet, a glove-puppet of the left, of your laugh
a dry leaf blowing in the wind, of your desert island discs
hiss hiss hiss, makes of the words on your lips dice
that can throw no six. How it takes the breath
away, the piss, makes of your kiss a dropped pound coin,
makes of your promises latin, gibberish, feedback, static,
of your hair a wig, of your gait a plankwalk. How it says this –
politics – to your education education education; shouts this –
Politics! – to your health and wealth; how it roars, to your
conscience moral compass truth, POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS.
TRANSLATED BY YK KWAN 10th June 2009
政治 by Carol Duffy (Poet Laureate) 13.06.2009 The Guardian
它使你容顏彊化,
欲哭無淚;
心底如被緊握敲打,
淌然血下;
舌頭欲說無從,
如在門中空掛;
右手僅如手套,
了無一物.
空言靠左,
無力捉拿.
你的笑聲,
如落葉遇狂風,
沙沙啞啞;......
廣播電台BBC,
只換來聽眾的嗤,嗤,嗤.!
你要說的是廢話,
是永遠 "開小" 的骰子.
使我們忍氣吞聲,
是一群撒尿的伙子.
你与別人的親吻,
毫無價值之至.
你的諾言,
是拉丁古語,
語無倫次.
回音, 死寂.
頭髮只是虛假,
欲掩瑕疪.
政客的規條
指示了末路 的步姿.
它說這是政治,
我們的教育也是政治
我們的健康, 財富;
道德, 真理, 良知,
全都是
政治, 政治, 政治ｏ
Social and cultural transformation in China 13th June 2009
It is very interesting to see that China is changing from high Maoism to hyper-capitalism. In September 2008, a national
beauty pageant was held on Hainan Island as a prelude to China’s hosting of the Miss World competition for the first time
two months later. Having banned beauty pageants for the entire latter half of the 20th century, China is having a pageant
fever. China has hosted a wide variety of regional, national, and international pageants, including a Tourism Queen
International pageant, a Top Model of the World competition, a National Contest of the Beauty of the Gray-headed for
contestants over fifty-five, and a Miss Artificial Beauty pageant for plastic surgery recipients.
It was reported that a girl in Chongqing refused to leave her home for 10 months in order to force her parents to pay for her
plastic surgery, and I believe that this may not be an exceptional case. Many young girls in China are seeking plastic surgery
even though they do not have any defects on their faces.
HL, UK, 13.6.09
Buddhism looks at the Financial Tsunami 13th May 2009
Many experts have been trying to identify the causes of the Financial Tsunami. They have listed a large number of them such as
system failure, excessive leverage, over confidence, slack risk control, , treating credit as asset, market too free as a result of
deregulation, too much reliance on high-tech modeling and neglect of the human factor etc, etc.
Financial godfathers, gurus, wizards seem to have become wiser with hindsight. Even Alan Greenspan had to admit “that he had
made a mistake in believing that banks operating in their own interest would be sufficient to protect their shareholders and
equity in their institutions.” These financial leaders believed that the market was efficient because the market players would
always act rationally to protect their own interest. They conveniently ignored the fact that the market is controlled by the big
players, such as fund managers, institutional investors, investment banks, etc. These players gamble with the money of their
shareholders or clients. If they win they get huge bonuses. If they lose their handsome salaries are still intact. If they make
serious mistakes and are dismissed they get golden handshakes costing enormous sums of money. In this perspective they act
rationally for their own interest but unfortunately not that of their shareholders or clients.
What have since been said by economists, financial theorists and many other experts does not seem to reach the root of the
problem. However Buddhism can offer a credible explanation. Buddhism says that there are three Poisons in human nature, i.e.
greed, hatred and folly （三毒——貪，嗔，痴）. The root cause of the financial tsunami is greed in human nature. When greed
reaches a high point folly follows.
