Obama's First Bad Speech?

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Nothing else on tv on a slow Wednesday night so I watched the Obama HealthCare press conference. For the first time, he seems flustered and didn't sound good. I've said in the past that if Obama read a long shopping list, it would still sound good. But tonight, he didn't sound convincing.

He really sounded like he has no health care plan. Just a jumble of non-specific goals. Then he went off into talking about the fiscal deficit, that it wasn't his fault and he has reduced it looking forward ten years.

There were a lot of words but all saying very little. A long-winded, poorly organized group of statements. A restating of many of the current problems, a list of things that must be done better, nothing about how to get from here to there except 'this bill must be passed now'.

I didn't like his use of the word "incentivize". What kind of word is that? Doesn't sound good.

I would have liked to hear how this bill would address the major problems or the overarching vision of the plan, more specific than 'fix health care'. I am probably asking too much for a five minute speech and fifty minute press conference. but that seemed to be his objective right? To sell the plan to the people on prime time tv, or frame the public discussion, or something. He seemed floundering tonight saying 'we need this, we need it now', without a clear message of how, why this, or how much. And his 2/3 funding of the plan with increased efficiencies is complete bunk.

The fantasy might be over already. Obama's always sounded good but has never said much. During the campaign he mentioned "Hope and Change" alot. I'm still waiting for a definition of what hope and change are. He's bit off more than he can chew I think. He can't "speech" his way out of this one.

This is the life of a political leader. Popular when elected but with each passnig day, one more person hates you.

An Asian by Any Other Name

Current Miss Hong Kong: Edelweiss Cheung

Source: Haverford College News (by Gregory Toy)

I found this editorial very interesting and wanted to dissect it some more.

My parents have often told me that if I had entered this world as a member of the fairer sex, my name would undoubtedly have been Julia. But as fate would have it, I was born male, and with the unexpected birth of a boy, my parents faced a terrible dilemma: what would be my name? Finally they decided on Gregory, in honor of both the actor Gregory Peck and Gregory Lane, a major street near their first home. While at Haverford my name has garnered various compliments from other students and even from a friendly bank teller. However, this string of praise came to an abrupt end last semester when, during breakfast in the Dining Center with a friend, I had the distinct pleasure of being introduced to someone who would leave a lasting impression on me.

Does outer appearance create an expectation for a certain name? Do names necessarily need to be representative of our racial and ethnic identity? Though these questions had never passed through my mind before, their answers became immediately clear when my new acquaintance demurely and seriously exclaimed, “Is your name really Greg? That doesn’t sound very Asian. I thought all Asians had, you know, Asian-sounding names.”

Usually Asian parents have a boatload of male names and then scramble when it's a girl. It's rarely the other way around. Also complimenting a name like Gregory seems strange, it's an common name anyone could have.

Is your name really Greg? People still ask that? Greg says he's 19 years old (seen later in the article). I think every Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean even Japanese kid born in North America since 1990 has an English name. So I can't see why that would be a surprise. I would question the last name Toy more than the first name Greg, but that is not mentioned in this article.

Despite the fact that there was no reason for me to lie about my name in this rather common situation, my conversation partner continued to seem skeptical. Based on the information that my eloquent acquaintance provided, I’m forced to conclude that some people wouldn’t be able to identify me as an individual of Asian ancestry without a particular name, even though my appearance may resemble that of other mongoloids.

I wondered whether this seemingly enlightened acquaintance would prefer if my name were something more along the lines of “sukiyaki” or “kimchi.” Would those names better describe one facet of my existence? Just because my first name does not have a Japanese, Chinese, or other “Asian” origin does not mean that I need one to be happy or comfortable with myself, and just because I have a more American or more Asian sounding name does not mean that I solely identify as one or the other.

Strange. Why would anyone lie about their name ever? The name doesn't have anything to do with race. There are many Asian kids who are adopted by American parents and have names like "Dave Smith" or "Tom Harris". This is especially fun for employers who call a "Dave Smith" for an interview and an Asian guys shows up! Sukiyaki and Kimchi are names of food, not of people.

