Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Life on The Wirral.




TRIBUTES were paid today to Wirral dad-of-four Marc Clarke who was stabbed to death on the school run.
Marc Clarke, 42, was attacked outside a row of shops in Teehey Lane, Bebington, Wirral, at around 3pm on Friday.
Yesterday, floral tributes and football shirts were left outside the parade of shops where Mr Clarke was stabbed.
Friends described him as a “top, top fella” and “a true gentleman”.
One tribute read: “R.I.P. Marc. You were a big man with even a bigger heart. Your family adored you. Sweet dreams. X”
One mourner left a Chester City FC top and scarf at the scene saying: “To my best mate Marc. So many happy memories.”
There was also a tribute from a heartbroken family member which read: “To my special uncle Marc. I can’t believe you have been taken from us. You will never be forgotten.”
One note simply said: “It should never have happened.”
Tranmere Rovers fan Mr Clarke only recently moved back to Wirral from Wales with his tattoo artist wife, Louise, and their four young children.
He was stabbed in the street after his Mercedes was allegedly rammed from behind by another car.
Witnesses said he was on his way to collect his daughter from primary school
 http://bit.ly/w1Qup0

Good article about that idiot from Peking University: Taiwan newspaper attacks prof. Kong Qingdong

Source United Daily News
http://t.co/6wjTT94c
Click above link for original article.
Know-nothing Chinese professor
2012/01/30 17:40:49
A Chinese professor who claims to be a descendant of Confucius has gathered notoriety by calling Hong Kong people "dogs" and ridiculing Taiwan for having "fake democracy." He should have known better.

Kong Qingdong, a Beijing University professor, voiced a bizarre comment about Taiwanese politics when he said President Ma Ying-jeou got re-elected "with a number of votes less than half the population of Beijing."

Kong's muddle-headed diatribes against Hong Kong and Taiwan originate from a minor incident in which a Chinese girl was told to stop eating noodles in a Hong Kong subway station, where it is very clearly stated that food consumption is prohibited.

Chinese tourists to Hong Kong, like tourists anywhere in the world, are generally expected to conform to the local rule of law. However, Hong Kong residents would do well to treat mainland Chinese visitors more politely and considerately.

Kong blasted Hong Kong people as being "running dogs" of British capitalism and he did not hide his distaste for the rule of law, coming up with an outlandish theory of his own that a society that needs laws to maintain order is one whose members are of "low quality."

Kong's words and deeds tell us three things: First, the caliber of teachers at China's top university is indeed varied; second, even a descendant of Confucius is not necessarily a man of reason; and third, freedom of expression in China isn't as repressive as is generally considered to be. Otherwise, he would not have spouted off in such an obstreperous manner without any legal or moral consequences.

Fanned up by Kong's outlandish statements, Chinese tourists made plans to "eat noodles en masse" in Hong Kong subway stations in protest, while Hong Kong residents responded by calling the Chinese "locusts" and saying they were ready to take photos of whoever breaks the rules on their subway trains.

Meanwhile, when Kong jeered at Taiwan's democracy by saying a mere 6 million-plus votes should not be enough to elect a president, he was betraying his own ignorance about the meaning of democracy, which values the equal rights of each citizen rather than the number of participants.

Kong's illogical comments do not help improve mutual understanding. Rather, they serve only to do a disservice to better relations among Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

We understand that while China is rising, its people will encounter situations where their "sense of dignity" gets hurt. When one feels frustrated, one can strike back or protest, but one can also sit back and reflect on oneself. Kong need not get himself so worked up about things.

We would like to advise Kong to watch a few mini-series of what he despises as Taiwan's "democracy opera." We believe he will learn from each episode some precious experience of how an ethnic Chinese society can grow into a democracy.

At the minimum, in Taiwan, it would be unlikely that a mouth like Kong's would have hurt the feelings of the people of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. (Editorial abstract -- Jan. 30, 2012)

(By S.C. Chang)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Got married for the 'first' time 12 years ago today, which I will never regret. The 2 boys we had together are the most wonderful sons in the world. Wife has inexplicably not spoken or written a word to me for almost a year, probably time to take the hint.Still, 12 years ago today was a great day, and the happiest day of my life, only the birth of my sons comparing. Maybe I should start using commemorate the anniversary rather than celebrate.

