green apron monkey

some kids

The east city kids have grown on me. They are noisy little bastards but I've decided that they are alright, other than a few little punks.

Since I have an English Corner for practicing conversation at the end of each day, whichever kids I'm teaching are the last ones out of the school. THat means I have to walk them to their parents or the bus.

(By the way, a conversation class for first graders is a really, really bad idea).

Since they like making noise, I have them march and count in cadence, like the older kids do. Except, my kids count the cadence in English, which amuses the hell out of the security guards. For some reason Chinese kids love playing at being little soldiers, so it amuses the kids too.

At the end of every day I lead a little army of cuteness out the gates of the school.

SOme of the kids are pretty awesome.

Thomas WHen Thomas smiles, you can see all his teeth. It makes him look kind of wolfish. He likes to crawl up to the front rather then walking. He is a troublemaker of the charming variety. Once, I accidently made him cry by giggling at a picture his mom took of him in stage makeup.

Isiah and Sasha THey sit next to each other. Isiah is the smallest kid in first grade. Sasha has one of those Chinese elf girl haircuts. They aren't my best students but they are my cutest.

Audrey When I arrive to class ten I get dog piled by seven year olds. I look like a fullback being tackled by a defensive line. Audrey is always the last one to be pried off by the TA. Audrey is probably the smartest girl in First grade, but she might be the clingiest.

Frankie Frankie is the ugliest seven year old I have ever met. But he's whip smart, funny and energetic. He was the first kid to successfully pronounce Austrailia and he does his damnedest to work it into any sentence.

Ralph There are smarter kids in my second grade but none more enthusiastic. Ralph wants to be the first to play every game. He's one of the few kids who gets out of his seat too much in a helpful way.

Cloe Bent on teaching me Chinese, but mostly concentrates on "wo da ni, hao bu hao" (I hit you, would that be good?) Apparently it's funny when I say "bu hao."

Ally Ally gives me choclate. What can I say?

Ian Ian looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He's one of those shy, smart kids. He smiles a lot and tries to help me with characters.

hmmm. . .

Apparently I spent a good portion of Friday night pelting the teacher's dorms at Petroleum Univeristy with dirt clods.

thinkin about things, lookin at Taiwan

I have often heard globalizers say that increased integration between economies will lead to less war.

I think the argument goes something like, if two economies are integrated then they will lose more by aggressive political relations and their respective leaders will will be less likely to choose that course.

I have on occaion, believed that myself, but now I wonder. Hasn't war, other than the dramatically exceptional exception that is World War II's effect on the U.S., always had a dubious effect on economies?

Aren't leaders, even in democracies quite insulated from the ill effects of such decisions?

So awhile back I found out that the more globalization = less war thesis has been around for a while, and it has taken some licks. Below is an article from John Quiggin. I've included links to intelligent commentary from Matthew Iglesias and Brad Delong.

Matthew Yglesias weighs in.

Brad Delong comments on Matt Yglesias's comments.

John Quiggin » Merom review

The classic refutation of international realism was put forward in Norman Angell's The Great Illusion. Angell argued that in a modern economy no economic benefit could be generated even by successful wars of conquest. Writing for a British audience, Angell's basic point was that, even if Germany succeeded in establishing political mastery in Europe, workers in the newly subjected countries would still have to be paid, goods would have to be purchased at market prices and so on. Hence, individual Germans would gain nothing from being part of a larger country.

Angell's argument works even better for social democracies, where territorial expansion or even extension of hegemony produces an unpalatable choice. If the benefits and obligations that go with citizenship welfare state are extended to those under the control of the expanded state, existing citizens will almost certainly be worse off. On the other hand, any attempt to maintain a distinction between citizens and noncitizens is bound to be highly problematic.

Angell's argument showed, beyond reasonable doubt, that war and territorial expansion are not, in general sensible policies. His views have often been derided on the basis that they were falsified by the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, which was pursued to the bitter end even though it destroyed the global market economy that had formed the backdrop to his analysis. But in reality the outcome proved him right. Of course, Germany, the power most influenced by the arguments of Clausewitz and his successors, reaped nothing but grief from the war. But the attempts of the victorious allies to exact reparations, extend their colonial influence and so on were also entirely futile, exactly as Angell had predicted.

wo shi maotou

in Dongying 2 kuai can buy

two bowls of rice
one bowl of fried noodles
an hour of internet access
1/5 of your average pork and vegetable dish
2/5 of real taxi ride
2 days rent in a three bedroom apartment
a VCD
1/2500 of a computer

Imagine that with, say, three to five mouths in the family.

for driving on the wrong street

Nothng breaks my heart more than seeing a cop hassle a motorcycle taxi driver.

It's like watching a someone snatch bread from a beggar's hands and then perhaps give him a solid bash to the head.

I saw this happen yesterday, in front of KFC. The cop had the driver by the collar, and was giving him the stern, CCP educator lecture. The driver had tears streaming down his face.

Now, as I understand it, Chinese culture works like this. You are supposed to endure hardships and persecution. You gain face from not complaining and not crying. I've never seen a Chinese man cry.

Most of these guys, like most of China, operate without licenses. They make a pitiful 2 kuai per ride. That is, unless they can find a passenger that can endure a long bumpy ride or a gullible foreigner.

Now the biggest expense that most Chinese guys of working age have is the kid's education. I'm not talking about college either. Elementary school can be quite the financial burden.

So you can expect that this guy was thinking, how the cao is my kid going to go to school if this bastard fines me, demands a bribe or (the worst) confiscates my cycle.

Economists are frequently berated for focusing on market distortions and flawed policies in the third world when there are plenty floating around the first world. But a quick look at the cyclists face will tell you why these things are worse in the third world than the first. That guy has absolutely nowhere to go. There are no easy to get supplementary jobs, even with the currently overheated Chinese economy. A man making two kuai per ride minus cost does not have an attractive plan B.