In the end, though angry and taken aback, I could muster no response or reaction other than a furrowed brow and quizzical stare. Neither my friend (who had introduced me to this embodiment of ignorance) nor I knew how to respond to these unexpected comments or how to react other than to walk away in order to defuse the situation, questioning whether Haverford was truly a hotbed of insensitivity and multicultural unawareness.

In that one instance, I probably learned more about my identity as an Asian American than in the nineteen years of my blissful existence. Ignorant and intolerant questions, like the ones asked of me, have made me reevaluate the way I view my name, my identity, and that unexpected conversation has sparked in me an increased interest in social justice and awareness.

Why's there to be so angry about? A person can easily ask me, "How'd you get the name Tracy?".. and I would simply say, I was not born with the name Tracy. My Asian name isn't even that hard to pronounce. But it was my older brother who had a difficult name and in Grade 1 decided to change to a common English one. So the family, dad, mom, brother and I (who was only 3 at the time) decided to all legally get English names. It cost us $100.

Is this really an ignorant and intolerant question that would cause you to reevaluate your entire existence? People ask all sorts of questions all the time. People are ignorant and when they ask ignorant questions, you just answer them. Not all questions are hurtful, all I can do is to answer directly and educate them more. Because someone wanted to know why you have an English name, it's a social injustice? Come on!

After much thought and conversation with others, if given the opportunity to travel back in time and respond to this acquaintance’s questions, I probably would say something like, “Yes, my name really is Greg. No, it is not of Asian origin; it actually is an English derivation of a Greek name. Contrary to popular belief, not all Asians have Asian-sounding names in the same way that not all Americans have American-sounding names.” But though I have been able to formulate this response after a great deal of time, I did not have it when I most needed it.

I don't think you even have to go that far. Just say, "My parents gave me an English name for convenience since we now live in America. Do you know any other Asians with English names or am I the first?" And carry on the discussion from there.

Only one question still remains in my mind: How can we prepare ourselves for the more dramatic and violent situations that we will inevitably face once we leave the Haverbubble? Sure, we attend PAF and AMA sessions and have support systems that, in theory, prepare us to be respectful citizens, but these discussions have no impact upon the people beyond, or maybe even within, our community; people who may not share in the Haverford tenets of trust, concern, and mutual respect. Although we try to avoid such awkward, uncomfortable, and unexpected situations and experiences as mine, we desperately need them in order to grow as prepared and aware individuals.

Oh boy. dramatic and violent situations? Holy shit. You've got alot to learn boy. Not everyone who asks a question has intent. This was a person who perhaps had never an Asian guy with an English name and was curious how you got it. He's not out to get you, or doesn't think you're a freak. People are allowed to ask questions. I'm ignorant about lot of things and have been know to ask a bunch of stupid questions too, that's how we learn.

I don't think this was an awkward, uncomfortable, and unexpected situation or experience at all? I get asked all sorts of questions all the time.

What do the rest of you think? Anyone got any cool English names like Kitty? :)

Japan's suicide hotline flooded

Source: The Straits Times

TOKYO - JAPAN'S hotline for people considering killing themselves is stretched to its limit, with the economic crisis feared to be worsening the country's suicide problem, its director said on Wednesday.

More than 30,000 people kill themselves every year in Japan, giving the country one of the world's highest suicide rates.

A national suicide hotline run by the Inochi no Denwa - Telephone Lifeline - association is struggling to meet demand, with 7,000 volunteers handling some 700,000 calls a year.

'We don't have enough volunteers,' Yukio Saito, the head of the federation, told AFP.

'I'm afraid that there will be a rise in suicides with the economic recession,' he said.