When I was a boy my father showed me that the Chinese words “greed” and “poverty”(貪，貧) look rather similar. “Greed”
(貪) is composed of two radicals meaning the present or temporary (今) and money (貝) while “poverty” is composed of two
radicals meaning division or dispersion (分) and money (貝). His lesson is that if one is greedy one is likely to become poor
ultimately.
In Buddhism greed also mean wrong desire. When a CEO of a financial institution becomes very greedy he is likely to put his
own interest before that of the shareholders or clients. He becomes irrational and therefore foolish. He acts like an addicted
gambler in a casino, who only sees the win but not the loss. It is more so when he is desperate to win in order to cover his
losses. Is this not folly even though he has the highest IQ in the world? Look at the present pitiful state of the biggest banks in
the world. Who can deny their CEOs’ extremely high IQ? But wisdom is another matter.
I love a story in the Chinese Classics. It is about a greedy man in a small town. One day he was overcome by the desire for gold.
He walked into a goldsmith shop, grabbed a handful of gold ornaments from the showcase and walked out. One of the
shopkeepers grabbed hold of him and said, “ How dare you steal gold under our eyes” The man replied, ”I only saw gold.”
Greed or wrong desire can be for money, for power, for prestige and many others wants. In a consumer economy people are
mostly greedy for money. Greed is poisonous. It will harm not only others but also oneself. In the financial world shareholders,
pensioners, etc who will suffer most as can be seen in the present crisis. However, the greedy senior employees who if not
suffer in monetary terms may lose their jobs and reputations. Some even have to face criminal charges. The reputation of a
financial institution takes years to build up. Once it is damaged it will take even longer to recover if at all. In a long run
everybody loses.
Why has greed grown to such enormous proportion in our modern times. I think it has something to do with the decline of
Christian ethics in the western world which is the main financial playground The decline the of Christian and the rise of
consumerism, which creates the illusion that money is almighty and not God. Consumerism feeds greed like drug and once
addiction gets its hold it can progress to the point of destruction.
Buddhism put great emphasis on removing the Three Poisons in man and replacing them by the Three Studies or vehicles of
learning --- discipline, meditation and wisdom. （三學----戒，定，慧）. Learning from the Three Studies one can reduce and
ultimately remove greed and avoid folly. Through the Three studies at the highest level one can attain Nirvana涅盤, that is,
becoming a buddha or an enlightened one（成佛）. But this is beyond our scope of discussion.
YN, HK, 13.5.09
very interesting. it is hard to believe that some people would do this but they do if they have the opportunities. It has nothing
to do with race, nationalities, educational background... thanks for sharing
Lawrence, HK
POEM composed by YeeKwan 2nd July 2009
Madoff
Madoff got the maximum, a hundred and fifty years,
Before, he was in the NASDAQ non-executive chair.
How could anyone believe he is a crook,
Multi-billions in his funds he took.
Son of a plumber turned stockbroker,
Studied politics and law but dropped out from the Bar.
For so many years he had been an upright man,
On top of Manhattan and Wall Street he stands.
He had resorts in Riviera and Palm Beach,
Who imagines he would end up in the ditch.
A great philanthropist he had been before,
Supporting theatres, hospitals and all.
His wife worked very hard to help him, Ruth,
Together they endeavoured to cover the truth.
In his fraud, his brother, sons, daughter and nephew,
Work amicably well to join in the kill.
A hundred and fifty years is a good span,
If he outlives it, he would be 220 then.
“I am sorry” is his parting word,
But a lot of pensioners end up in the dirt.
I bet if he has time to read Shakespeare,
Merchant of Venice is the play I fear.
A pound for a pound for his Jewish blood,
Investors wouldn’t rest until all his flesh cut.
POEM composed by YeeKwan 30th June 2009
AIG and Lehman Br.
AIG directors had their bonuses for free,
When Federal money came rushing in,
The first thing they had was a big party.
Lehman Brothers went down without a din,
Their directors are now having caviar and tea.
Three hundred Billions disappeared into air thin,
Where are they now?
There is not even a hint.
Does the US government want to know?
