It is younger brother's Ron birthday today (December 5). I still think of him as the Kid Brother, but he is no Kid. Ron was the first baby to ever come into my Life. I pity the Chinese who will never have the experience of having siblings. From the time Ronalds was born, I can remember the joy I felt when I learned that my Mom had had a boy and that I could lord it over my younger sister, Benita, who was hoping to have a little sister. Ron was born in Quebec - continuing the tradition of family members being born in places that they didn't live in for long. (Benita and I were born in Germany. My parents were born in Latvia.) Ron is living in Winnipeg, Manitoba - stamping grounds for me for a few years, and the hometown of our majesty, the King of Wuxi. Happy birthday Ron!
December 3 was our first anniversary (Jenny and I). And we both forgot it. With the Toner around, we forget about these things.
Here is another link for you budding Sinologists from Seablogger. It is about Corporacy in China. Like the article yesterday that I linked about China, it looks at China, describes it and wonders about its future. Is China a meritocracy? Living here, I know, it isn't a pure meritocracy. Certain people can advance through connections rather than talent. But the students do work hard in their often, by our standards, primitive conditions. So it may well be I know the exceptions rather than the rule. But, I think the world has become over-dazzled by China. The China Miracle is simply a repeat of what has been done in the other affluent parts of Asia. There have been Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese miracles already. The growth that China is experiencing now is testament to the foolishness of what had been going on before.
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