Something beautiful...

These two photos are of (very cute moss covered) stone images of "Jizo", a child image of the Bodhisatva Jizo 地藏菩萨 who out of compassion willingly entered Hell in order to save all sentient beings there...In Japan he is especially associated with saving children, and people often make little Jizo statues such as those as a remembrance for a lost child...

(One of the photos of my blog's sidebar is a photo of 4 Jizo stone images...A picture I took more than 2 years ago when I visited Kyoto for a week...)

This is another photo taken on Wednesday at Sanzen In (in Ohara) and at the stone statue at the back is actually a statue of the "grown-up" version of Jizo Bodhisatva...

After going to Ohara first on Monday, but not being able to take as many pictures as I wanted, in fact these stone child Jizo statues were the main reason I went back again on Wednesday morning ...On Wednesday although it was again overcrowded with Japanese tourists (mainly elderly ones) I had a very relaxing feeling looking at those very cute child Jizo moss covered stones, the light was very beautiful, it was a warm and pleasant Autumn day (it deffinetely warmed me up after the very cold temple visits in Nara on the previous day, which I suspect is the reason for me catching this very bad cold)...At the time I was leaving the temple garden I was actually feeling almost happy, as if viewing the very cute stone statues had a healing effect...Perhaps they actually do have...

(The quality of these images is bad, since they are taken with my mobile phone...but since I don't have a digital camera, these are the only ones I can show you for now...)

Staying home with a bad cold

After 3 consecutive days of temple visiting (in order to visit most Japanese temples you have to take off your shoes), on Monday to a nearby to Kyoto town called Ohara, on Tuesday to the ancient capital Nara (it was just incredibly cold and I think that's the chief reason for my bad cold now), and on Wednesday morning again back to Ohara (because it was so beautiful and on Monday I ran out of film and the light was not good enough to take decent photos), I fell ill yesterday evening and today I'm down with a very nasty cold which renders me completely helpless.
I decided I'll just not go to classes today and instead try to rest at home...
In the early afternoon I hardly found any strength to go down hill (as I mentioned before the dorm is on the top of a rather steep climb from the railway station) and go and store up with some groceries from the local supermarket...I'm drinking hot herbal tea all day long and taking medicine which obviously isn't working...

When you are terribly depressed and feel desperately lonely and sad, the LAST thing you need it to be ill...

I've been feeling terribly exhausted the past month, at the beginning of the month my emotional condition was at its worst, now I'm just terribly exhausted...
Yesterday at Sanzen In temple in Ohara there was a less frequented path on which I found a very crudely cut stone sitting Buddha figure. It is really very exceptional for me to pray (I'm not sure if I ever did really), but I suddenly and very naturally put my hands and pressed the palms in front of my face, fingers touching the place between the eyebrows, I closed my eyes and silently prayed for two seconds :
"Please, please help me make this unhappiness go away!"

About Obama's soft approach on human rights in China

Last week I came across this very interesting analysis evaluating Obama's visit to China and Obama's approach to human rights issues. There are some very insightful points with which I agree...It is yet to be seen how Obama's administration changed approach to China will influence things, but I really worry that because of the financial crisis and the US huge debt to China the world is somewhat held "hostage". I feel very pessimistic about how China's growing political and economical clout shifts the importance of universal values and ideas...Anyway, these are just my thoughts...

Obama's Soft Approach on Human Rights
(New York Times - Room for Debate Blog)

As for the overall impression of Obama's trip to China, many observed that instead of making any obvious and meaningful progress on any of the issues on his agenda, "he seemed to drift genially from one staged event to the next, politely toured a few famous national landmarks, and met with his half-brother for five minutes."

Obama went to China and all he got were some photos at the Great Wall http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/mz0905_11_13.asp

But of course diplomacy sometimes is not a matter of seeing results right away, so just let's wait and see...
Maybe Obama's strategy of "reassurance" works...

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About Obama's visit also see China Media Project's
Obama in China: an information war behind the scenes

China annonces slowing emissions growth

Yesterday the Chinese government announced a pledge to use 40- to 45-percent less carbon per unit of GDP by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. This in essence means to try to be more energy efficient, but in fact it doesn't mean reducing or cutting its existing carbon input which ranks first in the world currently and in fact China's output will actually be growing as its economy continues to grow...
I remain very sceptical about the Chinese actually being able to become energy efficient and actually being able to make factories, etc being less poluting...Report and data forging is just too commonplace practice in China. Actually I'm really doubtful if the world really knows the actual figures about China's huge carbon print on the world...
Also policy is one thing, making local authorities to actually impliment them quite another issue...
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"
"There's no question their carbon emissions would continue to grow under this scenario," said Charlie McElwee, an international environmental and energy lawyer based in Shanghai. "This isn't by any means an agreement by China to either cap, much less reduce, the amount of its carbon emissions. It's only slowing down the rate at which emissions are growing."If China did nothing and its economy doubles in size as expected in coming years, its emissions would likely double as well. Thursday's pledge means emissions would only increase by 50 percent in such a scenario. "

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But anyway, making the pledge is better than nothing...

China announces planned emissions cuts
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/26/AR2009112600519.html?wprss=rss_world

China vows to dramatically slow emissions growth (AP)

China's climate pledge to meet a quarter of global needs: IEA

About AIDS in China

Two days ago news reports showed statistics about the spread of HIV AIDS in China. I find that the most important part of this data was the fact of the big rise of hetorosexualy spread AIDS and its connection to the very decadent growing trend in modern China of prostitution and debauchery. The lack of ethical and moral values is causing a social decadence that has huge impact on Chinese society. The figures of this AIDS report are just a data prove of this trend...

While by law outlawed prostitution is widespread and commonplace all over China. In addition a wrongly understood sexual emancipation makes young people irresponsible, morally corrupt and dissipated.
This were one of the most ugly things I saw and observed in China and one of the reasons I feel very reluctant to feel optimistic about China's Rise.

UNAIDS: Sex main cause for HIV spreading in China

Also read:

UN AIDS chief in China to push for stronger civil society
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/hl_afp/healthchinaunaids_20091125171646
Hetero Sex Leading Cause of HIV in China
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/25/world/main5775643.shtml

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A somewhat related article:

No bars, no mistresses, Chinese officials warned
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091114/ap_on_re_as/as_china_morality_politics

rare articles questioning the petition system in Beijing or part of Control 2.0 ?

Two weeks ago I came across a very rare article published by Chinese official media outlet Global Times. The article was published in its English edition, which usually is completely different from its Chinese (pro-nationalist) edition.
I thought it was a significant thing, since the policy of the government until now was to vehemently deny the existence of the so-called black jails.
(I tried to post a comment on the site, but of course it was immediately deleted.)

Petitioners in tents, thugs in cop cars
http://www.globaltimes.cn/www/english/metro-beijing/highlights/photo/2009-11/484849.html

Two days ago international media outlets reported on another article in a state-run magazine discussing openly the existence of the black jails. (Funnily that article came out just days after the Foreign Ministry spokesman again denied their existence...)

State-run magazine reports on black jails in China

Media being tightly controlled by the state, one only can imagine that the appearance of these articles is not just a coincidence and it is in fact part of a strategy...It is hard to tell what the real goal of this strategy is. I remain sceptical, and in my view it is a reaction to the growing voice of Chinese 'netizens' and grassroots activists who often discuss issues which simply do not exist in state governed news lets... Since recently the government has realised that the way to control information is by being the first to report it. In this way they can actually channel the meaning of the news and have control over it.
This new strategy has already been called Control 2.0.