Greenspan is now retired, Bernanke running the show.
CDOs and CDS were phantom castles,
Not to be seen.
In Europe and Asia, they travelled far and wide,
But on US soil they had no tie.
Why then should I so trouble my mind?
More people would listen, bigger the lie,
That’s what Hitler had prophesized.
If Lehman was as big as AIG
I bet they are still having lunch for free.
From the small prints you should read,
“Mini-bond” is of course not a bond.
If by chance you find yourself in deep “SxIT”,
Don’t blame SEC if your heart is torn.
INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CAUSED BY CULTURE 20th June 2009
Although I am rather proficient in the English language, I could still be misunderstood by a Westerner. One evening when I was
in my daughter’s house, the phone rang. I picked it up and it was , a friend of my daughter. After a few polite exchanges, P said
“Could you ask SY, (my daughter) to pick up K ( P’s daughter) from school tomorrow, because I might be late from work.?” I
said, “Sure, I will tell her to pick up K as well when she picks up KC (my granddaughter) from school.” I immediately got a very
gentle response from P, “Oh, don’t tell her, ask her.”
In the Chinese language, ”tell” means告訴, meaning to inform. In this context, it means I will deliver this message. “Ask” in
Chinese 問 or 要求 means request. In the above context I used the word “ tell “ meaning to pass on this message. A westerner
would misunderstand that it was rather rude to make command when you are asking for a favour.
HL, UK
Politics by Carol Ann Duffy
How it makes of your face a stone
that aches to weep, of your heart a fist,
clenched or thumping, sweating blood, of your tongue
an iron latch with no door. How it makes of your right hand
a gauntlet, a glove-puppet of the left, of your laugh
a dry leaf blowing in the wind, of your desert island discs
hiss hiss hiss, makes of the words on your lips dice
that can throw no six. How it takes the breath
away, the piss, makes of your kiss a dropped pound coin,
makes of your promises latin, gibberish, feedback, static,
of your hair a wig, of your gait a plankwalk. How it says this –
politics – to your education education education; shouts this –
Politics! – to your health and wealth; how it roars, to your
conscience moral compass truth, POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS.
TRANSLATED BY YK KWAN 10th June 2009
政治 by Carol Duffy (Poet Laureate) 13.06.2009 The Guardian
它使你容顏彊化,
欲哭無淚;
心底如被緊握敲打,
淌然血下;
舌頭欲說無從,
如在門中空掛;
右手僅如手套,
了無一物.
空言靠左,
無力捉拿.
你的笑聲,
如落葉遇狂風,
沙沙啞啞;......
廣播電台BBC,
只換來聽眾的嗤,嗤,嗤.!
你要說的是廢話,
是永遠 "開小" 的骰子.
使我們忍氣吞聲,
是一群撒尿的伙子.
你与別人的親吻,
毫無價值之至.
你的諾言,
是拉丁古語,
語無倫次.
回音, 死寂.
頭髮只是虛假,
欲掩瑕疪.
政客的規條
指示了末路 的步姿.
它說這是政治,
我們的教育也是政治
我們的健康, 財富;
道德, 真理, 良知,
全都是
政治, 政治, 政治ｏ
Social and cultural transformation in China 13th June 2009
It is very interesting to see that China is changing from high Maoism to hyper-capitalism. In September 2008, a national
beauty pageant was held on Hainan Island as a prelude to China’s hosting of the Miss World competition for the first time
two months later. Having banned beauty pageants for the entire latter half of the 20th century, China is having a pageant
fever. China has hosted a wide variety of regional, national, and international pageants, including a Tourism Queen
International pageant, a Top Model of the World competition, a National Contest of the Beauty of the Gray-headed for
contestants over fifty-five, and a Miss Artificial Beauty pageant for plastic surgery recipients.
It was reported that a girl in Chongqing refused to leave her home for 10 months in order to force her parents to pay for her
plastic surgery, and I believe that this may not be an exceptional case. Many young girls in China are seeking plastic surgery
even though they do not have any defects on their faces.
