This is from the NY Times, an excerpt from an article concerning bribery in China. Thought it was amusing.
----------------------
With the public increasingly aware of government corruption, there has been talk of creating a national register to track the family assets of all government officials, in the hopes of weeding out bribe-taking relatives.
The problem is that officials in China appear to be addicted to European luxury brands.
In January, a land confiscation official in the southwestern city of Chongqing was sentenced to 13 years in prison for accepting kickbacks. The government confiscated 200 pairs of luxury shoes, 100 luxury suits and a luxury car.
At his sentencing in January, the official, Ding Meng, expressed no remorse about his expensive tastes.
He even scolded the prosecutor for her poor taste in fashion. “You’re a woman and you don’t even wear better luxury shoes than me,” he sniped. “Maybe you can spend $25 and buy a tube of shoe cream.”
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Why I am glad that I am not a woman
Men hunt, gather, sleep, fuck, and eat. It's been so for 50,000 years. With women, it's alot more complicated.
First off, there's menstruation. From 13 to 45+ (an entire generation), women bleed for a week every month. How annoying and inconvenient! To add insult to injury, they get cramps and bloat. Once my ex-gf, had such severe cramps that I almost ended up calling an ambulance because she was in such pain. It was really shocking. To further add to the injury, as if that isn't enough, the hormonal impact on their emotions is equally taxing to them. It's basically a week of toruture every month. (Fortunately, there are now birth control pills that alleviate this situation. But not all women are or will be on it.)
Secondly, a woman's worth in society is primarily based on their outer beauty. It shouldn't be. But in general, it is. This observation of social dynamics is not a prescription but a description. Outer beauty is, however, perishable and has a very short shelf life. And I think that women, instinctively understand this primitive but realialistic condition. This is why they worry so much about how much they weigh and demand perfect high and lowlights for their hair. A proper shampoo and conditioner are a must also.
Third, the biological clock. Women have them; men don't. Without a single exception, women who I have known start to act alittle differently starting around the age of 28. They become obsessed with marriage around this time. Is this a generalization? Yes, in general, from my experience, this is the case. Are generalizations bad? Yes, if they are without merit or evidence. But as cliches contain kernels of truth, generalizations are not always bad because they are generalizations as long as there is some truth to the generalization. So, women feel the press of time more than guys. The only pressure that guys have about time is regarding death. But this happens only after a man is about 50 whereas for women, the fear of time catching up to them occurs at 28. They start thinking, "Oh my god, I'm almost 30 and I'm going to be an old maid!" It's a near death experience.
Many women nowadays, distract themselves from this fear by focusing on their career. But that only delays the fear until they are around 34-35 when they too (as VP of Marketing, etc) realize that love, marriage, and children are more meaningful than the rat race. They obtain status and have people working for them and have arrived at power. But then, they, quite rightly realize, that all of that is meaningless compared to being a loving (and beloved) wife and mother. Tick toc tick toc tick toc... the meter is running.
Now, even when one gets married, there's a fairly significant chance that they'll get screwed over. The more powerful (in looks, status, or money) the man who she marries, the more options that the man has in every sphere of life. The divorce rate is about 40%. So, if a woman happens to be one of the 40%, that's a bad scenario. She is no longer 25 and because she has been busy raising kids, her resume is 15 yrs. old. Very difficult to get back in the workforce and it's a completely different lifestyle from changing diapers and watching daytime soap operas and going shopping vs. 9 hrs. of work and dealing with corporate politics. Fck!
[There are some women who are 'successful' no matter what (e.g. Oprah, Martha Stewart, JK Rowling, Condoliza Rice, etc.) But exceptions do not make it a rule.]
I'm glad that I'm not a woman. We have to work our asses off like a mule at times. But the alternative, that is, being a woman, is much harder.
I adore women and my life is richer because I'm with them and they with me. They appreciate and notice details, care more about others' feelings, are more responsible than guys, and just as intelligent or more so than guys are because they have a higher sense of intuition. But damn, it's tough to be a woman especially in the 21st century. More opportunities now, yes, but biology stays the same.
The meter keeps running.
[On a positive note though more women than ever before can have and are having a more fulfilling life and can have it all-- a first rate education, a job or a business that engages them, a wonderful husband and a great family.]
First off, there's menstruation. From 13 to 45+ (an entire generation), women bleed for a week every month. How annoying and inconvenient! To add insult to injury, they get cramps and bloat. Once my ex-gf, had such severe cramps that I almost ended up calling an ambulance because she was in such pain. It was really shocking. To further add to the injury, as if that isn't enough, the hormonal impact on their emotions is equally taxing to them. It's basically a week of toruture every month. (Fortunately, there are now birth control pills that alleviate this situation. But not all women are or will be on it.)
Secondly, a woman's worth in society is primarily based on their outer beauty. It shouldn't be. But in general, it is. This observation of social dynamics is not a prescription but a description. Outer beauty is, however, perishable and has a very short shelf life. And I think that women, instinctively understand this primitive but realialistic condition. This is why they worry so much about how much they weigh and demand perfect high and lowlights for their hair. A proper shampoo and conditioner are a must also.
Third, the biological clock. Women have them; men don't. Without a single exception, women who I have known start to act alittle differently starting around the age of 28. They become obsessed with marriage around this time. Is this a generalization? Yes, in general, from my experience, this is the case. Are generalizations bad? Yes, if they are without merit or evidence. But as cliches contain kernels of truth, generalizations are not always bad because they are generalizations as long as there is some truth to the generalization. So, women feel the press of time more than guys. The only pressure that guys have about time is regarding death. But this happens only after a man is about 50 whereas for women, the fear of time catching up to them occurs at 28. They start thinking, "Oh my god, I'm almost 30 and I'm going to be an old maid!" It's a near death experience.
Many women nowadays, distract themselves from this fear by focusing on their career. But that only delays the fear until they are around 34-35 when they too (as VP of Marketing, etc) realize that love, marriage, and children are more meaningful than the rat race. They obtain status and have people working for them and have arrived at power. But then, they, quite rightly realize, that all of that is meaningless compared to being a loving (and beloved) wife and mother. Tick toc tick toc tick toc... the meter is running.
Now, even when one gets married, there's a fairly significant chance that they'll get screwed over. The more powerful (in looks, status, or money) the man who she marries, the more options that the man has in every sphere of life. The divorce rate is about 40%. So, if a woman happens to be one of the 40%, that's a bad scenario. She is no longer 25 and because she has been busy raising kids, her resume is 15 yrs. old. Very difficult to get back in the workforce and it's a completely different lifestyle from changing diapers and watching daytime soap operas and going shopping vs. 9 hrs. of work and dealing with corporate politics. Fck!
[There are some women who are 'successful' no matter what (e.g. Oprah, Martha Stewart, JK Rowling, Condoliza Rice, etc.) But exceptions do not make it a rule.]
I'm glad that I'm not a woman. We have to work our asses off like a mule at times. But the alternative, that is, being a woman, is much harder.
I adore women and my life is richer because I'm with them and they with me. They appreciate and notice details, care more about others' feelings, are more responsible than guys, and just as intelligent or more so than guys are because they have a higher sense of intuition. But damn, it's tough to be a woman especially in the 21st century. More opportunities now, yes, but biology stays the same.
The meter keeps running.
[On a positive note though more women than ever before can have and are having a more fulfilling life and can have it all-- a first rate education, a job or a business that engages them, a wonderful husband and a great family.]
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