Boycott 7-11 and Wellcome in Hong Kong

Time to boycott 7-11? And Wellcome? 7-Eleven attacked for 23pc price rise.Both stores owned by same company! Time to fight price fixing and monopoly!!
Convenience store chain put up prices by much more than inflation, says Labour Party, which questions price gap with Wellcome sister stores.
They claim to offer unrivalled convenience: but the inconvenient truth is that prices at your local 7-Eleven have crept up by almost a quarter in just three months, according to a new study.

Prices have been bumped on everything from noodles to napkins and chocolates to condoms at the ubiquitous store chain, according to research by the Labour Party.

The party says prices at 7-Eleven's 964 outlets went up by an average of 22.8 per cent between October and December, while the year-on-year inflation rate for food was 11.5 per cent in December, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Daily essentials also cost more. A bottle of Vitasoy milk cost HK$3.50 in October and HK$7 in December, a doubling of the price in two months, the survey found.

The Labour Party's vice-chairman, Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, said a far more worrying trend was the vast price difference between 7-Eleven stores and Wellcome supermarkets, both of which are owned by Dairy Farm International.

Shoppers could buy four bowls of noodles at Wellcome's 264 supermarkets for HK$21.90, but would only get one bowl for that price at 7-Eleven. Cheung accused Dairy Farm of making the most profit from people with limited mobility living in areas where supermarkets were scarce, such as Tung Chung.


"Dairy Farm controls pricing and limits residents' right to choose by way of its supermarkets and franchising rights and conditions," Cheung said, "so both residents and small shops are the victims under such conglomerate hegemony."

Cheung said two thirds of 7-Eleven stores were run by franchisees, who had to follow the suggested retail prices put forward by Dairy Farm.
Cheung urged the Legislative Council not to consider supermarkets and convenience stores as separate industries when it passes the long-awaited competition law.
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=fbc45a911bf05310VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=hong%20kong&s=news

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Silence

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.”
― Charles de Gaulle
“I heard silence, silence infinite as the bottom of the ocean, a silence that sealed.”― Anne Spollen, The Shape of Water

Silence can hurt more than any word.
Words can squeeze your heart but silence can tear you apart.



Silence speaks
Silence screams
Silence talks louder then any word
that cuts true the heart like a sword.

Silence speaks
Silence screams
Silence echoes in my ears
to my eyes it brings tears

Silence speaks
Silence screams
Silence drives me around the bend
what's the problem i don't understand

Silence speaks
Silence screams
Silence is a weapon of your choice
To cut trough my heart
Like a sword
with out saying a single ward


Milica Franchi De Luri


Silence holds more voice than any shouting or screaming,
Silence can be heard for miles,
Silence is the key to everything and the doorway to nothing.
Silently you choose to be and silence is your eternity
You cannot hold silence in your arms and nourish it,
But silence in your heart can take away with it every beat, and from your body, each breath and from your soul the ability to fly.
Beware of silence as it might creep up on you and take you by surprise.


Karla Bell

Silence Part II
The silence continues
And so does this game
What's worst is I know
That I'm the only one to blame
It's all my fault
It's because of what I did and didn't do
And it hurts so much
Because i'm so in love with you
I can hear in the silence
What I've heard for some time
You don't say anything
But I know what's on your mind
You leave behind silence
In the dark abyss that is my heart
And what's worst is
I, myself, tore it apart
When I realized what I was doing
It was already too late
Just another
Twist of my terrible fate
And silence took over
A silence caused by me
A silence that's eternal
A silence that won't leave


M.A. Ces

Walking Alone

Walking Alone
Written By: Praveen

Neither sin nor holy deed,
Can unchain me from my need,
To hear your voice,
To feel your touch,
I never would have thought,
I’d miss you this much.

From the moment we parted,
I began wandering the uncharted,
To have truly loved,
And truly lost,
I stole a piece of heaven,
And must now pay the cost.

The world seems so void,
And I am terribly annoyed,
That no matter what I say,
No matter what I do,
No matter what the time,
I still think of you.

