pics

Not all that glitters is gold

in the golden land

The golden land is not in the gilded stupas or statues but the people who have hearts of gold.

Only Mad dogs and Englishmen come out in the noon day heat and nowadays wanderlust tourists with a penchant for shooting not wild white elephants but trigger happy with Iphones and digital DLSRs.

Hissing 2013

Chinese New Year Vegetarian Menu

Drinks-rosella with candy winter melon and rose buds

1.Mock Cod fish simmered with sliced ginger,chrysantemum petals,osmanthus buds, spring onion and rose chinese rice wine with a sprinkling of gouji berries

2.braised mock chicken pong teh w
 fermented bean curd,shitake mushrooms, cubed carrots served with steamed flower roll buns

3. braised mock abalone,bai ling mushroom,brocolli in oyster sauce

4. sweet and sour mock prawns with cherry tomatoes ,big onion and pineapples in sour plum sauce

5.pie tee with shredded yam turnip, carrot and french beans

6. fried mock pandan chicken with sriracha sauce

7. stuffed green ,red and yellow bell peppers with minced mock meat,shredded celery,carrots ,in tomato puree grilled with olive oil and topped with shredded mozarella cheese

8. creamed sweet corn soup with water chestnuts and cubed Japanese bean curd

The Price of Development

When developing countries try to play "catch up" with the developed world's model of economic development that uses intensive resources from energy to raw materials,what are the long term effects? We need not second guess as the effects from over consumption to massive exploitation of the environment can be seen in the environmental degradation , geo-political instability and vast income disparity.

So why are we still copy cats? Why not set forth to a brave,new world where a different yardstick for development can be started? Why can't we learn from the mistakes of others ? Why does history need to keep on repeating itself?

It's so paradoxical that we can't have the best of both worlds in that we need to sacrifice one for the other.

According to the text "When a billion Chinese jump",Yunnan faces the threat of deforestation and species extinction,opening up road and rail linkages in Tibet could cause a rise in climate.Guangdong's massive rubbish industry is based on recycling or outsourced dirty manufacturing from advanced countries.The level of lead in China's children is 50% higher than the US.Coal fired power plants increase carbon emission ,causing prevalence of respiratory illnesses.Farming uses fertilisers and insecticides which pollute ground water for drinking. Sewage and industrial waste are dumped into seas causing heavy metal to be accumulated in fish.

In poisoning the environment we live in,aren't we shooting ourselves in the foot ?