This has always saddened and troubled me. Why in Japan? Recessions, economic downturns happen all over the world. People are losing jobs in America, England, Canada, everywhere. In Canada, people cope with it and move on. If they lose an engineering job for example, they have to find something else, live on Employment Insurance for a while, do odd jobs like pumping gas or delivering pizzas etc... Suicide is not a consideration for the majority here.

Here's an article about new university graduates in China being encouraged to find 'lesser' jobs during the recession. (Source: Asia One)

BEIJING - DESPERATE Chinese graduates, facing grim job prospects amid slowing economic growth, are clamouring to find posts as nannies and domestic helpers for the rich in one southern province, state media reported on Wednesday.

Thousands of university students had applied for nanny work through an agency in China's export heartland of Guangdong, the Guangzhou Daily newspaper said.

'There have been five or six hundred people applying every month, with more than 90 per cent of them university students, including 28 Masters students,' the paper quoted a housekeeping recruitment agent as saying.

Only 300 out of 2,000 students had landed jobs over the past few months, however, as slowing growth had seen companies go bankrupt and foreign businessmen desert the province in droves, the agency said.

Chinese labour officials have repeatedly warned the country's 6.1 million graduates that they will face tough times finding work this year and told them not to be fussy.

So in China people are looking for ways to cope and survive. Everyone has to start at the bottom right? They say that a person living in Canada on average changes careers five times in their life. I've changed careers a couple of times myself. I've been laid off, fired, bounced around. I've worked as an usher, waited tables, been a cashier. Life is tough, you have to gain and keep what you have during the good times in order to survive. If you spent all that bonus money and promotion money last year and are now out of a job, then you were too selfish can't really blame anyone but yourself.

So why in Japan don't people start again? Why in Japan? Is it an issue of entitlement? Is it drilled into their head at a younger age that if they can only have a job given to them (inherited) and if that job is gone than it's the end of the world? There was a high rate of suicides in Japan when the economy crashed in the early 90s, and again in the late 90s when the 'dot.com' bubble bursted. And now again? Why in Japan? Is this the only way out?

I went digging around a bit and found this interesting article from 2005 (Source: Espaco Academico

A few points include:

It has been largely pointed out that a Japanese suicidal act is unique because it has often been accompanied by meanings of valiance and vindication. Suicide has a longstanding cultural association with saving one's and/or the family's fame.

Japan advertised suicide, inwardly urging its members to commit suicidal acts, by implanting the vocabulary associated with saving face in order to prevent a possible rebellion against the government. The figure of the Kamikaze was idealized to glorify the war. It is important to remember that, outwardly, before Toyota, Mitsubishi, and other Japanese owned MNCs came along as representative of Japan's economic might, among those phenomena which had made Japan awe-inspiring to other countries was our "man-liness" in committing suicide.

Before the age of internet, there hardly existed a chance of meeting other suicide candidates, whereas now, finding companions has readily become available. Within a minute, we Japanese can find "I want to die too, let's do it together" in suicide sites. It's a new phenotype of our “group suicide culture” with a new emphasis on the least suffering, fear, and isolation. It is as if it were okay as long as people do it together and painlessly. Also in media discourse, those who recruited companions hardly got social sanction. Probably because once it was considered as suicide, it is by definition a voluntary act among participants. Even if not, they are dead, so whom to blame?

I haven't really digested all of this but this phenomenon of suicide in Japan has really startled me. In Canada, you are always taught that suicide is the cowardly and selfish way out. You're hurting the ones you love. If you contemplate suicide here, everyone will talk you out of it. But in Japan it seems to not only be accepted butin fact more people might join you!

I admit I'm not that knowledgable in this area. Being Canadian-born I was always taught to never give up and get back up when you're knocked down. It's the Canadian way. My parents came to Canada with nothing and worked hard to make a life for themselves and their children. Suicide would have been the easy way out after their country was lost. I know it's not fair to say the Japanese have no 'heart' or no 'guts', terms you hear all the time in sports. But looking at the numbers, how can one not make such a conclusion.

I would like to hear from all of you and learn more about this issue. Why in Japan?