The hardest thing is not to call,
To sit and do nothing at all,
To agonize in solitude,
Over my terrible fate,
To walk into the future,
Without my perfect mate.

Shocking. Racist Chinese Professor calls Hong Kong people thieves and dogs.

Should a professor in university be able to publicly be so racist? In most universities, he would be dismissed instantly, but not Professor Kong Qingdong, from Peking University's Chinese department.


New Link as Youtube have removed the one above.


Some quotes from The South China
"You [Hongkongers] are Chinese, right? But as I know, many Hongkongers don't think they are Chinese. They claim that we are Hongkongers, you are Chinese. They are bastards," Kong said.

"Those kinds of people used to be running dogs for the British colonialists. And until now, you [Hongkongers] are still dogs. You aren't human."

The fiery professor came under the spotlight last year after claiming he had told a reporter for Southern People Weekly magazine, to "f*** off" three times in a row because the reporter represented a "traitorous" media organisation, the Nanfang Media Group.
http://topics.scmp.com/news/china-news-watch/article/HK-people--labelled-as--dogs-by--mainlander


And the original incident as reported on HK tv

Friday, January 20, 2012

Civilised justice v barbaric justice

Hong Kong family prefer justice and truth to vengence and money. This truly shows the difference between a civilised view of justice and a barbaric one. I hope this case is highlighted throughout China, and the mainland government applies pressure on Saudi Arabia. Show Saudi Arabia that Chinese lives can't be bought.

From The Standard.


Family say no to 'blood money' over Saudi killing


Alice So

Friday, January 20, 2012


The family of a Hong Kong engineer brutally murdered in the Middle East 10 months ago say they find it hard to believe reports that he was killed by a man nearly half his size and have appealed to authorities here to help them uncover the truth.

Francis Leung Kar-keung had been working in Saudi Arabia since 2009 but on March 10 last year his family was told his body - with multiple stab wounds to his neck and shoulders - was found stuffed under a kitchen sink.

They were later told a security guard, weighing only about 45.5 kilograms, had been arrested and charged with the brutal killing.

However, Leung's younger sister is unable to accept this as her brother weighed more than 82 kilos. Even if the guard was involved, the family believes he could not be the mastermind - indicating that Leung may have been killed by more than one person.

According to Legislative Council member James To Kun-sun, who is helping the family, a lawyer on the list recommended by the Chinese Consulate-General in Jeddah is trying to persuade the family to accept "blood money."

Under the law there, once the family accepts blood money offered by the culprit or his legal advisers, it means they have forgiven the murderer and he will be spared the death sentence. Worse still, the case will be closed. ......cont

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=119046&sid=35126941&con_type=3

Thursday, January 19, 2012

January 19th. 25c in the park.

In a city of 7 million, there is only me. In a field.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Monday, January 16, 2012

Timshel



Cold is the water
It freezes your already cold mind
Already cold, cold mind
And death is at your doorstep
And it will steal your innocence
But it will not steal your substance

But you are not alone in this
And you are not alone in this
As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand
Hold your hand

And you are the mother
The mother of your baby child
The one to whom you gave life
And you have your choices
And these are what make man great
His ladder to the stars

But you are not alone in this
And you are not alone in this
As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand
Hold your hand

And I will tell the night
Whisper, "Lose your sight"
But I can't move the mountains for you

We are all in it together!

2 stories from the UK today.


Give Queen a new royal yacht for diamond jubilee, says Michael Gove
Exclusive: Education secretary proposes taxpayers fund gift – likely to cost at least £60m – to mark 'momentous occasion'......cont
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/15/queen-royal-yacht-diamond-jubilee-gove?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038


Below the breadline on Liverpool's workless estates

One-third of households are now on the dole as downturn forces some benefits claimants to survive on less than £20 a week






Thomas Bebb
Thomas Bebb near his home in Kirkdale, north Liverpool. He has just £20 left for food and clothing after bills and debts are paid from his £67 a week jobseeker's allowance. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

Thomas Bebb cranes his head out of his living room window to assess how many of his neighbours are unemployed. He counts the number of flats in this three-storey, brown-and-grey pebbledash block (12) and pauses to calculate how many contain people in work. There are two: a scaffolder and a nurse. Looking across the courtyard at two other blocks opposite and to the left, he can't think of anyone with a job there either.

