While watching the Colbert Report last night I was struck by a comment by Governor Mike Huckabee. He said, and I unfortunately paraphrase, that when you are in debt, you spend less. His phrasing seemed to imply that this was common sense, and indeed, it is. But I worry that it [...]

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January 4, 2011: In an effort to promote domestic goods and services, the Chinese government has announced further measures to protect vital domestic industries:
Banning email services such as Gmail and hotmail, to encourage use of China Post
Travel on foreign-produced Boeing and Airbus planes will be illegal, to enhance ridership on Chinese-made trains
Banning computers to enhance [...]

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I have a fairly standard list of gripes about Facebook and Twitter, involving privacy, the fact they encourage social laziness and malaise, and their utter destructive rampage through the English language.  But there is a new one: living in China, both are blocked, a fact of which I could not care less about. Unfortunately, however, [...]

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It’s a fact that China, even in the heart of it’s huge megalopolian (sic) capital, has a connection to nature that surprises. There is a wild ferret-like animal which lives in my complex, a lanky type of creature which does not run like a cat but instead gallops, it’s long back arching with each stride. [...]

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I write this down as a record for the future, and also as a cheeky note regarding my personal predictions . I believe the two most significant forces in China right now are the accelerating negotiating power of the formerly underpaid worker and their subsequent rising wages, and the overheating real estate market. I have [...]

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Besides currency evaluation, there is another issue constantly on people’s minds regarding China, which is its rapidly growing real estate prices, a phrase quick to bring a stomach twist to any American, like trying to eat hotpot again after your last outing leaving you incapacitated for two days.
There is a disturbing similarity to the current [...]

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I’m starting to wonder if the Chinese might have a fundamentally different perspective on sustainability than the west. After all, the Chinese have been one continuous nation for 5000 years (or at least they are in their heads), and that whole time war, earthquake, and storm haven’t budged them. In the same time, in the [...]

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I expect the fireworks industry in China must claim many lives. A friend got hit in the face, and I saw at least one person fall into a frozen lake. But make no mistake: the 4th of July is a sucker’s game. New years in China is a true event, fire, smoke, and light everywhere. [...]

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When I graduated, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be involved in the production of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, a wonderful project in which I was able to work with a team of incredibly skilled and generous people. I put a good deal of myself into the project, involved as I [...]

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Last night, our power shut off, while I was in the middle of a Skype call and my roommate was cleaning up after his epic dinner party. It left the apartment immediately in utter darkness. If such an event happens in the States, it is usually the result of at least a few months worth [...]

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