HL, UK, 13.6.09
Buddhism looks at the Financial Tsunami 13th May 2009
Many experts have been trying to identify the causes of the Financial Tsunami. They have listed a large number of them such as
system failure, excessive leverage, over confidence, slack risk control, , treating credit as asset, market too free as a result of
deregulation, too much reliance on high-tech modeling and neglect of the human factor etc, etc.
Financial godfathers, gurus, wizards seem to have become wiser with hindsight. Even Alan Greenspan had to admit “that he had
made a mistake in believing that banks operating in their own interest would be sufficient to protect their shareholders and
equity in their institutions.” These financial leaders believed that the market was efficient because the market players would
always act rationally to protect their own interest. They conveniently ignored the fact that the market is controlled by the big
players, such as fund managers, institutional investors, investment banks, etc. These players gamble with the money of their
shareholders or clients. If they win they get huge bonuses. If they lose their handsome salaries are still intact. If they make
serious mistakes and are dismissed they get golden handshakes costing enormous sums of money. In this perspective they act
rationally for their own interest but unfortunately not that of their shareholders or clients.
What have since been said by economists, financial theorists and many other experts does not seem to reach the root of the
problem. However Buddhism can offer a credible explanation. Buddhism says that there are three Poisons in human nature, i.e.
greed, hatred and folly （三毒——貪，嗔，痴）. The root cause of the financial tsunami is greed in human nature. When greed
reaches a high point folly follows.
When I was a boy my father showed me that the Chinese words “greed” and “poverty”(貪，貧) look rather similar. “Greed”
(貪) is composed of two radicals meaning the present or temporary (今) and money (貝) while “poverty” is composed of two
radicals meaning division or dispersion (分) and money (貝). His lesson is that if one is greedy one is likely to become poor
ultimately.
In Buddhism greed also mean wrong desire. When a CEO of a financial institution becomes very greedy he is likely to put his
own interest before that of the shareholders or clients. He becomes irrational and therefore foolish. He acts like an addicted
gambler in a casino, who only sees the win but not the loss. It is more so when he is desperate to win in order to cover his
losses. Is this not folly even though he has the highest IQ in the world? Look at the present pitiful state of the biggest banks in
the world. Who can deny their CEOs’ extremely high IQ? But wisdom is another matter.
I love a story in the Chinese Classics. It is about a greedy man in a small town. One day he was overcome by the desire for gold.
He walked into a goldsmith shop, grabbed a handful of gold ornaments from the showcase and walked out. One of the
shopkeepers grabbed hold of him and said, “ How dare you steal gold under our eyes” The man replied, ”I only saw gold.”
Greed or wrong desire can be for money, for power, for prestige and many others wants. In a consumer economy people are
mostly greedy for money. Greed is poisonous. It will harm not only others but also oneself. In the financial world shareholders,
pensioners, etc who will suffer most as can be seen in the present crisis. However, the greedy senior employees who if not
suffer in monetary terms may lose their jobs and reputations. Some even have to face criminal charges. The reputation of a
financial institution takes years to build up. Once it is damaged it will take even longer to recover if at all. In a long run
everybody loses.
Why has greed grown to such enormous proportion in our modern times. I think it has something to do with the decline of
Christian ethics in the western world which is the main financial playground The decline the of Christian and the rise of
consumerism, which creates the illusion that money is almighty and not God. Consumerism feeds greed like drug and once
addiction gets its hold it can progress to the point of destruction.
Buddhism put great emphasis on removing the Three Poisons in man and replacing them by the Three Studies or vehicles of
learning --- discipline, meditation and wisdom. （三學----戒，定，慧）. Learning from the Three Studies one can reduce and
ultimately remove greed and avoid folly. Through the Three studies at the highest level one can attain Nirvana涅盤, that is,
becoming a buddha or an enlightened one（成佛）. But this is beyond our scope of discussion.
YN, HK, 13.5.09