The high numbers of workless households on this estate help explain startling figures produced by the GMB last week revealing that nearly one in three households in Liverpool have no one in work. It is the legacy of historic industrial decline in this area, suddenly worsened by the recent round of public sector redundancies and a new, downturn-related disappearance of retail and manufacturing jobs......cont

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/15/below-breadline-liverpool-workless-estates?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Jack

Got a birthday e-mail from my Jack, king of the beach,my son, wishing me happy birthday, telling me about his new teacher,his friend is on holiday, and what he did in science. Miss them so much, but that makes it just that little easier.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Trains

UK train fares are 3x those of Germany and Spain and 10x those in Italy, and nowhere near as fast, efficient or comfortable. Privatisation has failed. it is time to re-nationalise. UK motorways remain crowded and full of delays. By investing in a 21st century infrastructure the gains are enormous economically, environmentally and socially. Do it now! The Uk is the home of rail, we have the technology and expertise, China knows what it is doing, and public transport is a dream here in Hong Kong, with a couple of exceptions.

From the BBC
Searching for the most expensive train journey

By Tom de Castella BBC News Magazine
Man on platform

Rail fares have gone up again, leading to claims that Britain has the most expensive trains in Europe, if not the world. So what is Britain's most expensive stretch of railway?

You shell out thousands of pounds a year in exchange for half an hour standing with your face hidden behind the Daily Telegraph - or a copy of Metro - an elbow in the back, and from the public address system comes a series of garbled announcements about "the late running of this service".

Such is the caricatured experience of the commuter on Britain's expensive and overcrowded railways.

The arrival this week of a 6% hike in rail fares brought a mixture of weary resignation and anger from passengers. Season tickets to London from Stevenage reached £3,200, Leeds to Sheffield £2,148, and Manchester to Liverpool £2,688. Swansea to Cardiff is now £1,468 and Glasgow to Edinburgh is £3,380.

Recent research by the Campaign for Better Transport suggested that season tickets for commuters around London cost more than three times those of their Spanish and German equivalents, and 10 times more than those in Italy.

Much of the anger seems to be focused in England, particularly in the South East and London. In Scotland, ticket prices tend generally to be lower, reflecting higher subsidies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16390608

Yaaay, this is fantastic, Hong Kong people get some balls. against Dolce and Gabbana

Yaaay, this is fantastic, Hong Kong people get some balls. Dolce and Gabbana overun with angry locals pissed off with ban on taking photos of its storefront,
"camera-laden protesters descended on the store taking pictures and carrying placards denouncing the store's actions.

From The Standard:

Angry protesters chanted "Shame on you, D&G" and "Snapping pictures is our right. Banning is not your right" as passing motorists sounded horns.

"Open the door. I have money and I want to do some shopping," said one protester, holding a fistful of hell banknotes.

The protest was organized on Facebook, with the site drawing more than 15,000 "likes" since Thursday. Fury started to build last week after people, claiming they were told to leave while snapping pictures of the store from the roadside outside Harbour City, went online to vent their wrath."

cont...http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=118644&sid=35006726&con_type=3

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Some say love, it is a razor, That leaves your soul to bleed


Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

Monday, January 02, 2012

Throw Rupert Murdoch in Prison.

Murdoch tweeted that the UK has too many Public holidays - 9 which is lower than most other developed countries, and added for ' a broke country'  this man needs to be thrown out of the UK or at least prosecuted as the man ultimately responsible for the misdeeds of The News Of The World, and The Sun, and of course his repeated ' I do not recall' answers in our country's parliament. How can this man continue to insult our country and the laws of our country and get away with it. He is a fucking criminal, as the head of News International, his employees flouted British law again and again. Why has he not been punished?


I wandered lonely as a cloud

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed---and gazed---but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth


Sunday, January 01, 2012


Happy New Year

Happy New Year wherever you are, may your dreams come true this year. I can remember 2011 as if it was yesterday... Peace.